Chapter 9
Kyoshi walked out of the kitchen, placing two glasses of water down onto the table before walking back to the sofa and lying down again. He turned over onto his side, going back to holding the cushion against his chest and closing his eyes with a peaceful look on his face.
"If you were supposed to be sleeping while we were all out and you're so tired now, why weren't you asleep when I got here?" Tala interrupted…well there wasn't much to interrupt anyway so it seemed okay to speak up.
Kyo opened his tired eyes again, looking directly into Tala's bright blue ones, "I don't like being home alone…I couldn't sleep."
To Tala, that made no sense at all but all he could really do was nod slightly in somewhat understanding to what he'd said. His eyes followed the older boy as he stood up and walked back to his room, Tala's first instincts being that he'd annoyed the older man to the point that he left but disregarded the idea when he saw him walking back with some things in his hands. The two objects where dropped into his lap, him staring down at them while Kyo returned to his earlier position. A video game and an iPod was left in his hands and by the time he looked up at Kyoshi questioningly the boy seemed as though he was about to fall asleep.
Of course, the vampire sensed the light gaze on him and spoke out an answer to the silent question he sensed on the Russian's mind. "I'm going to rest for a few minutes. For that time at least you won't entirely be bored. Sorry but I've forgotten what its like to be a teenager." He continued to keep his eyes closed as he'd spoken and once he was done he began a quiet and comfortable rest.
That left Tala to be with his own thoughts and wanders, leaving him with the option of listening to music or playing a game. He wasn't the type for games and would have much preferred music given the chance to listen to it so once he had the opportunity he took it. The player had already been turned on for him so all he had to do was put the headphones on and listen to the music on it. If the music on it was as good as the music Kyoshi and the other band members played then it wasn't going to be so bad to listen to. Some music was just really slow, some others where better, faster and more upbeat.
For minutes he listened on and on, sometimes opening his eyes to look around the room and pause the music. Kai didn't have a key to get into the house, the last thing Tala wanted was to have Kai locked outside because he didn't hear the door. No sound filled the room at all, the TV was off, there weren't any sounds coming from outside, Kai hadn't come home yet and nor had Sakura and Kyoshi was resting soundly so complete silence fell upon the room.
He shuddered slightly despite the heat there was outside, inside being slightly cooler due to the air conditioner. No wonder Kyoshi hated being alone, the house was haunting and terrible when no one was around to make any noise. He switched the music back on, he liked things so much better when he could just listen to something and be in a world where he didn't have to worry about what was around him. It wasn't exactly the case though, the fact that he was distracting himself made him feel a little scared of what was around him, not knowing how or when Hana would attack. After a while though he had managed to convince himself that Kyo would probably know if something or someone was in the room and would make it noticeable.
The music just flew past as he listened, some music listed as the band's own, others being of other bands, either in the region of Japan or foreign. Obviously some of the Japanese music he couldn't understand at all due to his lack of knowledge of the Japanese language but that really didn't stop him from listening to some of the songs. Besides, if he skipped every Japanese on there he'd only be left with a couple of songs, ones that wouldn't last him very long. One song caught his sight, more than his hearing at first. It was titled 'Cassis' and the intro to it was something that only dragged him to the song a little more. It all started out with a sweet slow guitar solo but escalated, more over, it was the singer that surprised him the most. The fact that the singer sounded so much like Kyoshi that it amazed him. Although, the band's lead singer was Sakura and there was no sound of her on the track at all.
He had to say though, he liked the song and would have asked Kyoshi about it but he really didn't want to disturb the older boy once he'd finally found the comfort to sleep. Or, he just assumed that he was sleeping but he had to say that he wasn't entirely sure about it. Mentally, he made a note to ask Kyoshi about it later, sometime when they had another quiet private conversation. He knew well enough he wasn't going to get another mature conversation like the one they'd had with Kai around. It wasn't that Kai intimidated him or anything. It was just that Kai was so overprotective he hardly ever gave Tala the chance to speak to the others and Kai was constantly in a bad mood and if Tala went and had a conversation with Kyoshi then that would leave Kai alone to be 'grumpy' as everyone put it.
Tala leaned forward and picked up the glass of water that had been placed on the table. He sipped it quietly as he turned his attention to the sleeping vampire. He began to wonder, how something that was said to be so dangerous could look so peaceful. Then again, he just needed to look at Kai for that, there wasn't all that much of a difference. Kai wasn't exactly the most cheerful or easy going person in the day time but when you saw him resting or asleep it was like watching a whole new person. Although he'd began to assume that almost everyone was like that when they were asleep.
After a minute he saw Kyoshi open his eyes and sit up, and instantly Tala paused the music again, "What's wrong?" he asked him.
Kyoshi smiled and shook his head as he pushed himself off the sofa, "Nothing, Kai will be here in a minute, that's all."
Tala moved his head back a bit, looking surprised, "How would you know?"
