A/N: Hey! Thanks so much for the reviews! The boys are 15, and yes, I thought about putting Ty into heat, too, but hey, I'll rather see Ranma write that lemon! Who's with me? Let me hear you say yeeaaaahhh!!

(O)

Kai opened the door and frowned; he thought he heard bustling. The first thing he saw from the corridor was a pale, panicking face of Max who stood there, looking like a rabbit not knowing where to turn to flee from an upcoming car. Then the Russian saw Rei run across the living room.

"Here, Tyson, come here quickly!" he yelled.

"He won't move, he's too heavy!" Kenny whined, his voice sounding oddly muffled. Kai's eyes narrowed as he shrugged off his coat and scarf, letting them drop on the floor. Something was wrong. He walked towards the living room door, and when the blonde saw him, he approached his captain swiftly and blocked his way in.

"Hi Kai! Back already?" he asked, laughing nervously. Kai glanced over his shoulder.

"Yes." The dual-haired teen attempted to push past Max, but the younger boy grabbed his shoulders, stopping him.

"So, tell me about your day! What did you do? Where did you go?" Max asked, a tense cheerfulness in his voice. Rei ran back. Kai glared at Max. That was it. He pushed roughly past the American and entered the living room. One of the armchairs was hooded with a gigantic quilt. Kai saw Kenny's feet sticking out at the bottom. He glanced at Rei who was trying to lean against the wall as casually as possible, managing to look incredibly awkward.

"Are Kenny and Tyson under that blanket?" he asked. Rei's eyes widened.

"Aaah, why don't you… go make yourself something to eat? I bet you're starving, huh?" he suggested, motioning towards the kitchen. Max grabbed the hem of Kai's shirt.

"Yeah, let's go," he joined in. Kai showed his hand away in irritation, grabbed the quilt and yanked it on the floor with one fast, powerful tug. Tyson stared at him with wide, surprised eyes, a bit stunned about the sudden light. His hair was mussed and all over the place, but what really caught Kai's attention were the ears. The captain's mouth opened slightly. Then he turned to the others and smirked.

"So, now his little Halloween surprise is ruined. Was it really worth the goddamn fuss?" he mocked. Rei and Max looked oddly serious. They glanced at each other.

"It's not a costume, Kai," Max said, "He actually turned like that last night. He's got a tail and everything." Kai cocked a grey brow in distaste and turned to look at Tyson again, who hadn't taken his eyes off the Russian.

"Yeah, sure. Am I supposed to believe that, Tyson?" he asked. The ponytailed boy's ears twitched at hearing his name, and Kai's heart nearly skipped a beat. 'Holy sh…!' Kai's eyes widened and he looked at his teammates, swallowing hard. Rei shifted his weight slightly.

"Maybe you should… give him your hand slowly, so he won't get scared," the Chinese suggested. Kai turned to look into Tyson's cautious eyes, peeping at him from behind the seat. Slowly, he extended a hand towards the bluenette, who sniffed his fingers carefully, then his knuckles and wrist.

"Tyson?" Kai muttered quietly, and the teen looked up at him immediately, his tail rising a little.

"Meoow…" Tyson pressed his face down and pushed his head against Kai's hand, who looked a bit nervous.

"What am I supposed to do?" Kai grumbled. Max grinned.

"Pet him." Kai blushed.

"What?!"

"Stroke him, he has to bond with you," Rei explained neutrally, but there was a hint of laughter in his voice. Kai slid his hand through Tyson's silky hair, tracing the shape of his skull back to the neck, and jumped suddenly at the foreign rumbling sound.

"Aaaw, you made him purr," Max giggled. Kai blinked. He kept stroking the hair out of Tyson's closed eyes and scratching behind the blue ears, the purring growing louder by second. 'This is actually kinda nice…' Kai thought when Tyson nuzzled his palm and licked it once. Kai looked up and realised everyone was staring at him. He pulled his hand away quickly and took a step back. Tyson opened his eyes in confusion.

"I, well, someone else play with him," he grumbled and walked in the corridor. He picked up his coat and scarf and hung them before removing his shoes. He had to wait for the damn heat on his cheeks to disappear. Kai turned around and saw Tyson had left the armchair and was standing in the doorway on all four, staring at him. His tail was high in the air, demanding attention. Kai let out an exasperated sigh.

"What? What do you want?" he asked. Tyson tiptoed to him light-heartedly and started to circle his legs, nuzzling his knees and shins. Kai grabbed the bathroom doorframe for support so Tyson wouldn't knock him over.

"Uh…"

Rei, Max and Kenny had gathered to the door.

