When Gray wakes up, he does not even bother minding where he is as the pain radiating from the bottom of his foot has all his attention.

Sitting up, Gray pulls his foot away from touching the floor.

A moment later Gray looks around and with some light from behind him, he makes out his surroundings and then he remembers that he is in Ababa's quarters.

Taking a deep breath, Gray prepares himself as he lifts his foot and rests it on his knee. He then carefully removes the bandage. The absence of the bandage reveals a very red, swollen and angry looking burn wound. It definitely does not feel better than before.

Gray balances himself on his other foot and then he makes his way down the hall, attempting to be as quiet as possibly.

Entering the bathroom, Gray locates the light switch.

The light coming on reveals a much bigger and more comfortable bathroom than what he has.

Obviously.

After closing the door, Gray carefully hops on his one foot over to the bath. He fills it with some cold water, rolls up his pants legs, sits on the edge of the bath and then turns around to place his feet in the water.

Well, more specifically his foot that literally feels like it has some burning coals glued to the bottom of it.

Gray closes his eyes as he hangs his head forward. The cold water brings much relief to the burning sensation.

He wonders what the gang is up to. He is sure that they have discovered that he is missing by now and they are probably turning every town upside down looking for him. Hopefully they are completely ignorant as to what really happened to him and where he is.

A moment later, Gray thinks about Enjuy. Clearly, he is a nut.

But the next moment worry suddenly floods over Gray.

Kia.

Where is Kia?

If Enjuy is here, then where is she?

A cold panic flares in Gray. Is that why Enjuy is here, are they holding Kia and forcing Enjuy to do what they want, just like they did with him and Lienna?

There's a slight feeling of relief at the same time. This means that Enjuy is not as deranged as it had appeared. He is not here because he wants to be, he is here because of Kia. Gray knows that Enjuy is fond of Kia and that little girl has found a way into a special place in Enjuy's heart.

If Enjuy is going to do anything this big, it will be for her.

Gray nods to himself as he thinks about the situation.

This makes him and Enjuy allies in more ways than one. He will help Enjuy in every way he can.

Time passes as Gray slowly moves his foot through the cold water. He has probably been sitting there for over an hour if not more when a knock on the door draws his attention.

"You did not slit your wrists in there did you?" Ababa's tone is sarcastic, and he is clearly aiming to rile Gray up.

"No, I'm attempting to drown myself in 3-inch-deep water, if you must know." Gray sarcastically replies without bothering himself much with the person on the other side of the door.

"I will warn you Gray, if you drown yourself, Marda-B will kill you." It is supposed to be sarcastic, but it actually sounds like a legitimate threat.

"I'll bet." Gray mutters to himself. Marba-B said that any punishment that he receives from now on will be dependent upon what he does. Most certainly what he does wrong, what Marda-B wouldn't like, and Gray wonders how long it is going to be before he gets that right.

Gray lets the water drain as he carefully tries to dry his foot without actually touching it. Yes, that is impossible.

Opening the door, Gray finds all the lights on.

Hopping back to the front room, Gray goes over to the dining room table where the box of medical supplies is still lying. He did not even bother to pack the things away and surprisingly Ababa did not say anything about.

Sitting down, Gray applies the burn gel to his foot and then bandages it again. At least he knows enough to take care of injuries like this himself. And where did he learn it? Oh yes, that's right, the Shadow Alliance.

When a plate of food is placed on the table next to Gray, he pegs Ababa with a suspicious glare. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Ababa?"

The only response that Gray gets is a half sinister laugh.

"Two meals in the space of about six hours, I'm getting worried here." Gray sarcastically comments but then pulls the plate closer anyway. Who knows when he is going to get his next meal in this place.

"So, who is next?" Gray asks as he chews on the food.

"I have a feeling that you better deal with Yamato. The sooner the better." Ababa sinisterly squints his eyes as he speaks. "That will be the real test for you Gray."

"Hmm." Gray muses and it catches the attention of Ababa.

"What are you thinking?" Ababa questions.

Ababa asking this question may reveal that he does not have mind reading abilities after all, or he is just messing with Gray.

"Gunnos actually gave me an idea and I think that I might just use it." Gray shoves another fork of food into his mouth.

"Gunnos, that loudmouth brat, just like Yamato." The way Ababa response sounds like he knows exactly who Gunnos is, and it only tells Gray that the Shadow Alliance has been watching them far closer and for a lot longer than what he thought.

"He actually suggested that Yamato drugged mine and Enjuy's food so that he could win. He really didn't see any other way for Yamato to be able to defeat either one of us." Gray speaks with his mouth full of food.

"Wait, you're going to drug Yamato?" Ababa's tone is clearly amused, and Gray has all his attention at the suggestion.

Gray thinks about it as Ababa asks the question.

Is he really going to drug his friend?