Kyo raised his index finger to his lips, silence filling the room then he pointed the same finger towards the door and on came the sound of the doorbell and a heavy knock. Kyo smiled at the shock on Tala's face, "Get the door." He ordered him as he walked into the kitchen, releasing a quiet laugh at the same time.
Tala shook his head of his own shock, walking down the hall to the door and opening the front door slowly. Kai stood there with two bags clasped in his hands, "That was quick." He muttered as he walked past his friend inside.
"I had help." The red-head muttered, more to himself then Kai.
The two walked into the kitchen, Kai dumping the two bags onto the table. He glanced over at Kyoshi while unpacking the food, out of the corner of his eye watching as Kyo looked at them as he sipped some icy cold water, "I got us all something to eat but I wasn't sure what you liked or…" he stopped there before he said something wrong but gaining a small stare from Tala.
The blonde raised his eyes from his drink and looked at Kai, raising an eyebrow at him, "Whether I eat normal food or not?" he asked him as an ending to Kai's own statement. He didn't get a reply, or even a nod but all he got was a blank look which answered the question for him, "Yes, Kai, I do eat normal food." He smirked as he answered the silent question of both. He pushed himself away from the counter and placed his glass down, "Although I'm not hungry, I'll be in my room if you need anything." His quiet footsteps could be heard in the living room, then down the hall to his bedroom.
Kai looked over at Tala who had sat down at table and begun eating some rice, "What's with him?" he mumbled.
Tala stopped eating for a moment and looked at Kai as he sat across from him at the table, "He wasn't like that five minutes ago, he was great company actually." Well, he was saying the truth after all.
Although, despite that truth, the boy opposite him grunted in some annoyance, "Must be easier to befriend a vampire than I thought." He commented coldly.
Tala stopped, putting the rice carton back down onto the table, looking up at Kai with a fierceness in his eyes, "Stop doing that." He growled angrily.
Kai smirked slightly but tried not to let it show and keep a straight face as he looked up at him, at least that old passion Tala was known for was back, even if just temporarily, "Doing what?" he asked.
"Making those stupid comments about him. I can't believe I'm saying this but we may be here a while and need to at least try to be friendly with them." Ok so now Tala was making up excuses. He didn't want to be friends with Sakura and Kyoshi just because they were stuck with them but because he just didn't want to be that cold-hearted unfriendly person that Kai had become. For years Tala's character was just like Kai's but at heart, he really was a friendly person, the pools in his eyes being great mirrors of what was now in his heart.
"Why are you so protective of him?" Kai's face fell a bit, looking at his friend with a usual blankness in his eyes.
The red-head fell back in his seat abruptly, looking up at the ceiling, "You never even gave the guy a chance to prove himself to you. I'm starting to think that if you weren't friends with me when we were younger you wouldn't be friends with me now again after all that happened to me."
Kai looked at him with a mixture of shock and disappointment, "What are you talking about?"
"I can relate to Kyoshi and that's a really good thing, Kai. But by not understanding him its like you don't understand me so you're making this whole thing a miserable experience for all of us."
Kai sighed and spoke quietly again, "I really don't know how this all works out for you but if it makes you feel any better than I'll be a little…nicer to them, especially Kyoshi."
Tala smiled a bit, looking at Kai again, "Thanks."
Kai groaned quietly and turned back to his food, "Yeah well if we die, just be sure I'll be saying 'I told you so'." He said coldly, a small smirk growing on his face.
The red-head laughed quietly, that comment from Kai was to be expected, it was Kai that he was talking to after all, "Yeah, I know."
---Later---
Kyoshi paced in front of the living room window, sighing as he drew back the curtain with his right hand, "Where is she?" he mumbled to himself.
"If you keep walking from the window to the kitchen any longer you're going to make a groove in the carpet." Kai told him from the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest.
Tala looked down at the ground, "Shame, it's a nice carpet." He joked quietly to himself.
Kyoshi shook his head quickly, something at the moment just didn't sit right with him. He turned towards the door and picked his gun off the dressing table, fitting it in his back pocket under his shirt, "I'm going to look for her." He informed them. He opened the door and exited before he even had the chance to stop from walking straight into Sakura.
She'd put her hands up defensively to keep him from hitting her in the face as he'd exited, "Woah, is there a fire I don't know about?" she asked, staring up at him as she'd stopped him.
Kyoshi paused and took a moment to take in what she'd said before shaking his head in a reply, "I was just coming to look for you."
Sakura's mouth opened slightly, furrowing her eyebrows, looking around the hall behind him, "Why?" she asked bluntly.
The blonde rolled his eyes and a low growl emitted from the back of his throat, turning and walking away from her, "Do I have to be questioned about everything?" he asked himself, setting his gun back down on the table.
The only girl in the room glared slightly at Kyo's back for his attitude towards her, muttering something under her breath that no one, not even Kyoshi was able to hear clearly. She dropped her backpack on the ground by the front door and walked quietly into the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later, passing Kyo another vial before walking down the hall to her bedroom.
