I\'m a father?

Title: I’m a father?

Subtitle: Disgrace

Author: Lady Snowblossom

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: Rei/Bryan, Kai/Tala, Spencer/Ian, Tyson/Max and various other pairings

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Jeffrey Carson strolled to the door of the office of the editor of the New York Tattler, a folder in his hand. He paused and gave the glass and chrome door a rap before entering.

Brent Lott looked up from his phone conversation and waved the man to a seat in front of his faux ebony desk. He grabbed a pen and jotted down something on a notepad at his elbow and with a terse “got it, I have to go, I’ll talk to you later,” hung up. He looked at the folder expectantly, as Jeffrey eased into one of the leather chairs.

“What do you have for me?”

The bleach blonde grinned and shoved the folder across the gleaming black surface. Lott reached out and pulled the package closer and opened it. Inside were color photos of several teenage boys. Some were of a pair of boys – a redhead and a boy with a mop of blue hair topped by wild gray bangs-the pair were kissing and playing touchy feelly. The rest were of a whole group in the midst of a fight.

“All right, who am I looking at? I don’t know anything about that silly spinning top game.” The salt and peppered haired man asked as he shuffled the photos and tapped one of the photos of Tala and Kai.

The beach boy wanna-be chuckled, the only game the boss followed was baseball, ask him about any Yankee and he could rattle off stats like a ticker tape machine, but anything else – forget it! “Red there is Tala Valkov, captain of the Demolition Boys. They’re from Russia, used to be World Champions. The one with the wedges on his face is Kai Hiwatari, captain of the Bladebreakers, the current World Champions. They’re based in Japan.

“And the others?”

“The squirt is Ian, the big blonde is Spencer and purple hair is Bryan, the rest of the Demolition Boys. The black haired boy is Lee, captain of the White Tigers, Team China.”

Brent whistled as he looked at the photo of the altercation between Kai and Bryan. A smile slowly crossed his face as he figured out a way to make the picture work for him.

“Carson, can you remaster this photo so that Lee, wasn’t it; and the purple haired guy swap places?”

“No prob. A few minutes with a computer and its done.”

“Good, because this and a couple of the others will go perfect with the article Whitney is writing based on the information our tipster left us. So, the faster you can get it done, the better. I want this out today.”

Carson reached across the desk and reclaimed the folder. “Right. I’ll get right on it.” Clutching the folder, he rose and headed for the door. Behind him, he heard a quiet, “good job.” He waved his acknowledgement and exited.

Brent Lott leaned back in his chair and smiled. Hopefully with so many fans of that silly so-called sport in town, his paper would sell like hotcakes, and that was always good for the bottom line. The shrill ringing of the phone interrupted his musing. Leaning sideways, he grabbed it. He listened for a time and finally said, “good, send it up. Jeff is working on the photos that will accompany it. When he’s done, I’ll have him bring the pictures to you and the two of you can take everything to Blanche for layout. Goodbye.”

He hung up and turned to the note on his pad, dismissing the other item from his mind, until the finished article was in front of him.

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The sun was going down and Mariah sat staring at the horizon, her hand cupping her chin. The boys have been gone most of the day and that had given her plenty of time to call the ‘New York Tattler’ with information that she was sure would have them VERY interested in Kai and Tala. She smiled nastily at a pigeon that strutted along the ledge outside her window and laughed, as she imagined what would happen when word got out about the liaison between the two Russians.

The fans would be sure to turn on them and Dickenson would have to call an investigation. And when he found out that Kai had deserted poor Lee, he’d be sure to ban him and that red-headed slut from competition for the rest of their lives, or at the very least strip them of their captaincies!

“It’s not like they don’t deserve it.” She told her reflection, as she stood up to go get ready for dinner. Her image mirrored her self-satisfied smile, before she turned and headed for the bathroom.

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Lee got off the elevator and headed for his room. He yawned as he unlocked the door and slipped inside. Flipping the light switch, he peeled off his vest, kicked off his shoes and shucked his pants. Sighing, he scooped up the clothing and stuffed them into his laundry bag. He reached up and pulled the band that confined his hair off and shook the strands free.

Tossing the band onto the bedside table, he paused to check out his reflection in the large mirror across from his bed. Running a hand down his flat stomach, he eyed the tawny skin and the way his black mane framed his stocky build. Twisting this way and that, he wasn’t all that displeased with the image in front of him, he might be a little heavier in the thighs than was desirable, but who did he have to care? Being around Kai, Tala, Spencer, Ian and especially Bryan and Rei had just driven home a painful truth.

He was alone.

And likely to stay that way: seeing as none of the girls’, or boys back home interested him. He had hoped that while they were in Russia, maybe he’d find someone among the other teams. But the only one that aroused any kind of interest in him had been that arrogant German – Robert, and why would a rich guy like him want a poor village boy like himself?

He grimaced at his reflection and shook his head. He had about as much chance with Robert as a snowball did during summer – none at all. Sighing pensively, he turned from the mirror and went off to take a shower before going to bed. Tomorrow was going to be busy.

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As night wrapped itself around the Big Apple; some trucks pulled out from a gray stone building heading out to drop off their burdens of magazines and papers; among them – a revamped edition of the ‘New York Tattler.’

