Personally,I don't like the way this story goes from here, so all opinions worthwile!

Kai blew out a long breath. "Right…" he said slowly.

"Because, normally, you know, I'd just assume it was Hilary over-reacting, but-"

"Where is Hilary?" Kai interrupted.

"Upstairs, in the shower. So, like I was saying, normally, I'd just think it was Hilary, but…"

"The look in his eyes..." Kai nodded in understanding.

"Horrible. She's really worried. Thinks Tyson hates her. And, for all that they argue, she thinks of him like a brother. No-one wants their brother hating them." Ray said, shuddering. The two of them fell quiet for a second, remembering the dark, haunted look in Tyson's eyes. Kai leaned forwards.

"Ray," he said urgently. "Tell me what happened in there." Ray sighed.

"Well, I don't know half of it, but I'll tell you what I know…"

"Tyson and his temper!" grimaced Kai. Ray shook his head.

"No, it was much worse than his normal "Life is so unfair!" temper. It was almost like…like…" Ray trailed off, realising what he was about to say. Kai snorted with laughter.

"Like my temper?" he said dryly. Ray nodded his head, hugely embarrassed.

"Yeah…Except…I really think he would've…killed Vortex if Max hadn't stopped him in time."

"No." Kai shook his head firmly. "He would've stopped himself before then."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Lucky him..." Ray had a feeling he shouldn't have heard that muttered comment, so he said nothing. Looking awkwardly to the side, he saw Hilary coming down the stairs, wearing only her thin pyjamas. He wolf-whistled. Hilary blushed and ran down the rest of the stairs, sitting carefully on his lap.

"Oof! Hillary, you weigh a ton!" Ray joked. Hilary looked up, smiled vaguely, and looked back down again. Ray sighed. He tipped Hillary's chin up to face him. "Hilary, Tyson doesn't hate you!" At any other time, Hilary would've argued. But it was midnight and she was exhausted, desperately wanting to sleep, but unable to because of Tyson.

"You sure?" she asked softly. Ray nodded.

"Of course I'm sure!" Ray said confidently, then stopped her replying by bending over and gently, softly, kissing her. Kai couldn't suppress a silent groan of longing as he watched.

Hilary detangled herself from Ray and placed a finger on his lips, eyes sparkling, back to normal.

"Easy, Ray!" she laughed. "Don't forget, we aren't alone!" Relieved to have Hilary back again, Ray turned his head towards Kai, intending to apologise. Kai turned his head away quickly, but not fast enough. Seeing the look on his face, Ray stopped.

"What's up, Kai?" he asked confusedly. Kai stayed silent, not trusting his voice. Ray looked slowly from Kai, to Hilary, to himself, to him and Hilary holding hands, and back to Kai again. Realisation hit him like a bomb. "Kai?" he said uncertainly. "D-Did you use to have a girlfriend?" Hilary blinked in astonishment. Kai? Girlfriend? While Hilary was still trying to get her head round it, Ray was staring intently at Kai. Despite knowing that he was right, he was almost as surprised as Hilary when Kai nodded slowly.

"It's a long story," said Kai quietly.

"Do you want to tell us?" asked Hilary gently. Kai said nothing, already gearing himself up to "spill the beans" as Max always said. He roughly dragged a hand across his eyes, trying to wake himself up.

"Okay, this ties in with a lot of things, so I'd better start at the beginning."

"Right. Back when this happened, I was living on the streets. My-" he stopped himself abruptly.

"What is it?" asked Ray. Kai swallowed.

"Well, back then, I was…very…messed up, okay?"

"Okay." the other two said in unison.

"Thanks. Okay, so back then, I was leader of one of the gangs. My nickname was Flame."

"Why?"

"Dunno." Kai said evasively. "When I first came to the city, the old leader tried to set his gang on me. I didn't particularly like this treatment, so when he wouldn't stop, I sent him to the hospital with five broken ribs and a punctured lung. Which, apparently, meant that I was the new leader. Which was pretty good going, considered I was only twelve. They weren't all bad, the gang…" Kai looked wistful for a minute. "There was this one girl…Anika, her name was. She was hard, had to be, because she was hanging around with us, but she was really nice as well, and she was beautiful, wonderful black hair, blue eyes and thesexiest smile…She was also the old leader's girlfriend. So, I thought she'd hate me, but she…didn't." Kai flushed red. "We ended up going out for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it didn't last. And it was all my fault, all my stupid, stupid fault…" Kai's eyes closed for a second and it took a real effort to open them again.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell us this later, after you've had a rest?" asked Hilary nervously, seeing how exhausted Kai was.