Kai nodded slightly as he thought before asking, "Are we invisible to her?" he asked Kyoshi.
Kyoshi sighed, "Probably." He replied. He walked over to the window again and opened it up and leaned outside, looking up into the night sky. He took the serene and quiet opportunity to drink down the blood that was in the vial once Kai and Tala couldn't see it, obviously not wanting to alarm them.
Upon hearing Sakura walk back into the room, he pulled himself back inside and watched as her as she stopped in front of the sofa, opposite Kai and Tala, "Did you two have dinner?" she asked him.
Kai nodded and Tala replied with, "Yeah." And a curt nod to accompany it.
"Want anything else?" Sakura asked them, seeming like this was her attempt at being kind to them.
Kyoshi sat down in the armchair, sitting back comfortably, "She went through two years of culinary school, ask her to make anything she can do it." He decided to point out to them, earning himself a light hit against his shoulder from Saku who now stood beside the armchair.
Kai laughed quietly, those two where like a really old married couple, "I'm fine." He reassured.
Tala followed his friend in agreement and nodded quickly, "Me too."
Saku nodded and turned to leave the room and enter the kitchen but the voice of her fiancé cut through the silence, "Hey, you never asked if I wanted anything." She heard him say.
She turned round, a slightly amused look on her face, watching as he smirked back at her. She walked over to him and leaned against the back of the armchair, "Alright, then what do you want?" she asked him calmly, the playful smirk on her face not leaving her.
Kyoshi faked thinking for a moment, just to get her riled up, even if just a little bit for fun, "I'm in the mood for chocolate cake." He said suddenly.
Sakura raised her eyebrows the second she heard him say that, then stood up straight, crossed her arms and shook her head, "In your dreams."
"Now wasn't that a show." Kai whispered to Tala, the boy beside him laughing quietly.
Kyoshi shrugged slightly, "It was worth a shot." He told them.
"You knew it wasn't going to work though." Tala pointed out to him as though he were stating the obvious.
Kyo shook his head with some disagreement to the boy's statement as he stood up, speaking in a slightly more hushed tone now, "You will never know what you're going to get out of that girl. You have to ask what's on your mind every time, you can't just assume her answer because she will surprise you."
"We should remember that." Tala whispered to Kai beside him.
Kyoshi covered his mouth as he yawned then arched his neck back, "Well…" he started as he looked at them again, "I don't know about you two but I'm exhausted so I'm going to bed." He walked to the door, "Good night." Was all that could be heard before all that could be seen was his side as he entered the bedroom, then his form lightly through the white curtains that separated the two rooms.
He lay down beside the girl that was currently lying on his bed uncomfortably, "How was your day?" she asked him, turning her head to look at him.
Kyo thought about it for a moment, then going with the first answer that had come to mind, "It was alright. Kai wasn't much of a bother as you'd made him seem to be, and I had a good talk with Tala so it turned out all okay." He turned onto his side, resting his head on one hand as he used it for support while the other hand gently reached out to Sakura's arm.
The dark haired girl watched for a second as the fingertips of the gentle hand moved up and down her arm, "What did you talk about?" she asked curiously.
"Nothing really important; he just ranted about his friend and I set him straight about some things."
Saku smiled lightly, though Kyo wasn't sure if it was because she was content with the hand movements he made on her arm or if she just found his day pleasant, "That was nice of you." She whispered. "So I should take it that you didn't get any sleep then?" she asked, looking over at him again.
"I didn't manage but if it makes you feel any better I got to relax."
Saku sighed heavily, "I suppose." She mumbled.
Kyoshi wrapped his arm over her tiny waist, resting his head back down on the pillow as he scooted over and kissed her shoulder softly, "You're exhausted, what happened today?" he whispered.
The raven-haired girl released a growl from the back of her throat, "Don't get me started." She said through gritted teeth.
---Flashback---
Sakura stormed out of her car, slamming the door shut and closing it with the remote over her shoulder as she walked up to an older man that leaned against his car. The man caught sight of her and smiled at her warmly, "Thank you for coming," he thanked kindly.
The girl stopped in front of him and rolled her eyes, "I'm not here for you, I'm here for him." She jerked her thumb to the side, the ten year old boy that sat on the grass, a body guard standing a few metres away from him. "So, let's get this day over with?"
"Be good, dear." The older man said, in a voice holding authority.
Sakura smirked, taking a cigarette out of the box and lighting it, "Hurry up." She coxed.
"Haven't you stopped yet?" he asked her angrily.
Saku moved the cigarette away from her lips and blew the smoke in front of her and into his face, "I tried, I failed, I'm back to smoking."
"Obviously."
---Next Flashback---
Saku sighed, standing in the middle of the toy store. She placed her hands on her knees and bent down to the boy's height, "I really don't know, Adam. Do you think you could find something kids could play at a party?" she asked him.
