Standard disclaimer applies-

"I lie on cooling concrete on an open rooftop, velvet black above me and the chilling wind circling around. A glimpse into the past dregs up memories of your laughter, and maybe, perhaps, that would allow me to breathe for awhile.

"The night is perfect, really, and I feel my eyelids droop shut in exhaustion. I'm not in my bed, but then again, I'm not anywhere. Much needed sleep overwhelms me, and I ponder the usefulness of it, because all that it means is I would always be dreaming of you."

Chapter 6: Dreaming

Kai leaned forward, silently urging the bike to go faster. His face was taut with anxiety, brows creased with palpable urgency. As he rounded the corner with a hair-raising screech, he spotted the bulky end of the yellow bus heading away from him, trundling into the distance.

Something, call it a gut feeling, whispered to him earnestly that Rei was on that bus. On the way to the airport. Back to China. Out of his life. Everything could have been perfectly fine.

The problem though, was that Kai didn't want Rei out of his life.

Gritting his teeth together harshly, he narrowed his eyes against the force of the wind pressure that was cutting into his face.

"C'mon..."

He was so close now. He could do this. He had to do this.

But even with his newfound enthusiasm and his frenzy fuelling his steel-willed determination, it could not fuel his engine and he found himself slowly but surely falling behind.

Chagrin thick as sand clogged his throat and a sinking feeling settled heavily in his stomach.

In a last minute desperate attempt to grab Rei's attention, he yelled impulsively.

"Rei!"

Aboard the bus, various passengers started from their seats, frowning. They had heard a name being called, faintly. So faint that they were uncertain as to whether they had actually heard it, or if it had just been a mere figment of their imagination. Some shook their heads as if to clear it, deciding that they had thought it up. Others glanced about curiously.

"Rei!"

There it went again. More people heard it, and some twisted around in their seats impatiently to look at other passengers to see if they had heard it too. And now, some began to turn to the back of the bus. This time, they were pretty sure it wasn't thought up. The voice had been so frantic. There had been so much emotion in it, so much so that it could not have plausibly been faux. It had been real – so real that it crossed the line that separated reality from dreams.

"Rei!"

This time, the entire bus heard it. Some heard it clearly, while others simply heard a shout, but they heard it all the same. The bus driver started slowing down.

The ones who were sitting in the back row turned around in their seats to face the road behind, convinced that they had heard the curious sound from the back. In the distance was the weirdest thing. An outline of a furiously speeding teenager, perched precariously over the firmly gripped handles of his motorcycle, a concentrated expression on his visage. It seemed like something out of a movie.

"Is there a Rei here?" Someone called out into the bristling murmur of the bus.

No one answered. And then –

"Yeah?"

The entire bus turned to the ebony haired Chinese teenager. The mutterings increased.

"Someone was calling your name. There's a guy out there on a motorcycle. I suggest you go check it out."

For some unfathomable reason, the teenager paled, and he called out weakly, "Someone stop this bus. Please." His voice was trembling.

The bus let out a tired hiss before rolling to a grinding halt. The front doors slid open with a hiss, and the rumble of a motorcycle pulling up near the bus was audible. People were craning their necks trying to get a glimpse of what was going to happen.

"Rei."

Kai swung his other leg off the motorbike before jogging up to the waiting figure in the distance.

Rei's face was hard and cold, void of emotion. His arms were crossed, drawn taut over his chest in a defensive position. He wasn't smiling.

"Rei." Kai's breath got shallower. Shallower and softer and sadder than it had ever been.

"I..." Kai swallowed the large lump in throat with difficulty. Had he really done this to Rei? Rei, who had always been bright and cheery and forgiving and so so sweet. Kai wished Rei would at least glaring at him. Even if he was angry or frustrated or pissed, it was still a reaction. Still an emotion. Still a feeling.

Now, he was reticent and serious. The mere thought and glance at Rei made it difficult to inhale. Had he really made Rei like that? The guy who looked out for his friends and cared for everyone? Turned him into, into someone whom he could barely recognise with a scarily stoic nature? Turned Rei into himself. God. What had he done?

