A/N: Hi, Seven Knights Mania! Finally I have time to update again. I'm sorry for the long wait. It'd been hectic these past weeks (months?) in my home, so… I apologize for the delay in updating. Now, please do and enjoy! Round 6… FIGHT!

Disclaimer and Warning: See prologue…


A Gift from A Far Away World—a Seven Knights Fan fiction

© lunaryu

Round 6: Confrontation 1


In the morning, Kris tried not to run into Rudy.

Well, he tried. See the operative word? It didn't work at all because apparently Rudy had been waiting for Kris to emerge out of his room and actually camped overnight in front of his door.

Kris face-palmed with a resigned sigh as Rudy smiled at him sheepishly from the fortress he had built with blankets, sheets and pillows all around him on the floor. "Good morning, Kris." He greeted sunnily.

Kris entertained an idea to go back inside his room and take an impromptu vacation from college just to avoid Rudy before promptly dismissing it entirely. It wouldn't make the problem go away and Rudy wasn't the type of person who would give up on pestering Kris until he got what he wanted, no matter what Kris did. Worse, Rudy would just keep knocking on his door if he went back inside, so… trying not to recall yesterday embarrassing event, Kris spoke. "What do you want, Rudy?" He was acting curtly on purpose, at least to deter him, but Rudy didn't seem to mind it in the slightest.

"I want to talk… and apologize to you about yesterday." Rudy slowly stood up, maintaining his friendly smile, so he was on eye level with Kris and didn't have to look upward to see Kris' face. "I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry," he continued softly.

Kris' left eye twitched slightly in reaction, trying to stifle the blush that was about to arise on his cheeks witnessing such gorgeous smile on Rudy's expression (although, it was mostly failed). Here he was trying to forget the incident, but Rudy, as thick as always, had to remind him about it. "It's fine. I'm not angry." Kris looked away from Rudy, not wanting the brunet to see his (most likely) pinking face any longer.

"But you're avoiding me," Rudy's expression turned slightly sad, his sweet amber eyes widening and moist, like a thrown out puppy, and Kris couldn't stand seeing that look without his heart starting to race (and melt), so he turned his body away completely from him.

"Stop that." Kris clenched the material on his thrumming chest, trying to calm his own erratic heartbeat without facing Rudy. "I'm not avoiding you. I just need time to sort out my feel—I mean, my thought." Great. He almost said feelings. Could he be more awkward? "I promise I'm not angry, so… give it a rest and forget about it, Rudy."

Rudy was quiet for a minute before suddenly his hand was on Kris' left shoulder, and Kris was very surprised when it was pulled back, so he had no choice but to look at Rudy in the eye once again. Rudy's other hand promptly cupped his right cheek and Rudy's face was too freaking close to his again that Kris couldn't help but be reminded about yesterday event once more.

Rudy's lips… Rudy's tongue… on Kris's lower lip…

Kris' face heated instantly, but Rudy seemed to ignore that interesting reaction in order to set a serious expression as he stared directly at Kris' widely open eyes. "That's not good. Face me properly when you speak to me, Kris. Or else I won't be able to read you," he said somberly, his tender eyes gazing at his eyes and then at his lips.

Holy lord!—Kris panicked and shoved Rudy's face away from him immediately this time.

"Your face is too freaking close, you idiot!" Kris raised his voice, his entire face and neck feeling like they were burning. It was so embarrassing, damn it. Rudy didn't learn anything from yesterday event at all, and he said he was thoroughly scolded by Jave? He had to be joking!

"Ahaha, sorry about that," Rudy spoke, muffled by Kris' palm. Kris could actually feel his lips moving and currently it felt like his hand that went on fire because technically, Rudy was kissing his palm like this.

Kris pulled his hand away from Rudy's face (and mouth) and once again averted his gaze from Rudy despite not being able to turn his body around again, because Rudy's right hand was still on his shoulder and his left was still cupped on Kris' cheek. "Let go," Kris requested, trying to pull away from Rudy's wicked obliviousness.

"No," Rudy shook his head, his palm pushing Kris' cheek slightly to fix his head position, as if to make sure that Kris couldn't look away from Rudy again. "I need to make it up to you as an apology," he said, without realizing that what he was doing was driving Kris' mind up the wall. His heart was beating too hard and too fast. It was hard for him to breathe like this. Rudy's hands were very warm and it felt incredibly good being so close to him.

This isn't good… I'm losing my mind here. Please just stop!—Kris shut his eyes, his mind blaring an alarm because this world Kris' body was reacting very eagerly and at this point it wouldn't be strange at all if he got too excited.

"So, this Sunday, shall we go to amusement park?" Rudy asked and Kris almost missed it because he was too preoccupied with trying too hard to calm himself down.

"What?" Though, Kris did hear the offer. He opened his eyes. Amusement park? Was Rudy trying to ask him out on a date? "Why amusement park?" Somehow, despite knowing he shouldn't, Kris couldn't help himself hoping a little.

No, get a grip of yourself, Kris Tenebra! Even though you like this person that way, on the inside you're NOT the one this Rudy wants! Don't do this!—It was the rational thought, the sensible warning, but Kris just couldn't help it because the atmosphere was right for it to develop into something more intimate and romantic. He ignored all cautions as he gazed into Rudy's luminous amber eyes, captivated by their radiance as always.

"It's been awhile since all of us play together, right?" Rudy smiled again cheerily and Kris instantly felt like his head was smacked by a ton hammer.

Of course it's something like that. He is Rudy Lucerna, the king of obliviousness after all. I'm an utter idiot for getting worked up on my own again—Kris felt slightly depressed and much annoyed, mostly at himself. He should have known better. If Rudy suggested an outing, it would be just that, an outing.

"I already asked the others last night, and they said it was a good idea to have a relaxing vacation to relieve some stress after exam week, so…" Rudy, still unaware of Kris' worsening mood, continued.

Besides, Rudy won't leave his other friends behind if he wants to go to play somewhere. Of course Rudy has asked them all to come as well.

Kris felt his left eye twitching repeatedly now, getting increasingly irritated as Rudy talked about the others pitching ideas for destinations, and finally they decided it would be fun playing in amusement park. It was a one day trip and they could spend the rest of the vacation week doing other things they wanted to do respectively after that.