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D. J. Jazzman rushed into the foyer of the Wales Hotel. He headed straight for the elevators and hopped the first one that opened its doors. A few moments later, he was outside the door of Room 812; he looked up and down the hall before rapping sharply on the door, which was promptly opened by Lee, who stepped back, allowing the man to enter.

After Lee closed the door, he turned and demanded as he followed the man across the room. “Jazzman, I’ve done as you asked, but what is this all about?”

D. J. looked around, noting that all the White Tigers, but Mariah were seated in the room surrounded by their luggage. Grabbing the one empty chair, he waited for Lee to take a seat on the foot of the bed, before he began. “Where’s Mariah?”

Lee grimaced, “she’s still packing. I swear, she’s got half of the city in her room.”

Jazzman shook his head, “I don’t care how much of the city, she’s bought, we have to be out of here before dawn - Mr. Dickenson’s orders, so anything she doesn’t have packed right now, will have to wait for some of our people to pick it up.”

“Why?” Kevin asked as he hid a yawn behind a hand.

“Getting to that, short stuff.” D. J. replied, holding up a paper with the title “New York Tattler’ for all to see. “This is one of New York’s trashier scandal rags and is the reason why you have to leave here.”

“I don’t understand,” Lee said leaning forward, peering at the paper. “What does this have to do with our leaving?”

Silently, Jazzman flipped the paper open and turned it, so they could see. There before, their disbelieving eyes was a picture; a picture of Bryan trying to keep Kai and Lee apart with Tala holding onto Kai’s shoulders. Accompanying the blown-up picture was a full spread article and more pictures.

Lee took one look and jumped to his feet. Storming up to the BBA commentator, he snatched the paper from his hand. Jazzman watched as the growling youth quickly scanned the article.

“As I started to say,” he began ignoring Lee’s low snarls. “The Tattler alleges that Lee is pregnant with Kai’s baby and that Kai has abandoned him and their unborn child for Tala. Not only that, but it further alleges that Lee attempted to attack Tala, and that Kai came to Tala’s defense, while Bryan tried to keep Lee from getting to either Kai or Tala.”

“Lee?” Kevin squeaked his eyes wide with shock. Sitting beside him, Gary blinked in confusion.

Lee glared at the paper in his hands, then crumpled it and flung it across the room. “Who the hell,” he snarled at Jazzman, “is responsible for that pack of lies? I tried to keep Bryan and Kai apart! And I am NOT pregnant with Kai’s kitten!” He hissed angrily, “I respect Kai as a fellow captain and as a blader, nothing more!”

While Lee snarled at D.J., Kevin darted from his seat and snatched up the ball of paper. He retreated with his prize back to the safety of Gary’s bulk and began to straighten the mess out. Gary watched curiously, as Kevin smoothed out the wrinkles as best he could, before holding the paper out, so he and Gary could read the article at the same time.

Ignoring them, Lee scowled at D.J., who raised his hands to fend off the glare the angry neko-jin gave him.

“Hey, man! Don’t look at me! I didn’t do it!” D.J. exclaimed. “Anyway, regardless of who’s responsible for selling that bill of goods to the gossip rag. Mr. D. wants the four of you out of here. Robert has arranged the use of the German ambassador’s summer home located an hour from here. You will be sharing the mansion with the Demolition Boys, the Bladebreakers and the Majestics, along with Michael and for tonight, at least, Mr. Dickenson and myself.”

Furious at his helplessness to alter the situation until he knew more, Lee began to pace and snarl curses in English and Chinese.

By the windows, Kevin dropped the paper and shook his head. ‘I pity whoever told these lies,‘ he thought. ‘If Lee or Kai ever get their hands on them.’ He halted that train of thought before it could go any further.

“Crash!”

Everyone jumped and stared at the angry lion, who was punching the defenseless bathroom door. “If I ever find out who did this, I’ll kill them! How dare they!”

“Chill, man!” Jazzman’s voice cracked like a whip. Lee spun and snarled at him. The man stood and walked down to where the angry Chinese was standing and faced him. “Lee, I know you’re upset, but leave this to Mr. Dickenson, if anyone can find out who is responsible, its him.” He glanced at his watch and nodded, “Now, let’s go get Mariah and get going!”

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Fifteen minutes later found them well on their way out of the city. Once on the bus, Kevin had lain down with his head in Gary’s lap and gone back to sleep. The huge neko-jin simply shrugged at being used as a pillow and folding his arms over his chest had dozed off as well.

Jazzman sat up front with the driver, while Mariah sat behind Lee and watched him stare, brooding out the window. “Lee?” Silence. She tried again, “Lee?”

Lee scowled, couldn’t she see he wanted to be left alone? No, of course not, she only saw what she wanted to. Best to see what she wanted; then maybe she‘d leave him alone. “What?” He snapped.

Mariah cringed at the sharpness of his tone, but she pressed on anyway. “What are you thinking about?”

He frowned out at the blackness beyond the glass and growled, “I was thinking of how this is going to look back home. Grandfather is going to be furious.”

“He can’t very well blame you for something that’s not your fault.” Mariah replied seriously.