"Don't talk to me like I'm Sarah's age, Hilary!" Kai said thickly. A pounding migraine had settled behind his eyes, making it hard for him to think straight. "I'm fine!"

"No you're not!" muttered Hilary rebelliously. Ignoring the interruption, Kai carried on taking a deep breath.

"So…this is where I'm gonna need you two to remember what I told you at the start, okay? Thanks. So, one morning, I went into our hideout, only to find this prat pushing E to my girlfriend!"

"E?"

"It's a drug, Hilary. Illegal."

"Oh. Thanks, Ray." Ray looked at Kai, who seemed very reluctant to carry on. He raised an eyebrow curiously. Kai swallowed again.

"Okay. The night before…we'd had a drinking contest."

"But…you were only twelve!" gasped Hilary.

"With vodka." continued Kai.

Ray swore under his breath.

"It'd gone on till two in the morning…and by the time I arrived…about ten in the morning…most of us were still drunk. Including me." Kai avoided Hilary's gaze.

"But you were twelve!" repeated Hilary, horrified.

"My temper was even worse back then, and being drunk just added to it. So I went up to this guy, he was really small, a dwarf, picked him up and cracked his head against the wall."

Kai stood there, blood dripping from the junkie's head in his hand.

"Right!" he slurred, looking around. "Who bought trash off this prat?" A small pile of white powder piled up in front of him. Kai's eyes narrowed. "That it?" he asked. One of the older boys in the room squirmed uncomfortably. Kai dropped the unconscious drug dealer and walked unsteadily over to him. "Well, Gazza?" he said silkily, looking up into his face. The terrified boy shook his head. "No, Flame. I-I don't take E!" Lazily, Kai balled his hand into a fist and punched the older boy in the arm. A small needle fell from his hand. Kai flinched slightly and quickly kicked it out of sight. He put his face very close to Gazza's. "Yeah, you're right, Gazza. This ain't E. Do y'know what it is?" he said, imitating Gazza's rough voice. Gazza desperately shook his head. "It's heroin, you slug! That's a Class A drug!" He swung round to face the others. "If I ever catch any of you with drugs again, you're out of this gang in a flash! Do you hear me?"

"Yes, Flame." the petrified group said in unison.

"Oh, yeah, Flame?" came a sarcastic voice. "Wotcha gonna do? Fall over on us? Look at you! You can barely stand!"

"Well, at least he wasn't too chicken to join in last night!" jeered a voice.

"Why? So I could end up like that?" said the teenager sneeringly. "He's younger'n all of us, blind drunk, and we're takin' orders from him like a bunch of sheep!" Kai pulled himself off the wall he'd been leaning on and swaggered up to the older boy, a dangerous glint in his eye. Sensing a fight, the other boys crowded round. Kai's voice was soft as he spoke.

"So, Tim, you think you c'n fight me, d'you?"

"Fight? Hah! I could knock you over with one finger!" He demonstrated, pushing the unsteady boy, causing him to nearly fall over.

"Very well. I accept your challenge." Kai straightened up. Suddenly, every sign of drunkenness fell away from him. Gone was the smirk, the swaying, the drunken slur. In their place stood Flame, eyes dangerously alight at the thought of a fight. Tim blanched and flinched backwards.

"But-but…you were drunk!" he pleaded. Kai laughed coldly. "Me, drunk? Oh, I assure you, I'm not sober yet. But the day that three bottles of vodka makes me blind drunk, Tim, is the day you can take over this gang." Tim grovelled desperately as the circle rang with jeers and praise of Flame, their leader.

"Oh, brilliant acting, Flame. I am nothing…"

"Dead right, Tim." Kai spat. "But…" His eyes glittered in anticipation.

