Time to Burn

Mist: Sorry it took my Keeper so long to update she was busy.

Keeper: Yeah we had an exercise and I got to be on the news even though it was for 5 seconds. Then I had to qualify on the M-16. I so happy I passed my test, now I just have to get through another one. I found out one of my good reviewers got a flame a while ago it made me soo mad because she warned that it was a yaoi and they still read it and left a flame that was uncalled for. Some people are just so idiotic, if you don't like something why are you going to read it?

Kou: The stupidity of people never cease to amaze me.

Mist: This is AU, bad language, and a yaoi. So as my Keeper would say 'If you don't like it, there is the back button, make sure it hits you on the way out.'

Kou: And Keeper doesn't own anything except for 'her' so you would be wasting your time suing her.

Keeper: Yeah all you would get is two blousing straps.

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Ken backed up slowly about to make a run for it. He did not want to deal with Mastermind and Berserker right now. He seemed to not want to deal with a lot of things lately. First Aya with all of his questions, Yohji asking him if he was alright, all the stupid girls that fawned over him, and the heat.

He was turning around to run when Schuldig stopped him.

"Wait we just want to talk."

Ken stopped and looked at the telepath suspiciously. Ken believed him about as far as he could throw him well about as far as he could throw a twenty story building and lets face it he could throw Schuldig pretty far but he couldn't pick up the building so that tells you that he didn't even believe him. The taller man picked up on a little of what the soccer player was thinking and smirked.

"I swear that we want to talk, not as Schwartz and Weiss but as Ken, Schuldig, and Farfarello. No going at each others throats."

The brunette sensing that he was telling the truth slowly crept forward it never hurts to be cautious.

"Why would you want to just talk to me? I don't have anything to say to you."

"That's where you're wrong. I've been picking up little bits of your thoughts here and there all day." Schuldig said looking at Ken a little confused.

"Well maybe if you weren't hanging around the shop you wouldn't be picking up on them."

"I wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

"I was picking up on you all the way across town. And I usually don't pick up on someone from all the way across town."

"Nani? But why were you. . ." Ken said now completely confused. He knew that telepath was telling the truth but why was he picking up his thoughts if he usually didn't pick up thoughts from across town?

"I think it's because you were so upset about something and I would like to know what it is."

"Well can't you just read my mind to find out?" He didn't like the idea of the redhead going through his mind but saying it out loud would be so much worse.

"I already tried that and I couldn't."

"What do you mean you couldn't?" Ken asked not sure if he heard right.

Schuldig shrugged his shoulders and simply stated like it should have been obvious. "I can't read your mind like everyone else's. So are you going to tell us what's wrong?"

"It's nothing that you should worry about." Ken said looking at the ground.

"Why is the cat so unhappy?" The other man asked finally deciding to talk.

"Yes, why is the cat so unhappy?" Schuldig said looking at him accusingly. "But what I want to know is why does he call you that?"

Ken's head snapped up at what they had asked. Farfarello couldn't know his secret. Could he?

"I. . . I don't know why he calls me that."

"Now, now no need to lie to us. What is this 'secret' that Farfie couldn't know?"

"But I thought that you said that you couldn't read my mind."

"I never said that I couldn't, I just said that I couldn't read your mind like everyone else's." He said smiling.

"I don't understand what you mean."

The German sighed. "For some reason I can only get bits and pieces from you, a word here and there that barely makes any sense most of the time."

"Tell us what's wrong, cat."

Ken looked at the white haired man for a minute before finally asking. "Why do you keep calling me cat?"

Farfarello looked at him like he just asked a stupid question, like he had asked what color his hair was. "Because you are."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Because my eye shows me your true form." He said becoming serious and pointing at his eye that was covered with the patch.

Before Ken could get a question out the golden eyed man walked over and pulled him against his chest, the brunette was about to pull away but Farfarello started to pet him. Ken immediately stopped it felt so nice to be petted, he had forgotten what it felt like, after his antai died he didn't have anyone to pet him. He missed this feeling of contentment his eyes closed and he unconsciously began to purr. He felt another hand start to scratch him behind his ear and he tilled his head to allow the hand better access. Between the petting and the scratching behind his ear it was too much he purred as loud as he was able. The purr rumbled through the man holding him and the other man could almost feel it from where he was standing next to the purring man.

