Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Knights, Mineko Ohkami does.

Summary: Sequel to Getting Adjusted. Thatz is the newest addition to the Dragon Tribe and he's here to teach them how to LIVE! Trouble is, they don't seem to understand he's just trying to help.

Title: Getting Acquainted

A/N: Sequel, but you can read this on its own. It won't matter. Bold parentheses with a number inside indicates a footnote explained at the bottom of the chapter.

Ch. 1. We Are NINJA!

Two bright green eyes burning with intense determination peered down from their secure leafy haven to the open, unguarded earth below, locking on their intended target which was vulnerable and unaware of the impending attack that lay in wait. Indeed the day's climate and the tranquil surroundings seemed to have lulled the target into a false sense of security. The victim was currently sitting cross-legged on a tree stump in the far corner of the Dragon Castle's gardens with both hands spread open across his knees as he meditated in the peaceful environment, his calm face lifted upwards towards the azure blue sky, while locks of his blonde hair drifted lazily across his face as the wind played with it.

The target was such a picture of serenity that any normal person would have immediately felt abashed for planning any ill will towards someone who was so apparently in harmony with nature. However, Thatz was not any normal person. Thatz was the newest member acquired of the Dragon Tribe, master of the Earth Dragon, and present green-horn Dragon Knight. And Thatz was also an ex-thief who though he might have sworn off his stealing talents, still had urges that could not so easily be tossed aside. One of those urges, being the restless need to cause mischief and mayhem. Thatz simply could not help himself. The desire was in his blood and it was addictive.

Anyone who presented themselves in a situation found to be perfect for a prank would fall victim as Rune would soon find out.

Thatz snickered to himself as he squatted down lower in the tree and pressed his side tight against the trunk, his muscles tensing as he readied himself for the deadly leap and assault that may very well be his last act of tom-foolery ever. The elf had a rather violent temperament that was downright treacherous if provoked. But Thatz knew from his experience as an expert thief (or so he liked to believe), that one must be fearless and ruthless in their scheming to accomplish their mission. So he prepared himself for the ambush, relishing the fact that absolutely nothing could distract his concentration…

"Whachya doin'?" asked a curious, cheerful voice of a person who had suddenly popped up right beside him in the tree somehow.

"Aaaaghhhh!" Thatz cried in a strangled tone as he bit his lip to keep from screaming out too loudly and struggled in vain to keep his balance on the branch.

"What are you doing here?" Thatz whispered furiously as he shakily gripped the trunk of the tree, his hear facing frantically due to the unexpected surprise.

The young black-haired boy cocked his head to one side and blinked at the newest Dragon Knight with wide golden eyes.

"I'm…sitting in a tree?" he said almost as if asking a question.

Thatz conked his head against the tree's bark, while beads of sweat broke out across his forehead. This kid never failed to unnerve him with his odd demeanor and habits. What was his name again? Oh, yes, Rath.

"Ahem," Thatz coughed, getting over his shock, "Look, kid, I've some unfinished business to take care of here, so why don't you skedaddle along, eh?

"Are you practicing to be a bird, Mr. Thatz?" Rath asked, ignoring the non-too subtle request to leave.

"A bird?" Thatz said, wondering if the kid has mentally stable, "Why would you think I'm trying to be a bird, kid? Besides the fact that I'm in a tree, of course."

"Because Rune said that you didn't have the brains of a canary and the only way for you to have become a Dragon Knight was if you had gone and pulled Fate's strings. So, I thought you might be up here to prove you were as smart as a bird," Rath stated matter-of-factly in one big breath.

The young boy stared in fascination as ominous swirling dark clouds began to form behind the Earth Dragon Knight and vicious, throbbing red veins sprung out on his head.

"Haven't got the brains of a canary, do I?" Thatz said, his eyes glinting dangerously, clenching his knuckles so tightly, they turned a white color.