The ten year old Asian boy smiled suddenly, nodding quickly, "Sure. Then I'll be over there." He said, pointing down an isle before running off.
Sakura shot up quickly, "Be careful. Don't run." She called after him. She sighed, placing her hand to her forehead, "I'm really not cut out for this." She said to herself. From that second she sensed a presence close to her, making her look around the store, behind her seeing Hana standing, her hands behind her back as she stared into Saku's eyes sweetly.
"Very good…sensing my aura like that." She said. She took a step closer to Saku and the assassin reached her hand behind her back and gripped the handle of her gun, "You aren't really going to open fire in a toy store are you?" she asked her, walking round her once before stopping in front of her again.
Saku glared at her and crossed her arms, "Give me some credit." She spat rudely.
"I do…" Hana said, emitting a little bit of fake shock in her voice, her attempt at sounding even slightly human, "Plenty of it actually." She added.
Sakura crossed her arms and looked around, eyeing the gun men that walked around the shop casually, looking around to blend in. She turned back to the demon in front of her and tilted her head slightly, "Good so since you have such high hopes for me, then you can stop trying to go after innocent people because you know that either way we're still going to catch up to you and stop you."
Hana laughed quietly, she took another step towards Sakura, her mouth inches away from the fighter's ear, "Like I've already said…one down, two to go." She whispered, a hint of determination in her teasing voice.
"Go to hell." Sakura said through gritted teeth.
Hana backed away slightly, "Been there…done that." She told her, giving Saku a wink before turning and walking back down the shop and exiting, her minions following her.
"Who was that?" A voice called timidly behind Sakura.
The girl turned round quickly, looking down at Adam, searching for the right words, "No one." She replied quickly. Then it dawned to her, "Don't ever talk to strangers!" she added hurriedly. She shook her head, "I'm starting to sound like your father." She muttered, "Anyway…did you find anything?" she asked him, looking down at him. The boy nodded and smiled up at her, why didn't the day just end there for her?
---End Flashback---
"You got stuck babysitting?" Kyoshi asked, smirking lightly.
Sakura sighed in resurfacing annoyance, "It was his birthday, his dad asked me to take him to buy some toys and then help supervise his party."
Kyo shrugged slightly, being unable to understand some details, "Why didn't he get one of those macho bodyguards to supervise or do it himself?" he asked.
"You know that man, he wasn't there for me, he isn't going to make a big deal over Adam and he wanted me there. Something about wanting me to bond with my half brother."
Kyoshi laughed quietly, "He's amazing isn't he?" he asked rhetorically.
Sakura groaned yet again and turned onto her side, pulling an arm over Kyo's waist, nestling into his chest tiredly, "I'm beginning to feel glad I can't have kids." She whispered, closing her eyes.
Kyoshi wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and ran his fingers through her shoulder length black hair, "Don't say that…" he said soothingly, "You'll regret saying it later." He continued.
Tala and Kai walked past the bedroom, catching slight sight of the too that lay on the bed. Tala entered the bedroom he shared with Kai, formerly Sakura's bedroom before she'd taken it upon herself to look after them, "Those two are really sweet together." He told Kai, watching as he closed the door.
Kai smirked to himself, walking to the bed and lying down, "Aren't you a romantic." He brought to his attention.
"Because I think they're relationship is sweet?" Tala asked, looking back at him.
"It's one hell of a love/hate relationship if you ask me." Kai commented.
"They do love each other though and it's like a great thing."
Kai chuckled quietly, closing his eyes, "You're as persistent as Dranzer." He informed him.
Tala fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a little bit. He didn't seem to understand how he had such a sensitivity to love and care, while Kai just shrugged it all off as though it where nothing or just something casual. "The relationship they have is great I think…they keep their own personalities, they go their own separate ways, they argue but love each other and at the end of the day, no matter how frustrated or tired they are they still find the time to ask how each other's day was."
The older half-Russian opened his eyes and looked over at Tala, the maturity and interest of Tala's words surprising him. Someone who had never been exposed to such things was talking about it as though he knew the meaning of it, but he himself who had been around the outside world longer had never thought of the perfection of such a thing as love.
"You really are a romantic." Kai said jokingly, trying to lighten up the conversation a little.
Tala allowed the bit of subject change, or rather shift of conversation that had turned onto him, smirking slightly, "It can't be helped, I suppose." He retorted calmly. "Don't you ever want a relationship like that with anyone?" he asked his friend.
Kai was tempted to laugh at yet another comment from his friend, "What's with all the questions?" he asked instead.
"I'm asking an opinion."
"Well of course I don't know what I want out of the future. Right now I'm living in the present and if I'm not careful, I won't make it to the future."
Tala sighed, turned and crawled to the top of the bed, dropping his head heavily onto the pillow, "No sense thinking about the future then." He muttered to himself.
