Of Boys and Blades

Part Two

Chapter 11

xXx

Kai

xXx

June 5th came again, and with it I found myself in front of Wyatt's grave.

Has it really been a year? I wondered. Fresh flowers rested against the granite headstone. I assumed his family had visited. Never once in all the times I'd come here had I run into them. Thankfully. I'd been visiting every day lately. Usually just for a few minutes, sometimes for longer. Being that it was the one year anniversary of his death I thought I should bring him something, but what do you bring the dead? I'd always thought leaving things on graves was a stupid waste, but now I saw the gesture was really for the person leaving it.

"Hi, Wyatt," I spoke softly. "It's been a year since you died. So I'm here. Again." I didn't really see the point in talking to a grave. Could the dead really hear us? And if they could, what would I say?

Today would be a day that I wouldn't be here long. It felt like yesterday. Still unreal. Tyson and I had gotten together—more or less—that night, so it had been a year there, too. That didn't feel real at all.

I started to leave, but my feet led me to somewhere I hadn't been in a very long time. Without thinking, I remembered exactly where she was.

Ninoshka Hiwatari

1968-1991

Nothing fancy. Just a name and date. That's all there was to signify that she had ever lived. And then died at twenty-three. It had been years. At least four. After I came home from the Abbey I'd come here every day after school. I'd sit in front of her grave and it would stare back. Unblinking. Unforgiving. It was staring at me now, as though angry I'd gone so long without visiting.

"Hi, Mom," I said softly, taking a seat on the ground. "I know now you didn't commit suicide, so I'm not mad at you anymore. I just don't get why you stayed. If you hated Voltaire so much, why did you keep living there? Why didn't you just go? Was it because of me? Because you couldn't afford to take care of me by yourself? Because my father's a selfish prick who didn't give a damn about us. And still doesn't."

I poked the ground with a stick. What was the point to this? Why did we put people in the ground? Why not just burn them all and throw their ashes into the wind? I hated the idea of one day being buried here myself. In a box underground marked by a piece of granite. Just one stone in a sea of them. Meaningless. Worthless. I wondered if she thought much about death. She was young. Probably not.

I had started a thousand emails back to Tala, but not one had been sent, and he hadn't emailed me again. I just didn't know what to say. Memories from the Abbey were vague at best, but slowly they were coming back to me. I remembered him showing me around. We became fast friends, and quickly rose amongst our peers as the best bladers in the class. We were inseparable. Boris's prized pupils. But then that changed. I still couldn't remember what had happened. We escaped. We ended up in Moscow, but were caught by that blond kid Vadim and his lackeys. He'd brought us back and I couldn't quite remember what transpired after that. I could remember attacking Tala and it taking both Spencer and Bryan to pull me off him. And then I hated him.

Then there was Black Dranzer. I'd been thinking about that a lot since Emily had brought it up. I wanted to see that document that she read. I wanted to know what had been written about me. What I'd done. The damage I'd caused. And who died.

Part of me wanted to ask Tala to clarify everything that happened, but I didn't have the guts. I don't think I wanted to know.

I had to go. I needed to leave the eerie quiet of the cemetery. As I exited the gates I stopped. "What? Are you following me?"

Tyson was leaning against the fence, a duffel bag at his feet, looking up at the blue of the sky. Turning towards me he flashed a grin my way. "No. You weren't home so I figured you'd be here. I saw you, but I didn't want to bother you so I waited."

"What do you want?"

He straightened his cap. "You didn't think I'd let you spend today by yourself, did you?"

"One can dream."

He grabbed his bag. "Nope. You've got me all day and I'm spending the night. I brought lots of chips and popcorn. We're going to get you caught up on the Lord of the Rings movies, which I can't believe you've never seen, but I sort of can since you're such a fricken loner. And you are coming to watch the last one with me in December, I don't care what you say. And, I don't know, maybe we can make out or something while we watch. I'll even make you dinner."

"Fine," was all I said as I walked passed him. He fell into step beside me. "I'm surprised you remembered."