"That's it!" Thatz shouted as loudly as he dared so as not to notify the elf of his inevitable doom, "Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes is going down! No one disses Master Thief Thatz that way and lives! This is now…personal!"

"Hey, kid," Thatz addressed Rath, suddenly realizing the traumatic effect it would have on the elf if not only one but two Dragon Knights ganged up on the other; and one whom was supposed to be the other's friend. "Ya interested in ninja-ing with me for a while?"

"What's 'ninja-ing'?" Rath inquired, "And why should I do it?"

"Well," Thatz said putting an arm across the young boy's shoulders, trying his best to lay out a convincing argument, "Ninja-ing is when we are super extra sneaky and drop in announced on our intended target. Usually we wear these really cool stealth black suits, but right now we don't have any, plus it's daylight-we would stand out, and it would get really hot and uncomfortable in this heat. So, we're just gonna wear our normal clothes, drop out of this tree shrieking like deranged madmen escaping from a mental institution and pounce on the He-Who-Thinks-He-is-Better-Than-Everyone, ergo Rune. Whadya say?"

"That sounds boring," Rath stated bluntly, "I'm gonna go play with Crewgar."

"Wait!" Thatz yelped, grasping the back of the boy's clothes as he started to climb down the tree. "Why don't we play a game then?"

"A game?" Rath chirped, looking more interested, "What kind of game?"

"Uhhh," the ex-thief quickly ran the list of what he remembered the young boy liked through his head, "It's a game called 'Demon-hunting'!"

"OOH! I KNOW THAT ONE!" Rath exclaimed excitedly, his eyes lighting up, "I LOVE THAT ONE! LET'S PLAY IT RIGHT NOW! I'LL GO GET OUR SWORDS!"

"SHHHHHH!" Thatz hissed, clapping a hand over the boy's mouth and peering down at the elf to see if he had been alerted to the two's whereabouts. Fortunately, it looked like Rune was a deep meditater. A bird had even perched on his head due to his statue-like stillness.

Thatz breathed a sigh of relief, before turning back to the young boy and taking away his hand "All right. Here's the rules: we find a demon, we surprise them, we make them suffer, then we run like the wind, got it?"

"No swords?" Rath pouted, looking disappointed, "That's not fun!"

"Sure it is!" Thatz said enthusiastically pounding the kid on the back, "We'll get to use our bare, natural strength, using only our brains and our brawn to outwit the evil demon!"

"COOL!" Rath cried, fidgeting impatiently among the foliage, "THEN LET'S HURRY AND GO DEMON-HUNTING RIGHT NOW!"

"Geez, kid, shut your loud trap!" Thatz ordered, wondering if he should just abandon the whole conspiracy ploy and go solo in a spontaneous attack, "Look, there's no need to go find a demon. There's one right below us."

"Hmm, where?" Rath inquired, lifting a hand to his brow, looking this way and that, avidly searching, "I don't see anyone but Rune."

"Exactly, kid, exactly," Thatz said in a deep, dramatic voice as he laid out the punch line, "A demon, somehow had broken through the Dragon Lord's barrier and has taken up the appearance of our fellow Knight there."

"You mean," Rath gasped in horror, "That person isn't Rune but a demon?! How dare it try and trick us!"

"That's right, kid, heat up the fire! Down with the imposter!" Thatz cried encouragingly, pumping a fist in the air for effect, "Let's show it ninjas are to be feared!"

"I thought we were demon-hunters," Rath said confused, pursing his lips.

"Never mind, kid. On my count, we jump, okay?" Thatz said, grinning as wide as a Cheshire cat. Man, this kid was so gullible, it should be illegal!

"One," the Earth Dragon Knight began, poising himself onto the edge of the branch into position, as Rath did the same, "Two…three…NOW!"

Poor Rune never saw the attack coming, which for an elf whose hearing was sharper than most other's was a rather shameful and embarrassing blow to his pride.

All the elf knew was that in one split second the harmony of his surroundings had been disrupted by two energetic, boisterous voices.

