By Nyassa Kaiba
Notes: I've changed my mind, I'll make this fic a Re/Ka. So sue me, I lied.
The next evening Kai managed to put together disguises for them when the Blade Breakers went out to the Stalingrad Café. He had even managed to cover up the triangles on his face with make up. It was uncomfortable, it felt like somebody had caked mud on his cheeks, but it worked. He wore leather pants instead of his cargoes and a blonde wig. He also wore a Slytherin T-shirt. That last touch had been Rei's, though where he had gotten it Kai had NO idea. "You look so sexy." Rei said with a smirk. "You're gonna have the girls all over you."
"Nobody's all over anybody at Stalingrad." Kai growled. "And that's the last thing that I need."
"Your face." Tyson giggled. "It just… I mean, you don't look like Kai. You look like… I don't know, but not like Kai."
"The triangles would stick out like a beacon, and I don't want the Demolition Boys down on my neck." Kai pointed out. "You look weird yourself in that red wig." He pointed out the silky red wig that Tyson had put in a low quip.
Rei rolled his eyes. "Pardon me for being frank, but the two of you make one weird pair."
"Ha." Tyson knocked Rei's wig off of his head. "You don't exactly look like a fruit basket yourself, and nowhere near as tasty." He clapped both hands over his mouth. "I didn't mean it that way! I swear I didn't!"
Rei batted his eyelashes at Tyson. "Don't worry, I didn't take it the wrong way." He pulled a red sox hat over his eyes. "How about now, do you recognize me?"
"I would if I already knew." Tyson observed, giving both Rei and Kai a critical eye. "Kai, you forgot to take off your scarf."
"I feel bare without it." Kai complained.
"You were the one who said we had to go in disguise." Max pointed out. He wore a brown haired wig over his unruly blonde hair. He also wore black leather pants and a tight black muscle shirt. Over that he wore a black and red leather jacket. "Nice." He checked himself in a mirror. "I hope they don't recognize me."
"Max you look gorgeous." Tyson grinned, glomping him. "Now all you need is a pair of boobs and you'd look like a girl!"
Max flushed. "That wasn't the look I was going for."
Kenny laughed. "I'll be working on the readings that we got last time we met the Demolition Boys, but have fun."
"You too Chief!" Tyson said with a jaunty wave over his shoulder.
The Stalingrad was crowded. It was hard to believe that there were this many bladers in Balkov Abbey. But here they were. Most of them were boys, but there were quite a few girls. Coaches sat on the sidelines sipping martinis. Kids toasted milkshakes and local sodas. A DJ was blasting and there were several Beydishes with crowds around them. Every so often a cheer would go up from one of the dishes and the crowd would surge forward or back. There was a dance floor with couples swaying back and forth to some kind of hip hop song.
The bartender at the juice bar scrutinized the blade breakers before taking their order. A coach was sitting a few seats down. She was dressed in Army green cargo pants and a black tank top and had short, dark blue hair with a long fringe down the back. She was talking to another coach and saying. "Honestly, with the trouble my girls get into I'm surprised they don't break their fucking necks. You're so lucky, the Demolition Girls are such perfect angels."
The old woman, (Kai was shocked to realize it was his grandmother) talking to her nodded. "But Vesta, Team Tide is tops on the scoreboard!"
"Tops on the scoreboard but gods they've got an attitude." She took a long drink of the sherry in her glass. "Bartender! Get me another sherry, this one's out!"
Vesta, the infamous and impudent coach of Team Tide and Team Flame. The Flames were a boys team and the Tides were an all girl's team. The two of them were in constant rivalry. Matches between them happened every few days. Two other heated abbey rivals were the Dragons and the Phoenix Team. "So how's Nyassa doing?"
"Right as rain and raring to go." Kai's grandmother replied. "I've managed to shield her from some of the atmosphere in the abbey. She'll be much more compassionate than Tala. I've made sure of that."
