A/N: The atmosphere has shifted a bit in this fic. You'll see after reading. The scenes may seem a bit poorly written i guess? But I'd try better later on. This is a bit longer than the other chapters.

Thank you to Momokomon for favoriting and following!

Chapter 5

(Settling)

Icy blue eyes cracked open, taking in the light that came from the window in his room, telling him that it was time to get his ass out of the bed.

He sat up, rubbing the crud from his eyes as a yawn escaped him, before running a hand through his fiery bed head. He put his feet on the floor expecting coldness, but they were met with a soft white rug. He hadn't understood its purpose for being laid right next to the bed, but now he did.

He stood up and stretched his back, yawning once again and glancing at the clock on his night table. 7:29 AM. He could hear noises in the kitchen, which he recognized with a familiarity, were of his teammates.

He made his way downstairs and was met with a ridiculous and amusing sight. Ian, who was standing next to the counter, was covered head to toe with a white substance that he guessed must be flour, a small pan sitting on one of the stoves, some burnt substance sticking to its bottom which gave off a foul smell.

Bryan sat on one of the chairs of the dining table, almost doubling over with his cruel laughter, nearly knocking out the cup of coffee placed in front of him in the process. Spencer stood a little away from the mess that the snake had created, shaking his head at the childish display and telling Bryan to stop laughing without any success.

A smirk formed on his lips as he moved forwards and sat down in the chair next to Bryan's, picking up the cup and setting it away from the falcon.

"Hey! That's my goddamned coffee," he let out in a string of chuckles, before snatching the cup from where the wolf had put it, and taking a big gulp from it.

"Shut the fuck up! You fucking moron," Ian yelled at him, looking absolutely hilarious. Tala let out a chuckle himself, humor shining in his eyes.

"Ian, you shut up, and go get a bath, and change your clothes," Spencer ordered him, starting to clean up the mess on the counter and washing the pan.

"What happened?" Tala enquired.

"He wanted to make those fucking sweet things, what are they called, Spencer? Oh yeah, I remember. Pancakes. The midget tried making them, and got himself in a fucking mess," Bryan explained to him, once more laughing at the violet haired boy's antics.

Tala nodded his head, an evil smirk forming on his lips.

"Do you want coffee, Tala?" Spencer asked him, picking up two mugs from the cupboard and heading towards the coffee machine.

"Da"

He looked back at the falcon, before questioning, "Didn't Kai come back yet?"

He was met with a shake of a head.

"The guy must be hella busy," Bryan finished, staring at him seriously.

He nodded his head.

Of course, Kai must be busy. With his grandfather behind the bars, - OK, it hadn't yet been decided by the court whether he will be, or not, but the chances of him getting free were the same as the chances of a cat growing wings – and him being the heir of one of the world's largest corporations, he sure was under a lot of pressure. And to say that he was only fourteen. Up until he would become of age, the companies would be taken care of by trustable staff that could rely on – which wasn't much to begin with, but he'd rather have lesser loyal people than more deceiving ones – and Mr. Dickenson himself would also be helping him in the process, but at the end, he was the one who had to make all the final decisions, and it was definitely not easy.

Tala sighed, and looked around. His eyes taking in the surroundings.

Kai had, just as promised, taken them with him to pick a house from a few that he had selected and deemed fit for them. All of the ones were quite large, fancy, and finely furnished, with an air of luxury to them. After looking through a couple of those, they had chosen this one. Even though there were others that were more expensive and more richly designed than it. But they had chosen this one. It was large enough to easily accommodate all four of them, without their privacy violated, but was not overly vast like the mansion of Voltaire than Kai had taken them to live in for a few days until their own house would be all ready.

It had minimal decorating, the coloring most white and faded blue, and the furniture was also mostly white, with the exception of a few finely finished oak tables or cupboards here and there. Seemed Kai knew exactly what he wanted.

White was his color, whether it was the peace that it brought, or the almost blinding brightness, he wasn't sure. But he felt it suited him, and the others had just nodded their heads, agreeing, when he said he liked this one. In actual, neither of the three cared much about aesthetics. Hell, they had been living in cells that barely let any light or fresh air inside, with darkness and coldness always surrounding them, and the smell of blood and death all around them, that now they were happy with any other place.