"WE ARE NINJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Thatz whooped with the voice of cat caterwauling a midnight serenade to the moon.

"RAWWWWWWWWWWR! EVIL, DEMON, PREPARE TO DIE!" Rath shrieked in an angry, yet eager tune, as the two Dragon Knights flung themselves from the safety of the tree and out into empty space.

Rune went down under the weight of two heavy, falling bodies and crashed into the ground, temporarily getting the wind knocked out of him. In this brief period of time, while he was out of commission, Rath took the opportunity to set his long golden locks ablaze with his fire ability and proceed to beat the elf's head in with a nearby stick, luckily one that wasn't very long or thick.

"NO DEMON CAN GET PAST ME!" Rath crowed triumphantly, sitting stoutly on poor Rune's back, whacking away at his head with his makeshift weapon, "I AM THEIR NUMBER ONE FOE! EAT DIRT, DEMON SCUM!"

Rune literally did, face-down into the grass as he was, and Thatz realized then the full folly of the present situation.

One, the kid really meant business. When someone said demon-hunting, he didn't view it as just a mere game.

Two, when the elf finally got his wind back, Thatz strongly suspected there would be bloodshed and it wouldn't be Rath's.

Three…oh what the heck. If he was going to be murdered, then he might as well get a few farewell taunting jabs in himself!

"Yeah, who's got the brains of a canary now, eh, blondie?" Thatz said bending over to speak in the elf's ear, "Well, this bird is having the last laugh now! Kiss my pink, featherless behind! Buwahahahahahaha!"

Thatz's momentary merriment of standing legs spread, hands on hips, and laughing maniacally to the sky was short-lived as the elf's hand snapped out, grabbed hold of the Earth Dragon Knight's ankle, and sunk his teeth into it, with the swiftness of a snake lashing out.

"AUUUUUUUUUGGGGH!" Thatz howled in pain, his face turning a ghastly blue, as he did a crazy dance around in the gardens, jiggling his leg in attempt to unfasten the elf's iron jaws, "PIRANHA! THE DEMON IS PART PIRANHA! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

"I'LL SAVE YOU!" Rath cried and raised his stick to bring down over the Rune's head once again, but this time, it was stopped by a hand which held it firmly in place.

The young boy gave a yelp of surprise and scrambled off the "demon's" back to scurry over where Thatz stood, having finally been released from his captor's hold.

The two Dragon Knights stood stock-still in a kind of frozen awe and dread as the watched the fallen figure in front of them rise slowly up from the ground, his outfit and face streaked with grass stains and dirt smudges, and his hair not only blackened, singed from Rath's previous fire assault, but also tangled with leaves and roots.

"YOOOOOU," the figure spoke slowly, his bangs covering his eyes, pointing one finger at the ex-thief who was gaping at the sight.

"WOW! THE PIRANHA DEMON TURNED INTO A ZOMBIE!" Rath exclaimed, his cheeks flushing red with excitement, "THAT MEANS I MUST HAVE KILLED IT EARLIER AND NOW I GET TO KILL IT AGAIN! COOL!"

"THATZ, YOU OAFISH, INSENSITIVE, INSUFFERABLE BOOR!" Rune screamed, the corners of his eyes a bloodshot red, and spit flying from his mouth in unveiled fury, "YOU'RE DEAD!"

"RUN, KID, THE DEMON STILL LIVES! Thatz shouted, his only warning to his small companion before turning and high-tailing the scene as fast as he could, "BE SWIFT LIKE THE NINJA! RETREAT! RETREAT!"

oOoOoOo

"How do you think Rune and Rath are adjusting to Thatz, Ruwalk?" The Dragon Lord inquired as he and the Yellow Dragon Officer strolled along a balcony

on the upper floor of the palace overlooking the gardens.