“It doesn’t matter whether its my fault or not. Our actions reflects on the village and now its going to be spread all over the world that I’m Kai’s abandoned lover. Not to mention, I supposedly attacked another blader-justified or not!”

Mariah felt the color drain from her face, she hadn’t considered that in her hunt for revenge. Lee was right, their grandfather was going to be furious. He might even take Galeon from Lee! And if she tried to save Lee and confessed, she’d lose Galux!

“I’m sure that once we explain things to him, he’ll understand.” She said weakly.

Lee snorted.

She fell silent after that.

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Meryl watched as her latest group of guests disembarked from the bus and she stepped forward to greet them with a warm smile. “Ach, I’m Meryl Wilheilm, the housekeeper! Don’t worry about your luggage, it will be taken care of. Now, I’ll show you all to bed and we can all get acquainted in the morning!” She motioned for them to follow and turned, heading into the mansion.

“Thank you.” Jazzman said as he led the group in her wake. The four young people stared around at the quiet elegance of the rooms they passed by, before climbing a flight of stairs.

At the head of the stairs, Meryl pointed to the left, saying, “Your friends are all down that way. You will be staying in this wing.” She headed to the right and soon everyone found themselves in bed and drifting off to sleep.

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Rei slowly opened his eyes; an uncomfortably full bladder informing him that it wouldn’t take too much ignoring. He blinked as an unfamiliar room came into focus, ‘where?’ He started to rise, when he noticed the hand resting on his stomach and felt something warm against his shoulder.

A gentle smile curved his lips as he looked over his shoulder and saw a strand of lilac blowing in the breeze coming through the open window.

‘Bryan.’

He sighed and began the delicate process of easing away from the Russian’s warmth. He had learned the hard way that Bryan was a light sleeper and a newly woken Bryan was a – pardon the pun – Russian bear if woke unexpectedly. He had often wondered if Bryan had been that way in the abbey? Or was it a quirk he’d developed since leaving there? Someday, he’d have to ask him.

As he slid from the bed, Bryan snuggled up to his pillow and murmured, “use the velvet lined cuffs.” Rei felt his cheeks flame, as he snatched up last night’s clothes and hurried off to the bathroom.

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Tala woke to warm early morning sunlight on his face. As he propped himself up on one elbow, he gazed down at the peaceful face of his lover. It was still a marvel to him that he, Bryan and Spencer had found such happiness. It hadn’t been easy, but Kai, Rei and Ian had become their guardian angels: the keepers of their souls and sanity. “My guardian angel.” He whispered as he delicately traced Kai’s jaw with a fingertip.

Soft crimson eyes opened and Kai reached up and pulled Tala down. “And you are mine,” the bluenette whispered as he softly kissed the redhead.

Pulling away from Kai’s kiss, Tala wiggled his way on top of his mate and wriggled suggestively. Kai groaned and pushed the redheaded devil up. “Feeling playful, are we?” He growled as he rolled the two of them over, pinning Tala’s shoulders down. Smirking up at him, Tala gave Kai a swift swat on the ass.

Kai yelped and straightened up, losing his grip on Tala’s shoulders. Taking advantage of this, Tala rolled Kai back over and straddled him. He grinned evilly as crimson eyes glared up at him. “You topped last night. Its’ my turn this morning.” The wolf purred as he leaned down and began to lick and nip at Kai’s earlobe, then down his jaw line to his throat. Kai drew a shuddering breath and arched his neck, granting his lover better access.

Sitting back, the playful wolf locked eyes with his phoenix and slowly slid a finger into his mouth, thrusting it in and out, licking and sucking. Kai moaned; his eyes dark with envy that Tala’s finger was experiencing something so erotic. With an evil smirk, Tala pulled his finger from his mouth with a ‘pop’ and delicately began to circle one of Kai’s dark nipples with it. Kai hissed, a shudder running up his spine.

Pleased with Kai’s reaction, Tala scooted further down Kai’s body, until his lover’s member was rubbing against his crack. Smiling wickedly, he bounced up and down a couple of times drawing a cry of frustration from the bluenette.

“Dammit, Tala!” Kai moaned, “stop fucking around and fuck me, all ready!”

“Uh, uh.” The red haired devil chuckled, “not yet.”

“Tala.” Kai growled in warning. His unrepentant demon grinned at him, before leaning down to claim his lips in a sizzling kiss that made him temporarily forget what he wanted Tala to do. The bluenette reached up and wrapped his fingers in the free strands of flame and deepened the kiss. Tala moaned as he surrendered the kiss to his demanding lover. Kai’s tongue darted into the sleek wetness of his wolf’s oral cavern and he twined his tongue with the hot velvet of Tala’s own.

Breaking the kiss, Tala slid from Kai’s body and began to slowly lick and nip his way down the sleek body under his lips and teeth. When he came to a scar, he took special care to let his love know that even these blemishes on his pale skin were precious to him.

Kai shivered when his beautiful love’s talented tongue danced and played over each of his scars. The skin seemed to grow warm with each delicate touch and there was healing in the warmth; healing for his heart and mind. “Tala,” he moaned.

The wolf grinned devilishly and without warning engulfed the head of Kai’s cock in his mouth and sucked. Kai cried out and bucked his hips. Tala quickly grabbed him and pinned his lover to the mattress. “No moving, “ he commanded as he nipped Kai at the junction of his hip and groin to reinforce the order.