"Sylvia, I hope you're prepared. The coming battle will be very hard on them. Diana's taken it in stride, but she gets to talk to Robert on the phone sometimes. Natari though… I hear she hasn't seen her twin Michael since they were four."
Tyson choked on his soda. "Twin? Michael has a twin?"
"She's taking it really hard. She knows that Michael's here in Moscow, but I don't think they've run into each other yet."
"It would be awful, in the coming war, if Natari had to fight against Michael."
"Yes it would, and if they saw each other, would they even remember each other?" Asked Kai's grandmother. "I take the best care of Natari that I can, but Diana said that the poor girl couldn't get to sleep last night. And Carola, Carola is as impudent as always." Kai's grandmother took a sip of the red wine that she preferred.
"Come on Tyson, I want you to dance with me." Max dragged Tyson off. "Hey, where did Rei go?"
….
Bryan shoved Rei up against the wall of the equipment room. "I knew it was you kitten. You could at least have hidden those orange eyes of yours." The wig had come loose on the dance floor just as he had brushed by where Tala and Bryan were grinding.
"Easy Bryan." Tala warned. "Just rough him up, I requested our song a while back and it should be coming on any second."
"No, I wanna play with him a bit." Bryan smirked.
Rei shivered. Bryan smelled of jasmine, a smell that the Neko-jin had always found tantalizing. "Oh you like that?" Demanded Bryan. "I didn't know any of the Blade Breakers were queer. Let's see how you like this." Bryan dug his hand into Rei's crotch. Rei whimpered softly, helpless in his grasp.
"Bryan that's enough!" Tala warned.
"No, this is enough." Bryan said, locking his lips to Rei's.
Rei felt a jolt of pleasure run down his spine. He struggled to get free, but the older boy had him pinned to the wall. He felt Bryan's tongue slip into his mouth and bit on it. Bryan slipped back with a growl. "Bryan that's enough." Tala's voice pleaded with his koi from somewhere beyond Rei's field of vision.
"I'm sorry Tal-kun. I couldn't resist." Bryan smirked as they walked away.
Rei curled up on the floor of the equipment room, whimpering. "I'm not queer." He whispered to himself, looking down at his hands. "At least I don't THINK I am."
It was fifteen minutes later that Kai found Rei, curled up and whimpering. "Rei!" He cried.
"Kai." Rei sighed, snuggling into Kai's arms. Kai found the bruises on his neck where Bryan had gripped him, took in the swollen lips. "Gods, what's happened to you?" Kai demanded.
"Bryan… he and Tala caught me. My wig fell off when I passed them. They dragged me here. And Bryan… he… he kissed me…" Rei burst into tears. "And I liked it and he called me queer and I don't think that I'm gay but I liked it and I know I shouldn't."
"It's okay Rei… It's gonna be okay." Kai said, pulling Rei into his arms. "I know you, you've bounced back from worse challenges than this."
"Where are the others?" Rei sniffed.
"Tyson and Max are just outside, keeping an eye open for the Demolition Boys or Boris." He sniffed. "Voltaire never hangs around the café." That wasn't the point and Kai knew it. How could he get Rei to stand up to Bryan after this. And Rei, gay? Okay, the neko-jin had set off his Gaydar from the first, but that was beside the point. "Bryan… touched you?"
Rei nodded, choking back another sob. "And I liked it." He said, bursting into tears again.
"Shh…"
"Kai-Koron?" (editor's note: Clone) Asked a female voice from outside. "It's Nyassa, is everything okay?"
"Go away Nyassa." Kai growled as his clone came in.
Nyassa shook her head. "You sounded like you and your friend were in real trouble." Nyassa insisted.
"Yeah, Bryan molested my teammate." Kai sneered.
"Well don't blame me for his behavior. I'm not even on his team." Nyassa pointed out.
"Who's this?" Rei asked, curious.
Nyassa made a clucking noise with her tongue. "You mean you didn't tell them about me?" Nyassa demanded. "Shame on you, your own sister." Nyassa did indeed have the same blue hair as Kai, cut in the style that Vesta had used, with wild bangs that stuck out everywhere. She had the same blue triangles on her face as Kai and the same crimson eyes. She looked exactly like him, only feminine. Nyassa was Kai's clone, but the two of them agreed that Nyassa should pass off as Kai's younger sister. "Oniisan, don't you need help?"