The place was already giving off the vibes of being a home, and it hadn't even been a week since they had gotten here. There were four bedrooms and two spare rooms/guest rooms upstairs, and they had claimed their rooms almost as if they knew exactly what the other would have wanted, and only choosing the ones the others did not want. Which was almost hilarious, because at the end, they still looked at one another's rooms enviously.

Downstairs there was a spacious living room, and a kitchen that was equipped with all the modern appliances they needed, and did not need. Ian had almost burned the whole place trying to examine one such device he did not know the use of, and from then onwards was banned from touching any electrical substance in the kitchen. There was also the fear of Bryan near the knifes, but up until now, he hadn't done anything dangerous.

He sighed again. Spencer put a mug of steaming black coffee in front of him with a plate of toast. He nodded his thanks and picked the almost pitch black colored cup, taking a small sip.

He remembered vaguely that this was the mug that Kai drank coffee every day from. It was weird to think that the bluenette would have an obsession with a mug of all things. He smiled slightly at the thought.

Kai was also living with them for the moment. His team had wanted him to come with them back to Japan, but he had disagreed. He was gone most part of the days though, only retuning at night, exhausted and going straight to sleep in one of the guest rooms. The other times he would simply reside in the living room, busy with his stack of files and documents.

The day before yesterday too, Kai had left saying that he had some important matters to settle in St. Petersburg, and that he'd be back early morning two days later.

Guess he hadn't yet.

Just then the doorbell rang, and Tala leapt to his feet, exclaiming "That must be Kai," and rushing to open the door.

It was indeed Kai.

Looking tired, slate bangs slightly covering his exhausted eyes, the two toned hair ruffled, and wearing a long black coat. He seemed to have gotten no sleep the last night, and had come to their place straight from the airport. He was holding a briefcase in his left hand.

Tala gave him a small smile and let him inside. Kai visibly relaxed at the warmth now surrounding him, shrugging off his coat and putting the case down on the coffee table. Heading over to the kitchen, he nodded to the two and sat down in the chair next to the blonde.

Spencer got up and started making some more coffee for the bluenette. He did look like he'd collapse any moment.

"Ya fine?" Bryan put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with a frown.

"Hn, just tired," he replied, thanking Spencer as he was handed his coffee.

"Did you get done with the work?" Tala asked him slowly.

The bluenette raised an eyebrow.

"That you went to St. Petersburg for," he explained.

Kai raised the eyebrow too, before lowering them down, shaking his hand slightly.

"Nyet, a problem came up," he looked down at his coffee, swirling the dark liquid around before taking another sip.

Tala looked expectantly at him, hoping for a proper explanation, but seeing as he wasn't getting any, took his gaze away from him. Bryan turned to him and they shared a concerned look.

Since the day Mr. Dickenson had revealed to them the truth of Kai's past, they, especially Tala, had borne the habit of giving the bluenette company, maybe just to make up for the years apart. Either it was when the other was eating, or sitting doing his work, or even before he went to sleep.

Tala would go to his room, and together, they would let out to each other all the pain they were holding inside their scarred selves since the abbey. Those times, Tala had gotten to know much more about Kai's life in those years that he was away from the abbey, that Mr. Dickenson hadn't told them.

Tala had felt that, maybe, just maybe, their old unbreakable friendship would show its existence once again, but he was always worried that Kai might no longer want to be his best friend, the same way he was when they were young. Kai himself held exactly same doubts. But as they spent more and more time with each other, it was becoming more and more difficult to treat each other like they hadn't met for years – which was, frankly, the truth – but that it was just yesterday that they had been talking to each other the way only the closest ones could, as if it was just yesterday that the other had come back beaten and bruised after the punishment, and they'd cleaned their wounds and comforted them, it was if just yesterday that they had confided fully into each other and had sworn to never leave the other's side, as if it had just been yesterday they had laid next to each other on a particularly cold night, and had created their own constellations of hopes, that consisted of a life outside those dark and horrific stony walls.

Tala was both surprised and elated at how quickly he and Kai had repaired their broken and shattered bond, as if it never had gotten a scratch in the first place.

He felt so close and familiar to the other, even though it had been years since they had last seen each other, that he was almost afraid that it was all a dream, and that he'd wake up and then Kai would be gone, leaving him helpless and alone in the bitter darkness.