“Oh, god,” Kai groaned, his head thrashing back and forth. His wolf was determined to torture him this morning! A cry tore from him as more of his throbbing; aching sex vanished into the wet heat of Tala’s mouth. Closing his eyes, he fought to obey Tala’s order, muscles tensing as he felt his world center around the delicious sensations pooling in his groin.

Tala moaned around the flesh in his mouth as his senses filled with the taste and smell of the phoenix. His own aching erection demanded attention and he slipped a hand down and pumped a couple of times to relieve the pressure. He sensed Kai’s coming orgasm and gripped his heavy sac and squeezed. With a final swipe of his tongue over the head of his lover’s member, Tala slid between Kai’s satiny thighs and stuck three fingers in his mouth sucking on them.

Kai cried out at the halt of his release and he rumbled his displeasure, a plaint that was halted when Tala’s mouth fastened itself on his. Sucking on Kai’s bottom lip, Tala sought to distract his lover as he stroked the rosy bud of Kai’s entrance, and slowly pressed against the muscle; which resisted the intrusion.

The bluenette grunted as a finger won past his tightness and began to slide in and out, soon to be joined by a second scissoring and stretching him. “Wolf,” he panted when a third was introduced. “Do it, dammit! Or do I have to kill you?”

Tala chuckled and positioned himself. “Your wish is my command,” he purred as he pushed his long length into his growling lover with one hard thrust. The sleek velvety passage clenched and caressed every bit of him and he growled his pleasure at the tightness that never ceased to amaze him. No matter how many times he took the phoenix, Kai was as tight as the first time; they had lain with each other.

A moan escaped Kai as he was filled and completed by the boy above him. They had once been lost souls, who had clung to each other in the face of life’s uncertainty; but now they helped each other to fly. He reached down and gripped his straining erection and began to stroke himself in rhythm to the wolf’s movements.

A primal growl filled the air, as the wolf watched his mate pleasure himself. Grinning fiercely, the redhead changed his angle and hit Kai’s prostate, wringing a cry of pleasure from his mate. Gripping the bluenette’s hips in a bruising grip, the fiery haired wolf proceeded to pound him into the mattress.

Kai was lost in a swirling kaleidoscope of color and sensation and with each thrust wound tighter and tighter; until he couldn’t take anymore and with a scream – shattered, his climax painting streaks of white across his lids.

His cry sent Tala over the edge and the wolf howled his completion and collapsed on his writhing lover. For several moments only the sound of heavy panting was heard; then a sated voice said, “get off.”

“Did.”

(Huff) I didn’t mean that, you hentai! I meant, get off me. You’re heavy.”

“You weren’t complaining about my weight a moment ago.”

“A moment ago, I didn’t know my own name; so that doesn’t count.”

A pause, then . . .

“OW! Hey, no pulling the hair!”

“Get . . . off.”

Tala pouted, but slid from Kai’s body. He glared at Kai’s back, as the bluenette sat up. “How can you even walk? Hey, where are you going?” Kai slid from the bed and throwing a wicked look over his shoulder, purred, “shower.”

The wolf grinned and got up. Yeah, a shower sounded like a good idea, and . . . it was his turn to bottom.

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Rei smiled as he spotted Kai and Tala heading hand-in-hand for the bathroom. Despite the problem that had forced them from their temporary homes, it was good to know that everyone was together, or rather almost everyone; they needed Tyson and Max to be complete.

Chuckling lightly, he followed his nose down the stairs and soon found the dining room. Meryl Wilheilm looked up as the neko-jin entered the room. She laid down the plate she had been holding and hurried over to the boy.

“Ach, and now why are you up? There is plenty of time for breakfast, or is it that the little one couldn’t wait?”

The rumble from Rei’s stomach answered her and she laughed at the blush that stained the gorgeous creature’s cheek. Reaching out, she patted Rei on the shoulder and led him to the head of the table. She pulled out an elegant chair and waited for Rei to sit down. When he did, she pushed the chair in and smiling, she looked down at him. “Nixie, our cook has a buffet style breakfast planned, so you sit there and I’ll bring you some juice and see if I can’t hurry her up, we mustn’t let the two of you starve.” Without waiting for Rei’s response, Meryl turned and hurried from the room.

Rei smiled at the white haired woman’s back. ‘I’ve got to ask her, how she knew about the kitten?’ he thought as he looked around the room. The gleaming mahogany table he was seated at could easily seat a dozen people. Overhead a chandelier made of silver and what he suspected were real crystals dangled. The walls were painted with murals of the Black Forest, here and there were deer and bears peeking out at the diners. Owls ghosted among the trees and a stream spilled to pool at the foot of a rock face and fish leapt among the spray.

A long mahogany buffet with a double row of chafing dishes stood along one wall waiting for the food to be placed inside. As the end of the room, a pair of French doors opened out onto a carefully tended rose garden; their perfume was heavy in the air.

Meryl bustled back into the room, bearing a tray with several glasses, “Now, young one,” she began.

“Rei, please.”

She smiled, “Rei. I’ve brought several different juices, so which would you like? Tomato, grapefruit, pineapple, orange, apple or pear?”