"He purrs. So that's why you call him cat." Schuldig said laughing softly.

Ken's eyes snapped open. What the hell was he thinking to let them get so close to him? He pulled quickly away from the scarred man. The brown eyed youth suddenly remembered what Farfarello said just before he started petting him.

"How can your eye show you my true form?"

"Didn't you ever wonder why I wear this?"

"Yeah, but I thought it was because you lost your eye."

"No, I have both my eyes." The older man replied laughing.

"Then why do you were that then?" Ken asked not understanding why he would wear the patch if he had both of his eyes.

"This is the reason why." He said reaching up and taking off the patch.

Ken gasped he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He took a couple steps closer to the scarred man to get a better look at his eye to make sure that he wasn't seeing wrong. No he wasn't seeing wrong, the eye that Berserker kept covered was all black. There was no other color, it was like someone had taken his eye out and dipped it in black paint.

"My eye allows me to see a person's true form, that's how I knew that you were a cat. It can't show me what type of cat though, it just shows me the form." He said staring at Ken with his pitch black eye.

"So what type of cat are you Ken?" The telepath asked looking inquisitively at him.

The former goalie sighed. /Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell them since they know that I'm some type of cat./ Ken looked at Farfarello then to Schuldig. "I'm a tiger."

"Weretiger." Farfarello stated.

"No."

"Was?(1) But you just said that you were." Schuldig asked a little confused.

"I never said that I was a weretiger." The youth stated crossing his arms.

"Then how do you have a cat form?" The Irish man asked.

"I was born this way, I am a true shapeshifter. I'm not ruled by the moon like a were is."

"So you don't have to change during a full moon if you don't want to?"

"Nope."

"That's interesting, could you show us your tiger form?"

"No." Ken stated glaring at the redhead.

"Why not are you afraid that we'll attack you when you're changing?"

"It's not that." He answered looking away.

"Then what is it?" Farfarello asked.

"It's none of your business." And with that Ken turned and ran.

"Hmm. . . I caught something about antai, burned alive, died, and not changing."

"That could be why he seems to have fire surrounding him."

/I wonder what it would be like to be with a shapeshifter? I bet they would make a very sensual lovers/ The telepath thought grinning to himself.

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Ken ran home cursing the two members of Schwartz all the way. That was wonderful the enemy knew his secret, well maybe if he was lucky they wouldn't bother him as much. Either that or want to make a rug out of him. When Ken got to the Koneko he opened the door quietly so he wouldn't wake the others. He climbed the stairs and started to make his way to his room as he walked past the living room he glanced at the clock and noticed that it was going on twelve thirty. He grabbed a clean pair of boxers and a shirt he grabbed the towel he used last night and headed to the bathroom.

"This is getting fucking ridiculous." He growled as he stripped and got into the shower.

Ken looked at his scars and started to trace them. They went from his chest, around his back, to the tops of his thighs. He couldn't understand how his legs weren't scared like his chest was, he could still wear shorts if he wanted to. Just like he could still wear a short sleeve shirt. For the life of him he couldn't figure out why his whole body wasn't burned, he was completely covered in gas and set on fire so why wasn't the rest of his body burned?

Ken finished his shower and got out. After he dried off and got dressed he headed to his room. When he got in his room he threw his clothes in the hamper, his stomach decided to let him know that is was hungry. Ken headed to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"I'm glad Omi saved some leftover's for me." Ken mumbled as he pulled out a plate. As he was putting the plate in the microwave he noticed that it was almost four. "Man I really need to stop staying in the shower for so long."

"Yes you do."

Ken spun around hearing the soft voice behind him to see Aya standing in the doorway in just his boxers with his arms crossed.

"Aya what are you doing up?"

"Omi was worried that something might happen to you. I told him that I would wait up for you so he would go to bed since he has to open in the morning." Aya said coming in to sit at the table.

Ken snorted. "Omi worries too much. I can take care of myself."

The microwave beeped letting Ken know his food was done. He pulled the plate out and sat down at the table across from Aya and began to eat.

"So Ken, why do you spend so much time in the shower?" The redhead asked looking intently at the brunette.

"I don't like being hot." The tiger replied not looking at him.

"I gathered that much. Care to tell me why you hate being hot, why you freak out when you see a fire, and why you never go in the living room when there is a fire in the fireplace?"

