A/N: Now we go to a different scene: White Tiger Territory before the actual chapter. This is gonna take some time… Oh and slight implied Kai/Ray one sided, Lee/Mariah WHO ARE NOT SIBLINGS IN MY FIC. So Chap 7: Sacrifices
Mariah pulled the straightening irons through her long, pink, dyed hair, making sure her pink nail polish was completely dry. Then remembered she was going out to practice with Lee for the tournament, the nail polish would be ruined. She sighed as the doorbell rung, expecting it to be the said lion blader, not that she was very eager to go. The training had been hard going, as Lee and her were using martial arts in their dance, and for the last couple of days, her muscles had really started to ache. The doorbell rung more insistently
"O.K O.K! I'm coming already!" she flung the door open, annoyance on her features, already prepared with a mountain of comments to hurl at her fellow team member. The thoughts were erased when she found Tala on the doorstep, who gave her a bored look before stepping over the threshold.
"Oh well come in then!" Mariah muttered, closing the door behind Tala. The redhead made his way into the dining room, and stood in the middle, tapping his foot impatiently. Mariah stood opposite raising her eyebrows.
"So care to tell me why you barged in here Tala?" The redhead was silent and the words that came out were more than a little strained.
"I- need- a- favour." Mariah gave him a questioning look
"What?"
"I need Lee and Ray to swap teams!" he blurted out. Mariah was shocked
"Why? We've come so far in the competition if we swap then-"
"I can't work with Ray." Tala cut off her babbling. She frowned in confusion, Ray was one of the sweetest guys she'd ever known, and he was cute… Why would he have upset Tala this badly?
"Why?"
"Don't ask awkward questions." Tala replied quietly not meeting her burning gold gaze. Mariah frowned- why would Tala feel awkward around Ray? A niggling thought entered her head, one that she had been dwelling on for most of her teen years. Ray's attitude towards her- even though he knew of her feelings, the long hair, the caring disposition for guys… OMFG RAY WAS GAY! Mariah's head spun, wondering why she hadn't noticed before, it was so obvious now! And if Tala was trying to get rid of Ray… She took a deep breath, blinking away her tears as her dreams shattered.
"Do you like him?" she asked, her voice almost emotionless. Tala looked startled and then defiant
"No I do not!" he snapped, making to leave but the cat girl blocked the door.
"So you're afraid of him?"
"What?! No way- I the mighty, infamous, cold hearted Tala Ivanov is never afraid!" he retorted
"Yeah- try to keep your ego in check?" she scathed and Tala frowned, refusing to look at her, hands on his hips.
"So why swap?" Tala was silent.
"I don't have to explain my feelings to you." then kicked himself as soon as the F word came out of his mouth
"AHA! So you admit it!" Mariah cried triumphantly "You do have feelings for him!"
"I was referring to my feelings about the situation." Tala replied coldly
"And what would this situation be?" she pressed. Tala started to pray inside his head, trying to make up for all the years he had forsaken God in the Abbey.
Dear God
Please save me from the pink thing trying to analyse me
I'm in trouble
Amen
X for good measure?
"Tala I asked you a question!"
"Which I will not answer!"
"So you're scared?!"
"No!"
"In denial!"
"No!"
"Sure?"
"NO!"
"Do you say anything apart from 1 syllable words?"
"Y- I mean- obviously. See hah! 4 syllables!"
"Do you have a thing for guys?"
THUMP
"Tala?! OMFG Tala are you O.K? Tala?" Mariah cried worried, as she bent over the unconscious Russian. Real clever Mariah- do you have a thing for guys? Tala obviously doesn't take shock very well…
Tala POV:
Ha, as long as she thinks I'm unconscious, she can't talk to me and I can get out of here! Now to think of a plan…
(1 minute later)
Dammit, I can calculate the rotation speed of a beyblade in a second, I can work out the surface area of the Eiffel Tower, but I can't think of a way to escape from a tiny 2 bedroom apartment. I am deeply ashamed… Curse my cyborg inabilities, Einstein's equations- easy, emotional traps in which a crazy pink fuzz ball is concerned? Not a chance… What I need is a distraction…
(2 minutes later)
O.K I really can't afford to wait for a distraction anymore, as Mariah is freaking out, I have had 3 consecutive glasses of water thrown in my face, had had a saucepan banged in my ear, and worst of all- ice cube down my back. I really did have to restrain myself from strangling her at that point. And who says I have no self control? At least I don't sink so low as to hitting women. AHA this is my chance- she's in the kitchen calling the emergency services, now if I just quietly slip outside…
"TALA!"
Oh crap Tala, get those legs moving, her pink claws are right behind you!
………………………………...
Ray was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a mug of coffee, he'd not got hardly any sleep. He groaned and rubbed his tired eyes, checking the time on the clock: 6.00 AM. And Kai wasn't even up yet. That had to be a record. How did he know this? Well it was a very strange, and widely unknown fact, that Kai could snore for Japan. Ray buried his head in his arms, neither able to keep his eyes open or sleep but dozing on the kitchen table. Suddenly he heard footsteps descending from the stairs, he didn't even need to open his eyes to know it was Kai. Who else would be up this early? He felt a gentle prod on his shoulder
"Ray? You awake?"
"Hn." was the mumbled response and he heard a very faint chuckle.