His teammates were happy for him, even though they did not show it. They were the ones who had seen Tala the most broken and vulnerable, when Boris had told them about Kai's escapade with Black Dranzer and his betraying them. The redhead seemed to have stopped functioning at all, when they were not training, he would just and stare at nothing in particular for hours on end. It was like the inner fire in his eyes had died away, leaving the cold, ruthless, yet beaten mask, that he wore every day. He had tried to keep his pain hidden, but they had known better.

Kai had been something far above a friend to him. He did not know how to describe it, but somehow, it had felt unfair to just give him the much-used title of a 'best friend.' No, Kai was not some common best friend, he was much more.

He took care of him like a parent would, even though he was older than him, he comforted him like he was a little baby who had been scared by his own shadow, he scolded him like a mother would to her toddler who had eaten all the candies, and he made his world feel like it was the brightest one yet even in the darkness of the abbey.

Kai had been something to him that words couldn't describe, and he was sure that even after all those years of suppressing, his emotions hadn't changed one bit.

Even now his situation was becoming the kind that he wouldn't feel lightened up for the day until he had seen the bluenette. The others found it highly amusing of how he'd go room to room searching for Kai before they would tell him that he had gone out. Of course they were happy too, to get their fifth wheel back. Bryan would constantly nag about taking him to his mansions where countless weapons adorned the walls, hanging almost like possessions of the late Hiwataris. Sometimes, he'd even pat his head and give him a none-too gentle slap on the shoulder, his way of showing 'I've got your back'. Ian would literally worship him when Kai would get him a new video game and would go straight to Kai whenever Bryan was pissed off at him and wanted some payback. Spencer wouldn't say much, but would take special care of Kai's eating habits, lecturing him whenever he had missed a meal and ask him if he was okay and get him medicine whenever he had a headache.

But with Tala it was different, and his antics were something of a entertainment source for his them. They'd tease him of how clingy he was to Kai, almost like two joints at the hip, before getting a hit on the head and a lot detailed and colorful cursing. But even he had to admit, he was a bit too attached to Kai now.

He'd get desperate if Kai didn't return after a few hours from his boring work, and would remember that the desperateness was the same as the one he used to feel when he would be waiting for the guards to take the bluenette back to him after his punishments when they were younger. But these times, he wouldn't be afraid for Kai's life as he used to be then, because now there was no Boris.

He sometimes thought his behavior must be nagging Kai, the latter being a loner, and appreciating his peace and silence, but when asked, the bluenette would just let out an amused smirk and shake his head, taking away his doubtful concerns.

He felt as if the Kai that had left him, was back, and he had no intentions of ever letting him go. He was the most important person to him, along with his team, and he felt that he wouldn't be able to handle the pain if Kai left him.

So it would feel a bit hurtful to him when Kai would become all secretive about his work, or his life in general, closing up whenever Voltaire was brought up. But he convinced himself that Kai was just going through a lot, and would let them know anything actually needed to know, after all, he did trust them, or so he showed.

Kai sighed and looked at him, "I got a call from Mr. Dickenson about the case, I need to be there tomorrow"

Of course, they had forgotten, the case against Voltaire was going on, and Kai was going to have to be there until everything was cleared up and the man had gotten what he deserved.

"Where's Ian, though?" he asked, shifting their attention away from himself.

"He musta drowned or somethin'," Bryan chuckled once again.

Kai looked confused before Tala explained the little incident to him, getting an amused smirk from him.

Just then the snake appeared, glaring pointedly at Bryan before his eyes caught sight of Kai and he skidded over to him.

"You're back!" he exclaimed happily.

Kai smiled slightly and ruffled his fair, which was still wet from the shower. Ian groaned and got away from him, trying to fix his hair.

"So, are you going to go somewhere today?" Spencer questioned him.

"Nyet, maybe in the evening, but I'm not sure," he replied, getting up and putting the cup in the sink, before taking himself upstairs to have a shower.

He let the hot water run over his tired body, relaxing the muscles, and took a relieved sigh as the warmth of the transparent liquid removed the tenseness he felt gripping all parts of his body.

His blood shot eyes closed, and he leaned his head on the shower wall, letting his thoughts run.