"I don't need anybody's help thank you." Kai growled as he helped Rei to stand.
Rei let out a hiccup as he choked back tears. "Who's this Kai?"
"I'm Kai's younger sister, Nyassa. I'm captain of the Demolition Gurlz." Nyassa replied. "And I wish we had met in better circumstances."
"Leave us alone." Kai growled.
"And aren't we the pre-Madona all of a sudden." Nyassa growled, hands on her hips. "Fine, I'll leave you alone, and let the teams pick on you and Rei because he lost his cover."
Kai growled and lashed out at her. "I don't need your help."
"Okay, I'm gonna hang around anyway." Nyassa said with a smirk. "Just to annoy you."
"Can't you EVER leave me alone? I never wanted you in my life. Is it bad enough that you had to be introduced to me in the first place?"
"Now wait just a fucking minute…. It's not my fault that Voltaire decided to be an asshole."
"No, but it's time that YOU stopped being one." Kai growled.
"Why I outta."
"This is SO not the time!" Max snapped, he and Tyson had been standing on the periphery of this argument. "Rei, come on, get your wig back on. We gotta get out of here."
"yeah." Rei sounded tired. "Yeah I'll get out." He pulled the wig on. Rei tried to stand and fell over.
Nyassa caught him. "Easy there Tiger." She grinned impudently at the pun.
"Not funny Nyassa." Kai growled.
"Oh yeah its funny, it's as funny as Hell as it was shown in Dante's Inferno."
"Which isn't funny at all." Max pointed out.
"Who was Dante?" Tyson asked, curious.
"Can we stick to topic?" Demanded Kai. "Lean on me Rei. I'll get you out of this."
"What is he, your crush?" Nyassa asked.
"Nyassa if you don't shut up and get out of here right now I swear I'm gonna beat the crap out of you as soon as we get Rei into bed for the night." Kai swore.
"Kai, I wanted to talk to you. That's why I came over here." Nyassa explained. "Voltaire wants my team, the Demolition Girls registered with the BBA. Once that happens, they're going to want to hold an initiation ceremony and ball. Voltaire might use the ball as an excuse to take your bitbeasts in a battle… Kai, I don't want to fight you. You know that. And the worst thing to have happen would be for Natari to fight Michael or for Diana to fight Robert. It's a Civil War Kai. It's a civil war and we abbey children are caught in between. Kai there's got to be something you can do to stop this. All our hopes rest on Tyson and Dragoon to beat the crap out of Tala." Nyassa had tears welling in her eyes. "Natari… she was so sad when she found out that Trygle had been taken from Michael. If I could, I'd prevent all of it… I'd put a stop to all of it… the looks on their faces when they lose what they love. It would crush both Michael and Natari, and think how much it would hurt Robert if his Griffolyon were taken by his own sister, somebody he trusts more than anybody in the world. Kai you've got to put a stop to Voltaire's machinations!"
Kai froze, his back to Nyassa. "You've already done enough damage to me. Just get the Hell out of my life Nyassa. Get the Hell out." He walked away and left Nyassa to sink to her knees on the floor of the equipment room and cry.
….
Natari found Nyassa on her knees, sobbing. "Nyassa?"
"I'm… I'm fine Natari… I thought I could make it right…" She sniffed. "I thought that I could get Kai to care about me… It seems I was wrong… Kai cares about nobody!"
"It's okay Nya-chan." Natari wrapped her arm around Nyassa's shoulder. "Come on, it's almost time to go. And Tala wants to battle you."
"To hell with Tala." Nyassa growled. "Tell him to forget it." She stood up, wiping the tears on the side of her fur robe, the robe that all abbey beybladers wore to mark their origin.
"Nyassa?" Ian stuck his head into the closet. "What are you doing here?"