"I think they're doing rather well," Ruwalk voiced out loud smiling, "Rath is happy to get another friend close to his age and Rune has taken it upon himself to demonstrate the qualities and mannerisms that a proper Dragon Knight should acquire."

"I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU!" came an enraged, shrill, passion-embodied voice from the grounds below.

Both Lord Lykuleon and Ruwalk bent and peered over the balcony's railing to find what the ruckus was all about, and caught sight of a rapidly fleeing Thatz and Rath being chased by a livid, apoplectic elf on the warpath cursing threats and profanities all the way to high heaven.

"I'M GONNA CATCH YOU, STRANGLE YOU, TIE YOU UP WITH ROPE, ROAST YOU OVER A BON FIRE, CUT YOU UP INTO LITTLE PIECES, COOK YOU IN A PIE, SERVE YOU TO THE DRAGON LORD AND WHEN HE SAYS, "MMM, THIS TASTES GOOD, WHAT'S IN IT?", I'M GONNA TELL HIM THE MAIN INGREDIANTS DIED LIKE THE WILD BOARS THEY WERE!" Rune screamed wrathfully as he gained distance on his prey.

"Hey, can't you take a joke, blondie?" Thatz yelped as he leaped over a fallen log, "It was all the shrimp's idea anyway! He wanted to play demon-hunting and you were stupid enough to present a good target!"

"He told me you were really a demon in disguise!" Rath yelled over his shoulder to the elf as he continued running, "He tricked me into 'ninja-ing' with him!"

"INSUBORDINATION!" Rune bellowed, grinning as evilly as a crocodile who is about to receive his meal. (1)

"AUUUUUUUUUUUGH! GIANT FALLING BOULDER OF DEATH!" Thatz exclaimed shrieked as a colossal-sized rock dropped out of nowhere from the sky.

Rath skidded to a halt just in time to avoid being a victim of the surprise rockslide and watched in fascination as the Earth Dragon Knight was slammed into the ground by the massive weight and held there.

"BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Rune cackled diabolically at the scene, his burnt, scorched hair falling in clumps over his shoulders, "VENGEANCE!"

Ruwalk felt his forehead break out into a cold sweat as he could only laugh weakly at the Dragon Lord's curious, yet amused inquiring gaze on him.

"Ummm, they're still working out some slight rifts, I guess, hehe!"

oOoOoOo

Thatz sighed as he doodled bored onto a blank sheet of paper which lay on the desk he was seated at. His neck prickled as the ex-thief felt the blasting glare of the elf who was sitting behind him. Apparently, the Dragon Lord had been witness to their little charade in the gardens yesterday and had called all the Dragon Knights to his office to have a quick assessment of the situation and how it had come about; the whole purpose of the meeting to make sure no one bore any ill will or grudges. The meeting had not gone very well with the three Dragon Knights pointing fingers at each other and each trying to claim they were not at fault. Actually it went rather like Thatz trying to get everyone to see it had only started out as a joke, but Rune had spoiled it as the elf didn't have one humorous bone in his body. To which, Rune grew infuriated and replied that Thatz had far too much flippantness in his character and should learn to be less callow or he would get nowhere in life. To which Thatz had become most irked and shouted back that the elf shouldn't toss big words around to show what an over-swelled big head he had. To which Rune's temper snapped once more and he and his fellow Dragon Knight had engaged in a very brief fist fight, before being hauled apart by Tetheous.

The result had been two black eyes, one bloodied lip, one bruised chin, and one extra class with Alfeegi along with the usual "How-To-Be-A-Proper-Dragon-Knight" curriculum they all had to study, to polish up on their social skills. So, now Thatz sat waiting in the classroom with only the elf who was no doubt scheming up ways to trip him up in front of everyone to prove his incompetence as a Dragon Knight. So much for his idea that this was the easiest, most rewarding job he had ever taken on. It was more like a nightmare come true. The Dragon Tribe were such utter stiffs!