"You can always look forward to the future though…" Kai pointed out to him suddenly, knocking him out of his thoughts, "It's very good motivation."
The red-head turned over onto his stomach and smiled slightly, "And you'd know because you need all the motivation in the world." He joked quietly.
Kai smirked and hit his friend's shoulder with the back of his hand lightly, "Shut up, you have your problems, I have mine."
"You have your friends though." Tala was quick to point out to him, yet again.
Kai turned his head and glared at the younger boy slightly, gaining himself a slightly timid look, "And that should make things any easier?" he asked him.
Obviously the younger Russian couldn't contradict Kai's words, Tala didn't know what Kai went through and what he had to do every day, so that gave him no right to say anything against him, "Maybe you're right."
Kai allowed silence to fall over the whole bedroom, staring on at the ceiling with some thought before glancing down at Tala, "You don't want to be in Japan, do you?" he asked him.
Tala sat up slightly on his elbows, looking at Kai with some shock on his face, a bit of annoyance accompanying it, "I was the one who wanted to get away from Russia and come here, remember?"
"Because I offered for you to stay with me. You didn't think you were doing me a favour by staying here did you?" Kai asked him sceptically.
"Of course not."
Kai sat up completely, pushing Tala over onto his back, "Then why did you come here?" he asked, making direct, intimidating eye contact with his ex-team mate.
The younger teenager's mouth gaped open slightly, not believing the words that where passing his friend's lips, "I needed to get away from Russia, it reminded me of too much and I couldn't take it, you know all that already."
"I know. I was just making sure things where clear between us."
"What is there not to be clear about?"
Kai shrugged his shoulders, his hand reaching out by his side to grab the air conditioner's remote, "Just forget I said anything, alright?" he asked, turning back to his friend.
Tala bit down heavily, "Fine." He said. He rested his head back down onto the pillow and closed his eyes, burning with frustration and annoyance on in the inside. Through it he heard Kai get off the bed and walk to the bathroom, spend a few minutes in there before coming back out…although with some time of just lying there with frustrations eating him up he'd fallen asleep before he could tell Kai anything else or even get under the covers.
---Next Morning---
Kyoshi took a deep breath, opening his eyes for the first time that morning, preparing himself for some sunlight to burst through his eyelids. Surprisingly none came, the blinds had been closed properly and the curtains drawn over them, disallowing any light to enter his bedroom from across the hall. Closing his eyes again, he stopped watching as the room had begun spinning before his blue eyes. He turned onto his back, wincing painfully as it felt as though he'd turned over onto shards of glass, he opened his eyes and stared at the jet black ceiling.
The smell of something backing in the oven was brought to his attention as he took in the scent of it. He sat up slowly, putting his hands behind his back to support his tired body. Once feeling bothered enough he opted to get off the leather bed he had been sleeping on, shrugging off the silk black sheets that had been placed over him. He slid off the bed, stretching at first before walking out of his bedroom and down the hall into the kitchen. There he ran his fingers through his hair, watching from the doorway as he saw Kai sitting in a chair at the table, Tala sitting on the table and both watching as Sakura pulled something out of the oven and put it onto the counter. Blinking in surprise he saw it was a chocolate cake, then he'd been noticed by everyone else, "Good morning." Sakura greeted, walking up to him as she tossed the cloth she'd used to get the hot tray out of the oven onto the counter.
"You know I was only joking last night, right?" Kyo checked with her, wincing again as his voice hesitated to come out.
Saku smiled softly and pushed him just outside the doorway of the kitchen so they wouldn't be heard, "No you weren't, besides you deserve it. It's a thank you for what happened last night." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Kyo stepped back a little, sitting on the arm of the sofa, "Was I drunk or something because all I remember was talking before falling asleep?"
Sakura smiled lightly and walked over to him, reaching her right hand out slowly as she brushed it against his cheek, "You weren't drunk. You remember everything as it happened."
The blonde boy placed his hand on hers that was on his cheek, leaving it there for a second before looking up at her almost weakly, he jerked his thumb over his shoulder and spoke quietly, "You mind if I go lie down again?" he asked her.
"Go ahead." Saku smiled gently at him, resting her forehead against his she gave him a quick peck on the lips before pulling him up. She looked into his eyes for a second before he pulled his hand out of hers and walked away, "The heats getting to you isn't it?" she asked him.
Kyoshi turned and nodded, placing a hand to his flushed cheek before turning back and continued walking to his bedroom to get some more rest while he still had the day light to burn off.
Saku walked back into the kitchen and began cleaning up the mess she'd made as she'd been cooking when she was asked, "Where'd Kyoshi go?" Tala was heard asking, the one being most concerned for the vampire.
The odd one out, the girl in her late teens, spun round and rested the small of her back against the counter, "He went to get some more rest. This heat wave is exhausting him, it can't be healthy but he pulls through just fine if he gets some sleep. He was meant to be sleeping yesterday afternoon, that's why I left him alone all day but he didn't rest at all."
