A/N: Chap 6: Breaking Point.

They fell together, Ray somehow managing to flip himself over so Tala ended up rammed onto the floor with Ray on top. Aqua eyes opened, looking slightly dazed and turned, shocked to find a certain necko jin lying on his lap. A vivid blush that rivalled his hair spread across his cheeks, whilst the other was frozen in shock, utterly mortified by the situation. Ray chuckled nervously

"erm… Told you so?" Tala didn't bother with a scathing remark, he was a little too shocked, not to mention confused that Ray hadn't moved off him, although he couldn't deny it wasn't unpleasant. Ray bit his lip, realising that his arms were round his wolfs shoulders, ad they were a little too close for Tala's comfort. Hang on… Since when was Tala his wolf? Tala froze, completely overwhelmed by a tide of feelings that were too deep for him to understand, feeling Ray's heart fluttering against his chest and the strong arms wound round his shoulders. And then as predicted- reality kicked in. Tala bared his teeth and practically yanked the necko off him.

"WTF are you doing?!"

"T-Tala, I-I"

"No let me tell you- YOU WERE BEING A !"

"Tala?!" Ray yelled as the red head stormed off from the stadium. "Come back! What about practice?!" The Russian stopped giving Ray a look of absolute contempt.

"SOD PRACTICE!" (1)

………………………………...

Tala walked along the pavement, keeping his head down and one eye out for rabid fan girls (they didn't deserve 2) . He'd been mauled twice, he didn't need the experience again. Wanna know what really put him in that coma? Didn't think so… What was Ray playing at? Tala hated physical contact- unless it was a contact sport… He, he. Anyway- why did the idiot try to hug him? Scratch that it was more like being jumped by him. And just when Tala had started to like him… Hang on… Tala didn't like Ray, accepted him maybe, but like? No. He was too clingy, even if Tala did enjoy teaching him, his innocence was like a blanket, it smothered him. But what was the hugging about anyway? Did Ray see them as friends? Tala wasn't sure, but the worst thing was he was starting to doubt himself now, and the memory of Ray's chest pressed against his own like 2 parts of a jigsaw puzzle fitting together… He didn't understand it. This feeling. What did it mean? Tala had never experienced anything like it before, and it terrified him, anything that he couldn't understand, couldn't work out or didn't know scared him. It was part of being a robot. You live life as a circuit, no interruptions, no problems. So what does a robot do when it encounters a problem? It erases it from existence, and memory. There was only one thing to do. Tala had to find Mariah.

………………………………...

Ray stood shaking, just managing to stumble up to the dojo and hobble to his room before his legs completely gave way. From shock or fear Ray wasn't sure. Tala had never yelled like that at him, never, and it was scary. O.K let's rephrase that- times terrifying by 10, square it, then add 5 and you're as close to "Tala fear" as Pluto is to Earth. Light-years away. So when I tell you that Ray was so scared he couldn't stand up, you will understand what I mean. He sank onto the bed massaging his temples, mentally doing himself serious GBH for being so stupid. Why did he have to go and hug Tala like that? Of course the Russian wasn't going to appreciate it, what did he expect? A kiss? Ray's eyes widened, realising that the image did not revolt him… In fact he… Liked it. Ray swallowed, slight panic starting to grip him. Was that what it had all been about? The blushes he'd been having, the nervousness, the fast heartbeat…

Oh no…

"I think… I have a crush on Tala…"

A/N: He, he cliffies rock!

(1): I can imagine Tala yelling this, I really can.

Summary next chappie- Serious planning by Tala and Ray gets an unwelcome letter.