"We don't know what happened. We haven't been able to find anything like this anywhere," Kenny sighed, "For the first time in my life, I really feel helpless." Max patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"We'll figure it out. And hey, at least we can now control his eating somehow!" he joked.

"Great," Kai muttered, rolled his eyes and walked in the kitchen. He had to get away from the others for a little while to digest this whole mess. The captain started taking out ingredients for a tuna sandwich. He wasn't really hungry, but he had to do something. 'I go away for a few hours and the Tyson I know and avoid vanishes without a trace. What the hell happened? Rei is the only connection I see to this, but how…? He doesn't even know what happened…' Suddenly Kai felt a pair of eyes on him and looked down.

"No chance in hell. Bugger off," he told Tyson, who didn't seem to get the message at all and kept staring at the tuna can. Kai mixed some dried tomatoes and spices in a bowl with virgin olive oil and a drop of lemon juice before adding the tuna to it. Then he took the two toasted slices of bread and smeared the stuff on them carefully.

"Meooo…"

"I said get lost." Kai took his plate and walked in the living room, Tyson following him keenly. The captain sat on the couch and Tyson hopped next to him. The Japanese sat down nice and calm and just stared at Kai. Kai's nose wrinkled and he grabbed the bread, lifting it to his mouth. 'So he's trying the out-tiring technique. Not gonna work on me.' He took a bite and chewed awkwardly, stealing a quick glance at the Neko. Tyson's eyes were big and blue and sparkling, and he licked his lips once.

'Not gonna work on me.' Kai swallowed hard and took another joyless bite.

"Nreeooouurrr…" Tyson mewled throatily, shifting slightly. Kai glared at him.

"Go lick your crotch or something," he spat, mouth full of food, and some of the tuna flew on the sofa. Tyson bent over quick as lightning and licked the escaped treat away. Kai stared at the scene in disbelief. Tyson straightened up, his eyes lidded, and leaned closer to Kai, purring loudly.

"Oh, cut it out. You know I didn't mean to give it to you," Kai grumbled. Tyson's eyes closed and he purred even louder.

"I don't think he's buying your act," Rei chuckled from the table. He and Max were looking over Kenny's shoulders, trying to find something useful on the web. Kai cast him a nasty look.

"How about you just focus on your net porn and leave me alone?" he muttered, making Rei blush and turn away. Kai noticed Tyson had inched even closer while he was looking at the others.

"Nice try." Kai started to eat his toasts in quite a hurry; he felt very uncomfortable with Tyson staring at his every bite. Once he was done, he put the plate on the coffee table and dusted his hands. Smirking, Kai leaned closer to a betrayed looking Tyson.

"Now what?" he teased lowly. Tyson's gaze sunk to Kai's mouth where the beautiful tuna smell was floating from. He closed the distance between them and licked Kai's lips.

A furious blush exploded all over Kai's pale cheeks.

"Uuuh… urgh… ah-ah, uh…u-uh…" Tyson licked his lips again and Kai pounced up like he was shot in the ass. Rei, Kenny and Max looked up.

"What's the matter?" Max asked. Kai ran a shaky hand through his bangs.

"Nothing," he spat and walked in the kitchen, not looking at the others. Tyson looked confused, licking his lips.

(O)

It was close to midnight. Kai had been stalling going to bed, while the others were long since asleep. Well, except for Tyson, who followed Kai everywhere. Kai had nearly gotten a heart-attack when he had stepped out of the shower and saw Tyson sitting in the middle of the bath room floor, having observed his whole showering routine in peace and quiet. It took Kai a moment to remember Tyson wasn't aware of his nudity, and he finally managed to calm down.

It would take him a lot longer to forget about the licking incidence, though.

Kai looked up from his paperback at the younger teen. Tyson was curled up by his feet at the other end of the sofa. Suddenly Kai heard a chuckle.

"I dunno, Kai. I dunno what you've got. He sure hates me." Kai looked at the Chinese leaning against the doorframe. Rei walked to him and showed his bruised wrist to the Russian.

"Damn glad he doesn't have real claws," he chuckled quietly. Kai snorted and cast his book aside.

"This isn't much better," he consoled, "I think my feet are asleep." He tried to pull his right foot from under Tyson's stomach, but the sleeping Neko slapped a hand over it and nuzzled the foot. Kai tried to silence a giggling Rei with a glare. The captain tried again, but Tyson pressed his fangs tenderly on his shin. The raven-haired teen grinned broadly.

"I don't think he wants you to move," he chimed. Kai sighed in exasperation and leaned back.

"Great," he huffed. "Did you find anything?" Rei got serious.

