RF: Reply to some of the reviews (sorry... I won't reply to all of them,
cuz I don't have the time... damn school... T_T) OMG... I still can't believe
how many reviews I got... O______O thank you all so much!!!!
lilmatchgirl- nah I'm not gonna torture Lee. Well, not too much. I'm going to make it that no one knows what happened, and they think that Rei dies. A fight scene? *grins mysteriously* you'll have to wait and see... muhahaha
Bonnie/max/rei- umm.. sorry, I should have explained that better- well the Forbidden Lands and the Eastern Lands are at war, so having the prince as a hostage would be kinda bad... does that make sense? I'm not good at explaining *sweatdrop*
Elves of the Moon- umm.. Kai's just confused that's why he's acting so harsh towards Rei, and also because he just met him. And yeah, Kai was absued by his grandfather when he was a little kid- that's another reason why he's so cold.
Warning: this is a yaoi fic, which means boy+boy
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblades (wish I did though... *sigh*)
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"..." – speech
'...' – thoughts
*...* - emphasis/ accents
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Chapter 2
By the time Rei had finished cleaning the floor, his back ached more than usual. The painkilling herbs had worn off, and his head felt like it was going to split open.
Wondering whether asking for a rest and a drink was against the rules, Rei sat back on his heels and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. He decided it was, and instead kept quiet.
"You finished, slave?" the cold voice seemed to somewhat placate his headache, surprising him.
Rei nodded, his throat too parched for words.
"Answer me!" Kai demanded harshly. He had to hear that smooth voice again. He just *had* to.
"Yes, my lord." Rei croaked out, and Kai frowned.
His crimson eyes searched around the room until they fell on the glass of water sitting on his desk, and he picked it up and handed it to the slave. "Here. Drink. I don't need you dying on me." Kai commanded, his cold voice hiding the emotions he felt.
Rei glanced up at him, and found himself lost in crimson depths. He felt all the air leave his lungs, and his golden eyes widened. What was that... feeling... that was pulling at his stomach?
He gave a growl of anger at himself and reached out for the drink. An electric shock seemed to pass from Kai to Rei as their hands touched, and Rei jumped back immediately, a light blush on his tanned cheeks.
Kai bit his lip, and quickly stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying to hide the fact that they were shaking.
What's happening to me? Kai wondered, as he sat back down at his desk. He gritted his teeth, and slammed his hand on his desk, startling Rei who dropped his glass which smashed as soon as it hit the stone floor.
"Get out of my sight!" Kai yelled at him.
Rei stared at him in shock then scampered out of the room. He supposed that could have called that a dismissal... Rei grinned. He was free for the rest of the afternoon!
He hesitated at the door, wondering whether he should stay and make sure that his lord was all right... and clear up the glass as well.
Glancing behind him, Rei saw Lord Kai sitting at his desk, staring stonily at a piece of paper. He guessed that the blue haired boy had gotten over whatever fit had taken him before.
Rei bit his lip, wondering how someone so beautiful could be so cold.
"Hey, Rei!" Rei turned around saw Takao running towards him accompanied by a slender blond with large blue eyes and a handful of freckles.
"Takao." Rei greeted him happily and glanced searchingly at the blond.
The blond grinned cheerfully, his eyes simply shining with innocence. "I'm Max!" he said happily. "You must be Rei! I've heard a lot about you. I'm the jester, by the way."
The jester? Kai had a jester? Rei's lips twitched into a smirk. Well it didn't do the cold hearted lord any good.
Rei wondered vaguely if he had a heart...
If only I was the one to steal it... Rei thought to himself wistfully before regaining his senses. What the hell? Me- steal Lord Kai's heart? Am I crazy??
He decided not to answer that question and instead just mentally smacked himself on the head.
I am insane, Rei thought firmly. I am extremely insane.
"Rei? Rei are you okay, buddy?" Takao and Max peered anxiously at him. Rei gave a forced grin, and started to walk along the corridor with Max and Takao.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit sleepy, that's all."
Takao's face darkened. "Yeah... is your back okay?"
Rei was surprised that he would remember- after all, who was he but an unimportant slave?- about his beating the night before.
"Yeah, it's fine. Sore, but fine. Umm.. do you have any more of those painkilling herbs?"