"What do you think, Kris? Next Sunday sounds good?" Rudy asked once again and Kris had had enough of Rudy's witlessness, so excuse him if he sounded angry when he declined the invitation.

"I already have an appointment next Sunday, so I can't come." Kris grabbed both Rudy's wrists and pulled his hands away from his face and shoulder rather forcefully. "Do go by yourselves and have fun," he said stonily in Rudy's shocked face before he turned around and walked away.

"Err… Kris…?"

Kris heard Rudy's bewildered tone. His voice sounded unsure and he was probably confused and slightly hurt by Kris dismissing him so coldly and brusquely. But Kris just ignored him. He needed to take a step back to evaluate his interpersonal relationship with Rudy. Kris knew he shouldn't be the one to initiate things after all. He had to hold back his feelings.

And doing that by staying so close to you all the time is impossible, Rudy—Kris thought a bit repentantly. Moreover, if distance could make their hearts yearn stronger for each other, wouldn't that be good? Or maybe Kris was just a masochist that refused to think that Rudy didn't even feel about him that way.

Besides, it's more important to talk to Ace about more problematic matter, and I don't want to involve the others in this troublesome thing. I guess I better come alone to the Floating Market in China Town next Sunday…

Kris set a serious expression as he stepped out of the house that day.


~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~


Dellons stared at the brunet who rested his face on his arms on the table surface in their class and let out a spirit-sucking long sigh dejectedly, with a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. "What happened to you?" he couldn't help asking then, curious, before he took a sip from his water bottle.

Rudy mumbled something quietly, muffled by his arm, but Dellons caught the last part of his dispirited sentence. "…got rejected…"

Delons promptly spurted out his drink in shock, earning him an indignant, disgusted yell from the guy sitting at the seat in front of him. "W-w-what?!" Dellons ignored the guy protesting at him and gawped at Rudy disbelievingly, since yes, indeed. That was very shocking because it was Rudy for God's sake. "By whom?! How?! But firstly, when the hell did you confess?!" he asked, water still dripping from his chin.

Dellons had never thought there would be a day Rudy would get rejected by someone. He meant, the guy was like a saint (despite his obliviousness), and he thought Rudy loved Kris even if he hadn't realized it yet.

"Confess… what?! No!" Rudy straightened his body and looked at Dellons with scandalized expression. "It's not that kind of rejection! I didn't confess to anyone!" he explained, his face flushing in mortification, before he made a gesture to placate the guy that looked increasingly pissed because Dellons blatantly ignored him. "I mean… my invitation got rejected, by Kris, this morning. You know, to amusement park next Sunday? The one we decided last night after you and Spike got back from your fight." Rudy continued after the guy huffed and went back to his seat, still fuming.

"What… you surprised me…" Dellons sighed, wiped the water from his mouth with the back of his hand before he took another sip from his bottle. "So, why did he decline our group outing? It's not like him being so reserved toward us, his friends." Especially toward you—he wanted to add, but thought the better of it and continued drinking.

"He said he already got an appointment that day," Rudy answered and Dellons once again spat out his drink in reaction, shocked beyond belief. "Gross! Dellons, that's disgusting!" Rudy, being at the receiving end of Dellons' water spray this time, shoved at his friend's shoulder while trying to wipe the water from his face to no avail.

With water still dripping once again, Dellons looked at Rudy in total disbelief. "Kris already has a date next Sunday?!"

"Who said anything about a date? It's an appointment," Rudy huffed, apparently still pretty annoyed as he cleaned himself with a handkerchief he retrieved from his breast pocket.

"Oh, please, it's Kris we're talking about. Appointment is his polite way to say a date," Dellons argued, once again wiping his face, now with his sleeve. "Don't you remember that male senior that hit on Kris when we were still in high school? Kris said the same thing when he had dinner with that guy. Who was it again…Knot?"

"Knox," Rudy corrected and Dellons punched his palm as he remembered it as well.

"Yeah, that Knox guy," Dellons grouched. "Kris had an appointment with him, and it turned out into a dinner date." He still resented that fact a bit. Knox was the closest guy that almost dated Kris before he or Rudy could get a claim on the silver platinum blond. Even though Kris didn't say anything about dating, he did agree to go on a date with Knox, so… it was a close call.

"Yeah, but… Knox is Kris' cousin, right? Kris said so himself. He was just there to keep an eye on Kris per his father's… request?" Rudy tilted his head aside, sounding unsure, and Dellons clicked his tongue because Rudy didn't get it.

True, Knox was Kris cousin (second or third, he wasn't sure), but that guy was quite serious with his feelings for Kris because Dellon himself confronted the older guy and despite the blonde's threats of bodily harm and warning for him to back off, Knox just indulged him without any protest. He said it was all for Kris to decide and he just wanted Kris to be happy.

Knox was usually like death warmed over, so sickly pale and expressionless. That's why, when Dellons saw his sincere smile and heard his honest words when he spoke about Kris, he knew Knox was genuine. He loved Kris not because of his family background or fame, but because he was Kris. Dellons couldn't help but respect the guy slightly. It didn't mean Dellons had to like that. Still, out of consideration to Kris' decision, Dellons left Knox alone after that. Post that dinner date, Kris said that they were just cousins and nothing more to Dellons' relief.

Knox had almost the same feature as Kris with silver platinum blond, but his hairstyle was more…classic, tidy, unlike Kris' calculated messy (but very soft and hot looking) one, and his irises were the color of electric blue instead of red. Knox's body was built thicker and taller than Kris (two inches top?) and when they stood next to each other, they looked like brothers by blood.

In a way, Knox was a big brother that Kris didn't have. Kris said they were pretty close since childhood. Knox had to come back to his hometown after graduating high school to continue his family business instead of going to college. Apparently, Kris was supposed to do the same, but he fought and bargained with his father to experience college and get a degree at least in something to bring their family name up a notch (Kris' words). His father finally agreed after much deliberation, but Kris said he only got four years for that, and after that Kris had to go home to continue his father's legacy.