The thought made him sick to the stomach.

"Rei, I -"

He never did seem to get pass those two words, did he? When had his vocabulary dwindled to that?

Then again, what words were there exactly, for situations like this?

And Rei wasn't really helping matters either. Nor were the curious bunch of audience they had, with their noses pressed firmly against the glass window of the bus.

"What do you want Kai?" The tone was cold. So cold that it was chilling; and sharp enough to slice through metal. Kai nearly winced. That had hurt.

But it was a good question, all the same.

What did he want. A very good question. He didn't know.

But there must have been something. Something he had wanted desperately enough for him to toss any last remaining shred of dignity to the winds and chase after Rei, even accepting help from Tala. He never accepted help from someone, because it meant that he was dependant upon another, and that thought made him feel very weak, like he was not good enough.

What did he want? Silly, how he never even considered it. He wasn't one to do things without reason, or acting on an impulse.

Suddenly, he felt a deep rise of indignation. He was here to apologise, damn it! He had chased Rei all the way here and he was truly sorry and couldn't Rei tell that this was the first (and last) time that he was going to ask for forgiveness and actually admit that he was in the wrong, all the while giving his carefully prepared speech contritely.

And he was exhausted and emotionally drained from the long long day, and he did not wish to be ogled at by people who seriously should not stick their infuriating noses into other's business and he had never like being stared at, no matter how much he managed to hide that fact. But you know what? To hell with the consequences.

And before he could think twice and change his mind because he knew that the risk he was taking in this one was very big and it could crush every dream he had, and he had no idea what would happen, he leaned down and caught Rei's lips with his own swiftly, before Rei had time to see him move in and step away, or for him to even feel surprised.

The last coherent thought was that he hoped those idiots who said 'words were better than actions' seriously knew what they were talking about, because he didn't know what he would do if this did not work out.

The last thought, actually, that wasn't gibberish, because damn did Rei taste good.

But then suddenly, Rei pulled back, frowning at him.

"Go away Kai. I never want to see you again." That same steely tenor.

Rei turned his back and –

Kai bolted up from his bed, heaving heavily; back and face drenched in sweat. A dream, he thought frantically. It was just a dream.

Closing his eyes as a tired sigh escaped his lips, he let his body slum flat down onto his bed. Again. He was having the same dream again. To be honest, they should be classified as nightmares. He groaned, and went to drag his exhausted body into the showers.

-

"Hurry up."

"We're coming Kai! Geez..."

Tyson and Max hurried out of the door after Kai, not wishing to incur his wrath. Not that Kai blew up or was unhinged so easily nowadays. If they thought that Kai was an unfeeling git with no emotions in the past, they had to think again.

When they first met Kai, he was a selfish, mean idiot. Then he started to warm up to them, or more specifically, to Rei. But he did morph into a friendlier person, who would at least make the effort to answer when spoken to. After that, Kai started showing facial expressions, attempted to express his feelings and emotions, given that they were somewhat negative, or even if they were positive, it was still in a sort of sadistic psychotic serial killer kind of way. But that was not the point. And sometimes, God save us all, he tried his hand at humour.

He tried to laugh. Though it sounded more like an evil villain cackling, and less like a good humoured laugh. Tyson shuddered at the scarily vivid memory. It had sent chills up his spine.

Prior to that, he had imagined that Kai was beyond any comprehension of anything remotely related to humour, and way past featuring any kind of positive attitude beyond the idiotically condescending, arrogant, psychotic laughter that he gave once in a while. Of course, if Kai heard this, he would be denying all claims. After all, he was a Hiwatari and as he would put it, Hiwatari's did not 'laugh' – they cackled maliciously.

All things considered, it was more pleasant being around Kai after he joined the Bladebreakers as opposed to before.

But after, Rei's...absence, Kai withdrew further into the still-present grotto that he had created since forever, and rarely came out. If he was there in body, he certainly wasn't in soul. In retrospection, he was more unfeeling and drained. It was as though he was only allowed a certain amount of feelings that he could display, and he used all of that up when Rei was around, leaving behind absolutely nothing left. He became quieter, first converting back into the old Kai that they were accustomed to when they first met him; and later, as each day passed, was noticeably more reticent.

