Chapter Three
Mortal Sins

The fierce flames tore greedily at the offering, a bundle of papers. In gratitude for the gift, the fire returned the favor by destroying the sacrifice until only charcoal embers remained.

"At last that demolishes any final reasons for fear." An elderly man chuckled passionately and leaned against the back rest of his large satin chair, a selfish smile toying on his lips. Eyes closed and hands held folded in his lap the man was the perfect image of regal power. However truth be told his intentions were anything but.

"I must say Mr. Kalma," he paused opening his eyes to face the shorter man directly left. "I had my doubts that you could ever pull this off, however it appears I was mistaken. Very well done."

"And for my reward?" Mr. Kalma asked nervously, shifting his eyeglasses up his slender nose.

"Yes about that." Voltaire replied raising an eyebrow to the man sitting across from him.

"All in due time." Boris replied for his master gesturing a nod for respect.

"It must be made sure that our plan goes as followed, which only instates that Kai still has to return his residence to my overlook."

"I understand sir." Mr. Kalma replied.

"As for the medical papers, that was a stroke of ingenious my dear man." He spoke directly to Boris whom was overwhelmed by such a positive commendation.

"Thank you Voltaire." He replied with a shallow bow, which was followed by a smug look in the lawyer's direction. "It was difficult to reinstate the effects of Kai's medical insurance, however with the certain motivations," he was of course referring to threats. "They seemed more than happy to claim Kai's insanity." He smirked.

"But Voltaire?" Mr. Kalma questioned looking away into the fire to study the dispersing testimonies. They had been the exact documents Kai had been planning to use as evidence to prove his Grandfather's guilt. The precise which he had been gathering for over five years. The same which he had reluctantly handed over to the believed loyal lawyer to claim justice. "How did you know he would break like that?"

"I always knew of his petty love for Tala. I just chose to ignore it, knowing I could use the knowledge later to my benefit." He paused embracing his own uncanny wits, which had saved him many a time before including that very day in the courtroom. "He is smart, and very calm for his age. I raised him to feel nothing, and I knew it would be difficult to receive a reaction from him, however not impossible. All I required was an emotion to pinpoint and dwell off, so he would react the way he did, it only added to my earlier accusation. It all depended on if as usual he would follow the unpracticed plan, or if he had gained a new intelligence to avoid my confrontation. Tala was something he could hardly deny nor turn away from."

"So than you killed Tala?" Mr. Kalma asked slightly intrigued, though he knew as a political man himself, he too could be accused of the death if caught over hearing such murderous confessions.

"Of course not." Voltaire laughed whole heatedly, ignoring the way Boris eye's slid away from the conversation, allowing his gaze to trace the pattern on the carpet. "We could not have one of our best destroyed so simply, now could we Boris?"

"No sir, we couldn't" He replied obediently.

"Than where is Tala?" The lawyer asked watching the storm cloud haired man as he avoided the topic. Once again Mr. Kalma's eyes took on the appearance of those greedy for information or scandal, whatever it was he wished to refer to it as.

"Now, Now Mr. Kalma. If I told you that I would have to kill you." Voltaire told the impatient businessman taking a deep sip from a glass of red wine next to him. Mr. Kalma laughed in response.

"Very humorous Mr. Hiwatari."

"You think it a joke?" Voltaire asked intrigued by the man's ability to trust.

"You mean it's not?" Mr. Kalma appeared slightly shaken by the sternest of the words.

"Of course not. You are dismissed." Voltaire told the anxious man not bothering to face him eye to eye again. "And for you reward. It will arrive soon, I'll send him to you the minute I'm through." He smiled, though the false play of his lips hardly reached his unrecognizably cold stare as he wished the lawyer a good night and returned his own gaze to the fire.

"After I'm through." He repeated to himself as Boris also exited the room.

-----

Life. It was like a drug. As it coursed through your veins you could constantly feel it's effects, the fixed high strengthening your body, keeping one motivated, giving with the will to live. What is one without the drug? Dead, or as close to it is as to desire death.

Tala needed the drug. He always needed the drug except in his case his drug was given the alteration. His drug was artificially prescribed to him in the method of sadism. It was only that which kept him alive. Even if he had wanted to die the need for such drug kept him carrying on which was strictly what it was designed to do. He awaited his confinements for his drug.

It was so cold. The wall held nothing for him, it was simply support, the basis of his existence where his days begun and ended, and only for a few hours each day was he aloud to break free of the chains. It was on one of these occasions that he had attempted to end his life. But he had come. Soothed him, convincing that death could hardly be worth ending ones life. Determined to fight the thickening words as they imprinted burning influence into his mind he felt it difficult to overcome the desire. Once again as always he was taken than and there.

