Title: Innocence

Author: PandaPjays

Chapter Title: Heart to Heart

Rating: T

Warnings: See First Chapter

Disclaimer: See First Chapter

Author Note: /Stares at reviews/ I LOVE ALL REVIEWERS! You all make me so happy/Runs off to dance around because of reviews/Comes back/ ahem.

Sorry- I just ate about a ton of chocolate so I'm on a sugar/air/pretend coffee high- Life is good.

"Oh My God! What are you doing here Tala!"

Tala Ivanov glared at Rei, dropping his gaze only to search for his sunglasses that had fallen off his face when the neko-jin had run into him.

"Well, I was going for a quiet, afternoon stroll before you ran into me"

Having found his sunglasses, Tala stood and slid them back on to his face, hiding the Russian's sky blue eyes. Rei looked at the other boy's strange, uncharacteristic clothing. Along with the sunglasses, Tala was wearing a black Mafia-style hat between the twin peaks of hair and an open, black trench coat over his trademark orange and white clothing. It was almost like…

"Tala, are you in disguise?"

The fiery-haired Russian managed to pull off a haughty look even in his ridiculous getup. His disguise had served him well until Rei had run into him.

"On second thought, I don't want to know." Rei decided aloud. He looked around the crowd. "Are you alone?"

Tala looked away for a second, then, regaining his composure he looked Rei in the eye.

"Then the rest of my team hasn't arrived yet?"

His voice had the hopeful but resigned quality of a person who had little left fight for.

"No, sorry" Rei replied, puzzled. Were the rest of the Demolition Boys meant to be here?

Tala half-smiled. "Then I guess I have to be the one to explain the situation to you."

"I guess you have to be. Come to our hotel and while you're there please take off that ridiculous disguise, you look like a gothic clown."

Tala smiled and mock-bowed. "As you wish Sahib."

------

Rei walked into the penthouse of the hotel, "Hey guys! Guess who I ran into…" He trailed off as Kai came into view.

The slate-haired Russian glared at Tala coldly. He was leaning against the wall facing the door with his arms folded.

Tyson walked into the entryway, absently chewing on a muesli bar. "Who did you run into R-GAH! Why is Tala here?"

"I was expecting you sooner, Tala" Kai said, still glaring at him.

Tyson stared at Kai. "What? You expected Tala to disturb our holiday in Australia? Did they have fortune cookies at the restaurant saying 'Today you will run into a red-haired Russian' or something?"

Rei also stared at Kai, but said nothing knowing that he would eventually explain himself.

"Hey, guys do you know if this hotel has an arca-ARGH! TALA!" Max backed up against the wall his eyes wide in shock.

"What's happening? Why is everyone yell-GAH!" The team's mechanic, Kenny, jumped at least two feet in the air. "Where'd he come from?"

Kai smirked. "He's been following us around for the past few days. Don't tell me no- one else noticed."

"Unlike you, we were busy having fun"

"And that affected your eyesight?"

Tyson stared at Kai, mouth agape. "N-No! I just- y'know whatever!" He said in irritation.

Tyson 0 Kai 1 Rei though wanly. But then again what's new?

Tala watched the exchange, amused. "Ok, have we gotten over the shock of seeing my beautiful face so soon after the world championships? Yes? Then let's get out of this entryway- I don't think it was built for six people."

Kai grunted and pushed himself off the wall before leading the way into the lounge room. One of his scarves hit Tyson in the face as he walked past him.

"Y'know, Kai, you don't have to wear your scarf inside. " Tyson said rubbing his face angrily. "It's not like it's cold or anything- it's called summer!"

"Y'know, Tyson, you don't have to wear your cap inside. It's not like it's sunny or anything- it's called a ceiling." Kai replied, smirking.

Tyson 0 Kai 2. He's good; he's very good- I wonder what else he's good at? Rei Kon, you mind refuses to be removed from the gutter.

The penthouse's lounge was only just big enough to fit in the entire group. Max and Tyson shared the lounge with Kenny and Rei dived into the recliner, leaving Kai and Tala to share the loveseat.

"So are you going to explain why you're here? And why we should be expecting the rest of your team soon, for that matter?" Rei asked Tala.

Tala's face fell at the mention of his teammates. "If they aren't here now they aren't coming. Before we split up we arranged to arrive here separately. I was meant to be the last one." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair before adding bitterly, "I guess in a way I am the last one, standing that is."

"Think you may need to start at the start- we might be able to save them from wherever they are," Rei told him.

