Because it's my birthday today, I decided to update the fic! Sorry for the delay but I was having it proofread by 5 different people and had to listen to all their opinios before the final revamp. 

So I hope you all enjoy this! 

Disclaimer: I own nothing and you know it.

Chapter 1: Fire and Ice

The smooth rumble of the black sedan driving on the cargo port was drowned by the incessant roar of the dark sea lashing against the sturdy pillars that supported it. The car parked a few feet away from a row of warehouses, out of which the first one was dimly lit.

 Kris didn’t flinch at the cold, salty air that sliced across his face as he got out of the car and strode towards the lit warehouse. He smoothed back his blonde hair, which got ruffled in the wind, and stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his dark trench coat. He briefly slowed down; glancing upwards at the night sky partially covered in cumulus clouds, and then resumed his pace.

As he neared the massive doorway, he could hear the crack of boxes being shut and voices shouting curt instructions. He entered and headed straight for the group of people huddled around a pile of crates.

They all looked up at the sound of his footsteps and two of them extracted themselves from the group and headed towards him.

“Everything’s in order”, said Chanyeol, tilting his head to indicate the crates.

Kris said nothing and looked at the other man.

Yixing gave a nod and Kris walked over to the group, who were waiting anxiously, and dumped a small briefcase on top of a crate.

 “The money, as agreed”, he said sharply, looking straight at the man opposite to him.

“It- It’s as said? All the money is there?” the man asked nervously, staring right back and not touching the briefcase.

Kris’ eyes narrowed in irritation.

“Do you doubt me, Mr. Shun?”

The man backed up in alarm at the icy tone and bowed low, “N-no, of course not! Thank you very much for doing business with us, sir!”

Kris bowed slightly in acknowledgement and stalked out of the warehouse, followed closely back Chanyeol and Yixing.

The cold, November night air made Kris stuff his hands into the warmth of his pockets automatically and walk faster towards his car. He pulled at the handle and slid inside with a slight jerk to adjust his long legs. Two thuds indicated that the other two had entered the back seat and Kris turned the key in the ignition. The car thrummed to life and Kris reversed and gunned it down the driveway towards the exit.

“Someone’s in a hurry to get home.”

Kris gave an indiscernible hum to Yixing’s remark and pushed down the accelerator so that the passengers behind fell backwards.

“Busy day at the office?” Chanyeol whispered to Yixing.

“The usual stuff”, Yixing whispered back, “Financial statements and whatnot. Plus he had to meet a few high profile clients today. He might not show it but-“, Yixing clutched at the front seat for dear life as Kris took a sharp turn from the exit road onto the main road and Chanyeol, having no grip, got thrown against Yixing with an “Oof!”

“Ayo, Kris! There are unarmed people in here!” Chanyeol yelped, pulling himself off Yixing and helped him up.

Yixing coughed and glanced warningly at Chanyeol who felt silent.

“As I was saying”, Yixing continued as though nothing happened, “Kris might not show it but he is under a lot of pressure. Especially since said clients are also getting an offer from the Triad offices.”

“I see.” Chanyeol’s face was grim.

“Yeah, he started working at 6 in the morning today and ended up just an hour or two ago. He must be dead tired and yet he came all the way here to finish up the Kang deal”, Yixing’s tone was sympathetic as he sighed and added, “He also fired Chunsoo.”

“What??” Chanyeol exclaimed, his eyes widening in disbelief. He leaned forward between the front seats to accuse Kris, “You fired Chunsoo?? That is the tenth secretary that you’ve fired!”

“Eighth.” Kris replied, curtly.

Chanyeol gaped at him for a second and said, “You’re such high maintenance. That poor guy must have torn his shoes running for you.”

“Well he wouldn’t have had to if he just did the things I asked him to do properly’, Kris retorted.

Chanyeol opened his mouth to argue but then changed his mind and drooped back onto his seat and sighed.

“Don’t worry, I gave him a letter of recommendation”, said Yixing, smiling at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol smiled back and grimaced, “Aish, if it weren’t for you, the employees would have ended up in tears a long time ago.”