There was so much pain each time he was taken, and at one time he would joke that it was merely a loss of innocence but now it was so much more. Tala wished he could be innocent. He almost even wished he didn't know pain. Wished he were not so strong as to attract those who craved the power. And as always wished he once again had Kai's fire to alight his life.

That was his chosen drug, the fire that Kai had always surrounded him in. The contradiction to his endless cold. It was only Kai who would bring warmth to his frozen soul. Kai was his drug. His withdrawal was the loss of the love he had so much cared for. Selfishly he wished the young crimson- eyed boy would come before him again. He dreamed that one day Kai would return and take down the walls of imprisonment. It was the only dream he had left of his darkness of nightmares. Even in sleep the nightmares taunted him until all he had left was they, and punishment. Nightmares and punishment it was an endless cycle.

A touch. Gentle. The change caused him to flinch away. He was so used to the harsh affection that the gentle touch of ones finger stroking his left cheek caused him to fearfully shy away trying to escape the impossible dream. Afraid to open his eyes to see truly only a horror to await him, he did just that to show up the fear.

"Boris." He gasped surprised to see the middle aged man standing before him with a sad smile decorating his worn aged face.

"Shhh my child. Listen to me." He hushed Tala by placing his finger to the vermilion haired boy's soft lips. Outside a loud noise caught both the captive's attentions as they turned abruptly towards the door in which Boris had entered.

All at once Boris' attitude changed as Voltaire entered the room. Turning to gaze into Tala's own alarmed azure colored eyes, he shook his head just slight, his expression filled with pre-regret.

"Boris?" Voltaire asked questioning his right handed man's authority. Boris nodded in response than turned away from Tala so he didn't have to see the emotion in the boy's broken expression. Than he struck the enslaved youth causing him to cry out slightly from pain before sighing into deep regression.

"Very well, I'll leave you to your own compensation." He smiled obviously pleased by Tala's abuse, and left the room.

The minute the room had been returned to it's previous state, Boris fled his touch to the befallen boy who once again shied away.

"Why do you do this to me?" He demanded not yet returning his guardian's gaze. "Time after time you treat me with either care or hate." He hesitated at last raising his involuntarily teary eyes to Boris' level. "I don't understand, which is it?"

"You are mine." Boris stated. "I wish to protect you for myself. Also it hurts me to see you like this." He paused hardly wishing to give up his act now, grasping Tala's cheek in his right hand he cupped the feature carefully yet firmly and brought his face close to Tala's. "You haven't performed as well without the knowledge of Kai's nearness."

"I'm just glad he is away from the pain and suffering only you and Voltaire lash out." He shot at Boris almost spitting out his words with anger. "Stay away from him. You promised his safety in return for my loyalties."

"All well and said, however..." Boris paused again turning away. "Kai is returning." Than he reached up and carefully unlocked each chain restraining Tala's near perfect body to the wall and helped the fatigued boy to the bed. "I thought that might help you sleep at night."

"What!" Tala's voice rang with a conjecture of fear and desire. "No."

"Is that not what you want."

"I don't want him back here." Tala cried out.

"You are completely ungrateful!" Boris once again backhanded the fragile boy, pressing him back towards the bed so that he was in no position to escape. All traces of the earlier sympathetic man were lost in anger as he began to ease his victim into the familiar pain.

-----

Outside the sleet continued to fall as Kai drew the blankets up closer around both Rei and himself. He tried with failure to keep out the nightmares, that hung so thick in the dark hotel room it made it hard for the crimson eyed boy to breath.

The abbey. It haunted every nightmare of every stage of his life. It seemed so long ago when it was the perfect solution to place a young orphaned boy with no one but his Grandfather left for him. When he was a boy of three years of age, his Grandfather painted the setting of a school. A school where young boys worked hard side by side to establish perfection. The man he was to call Grandfather had shown the young Kai pictures. Beautiful pictures of parks and fields where the boys would play in their free time. The fields and parks had existed, only they existed as battlegrounds. Instead of what the younger version of himself thought would be games, he was taught the basis of war and hate, the art of hiding emotion and showing no mercy. Had that been the way of perfection that even as a young child he had craved?

A cold shiver ran down his spine causing him to grip the sleeping boy in his arms tighter. The day had been long, and as exhausted as he was he could not sleep nor did he bother to move Rei who had fallen into dreams in Kai's lap. It was almost comforting to have him there.