"Ask Kai and Bryan." Nyassa snapped, standing up. The coldness, her "Kai side" was starting to come out.
"Kai… Kai was here? Where is he?"
"Gone by now. He can go forever as far as I'm concerned." Nyassa sighed as she leaned against Natari. "The way he treated me. I felt like dirt and I still feel like dirt and I wanna strangle him for making me feel that way I always am stuck being the second best the lucky bastard!" Nyassa snapped. "Kai can rot in Hell. And when he's minus Dranzer or stuck in Dark Dranzer's grip a second time he can come crying to me so that I can laugh in his face!" Nyassa was trembling with anger and choked back sobs. "He's a part of me Goddess damnit!" She leaned against Natari and cried.
….
"Kai she's your sister." Rei said as Kai put a hot pack on his bruised neck. "Couldn't you be a little nicer to her?"
"Hn, maybe I could have been nicer. But she's always so annoying! And I never knew I had a little sister until Voltaire introduces me to her during my stay at the abbey. It's a slap to the face Rei. I wasn't good enough for him so he had to encourage my mother to have another child? And it doesn't matter anyway, she's at the abbey, they're the enemy."
"She was asking for help." Rei sighed as he leaned back into the Jacuzzi. "Join me Kai?" He asked with a pout.
"Sure, why the Hell not?" Kai asked, slipping out of his scarf and shirt. He untied his pants and boxers and slipped into the luxuriously warm water.
"I've been thinking Kai, about who will face who in the championships."
"I was going to have you battle Bryan." Kai pointed out. "But I don't think you'll want to after what he did to you tonight."
"No… no it's alright." Rei said, breath hitching slightly in his throat.
"You don't actually have feelings for Bryan do you?" Kai asked, curious.
"I hardly know the guy." Rei pointed out. "And I'm still not sure whether or not I'm gay anyway." Rei shivered at that admission.
"Rei, lets just say that when we met you set off my Gaydar like no tomorrow." Kai said with a smirk.
Rei whirled. "You… you're…" He stammered.
"Maybe I am and maybe I'm not." Kai replied. He leaned over and gave Rei a kiss on the cheek.
Rei flushed. "I never would have thought."
Kai chuckled. "You weren't meant to think. I wasn't going to tell any of you, but… well… this is different."
Rei wrapped his arms around Kai's waist and leaned against him. Kai smelled like vanilla and the scent was especially strong to Rei's neko-jin nose. He sighed. "Kai, I wanted to talk to you… uh… you know that Neko-jin like me aren't exactly like humans right?" He asked.
"Yeah." Kai said, burying his face into Rei's hair.
"Well when we turn fifteen we… uh… we go into heat. I always assumed that it would be myself and Mariah, but now I'm not so sure."
"Mariah paired off with Emily last night." Kai said with a smirk. "I heard them going at it when I went for a walk."
Rei's jaw dropped. "Emily and Mariah?" (editor's note: SMEX! cough snicker snork)
"Yeah, sorry to bust your bubble. You were saying?" Kai said with a smirk.
"I was thinking… um… will you be my partner for it?" Rei asked, flushing. Why did Kai always have the power to reduce him to a flushing, stuttering heap of neko-jinical passion?
"What does it entail?"
"Just a lot of X-rated stuff." Rei said, slowly turning red.
Kai leaned over and delicately kissed Rei on the lips, a gentle, chaste kiss and nothing like what Bryan had done to him. Rei melted into Kai's arms. "Alright." Kai said with a gentle smile that he only reserved for those closest to him. "In the meantime, you need to rest from that beating that Bryan gave you."
Rei shivered. "Rest… yeah…" he said, distracted slightly. He snuggled against Kai, the older boy felt his heart melt. To be loved like that, to be cared for, he had never felt this way about anybody, boy or girl, and it was Rei who had pulled the trick.
Kai later snuggled into bed that night, with considerably lighter prospects than he had last night. But there was one problem left. When it came down to it, would Rei defy Bryan's intidmidation and bring his team to victory?