Dellons was pretty sure that Kris didn't intend to keep his promise to his father because he knew how suffocating the life of a noble was. What? Kris was a noble. Tenebra Group still had connection with the Royal Family in England even though only few selected people knew this. Dellons' family was almost the same as Kris'. Only, Blackscythe Group was closely related to the Royalties from Denmark, and he knew he didn't want to continue living under monitor 24/7.

Dellons himself had countless arguments with his family to let him stay with Rudy and his friends. Luckily, Dellons was like a black horse (sheep is too weak, so horse it is) in Blackscythe Group, so his presence wasn't really missed in his own family gathering. Though his family guards (by the order of his father) had tried to bring him back home several times last year, but to no avail, because they couldn't touch Dellons without being beaten to a pulp. Even when they succeeded on kidnapping him, Dellons only had to run away again after that.

Dellons was actually a bit surprised that Kris' father hadn't attempted to send someone to pick Kris up after he didn't go back home at all last year, like what Dellons' father did, but Dellons brilliantly disguised the failed kidnapping with a normal brawl. He got chewed by Rudy after that, but it wasn't worth the effort to explain himself, so he left it at that. Or, maybe Kris' father did try something, but like Dellons, Kris just beat them up to leave him alone. Kris had certainly been capable of defending himself judging from his mean right hook.

"Yeah, well, who knows? A person can fall in love with their cousin too," Dellons muttered in a shrug, trying not to think about Knox and his almost success in dating Kris. Move on. There was a more pressing problem here and it had something to do with Kris' next appointment. "Who is Kris' date?" he asked Rudy grimly.

"Huh? I didn't ask. Kris looked kind of mad when he left," Rudy seemed to just remember the fact and his expression turned miserable again. "Why do I keep making Kris mad these days…?" and there he was, back into moping.

Dellons clicked his tongue, glaring at Rudy and getting exasperated at his best friend's uselessness sometimes. "We have to follow him next Sunday," he suggested, not listening to Rudy's bemoaning about not understanding what he had done to irate Kris this time.

"Huh?!" Rudy looked like he was about to break his neck when he whirled his head so fast to face Dellons again. "You can't! That's rude to Kris and his d-date!" he almost faltered at the word 'date', but his expression was righteously disapproving of Dellons' idea. Well, at least Rudy just admitted out loud that Kris's appointment next Sunday was probably… or most likely a date.

"You can't tell me you're not curious at all about his date, can you?" Dellons challenged, raising one of his eyebrows and crossed his arms on his chest.

Rudy winced and went silent.

Dellons waited, raising his other eyebrow.

It seemed that Rudy was thinking carefully and now was visibly wavering. He just couldn't lie all that well. What he felt was always visible in his expression and right now, it was telling Dellons that hell yes he was mighty curious, but he wasn't sure about tailing his best friend like a stalker and it could possibly conjure another wrath from Kris and he didn't want to be at the receiving end of that.

"Let me tell you this, Rudy. I'm not letting other guys except you or I touch Kris no matter what. If you don't want to go, that's fine. I'll just follow him by myself, but you will not stop me, got it?" Dellons gave an ultimatum and Rudy looked even more conflicted before he finally raised a white flag first by letting out a long suffering sigh.

Line, hook and sinker—Dellons secretly smirked.

"I'll go with you," Rudy said, flushing faintly, almost sounding timid and embarrassed, and a lot guilty.

"Good. It's a date, my friend," Dellons grinned and slapped Rudy's slumping back in victory. See, Rudy just couldn't resist if it was about Kris. Well, he was Rudy. He was just being nosy as usual since he tended to worry a lot about his friends. Also, as oblivious as Rudy was, he still probably didn't want Kris to date other people. Rudy hadn't realized his feelings yet, but subconsciously he was doing everything he could to keep Kris single.

It was just a matter of time until he finally understood what he felt for Kris.


~A Seven Knights Fan Fiction~


Kris was just about to enter the gate to his communal house when he spotted a blue sport car just at the edge of their lawn. He looked at the car curiously before noticing that the engine was on and it was obvious that someone or some people were watching either him or his house from behind the car tinted glass windows.

Kris turned to face the car, narrowing his eyes slightly to show whoever behind the windows that he had spotted them and wasn't afraid to confront them any second then. Although, his intention seemed rather naught when he saw the car door being opened, revealing behind it someone in neat suits and sunglasses that was very familiar to him and to his friends that shared their house.

"Mr. Perandor?" Kris was surprised seeing the gray haired man getting off of his car before closing the door and then walked toward Kris.

Pascal Perandor was the owner of Kris and friends' boarding house and time to time he came to check on its residents, just to make sure that his house and its occupants were in one piece and there was nothing that needed fixing immediately. He was quite wealthy, a successful real estate agent with a bunch of houses that he sometimes rented to students of Terra Demesne University who could afford the rent since apparently he was an alumni and he had no qualm in giving discount to his juniors if only it was for sentimental value. Though, since Kris, Rachel and Dellons were quite loaded themselves, there was no need for Pascal to cut the original price. Their allowance alone could buy the entire house and land after all.

Besides, Rudy's adopted father, Aragon, was apparently Pascal's old friend. They got the deal to live in their current house with minimal effort because of that fact.

Pascal's gray hair wasn't because of old age even though he was indeed in his early forties (around 42, maybe) and could be considered a middle aged man. He was born with that color of hair, some kind of genetic defect that caused the pigment of his hair to wash out. His body was tall and slender, and he wore nice, branded suits that fitted his body perfectly every time he showed up in front of Kris and his friends. Actually, he seemed to always wear suits whenever he went out, along with a pair of sunglasses. He was dandy like that.

"Hi, Kris," Pascal greeted him in an outgoing wave as he removed his sunglasses and slipped it inside the inside pocket of his dark purple suits, and then offered his hand for Kris to shake. Kris shook it politely, giving him an unsure smile.

"What brings you here today, Mr. Perandor?"

"Mandatory checkup on my house residents." Pascal shot him an amused smile and Kris chuckled awkwardly, a bit uncomfortably. It wasn't that Kris disliked Pascal. He just wasn't able to read him like he could anyone else. There was a mysterious air around him despite the nature of Pascal's job, and Kris wasn't comfortable around people that seemed to hide something behind his smart smile and friendly gesture.