Rei reached out and took the glass of pale yellow. “I like pineapple best.”

Meryl nodded, filing away the information. “Nixie says, breakfast will be out in five minutes.”

Rei nodded, “is it all right, if I go out and look at the roses?”

“Of course, child! Go. I’ll call you when the food is ready!” She shooed him out of his seat and waved at the doors.

Rei smiled and glass in hand headed out into the sunlight.

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Up in his bedroom, a pale hand reached across the bed and a pair of silver eyes opened. A quiet rumble of aggravation filled the room and a lean body rolled from the bed. Bryan padded over to the window and looked out. Eyes scanning the ground below, he spotted a flash of red, as Rei wandered into view, randomly leaning down and sniffing a blossom here and there.

Not being a particularly romantic individual, he still wished Rei had waited until moonrise before he went for a stroll among the roses, so he could have the pleasure – and his eyes glowed at the thought - of seeing his love by moonlight. Turning quickly, he hurried to the bed, so he could get dressed and join his kitten.

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Rei wandered through the beds of roses laid out in immaculate rows. The different varieties’ colors ranged from the brightest white to the deepest yellow. And the sizes ranged from tiny tea roses to the largest of buds. He was sniffing one of the bronze roses, when an arm looped itself around his waist.

Straightening and looking over his shoulder, Rei’s eyes widened and he turned to face his falcon. Bryan was wearing a pair of forest green pants with a jewel toned violet shirt that was just shy of being royal purple. A pair of shoes the same color as his slacks encased Bry’s feet.

“Wh-wh-when did you get that?” Rei whispered: his throat suddenly dry. He took a quick sip of his juice as the falcon smirked at him. “You’re the one, who kept telling me, I was wearing too much red. Like?”

“Very much.” Rei shivered as Bryan leaned closer and gently flicked the sensitive tip of his ear with a naughty tongue.

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Tarell came around the corner of a hedge and seeing that the two were having a moment, cleared his throat. Flushing, Rei tried to pull away from Bryan, only to have the falcon tighten his grip. “Yes?” The Russian asked, turning his head to look at the German.

The old man suppressed a smile at the blush on Rei’s cheeks and bowed, “Breakfast is ready.”

“Good. Kitty here is hungry.” Bryan said and jumped sideways as Rei tried to jab him in the ribs with an elbow.

Tarell eyed their antics benevolently and led the way back to the dining room.

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Mariah was bored.

After breakfast, Oliver, Enrique and Mr. Granger left to go and fetch Max and Tyson from the hospital. Jazzman and Mr. Dickenson also left to get to work on putting out any fires the ‘Tattler’ article had started.

Rei and Kenny were in the library perusing the books, while Bryan was somewhere around. And Johnny was lounging against a tree; watching his boyfriend attempt to teach Spencer how to pitch.

She was listening to – with half an ear – Johnny’s rather pithy comments on Michael’s teaching style, when from inside the house, loud voices were heard.

“Ow! Let go, Tala!”

“Lee! We weren’t doing anything!”

Curious, she turned, peered into the room and began to snicker. Tala and Lee had the smallest members of ther respective teams firmly by an ear and were marching them through the dining room toward the patio.

Lee came through the door first, towing Kevin behind him. Tala was right on their heels, a squealing Ian firmly in his fist. Both youth’s ignored the howls of their pesky teammates. Tala marched to the end of the patio and shouted, “Spencer, come here and get your idiot!”

Spencer dropped Michael’s glove and hurried to the foot of the patio’s stairs. Michael and Johnny followed more leisurely, curious to see what Tala was going to do.

“What did they do?” Mariah asked as Lee prowled passed her.

Slinging Kevin into a patio chair, Lee growled. “This pair of prize idiots were in the gun room trying to break into a glass case full of grenades!” He glared down at Kevin and snarled, “Don’t you move!” At the end of the patio, Tala picked Ian up and tossed him down the marble steps into Spencer’s arms.

Deep in conversation, Kai and Robert came around the corner, just in time to see Ian go sailing through the air. Startled by the action, they stopped, then hurried forward to join the group around the patio

“Why were you doing that?” Spencer rumbled as he glared at his lover.

Ian flushed. “Ah, the grenades were from the Second World War and we just wanted a closer look.” “I give up.” Spence sighed and dropped Ian on his ass. “Ow!” The snake glared up at his mate. “Just see if you sleep in our room tonight.”

Ignoring them, Lee groaned, sank down onto the top step and put his head in his hands. “Its not like we don’t have enough problems, what with some idiot telling that stupid paper that pack of lies! Those two morons have to see if they can get us tossed out of here, as well!”

“Humph, if you and Tala hadn’t been so nosy, Ian and I have been in and out, before anyone knew we were there!” Kevin sniffed.

“Kevin!” Lee jumped to his feet and lunged at the green-haired imp. Giggling madly, Kevin scrambled free of his chair, leapt on the banister, slid down it to the ground and sprinted off toward the rose garden. Yelling for Kevin to get back here, Lee gave chase.

Robert sighed as he watched the merry chase. Too bad, Lee wasn’t hunting him! “What a glorious hunt we could have; a savage lion vs. a noble griffin.” He murmured.