"Dude, he died the day before my birthday. I don't think I'll ever forget that."

"Yeah, I guess not."

We walked most of the way in silence. Tyson finally broke it. "Hey, Kai, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Seriously. What did I do to piss you off?"

"Nothing, why?"

I could see him chewing on his lip. "I mean, you know— um, well, last fall, things were going pretty good with us, I thought. Then you started ignoring me and pushing me away and—and I don't get it."

"It's not you."

"Am I going to get a real answer?"

"No." Not that I even had one.

I thought he would keep pushing me but he wisely dropped it. Instead he rambled on and on about how much I would like these movies he kept telling me about. I didn't mind. He was a welcome distraction.

True to his word, he made me dinner. We spent the majority of the night watching the movies with him explaining everything to me. He'd actually read the books. That surprised me. He never struck me as much of a reader, but then I had to remind myself that his room was full of comics. They might not be novels but they obviously showed how much he did read.

The room was lit only by the television. I stared at him in the dark, watched the play of light and shadow on his face. I didn't realize how much I'd missed being around him. "Do you read a lot of books?"

He shrugged. "Not so much anymore. When I was younger I didn't have any friends, so I needed something to pass the time when I couldn't blade."

"I find that hard to believe."

"You don't know all my secrets." He scooted closer to me on the couch. "What about you? Do you like to read?"

"The same as you, I guess. I read a lot when I was younger. There was a huge library in the mansion."

His eyes lit up. "You lived in a mansion?"

I nodded. "It was sold after Voltaire was arrested."

"How rich are you?"

"Obscenely. But I don't read much anymore aside from schoolwork. Too much of my time is taken up with you."

"When you're not avoiding me."

"Avoiding you takes a lot of effort," I said softly, looking into his eyes. You could cut the tension between us with a knife.

"Then stop avoiding me," he whispered, pressing his lips against mine. I pushed him back into the couch, climbing on top of him. His arms slid around my neck, his legs around my waist. "I like you," he murmured into my neck.

Sliding my fingers under his shirt I quickly peeled it off him. "I still don't understand that."

He laughed. "Maybe I like that you're such a dick."

Trailing my lips from his neck to his chest, I replied, "You're an idiot."

"Tell me something I don't know." He giggled. "That tickles."

xXx

I woke up the next morning to the warmth of Tyson curled up beside me, my arm draped around his waist. I pulled him closer, savoring the feel of his body beside me. We'd eventually ended up in my bedroom. For once it seemed my sleep wasn't full of nightmares of barely remembered events. I could do with nights like those a little more often.

Sitting up as I watched him sleep, I felt the corners of my mouth tug up in a wicked smile. "Tyson," I whispered, blowing into his ear as I crawled on top of him. He stirred but didn't open his eyes. I trailed my fingers down his stomach, down his inner thigh, where I proceeded to tickle him without mercy.

He awoke with a scream that faded into laughter as he struggled to get away from me. "Kai! Please please please!" he begged.

"Please what, birthday boy?"

"Umm..." he grinned up at me. "Take a shower with me?"

I grazed his lips with mine. "Of course."

After our shower I caught sight of my neck in the mirror. "Dammit, Tyson!" I kept telling him to stop leaving fucking hickies on my neck.

He grinned at me mischievously as he dressed. "What? You don't like my handiwork?"

I threw on my old scarf on to hide it.

xXx

His birthday had been all he'd been talking about for weeks. I went home with him, helping him set up for it. He'd only invited the Bladebreakers and Hilary. It was pretty much what we did every time we all crashed over there. Gramps had made a ton of food and was—surprise, surprise—supplying alcohol.

The others arrived and the party went underway. I found myself preoccupied with thoughts of Wyatt and Tala and Black Dranzer and a million other things I didn't want to think about. Tyson had received a PlayStation 2 for from Gramps and was busy setting it up in the dojo with the guys. I eventually ended up sitting at the island in the kitchen watching Gramps make appetizers.

"You know, you can afford to lighten up once in a while, K-Man."