Max laughed, and handed him a handful of crushed leaves. "I thought you might want some more." seeing the surprised look on the raven haired boy's face, Max started to explain. "My mother's the healer. Her name's Judy- you might see her around sometime."
Rei nodded. It was good to know that he had friends in the castle- the only friends that he had had in the White Tigers were Lee, Gary, Kevin and Mariah. But Gary and Kevin, though nobles, were hardly free to play with him, and Mariah was a princess of another neko jin clan, and they only met at public occasions.
"Do you want us to give you a tour of the castle?" Max asked, and Takao nodded eagerly.
Although all Rei wanted to do was lie down and muse over his feelings about a certain well shaped, blue haired, crimson eyed someone, he nodded and quickly chewed and swallowed the painkilling leaves. "Let's go!"
They wandered around the castle grounds (a/n: when I said that Rei wasn't able to leave the castle, I meant the castle grounds) until dark fell and Takao had to get back to his guard duties.
Max and Rei walked back to the castle, a companiable silence replacing conversation, and Max made his farewells at the door, saying he had to return to the servants quarters.
Rei was walking back to his rooms when Lord Hiwatari caught him unawares again, grabbing his arm.
"Give these to my son, slave." he commanded and pressed a thick wad of paper into the neko jin's hands. "And no reading." he sneered. "Not that you can read, anyway, you pathetic excuse of a man."
Rei bristled with anger, but kept his tongue -and claws- in check. Attacking the lord of the castle wasn't exactly the best idea. Not after those 40 lashes the night before.
"What are you waiting for, slave? The sun to rise? Go!" Voltaire snapped, and Rei quickly scampered off.
He knocked timidly at Kai's door. Rei felt his heart sink a bit when there was no answer. He had been looking forward to seeing Kai again for some reason that he couldn't explain.
Rei opened the door and silently entered the room. The sight that awaited him took his breath away.
It was Kai... but he was fast asleep, slumped over his desk, head resting in his arms, his two toned hair tousled, framing his face which was wiped clear of all emotions, giving him an almost angelic look.
Rei held his breath, feeling as if he breathed he would break the moment. Hesitantly he approached the sleeping boy and gently placed the papers on his desk, far away from Kai's head.
Rei leaned on the doorway for a second, resisting the urge to brush away the slate coloured bangs away from the pale skin. He just stood and watched Kai sleep for a while, before turning away reluctantly and started to walk out the door.
He heard a small whimper behind him and whipped around, expecting to find someone else in the room.
Looking around, he saw that there was no one else in the room. Frowning, Rei turned away again. He could've sworn he had heard someone whimper.
Rei jumped- there it was again! This time, when he turned around, he heard another small moan of distress and was shocked when he saw that the sounds had been coming from Kai.
A frown had replaced the peaceful expression on his face before, and his mouth was set in a grim line.
Rei knelt by his side, peering at his face, not sure what to do- should he leave him alone and pretend that he hadn't heard or seen anything? No- he couldn't leave Kai- he was obviously in pain.
Rei hesitantly reached out and touched Kai's cheek. To his surprise- and pleasure- the blue haired boy leaned into his touch, obviously enjoying it. The frown disappeared, and Rei grinned, and stroked Kai's cheek comfortingly.
~*~
Kai had been lost in the shadows, stumbling around blindly, when suddenly light -beautiful, pure light- shone through, piercing the darkness with its rays.
He felt someone cup his cheek, and he leaned into the touch, knowing that it was all a dream, yet he didn't want to open his eyes and find nothing there.
He wanted this dream to last- yet they never did. The comforting presence had taken to stroking his cheek, making Kai sigh contentedly.
He sighed inwardly, and forced himself to open his eyes. He had to get on with his work. Voltaire would whip him again if he hadn't finished signing and sealing the documents.
Rei froze when he saw Kai's eyes open, and immediately withdrew his hand, holding his breath fearfully.
"My lord! I- I didn't mean-!" he broke off, and retreated a few steps.
Kai stared at him openly, not sure of what to say or do. Hesitantly he touched his own cheek, and felt the warmth that rolled off his skin in waves. Someone had been stroking his cheek. He was sure of it.
"You, slave, what-?" he demanded, all eloquency and calmness gone.