Or, Kris just couldn't relax around people that weren't in his circle of friends. Kris rarely dealt with Pascal after all. It was usually Rudy's job to entertain the landlord, but it seemed Kris was the first to come home…

"Oh, then why didn't you just enter? You have your own key, right? You didn't need to wait in your car for one of us to return." Kris titled his head, a bit bemused as he realized that it was perfectly normal if their landlord wanted to check up on them and his own house.

"That would be violating our agreement," Pascal smiled. "This house is your private sanctuary as long as you guys pay your rent. I wouldn't want to intrude without warning," he explained as Kris opened the gate and entered, followed closely by Pascal.

"Not at all, Mr. Perandor. It's your house after all," Kris closed the gate again without locking it as soon as Pascal walked past him to the front door. "You could always call in advance, though."

"I did last night. Rudy answered the phone," Pascal chuckled again as Kris scowled lightly, muttering under his breath to himself that Rudy failed to mention it this morning in slight annoyance. "Oh right, Kris. I believed I already said this, but you can call me Pascal, you know. We've known each other for over a year already. Calling me Mr. Perandor all the time sounds too distant, don't you think?"

"Ah, forgive me, Mr. –err… I mean, Pascal," Kris gave him a tight smile. "I was taught from early age to be polite to older people. It's a habit that's hard to break."

"Oh, I see… but really, I'd like it more when you said my first name," Pascal's smile widened slightly, his deep voice sounding a bit teasing actually, and Kris felt that he was being sized up admiringly as well with the way Pascal's gray eyes raked his body from top to bottom.

Kris looked away slightly, feeling extra uncomfortable then. He didn't want to act rude by accusing the older man of being too forward with his slightly…impure intention in his face, but he didn't want to entertain him of the idea further either. This was why he didn't like interacting with people. He never knew how to act accordingly and to treat this as a joke.

"Oh, isn't it Pascal?"

Rudy's voice from the outside saved Kris from having to react to Pascal's flirting. Pascal's eyes shifted to the addition of people as Rudy showed up on the front door, followed by Dellons who greeted the older man with a "Hey, Mr. Landlord," and a wave before he made a beeline to the bathroom.

"Rudy, Dellons," Pascal greeted back as Kris slowly inched away from him in his distraction when Rudy came up to Pascal to shake hands with him.

"I thought you'd come a bit later," Rudy said with a grin, looking and sounding genuinely happy meeting his landlord.

"Yeah, I'd like to check up on the house and the plants, so I came earlier than my intended time. But I forgot today is weekday and you guys have classes. I ended up sitting in my car waiting for one of you to come home," Pascal laughed slightly, seeming to be amused with his own carelessness.

"Huh? But you can always enter the house as you please. It's your house after all. Don't you bring your key with you?" Rudy repeated Kris' earlier question and Pascal answered him with the same answer he answered Kris. "Ahah, I see," Rudy laughed with him after that as he led Pascal inside to have some more chats.

Kris sighed in slight relief when he was no longer in Pascal line of sight. He closed the front door and locked it before he went farther inside to drop his bag in his room. Kris bumped into Dellons when he passed the living room to the kitchen since he intended to fetch a glass of water to drink.

"Heya, Princess, heard you won't be with us in our outing next Sunday," Dellons greeted, asking for confirmation that he indeed had declined Rudy's proposal of vacationing after exam week. "You have an appointment?" he raised one of his eyebrows meaningfully, obviously guessing that the appointment wasn't exactly an appointment, but something more… informal.

Kris let out a weary sigh, not even getting provoked anymore by Dellons' persistence in calling him princess. "It's none of your business, Dellons."

Dellons pouted. "That's not nice, Princess. Even though you have me right here, you still want to go on a date with other people," he feigned sulking then and it wasn't cute at all.

"Who said anything about a date?" Kris frowned. What in the world was Dellons talking about?

Dellons didn't answer him right away, but his sharp cerulean eyes were calculating as he stared at Kris. There was a strange glint in Dellons' orbs that made Kris squirm a bit under their focused attention.

"What?" Kris finally asked, slightly annoyed, not because he was unable to take the peculiar gaze anymore.

"I wonder…" Dellons mumbled lightly, but the rest of his words were lost to Kris because Dellons's smirk after that spoke mischief more loudly.

Kris felt a bad omen. "What are you planning?" he couldn't help sending Dellons' suspicious glare.

Dellons chuckled slightly at that. "Nothing. I'm just excited about our outing next Sunday," he said before he whistled a light tune as he walked first into the kitchen.

Kris, who had stopped to scrutinize Dellons' back, couldn't help but huff as he resumed his walk following the blonde to enter the kitchen as well.

It seemed that Rudy and Pascal had been conversing in the kitchen instead of the living room since he found them there, and right then Rudy was pouring hot water on a coffee maker, preparing two cups of coffee for himself and probably for Pascal as well. The older man seated at the corner of the dining table, talking on the phone, speaking leisurely about making an appointment with a client next Sunday morning and Dellons was rummaging inside the fridge for a bottle of water.

"Pass me a bottle, Dellons," Kris said as he sat down at the other corner or the table, not wanting to disturb Pascal's business conversation, and also because he didn't want Pascal to make unwanted advance on him again like earlier.

"Here, Princess," Dellons threw the bottle at him and Kris caught it easily. He could see from the corner of his eyes that Pascal glanced at Kris and Dellons, raising his eyebrows in slight wonder at the unique exchange, probably more questioning about why Dellons called Kris Princess. Kris ignored that since he didn't want to explain anything and Dellons cackled slightly as Rudy shook his head with a rueful smile in reaction to that.

Rudy served a cup in front of Pascal and he mouthed a thank you to him as he continued his conversation on the phone. Rudy put down his own cup and sat in front of their landlord and waited for Pascal to finish his phone call.

"Yes, seems that it's already decided if he sent you a message already, right?" Pascal smiled, pausing slightly as he listened on the person on the opposite line talking. "Yeah, of course I'll be there as well. See you next Sunday then. I'll ask Bai Jiao to prepare the necessary material for the presentation. Okay, I'll leave it to you guys to bring him over. Bye." Pascal ended the phone call casually and chuckled.