Tonight, Tala was holding a 'party' for the Bladebreakers who were in the country, and all Demolition Boys. Masked under the topic 'Getting to know each other better and reminiscing', it was a gathering to get Kai to lighten up and 'get over Rei'. Though, personally, every single one of them was aware of the fact that the only one who would be able to do that was plausibly Rei himself. Kai was not getting over someone who practically changed his bad-ass attitude for the better conspicuously anytime soon.

The ride to Tala's house was in silence. There was little for Tyson and Max to talk about that would interest Kai, except perhaps Rei, which even Tyson knew would not be a good idea. Rei was off-limits as a topic.

After Rei left the Bladebreakers, the entire team broke up, although they still lived together to cut down on rental expenses. Under the BBA, they got jobs as trainers for bladers whose ambition was to be the World's number one.

Kenny opted for a different genre of an occupation, instead choosing to join the Intelligence Unit, working for the government. They got together with from time to time, to just chat and laugh and keep in touch.

Rei was never talked about. Tyson and Max got his particulars from the BBA and tracked him down, keeping contact through email and long distance calls. As they lived with Kai, they didn't dare use snail mail, for fear of Kai finding one of the letters. The truth was, they did not have a problem with telling Kai about where Rei was exactly, and pestering him to go to China and get Rei back. Unfortunately, Rei had pleaded with them not to tell Kai, for some reason that he did not give. Respecting his wishes, they did as told.

Basically, Rei seemed to be faring well in his old village with Mariah and Lee and the rest of the White Tigers as friends and apparently, he lived from day to day having fun, helping from time to time with the harvest and running errands in the village. His main job was teaching youngsters who had interest in beyblading.

Tyson had almost laughed at the fact that all of them, with the exception of Kenny, were now working with beyblade related jobs.

When they talked with Rei online or through the phone, he sounded happy and completely satisfied with his life. But when the subject matter even hinted at Kai, he turned detached and impudent. They soon got the meaning of it and kept to not mentioning Kai at all.

It seemed like Kai wasn't alone in the bitter department.

The car pulled up in the driveway, and the front door opened. Tala stepped out, a wide grin on his face. Kai nodded once at him to acknowledge his presence. It had been reduced to this. Tala's warm welcome completely ignored by Kai, Kai off alone in his own world, and Max and Tyson left to make conversation.

"Tala! Nice to see you again buddy!" Tyson called out into the tense silence, his voice sounding louder than usual and filled with false cheerfulness. Tala turned to him and offered another grin, this time more strained. It was clear that he was getting tired of Kai's unsociable act.

"Tyson, Max, Kai. Nice to see you guys too. Come on in."

Tala ushered them into the house before shutting the door. Tyson and Max started another round of ceremonial greetings with the rest of the Demolition while Kai got caught up in a heated battle of glaring coldly at Bryan.

Things had gotten tense between them after the incidence years ago, and one could hardly leave both of them alone.

Conversation was struck up swiftly, and chatting over their various interesting experiences since the last time they met began, with only Kai and Bryan not participating. Once in a while, Kai would glance at Bryan, or Bryan would glance at Kai, another staring match would ensue, tension would grow, and the voices in the conversation would grow louder to cover up the suddenly chilly ambience.

Drinks and snacks were served, and more talkin, and glaring, was done.

The spiel died down a bit, and there was silence.

Tyson suddenly perked up.

"Oh! I remember once, it was my turn to do the grocery shopping, and as I was paying up, I had the misfortune of being served by a very rude -"

"Rude people come in almost every form and size." Bryan cut across in his flat, soft voice, his cold gaze upon Kai's emotionless one, joining the conversation for the first time.

Tyson was stunned by the sudden interruption and was staring at Bryan with large surprised eyes. There was apprehensive silence for a while.