Standing at Robert’s shoulder, Johnny smirked; his friend’s words had confirmed a suspicion he’d had for sometime; Robert was in love with Lee. ‘Now, what do I do about it?’ Johnny wondered. He snickered, as Kevin ziged, when Lee thought he’d zag and the lion stumbled and nearly fell face first into a rose bush. Catching himself, Lee charged on, howling about breaking Kevin’s neck when he caught him.

“Looks like a Keystone Cop routine.” Michael laughed, as Kevin stuck his tongue out at Lee and broke for the patio. Lee roared. Johnny chuckled wickedly and the American shot him a look, Johnny seldom laughed like that, unless he was up to something. What his crazy Scot up to now?

Still chuckling, Johnny stepped away from Robert and Michael and called to his personal nemesis. “Hey, Hiwatari! How about a practice match before I kick your ass for real tomorrow!” He yelled as he walked off toward the tennis court.

Kai scowled. “Humph! You talk big, McGregor. Too bad, you can’t back it up!” He growled, but followed the Scot.

“Ohh, this ought to be good!” Kevin crowed from atop the patio banister, he hopped down and ran for the steps, with Lee following more slowly, abandoning the endurance race, in favor of watching the match. The two neko-jins joined the other teenagers and they all headed for the court: laughing and making bets on which one would come out on top.

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Upstairs in the bathroom, Rei finished winding his long locks around the pair of chopsticks; he used to pin them on the top of his head, before sliding into a tub of steaming jasmine scented water. Since he had scrimped on his morning ablutions, he had left Kenny and Dizzi to a discussion of different philosopher’s theories on life; preferring to go relax in a nice hot bath; before Kai dragged him off to train.

Closing his eyes, he laid his head back against the wall and allowed the scent to wash over him. It felt good to just sit and do nothing; he didn’t even want to think.

The door opened and a silky voice purred, “well, what do we have here? A heavenly mermaid, perhaps?”

“That’s merMAN, you loon.”

“I resemble part of that statement.” Bryan smirked as he prowled across the gleaming blue and green tiled floor to sink to his knees by the cream colored tub. Lazily, Rei opened one eye and a tiny smile curled his lip. “Which part? The man or the loon.”

Bryan reached for a bottle of jasmine scented body wash and a sponge. As he squirted some of the wash on the sponge, he quirked a brow at his kitty. “I have to choose?”

Rei laughed, then gasped as Bryan began to run the sponge over his chest. He reached out and pulled Bryan up to his face. “Love you,” the tiger breathed, then he claimed his lover’s mouth in a deep kiss.

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Down on the tennis court, Kai and Johnny faced each other and readied their launchers. “Well Hiwatari, got any last words before I put you in your place.”

“Nothing worth wasting on you.”

Johnny scowled, “then let’s do this! Three, two . . .”

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Back in their bedroom, Rei finished tying his sash, as Bryan reclined on the bed, watching him. The pair had had a lovely time of doing nothing more than enjoying being in each other’s company: just talking and exchanging gentle kisses.

Both knew they had to have a serious discussion about the past weeks and the reasons behind those weeks, but neither was going to rush it. They’d take their time and wait for the right moment.

Suddenly, Rei snapped his fingers. “The present! I haven’t shown you what Kai and Lee bought the kitten!” He hurried back to the closet and opened the door. Reaching in, he pulled the small shirt box off the closet shelf.

“What present? You mean, the box on the shelf?” Bryan sat up and watched as Rei pulled a box free, turned and hurried over to him. His tiger dropped down beside him and he rested his chin on Rei’s shoulder and watched curiously, as the Chinese opened the box and dropped the lid to the floor.

“We went shopping with Mariah the other day and they got these for us, they’re adorable!” Rei parted the tissue paper and lifted out the tiger suit. “See?”

“Knock. Knock.”

“Hey, Rei! You in there?”

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Reaching the last room on the floor, Mariah gave the door a rap and opened it; calling as she did so, “Hey Rei! You in here?”

Uninvited, she stepped inside and stopped dead – staring. Both youths stared back at her, but her attention was on the tiny striped outfit in Rei’s hands. “Don’t you know how to wait until you’re invited in?” Bryan began, but Rei put a hand on his thigh, silencing him. Mariah had turned the color of cream as the color drained from her face. “Mariah, is something wrong?”

The pink-haired girl pointed a trembling finger at the playsuit in Rei’s hands; “w-wh-where did you get that?”

Rei looked down at the bit of cloth and smiled, “Lee and Kai got it for me! There’s another one that looks like a lion! I’ll show it to you.” He handed the tiger suit to Bryan and started to reach into the box, pausing when Mariah said, “why? I thought . . .”

Withdrawing his hand, a puzzled Rei tilted his head, “thought what?”

Bryan laid the playsuit down and stared at the girl. He frowned, something was wrong here. She shouldn’t be reacting like this. He put a hand on Rei’s shoulder and stood up. Rei looked up at him with confusion in his eyes, “Bryan?”

The Russian began walking toward Mariah, who started backing away. “She’s seen that outfit, or one that was similar before, haven’t you Mariah, else why would you be asking where we got it.” He glared at the girl and said coldly, “haven’t you.”