"Good afternoon, young reckless adolescents," White Dragon Officer Alfeegi stated as a greeting as entered the classroom and walked to the front, "There is only one person who doesn't want to be here more than you and that is me. I had a nice relaxing stack of paperwork to sift through and several Dragon Fighters to make an example of, but instead, because of your indulgence in bad sportsmanship and engaging in such uncouth behavior in front of the Dragon Lord himself, I find myself here on the orders to mould you all into the true Dragon Knights you should be. Now-"

The White Dragon Officer stopped suddenly and looked around, before scowling and demanding exasperatedly, "All right, you hooligans. Where's the most brazen vagabond of you all?"

It took a moment for Thatz to realize the man was talking about Rath. The youngest Dragon Knight hadn't escaped punishment either, but he was nowhere to be seen, although Thatz had a pretty good assumption that the young boy would be making his entrance soon.

It seems Thatz's infamous prank had left a lingering, unlikely obsession on the Fire Dragon Knight…

"NINJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Rath shrieked, leaping out from under the room's head desk and latching himself to Alfeegi's back, as he wrapped his small arms around the Dragon Officer's neck in a headlock.

A few minutes later, after being subjected to a roaring tirade of Alfeegi swearing he had never seen such ill-disciplined pupils in all his born days, as well as ranting on about how it was unfair that he was always the one made to finish an unwanted task, even though he should be since he had a perfect results policy, the lesson finally began.

The three Dragon Knights sat in their seats in a small circle facing each other, while the White Dragon Officer finished tying the knots in the ropes surrounding Rath. Checking that the young boy was securely fastened to his chair, Alfeegi smirked and gave out the assigned outline.

"Today, I shall give you a case study which you must work together and come to a conclusion that you all agree on. This will teach you the importance of cooperating as a team, solving a society's crisis, and FINDING THE VERY THIN STRAND OF MORAL JUDGEMENT DEEP, DEEP WITHIN YOU THAT I HOPE YOU ALL POSSESS!" Alfeegi exclaimed, slamming down the exercise on each Dragon Knights' desktop.

"AND KEEP AN EYE ON THE LITTLE PYRO NINJA WANNABE THERE!" Alfeegi shouted as he marched over to his desk and sat down with a huff.

"Look what you did!" Rune hissed, gnashing his teeth at the ex-thief, "You've corrupted Rath with your uncivilized manners and made me look bad in front of the Dragon Lord!"

"Yeah, well I'm not the one who has anger management problems and goes caveman all because my precious girly looks were put in harm's way!" Thatz snapped back.

"Well I wouldn't want to start looking like you, now would I?" Rune retorted shrewdly, "You could play Tic-Tac-Toe on your face and no one would know the difference!"

Thatz gave a subtle, yet non-too gentle kick to the elf's shin from his chair, causing Rune to bite back a strangled yelp and bang his head face-first on the desktop several times to find an outlet for the pain, rather than cause another loud disturbance.

Rath found the whole scenario highly amusing and broke out into a storm of giggles.

"DO I HAVE TO COME OVER THERE AND STAND OVER EVERYONE LIKE A VULTURE?" Alfeegi's irritated voice called from the front of the room.

There was a vigorous shaking of heads from the Dragon Knights finding that option utterly terrifying.

"GET TO WORK!" the White Dragon Officer shouted, turning red in the face, "THE SOONER EVERYONE IS DONE, THE SOONER EVERYONE CAN LEAVE!"

Thatz heaved another massive, bored sigh and half-heartedly flicked his copy of the assignment in front of him.

"So what's this practice case study about?" the ex-thief asked, resting one elbow on his desk and propping his chin up with one hand.

"I hope it's about demons trashing another village!" Rath wished hopefully, straining against his ropes to view the paper.

At last managing to pull himself together, Rune picked up the assignment and read it out loud, but not before shooting one final death glare at Thatz.