"I thought I was the one who spoke in hn language. I'm a bad influence."
"Yeah I'm up at the crack of dawn and can't sleep because of your stupid training sessions every week."
"We know that's a lie. Even on a practice day you're up after Max."
"Hn."
"Quit using my catchphrase. Now why aren't you asleep? You look like the living dead."
"Great way to mince words Kai."
"So go to bed."
"Can't sleep."
"Hn. Since when did you have trouble sleeping?"
"Since Tala started to practice with me."
"Hn… Why?"
"…" Kai gave the necko jin a scarlet eyed stare.
"I'm waiting."
"Shut up and leave me alone!" Ray hissed. He did not want to go into his personal life with his captain, not least about his sexuality. Or Tala. It was common knowledge the 2 captains weren't on the best of terms, and Kai was sure to use it as a weapon to get at the redhead. And Ray didn't want that to happen. Kai got up and bent down to the necko, rubbing his shoulder
"Please tell me." Ray's gold eyes widened, Kai just said please! He'd never heard the taciturn captain say that before, in all years of knowing him. Kai's crimson orbs still rested on him. Ray bit his lip
"You wont say anything?"
"Not if you don't want me to." Kai whispered, keeping his gaze locked on Ray, waiting for him to speak. Ray steeled himself and took a deep breath
"Me and Tala…" Kai remained silent but gave him an encouraging look. Ray blurted out the last part "I really like him." For a second, a sad look flitted across Kai's features, but then it was gone, hidden once more behind the cold mask. He nodded businesslike
"So when are you gonna tell him?"
"What? Kai this is Tala! I can't even touch his hand without him getting uncomfortable." Kai frowned.
"This is your battle Ray, I can't help you face him. But if you don't find a way… I doubt anyone will."
"Huh?"
"All I'm saying… Is you've got the best chance. Tala had never been so amicable before, he'll listen to you."
"Not after last night."
"Hn?"
"We had a little… Situation."
"I hope you do not mean what you're implying." Kai growled as Ray turned bright red
"Kai! I'm 15 remember?! Of course we didn't…. Ew!"
"O.K, O.K, sorry. But I don't want…"
"What's wrong?"
"Ah nothing." Kai replied, standing up, not looking at Ray. "I'm going out."
"Kai what did you mean?" Ray asked, putting one hand on Kai's, preventing him from opening the door. Kai looked from Ray's hand, to his eyes, and Ray let go. He didn't look back, but as he walked away Ray heard a very faint reply
"I don't want him hurting you." and Ray was left wondering why Kai would care.
………………………………...
Mariah paced up and down, relaying the facts back to Lee once more
"Tala likes Ray, but he wont- or rather is too afraid- to admit it. And he wants to swap teams because Ray is showing signs of liking him."
"did he tell you all this?"
"Not in so many words but I have women's intuition." Mariah replied smugly and Lee sighed.
"So… Tala wont accept his love?"
"No."
"And Ray is too shy?"
"Looks that way." Mariah replied sadly. Lee looked thoughtful and sat back crossing his legs
"I say we swap." he said confidently. Mariah's mouth dropped open.
"But Lee! Ray'll be really hurt! We can't do that to him!" Lee sighed and put his fingertips together
"You don't still have a crush on the guy do you?" Mariah blushed
"No! That'd be just silly…"
"Cos he's batting for the other side now, he's in love with Tala, so you better forget him Mariah. You'll just get hurt." the lion blader said matter of factly but not unkindly.
"I'm not stupid Lee!" Mariah snapped. "But how will swapping teams solve this problem?
"Tala needs his space if he's ever going to accept Ray." Lee replied "And sometimes it takes becoming someone's enemy, to miss being their friend."
"I see… So if we keep them apart Tala will see what he's doing to Ray and in turn will feel guilty for swapping, and will want to get back with him. It does kinda make sense." Mariah agreed. Lee looked at her suspiciously, Mariah had been crushing on Ray for as long as he could remember. Why was she taking this so well?
"Mariah… You've got over this so easily. I don't think you're being honest." he said quietly. Mariah swallowed and blinked away her tears in defiance
"Yes I did love Ray, Lee. Yes, I did want to be with him, yes it's hard to accept this situation. But the way I see it- what's the point in wasting your life on a guy who will never look at you twice?" Lee laid a hand on her arm
"Mariah- take it slowly, this is gonna take time to heal, remember- the journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step." Mariah nodded and planted a kiss on Lee's cheek, who looked at her in surprise. Mariah smiled
"And that was mine."
………………………………...
The letter was slipped through the letterbox as Ray came out his bedroom, hair still wet from the shower. He frowned, this wasn't the time for the post. He made his way over to the doormat to find a letter, addressed to him in big spiky handwriting. He opened it and scanned it, heart plummeting with every word.
Ray
I cannot work with you anymore, I am swapping with Mariah of White Tiger X. I will be competing with Lee and you will be competing with her for the duration of the tournament. We have agreed, there will be no argument.
Yours Sincerely
T. Ivanov.
Ray's heart constricted, he screwed the letter up in a ball and yanked open the door. Tala wasn't far away, and they had to talk. Now.
A/N; This chapter was kind of boring for me to write which is why I neglected it a little in parts. But (at long last) we will get a little Yaoi next chapter!