"Got another client to close the deal?" Rudy asked, smiling as well, seeming to be happy that Pascal seemed excited about his main job.

Pascal gave him a secretive smile. "Something like that."

"Alright then, do you want to start the inspection now, Pascal?" Rudy stood up after he drank his coffee dry in one gulp.

"Ah, actually, I just remembered that I have an appointment in 15 minutes," Pascal stood up as well and smiled at Rudy apologetically. "I have to leave now if I don't want to be late."

"Wait so soon?" Rudy looked surprised as Pascal took his sunglasses out of his pocket and put it back on. "Do you want to see the herbs garden at least? We planted those seeds you wanted us to plant. They're growing," he followed as Pascal made a move to get out of the dining room.

"That's alright. I believe in your green thumbs, Rudy," Pascal replied softly, but his tone was a bit dismissing and Kris didn't like it that he brushed off lightly Rudy's (and everyone) effort in growing those plants. It was Pascal's request after all. He could at least try to see the progress of those plants, couldn't he?

He didn't even touch the coffee that Rudy made—Kris glanced at the still steaming cup of coffee, scowling inwardly.

"He's as annoying as ever," Dellons muttered as he also sent an unreadable smirk and sharp gaze at Pascal's direction from his spot, leaning his hip at the counter while drinking from the bottle, as Rudy was still talking following Pascal out toward the front door.

"You think so?" Kris didn't look at Dellons as he opened his own bottle and drank from it, couldn't help thinking that Pascal gave him a knowing smile when he walked past him earlier. What was that about? Was it just his imagination?

"Absolutely," Dellons grinned and dropped his empty plastic bottle inside a trashcan near his feet. "He checks up on us like we're just a bunch of unreliable kids living in his house. Annoying."

"But we are a bunch of kids living in his house," Kris admitted under his breath, but he resented that unreliable part. Except for Dellons, they were reliable. He couldn't help sending Dellons a look.

"Somehow I just got a feeling that you insulted me with that look just now," Dellons' grin turned rather feral as he looked back at Kris and Kris had to look away, clicking his tongue wondering if Dellons was a mind reader.

"Let's just send that old man away," Kris stood up after he was done drinking half content of his water bottle and then left it on the table. He got out of the kitchen to the front door, Dellons hot on his heels. Both arrived just as Pascal was leaving.

"I'll see you kids some other time. I'll check up on the house and the garden next visit." Pascal bid them good bye with a smile before he hopped on his car and then drove away.

"He could at least drink the coffee," Rudy sulked a bit as he closed the door once again.

"See? Annoying," Dellons smirked in triumph as if he proved a point.

"Whatever," Kris huffed and walked back inside to retreat to his room before Rudy made any attempt to talk to him again. He still needed to sort out his feelings after all and he didn't want to talk to Rudy or Dellons at this moment.

"Ah, Kris, wait," Rudy called. Dang.

Kris pretended he didn't hear his call as he hurried inside his room and locked the door after closing it. He sighed with his back leaning against the door and could faintly hear Dellons disbelieving voice saying, "Dude, he's completely avoiding you."

"I know! That's why I told you he was mad at me about something this morning, but I don't know what I did to make him mad!" Rudy wailed pitifully in reaction, sounding completely distressed.

A bead of sweat rolled down Kris' cheek comically. He moved away from the door to muffle his ears, not wanting to know what Rudy and Dellons talking about his strange behavior.

"Now, preparing for next Sunday appointment," Kris said as he sat at his desk, making some notes of how he should act and what he was going to say to extract information from Ace. He wasn't just about to hand everything he knew about his own experiment without knowing their goal or why they were interested in it in the first place.


~A Seven Knights Fanfiction~


Days rolled by without any exciting things happening and suddenly it was Sunday.

Rudy still tried several attempts to patch things with Kris even though there was nothing to patch. Kris wasn't exactly angry anymore and he talked to Rudy like usual, but he did make an effort not to be alone with Rudy. He would pull Dellons or Jave, or anyone for that matter, in conversation whenever he talked to Rudy, and made sure to ask their whereabouts whenever he and Rudy ended up alone in the house or at the same place. He even made an effort to talk to the librarian at the counter when he went there with Rudy and stayed there for as long as possible before he took the book he wanted to read and settled in silence with Rudy studying in the same table as him after that.

Kris thought by doing things like this, he wouldn't have to think much about his feelings and relationship with Rudy. It would be great to remain platonic and not indulging his desire to be closer to him intimately. Moreover, he should concentrate more on how to explain his experiment to those people without revealing his own secret as a being from other dimension. No matter how many scenarios he ran in his head, it still wouldn't end well if the truth was revealed.

Self-preservation was one thing, but he also needed to consider how this affected Rudy and the others. If it was revealed that Kris wasn't exactly their Kris, how would they take this? They lived in the same house as him. Would they be treated as accomplices? It wasn't just Kris' fate on the line, it was theirs too, so Kris couldn't be reckless about dealing with it.

"Hey, big day ahead huh?" Dellons' voice and his grinning face in front of Kris brought Kris back from his train of thought.

"Good morning, Dellons," Kris greeted back impassively, before raising one of his eyebrows noting Dellons casual light blue Hard Rock shirt with skulls and roses image in the chest part under a nice black leather jacket, a pair of tight fitting black jeans, and a pair of his favorite black and blue Adidas sneaker. Those seemed rather overkill for an outing with his friends. He wasn't going on a date after all. Who could he possibly want to impress?

Dellons seemed to misinterpret his staring as an act of appreciation when he smirked, stroking his blond hair back and tilted his head a little, sending a come-hither look at Kris while saying, "Seeing something you like, Princess?"

Kris scowled. "Aren't you hot with all those black?" he refused to entertain Dellons and to admit that the blonde really did look extremely good with that outfit.

Dellons' expression turned gleeful. "You think I'm hot, huh?"

Shoot! Of course Dellons wouldn't miss making innuendo and joke with it!—Kris felt his face heating a bit while deepening his scowl.