 “It’s not like that they could complain with the salary that they’re receiving,” said Yixing, matter-of-factly, “Kris might work them to their bones but he rewards them just the same.”

“The Ice Dragon is actually a cool guy”, said Chanyeol in a mock dreamy tone and cracked up at his own pun.

Kris gave a sideways glance to the backseat and Yixing took that as a signal to grab onto whatever there was as Kris slammed the brakes and sent Chanyeol flinging forward and into a crumpled tangle of limbs.

“Jesus Christ, stop trying to kill me every five minutes!” howled Chanyeol, trying to untwist his legs and get up.

“We’re home”, Kris drawled. Yixing didn’t have to see his face to know that he was smirking slightly.

Chanyeol muttered a curse under his breath as he and Yixing got out of the car.

Yixing grinned at Chanyeol’s antics and his grin softened to a soft smile as he watched Kris across the threshold. It was good to know that Kris was in a good mood. God knows that the man tried to shoulder all the responsibilities given to him and it was running him down. Even when delegating tasks to subordinates, he would take on their responsibilities.

As they followed Kris into their palatial old-style mansion, Yixing realized that he still wasn’t used to seeing Kris in a trench coat, let alone the suit he wore underneath it.

Kris removed his coat and handed it to the maid at the entrance and Yixing stared at his broad, straight back encompassed in a classic blue suit and his mind flashed to a memory he would never forget.

The silhouette of a 13 year old boy wearing a dirty, ripped rag of a shirt and equally dirty, torn pants, hunched in defensive stance with a bloody knife in one hand and the other staunching a wound on his arm, appeared bright in the streetlight at the opening of the dark alley. 12 year old Yixing huddled against the corner of the alley wall as he stared at the back of the boy protecting him.

“Yifan, that’s enough. They won’t come back!”

The boy turned his head to look back at him, the shaggy dark mane swaying slightly.

“Yifan, please!” Yixing pleaded, “Don’t do anything to them! They’ll come back and kill us!”

“That’s why I’m trying to kill them first!” Yifan exploded, “Just because we’re of Chinese and are stuck in this God forsaken country doesn’t mean we have to put up with how they treat us!”

Yixing looked at the man in front of him now.

‘The Ice Dragon of Shadow Blade’, he thought solemnly.

As they crossed the main threshold and entered the main corridor, Chanyeol muttered tiredly, “I guess I’ll crash here tonight. I’m too tired to go back to my apartment.”

The mansion had a large courtyard that made the house into one giant rectangle. They nearly turned right to head for their rooms when they heard the loud, disembodied whispering coming from the darkness of the courtyard.

“You tell him!”

“Are you kidding me? You do it! You’re much better at handling things like this!”

“No, Minnie. That’s you. How about this? I’ll start off and then, you tell him what happened –“

“Tell me what happened?” Kris asked cutting through the dispute.

The two men approaching the corridor stopped at his voice and hesitatingly came forward, both of them tilting their heads and signaling each other to start.

“I do not have time for charades”, snapped Kris and both men jerked into attention. Kris eyed the shorter of two and barked, “What’s going on, Minseok?”

“Well.”, Minseok hesitated and glanced at Jongdae beside him who nodded, “There’s a small problem.”

“You don’t say”, Kris deadpanned.

Ignoring the jab, Minseok continued, “I think it’s better if I show you.”

Minseok clambered onto the corridor junction and headed towards the left corridor, where there were different rooms for meeting purposes. He went directly to the one at the end, the room where private meetings were held.

Kris frowningly followed him.

“Someone came at this late hour to see me?” asked Kris, curiously.

Minseok shook his head and nervously glanced at Jongdae behind Kris.

“To see the Boss?? Didn’t you tell them he’s out of town and will only come back day after tomorrow?” Kris grumbled.

“No, hyung. It’s a bit more complicated than that” piped Jongdae, “You see, this person arrived for the Boss. For the Boss.” Jongdae emphasized on the last few words.

“What the hell are you- you know what, I’ll just see this person myself”, Kris scowled and yanked the sliding door open to the moderately sized room.