"You have been sent to a town on behalf of the citizens' request. There you are addressed with the perturbing issue of a the potentate suddenly accoutering himself in feminine raiment and are bequeathed with the endeavor in resolving whether or not the townspeople should furlough the potentate, but however, to carefully ruminate if furloughing would be a misconstrued usage of a biased gender position," the elf finished with a flourish, looking up at his fellow Dragon Knights.

Rath's eyes were glazed over as he gaped widely enough to catch flies in his mouth. Thatz was aware of his own eyebrows beginning to spontaneously twitch and there was a slight murmuring in his ears.

Blinking himself out of his stupor, the ex-thief shook his head to clear his mind and said, "Okaaaaaay…translation?"

"Tsk!" Rune scoffed, disbelieving that anyone could not comprehend what he had just said, "In short, the case study is asking us to settle a problem in a town which is the mayor who is a man, dressing up and acting like a girl. We have to decide whether gender is based on the physical or mental before we reach an answer to give to the townspeople on what to do."

"WHAT?" Thatz exclaimed incredulously, "That's the case study? Are you serious? Where's the action? Where's the sword fights and buried treasure? WHERE'S THE BANQUET THE HEROES ARE GIVEN AFTER THEY'VE DEFENDED THE VILLAGE FROM BANDITS?"

"YEAH, WHERE ARE THE DEMONS?" Rath demanded angrily, feeling cheated.

"Well, apparently, it seems that it is beneficial for us Dragon Knights to know how to deal with mediocre issues and extending our knowledge to things other than brute strength," the elf stated matter-of-factly, crossing his arms.

"Forget it! This is so not worth even thinking about!" Thatz cried, gripping his hair in frustration at how ridiculous the situation was, "Tell the people to fire the cross-dresser if it bothers them so much or just follow his example and adorn themselves in outfits of their opposite gender! I'm not gonna waste another second longer of my life worrying about a case study that doesn't even exist!"

"Well, if you have the guts, why don't you tell Alfeegi that," Rune dared, reverently hoping the ex-thief would do just that.

"Naaaaaah," Thatz said slowly, glancing at their supervisor out of the corner of his eye, "He seems to finally be in a good mood. Let's not spoil it."

"Ooh, Dragon Fighter #5, in violation of Rule 39: Uniform misconduct; no belt in belt loop. Hmmm," the White Dragon Officer chewed thoughtfully on the end of his feather pen, before gleefully putting it to paper again, "Punishment awarded: Dress-up model for Dragon Queen's tailored outfits for three weeks! Oh, yeah, I'm bad! Buwahahahahaha!"

A cold chill washed over the three Dragon Knights as beads of sweat rolled down the sides of their heads.

"Well, I guess 'Feegi answered the assignment for us. The riddle of gender is both physically and mentally. Physically because you actually have to have a physical body to have a gender and mentally, because if you have a physical body, then you must have a mind, ergo the mental," Thatz declared, nodding for dramatic effect.

"You can't use that argument!" Rune exclaimed, looking extremely incensed, "That's circular logic!"

"All those in favor of ditching this class and the pointless case study which we will never use in real life, raise your hand," Thatz proffered, lifting his own into the air.

"ME! ME!" Rath clamored energetically, hopping his confining chair up and down.

"Well, blondie, ya wanna come with us or stay here and have fun talking to your imaginary she-male mayor buddy?" Thatz questioned as he untied the young boy, smirking victoriously at the elf knowing no matter how smart he tried to show he was, that Rune wanted to escape just as badly as the rest of them.

"Fine," Rune sighed, looking a bit relieved and tossing the assignment on the floor, "But we'll never get past Alfeegi, so what's the point?"

"Oh, I don't know. The dude seems to be having a good time by himself already," Thatz motioned to the White Dragon Officer who was looking at the report of his latest victim.

"Dragon Fighter #21, in violation of Rule 116: No making rabbit ears behind someone's back when they aren't looking. Punishment awarded: on guard duty at front castle's gates in full bunny outfit for one week. Also, will be fed nothing but carrots until punishment banned. Hehehehehehehehehehe!" Alfeegi sniggered evilly, as he shuffled through more papers to seek out another unfortunate soul.