"That's not what I mean," Kris huffed, annoyed and a bit embarrassed. Dellons just laughed at him after that.

"Holly-molly, Dellons. You look amazing!" Eileen's voice from the stairs made both Kris and Dellons turn their head at her. Her eyes were wide and sparkling as she ogled Dellons, awestruck. "Where in the world did you buy that leather jacket?"

Rachel, who came down after her, also looked mildly fascinated seeing her friend as she commented, "It accentuates you lean figure quite nicely. Good job in picking it out."

Dellons' grin widened slightly at the compliment. "You ladies are looking good and dashing too," he complimented back.

It was true. Eileen dressed herself with simple but elegant slim-fit black and top with small, shining, glittering fragments all over the material surface under a washed out fuchsia jacket—the color fitted nicely with her shaggy, wavy strawberry blond hair and her violet eyes—, a pair of black skinny jeans, and a pair of black-red flat sandals. She was already tall enough to forego heels, and she was mostly active and sporty, so this getup suited her well.

Beside her, Rachel was almost in contrast with Eileen in appearance. While Eileen looked sporty and elegant, Rachel looked classy and sweet in a gradual pink one piece dress with white hydrangea motives all over. It was sleeveless—well, there were sleeves, but they looked almost transparent with how thin the material was— and the skirt part, which color gradually darken downward, went bellow her knees. She was wearing white-pink arm-band on each arm, going from her wrist until the crevice of her elbow with laces on each of the top, and a pair of mid-calf pink boots complementing her pink-white diagonally-striped panty hose. She looked like a Lolita doll, more so with her hair done in two pony tails on the sides of her head, flowery and frilly hairbands decorating it.

Both girls glanced at each other with amused, mischievous smiles at Dellons impressed tone before they clasped their hands in a playful hand-holding. Kris smiled slightly and Dellons laughed in good humor. A few minutes later, Jave and Spike entered the premise, joining their group. Spike was dressed casually with white-red button-up shirt, a pair of black loose jeans, and a pair of white-red sneakers, while Jave was done up in light purple V-neck shirt in dot and square patterns under dark purple jacket, a pair of dark purple pants and a pair of black-purple sneakers.

"Oh, you're all ready? That's great!" Jave said, a giddy smile on his face. Spike grunted a low "good morning" in contrast with Jave's excited greeting. Kris, Rachel and Eileen greeted them both back while Dellons smirked at the pair.

"Too bad Kris won't be there," Dellons sighed, sounding a bit forlorn, but Kris knew better than to accept Dellons seemingly innocent regret at a face value. He knew the blond was planning something, though he didn't know what he was up to.

"You won't realize I'm not there since you'll be too preoccupied with playing around the amusement park, Dellons," Kris pointed out, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Oh, Princess you wound me! Of course I'll be constantly conscious of your absence in our group. Remember how I feel about you?" Dellons sent Kris a mock gasp, feigning hurt pout, but the corner of his lips twitched slightly at Kris deadpanned expression and the others' collective eye-roll.

"Just ignore him, Kris," Jave sounded annoyed at Dellons' usual theatric as he addressed Kris. "I hope your appointment will go well. Are you meeting someone important? I never got a chance to ask before," he casually asked. "A professor? Someone from your family?"

"No," Kris shook his head, partly just to cut before Jave could ramble about all possible identities of whom Kris was about to meet today. "Just acquaintance," he didn't elaborate further and Jave visibly pouted for failing to extract some information. Kris didn't realize that his meeting with Ace today would become such intriguing clandestine for his friends that they became nosy enough to ask him repeatedly, both subtly and not so subtly.

"Ouch. That hurts even more. Your acquaintance is more important to you than spending time with your housemates!" Dellons apparently hadn't done yet with his charade as he held his chest, as if he was experiencing chest pain.

"Very convincing, Dellons," Kris made a face." I simply already made plans with them first before our vacation plan was decided. Surely Rudy already told you this." Kris was kind of sure that Dellons already interrogated Rudy the moment Rudy told him that Kris wouldn't be joining them in their trip to amusement park. He actually caught both of them, or precisely, his all housemates in the kitchen talking about Kris and his supposedly 'appointment' when they thought Kris wasn't around. Kris didn't eavesdrop the entire conversation though. That would be undignified and he didn't really want to know what kind of speculation they had about the appointment.

Kris got a flash and instantly remembered his previous 'appointment'. No matter what Dellons told the others, it wasn't actually a date. It was just friendly dinner outside the house. Knox was his cousin and he wanted to talk to Kris about what he would do after he graduated high school. Knox actually had yearned to go to university to expand his education, but his father insisted he came home to start his training to succeed family business. He had asked Kris for an advice despite Kris being a year younger.

He didn't know why, but Knox had this… proclivity to involve Kris in any life decision he made. He said it was because Kris was important to him and he… kind of, maybe, loved him, as more than a family, even though he didn't explicitly say it like that. Kris got a feeling though, because of the way Knox looked at him wasn't exactly subtle. It couldn't have gone anywhere of course, since it was illegal. Besides, Kris hadn't and would never feel like that about him. Therefore, Kris told Knox as much.

Knox just chuckled and said he already knew that, and he wouldn't do anything about it either because he just wanted to love Kris instead of having a romantic relationship with him. Kris didn't exactly understand his reasoning at the time, and he still hadn't understood now. But the wanting to love him part was kind of nice and Kris couldn't exactly dislike being loved by his family could he? So, as long as Knox kept his romantic feeling to Kris in check, Kris didn't mind it at all.

Of course Dellons made a big deal about that dinner and the fact that Kris agreed to dine with Knox in the first place. The entire school was in uproar because of rumor about Knox wooing Kris and it was PR nightmare for him and Knox… alright, mostly for Knox—because Kris was the school darling and no one dared to question him because of his family—for a while. He wouldn't let Kris live it down either before Dellons had a personal 'talk' with Knox. Surprisingly, he didn't rough Knox at all after that talk. Kris never had a chance to ask what they were talking about, but he didn't want to push his luck. As long as Dellons backed down, he didn't need to know how Knox persuaded him.