His eyes narrowed in the darkness as he d for the light switch. Finding the small projection, he clicked it down to fill the room with a bright light that made him close his eyes for an instant.

His ears picked up the small shuffle before he had opened his eyes and he immediately turned in the general direction of the sound. He opened his eyes gingerly to find a man seated in the corner of the room, completely keeled over in a bow.

“What the-“

“This is what we wanted to tell you”, said Jongdae, nervously, “He was brought here in the afternoon and-“

“What do you mean brought here?” asked Kris, scrutinizing the man who was now sitting up very rigidly.

Now that he had a good look at the guy, Kris realized that person sitting was quite young.

‘Maybe late teens or early twenties’, he mused.

The young man had thick, dark yet scraggly hair and was covered in a thicket blanket. His eyes were dark, slightly sunk and were downcast. He had slightly tanned skin and thin, strong arms whose palms were spread firmly on the floor in front of him so that he could lower himself to a bow any second.

Jongdae cleared his throat before continuing, “Our men brought him in. On Boss’ orders.”

“So he’s a hostage?” enquired Kris, still looking over the boy.

“Yes and no”, quipped up Minseok.

“You just tell me things straight forward or I’m going to bed”, said Kris, irritably crossing his arms and staring down at the Minseok and Jongdae.

Beside him, Yixing and Chanyeol came up to see what the problem was.

“Who is that?” asked Yixing, softly.

“I don’t know”, Kris replied, his voice straining with exasperation, “And these two wouldn’t quit chattering their teeth to tell me!”

Minseok pulled him outside the room and took a deep breath before commencing.

“The boy was brought here by our men in a small cargo truck in the afternoon. His hands were bound and he wore thin clothes. That’s why we gave the blanket”, Minseok explained and paused for a moment to look at Kris.

Kris raised an eyebrow to indicate to continue the story.

Minseok hesitated, “You know those stories about Boss being a playboy and all?”

“Yeah”, said Kris, monotonously.

“And you know those –um- rumors about him liking guys as well?”

 “Are you telling me that-?” asked Kris, his voice laced with disbelief.

“Yes”, said Minseok, shortly.

“That boy is Boss’ plaything?” Kris turned around to look at the boy who hadn’t moved an inch from his previous position.

“Actually”, Jongdae interjected in a loud whisper, “The technical term would be concubine.”

Kris didn’t say anything.

“I knew there were rumors but this is the first time seeing a guy being declared as his plaything”, said Chanyeol in a dumbstruck tone.

“We knew he had a few male partners but this is the first time he’s brought one home.” said Yixing.

“Hey, you think Boss would go on a double date with us?” asked Jongdae cheekily, grinning at Minseok who elbowed him in the ribs, “Ouch, Minnie!”

“Learn to read the situation, .” said Minseok, with a roll of his eyes.

“Why is he sitting here?”

There was a sudden silence at Kris’ question. Chanyeol and Yixing looked at the other duo who looked at each other nervously again.

Kris pursed his lips, the sign that his patience was worn thin.

Jongdae didn’t miss it and spoke hurriedly, “Hyung, you have got to understand that we tried to get him to go to one of the back rooms but he just sat there. Well, not in this room. When we came back from university in the evening, this guy was standing in near the threshold corner. The maid told me how he was brought here and we told him to get inside. He refused and said he was waiting for the master of the house. So we told him that Boss was away and would only come back on the day after tomorrow.”

“But he still refused to move from the spot” Minseok inserted, “He must have been standing there for at least four hours and the maid said that she didn’t see him move one bit. By that time it was getting pretty chilly and he was wearing thin clothes so we got him a blanket, dragged him inside and um, told him that he could meet the young master instead”, he finished with an anxious smile.

“So, basically”, spoke Yixing quietly, “The boy is waiting for you to give him instructions, young master.”

He looked pointedly at Kris who glared at Jongdae and Minseok. The duo took a step back in dread.

“You told that guy that I’m the young master??” thundered Kris, towering above the quivering pair.