However, once Tyson regained his bearings, he continued, somewhat nervously, "Anyway, there was a not so polite cashier that served me, and she treated the items I placed on the table very roughly and -"

"Some things aren't meant to be treated roughly. Yet, some ignorant fools still insist on acting obtusely."

Before any of them could say anything, Kai stood up abruptly, overturning the chair he had been sitting on, grabbed his keys and coat, and was out of the door, slamming it behind him.

The loud slam of the door ricocheted off the walls and into the stunned silence.

"Wow," Tyson whistled. "That was some slam!"

More silence.

"Bryan. That was uncalled for." Tala frowned, showing his displeasure of Kai's and Bryan's attitudes for the first time that night.

Bryan just glared back, albeit less fierce. Tala's presence still commanded some respect, even from Bryan, and respect was something that had been taught to them over and over again, thoroughly.

"He deserved it. I warned him. He didn't take that warning. Now he bears the repercussion." It was glaringly obvious that Bryan did not think that he was in the wrong.

There was a long pause. No one could argue against that. Bryan did warn Kai. Kai ought to have taken that. And for what Kai did, he certainly deserved whatever Bryan threw at him.

"I don't hate him. I just hate what he did." And with that, Bryan stood up and left, leaving them with something to mull over. He was a man of few words.

And he was also very very frank.

Kai did deserve all that. And more, truth be told.

-

The wind bit callously into his face and stung his cheeks. But the young man paid no heed to any of it.

He was striding with long quick steps through the frosty night air, gait quick and purposeful, but rash, as if he simply had too much pent up energy and frustrations that he needed to let out. His head was bowed slightly, forehead creased in annoyance, eyes narrowed in barely contained fury, and his lip bitten in confusion.

Damn it. Damn it all! Why couldn't Bryan just forget it and let it go? Did he really think that he wasn't paying enough? As if not every single bloody second went by with Rei's smiling face stuck in his mind? As if the gnawing feeling in his chest wasn't a constant admonishment for his absolutely thoughtless deed, and the fact that he longed to see that smile upon Rei's face once again? As if he could overlook the fact that it was him in the first place that had made that heart-wrenching smile disappear?

Did he really believe that if it was not for his constant reminders, he would have forgotten clean about Rei? Could he even have imagined that Rei would even leave his mind? He was only making this much more difficult, and he didn't really want or need to deal with this right now, damn it!

His rapid gait broke into a sprint. And Kai ran, long legs stretching and feet hitting the asphalt pavement at a fleet velocity.

All the passers-by saw was a blur of whirling colours, a long white scarf streaming out back, a gush of sudden wind, and the unmistakable sound of feet on concrete, going as swiftly as it had came.

When Kai had exhausted the anger and frustration inside of him, he slowed to a jog till he was walking again.

If Bryan thought that was the way things were, well, he was wrong.

So, so wrong.

He knew that he had made a mistake. He knew that Rei's absence was his fault, his slip-up. But it wasn't as if he was not being punished enough already.

He had thought that that constant ache in him, and waking up to the empty warmth of his room - with no laughing, grinning amiable Chinese teenager to tease him if he had gotten up later than was usual that the 'Grand Hiwatari' was slacking and losing his touch - was chastisement enough. He had imagined that the mere knowledge of Rei's lack of presence was retribution already. And then, on top of all that shit that he had to put up with, there were those dreams. He heaved a deep sigh, drawing the chilling night air into his lungs, thumb and forefinger at the sides of his forehead. He really didn't need Bryan's reproach. It wasn't as though he was ignorant of everything.

He had messed up. Clear and simple. That was probably the way Bryan saw things. And the truth was, if he was in Bryan's shoes, he would be doing a lot more than just exchanging insults and glares. There would be blood involved, for starters.

It wasn't as though he could not understand Bryan's motives and why he was doing all of this. Hell, it was probably clearer to him than it was to Bryan.

He slumped down against a cold concrete bench, frame slack, the tension drained from his body. Now that he had gotten everything out of his system, he looked around him. No car, no keys, no recognition of where he was. All he could see in the growing dark was the outline of silhouettes of maple trees, their slender branches swaying fragilely in the wind.

