Okay, a little dull, but 'sall right. Additional disclaimer- I do not own Salem cigarettes, I don't even smoke them. Can you say yuck?

Tears of Bloody Innocence- Chapter Three

6308 sat stretched out in the open windowsill, staring out into the jungle of Tokyo city, his hands clenched on the fabric of his pants, itching to reach into one of his pockets. It didn't matter which one, he just had to do it before he died of boredom.

The training was not going well. Yes, they had won the two informal matches that Mr. Dickenson had set up, but 6308 knew that they could do so much better. Tyson ate too much, Max was constantly giddy, Tyson was too loud, Kenny was always saying some sort of technological nonsense, Tyson complained at every exercise, he was ready to turn Dizzi into scrap metal. Oh, and he wanted to wrap his hands around Tyson's throat until the boy's face matched his ridiculous hair.

In fact, the only one he was remotely pleased with was Rei. More than remotely; Kai said jump, Rei jumped, and did it again to make sure he got it right. Then he'd add a back handspring just to see if he could. And as rewarding as this was, 6308 was frustrated to the point of snapping that he had to put so much energy into making the other two simply obey him.

Not only did they not obey him, but every single one was constantly asking him to open quote, hang out, close quote. Every time one of them brought it up, he'd glare until they got the hint. But the hint would only last for a half-hour at most. If this kept up, he would have to beat it into them- Kai Hiwitari is not a people person.

His fingers twitched, spasming as he fought the urge to plunge them into his right pocket. At first, he hadn't understood why Boris had let him get addicted to those little, God-sent sticks of nicotine, but he did now. It was another test of his self-control, and another way that Boris could ensure that he did as he was told. In the beginning, he had struggled against the scientist and his team, resisting his orders. When that happened, his cigarettes would disappear . . . until he did exactly what he was told. But that had been a time long past, at least six years ago. He had no problems obeying now.

Kai had to clench his fists together to stop himself now, and nails digging into his flesh, little crescent shaped indents glaring red from the abused skin. Smiling wryly, he decided he had suffered enough lately, and deserved this small release.

His hand plunged into his right pocket, removing the bright green and black carton and square lighter. He lovingly caressed the almost yin-yang logo that was engraved on the box before drawing one of its inhabitants out. Putting a cigarette between his lips, he flicked open the smooth silver lid, a spurt of flames erupting from the cool metal to ignite on the paper. 6308 inhaled, setting the end to smoldering, closing the lighter and placing it back in his pocket.

Leaning back against the windowsill, he blew out a long, steady stream of smoke, watching the small tendril join with the persistent trickle that lifted from his cigarette. The grey-blue mist drifted in the crisp, dark air, twisting itself into patterns, dancing erotically above the sultry lights from below before fading into nothingness.

Contemplating the little curls of smoke, he sighed, damning his internal clock soundly. For the first two weeks, he hadn't had a problem with his irregular sleep patters, merely imposing them on the other members of the Bladebreakers. And it had worked fine, until the other boys had started falling asleep during their drills. So 6308 had stopped pushing them all night, and had drawn the limit at eleven o'clock to compensate. He couldn't expect them to be able to keep up with an elite such as he, even if he badly wanted to. But that meant he was awake . . . all night long . . . with nothing to do. His training forbade idleness, and it was driving him crazy.

He replaced the white stick in his mouth, inhaling its bitter stench and savory taste all at once. He was about to release his breath when his entire frame tensed, feeling a hand clenched on his shoulder. Without hesitation, he gripped the wrist and flipped the person over his head, dangling him out of the window.

"Kai!"

Beneath the red glow at the end of his cigarette hung Rei, pale and shaking, but holding valiantly to the others wrist with his free hand. "Jesus fucking Christ. What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Uh . . ." The Chinese boy cringed, glancing down at the streets and lights below him. Way, way below him. "Can we continue this conversation with both of us out of mortal danger? Please?"

Nodding, Kai clenched his cigarette between his teeth so he wouldn't drop it and hauled the other teen over the windowsill and back into the room. As soon as his feet touched the carpet, Rei collapsed into a heap, leaning against the wall, eyes closed. Letting out a long-held breath, his tawny eyes opened to look up at his captain. "Note to self: never sneak up on Kai. He'll throw me out a window."

"Hn," was his only reply. Taking his cigarette from his lips, 6308 blew out a long stream of smoke before flicking the butt out the window. 'Never sneak up on Kai.' The only thing was, no one had been able to "sneak up" on him since long before he could remember. Why had Rei been able to?

"Sorry I scared you man. I keep forgetting that people aren't used to me moving without a lot of noise." Misinterpreting the odd look he received, he expanded. "You know, neko-jin heritage. Look like a cat, move like a cat, act like a cat."

6308 was silent for a moment, in which Rei shifted his weight, drawing one knee up to his chest. A second before the hush became unbearable, he asked, "Your body works like a cat's would. Including keener eyesight . . . or faster heart rate?" At Rei's nod, Kai, reached his hand back into his right pocket.

That was why he hadn't heard the boy. His ability to hear another person lay in listening for individual heartbeats. A cat's heart beats so fast it seems to be a single hum, and was therefore not something he would pick up on. Interesting. Flicking open the Zippo, he bent his head and lit a second Salem, this time considerately turning his head away from the Chinese boy as he blew out his grey haze. Glancing down at the boy who looked up at him curiously, he lifted an eyebrow. "I know you don't want one, so say it already."

Rei shook his head. "I don't really know what to say. I've got so many questions. What were you thinking about that I scared you that bad, why do you do that," he wrinkled his nose at the cigarette, "to your body, why won't you let anyone near you...?"

Folding himself back into place at the window, 6308 stared out over the city, eyes wandering to the stars that were drowned out by Tokyo's lights. "Curiosity killed the neko-jin," he warned.

"Ah, but we have nine lives," he grinned. "I can afford to lose one."

Scarlet meshed with gold, locking into the deadliest of embraces, where neither can find meaning behind the stare of the other. "But I can't."

How's that for a bit of double meaning? And so it begins. Okay, so here's my deal. There won't be a whole lot of actual blading in this, just references to matches that I'll probably make up. If it gets too confusing in later chapters, please let me know and I will fix them.