Rune, Rath and Thatz waltzed calmly past the man through the open door, without the White Dragon Officer even noticing their missing presence.

oOoOoOo

"So approximately how much trouble do you think we'll be in when they find us?" Thatz questioned his fellow Dragon Knight as they sat cross-legged on the floor of a storage closet in the Dragon Castle, eating pieces of pie, which they had swiped along the way.

"I'd say it depends on whoever stumbles on us first," Rune shrugged, as he brushed the crumbs off his hands, "If it's Tetheous, we'll be running laps, doing KP duty, and scrubbing floors until our backs give out. If it's Ruwalk, he'll either make a deal with us along the lines of he never saw us if we never saw him, or he'd hide in here with us. If it's Lord Lykuleon, he'll probably be amused at the whole incident and make us write lines just to appease Alfeegi. If it's Alfeegi…we'll be doing more useless case studies until we'll eventually go mad."

"Dusis, you Dragon Tribe people seriously need to find some hobbies," Thatz stated, placing his hands behind his head and leaning against the storage closet's wall, "I think I got here just in time to show everyone what living is all about!"

"You mean finding us hobbies like yours?" Rune inquired, one eyebrow raised skeptically, "Kleptomania, treasure and food?"

"Those are mine, yep," Thatz confirmed grinning proudly, "Just like yours is being a show off, know-it-all, and subconsciously perfecting your feminine appeal-"

The ex-thief ignored the elf's warning growls and continued on, "Just like Rath and his odd, somewhat disturbing obsession with demons and now ninjas-"

Thatz broke off abruptly as the same thought occurred both to him and Rune at the same instantaneous moment.

"Uh…just where is the cute little tyke anyway?" Thatz voiced out loud, a sudden apprehension washing over him.

Rune reacted more swiftly than he did, grabbing a nearby garbage lid and lifting it over his head as shield, just before a small shadowy figure hurled itself down from the storage room's upper shelf onto the two below.

"NINJAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Rath screamed in exhilarated rapture as he crashed into his fellow Dragon Knights, causing them to slam against the storage closet's door and fall forward as it swung open against their mass and topple head long to the floor.

"AHA! THERE YOU ARE, YOU REBELLIOUS RAPSCALLIONS!" came the familiar shrill voice of Alfeegi over their heads, "IF YOU THINK THAT LAST CASE STUDY WAS MOOT, THEN YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET!"

"Someone needs to get this kid a leash," Thatz croaked, his chest constricting, partly from the weight of the bodies on top of him and partly due to the tears welling up in his eyes from imagining the horrific case study tortures Alfeegi would put them through.

Next time, Thatz would definitely think twice before selling out any of his wild strategies to a kid with a one-track mind like Rath.

To be continued…


A/N: Hello, my Dragon Knight fans. Sorry it took so long to get me back to writing about my favorite manga! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter as much as my other fics I have written. As I said in the ending of the prequel to this, this will be a light comedy centering around Thatz's introduction to the Dragon Tribe. As of right now, he hardly knows anything about them, but I suspect he has learned a few lessons today, haha!

(1) If you notice in the manga, Volumes 3 & 10 are the only circumstances that come to mind, apparently, when one of the Dragon Knights ticks Rune off, he brings a giant boulder out of nowhere on top of them. The rock says, "Soo". In Vol. 4, Tokyopop translated it as insolence; in Vol. 10, it's insubordination. The point is, yes, Rune can summon falling boulders from nowhere, XD! Why doesn't he do that more in battles?

Please review and tell me your fav parts. I'll be glad to hear that you enjoyed reading it, but I love knowing what made you laugh or smile. Thank you, I love all my Dragon Knights fans!

(P.S. I haven't read Vol. 25 yet. Please don't leave spoilers, hehe)