Chapter 16
Neko-Jenn: The chapters are as long as they are for a reason - cliffhangers. Some are longer than others, and I've started writing them longer. 1,000 words is usually how long I make them. Hardly ever less.
Bluumberry: The chapter length of this is already set in place. The only thing you can beg longer chapters for are Ketsuron and Believe. I can tell you now that Believe has fairly longish chapters, and Ketsuron chapters are starting to grow in length, especially later on. And this fic is 40 chapters.
autumnburn: Good to hear.
BlazingPheonix: I only have snippets downloaded, the longest being 5mins long. Most are less than a minute, and pretty much all Japanese. Can't download the episodes. A 10MB file takes nearly 16 hours to download. --;; And they're not exactly related. Tala and Kai, yes, and Bryan's extended family... kinda...
Chaco and Lily: Tala loves messing with any mind more than Kai's. And amongst my list of plot bunnies is a fic where Kai, Tala and Bryan all turn out to be brothers but didn't know, and some guy is out to kill all the 'Hiwatari's'. May get around to writing that... one day...
Koneko no Rei: I agree. Most fics develop much too fast. I have little experience with relationships myself, but the single one I have been in, we circled each other for... lets see... five years? Took him less than a month to get doped out, drunk, and in bed with some other girl. Dropped him like a rock. So really, the people in my fics have better relationships than me. Even Kev and Lee in Honesty II. Then again, considering what's coming in Ketsuron... ((evil grin))
KuronekoHikage: AMV? What AMV? I want more Bryan!!! And I can't go .02 seconds without hentai/yaoi thoughts. I mean, I'm reading Hound of the Baskerville, a Sherlock Holmes story, and what does my yaoi mind do to Holmes and Watson? ((sigh))
babymar-mar: Ketsuron is the follow up fic to Honesty II, and the conclusion of this series. Ketsuron itself means 'conclusion'.
huh: Love the screenname. :D And I am flattered by your comments. Truly I am. I hope that you continue to enjoy the fics.
animeandraia: I like writing Tala, Kai and Bryan all with similar yet opposing senses of humour. Tala, in my eyes, enjoys making people squirm and gets a laugh when they blow up... like Tyson. Bryan is more sarcastic and likes a good prank every now and then. Kai likes seeing people he doesn't like squirm. Out of them all I think Tala would be the most witty... and not to mention gorgeous. ((swoons))
Prozacfairy: Doesn't take much to get Tyson going. :p
Ramen II: I actually say what happens to their money in Ketsuron, so you'll enjoy that. Take a guess who the spendthrift is ;)
lilmatchgirl007: I reckon he lost to piss Boris off. Same can be said for Bryan. And being an author I have to power to bring it out in my fics...
TNTiggris: Is it cute that he takes him around the world? Or was it what they did on the plane... :p
GemGemJoo: I suppose so...
dead yet a love sick puppy: Yours too? Only two weeks ago I was unable to use the computer for three days because of spyware. I was halfway through updating my fics too. Popups, programs, ads... I hate spyware. I had to upgrade Anti-Virus and Ad-Aware in order to get rid of it. We have good support here. Hope it doesn't happen to either of us again. Creators of spyware should be shot on sight. ((growls))
keisan: Kai won't say a word, no, and Tala knows that. He was just letting Kai in on the joke. And yes, Tala knows all about Bryan... :p
Kappy Locks: Indeed. At least the will is less complicated than the Ultimates thing in Into the Light.
kissybear: Kai and Tala are cousins. Kai's mother and Tala's father are brother and sister, so Kai is a descendent not only of the Hiwatari's, but also of the Ivanov's. And hopefully this next bit is to your taste. Bit of Ray...
Ashla: Fun they most certainly are. :D
Tariki Rania: Bryan can read people, and can tell what they're thinking, or, in Kai's case, denying. Kinda creepy, but useful.
Zap Cannon: Short chapter? ((points toward Eclipse)). There are short chapters. And Frozen is just as bad. And liked that line, did we? :p
First bits a dream sequence in case you're wondering.
Fire burned all around him, flames licking at his feet. He gasped, stepping back but unable to escape the glowing heat. Turning, he caught sight of a rock and ran toward it, but the sides were too steep. The flames grew higher, and he could feel pain moving through his body, biting into his flesh.
Feeling a breeze, he looked up, spotting a hand lowered toward him. He reached up, clasping it and allowing the other to draw him up onto the rock, up into their arms. He gasped, stomach churning at the closeness, a shiver moving through him as he saw the fire reflected in those unforgiving crimson orbs.
The other drew him closer, and he could feel the breath on his face, so soothing, before lips touched-
((------------------------------))
He gasped, blinking away the fuzziness of sleep from his eyes and mind. He reached up, touching his lips and glancing around. It was a dream. It had all been nothing more than a dream. Sighing, Ray settled back into the pillows, closing his eyes. What did it all mean? Why did he dream of being consumed by fire? Why had he dreamt it ever since that morning he had spent with Mariah…
He frowned. But… but the ending was new. In the past the fire had always defeated him, had roared over him and left him to the darkness of death. But ever since he had left the village and come to Japan he had dreamt of someone saving him, someone he did not know, could not place… until now.
Ray opened his eyes, staring up toward the roof. There was no doubt about it; it had been Kai. Kai had been the one to save him from the flames. But what had happened then…
Ray shivered, smiling faintly. For some reason the very thought of kissing Kai was… arousing. Even exciting. What made it strange was that Kai was a… well, a guy. Ray's smile faded. Yeah, that was a major problem, considering he knew for a fact that Kai was straight, just as he was.