"I'm still wondering how you could have made new acquaintance without us knowing," Dellons' voice brought Kris back from his involuntary train of thought. "I mean, aside going to class and doing personal project, one of us was always around you." He looked nonplussed as he said that and Kris sighed.

"You mean you stalk me." It wasn't a question. Kris crossed his arms on his chest. "I should sue you." He glared at Dellons accusingly and the blond just smiled and blinked at him in artificial innocence.

Before Dellons and anyone else had a chance to say something about that, Rudy walked in. "Hey guys, the rent car is ready," he said with a smile. "We should get our things on before we leave."

"So that's why you weren't making breakfast. You went to get the car?" Eileen asked Rudy while Rachel immediately went back upstairs to fetch their purses.

"The rental company wouldn't open before 8.00, so I needed to go there myself to take the car if we want to leave around 8.00. Come on. We're behind schedule," Rudy clapped his hands to get his friends moving.

"Why do we need schedule if what we're going to do is just sit on the car the entire trip?" Dellons muttered in annoyance as he moved while Jave and Spike just shrugged as they also went to their room to get their things.

Rudy turned to Kris then. "You sure you won't come with us, Kris? There's still a chance to change your mind," he smiled nicely as he once again persuaded Kris to go with them. One had to compliment him for his sheer stubbornness and tenacity, really. Rudy was really bad at giving up.

Kris smiled back at him, a bit ruefully. "I'd feel bad to my acquaintance if I had to cancel our appointment at the last minutes," he said.

"Alright then," Rudy looked disappointed, but it wasn't in his nature to sacrifice other people's time for his own personal gain, so he probably didn't hope much for Kris to reconsider his decision.

After the slight hassle of them all moving around to get their things in the car baggage, they finally got themselves seated in the car. Rudy was driving. Dellons sat on the shotgun. On the middle seat were Rachel and Eileen and on the back row were Spike and Jave.

"Alright, we're going now. See you tomorrow then, Kris," Rudy waved from the open car window and Kris waved back from the entrance with a light "be careful on your way", before Rudy drove away.

Kris sighed after he dropped his hand beside him. "Well, it could have been worse. I should be thankful that none of them decided to stay just to be nosy about my appointment," he shrugged as he went back inside the house.

Well, Kris should have known better not to jinx it.


~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~


As soon as their car turned at the junction, Rudy made a move to turn the car around and then stopped at the roadside and then killed the engine.

"Why are we stopping here?" Jave scrunched his nose, sounding confused.

"Didn't you hear our last talk about this?" Dellons turned at Jave pityingly. "We're going to follow Kris on his date."

Spike snorted lightly. "Not a date, just an appointment," he muttered lowly, but everyone could hear him just fine.

"I'm surprised you really agreed to do this, Rudy. You're usually more dignified than approving Dellons' bizarre plan," Rachel raised one eyebrow, crossing her arms on her chest while levelling Rudy with disapproving look.

Rudy had a decency to feel ashamed, flushing slightly and fidgeting, while Dellons snickered rather loudly, telling the others that he was just as curious as Dellons about Kris' supposedly new acquaintance.

"Well, Kris deems them important enough to sacrifice his time with us just to meet them," Eileen shrugged. "I think they're quite important for Kris then."

Dellons' snicker faltered slightly as Rudy winced.

"Stop edging him, Eileen. Dellons will be annoying to deal with when he's having a fit about Kris' potential suitor like what happened with Knox in high school," Jave thumped the back of Eileen's seat backrest.

"Hey, now! Why do you say when? Kris doesn't have any suitor at the moment!" Dellons turned to look at Jave again, scowling.

"Oh, hush. All of you," Rudy sighed. "We'll just make sure that Kris is alright in his… appointment. As soon as we deem his 'new friend' alright, we'll leave them," he rested his chin on the steering wheel.

"I just hope we packed enough sustenance if we're about to do stake-out on Kris," Spike uttered slowly, peering at a bag full of packed chips and bottled drinks beside his leg for them to consume in their—no doubt to be a long—wait for doing this ridiculous 'trailing'.

Rudy's sweat dropped while chuckling nervously and Jave snorted a surprised laugh at Spike's words. Dellons just outright laughed and both Eileen and Rachel shook their head in unison, looking exasperated.

Half an hour of waiting later, Rudy spotted Kris getting out of the gate. He walked slowly to the main road after locking the gate. Kris didn't bring any bag with him, though, so Rudy thought Kris didn't go far.

After Kris arrived on the main road, he settled himself on a bus shelter.

"He's taking a bus?" Dellons asked and Rudy started the engine, preparing to follow the bus after Kris got onto the bus and the bus drove away.

Where is he going?—Rudy also wanted to ask out loud, and he was sure that the question was mirrored in everyone's mind at the time. He decided to just follow the bus though, and kept his curiosity to himself for the time being.


~A Seven Knights Fan Fiction~


Kris got off the bus right in front of the China Town. He purposely left the silver briefcase and his extensive notes on his experiment for this meeting. He could explain to them what he was experimenting with, but he would be damned if he would be forced to hand over it to them. He just intended to hear what 'national security' matter that Ryuujou Rin had spoken about before and determined if it had anything to do with his experiment or not later.

Kris took his cell-phone and texted Ace that he was already at China Town and was on his way to the Floating Market. He waited for about two minutes before he got a reply telling him to go straight to the boat number 10 when he arrived there. Apparently they would be having the meeting on the boat amongst the foods and drinks floating on other smaller boats around them in the river.

When Kris got himself onboard the boat, he only saw Ace there. Kris raised his eyebrow as Ace smiled and greeted him, "Good morning, Kris. We're going to ride the boat at the other side of the river."

"We're not talking here?" Kris sat down beside Ace on the soft rug splayed on the hull. He looked around. There were only them and the person that operated the boat despite the spacious size of the inner hull. Did Ace booked the entire boat for them?

"No," Ace replied softly. "I'm afraid that this place isn't… discreet enough to talk about what we're going to talk about," he coughed lightly, gesturing to indicate the person that operated the board with a subtle glance. "We're here to eat breakfast. I assumed you haven't eaten anything?"

Ace didn't wait for Kris' answer as he took some plates of food from the smaller boats outside his boat with a long staff with hook at the top. He put the plates between himself and Kris before he repeated hooking some other smaller boats for drinks.