"Nope." They were silent for a while, both watching the sleeping bluenette. Rei really didn't see Kai's next comment coming.

"You know, just because this is a hotel, doesn't mean you can live like pigs. I found an absolutely gross glass this morning on the kitchen counter. Any chance it was yours?"

"Oh, you mean the half-empty with the green stuff in it?" he asked. Kai frowned.

"It wasn't half-empty. There was just a little something on the bottom," Kai corrected. Rei's eyes widened. 'Hang on. The glass. Tyson changing. Five bags of chips!'

"Kai!" Rei gasped, making Tyson start abruptly and stretch. "I think I know what happened! That stuff was mine, my spring herbs, there was some left, but when you saw it, it was empty, so Tyson must have had the rest, I mean, he ate so much chips!" Kai gave him an odd look.

"What herbs?" Rei blushed and looked away.

"Well, we Neko-jins, uh… let's just say we get this condition every spring, and if we're not in the home village, we have to suppress it by taking this herb drink. I think Tyson had some."

"What condition? And why would it turn Tyson into a cat?" Kai asked suspiciously. Rei bit his lower lip.

"Heat, and I have no idea, I guess I should write Lee and ask," Rei said quickly. Kai stared at the other.

"Heat?"

"Uh-huh." Rei nodded, his face beet-red.

"So, I'll write Lee first thing tomorrow and maybe he'll be able to give us some answers… or preferably an antidote." Rei and Kai walked in the bedroom, a grumpy Tyson following them; he didn't enjoy his sleep being interrupted. Rei slid next to Max, and Kai went in his own bed that was next to Max and Rei's. Tyson jumped on Kai's bed and curled up in a ball next to his legs. The slate-haired teen turned on his stomach, and suddenly something hit him.

"Rei?" he whispered.

"What?"

"Why don't we e-mail or phone him? It'd be faster."

"He doesn't have a PC or phone. Rural village, remember?" Kai groaned.

"Great. How long is it gonna take for him to get your letter?"

"A week and a half, maybe two."

"What?!" Kai hissed.

"Well, it's in China, so it takes a while, OK?"

"But you're saying that we have to deal with this situation for possibly a month?" Kai growled lowly. "I don't believe this! What on-" Suddenly Kai felt something. A weight on somewhere his body. His ass, to be exact. Slowly, Kai turned his horrified eyes to look behind him. Tyson had put both hands on his butt and was massaging it, his eyes closed, purring. Kai's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What the fuck is he doing?!" he hissed. Rei grinned.

"He's baking you." Kai gave Rei a very dangerous look.

"Baking me??"

"It's because your tone is so tense. He's trying to comfort you. It's a kitten reaction of some sort; when they're little and feeding of their mother, they're pressing the tits to get more milk out. It's some kind of mother-child-bonding thing. Basically, he feels your anxiety and wants to soothe you by… uh…"

"By rubbing my ass?!" Kai growled, his face tomato-red. Rei grinned.

"Well, yeah… bottom line."

"If you think that's funny, try waking up at 04:30 to train, Rei," came the warning. The Chinese grinned and pulled the blanket over his head. Kai glared over his shoulder at Tyson, trying feverishly to figure out how to make him stop (and master the self-control to make him stop, too).

"Tyson!" Kai hissed, "Stop it!" The Japanese opened his eyes sluggishly, but continued squeezing and pressing the round globes in a second. Kai's face sunk in the pillow. 'This isn't happening…'

"Tyson, stop that right now!" Kai hissed again, louder this time.

"You have to use a softer tone if you want to convince him," Rei yawned, having pulled his cover down. "Otherwise he'll just keep going… unless that's what you want?" Kai gave Rei the evil eye and swallowed his pride.

"Tyson, c'mere," he whispered, patting the pillow next to him, "C'mon! Good boy!" Tyson stopped slowly and looked at Kai, staggering sleepily, his eyelids drooping. Kai patted his pillow.

"C'mere Ty, c'mon." Tyson left Kai's butt and crawled up his back, slumping heavily next to Kai, his hand draped over the captain's shoulder blades. Kai sighed and turned his face in the other direction; he didn't want to look at Tyson's face from such close distance. In the middle of the night. In the same bed. The dual-haired teen groaned and tried to pull further away from Ty, but the tightening grip of a hand and the feel of fangs pressing into his shoulder warningly told him not to.

"Heh heh… I guess he doesn't want his pillow to move," Rei chuckled.

"04:30 training session, Rei."

"Oh, Ok, Ok."

Soon, the only sound left was Tyson's soft purring against Kai's neck, and the captain let himself be lulled to sleep by it.

TBC…