It was getting colder. And later. Damn everything. It was as though his life couldn't get any better. A strong gust of wind blew pass, the shrill sound whistling past his ears, stinging them. Far away, there was a deep rumble of thunder. He glanced up, just as the first few drops of rain began pelting down from the ominously dark skies.

Great.

Just absolutely perfect. Someone shoot him right now.

Across the South China Sea, in a rural village located at the foot of a mountain range in China, a young man with hair the deepest ebony sat staring at the rising sun, hands locked together firmly around his bended legs.

The sun cast a myriad of light orange, faint red and maroon rays around the horizon, making it seem as though the sky was on fire. Complete with the chilly morning air and quiet peacefulness of the mountain range, it was heaven.

But, it was strange, really, how the maroon rays seemed to remind him of the distinct colour of someone's eyes.

He shook his head as if to clear it. Those thoughts were redundant, he firmly admonished himself. He was pissed at himself. Pissed that after so long, he was still unable to forget him. Pissed that until now, no matter how firmly he scolded himself or ordered himself to forget about him, he could not.

He sighed deeply in weary resignation. It was tearing at him. He was tired. So tired. Every single day spent wondering what had happened after he left, if Kai had even gotten his letter, what Kai felt and had done - most importantly, why Kai had not come for him. Or if he even felt anything for him.

The questions ripped him from the inside. It was better if he didn't think, really. Then, his mind could not wander, or make excuses for Kai, or blame him. No hurt, no sorrow, no wondering, no feeling. Better, really.

However, he couldn't stop thinking about it. It plagued him day and night, no matter what he was doing. Was this what it was like to go insane? Because he was definite that Kai was, slowly but surely, driving him insane.

Like now, for instance. This was one of the times when those memories from long past would come back and haunt him. He smiled lightly. Okay, so maybe there weren't from so long ago. But it certainly felt like eternity since…since he had seen Kai.

-

Rei sat with his back to the bungalow that Mr. Dickenson had hired for them, his eyes trained on the regal glory of the sunrise. The magnificence was breathtaking. He could sit like that forever and just stare at it.

The silence was almost deafening. Suddenly, a whizzing sound cut through it, and a whirling mass of...something followed, spinning through the air before landing in front of Rei and revolving to a stop.

A beyblade.

Kai's beyblade.

He glanced around. Kai was some feet behind him, but was staring at the sunrise with vivid interest, as if not aware that he had just sent his beyblade in front of Rei, thus disrupting the peaceful silence and catching Rei's attention in the process. In fact, if not for the slight guilty yet amused uplift of Kai's lips, he would have thought Kai to be innocent.

Somewhat flustered, Rei turned his attention back to the sun and proceeded to ignore Kai, not knowing what else to do. Wrong move. It seemed that that was not the reaction that Kai wanted out of him.

"The kitty likes sunrises too?" Kai asked airily, as if speaking to no one in particular.

Which was quite absurd to Rei, seeing as both of them were the only ones around.

Slightly peeved, Rei shot back, "The phoenix has awakened? I thought phoenixes were a myth of some kind."

Kai answered smoothly, not missing a beat, "And here I was, thinking that kitties like mornings."

Rei snapped, "I'm not a kitty!"

"And sunrises." Kai continued, as if musing to himself, completely ignorant of Rei.

"And phoenixes are mean grouchy people with the temperament of a three year old throwing a tantrum." Rei retorted.

"So am I correct in assuming that kitties aren't morning animals?"

"And am I exact in hypothesising that phoenixes don't get along with dragons?"

"Weren't you just saying that you thought phoenixes to be mere myths?"

"And here I was, under the mistaken impression that phoenixes were limited to three words per day."

"Indeed."

Peace reigned once more, with Rei deciding that he would not deign to answer Kai any longer.

However, just when the tension was leaving Rei and he was beginning to enjoy his surroundings, a feral yell that could most probably break a decibel scale rang from the bungalow behind them.