The youngest shifted uncomfortably on the table, biting down on his lip for a second before speaking, "That was my fault…sorry."
"You know what Tal…he's alive and well and that's all that matters to me right now so don't be sorry." Sakura told him, clearly this being her idea of reassurance, "Besides…he seemed to enjoy talking to you and the guy needs all the human contact he can get." She added, a small smirk being etched into her features.
Tala smiled slightly, some part of him felt like he'd help make Sakura feel happy suddenly. Kai couldn't help but catch sight of the sincere smile on his friends face and looked on at it a little disappointedly, he couldn't help but think that he was bringing his friend down when he'd disallowed him to be near Kyoshi.
"So how long have you two known each other?" Kai asked her, looking up at her casually, gaining a slightly surprised look on her face, "You two are living together and sleeping together, so I assume a long time." He rounded off quietly.
Sakura smirked a little more, sinking down onto a stool to sit at the table with him, "Well I'm almost twenty now and I've known him since I was about…six, I think."
"Fourteen years, about the same amount of time I've known Kai." Tala commented.
Saku nodded, her black hair falling in front of her right eye a little, "I thought you two must have known each other for a long time. You seem to be quite close, sort of like a brotherly-relationship." She stated.
"That includes all the arguing doesn't it?" Tala asked Kai.
"I wouldn't really call it arguing…" The raven-haired girl started, "Rather, disagreements."
"That makes some sense too." Tala muttered quietly to himself.
Sakura nodded yet again and stood up, "Every relationship one has with another person is special in some way or another, treasure yours as though it's as special as everyone else's."
Kai and Tala looked on at each other a little blankly, both in their minds telling each other they were sorry for anything they'd done to hurt each other but then both turned back to the girl and pretended that they hadn't even thought of anything to each other, their prides still obviously disallowing them to. "So…how do you actually spend your days? Cooking and walking around the house all day?" Kai continued asking, annoying curiosity growing on him slowly.
Saku had begun putting dirty dishes and glasses into the sink, her back towards the other two as she replied, "Not cooking but I do spend most of my days home, and go out to the clubs and fights at night." She really didn't mind these kinds of conversations, she was usually so quiet but that was because there wasn't always something interesting to talk about. Now a calm and civilized conversation was all that she needed.
Tala furrowed his eyebrows quickly and was even quicker to speak, "Kyoshi doesn't feel bad that you've adapted your lifestyle to his?" he asked.
Sakura paused from moving the tray in the sink to clean it, she nodded lightly, more to herself than the other two as her eyes moved to look at the wall in front of her, "Oh definitely he does but that doesn't matter," She shrugged slightly and continued washing the black backing tray, "I don't have that many things to do during the day time so that's my main excuse but either way, I don't like leaving him home alone all the time, just a day a week or so."
"What do you do when he wants you to go out with out him?" Kai asked…things with Sakura and Kyoshi where so much like him and Tala that it was unbelievable how things where going at the time of their conversation. Kai really needed on advice on how to deal with Tala and his new habits of staying inside and all other things and the perfect person to give him such advice seemed to be Sakura, there was no one better than her at the time. At least now knowing Sakura and Kyoshi brought some good to Kai, he was able to learn from an expert on how to deal with Tala's sudden abnormalities and dissociation.
"It depends…if he's really serious about it and I think he's good enough to stay home alone then, by all means, I'll go but if he tells me to go out but I can sense his distress then I'll go against him and stay home with him. I'll stay out of his way, just so that I don't get on his bad side when he's already in a bad mood for me going up against an order but I'll keep an eye on him nonetheless."
Kai shook his head slightly, most things not making sense to him, "You two are constantly arguing, at each other's throats or disagreeing with each other, you put each other in random and rather stupid bad moods, he's not even human but you're a realist too, you don't even obey each other when you say things for their own good but you're still so close. How the hell can you have a good relationship like that?"
Sakura dried her hands again and turned towards the to, she rested her hands on the table on either side of Tala and leaned closer to his ear, "He's never been in love or in a deep relationship before has he?" she asked knowingly, whispering but allowing Kai to hear her, a playful and content smirk curling at her lips.
From the uncomfortable and startled look Tala had on his face when she leaned close to him, he laughed once he'd heard what she said before shaking his head with an amused look on his face.
Kai growled quietly, closing his eyes for a second, "If being in a relationship like that meant having to hurt each other and depress each other badly to get a point across then I don't think I want to be a part of it." He told her, even though a small part of him knew that some time or another he had in fact hurt a close friend, possibly even Tala, just to prove a point to them or teach them a lesson.
Sakura pushed herself away from the table, at the time taking in the fact that her closeness was probably making Tala a little uncomfortable, "In my opinion if you really loved a person and cared for them you'd be willing to hurt them enough to save them from whatever they need to be saved from."
"Even if you could only be making the situation worse?" Tala was next to ask her.