Absolutely.

This now has nothing to do with honor and pride, it now has to do with saving his friends' life and if drugging him is going to make sure of his victory, then that is exactly what he is going to do.

"Yeah."

A low sinister snicker travels through the room. Gray does not even bother to look up at the expression he knows is on Ababa's face.

"I take it you approve." Gray sarcastically states.

"Oh, do I ever. Marda-B will definitely be pleased that you are acting like a true member of the Shadow Alliance." The wicked suggestion is clear in Ababa's tone.

Gray mentally rolls his eyes. How predictable.

"I'm going to keep Enjuy busy. And since you have no marching orders to fulfil at this moment, you can rest up, nurse that foot back to health, and the rest of you."

For a moment, Gray wonders if he should confirm his theory about Enjuy and Kia but his better judgement tells him not to.

Ababa then heads to the door with no indication that Gray should be following him out.

It is quite clear that Gray is staying.

And so, that is what happens. Gray ends up staying on Ababa's couch for days. And not like Gray is complaining. It is warmer than the room where he has been staying. It is closer distance to walk with less stairs, especially with his foot still healing and he gets better food here. And overall, Gray can't believe that he feels this way, but he actually prefers staying here.

On Ababa's couch.

Insane, absurdly so.

As the days passed, the swelling from the burn under his foot disappeared and the letters branded into his flesh only became clearer. There is no wondering what it is, the burned in letters is now clearly contrasted and easily made out for what it is.

MARDA-B

Gray will never be able to walk around bare feet around anyone else again. Not that he did it much anyway, but still.

After a few more days, the burn is good enough for Gray to have his shoes on and put his full weight on it, the stitches in his forehead have been removed leaving only a minor scar, and the welts around his wrists has disappeared.

He is all good to go.

"So, what kind of drugs were you thinking?" Ababa asks as Gray is sitting at the dining room table in Ababa's quarters.

"I not sure. Sleeping pills won't work, it will be highly suspicious if he fell over halfway through the match for no seemingly good reason." Gray ponders as he is busy fiddling with Chrome Zephor.

"True, we would not want to give away the whole ruse." Ababa agrees with an amusing tone.

"A muscle relaxer is going to work the best, especially since Yamato is a power player." Gray casually explains but it catches Ababa's attention.

He watches Gray closely. That was too quick a game plan that Gray came up with, even with which meds to use to get the desired outcome and the mention of a 'power player' only made it more obvious.

Ababa squints his eyes at Gray in suspicion. It almost feels like Gray has done this before. But Gray drugging anyone does not really fit Gray's character. But then again, he did betray the Shadow Alliance. Well, he first betrayed Yamato and then the Shadow Alliance. And come to think of it, Gray did punch Yamato in the face in front of an entire stadium – no one saw that coming.

"How many other people have you drugged?" Ababa's full attention is on Gray.

Gray remains silent as he freezes, how the hell did Ababa come up with that?

"Huh?" Gray tries to buy some time.

"I'm not convinced that you are slow Gray." Ababa's tone is a taunt with malice and obviously sarcastic as Gray is labeled as the fastest member of the Alliance.

"Um, no one." Gray tries to appear confident in his response but for some reason Ababa makes him nervous and throws him off his game.

"I do not believe you." Ababa frankly states as he steps in front of Gray on the other side of the table and watches him with those sinister eyes.

"Ababa what are you on about?" Gray tries to make it out like Ababa is off his rocker.

"Gunnos is not the one that gave you the idea, was it?" Ababa taunts as he gets closer to the truth. "The cat is out of the bag Gray. The jig is up. Now, tell me who did you drug?" Ababa is suddenly very interested.

"No one." Gray flatly states as he turns his attention back to his bdaman.

"Hmmm." Ababa looks up to the ceiling as he muses. "If I was Gray, who would I drug to get my way?" The way Ababa says it, makes it sound like Gray is the bad guy in the story. "Wait, that rhymes." Ababa throws in.

Gray swallows and he suddenly finds himself starting to sweat. This has been one of his best kept secrets. He should never have mentioned it.

Gray and Ababa lock eyes as Ababa suddenly turns back to Gray.

That's it, he knows.

"You drugged Enjuy."

Gray stays in position not moving, not one muscle on his face moves.

After deciding that there is no going back now, Gray simply just turns his attention back to his bdaman like he and Ababa has not just been discussing this.

"I thought that Enjuy was having trouble in his match against Yamato. It was quite a riddle. Never mind that Yamato beat Enjuy, which really should be an impossibility." Ababa starts connecting all the dots as he keeps his eyes on Gray that has his eyes on his bdaman clearly avoiding eye contact.

Ababa then starts laughing with an evil laugh that vibrates through the room.