"REI KON! WHERE'S BREAKFAST?"

Rei sighed to himself and got up, brushing the dried grass off his pants when he turned around fully and caught sight of Kai looking at him, trying to keep from laughing. He was pretending to cough to cover up his sniggering. Did anyone ever mention to Kai that his acting skills were terrible? Because they were.

"What?" he asked sourly, still miffed with the earlier conversation.

"The kitty cooks?"

Rei promptly reached down and grabbed Kai's blade, flinging it at Kai with all his strength.

Kai caught it swiftly and his smirk grew.

Pretty soon, both of them were laughing.

Kai gave the cab driver his address, before slumping back into the leather seats of the car as they sped away from the desolate park that he had found himself in. That was some run.

Rain was whipping braches outside, and a strong wind was howling ghostly. It was pitch black. Kai couldn't see anything.

With nothing to distract his mind, his thoughts, as usual, turned to Rei. It was implausible to forget about Rei. He was too interspersed and buried into Kai to get rid of. He had burned his way into Kai and left an unforgettable imprint in his mind, whether Kai wanted it or not; whether either of them were ready for it. It wasn't as though they could control such things, try as they might.

And it didn't even matter if Kai lost his mind or came down with amnesia out of the blue, because Rei had planted himself in his heart too. Kai could not let go of Rei, much less a single thought of him. Because even though a certain part of Kai wanted and fought desperately to let go of Rei and everything he had of him, another part fought back just as desperately, sinking its teeth firmly into his heart and absolutely refusing to budge. Because something deep within Kai recognised Rei as the greatest thing to happen to him since forever. And somewhere, he knew that letting the last remaining link to Rei be cut off just like that would be pure suicide – a disgustingly obtuse action.

And so Kai kept clinging on to that Rei inside of him like it was his last life-line. And it probably was, actually. If he had not met Rei, he would continue being an emotionless stoic thoughtless selfish pathetic excuse for a human being who would carry on hurtling on with life in his own path, more than likely injuring anyone within a ten foot radius of him with the cold fury his traumatic childhood and inhumane godfather had provided him with. More than likely he would have sunk deeper and deeper into his whirling unstable thoughts and mangled perception of the world and his ultimate goal in life that he desperately wanted to achieve – so deep that no one could reach in and grasp him to haul him; so damn deep that no one could save him.

But Rei managed to do what no one else had managed to accomplish – he had halted Kai in his mindless warpath, made him turn one hundred and eighty degrees and take a new outlook on the world and people around him. He had made him actually aware of the fact that there were people out there willing to befriend him and assist him, that there was so much more to life than pure fury and the final goal that he was striving so hard for, perhaps too hard.

Rei had saved him from the worst monstrosity possible – himself.

He owed Rei. And since Rei wasn't here, the least that he could do was to keep the memories with him. He owed Rei at least that much, if nothing else. Besides, it wasn't as though he could forget Rei as and when he wanted to. Like mentioned earlier –implausible.

"Sir?"

Kai was snapped out of his reverie, and faced the cab driver who was peering closely at him anxiously.

"What?" he glared back instinctively, feeling uncomfortable with someone invading his personal space.

The driver shrank back, but managed to get out, "We're here."

Kai growled before slapping some money into the driver's outstretched hand.

As he slammed the door of the car, and watched it speed off into the distance, he sighed heavily in resignation. His car was in the driveway, meaning that Tyson and Max were home and waiting for him.

"Rei!"

Said person grimaced noticeably, ducking his head on his knees, as if hoping that that would automatically make him invisible to the person calling him. No such luck. Seriously, voices that shrill should be completely outlawed.

A flash of pink and a pair of arms were around him, squeezing the air out of his lungs. Rei was turning blue, gasping for much needed oxygen. Luckily for him, Lee arrived in time to forcefully pry Mariah off from the helplessly choking teen.

Rei grunted, massaging his sore neck. Lee was grinning at him, not at all fazed by the fact that Rei was attempting to shoot daggers through him.

"You're disrupting my peace. What do you want?" Rei grumbled.