"You did state a challenge. So, let's see how you fare against a boy almost four years younger than you. Come on, then!" Tim silently pulled himself upright, angry and humiliated.

"You're gonna regret this, Flame!" he hissed, charging at Kai, arms outspread. Kai stepped aside coolly, watching Tim almost crash into a wall.

"Really? You could have fooled me, Tim. It that really all you've got?"

"You wish!" snarled Tim. Wary now, he backed off a few steps and began to circle Kai, who was standing still, arms folded, looking completely unconcerned. When he was positioned behind Kai, he ran swiftly towards him, intending to knock him over.

Once again, he found himself stumbling into a wall. He looked around wildly, only to see Kai land lightly from a somersault and spin around on the balls of his feet, perfectly balanced, and ready. The twelve-year-old was incredibly flexible and lightening-fast, while Tim was immensely strong.

The two of them circled each other, probing for weaknesses. Kai caught his foot on a jutting-out piece of brick as he turned, distracting him for a second. In a flash, Tim was on him, pinning him back against the wall. Now was a time where pure muscle power ruled, and Tim's eyes flashed with satisfaction as he watched Kai struggle uselessly against his grip. "This is the end, Flame!" he panted.

"You…wish!" grunted Kai. He brought his legs up and kneed Tim hard in the stomach,

Tim dropped Kai and doubled over, clutching his stomach and wheezing. Kai picked himself up and waited patiently for Tim to recover, to disbelieving cries from the circle surrounding them.

"C'mon, Flame, you can take him now!"

"No point in acting like a gentleman. He won't!" There was a few sniggers at that, then someone started up a chant. In a few seconds, the shack rang with cries.

"Flame! Flame! Flame! Flame! Flame…" It trailed off uncertainly as Kai gave them a scorching look. Tim staggered up, breathing hard.

"Why…didn't…y'…finish me…off?" he panted.

"Because it wouldn't be fair." said Kai simply. Tim looked confusedly at his leader, then shrugged. No one, except possibly that chick, Anika, even tried to understand how Flame's mind worked. Fair? What was fair in a fight? He almost fell as a sharp kick to his ankle had him reeling. "Tut, tut, Tim!" Kai said teasingly. "You must always pay attention!" Their eyes locked. The crowd fell silent. They flew at each other.

Cheering rose again as they kicked, punched, and bit each other. Thirty seconds later, the dust cleared slightly. Tim was on top of Kai, punching him round the face. In an amazing contortion, Kai wriggled his arms free and wrapped his hands round Tim's throat. Instantly, Tim started choking, his grip loosening. Kai pulled away, and the two of them looked at each other.

"Draw, Flame?" panted Tim.

"As always!" grinned Kai. Anika walked up to them.

"Have you boys stopped fighting now? Good." she purred seductively. "Do you mind if I have a little talk with Flame?" she asked, resting her hand possessively on his arm. A few boys exchanged coarse comments as Kai nodded.

"If anyone disturbs us, they'll answer to me!" he said fiercely. Everyone hurriedly backed away, leaving a clear path to a door.

Outside, Kai sagged. Leaning against the door, he idly traced a finger round the rapidly swelling bruise on his face.

"Don't know…why you…brought…me…out here, Anika. I'm fine." he panted.

"Are you?" said Anika sceptically, looking at his pale face and the blood seeping from at least five different places.

"Yeah…I'm…fine…" Kai's voice trailed off as he fell forwards, unconscious before he hit the ground.

"Flame? Flame? Oh, thank God you're awake! You've been out for an hour…" Anika's worried voice faded as she looked carefully at him. She sighed.

"Okay, when did you last have any thing to eat?" she demanded. Kai tried to answer, but his throat contracted and he jerked forwards, vomiting up the last of the vodka. "Well?" Anika pressed. Kai showed her a number. "T-Two days ago!" spluttered Anika furiously. "No wonder you've been out! What did I tell you about that?" Kai slowly shook his head, too weak to reply. "Oh for God's sake-" Anika broke off abruptly and rummaged around in her pocket. Pulling out a can of drink, she yanked Kai upright and carefully poured a little of the drink into his mouth, being careful not to choke him. She waited patiently until a little colour had returned to his cheeks, then continued her rant. "I don't do this just for the fun of it, you know! Two days? What the hell were you thinking?"

