Here's the next chapter! Just a quick warning, this story will contain a lot of yaoi, so don't like, don't read, and defintely don't flame!
"Why did you refer to Kinomiya by his given name, but me by my ancestral name?" Ray asked Mizuhara through a mouthful of steak. Mizuhara smiled.
"Because he refuses to answer to anything else!" he replied. "We call each other by our given names all the time. How can you be friends when all you call your friend is the family name? Do you really think that Maya Kon and Tomis Kinomiya called each other "Kon" and "Kinomiya"?" Ray chuckled, remembering the story of the two lovers. It was a personal favourite of his younger sister's.
"No, you're probably correct." he admitted.
"I know I'm correct!" Mizuhara said hotly. A sudden thought struck Ray. The reference to the story of the two lovers, and the way that Mizuhara had blatantly looked him up and down...
"Are you and...Tyson...together?" he asked awkwardly. Mizuhara laughed.
"No, though it's not through lack of trying on my part!" he said easily. "Seriously though, Tyson would never even think about it. He's as straight as they come. What about you?" Ray shifted around uncomfortably, the large bite of meat in his mouth suddenly feeling much harder to chew. He shrugged, swallowing the meat un-chewed. Gasping as the large lump fought its way along his oesophagus, he took a gulp of wine from the glass still in his hand, trying to wash it down. Recovering, he shrugged again.
"Well?" Mizuhara wasn't giving up. Ray closed his eyes, shame flooding through him.
"Both." he muttered.
"What's so shameful about that?" Ray shrugged yet again. How could he explain...
"I was taught that to want both sexes is a sign of greed." Mizuhara opened his mouth, a fierce look on his face. Suddenly, Kinomiya came up behind him and clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Get Max started on sexuality and you'd better buy earplugs, because he never shuts up!" he said cheerfully. Ray chuckled.
"Kinomiya, let go of him!" Kinomiya's face went blank, his hold on Mizuhara never loosening. Ray mentally kicked himself, remembering Mizuhara's words
"He refuses to answer to anything else!"
"Tyson, let go of him!" Instantly, Tyson let go, a grin spreading across his face.
"Excellent, another convert! Welcome to the flock, Ray!" he joked. Ray smiled slightly, but nothing more. It had felt strange, calling one of the four by his given name. Strange...but not all bad.
"What did you call Mizuhara?" he asked cautiously.
"Max. Why?"
"Do you think - would you mind-" Mizuhara gave Ray an easy smile, somehow understanding what he was trying to say. "Of course you can call me Max, Ray. Tyson, shut up!" he ordered. Tyson stopped his delighted whooping and picked up a toffee apple instead. Suddenly, the double doors that Ray had come through were flung open. Tyson snorted as the room fell silent.
"Here comes the king of grand entrances!" he said sarcastically, biting into the toffee apple with a loud crunch. Nonplussed, Ray turned to Max.
"Hitwarti." Max said curtly. Still somewhat confused, Ray looked towards the double doors, and the figure striding away from it. Hitwarti. The fourth of the guardian families. Masters of fire.
The figure stopped about halfway across the room, his head turning as he looked for something. Ray had a sudden thought: He knows I'm looking at him! He looked down quickly, staring with apparent fascination at the wooden floor. He risked a quick glance upwards again, only to freeze, unable to move.
The young man standing directly in front of him had dark-blue hair, not unlike Tyson's, with the hair at the front prematurely grey. His body was lean and muscled, and he was wearing black, with a blood-red scarf thrown carelessly around his neck. Ray barely noticed any of this, his eyes locked with the other's wine-red eyes. Wine-red, yes...he felt as if he were drunk, aware of his breathing quickening at the raw sexuality radiating from Hitwarti. The older boy took one more, measured step forwards. Now there were barely five centimetres between them. Ray's legs felt weak. He fumbled behind him, searching for the table to lean on. Hitwarti reached out and slowly ran a hand down Ray's cheek. The skin burned where it made contact.
"You'll do." His voice throbbed in Ray's mind, seductive, demanding... A brief smirk crossed Hitwarti's pale face and he turned away, picking up a piece of steak and chewing it ravenously. Ray blinked slowly, gazing at him.