It wasn't that he did not enjoy talking to anyone else or was pissed at Mariah and Lee for creeping up on him like that, or even at Mariah for nearly asphyxiating him. Okay, well maybe. But, it was mostly that he did not like to be interrupted when he was enjoying the scenery.

That was what he liked to do – gaze at whatever miracle of nature that happened to happen – without anyone bothering him. He abhorred it when people came and broke the silence. In fact, looking back, the only time that he had not minded when someone interrupted him while he was gazing at anything, was with Hiwatari. Come to think of it, that was the only times that he had not blown his top or feel remotely pissed off. He wondered why.

"Well, see. Lee and I think that it's time for you to...you know, patch things up." Mariah said slowly, staring at Rei in the eyes.

Rei stiffened, before tearing his eyes away from Mariah's and saying, to the ground, "No." It was always like that when the whole Kai topic was hinted at, much less brought up so boldly. Rei would turn reclusive and shut himself off from everyone else.

Mariah rolled her eyes at Rei's stubbornness. Honestly, guys could be so obstinate just because of their pride.

Lee continued, as if Rei had not said anything, "It's been a really long time since you and Hiwatari have talked, and we just know that he is dying to see you. And we think that this stupid façade has gone on long enough. Basically, both of us, and I'm sure others, think that you and Kai should stop acting like jackasses and get a move on."

Mariah kept her eyes heavenward. Guys obviously did not have the word 'tact' in their vocabulary. Trust Lee to give it to Rei straight out just like that. She hardly thought that he would have considered the vast impact and hurt that such a topic, that caused old wounds to reopen, could break Rei's precious heart. Lee really needed to learn a few things. What if Rei just broke down and cried?

Both Lee and Rei ignored Mariah's internal rambling, knowing that she was thinking about the rougher points of a guy. It was best to stay out of her way till she was past that phase.

"No." Rei said again, this time to the sun that had almost risen completely.

"But Rei!" Mariah whined.

"Leave him." Lee ordered, knowing that it was useless.

As if it was not blatant enough from the numerous times that they had tried, and failed, to get Rei to reconcile with Kai. Those two had some serious issues to sort out.

Mariah shot him a glare, but he grabbed her arm and dragged her forcefully away.

"I'm coming! I'm coming." Mariah frowned, pulling her arm from his now slack grip.

"By the way, you need to work on your tact." She ordered.

"My tact?" Lee sounded amused.

"Yes, your tact."

"What tact?" Lee just had to be grinning.

"That is my point exactly! There is no tact whatsoever!"

"Uhuh..."

The sound of their footsteps through the gravel faded away, along with Mariah's strict tone and Lee's amused voice.

Rei smiled to himself. Lee was in for some serious discussion with Mariah. All he could say was 'good luck'.

Kai opened the door and closed it, turning around to find, as predicted, Tyson and Max waiting anxiously for him.

"Go to bed." He growled. This was not his day. He was cold, miserable, and wanted to do nothing more than to take a long hot bath and curl up in bed.

It wasn't as though that was the first time that he had ran out of Tala's house like that, or returned this late. Besides, he was older than them. He could take care of himself. They should not have wasted their time and energy waiting up for him.

"But Kai," Max whispered, starting to go into his lecture mode. All that crap about 'just looking out for him'. He had heard it a million times.

Kai slammed the door in his face, before flopping onto the bed. That bath could wait. He was dead tired.

Unfortunately, his mind was not giving him any rest from a Chinese blader. He wondered what Rei was doing now...before ordering himself to stop thinking about him.

It was always like that. The more he tried to forget about Rei, the more difficult it became. And every time after a visit to Tala or an encounter with Bryan, the memories just back more vivid, clearer than ever. He had lost track of number of hours of sleep that he had lost over the entire matter.

So, helpless, he tossed and turned, letting the reminiscing keep him up. They flashed through his mind one after another. Each more precious than the last. Each more painful.

Finally, completely emotionally and physically drained, Kai fell into a deep, uneasy slumber.

-

End Chapter Six