"I had a bad experience with fire a while back." Ken stated getting up and walking to the sink.

"What do you mean?"

"I'd really rather not say." The shapeshifter replied putting the plate in the sink.

"Why is that? How bad could it have been?"

"Worse than you could ever know." Ken whispered and then turned around to face the older man. "Look we all have secrets, something that we can't share with anyone else that we have to take to our grave without ever being able to share not even with the one person that you love the most."

"Aa yes, secrets that can't ever be shared. I understand." Aya said looking thoughtful.

"Well if you understand could tell the others to lay off? They'll ask questions that I really don't want to answer." Ken said walking to the doorway. "Well I'm going to go get at least a couple hours of sleep since I open with Omi."

/What secrets are you hiding Ken/ Aya thought as he watched Ken leave.

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Ken was able to sleep those couple of hours but was late getting down to the shop to open because he kept hitting the snooze button for half an hour. Omi had gotten worried that something was wrong with the soccer player so he went up to see why he hadn't come down yet.

Omi really didn't want to wake him up, he had a tendency to get violent when someone wakes him up for whatever reason and it only got worse in the spring and summer. He had strangled Yohji once and would have killed him if Aya had not been walking by and managed to calm Ken down. Omi was just about to knock when the door opened.

"Good you're awake Ken-kun." Omi said looking relived now that he didn't have to wake the older assassin up.

"Heh, sorry Omi-kun I over slept." Ken said grinning a little as he came out of his room and shutting the door.

"Are you alright? I know you're not a morning person, but you never oversleep when you have the morning shift."

Ken sighed, again with the 'are you alright' questions and first thing in the morning at that. He hoped that the day would not be like yesterday.

"Well we better get down to the shop ne, Omi-kun." The brunette said as he started to head down the hallway.

"Hai." Omi replied as he followed Ken.

The day was more or less uneventful, which Ken was grateful for. Yohji had overslept as well and Ken not wanting to stay in the stuffy shop any longer than necessary went up to Yohji's room, grabbed him by his leg and literally dragged him off his bed and half away across his room and told him that if he didn't get up right then and get down to the shop he was going to rip one of his arms off and shove it down his throat. Yohji never got dressed so fast in his life and ran to the shop. Ken had went straight for the bathroom after he got Yohji up. This time the shapeshifter only spent an hour in the shower after that he went to his room and went to sleep.

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1. It's supposed to be German for what. If it's wrong blame it on the translation web site I found it on.

Keeper: I should have said this in the last chapter but I was stressing and I forgot but Anti means peace, security, tranquility. Kanashimi means sadness, grief, sorrow. Someone asked me why they called each other that well Ken calls her anti because she calms him down when he gets mad (you know his short temper) and well he fells calm around her. She calls him kanashimi because he doesn't think that anyone will except them or find any one to love, so it depresses him. And because they are afraid of being caught they don't change much so that stresses them out so they calm each other by playing their instruments for each other. Ken plays the guitar and she plays the violin (for anyone who can play the violin I am sooo jealous)

Raven's Light: I'm glad you liked this chapter and thanks for staying with me. Good luck on your exams and I can't wait for you to update your Zoids story!

Carrothien: MWAHAHAHAHA! There is no cure for the Keeper drug! Uh. . . glad you liked this chap. Bet you didn't see that secret coming did you? As for the girl. . .

Invisible Fan: Heh. . . Uh sorry did this clear it up for you?

M4r1-ch4n: You Schu whore. I can't blame you, I'm one too. I missed you last chapter. I thought you abandoned me!

Anendee: I missed you too! I thought you abandoned me also!

HeatherR: Well one secret down a thousand more to go. So you think you know who the girl is? Shoot me an Email with your guess. Your probably right. Don't forget to leave a review too!

Evelyn: Did this answer most of your questions? Hope you continue to read!

Bhidaka, neko-chibi-faithkitty, Bao-chan, Rikuz bloody Valentine: Welcome to the family hope you continue to read and review!

Keeper: I have a Ran/Ken/Schu Valentine set holding little hearts that say 'I love you' for all my reviewers!

Mist: We hope you like this chapter and please review and make my Keeper happy

Keeper: Yes I thrive off them. Gets me to update faster.