Kai watched as the expressions on Rei's face changed from nervous to petrified. The raven haired boy probably thought that he was going to punish him.
Kai smirked, though there was no hint of maliciousness or unkindness in it. "I'm not going to whip you. Now tell me, what happened?"
"I came... I came to drop off the papers." Rei stammered, not knowing why he felt so nervous. He was afraid of no one, especially not some lord. Some *beautiful* lord, his treacherous mind whispered.
"And you were having nightmares, I think." Rei was quickly regaining his confidence. "Are you alright, my lord?"
"I'm fine." Kai hesitated then pulled the neko jin close. "You tell no one of this, do you understand? Rei."
Rei jumped, startled, at the blue haired boy's use of his name. Kai couldn't help but smile. "That *is* your name, isn't it?"
Rei nodded, and smiled back, thinking about how gentler Kai's face seemed when he smiled.
There was the sound of a door slamming in a chamber close by and Kai hissed in surprise, and grabbed Rei, looking around wildly.
"Kai! I hope those documents are ready!" Voltaire's voice floated into their earshot, and Rei wondered why Kai seemed so nervous.
"Hide, you dolt, hide!" Kai hissed and shoved Rei under his desk. "Don't you dare say a word."
Rei nodded, his golden eyes wide and anxious in the shadows under the desk. He peered through a hole in the smooth, polished wood of the desk at the figure of Voltaire who stalked into the room.
He looked angry, and Rei could feel the muscles in Kai's leg, which was pressed against his cheek, tense up.
What was so wrong about meeting his grandfather? Rei wondered. Sure, the guy was scary, but there was no reason for him to hide!
Kai stood up and Rei immediately missed the warmth that the boy's legs had provided (a/n: for all the hentais out there... get your mind out of the gutter!).
"Here. These are all the documents." the sound of paper rustling drifted into Rei's earshot. It seemed that Kai had lured Voltaire to the other side of the room.
"Hn." Voltaire grunted. "Did that slave give you the papers that you needed?"
There was a pause, in which Rei presumed Kai nodded, since he heard Voltaire give a satisfied grunt.
"That slave... he's beautiful." there was an amused note in Kai's grandfather's voice.
"And?" Kai's voice was void of any emotion, but Voltaire noted that his grandson's fists were tightly clenched.
Kai wondered where the conversation was going. Perhaps Voltaire was playing with him, trying to get him to admit something he'd rather not. Kai didn't trust Voltaire one bit.
"There's been an offer for him. Around 700 gold nobles, just for one night." "Who?" Kai asked tightly. He had the urge to rip that person's head off their shoulders. How *dare* they try to take Rei away from him?
Kai started- since when had he called the slave by his name, and since when had Rei been *his*? Surely the prospect of money was better than protecting some slave?
Hidden under the desk, Rei bit his hand to stop from screaming. Oh Gods, he was going to be passed around all the lords as a whore...
"Lord Michael. Remember him? He saw the slave the other day and was wondering whether-"
"No." Kai snapped, knowing that he was going to regret saying so soon. Voltaire frowned, and he took a step forward, growling menacingly in the back of his throat.
"How dare you interrupt me, boy!" he yelled, and slapped Kai roughly, leaving a large, red imprint on the blue haired boy's face.
Kai stumbled back a few steps, but glared back at his grandfather. "I refuse to let him be used as Michael's concubine."
Rei bit down harder when he heard a loud crash, and the sound of a suppressed groan.
Blood dripped down his arm as he took out his anxiety on his hand. Kai was being beaten by his grandfather and he could do nothing about it. Rei gritted his teeth and a tear leaked out the corner of his eyes.
He had to help him. Kai was being beaten over him, and there he was- hiding like a coward.
Anger rose inside his chest, and his golden eyes thinned into tiny slits, his fangs lengthened and his nails sharpened (a/n: dunno if it actually happens in the anime, but I thought it'd be cool if he had claws as well ^- ^) into claws.
Rei slipped out from under the desk and launched himself at Voltaire, startling both him and Kai. He saw the look of horror on Kai's normally placid face and the look of absolute shock on Voltaire's face and grinned almost maniacally.
Voltaire put up a good fight, Rei had to admit, but the lord was old, and no match for Rei, the best fighter in all of the Forbidden Lands. Rei sunk his claws into Voltaire's skin, revelling in the man's howl of pain and anger, before jumping back and delivering a swift kick to the king's advisor's chest, winding him.