"If you make it worse then sooner or later they'll have to break down and when they do, you who inflicted the outcome could be the one there to help and things get resolved from there onwards."
Tala bit down on his lip for a moment and looked up at her again, making direct eye contact, "Don't you feel even a little bit bad that you'd done that?" he asked her.
Sakura nodded curtly, her eyes being fixed onto the ground, "I'm still human you know? Of course I feel bad about it, especially since I love him so much but the thing is that once he reminds you that it was all for his own good and thanks you for being of at least some help then any uneasiness you may have had would be eased." She answered him, honesty and a hint of sadness in her voice.
Tala stared at the ground too, an extremely faint smile gracing his thin lips, he found his voice and then whispered quietly into the sudden silence of the room, "I still think the relationship you two have together is sweet…no matter how much you hurt each other you still love each other."
The two that surrounded him both sneered, Sakura a little more than Kai, "Careful. We've still got feelings which means there's bound to be a limit in there somewhere." She joked quietly. She pulled her cigarette out from being tucked in her back pocket and slipped the last one out between her two fingers. She stepped back and placed it to her lips, lighting it with a match before throwing out both the match and the box. Upon looking up again she saw Tala looking at her a little upset, while Kai sat back, crossed his arms and acted as though he couldn't care less, typical Kai. "What?" she asked the red-head.
"I'm no expert or anything but I think its pretty safe to say those aren't healthy." Tala answered, shaking the annoyance out of his own head after he'd said that.
Saku continued to smoke the cigarette, polluting the living room air as she stood in the doorway that separated the kitchen and the living room, blowing the smoke into the living room where the window was open for fresh air. She pulled it away from her lips and stared at it between two fingers and her thumb, "Yeah, I know," she said annoyingly, clearly she'd heard the lecture before, "I've tried to stop three times before but haven't managed yet." She sighed and put it back to her lips, "Come to think of it, I think I'm going to finish this one out on the fire escape." She added through the object in her mouth before walking into the living room and disappearing out one of the windows.
Tala pushed himself off the table and sat down on the stool Sakura had been on earlier, right next to Kai, "She's…not so bad either." He stated, looking over at Kai for an opinion.
"I'd still be careful with her if I were you."
Tala smiled and shook his head, "I know Kai…I'm not a complete idiot." He said.
---Later---
Kai and Tala stopped in the door way of Kyoshi's bedroom, Sakura stopping behind them as she dug her hands in her back pocket and looked into the room too, "I can't believe he's still asleep." Tala murmured, resting against the doorway.
Sakura exhaled quietly and pulled her hands out of her pocket, moving them in front of Tala and Kai before ushering them away from the door and into the living room, clearly not appreciating her fiancé being stared at, "He's tired but he'll wake up soon enough, once he gets some blood in him he'll be fine." She assured them, sitting down beside them on the sofa.
The youngest of the group got off the sofa and walked over to the window, moving the curtain back slowly as he peered outside, watching as it slowly got dark outside, "I've never wanted to go outside so badly than I do now."
"Maybe you should have thought about that before you were spending all your week nights inside doing nothing on the sofa at home." Kai retorted, his voice still tinged with some ice towards his friend.
"I'd just got out of the abbey and I'd gone through a hell of a lot of surgery, its not my fault I didn't have the energy to get the hell out of that door."
Kai rolled his eyes, the usual malichios smirk on his face, "That didn't seem to stop you when you were meant to be resting and I found you training." He countered back.
"That was a different case." Tala objected, turning to look at him quickly.
Kai stood up and asked, "How?"
Sakura stood up and placed her hands palm up in both directions to keep them from going at each other, "Alright, clearly remaining inside is getting you two all worked up so I'll take you both out but you have to promise me you'll both listen to my orders." She looked over at each of them in search of a reply or assurance. "Do you want to get out of the house or not?" she asked them again, staring Tala down angrily.
Tala glared in her direction, his first major attempt at a glare in ages, especially to a person who didn't deserve it, "More than anything." He admitted through gritted teeth, turning his head to glare coldly at Kai.
The dark haired late-teen looked at Kai, keeping her hands where they were, "And you? Do you want to stay here or come with us for some fresh air?" she asked him.
"I'll come with you." Kai answered, glancing at her for a moment.
"You're going to listen to my orders?" Sakura asked them both, she was getting a little irritated by now, first things where fine and now she was playing referee for a couple of 'kids' in her opinion. She watched as Tala was the first to nod, she'd taken in a breath at that, at least he was being the slight bit cooperative for her and Kai soon followed another nod when she looked at him for an answer. She released the positions her arms had been stuck in and let them fall by her sides, "Good, I'll just get my jacket and we can go out. Can you two please not kill each other in my absence?"
"We're not childish." Kai defended himself and his friend suddenly, folding his arms across his chest annoyed.
Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes, stepping past him to walk down the hall, "A minute ago, says otherwise." She commented.