“No! I mean, yes! I saw Lee with one that looked like it, but that one was for him! He . . . Kai . . .” Mariah was aware that she was babbling, but the cold eyes that burned into hers made it difficult to think. Staring into the frozen silvery irises, she could swear that she saw her death lurking there.

Rei put the box on the bed and slowly rose, he walked to Bryan’s side and stared at the cat-girl. “Little sister, why would Lee want a baby’s playsuit?”

It took all her will power, but Mariah managed to tear her eyes from Bryan’s. She looked over at Rei. “Because, he’s pregnant and I heard him tell Kai that it would perfect for the kitten.”

Rei blinked, “He’s right, they are prefect for the kitten, but he’s not pregnant, I am.”

Mariah rocked back on her heels, “You? Then, Lee’s not having Kai’s . . .”

Rei’s jaw dropped and his mind went blank as Bryan barked a short ugly laugh. “Tala would rip Kai’s balls off, if he thought the phoenix was cheating on him!”

Rei’s wits finally came back online and he exclaimed, “Mariah! Where the hell did you get the idea: Kai and Lee were together? Ancestors! When Kai showed up in our village, that was the first time, he and Lee had seen each other since the Worlds! And you know, they weren’t together, then!”

Mariah shook her head; “they could . . .”

Bryan interrupted her, his voice cold. “Where and when did you see Kai and Lee with the suit?”

“I don’t have to answer you.” Mariah snapped defensively.

“Mariah!” Rei snapped and she winced at his tone. “Answer the question!”

“All right,” she said sullenly, “it was the same day, we went shopping. I was missing some bracelets and thought Lee might have them in his room. So, I went to his room and his door was ajar and Kai was sitting on the bed . . .”

As he listened to the girl’s story, Bryan began to put two and two together and the total infuriated him. He began to breathe harder and growled, causing the other two to jump. Rei turned to his lover, a worried light in his eyes; hesitantly he put a hand on Bryan’s shoulder. “Bry?”

“You!” Bryan ignored Rei as he snarled and lunged for Mariah, who squeaked as the falcon’s fingers closed around her throat. “YOU’RE the one, who told those lies to that paper!”

“Bryan!” Rei shouted, grabbing for his lover’s wrists. “Let go! You’re strangling her!” He struggled to loosen his falcon’s hold as the maddened youth tightened his grip. Eyes bulging, Mariah desperately clawed at the Russian’s forearms. Unable to break his lover’s grip, Rei rushed behind Mariah and grabbed her around the waist. Exerting every once of strength he had, Rei managed to rip the she-cat from the death hold and threw the girl toward the wall, while keeping between her and his homicidal lover.

Mariah collapsed against the wall – gasping for air, her own hands at her throat.

“Bryan, calm down!” Rei shouted, putting his hands on Bryan’s chest. “She’s Lee’s responsibility! We’ll take her to him and he can decide what to do with her! He and Mr. Dickenson!” Staying between Bryan and Mariah, Rei watched the struggle for control going on in his lover’s eyes, then Bryan spun away and headed for the window.


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Fighting for control, Bryan spun and stalked to the window. For several minutes the only sound in the room was the sound of breathing: harsh and fast, and short and desperate.

Lowering his hands, Rei went to Mariah and crouched down, his eyes dull. “Mariah?” She peeked up at him from under her bangs. “Is Bryan right? Did you do that? Did you tell the paper?” The pain in Rei’s eyes made it impossible to prevaricate. “Yes.”

Rei rose, feeling suddenly old and weary. He reached down and pulled Mariah to her feet, while keeping a grip on her wrist, he looked over at the icy-eyed Russian, “come on, we need to find Lee.”

“Tennis court.” Bryan said curtly, his eyes never leaving Mariah. “They’re all down at the tennis court.”

Rei nodded and headed for the door, towing an unresisting Mariah. Bryan waited until they were out the door, before following.

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“STOP!”

Kai lowered his launcher, as he and everyone else turned in the direction of the cry. They stared in surprise as Rei stormed towards them, dragging a pale Mariah behind him, a furious Bryan in their wake. When the trio reached the group, Lee stepped forward.

“Rei! What’s . . .” Lee’s voice trailed off, when Rei raised a hand. “I know who sent the information to the Tattler.” The tiger said coldly, setting off a chorus of cries.

“What!”

“Who?”

“Why didn’t you . . .?”

“QUIET!” The tiger thundered. Absolute silence reigned. Golden icicles raked the group and more than one shuddered under that freezing regard. “I’ll let her tell you herself.” He yanked Mariah forward and gave her a shove. Off balance, she stumbled and fell on her knees at Lee’s feet. Behind her, Rei hissed in a pitiless voice, “you have disgraced yourself enough, Mariah. Now, do the honorable thing and tell the truth.”

“Mariah?” Lee whispered.

Mariah licked her dry lips and looked up at Lee, but quickly lowered her eyes at the expression of shocked dismay on his face. “I’m sorry, Lee. Rei’s right, I’m the one, who gave the ‘Tattler’ the story about Kai, Tala and you.”

“Start at the beginning and tell us everything.” Rei ordered coldly.