Rei knew that he was probably going to be killed. There was no way he was ever going to get away with attacking one of the most powerful men in the eastern lands.
And the Forbidden Lands as well, Rei mused to himself as he landed several quick punches and kicks to the half bent figure of Voltaire Hiwatari. Suddenly the old man struck back, surprising Rei, hitting him squarely on the chest, knocking the neko jin into the wall. Kai's grandfather suddenly pulled a knife out of his boot, and made to drove it into Rei's heart, but the raven haired boy twisted sharply, and it was buried deep into his shoulder instead.
Ignoring the stars that danced in front of his vision and the sharp pain in his shoulder, Rei pulled himself onto his feet and, with a fierce snarl, tackled Voltaire to the ground and slashed the flailing body swiftly, not sure of what he was doing, but just desperate to stop Voltaire from hurting Kai anymore.
He was dimly aware of someone pulling him back, but he kept on slashing away. Finally his senses returned to him, and Rei realised that what he thought was a struggling Voltaire in front of him was a mutilated body. Rei stared at it in shock, before he fell onto his knees, and buried his head in his hands.
"Oh Gods.. oh Gods... what have I done?" Rei whispered, drawing in shallow and rough breaths.
There was no way that he was going to get away with this. He was going to be tortured, then executed... he had just killed the King's closest advisor...
He felt two arms circle his slim body, and he flinched. Twisting around, he stared into Kai's compassionate crimson eyes.
"I- I didn't mean..."
"Thank you." Kai said softly, and hugged Rei gently, placing his hand in Rei's.
Rei gasped quietly. He had just killed the boy's grandfather in front of his eyes - sure, the old man had been abusing him, but still, they were family- and here he was, comforting him. And thanking him?
Suddenly the full impact of what he had done hit Rei, and he clutched Kai's hand tighter.
Voltaire was dead, gone. And he wasn't coming back.
He had killed the king's closest advisor and Kai's grandfather.
These thoughts flashing through his mind, Rei passed out.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Well, I hope that is long enough... hehehe I killed Voltaire, ^-^ PLEASE REVIEW!!! And no flames please!!
lilmatchgirl- nah I'm not gonna torture Lee. Well, not too much. I'm going to make it that no one knows what happened, and they think that Rei dies. A fight scene? *grins mysteriously* you'll have to wait and see... muhahaha
Bonnie/max/rei- umm.. sorry, I should have explained that better- well the Forbidden Lands and the Eastern Lands are at war, so having the prince as a hostage would be kinda bad... does that make sense? I'm not good at explaining *sweatdrop*
Elves of the Moon- umm.. Kai's just confused that's why he's acting so harsh towards Rei, and also because he just met him. And yeah, Kai was absued by his grandfather when he was a little kid- that's another reason why he's so cold.
Warning: this is a yaoi fic, which means boy+boy
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblades (wish I did though... *sigh*)
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"..." – speech
'...' – thoughts
*...* - emphasis/ accents
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 2
By the time Rei had finished cleaning the floor, his back ached more than usual. The painkilling herbs had worn off, and his head felt like it was going to split open.
Wondering whether asking for a rest and a drink was against the rules, Rei sat back on his heels and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. He decided it was, and instead kept quiet.
"You finished, slave?" the cold voice seemed to somewhat placate his headache, surprising him.
Rei nodded, his throat too parched for words.
"Answer me!" Kai demanded harshly. He had to hear that smooth voice again. He just *had* to.
"Yes, my lord." Rei croaked out, and Kai frowned.
His crimson eyes searched around the room until they fell on the glass of water sitting on his desk, and he picked it up and handed it to the slave. "Here. Drink. I don't need you dying on me." Kai commanded, his cold voice hiding the emotions he felt.
Rei glanced up at him, and found himself lost in crimson depths. He felt all the air leave his lungs, and his golden eyes widened. What was that... feeling... that was pulling at his stomach?
He gave a growl of anger at himself and reached out for the drink. An electric shock seemed to pass from Kai to Rei as their hands touched, and Rei jumped back immediately, a light blush on his tanned cheeks.
Kai bit his lip, and quickly stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying to hide the fact that they were shaking.