"I'm fine."

He let out a quiet laugh. "Yeah. Sure. You can't fool this old man." He pulled a bottle out from a cabinet and filled two shot glasses. "Have a drink with me."

"Why do you let us drink?"

"I remember being a teenager. I'd rather you do it here than out there. Here you go. In remembrance of your fallen homie, dude."

"Thanks." Lifting the shot glass to my lips, I drank it in one sip. And promptly erupted into a fit of coughing. It was the most vile, disgusting thing I had ever drank. "What the hell did you give me?"

Gramps was laughing. "Sambuca. Now that's a real man's drink!" He made a drink quickly. "Here. Wash it down with that. It tastes better, I promise."

After eyeing the cup warily, I took a drink. It was an infinite improvement.

Five drinks later I rejoined the party in the dojo after a very drunk Tyson had come to find me. I was in a slightly better mood. We ended up with our cots spread out in a circle. I was laying down, propped up on my elbows, staring at the grain of the wood in the floor. The room was starting to spin.

"I know a game we could play," Max suggested, a redness creeping into his cheeks. "Have you guys ever played 'I Never'?"

I shook my head. There were various responses of no.

"Okay, so it goes around in a circle," he explained. "When it's your turn, you say something you've never done, and if anyone here has done it, they have to take a drink. For example, I've never owned a pink pencil."

"Well, I guess I have," Hilary admitted, sipping her drink. She made a face. "Ew. Do I have to drink this?"

"Yes," Tyson said quickly.

Kenny was sitting next to Max. "Umm... I've never gotten a failing grade?" he said hopefully.

The others looked to Tyson. "Should I just down the glass?"

Max laughed. "Just one drink."

It was Tyson's turn. He gave Max a knowing grin. "I've never had sex."

Blushing, Max picked up his glass. We all stared at him in shock. That was unexpected. "What?" he asked.

Rei stared. "When? Who?"

Max shrugged, taking his sip. He glared at Tyson. "When I was staying with my mom after Christmas. Michael invited me to a party and there was this girl there, Hayley. I thought she liked me. She seemed pretty cool. We hung out a few times while I was visiting, and well... she asked if I wanted to. So we did. She really just wanted to screw a Bladebreaker. I'm not upset about it. It was interesting."

"I can't believe you did that." Kenny was the first to say something.

"Like I said, I thought she liked me. I was wrong."

"So you did it just like that?" Hilary asked. "I never would've thought that of you."

Max looked hurt. "You don't have to be so judgmental."

Hilary looked around. "What about you guys? If some random girl asks you if you want to have sex with her, would you?"

"She wasn't random," Max corrected. "Like I said, we hung out a few times and I thought she liked me."

Kenny started blushing. "Ummm...maybe."

"Kenny!" Hilary shrieked.

"Oh, don't tell try to tell us you never think about sex," Tyson said.

"Thinking about it, and acting on it are two different things. I believe you should wait until marriage. What, are you sleeping around, too?"

"I already said I've never had sex. But if you want to get technical about it," he said with a grin, "I have had oral sex."

Oh fucking God I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me. Tyson had drunk a lot and I was afraid he was going to say something about us.

"With who?" Max asked quickly. "You didn't tell me that."

Tyson just smiled. "I don't kiss and tell."

"Was it with any of my friends you went out with?" Hilary asked.

He shook his head.

That was information I wasn't aware of. I felt the tug of jealousy in my stomach.

"What about the rest of you? Are you guys still virgins?" Hilary looked around.

Kenny shrugged. "I'm about as virgin as you can get. Never been kissed, nothing."

"I've kissed a few girls," Rei volunteered. "Nothing serious."

I felt her eyes on me. "Kai?"

"I'm not participating in this conversation." I finished my drink.

"So that's probably a no."

"Think what you want."

"What about you, Hil?" Tyson asked. "You're so interested in us."

She glared at him, a blush creeping up into her cheeks. "You know."

"Was he the only one you've ever kissed?"