"No…idea." Kai whispered, grinning.

"It's not funny!" cried Anika.

"Yes…it…is!"

"Stop it!" she shrilled. Leaning forwards, she kissed him desperately. She pulled away. His hand twitched slightly as he tried to push himself up. But he could barely move, and he gave up, eyes fixed on Anika.

"What's…the….matter?" he asked gaspingly. Anika burst into silent tears. "Oh-oh, Kai!" she gasped out. Kai stiffened. She had called him by his real name. This was bad. "I just can't…cope with this anymore, Kai! It's not you, I don't care about that, it's…everything else!"

"Everything…else?" questioned Kai. She nodded tearfully.

"The gang making sexist comments all the time, all the fighting, having to act like a sexy bitch, when all I want to be is normal…"

"You…stuck it out with…that other guy!" Kai said accusingly, meaning the old gang leader.

"Only because I didn't have the guts to back out!" Anika insisted. "If it hadn't been for you, I would've left a long time ago!"

"Me?"

"Yes, Kai, you! It might have escaped your attention, but I-I love you!"

"Love…me?" Kai whispered, confused. The world started to spin and darken as he tried to take in what she'd just said. It was too much, he was too tired…

"No, Kai! Don't black out on me now!" Anika cried, slapping him hard round the face. With a massive effort, Kai pulled himself back to consciousness, and lay and listened as Anika continued. "For instance, that fight you just had with Tim. You didn't want to fight each other towards the end, did you? But you carried on because of some crazy, mixed up rule, and because you were both so stubborn! And it's no use you pretending you can't hear me, because I know you can!" Kai opened his eyes, embarrassed. He turned his head towards her, tried to speak, failed. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"What…are you …saying…this…for?" he rasped. Anika looked away from him.

"Ani?" Kai asked gently, reaching out a hand.

"Kai, don't, please! It's hard enough as it is…"

"What is?" demanded Kai. Anika got up and sat next to him. Eyes glittering with unshed tears, she stroked his bruised face. His hand came up and covered hers, holding tightly.

"I'm leaving you, Kai…" Her voice trailed off as she dissolved into fresh tears, sobbing heart-brokenly. "K-Kai? Say something…"

"You picked your time well." Kai said coldly. Inside, he was falling apart. Anika was leaving him, but she loved him, so how did that work? She said she loved him…Wait! Anika was leaving him! Job done, Anika fled, leaving only the evening sky to hear Kai's desolate, grief-filled scream.

"ANIKA!"

Kai closed his eyes and his head fell to one side. "Could…you two…go now?" he muttered weakly, face grey with exhaustion.

"Yeah, sure, Kai."

"No problem. Call us if you need us." Ray and Hilary rose from their seats and hurried outside, closing the door behind them.

"Hilary? What are you doing? Kai needs to sleep-"

"He didn't send us out because he was tired, although he is…" Hilary's voice trailed off. She drew back from the door, trembling. "Listen, Ray. Just listen." Ray limped slowly over to the door and put his ear to it. From inside came a low moaning sound, interrupted by choking sobs. Ray stumbled back and stared at the door. He met Hilary's eye, and the two of them backed away, aware that they were intruding on something incredibly private. They trudged upstairs, Ray leaning heavily on Hilary.

Upstairs, they hugged each other tightly for a few minutes. Hilary pulled away with an exhausted yawn. "I'm so tired…" Ray smiled slightly, stroking her head.

"Go on then. Get some sleep." Hilary blinked owlishly as she crawled into her bed, pulling the covers up to her chin.

"Aren't you going to sleep too, Ray?" she asked sleepily, eyes drifting shut. Ray shook his head. "Me? Sleep?" he muttered to himself, rubbing his throbbing leg as he collapsed into a chair. "Fat chance! You don't know how lucky you are, Hilary. I'm willing to bet no-one else can sleep tonight…"

Argh, Kai/OC!I promised myselfI would never, ever do that... (apart from one story, where I've got him with a boy OC, just for originality) This is going to get a lot more Kai-centered, a lot, so I aplogise if people dislike it.