What's happening to me? Kai wondered, as he sat back down at his desk. He gritted his teeth, and slammed his hand on his desk, startling Rei who dropped his glass which smashed as soon as it hit the stone floor.
"Get out of my sight!" Kai yelled at him.
Rei stared at him in shock then scampered out of the room. He supposed that could have called that a dismissal... Rei grinned. He was free for the rest of the afternoon!
He hesitated at the door, wondering whether he should stay and make sure that his lord was all right... and clear up the glass as well.
Glancing behind him, Rei saw Lord Kai sitting at his desk, staring stonily at a piece of paper. He guessed that the blue haired boy had gotten over whatever fit had taken him before.
Rei bit his lip, wondering how someone so beautiful could be so cold.
"Hey, Rei!" Rei turned around saw Takao running towards him accompanied by a slender blond with large blue eyes and a handful of freckles.
"Takao." Rei greeted him happily and glanced searchingly at the blond.
The blond grinned cheerfully, his eyes simply shining with innocence. "I'm Max!" he said happily. "You must be Rei! I've heard a lot about you. I'm the jester, by the way."
The jester? Kai had a jester? Rei's lips twitched into a smirk. Well it didn't do the cold hearted lord any good.
Rei wondered vaguely if he had a heart...
If only I was the one to steal it... Rei thought to himself wistfully before regaining his senses. What the hell? Me- steal Lord Kai's heart? Am I crazy??
He decided not to answer that question and instead just mentally smacked himself on the head.
I am insane, Rei thought firmly. I am extremely insane.
"Rei? Rei are you okay, buddy?" Takao and Max peered anxiously at him. Rei gave a forced grin, and started to walk along the corridor with Max and Takao.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit sleepy, that's all."
Takao's face darkened. "Yeah... is your back okay?"
Rei was surprised that he would remember- after all, who was he but an unimportant slave?- about his beating the night before.
"Yeah, it's fine. Sore, but fine. Umm.. do you have any more of those painkilling herbs?"
Max laughed, and handed him a handful of crushed leaves. "I thought you might want some more." seeing the surprised look on the raven haired boy's face, Max started to explain. "My mother's the healer. Her name's Judy- you might see her around sometime."
Rei nodded. It was good to know that he had friends in the castle- the only friends that he had had in the White Tigers were Lee, Gary, Kevin and Mariah. But Gary and Kevin, though nobles, were hardly free to play with him, and Mariah was a princess of another neko jin clan, and they only met at public occasions.
"Do you want us to give you a tour of the castle?" Max asked, and Takao nodded eagerly.
Although all Rei wanted to do was lie down and muse over his feelings about a certain well shaped, blue haired, crimson eyed someone, he nodded and quickly chewed and swallowed the painkilling leaves. "Let's go!"
They wandered around the castle grounds (a/n: when I said that Rei wasn't able to leave the castle, I meant the castle grounds) until dark fell and Takao had to get back to his guard duties.
Max and Rei walked back to the castle, a companiable silence replacing conversation, and Max made his farewells at the door, saying he had to return to the servants quarters.
Rei was walking back to his rooms when Lord Hiwatari caught him unawares again, grabbing his arm.
"Give these to my son, slave." he commanded and pressed a thick wad of paper into the neko jin's hands. "And no reading." he sneered. "Not that you can read, anyway, you pathetic excuse of a man."
Rei bristled with anger, but kept his tongue -and claws- in check. Attacking the lord of the castle wasn't exactly the best idea. Not after those 40 lashes the night before.
"What are you waiting for, slave? The sun to rise? Go!" Voltaire snapped, and Rei quickly scampered off.
He knocked timidly at Kai's door. Rei felt his heart sink a bit when there was no answer. He had been looking forward to seeing Kai again for some reason that he couldn't explain.
Rei opened the door and silently entered the room. The sight that awaited him took his breath away.
It was Kai... but he was fast asleep, slumped over his desk, head resting in his arms, his two toned hair tousled, framing his face which was wiped clear of all emotions, giving him an almost angelic look.
Rei held his breath, feeling as if he breathed he would break the moment. Hesitantly he approached the sleeping boy and gently placed the papers on his desk, far away from Kai's head.