When he was thirteen, he was given the chance of freedom or so he thought. Pushing aside all memories he seemed to have completely forgotten the abbey all together. He was unaware that he had been manipulated as spoken, into forced thought patterns. It was merely training. However it was in this time that Kai sought out independence and instead had somehow managed to have himself devoted to the Bladebreakers. Voltaire hadn't counted on that. This Kai knew, he hadn't counted on Kai's strength to overcome the power cravings of the offerings, nor the strength of his team to defeat Biovolt. However Kai hadn't counted on Voltaire's wits and now he was to pay the price, and Black Dranzer had definitely been hard to deny, he cringed at the memory.

The abbey had been traumatizing enough, however with Tala it might have even been considered bearable, but with out the ice blue eyed boy, Kai thought of himself only being led into another nightmare. The only reason he didn't end life now was to avenge Tala's death.

"Kai." The voice startled the leader from his train of thought as he realized the sleeping boy had awoken. "I've been thinking." Kai didn't bother to respond as the neko like boy shifted in his arms to face the fiery crimson gaze of his companion. "What is the truth. I mean about Tala."

Why did Rei want to know? Kai questioned himself besides he already understood the answer didn't he.

"He died. End of story." Kai like being blunt it saved a lot of troubles when confronted by harsh reality.

"How?" Rei inquired nuzzling his face into Kai's chest and wrapping his slender arms around the slated haired boy.

Kai sighed knowing it was now or never.

"We were trying to escape. The two of us, Tala and I, were on our way to destroy my Grandfather once and for all."

"You mean you were really planning on killing him?" Rei seemed almost shocked by the truth, which Kai couldn't comprehend, it seemed so obvious to him. "Of course what did you expect?"

"Kai." Rei answered breathlessly slightly disturbed by the truth.

"Listen Rei you wanted the truth." Kai glared down, amongst the darkness all of a sudden disgusted by how the ebony haired boy was taking Kai's past. He always wanted to know the facts, so here they were. Why did Rei now, after so much patience, why now did he withdraw from Kai?

"Yes. I'm Sorry. Continue." Rei told Kai, trying to hide his impetuous fear of his leader.

"Things were going from bad to worse. After I returned following the championships, Tala was to be punished for failing his team and I was to be punished for allowing myself to obtain the relationships I had with you and the Bladebreakers. If we didn't react soon to our retributions, Tala and I were to be separated, forever."

"It was Tala wasn't it?" Rei interrogated. "Tala was the person you loved."

"Yes Rei." Kai felt no reason to hide the truth for his present companion's benefit. "And know, that I still would if he were alive."

"Then why did you," Rei paused and swallowed deeply, turning away from Kai in the same irresistible fear. "Why did you kill him?" He whispered the words.

"WHAT!?!" Kai shouted at the boy, who immediately cowered away, amber eyes shining wide in the night. "Rei perhaps you don't understand me!" He cried out placing his hands on Rei's shoulders and drawing the boy towards him. "Voltaire killed Tala! Not me! I loved him! I would never hurt him! I would never hurt anyone I loved."

Rei nodded but seemed to doubt the truth for the fierce look in Kai's eyes now seemed to betray the honour that he would never hurt anyone. His fire filled orbs burned with hatred and pain. The type of agony that seemed to want to be created not hid from. Rei was for the first time scared of Kai and showed that by struggling away.

"You don't believe me do you?" Kai asked looking away trying to calm himself.

"Of course I do." However Rei's frightened gaze betrayed him.

"Fine than." Kai shoved Rei to the side and gathered a couple of items into a small bag, which he could toss over his shoulder. Tying his scarf securely around his neck he also pulled on a heavily lined jacket to protect him from the rain and cold. At last he turned to face pair golden pools, before reaching and picking up his beloved Dranzer blade from the bedside table. The blade now safely in his hand, submitted the room to darkness from the absent warm light supply, that had been illuminating the room previously.

"I can't be with those who mistrust me any longer." The crimson-eyed boy paused. "If you can't trust me to tell you the truth, than how can I trust you." He shook his head once again in disgust. "Good bye Rei." Not waiting for a response he left.

Kai felt he should have seen this coming and not even managing to wonder what he would do if Rei followed him, his thoughts were led back to the following night when the golden gazed youth hadn't even returned to their shared room.

This was it.

There was nothing left for him.

Now he had lost it all.

Luckily it was raining, for anyone passing by might simply mistake his uncontrolled tears for the natural dampness.