It was a relief that Tala and the others had accepted him so quickly, as if they hadn't treated him as a stranger at the start. He didn't know what he would've done if they had refused to listen to truth, or if, even after knowing the truth, wouldn't have wanted anything to do with him.

Even with all the stress that he lately found himself in, what with the endless paperwork of the business and the disgust that filled him when he thought about meeting Voltaire in the court, he'd calmer the moment he'd step inside the house.

Most of the days he'd come home to Bryan and Ian's bickering, and Spencer standing between them, trying to settle the fight. Ian would run straight towards him and hide behind him, while the falcon would 'leave it for another day', and then Ian would thank him, and get a ruffle on the hair that would again piss him off, and he would go sulking and lock himself up in his room until Spencer would drag him out for dinner.

Tala, though, would start following him like a lost pup, asking about his day, all the while also giving him a detail of the day's happenings at home. Then the redhead would out of nowhere give him a hug, leaving him all flustered, and would then laugh at his expression at being hugged, before going away and leaving him alone.

His eyes lightened up at the memory.

But even with the little happiness that was surrounding him at the moment, he found himself thinking backward at the recent memory gain that was slowly and yet surely torturing his mind, giving him all the twisted kinds of flashbacks that left him alone with the monsters residing inside his mind again, clawing at his sanity.

He was having nightmares almost every night. Sometimes he would wake up with sweat and shivers breaking over his body, and in the middle of the numbing noises that his ears rang with, and the haphazard sound of his rough and troubled breathing, he'd reach out desperately towards something he didn't even acknowledge, and would be trembling with the terror that Tala and the others were gone, or worse yet, he hadn't even found them after 'the incident', and that his mind was playing tricks by creating stories and flashing them before his eyes, in which he was sinking lower and lower into the endless abyss of loneliness, and death was clawing at him seductively.

But as if fate would finally be having mercy at him, the spell would be broken by a knock on the door, followed by a question of "Kai, are you okay?" and provided with no answer, the door would open to let Tala in.

Seeing the redhead's shining blue orbs would calm him down, and he would slightly shake his head to rid himself of the fearful thoughts, and would mutter an "I'm fine" before rushing to the bathroom to save himself from the embarrassment of being seen so disoriented in front of the other.

A smile crept over his lips, even after everything, the redhead seemed not to have changed at all, still worrying over the others more than he ever did for himself, his bossy attitude that irritated the hell out of his teammates, his mother mode that would nag them for hours on end before they'd finally open up and tell him their troubles, and the way he'd take one look into his eyes and seem to understand what going on his mind, and give him a little squeeze on the shoulder, whispering a quiet "It'll be okay" in his ear before leaving him alone.

Everything that the redhead did reminded him of that innocent, young boy who at a time had been the only dearest person to him. Even in his nightmares and flashbacks, against all pain and torment, would glimmer a light, a set of two pure icy orbs that would sooth him to the soul. He remembered letting out the name of the redhead whenever he would be staring idly into space, his subconscious mind overpowering its other half, and then when he'd realize what he had just said, he would look around to check if someone hadn't seen or heard him.

He thought about how the redhead would accompany him, talking to him about anything and everything before going to bed, and staring into those deep crystals would erase his stress no matter how much he had gone through the day. His exhaustion would seem to evaporate and he would find his lips twitching ever upwards, and without fully knowing, he'd smile.

He sighed again, turning off the shower, before drying himself with a towel and throwing on his clothes.

He knew that what had happened at the championships – Boris' and Voltaire's fall and abbey raiding along with the boys being rescued – had been one of the turning moments of his life.

He was now free from his Grandfather, and had Tala and the others back with him. But still, in the back of his mind, an almost non-existent thought would reside, and at times, would nag him till hours on end. He knew that for the moment, his life was the best it had ever been since his parents had been killed, but how long before it too was going to be brutally snatched from him?

Everyone that came into his life seemed to, in way or other, be suffering. And he blamed himself for it.

He had finally for the first time since the abbey found himself looking forward to his life, almost hoping for yet better days, waking up in the morning and letting out a small smile before facing the day, he felt that he'd crumble if something would happen again.

He had already lost so much, but he had left it all behind. For the first time in his life he had realised how lonely he really had been, and God, was he praying that he wouldn't lose anymore again...

Da - Yes in russian

Nyet - No in russian

(Although i think everybody knows this already)