Rei leaned on the doorway for a second, resisting the urge to brush away the slate coloured bangs away from the pale skin. He just stood and watched Kai sleep for a while, before turning away reluctantly and started to walk out the door.
He heard a small whimper behind him and whipped around, expecting to find someone else in the room.
Looking around, he saw that there was no one else in the room. Frowning, Rei turned away again. He could've sworn he had heard someone whimper.
Rei jumped- there it was again! This time, when he turned around, he heard another small moan of distress and was shocked when he saw that the sounds had been coming from Kai.
A frown had replaced the peaceful expression on his face before, and his mouth was set in a grim line.
Rei knelt by his side, peering at his face, not sure what to do- should he leave him alone and pretend that he hadn't heard or seen anything? No- he couldn't leave Kai- he was obviously in pain.
Rei hesitantly reached out and touched Kai's cheek. To his surprise- and pleasure- the blue haired boy leaned into his touch, obviously enjoying it. The frown disappeared, and Rei grinned, and stroked Kai's cheek comfortingly.
~*~
Kai had been lost in the shadows, stumbling around blindly, when suddenly light -beautiful, pure light- shone through, piercing the darkness with its rays.
He felt someone cup his cheek, and he leaned into the touch, knowing that it was all a dream, yet he didn't want to open his eyes and find nothing there.
He wanted this dream to last- yet they never did. The comforting presence had taken to stroking his cheek, making Kai sigh contentedly.
He sighed inwardly, and forced himself to open his eyes. He had to get on with his work. Voltaire would whip him again if he hadn't finished signing and sealing the documents.
Rei froze when he saw Kai's eyes open, and immediately withdrew his hand, holding his breath fearfully.
"My lord! I- I didn't mean-!" he broke off, and retreated a few steps.
Kai stared at him openly, not sure of what to say or do. Hesitantly he touched his own cheek, and felt the warmth that rolled off his skin in waves. Someone had been stroking his cheek. He was sure of it.
"You, slave, what-?" he demanded, all eloquency and calmness gone.
Kai watched as the expressions on Rei's face changed from nervous to petrified. The raven haired boy probably thought that he was going to punish him.
Kai smirked, though there was no hint of maliciousness or unkindness in it. "I'm not going to whip you. Now tell me, what happened?"
"I came... I came to drop off the papers." Rei stammered, not knowing why he felt so nervous. He was afraid of no one, especially not some lord. Some *beautiful* lord, his treacherous mind whispered.
"And you were having nightmares, I think." Rei was quickly regaining his confidence. "Are you alright, my lord?"
"I'm fine." Kai hesitated then pulled the neko jin close. "You tell no one of this, do you understand? Rei."
Rei jumped, startled, at the blue haired boy's use of his name. Kai couldn't help but smile. "That *is* your name, isn't it?"
Rei nodded, and smiled back, thinking about how gentler Kai's face seemed when he smiled.
There was the sound of a door slamming in a chamber close by and Kai hissed in surprise, and grabbed Rei, looking around wildly.
"Kai! I hope those documents are ready!" Voltaire's voice floated into their earshot, and Rei wondered why Kai seemed so nervous.
"Hide, you dolt, hide!" Kai hissed and shoved Rei under his desk. "Don't you dare say a word."
Rei nodded, his golden eyes wide and anxious in the shadows under the desk. He peered through a hole in the smooth, polished wood of the desk at the figure of Voltaire who stalked into the room.
He looked angry, and Rei could feel the muscles in Kai's leg, which was pressed against his cheek, tense up.
What was so wrong about meeting his grandfather? Rei wondered. Sure, the guy was scary, but there was no reason for him to hide!
Kai stood up and Rei immediately missed the warmth that the boy's legs had provided (a/n: for all the hentais out there... get your mind out of the gutter!).
"Here. These are all the documents." the sound of paper rustling drifted into Rei's earshot. It seemed that Kai had lured Voltaire to the other side of the room.
"Hn." Voltaire grunted. "Did that slave give you the papers that you needed?"
There was a pause, in which Rei presumed Kai nodded, since he heard Voltaire give a satisfied grunt.
"That slave... he's beautiful." there was an amused note in Kai's grandfather's voice.
"And?" Kai's voice was void of any emotion, but Voltaire noted that his grandson's fists were tightly clenched.