"What do you want, Hitwarti?" The aggressive challenge was followed by a clear, pure note, the sound of it breaking Ray's daze. Dizzy, he stumbled backwards, head reeling. Tyson caught him clumsily and handed him a glass of water.
"Drink it, Ray." he whispered, eyeing Hitwarti warily. Ray raised the glass to his mouth and took a few shaky sips. The cool water cleared his head, and he saw Max and standing in front of Hitwarti, who was looking at the younger boy with complete unconcern. The air was humming faintly, sounding almost like singing.
"Leave Kon alone." Max's voice was throbbing with power, the air around him distorted with it.
"Why? Are you jealous?" was the cool answer. The hum in the air intensified.
"No, why would I be jealous of someone who's been spelled into thinking that you're the best thing since time began?"
"Because it's happened to you, Mizuhara. And you can stop trying to Sing me into submission, because you know it doesn't work. I am far stronger than you."
"You are nothing!" Max hissed, the angry singing growing to an almost impossible level. The room had fallen silent, everyone watching the confrontation. "You use your powers purely for your own selfish needs, you don't care what happens to anyone else! You are unnatural!"
"Oh, I'm unnatural?" Hitwarti smirked. "This is coming from somebody who wouldn't touch a girl with a ten-foot javelin?"
"That's coming from someone who would probably try to shag a ten-foot javelin!" Max snarled, his blue eyes flashing with anger.
The constant hum of noise was making Ray feel dizzy again. Despite his best efforts, he slumped against Tyson, the world swirling around him.
Tyson looked at Ray, who was breathing erratically, his face pale. Quickly, he sent a short gust of wind in-between the two boys, severing the magical connection that their conflicting powers had built up. He lowered Ray against the table and stepped forwards, completely ignoring Hitwarti.
"Max," he said quietly. "Stop it. Your Singing's affecting Ray." Max shot a concerned look at Ray and nodded. The hum died away. Tyson turned around, only to see Hitwarti standing next to Ray, looking down at him commandingly. Anger flooding through him, Tyson extended a hand, then closed it into a fist. Ray began to move towards him, borne up by the wind.
"Leave him alone." Tyson ordered. Shrugging, Hitwarti turned away and began talking to an auburn-haired boy standing a little distance away. He looked back over his shoulder for a second.
"You can do what you want, Kinomyia. But I'll get him in the end." he said ominously.
Ray half-opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor, a thin blanket draped over him. The air was humming again, but unlike last time, it made him feel steadier, more alert. He tried to sit up, but didn't have the strength, and collapsed back down again.
"Take it easy, mate." Tyson's voice told him. "Just hold still now..." He felt himself being lifted off the floor and carried along, out a side door and down a corridor, then through another door and deposited on a large bed. "You should try and get some rest now." Tyson advised him. "Poor you, being hit by two powerful spells before you had the chance to put up any defences. If you need anything, I think a slave'll be coming in a minute." He felt the bed go down, Tyson obviously getting up. "See you later, Ray." The door banged shut. Ray shut his eyes and within seconds fell into a deep sleep.
Tyson walked back into the hall and grimaced at the sight of Max locked in an embrace with a green-haired French boy, whose name, if he remembered correctly, was Oliver. Of Hitwarti, there was no sight. Thank the Guardians, Tyson thought. One confrontation per day is all my stomach can take. With his stomach in mind, he wandered over to the table, where there was still plenty of food left. Not for long...
"Hello, Tyson!" Tyson turned to the sound of the voice.
"Oh, hi Enrique." The Italian magician nodded over to where Max and Oliver were still kissing.
"What happened? Hitwarti again?" Tyson nodded, sighing.
"He tried to make a pass at Ray - Kon, you'd call him. It was quite successful too, as we didn't warn him in time. Shocked him badly. So, Max got furious, like he does, and, well, you must've heard the rest." Enrique nodded.
"The whole hall did." he said dryly. Giving a rueful nod, Tyson looked around the hall. It was nearly empty now, only the four of them and the slaves left. He rose to his feet.
"So, do you want to come and help me prise those two apart?" he asked, gesturing towards the other two. With a nod, Enrique rose.
R&R, please! And could somebody tell me if anyone's ever tried a Max/Oliver pairing before? It just popped into my head. They would be sweet together, wouldn't they? Review!