Rolling onto his side, Ray let out a long breath. Maybe it was just the whole thing with Max and Tyson being gay. Made worse by the fact they had gone right ahead to question his feelings toward their team captain. Yet another problem: team captain. Not to mention Kai was a Russian, and once more on good terms with the Demolition Boys. Particularly Bryan, the very guy that had almost killed Ray during the last Championship.
Admittedly, Bryan hadn't exactly walked away from that final round either, or so Ray had seen from the footage from the round. It been almost five full minutes before Bryan had regained consciousness and collected the remains of his blade, returning to his teammates who hadn't even gone to help him. Ray frowned. Maybe they hadn't because Boris had been watching. He shrugged. Who knows? That was their problem, not his.
His problem was Kai.
Ray sighed, rubbing his eyes. Yeah, major problem that. Max and Tyson had already noticed that he was distracted, and it didn't help that they and Kenny kept leaving him alone with the 'Solitary Phoenix' as Bryan had so nicely put it. A smile flicked across Ray's lips as the image of the wooden phoenix played across his mind. He loved that carving. It was easy to see that the lavender haired teen had put a lot of effort into perfecting the sculpture, capturing the essence of the magnificent bird perfectly. It was kinda hard to believe Bryan could do that, but at the same time, it seemed so fitting.
That wooden phoenix hadn't been the only perfect thing in that room. Kai probably hadn't realised it, but those fan girls that had been tapping on the window of the restaurant hadn't just been singing out for Ray to notice them, but for Kai as well. The cold and distant captain of the Blade Breakers had always been one of the best looking bladers in the game, but now he was just a plain sex god.
Ray sighed dreamily, closing his eyes and picturing that perfectly shaped face, those burning crimson eyes, that two-tone hair that always seemed unruly and perfect at the exact same time. His body was so perfect, so muscular and curved…
Ray growled, shaking the thought off. What was he doing!? It was impossible, unthinkable! It would never come to pass. Ray would not let it come to pass. He was straight, and he intended to remain that way. He wouldn't allow himself to cave into foolish desires. So what if Kai saves him in his dream. So what if he and Kai kiss within his mind. It was all figments of his imagination, and it would remain that way. He did not have feelings for the Russian, just as Kai had no feelings for anyone.
Shuffling, Ray made himself more comfortable, closing his eyes and allowing sleep to catch up with him again.
((------------------------------))
"You can tell they're into each other."
Tyson nodded, sipping on his milkshake as he watched a man scurry out of a building, obviously late, only to trip over a crack in the pavement and fall to the ground, briefcase flying open and sending papers everywhere. Tyson snorted, milk spraying from his nose and causing him to swear softly as he set his drink down, reaching for a napkin.
Max bit back a smile and shook his head in sad amusement. "It's hard to believe so many people idolise you."
Tyson smiled sheepishly, looking away. "So what do you think we should do?"
"About what?"
"Kai and Ray."
Max frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure there is anything we can do. As I said, you can tell that they're into one another, but I don't think they realise that they're into one another."
Tyson nodded. "Yeah. I remember back when I first realised I liked you how I kept telling myself it was wrong cause you were a guy, a friend, and a teammate. They're probably doing the same thing."
"It would be worse for Ray. I mean, Kai is the team captain."
"Yeah. Kai is also stubborn."
"He's not as stubborn as you are."
"Oh lay off." Tyson gestured down. "I'm actually trying this diet thing, remember?"
"So maybe you listen every now and again." Max shrugged. "We can't force them, Ty. If we try to set them up, they will only put up more of a barrier between them and not to mention would likely try to kill us."
"Heh. You have a point." Tyson drummed his fingers on the tabletop, glancing out the window and seeing that the man had almost gathered all of his papers by now. "Ray's been back, what? Just over a week?"
"Almost two."
"Yeah. And we know that the moment those two laid eyes on each other they wanted each other. And that feeling of want can only be getting worse."
Max nodded. "Especially since they are living in the same apartment and see each other all the time."
"I'd hate to think what they dream about."
"They probably have cold showers."
"Hey, even I have to have cold showers." Tyson leant closer, lowering his voice. "We should try and get Kai and Ray to get Kenny out of the house again."
Max glanced around to make sure no one was listening before he leant forward. "And what's wrong with what we've been doing?"
"Nothing." Tyson smiled, remembering the 'other' reason they went to the movies. "It's just… I want to do that again."
"We can't, Ty. Kai helped us out once, but I doubt he'll do it again. Especially now Ray's gotten him to cut back on the training hours. Kai probably already figures he's doing us a favour, so to ask another one will…"
"Get us into shit," Tyson finished. "Yeah, you're right. I just wish… hey."
Max looked up. "What?"
"I just realised something." Tyson grinned, winking across at his lover. "When we're not training, where's Kenny?"
"Usually, he's at…" Max blinked. "The library. He spends his entire day at the library."
"And most of the time Kai and Ray head out as well."
"Yeah." Max smiled. "So what's the plan?"
"We leave the apartment as always and wait until they all leave, then head back in." Tyson grinned. "They won't suspect a thing!"
"Especially if we leave again by lunchtime." Max nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
"Yep. And it begins first thing tomorrow."
Ray's subconscious seems to be telling him something there. And why do I see something going wrong with Tyson and Max's plan? I mean, something may not, but you've got to remember their luck.