Mariah sighed, “the beginning? It began the morning before yesterday, when I saw Kai kiss Tala outside my room. They were at the bank of elevators and Tala was leaving. Kai stayed to go shopping with Rei, Lee and myself. After we had finished shopping and had returned to the hotel. I was packing things away, when I noticed that the bag containing the bracelets I had bought for my mother was missing. I assumed Lee had them.”

She paused and looked around at the faces staring at her. They all looked stunned, except for Rei and the Russians. Rei was furious and it was hard to tell what the five Russians were thinking, they were too well trained in hiding their emotions for anyone to read their body language. She sighed again and continued, “I went down to Lee’s room to ask him about the bracelets. When I reached his room, I noticed that the door was ajar, so I started to open it. Lee was showing Kai a white tiger playsuit. When Lee told Kai that the outfit would be perfect for the kitten, I . . .I lost it and attacked Kai.”

There were several gasps and Tala glared at Kai, “you never said anything.”

Kai shrugged, “slipped my mind.”

“That steel trap?”

“Would you two please confine your family squabble to your room.” Michael demanded, “I want to hear the rest of her story; and I can’t do that if you keep yapping at each other.”

The two Russians glared at him, but fell silent.

Mariah waited for a moment, then resumed her story. “White Tigers stick together, hurt one and the others will even the score. When I heard Lee say that about the clothing, I knew he didn’t know that Kai was cheating on him. So, I set out to avenge his honor. I wanted not only to humiliate Kai and Tala; I wanted to destroy their careers. Later, when Kevin asked me to go to the movies, I lied and said, I was going shopping with Emily.”

Michael snorted, “yeah, like she’d go anywhere with you.”

Mariah ignored him. “I called the ‘Tattler’ and told them everything. When the article came out, I knew I had succeeded in destroying their reputations. As far as I was concerned, it was what they deserved!” She looked down at her hands and went on with her tale. “So, I felt I had avenged Lee and that was the end of it. But, then we were pulled from the hotel and brought here. And it was only a few minutes ago; that I learned the suit was a present from Kai and Lee to Rei for his kitten. It never occurred to me that Lee and Kai were never together, I just assumed they had been.”

She paused to wipe tears from her eyes and looked over at Rei. “You should have said something sooner.”

“Don’t blame me for your dishonorable attack on Kai and Tala,” Rei hissed, “all you had to do was ask Lee if he was pregnant.” He looked down at her and pronounced coldly, “You . . . are . . . no . . . longer . . . my . . . little . . . sister.”

“Rei.” She whispered as the tears streamed down her face, but the tiger ignored her plea. “Lee, she will have to give a statement to Mr. Dickenson, but then, we both know what needs to be done. She’ll have to go home to be judged by the elders and you know what will happen then.” He said tiredly. Lee nodded.

Kevin and Gary both blanched, while Mariah scrambled around on her knees and threw her arms around Lee’s knees. “No! Lee, please not that!” He looked down at her, his eyes frosty; “it will be a just punishment. Give me Galux, you are no longer a member of this team.” Numbly Mariah reached into a pocket of her pink capris, removed her blade and handed it up to Lee.

He reached down, took the blade and placed it in his vest, before yanking her to her feet. “Gary, Kevin, come with us.” Lee ordered. The pair flanked Mariah, while Lee turned and bowed formally to Kai and Tala. “I hope you will accept my humblest apologies. It shames me to know that a former member of this team took it upon themselves to besmirch your names.”

Kai and Tala bowed in return and Kai said quietly, “the shame belongs to her and not to you. We attach no blame to you.”

“I was her captain and as such, the shame is mine. We will return to our village as soon as it can be arranged.” Lee bowed again, before backing away and turning to step in front of Mariah. Without a word, he walked away, Mariah with her head hanging walking slowly three steps behind him, Kevin and Gary at her side.

With a bleak look in his eyes, Rei bowed to Lee as he passed. The lion nodded once, but didn’t pause. Rei straightened and watched as the rest of the sad party walked by.

Feeling strange about what he just witnessed, Michael looked around. Robert and Johnny both had looks of cold anger on their faces. Rei looked cold and he had backed up against Bryan, who wrapped his arms around him. Kai, Tala, Ian and Spencer were staring after the devastated White Tigers.

“Rei? Why did Lee feel he had to apologize for Mariah?” The All-Starz’s captain asked.

“Lee was Mariah’s superior, he is expected to know what his team is doing.” Rei said absently, his eyes never leaving Lee and the rest, until they mounted the patio steps and disappeared into the house.

“So, what will happen to Mariah now?” Johnny asked.

“It depends on what Mr. Dickenson and the elders decide.” Rei swallowed hard, his eyes empty. “One thing that can happen, is the elders could stripped her of the right to ever use a blade again. They will give Galux to someone they feel is more worthy of the honor.”

“Jesus!” Michael whistled, “that’s harsh!”

“Perhaps,” Rei said softly, “but it is our way.” He pulled away from Bryan’s embrace. “If you will excuse me, I need to be alone.” He bowed shortly and walked away, moving as if the weight of a thousand years were pressing down on him. After a few seconds, Bryan followed.

“Why is it, now that I know who the culprit is, I wish I didn’t.” Michael asked.

No one answered.