"Is there a story here?" Rei asked.

Kenny looked nervously between Tyson and Hilary. "Last year Hilary went to bang erasers with Yuto Shouma in the eraser closet. He's a guy in our class at school. They kissed and afterwards he went around telling everyone that she kisses like a slug."

Tyson, Max and Rei burst out laughing. I even had to crack a smile. Annoyed, Hilary stood and started for the door. Tyson grabbed her by the hand. "Sorry. Look, it's ok. No one's first kiss is perfect. What I want to know is how does he even know what a slug kisses like anyway?"

With a huff she sat back down.

"So Yuta was the only one?"

She nodded.

"Don't feel bad, Hilary," Kenny told her. "I've never done anything, so you're a step ahead of me."

"I've only kissed two girls," Max added. "And I've never had a girlfriend."

Rei seemed to think about it. "I've kissed three girls. One was my girlfriend for a month. That was back home."

Tyson was looking around with a big smile. "So I'm the slut out of us? Really? Well, besides Max."

"Hey." Max threw a potato chip at him.

"I've kissed nine people. I've had two girlfriends. One for two weeks, the other for three days. And yeah, oral sex. What can I say? After we won the World Championships two years ago, everyone wanted a piece of this."

More information I was unaware of. That tug of jealousy was growing into a knot. I loathed the thought of anyone else touching him.

Hilary just shook her head. "Guys, it's been fun, but I think I want to head home." She stood and headed to the door.

Tyson watched her for a moment, then stood. "I'm gonna walk with her, make sure she doesn't get mugged or anything. Be back in a few."

After they were gone Max, Rei and Kenny turned their attention over to the TV and PS2. "What was it like?" Kenny asked Max as a game started up.

"What? Sex?"

"Yeah."

Max shrugged with a laugh. "Umm...it felt good, I guess. It was over pretty fast. I was scared to death of my mom coming home." He didn't say anything else about it.

I stifled a yawn as they played. I was getting tired. Tyson and I had been up pretty late the night before. While the others were preoccupied with video games I silently made my way out of the dojo and into Tyson's room. The guys would probably be up for a while and sleep was sounding very good. Just for a little while. Tyson would probably come find me when he got back. I hated his bed. Too small and extremely uncomfortable. I don't know how he slept in it every night. Leaving the light on, I laid down, attempting to make myself comfortable.

xXx

AN: Hey everyone! So I tried, I really tried to get this out before New Years. But... oh this fricken chapter... I was having a hard time with one scene and the whole chapter just got longer and longer and longer. It ended up being too long for and I had to actually split it in half. So if it ends kind of abruptly, that's why.

So anywho, hope you guys enjoyed it. This was a fun one to write, especially where the Bladebreakers were all together. I think that's the first scene I've had really with all of them. Probably showing my age here, but does anyone remember the joy of banging erasers in the eraser room? That is not a euphemism for sex. XP

Thanks to RPS, Koiddragon715, KinomiyaHiwatari, Nezumi84 and Angel Devestation for the reviews on the last chapter. And thanks to all those who fave and follow. I love you all. Happy New Year! Hopefully 2016 will see the conclusion of this fic.

AN 2022: I scoff at the optimism of my past self finishing this in 2016. :p

So Maxi having sex. There was a fanfic collab sort of thing I worked on with a friend of mine that never saw the light of day way way back when. It was basically about the Bladebreakers traveling for another world championship, completely unrelated to this, but there were a few things that migrated over. The one relevant to this chapter is that Tyson and Max got a little wild on the road, and got big into partying and Max especially into sex. He loved doing body shots. I loved whore!Max because it was so unexpected, so Max being the first to shed his virginity is my little tribute to that.

Tyson's a big fan of sci fi (dragons). He and Kenny love Godzilla. They and Max sometimes have Godzilla marathons. Tyson and Max really love the campy ones. Kenny prefers the more serious ones.

My uncle gave me a shot of sambuca when I was a teenager. Nastiest drink I ever had. Well, besides day old warm flat beer.