Kai wondered where the conversation was going. Perhaps Voltaire was playing with him, trying to get him to admit something he'd rather not. Kai didn't trust Voltaire one bit.
"There's been an offer for him. Around 700 gold nobles, just for one night." "Who?" Kai asked tightly. He had the urge to rip that person's head off their shoulders. How *dare* they try to take Rei away from him?
Kai started- since when had he called the slave by his name, and since when had Rei been *his*? Surely the prospect of money was better than protecting some slave?
Hidden under the desk, Rei bit his hand to stop from screaming. Oh Gods, he was going to be passed around all the lords as a whore...
"Lord Michael. Remember him? He saw the slave the other day and was wondering whether-"
"No." Kai snapped, knowing that he was going to regret saying so soon. Voltaire frowned, and he took a step forward, growling menacingly in the back of his throat.
"How dare you interrupt me, boy!" he yelled, and slapped Kai roughly, leaving a large, red imprint on the blue haired boy's face.
Kai stumbled back a few steps, but glared back at his grandfather. "I refuse to let him be used as Michael's concubine."
Rei bit down harder when he heard a loud crash, and the sound of a suppressed groan.
Blood dripped down his arm as he took out his anxiety on his hand. Kai was being beaten by his grandfather and he could do nothing about it. Rei gritted his teeth and a tear leaked out the corner of his eyes.
He had to help him. Kai was being beaten over him, and there he was- hiding like a coward.
Anger rose inside his chest, and his golden eyes thinned into tiny slits, his fangs lengthened and his nails sharpened (a/n: dunno if it actually happens in the anime, but I thought it'd be cool if he had claws as well ^- ^) into claws.
Rei slipped out from under the desk and launched himself at Voltaire, startling both him and Kai. He saw the look of horror on Kai's normally placid face and the look of absolute shock on Voltaire's face and grinned almost maniacally.
Voltaire put up a good fight, Rei had to admit, but the lord was old, and no match for Rei, the best fighter in all of the Forbidden Lands. Rei sunk his claws into Voltaire's skin, revelling in the man's howl of pain and anger, before jumping back and delivering a swift kick to the king's advisor's chest, winding him.
Rei knew that he was probably going to be killed. There was no way he was ever going to get away with attacking one of the most powerful men in the eastern lands.
And the Forbidden Lands as well, Rei mused to himself as he landed several quick punches and kicks to the half bent figure of Voltaire Hiwatari. Suddenly the old man struck back, surprising Rei, hitting him squarely on the chest, knocking the neko jin into the wall. Kai's grandfather suddenly pulled a knife out of his boot, and made to drove it into Rei's heart, but the raven haired boy twisted sharply, and it was buried deep into his shoulder instead.
Ignoring the stars that danced in front of his vision and the sharp pain in his shoulder, Rei pulled himself onto his feet and, with a fierce snarl, tackled Voltaire to the ground and slashed the flailing body swiftly, not sure of what he was doing, but just desperate to stop Voltaire from hurting Kai anymore.
He was dimly aware of someone pulling him back, but he kept on slashing away. Finally his senses returned to him, and Rei realised that what he thought was a struggling Voltaire in front of him was a mutilated body. Rei stared at it in shock, before he fell onto his knees, and buried his head in his hands.
"Oh Gods.. oh Gods... what have I done?" Rei whispered, drawing in shallow and rough breaths.
There was no way that he was going to get away with this. He was going to be tortured, then executed... he had just killed the King's closest advisor...
He felt two arms circle his slim body, and he flinched. Twisting around, he stared into Kai's compassionate crimson eyes.
"I- I didn't mean..."
"Thank you." Kai said softly, and hugged Rei gently, placing his hand in Rei's.
Rei gasped quietly. He had just killed the boy's grandfather in front of his eyes - sure, the old man had been abusing him, but still, they were family- and here he was, comforting him. And thanking him?
Suddenly the full impact of what he had done hit Rei, and he clutched Kai's hand tighter.
Voltaire was dead, gone. And he wasn't coming back.
He had killed the king's closest advisor and Kai's grandfather.
These thoughts flashing through his mind, Rei passed out.
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Well, I hope that is long enough... hehehe I killed Voltaire, ^-^ PLEASE REVIEW!!! And no flames please!!