"There is more of the Shadow Alliance in you than what you would like to admit, Gray." Ababa's tone seems more like he is impressed with Gray rather than angry and on his way to go tell Marda-B.

"Well, I guess you only had two real threats to take care of. Yourself and Enjuy. You of course on purposely threw your match against Yamato, giving him the win. The only other obstacle in the way was Enjuy."

Gray tenses as he realizes that Ababa knew all along that he lost the match against Yamato on purpose. And now he has connected the dots about Enjuy. Is this going to impact this 'guilt free standing' with the Alliance?

"But, thinking about it…" Ababa pauses as he changes his tone. "You actually did us a favour."

Gray looks up at Ababa, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"You drugging Enjuy had nothing to do with him ultimately betraying us. If he was not on the losing side in that match with Yamato, we may only have discovered his traitorous ways much later when he could have done a lot more damage." Ababa explains with approval in his tone.

"I wonder how Enjuy would feel about this?" Ababa taunts as he intently watches Gray.

"It would probably not even surprise him." Gray answers like Enjuy have a better understanding of who he is as he looks down at his bdaman again.

"Of course." Ababa's tone changes sinister. "You two never gelled well."

"That is why it was such a surprise that you would also trade your freedom for Enjuy's. Sure, the 'getting rid of the competition' story makes perfectly rational sense but then again, you are soft Gray. You care too much, even for those you should not."

"No wonder you and Yamato got along so well." Ababa concludes.

Gray glances at Ababa. Ababa knows too much and that really should make him very on edge but for reason it doesn't. In fact, it makes him more at ease. It means that he does not have to work that hard at pretending around him.

There is a knock on the door and for a moment Gray panics.

Is he supposed to be here?

Does anyone know he is here?

Is someone not supposed to see him here?

When the door closes, Ababa walks over to the table where Gray is sitting, with two plates of food. One plate is placed next to him as Ababa goes over to the other side and takes a seat.

In the beginning it was slightly awkward to say the least, eating at the same table as Ababa. But since Ababa is the one who initiated it and never said anything, this is now normal.

"So, is this what Enjuy's life was like?" Gray asks as he chews his food and looks back to his bdaman. Gray have thought about it, did Enjuy also sleep on Ababa's couch? Maybe even the one he is sleeping on. Did Enjuy also get special treatment like he is getting? Did Ababa also give him good food to eat like this?

"Enjuy had certain extended privileges, but we were never this close." Ababa answers as he starts eating.

Gray thinks about it for a moment.

"And what makes me so damn special?" Gray questions with more of sarcasm than suspicion.

"Hmm." Ababa watches Gray intently as he wonders is he should tell Gray. "You will find out at some point."

"Thank you. That is so damn helpful." Gray sarcastically responds.

There's some silence and then Ababa starts staring at Gray again.

"What?" Gray asks in a calm yet annoyed tone.

"Where did you get the pills?" Ababa seems far too interested with this. "You stole it, didn't you?" Ababa tone is suddenly amused. If Gray drugged someone which is something that is supposed to be something that would never be expected of Gray, then what else has he done that would never be expected of him?

"No, I didn't." Gray frowns with disapproval that such a thing can be thought about him. "I had a bad ankle." Gray was always had a prescription for muscle relaxers for his ankle and after he realized what a strong dose does to you, he figured there could be other uses for it. Like drugging Enjuy, which is a power player and very much relies on his physical strength in any match.

A sinister laugh echoes through the room again.

Gray knows he is never going to hear the end of this.

The next moment the room goes silent, and Gray looks up at an accusing finger being pointed at him.

He is then met with a very serious and dangerous look in Ababa's eyes.

"Do not let me ever catch you anywhere near my food."

The only response Gray gives, is no response as casually he takes another bite of his food and continues fiddling with his bdaman.

Anybody else in this situation would be trembling, but he has become used to this as normal.

"Sure Ababa, I'll strike it off my list of things to do." Gray casually, yet sarcastically replies. "It is however quite funny that you are saying that to the person you have invited to eat at your table. Quite literally. Besides, I didn't drug his food, I dropped it into his water."

"Hn." Ababa grins and it is quite evident that he is enjoying the conversation, because if he wasn't, he would have gotten rid of Gray already.

After thinking about it, Gray must admit that he is actually enjoying the back-and-forth banter himself. Around the gang, he always had to watch what he said but with Ababa he feels that he does not need to watch his words. As long as it is only the two of them however, with no one else present, he would not dare it if there were an audience.

"So, where are you going to get the muscle relaxers from this time?" Ababa asks as he continues eating again.

"I'm going to steal it from the med bay." Gray sarcastically replies.

"You know that if you were to get caught and you explained to Marda-B why you were stealing it, he would not have any problem with it. He'll let you get away with it." Ababa states in all seriousness.

"Probably." Gray mutters as he continues to fiddle with Chrome Zephor.