this is short, i kno, but i couldnt help myself! read ppl!

"Worse Than Death:
Chapter One;
Pain In The Ass"

Kai sat on the plane heading back home, feeling all of his excitement from his last tournament drain out of him completely as the flight attendant informed the passengers that they'd be landing in China real soon. Now, this wasn't a trip to visit Ray, no; the neko-jin was spending his time off in the Bahamas with his parents. And Kai desperately wished that it were. But alas, just as the plane landed, Kai could feel his annoyance settle into an eternal scowl.

This was going to be a long three months...

Kai got his carry-on bag then went to pick up the rest of his luggage, trying to think of the positive as he picked up what he had packed. It's not that he minded coming here; it was a hell of a lot better than his grandfather's place, as far as he was concerned. And to be honest, he was happy that he moved into a different home two years ago. No home was ever perfect, though.

And the problems with his were too irritable for his liking...

"Kai! Hey!" A frilly voice shrilled through the halls of the airport, making Kai sigh. Speaking of problems; Kai turned his head just in time to have a teen hug him tightly. The guy was about two years younger than he was, with ghostly white skin that was dressed in a pair of black pants, a black lab coat, boots, fingerless gloves, as well as a weird red backpack and yellow, swirl-patterned lab glasses. The teen had spiked crimson hair and piercing red eyes, much like his own, and wore black eyeliner underneath his eyes.

Annoyed, Kai pushed him off. "We talked about this Jack." He reminded the boy. "The three-second rule, remember?" He added in.

Jack nodded once. "Right, sorry..." He trailed of, taking one of Kai's bags and following him out of the building. "Mom and Dad left for a six-month cruise last month; it's going to be you and me while we're home." Jack informed the older teen.

The Russian sighed. "When are they not on vacation when I'm home?" He questioned rhetorically. Honestly, he spent more time with the red-head than the guy's own parents did. That on its own, considering the time he had spent there, he could honestly say he knew Jack better than they did.

Chuckling nervously, Jack helped Kai get his stuff packed into his hover carrier before taking the driver's seat and taking off with the teen. "I saw the tournament," he started up, not liking the unnerving silence that Kai always created, "you and the Blade Breakers were amazing! I had no idea you were having Dranzer holding back such fire power." He commented.

The elder teen smirked. He supposed, out of everyone in the household, Jack was probably the one who knew him best, despite not knowing much. "Thanks." He said, sending a proud look his way. "Your last e-mail talked about one of your heroes," he started up.

"You mean Chase."

Kai nodded. "Tell me about the guy." He told the teen, intrigued by this new person.

Jack talked the whole trip home about the guy, as expected, and with all the things he told him, Kai couldn't help the mixed feeling of understanding and disgust. Jack was a desperate idiot, that he knew, so he understood that Jack would want to show his heroes he was serious. However, he found himself disgusted that Jack would allow himself to be used so easily.

That would have to change.

They arrived at the house, Jack-bots not guarding the perimeter like they used to, informing the teen that Jack was low on money which meant that he couldn't get more robot parts. He walked inside, noticing the red-cyclops that had once been there the year before. "Where's Wuya?" He questioned the engineer.

Jack groaned. "With Chase." He answered. That would figure; Wuya wouldn't want to stick around Jack if there was a better option out there, in which there was. He wasn't surprised that it happened, really, it had been brought up before while he was out with his team. It was more along the lines that despite Jack's determination to become an emperor, he was a walking tool that could be used and throne away at will, and the worst part was that he was so damn desperate, he was too blind to realize it.

Just as Jack began to complain, Kai took a whiff of the air around him. "What's that smell?" He asked the 'genius' curiously.

Jack's form stiffened slightly before he began to race to the kitchen. "Well," he started, going through the kitchen and checking on the dinner progress, "when I heard you were heading home, I thought I'd surprise you with your favorite; smoked-salmon with homemade cocktail sauce, asparagus with a garlic sear, and white rice with chopped bell peppers." He informed the teen.

Kai blinked twice. "Didn't expect you to pull out the welcome wagon like this." He stated flatly.

The red-head smiled. "I know, but since it's your first night back, I thought I'd make you something nice." He stated kindly.

The Russian teen smirked. "This may have been one of your smartest accomplishments yet." He stated, heading into the living room as an excited squeal came. "Let me know when dinner's ready." He instructed, heading into their living room and reaching for a book. Their were a lot of good books on the shelves before him and all he needed was one to keep him satisfied for the next hour. He picked up Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente; finding himself entranced by the city ruled by Casimira. It was a strange world, he had to admit, but he was ultimately impressed with the end result through the suffering of others.

He read throughout the hour, practically hypnotized by the wonders of literature; closing the book just as Jack rang the gong and signaled dinner. True to his word, Jack did make his favorite. And for a boy who spent all day in a lab hidden in his basement, he was impressed. Jack did have culinary skill, that much was obvious.

As the two ate, Jack continued to rant about his new plans and how the Xiaolin would soon be bowing before him, but Kai didn't pay him any mind. He was used to hearing this stuff; used to it well enough that he rather quickly blocked out the teen. However, in courtesy of being a little nice since he made awesome food, he would nod and add in his own comment every now and then to make the ignorant evil-doer believe that he was listening.

Kai entered the bland room that was always left vacant for him, dropping everything he had before taking off his shoes and lying down on his bed. The flight left him exhausted, and according to the time, it was still early evening. Beside the matter, Kai reached for his earplugs so as to block out Jack's loud metal music and turned on his side; closing his eyes and forcing himself to forget about the nuisance he lived with.

i went back to watching Xiaolin Showdown and wondered what type of story this would turn in to. i hope uve enjoyed!
~ K. Fang-sama