“We had no choice, hyung!” whined Jongdae, “The kid was going to continue standing like a statue until Boss came and that would take two days! So we said ‘young master’ but Young Master would take another week to arrive so you’re the next logical choice!”

“Even if Young Master is the next position after Boss, everyone knows you wield the power in Boss’ absence”, pointed out Minseok.

Yixing and Chanyeol nodded their heads in agreement to that statement.

“And you’re pretty young, right?” grinned Jongdae and ducked to avoid Minseok’s whack.

Kris looked over at the boy and couldn’t help mentally commend his discipline. He hadn’t moved an inch from the rigid posture.

Yixing pushed past the crowd, entered the room and crouched in front of the boy.

“What’s your name?” he asked kindly, with a soft smile.

The boy didn’t answer and continued looking down.

“Answer the question”, said Kris, sharply. He leaned against the doorway, frowning at the kneeling boy.

“Huang Zitao.”

The hoarse whisper of an answer penetrated the silence.

“Huang Zitao…” said Yixing, thoughtfully, “Are you Chinese?”

Zitao hesitated before answering, “Yes.”

Yixing stole a glance at Kris from the corner of his eyes. The impassive expression remained unchanged but his body had gone from its earlier relaxed droop to a tensed tautness.

Yixing turned back to boy and enquired, “Have you eaten anything since you came here?”

Again, a brief hesitation before shaking his head.

“Minseok”, said Kris abruptly, startling everyone, “Go and get one of the back rooms prepared.”

His face remained indifferent but Yixing could see a strange glint in his eyes as he continued, “Jongdae, go to the kitchen and tell them to prepare some rice porridge and take it to the room.”

Minseok and Jongdae nodded simultaneously, their heel and headed towards their respective destinations. Kris slowly walked into the room and Yixing stood up to stand behind him, illustrating the line of power.

Zitao remained in his position of a respectful bow.

“When the Boss is not at this house,” Kris started off in a stern tone, “I am put in charge of things here. That does not mean that you will listen to my instructions alone. Everyone else here has power over you, which means that you will answer to their questions and obey their instructions as well. Is that understood?”

Zitao nodded in acknowledgement.

“Chanyeol will take you to your room now (“I will??” exclaimed Chanyeol). Eat the rice porridge I’ve ordered for you.  We can’t have you starved to death before the Boss arrives”, he added in an undertone.

Zitao immediately sank into a low bow. Kris shifted uncomfortably before composing himself and continuing.

“Since you aren’t an initiated member and have no designation or position within our gang, you are practically an outsider in this household.  You have no rights to do anything. You are just another possession, so act like one and don’t cause any unnecessary trouble. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, Young Master”, Zitao answered monotonously, his voice slightly muffled from the bow.

“Oh yeah”, sighed Kris, running a hand through his hair, “We’ll have to clear that title up. I’m not the Young Master. He’ll arrive in a week, though I doubt you’ll get to meet him. Now, get your up and moving.”

Kris had turned around and nearly reached the doorway when he heard the question.

“Then, what do I call you?”

He hadn’t expected the question but what he least expected was the clarity of the younger man’s voice. A slightly high pitched but modulated voice that resonated a quiet strength.

Kris looked at Yixing who raised an amused brow at him and suppressed a vexed sigh.

“You don’t need to call me anything. You won’t be seeing much of me”, said Kris, flatly.

“Or”, said Yixing, with a twinkle in his eye that Kris didn’t like, “You can call him ‘Duizhang’ like we do.”

“Yes, Duizhang”, Zitao spoke in a low voice before Kris could refute the statement.

Kris glared at Yixing who gave an impish grin and turned to look at Zitao.

“Get to bed”, he ordered.

Zitao raised his head to look up at him and Kris nearly stopped in his tracks. Dark eyes blazed intensely and defiantly at him. Kris’ ice cold eyes narrowed in wariness.

He had seen those eyes before, a long time ago.

13 year old Yifan was motionless as he stared into the eyes of his reflection in the grimy mirror.

They were eyes of fire.

Well? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment! More the motivation, faster will be the next chapter update ಥ⌣ಥ