The two teenagers left in the room looked at one another yet again, both their facades softening once they'd set eyes carefully on each other, "Sorry." Tala said uncomfortably.
"I should be the one that's sorry."
Tala, more than obviously by now, would have been nice enough to disagree with him and save him the stroke to his pride of having to apologize but he didn't, a change in character, "You probably do but I understand anyway so you can drop it now."
Sakura entered the living room again, pulling on a black leather jacket, red laces done all the way up the arms which she adjusted around her wrists, "Shall we go?" she asked, fixing the collar of her jacket, finally looking up at them. Seeing the calm look on both their faces she relaxed a bit more, "Am I interrupting something?" she asked upon seeing them acting a little more civil.
"No, nothing. Let's finally go out."
"Good. I'm in the mood for some fresh air and a good walk." Sakura told them, dragging her gun off the counter and sliding it into her jacket.
"You smoke like a chimney, you can never have fresh air." Kai commented with a sly look on his face, Tala nudging him lightly as he laughed silently.
"Ah bite your tongue kid." Sakura retorted, a little childishly at that.
"Afraid he might be right?" Tala asked her.
Sakura laughed, the three of them finally walking out onto the darkening streets of the city, "That's the last thing I'm worried about." She said honestly, shoving her hands in her pocket as the two began walking, "You just never want to irritate the person who has a gun in their jacket." She added wisely.
Kai walked up beside her, Tala doing the same on her other side, "You wouldn't shoot us out on the streets in front of all these people." The eldest Russian reminded her.
"Touche…but…sooner or later all these innocent bystanders will have to go inside the comfort of their own homes, leaving you two alone, out here, in the cold night, with me." Sakura made her tone of voice as haunting and dreading as she could, which really wasn't that hard considering she constantly manipulated her voice to that for her shows, considering their kind of music they played wasn't the kind she was going to use a childish voice for. She grinned once the two beside her had actually frozen slightly, not out of fear really, more just out of the sudden change her whole figure and voice had gone through in a couple of seconds. She smiled even wider as she looked over at the two of them, then moved her elbows out slightly to nudge them both at the same time, "I'm only kidding you idiots."
You want to know what the prior difference between the two Russians was at this point? Here it is; Tala could take a joke like that and pass it off with a small smile and stare at the ground but Kai couldn't and just let a growl be released from the back of his burning throat.
"Man Kai, don't be so sour, even Kyoshi can handle me when I'm like this." Sakura told him, pushing him to the side so he'd almost stepped right off the pavement.
The taller male stood upright again beside the girl, continuing to walk by her side until he'd caught sight of Tala laughing at something Sakura had whispered to him, "For someone who's as reckless as you, you sure can be a childish teenager." He…well just about insulted her terribly.
"Bite your tongue, or I'll have Kyoshi bite it for you." Sakura retorted coldly, a joke of course though.
"That's nasty." Kai mumbled, his hands in his pockets as he stared up at the sky while walking.
"Well he's bi and I let him do what he likes with other men so I think you should watch yourself." Sakura stated with a grin on her face.
"Just your luck, Kai." Tala said, glancing over at his friend that was on the other end of his newer friend, Sakura, someone greater than he expected. Said girl wrapped an arm over his shoulders, smiling softly at him when he glanced over at her and her action. Honestly, it was greatly uncomfortable having her so close to him but he didn't care about it at the time, instead just turned to look ahead and kept on walking with her.
That was until she paused, pulling her arm off of him and turning to look behind her. She looked around, her eyes moving from one side of the street to the other, her arms hanging by her sides. She turned slowly and pulled the two closer to her slightly, still walking on at a slightly faster pace, beginning to speak but quietly and through an almost closed mouth, "Listen to me, keep walking, do it fast but casually. The second you turn the first corner to the right there's an alley, wait for me there." She gave out the instructions in a calm but almost rushed manner, like time was of the essence and she really wanted to keep them away from the action.
Kai and Tala didn't nod, they were much smarter than that, but instead both raised their eyes to look at her enough to assure her that they were going to do as she asked of them. Kai looked directly at Tala through Sakura and they exchanged a silent agreement.
Sakura placed both her hands on the small of their backs, "Go and be careful." She ushered them forward, and she herself kept on walking, at a much slower pace than the other two. Her eyes moved from one side to the other, something behind her just feeling…not right. She stopped in the middle of the pavement, looking up at the sky for a second before looking behind her again. She tugged down the sleeves of her leather jacket and turned round, exhaling, "And this is where worlds collide." She whispered to herself. She walked slowly and casually through all the people…till finally she couldn't been seen anymore.
A/N: Well, there's another long chapter, I'm sorry that it stopped so suddenly but I had to stop because it was almost over the 1MB upload limit. I really hope you've enjoyed this chapter, I know this story is mostly original fiction rather than a beyblade story but I just had to write it out I suppose. Thank you, if you've read this far, please leave me a review and tell me what you think of the story so far.