Tala snorted bitterly. "There is no saving them from where they are. It's almost impossible to escape from Biovolt once and I've only heard of one person who has escaped twice. He happens to be sitting in this room. That's why when we called the BBA for help they suggested sending you here." Tala stopped and smirked at Tyson staring at him with his mouth open. "You might want to shut that, flies will get in. You didn't really think the old man sent you on a holiday on a whim did you?" Tyson shut his mouth with a snap and sat back in his chair, glaring at Tala."

"Obviously you did but last I heard naivety wasn't fatal so there is hope for you yet. Anyway, I probably should start starting at the start. After you beat us in the world championships we were all shipped back to Biovolt. There we were…punished, if you could call it that, for our failures.

Tala shuddered; he could hear his team's screams forming some sick sort of harmony with his own. He remembered trying to ignore his own wounds while tending to his team's. Mostly, he remembered the feeling of complete helplessness. He had been helpless to stop the pain he had caused his team by losing to Tyson. Tala had been helpless, even to stop his own pain.

"It wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world. So at the first opportunity we he we escaped from there. We contacted the BBA and split up so Biovolt wouldn't find us again. If the rest of my team isn't here Biovolt has them again and there is almost no hope for them."

Max sat back in his seat. "Rough."

"Would you mind leaving us alone for a minute? I need to speak to Tala alone." Kai asked the Bladebreakers mildly with only a hint of steel in his voice.

Obediently they filed out feeling slightly sorry for Tala. Kai didn't get angry often, he was more into plotting revenge, but when he did it was not a sight anyone wanted to witness.

Kai turned to Tala. "You've explained why you're here, care to tell me why I'm here?"

"I told you- you've had the most experience eluding Bio-"

"That's bull, we both know that. There are plenty of people that the BBA has connections to that are much better equipped to help you."

"Ok, so I did ask them to send you down here, they didn't suggest it."

Kai leant back against the arm of the seat they shared. " I knew that, my question was why?"

------

"I would love to know what they're talking about," Tyson told Max as they walked on to the balcony. He leant against the safety rail and sighed. "It's probably really interesting."

"You know, I've heard that those rails give way really easily," Rei informed him as he joined the two younger bladders on the balcony.

Tyson let go of the rail as if it had an electric current running through it and looked at it suspiciously. "Don't you think so, Maxie?"

"Of course it's interesting. If it wasn't we would be in there. Speaking of 'we' where's Kenny?" He directed this last question at Rei.

"He's in your room tinkering with whatever he bought when he went out. He tried to explain it to me so I came out here."

"Sounds like Kenny" Tyson said, stretching, "I still want to know what they're talking about."

"Well how about, to take our minds off them we go in search of ice-cream? I have a sudden urge for Hokey-Pokey." Rei suggested, already knowing his younger teammates answers.

"I like the sound of that!" Tyson said, eyes wide at the prospect of food.

"Sounds great!" Max said at the same time, smiling.

Rei grinned, "I'll go tell Kai where we're going and then we'll go, ok?" Without waiting for an answer the Chinese boy slipped back inside the room. And this gives me a legitimate excuse to eavesdrop.

------

Tala licked his lips nervously. He had been expecting Kai to see through his weak excuse for his presence. He'd been counting on it, in fact. While he was on the plane to Australia he had tried to rehearse this conversation but had failed miserably and decided to wing it.

"Well firstly, I did ask you because I thought you could help me but I did have another reason as well."

Kai inclined his head and met Tala's blue eyes with his own crimson ones. "I thought as much. What was your other reason?"

Tala looked away from the gaze and began to study the floor. "Well, I can't really tell you. It sort of has to be… shown."

"Then show me." Kai was puzzled by the redhead's sudden refusal to meet his eyes. Why's he so nervous?

Tala looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"Ok"

Tala leaned across the seat he and Kai shared, capturing the others lips in a kiss. Kai stiffened and opened his mouth in an 'o' of surprise. Tala took the opportunity to deepen the kiss and leaned over to Kai's side of the couch even more; trapping Kai against the arm of the seat they were sharing.

It was this sight that greeted Rei when he rounded the corner to tell Kai they were getting ice cream. The neko-jin's eyes widened with shock and he reached for the doorframe for support, never looking away from Kai and Tala.

Rei turned and ran, stopping only to snatch his wallet from the table beside the front door. He pressed the buttons on the elevator unseeingly and leaned against the wall, feeling his entire body shake. It was on the way down that he formulated his plan. He stepped off the elevator with purpose.

He left the hotel and began to run. He kept an eye on the road and as soon as he saw a taxi he ran in front of it, forcing it to stop. He pulled open the door and climbed inside.

"To the airport, please"

It was only when the taxi began to move that Rei let himself be consumed by tears.

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