"Besides, we want you to meet our boss first before we will indulge you and us in our curiosity toward your experiment and what it has to do with 'our problem'," he elaborated further and Kris nodded, opting to agree with it as he looked at the selection of foods and drinks. He wasn't really hungry, but it was best to eat something since he didn't know how long the meeting would run. He picked up some dumplings to eat and chose a glass of fresh orange juice to drink before he settled to gaze outside the boat to the river.

It was a vast river. He wasn't sure about the length, but it was probably over ten meters in width. The water was obviously wasn't clean. The color was close to mud-brown rather than clear blue. Kris didn't focus his gaze in particular view as he stared at the river, just letting himself be lulled in a soft breeze and the sway of the boat as he ate and drank.

Before long, the boat arrived at the other side of the river and Ace gestured at him to get off. "We're getting off here," Ace said and Kris looked at the dock dubiously because it was obviously wasn't the official dock for tourist to get off from the boat.

Kris didn't question it though and followed Ace getting off. Ace paid the operator, giving extra for his lenience in getting them off other than at the official assigned dock. "Follow me," he then gestured at Kris to walk with him.

Kris followed.


~A Seven Knight Fan Fiction~


"This is bullshit! How could we lost him?!" Dellons shouted in annoyance in the middle of the busy street of China Town.

Rudy let out an exasperated sigh because Dellons' sudden exclaim made a spectacle of their group to the other pedestrian. Rudy had parked the car on the parking area as soon as they knew Kris got off of the bus in front of the gates to the China Town. Car couldn't pass the street inside China Town, so he didn't have any choice but to drop Dellons and the others there as well before he went to park the car.

Dellons instantly divided the group. He, Rachel and Eileen got the task to immediately follow Kris' steps while Jave and Spike waited for Rudy in front of the gates, so he could join them later. As soon as Rudy was with them, he texted Dellons where his group was and after he got a reply, he together with Spike and Jave met Dellons inside the town.

Though, apparently Dellons' group lost their sight on Kris as soon as Kris turned at the junction to the river area.

"He couldn't possibly hop on the boat, could he?" Eileen looked around. There were a few resting areas and restaurants around where they stood. It was possible that Kris just ducked into one of them instead of hopping on the boat, but if this 'appointment' was actually a date, it was most-likely that Kris was on the boat with his date.

"Why would he get on a boat?" Dellons demanded, expression ridiculous. "It's a floating market, not exactly a romantic place for a date. People are on boat to shop here," he huffed, crossing his arms on his chest.

"And to eat breakfast," Spike said nonchalantly, earning him surprised looks from the others. "What?" he asked, since the others' gazes at him were weird.

"Breakfast?" Jave asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

"In floating market, they sell almost everything, including breakfast, mostly for the sellers because they have to leave their house very early to secure strategic places for themselves to sell their goods. Since they can't possibly eat breakfast before they are on board, some people dedicate their boats to sell breakfast for them. Tourists that want to enjoy their breakfast on boat can buy from them as well," Spike explained in a matter of fact.

"Huh… I didn't know that. Do you?" Rachel blinked, turning at the others who shook their heads looking slightly intrigued. "How do you know about that, Spike?"

"Part time job," Spike shrugged. "Before I live with you guys, during high school."

"Ah," Rudy nodded, seemingly not wanting to push further explanation, yet Dellons looked about to do just that as he opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Rudy cut, "So, maybe Kris is on board."

Dellons sent Rudy an annoyed glare. "What, having breakfast?"

"I didn't make breakfast this morning. Maybe he is hungry," Rudy shrugged.

"I'll ask the staff around the dock to ask if someone like Kris is on one of their boats," Jave rolled his eyes as he walked away. Both Rudy and Dellons seemed to just realize that they could just do that instead of wondering and speculating. Spike chuckled at Jave's smart, fast move while Rachel and Eileen giggled at Dellons and Rudy's dumbfounded looks.

Jave came back a few minutes later, bearing news that the staff did see a guy who looked like Kris getting on one of their boats. They said the boat was entirely booked by one person, a guy with long silver hair in black suit before Kris joined him on board.

That did sound like Kris was having a date instead of an appointment. An entire boat just for two… It made Dellons eye twitch and Rudy to sweat slightly. Eileen covered her mouth while Rachel raised both her eyebrows in surprised looks.

"Should we get on board as well?" Jave asked.

"Did you ask when Kris got on the boat?" Spike turned to Jave.

"The boat sailed 15 minutes ago," Jave answered.

"Then it will be better if we cross the bridge and wait for them at the other side of the river. The boat will be sailing for approximately 30 minutes before they have to get off. Unless it was booked for overtime afloat…" Spike trailed as Dellons wailed.

"Why would they need an overtime just for breakfast?!"

"Calm down. You're getting too worked up about this, Dellons," Rudy smacked Dellons' back, earning a surprised, painful yelp from the blond.

"Ow…! I told you to mind your strength, you brute…!" Dellons tried to nurse his back, but his hand couldn't reach, so Eileen consoled him instead, soothing the hard blow with her caress with a rueful chuckle.

"Well, shall we go to the other side?" Rachel piped up a short later and Spike couldn't help his sweat rolling down his cheek at the double meaning of the other side, seeing that they had to cross the river after all.

The trip on the bridge was quiet. Well, as quiet as the tourist spot could be, though. There weren't many people around since it was quite early in the morning, just over 9.00. They neede about 10 minutes to cross the bridge on foot and then they had to walk to the official dock where the boat would get the people off.

However, it wasn't half the distance to the official dock that Rudy seemed to notice something in the distance, precisely, at the exit gates of China Town.

"Hey, is that Kris?" Rudy narrowed his eyes, seeming to try to see better and as he seemed to realize that whom he saw was indeed Kris, he looked worried as he spotted their friend walking together with some people that they didn't know in the distance.

"Huh… wait, who are those people?" Jave blinked once, before he start to look concerned, because Kris' expression didn't look amused.

Rachel and Eileen looked quite alarmed when they recognized those guys despite the suspicious suits and sunglasses, as if they were trying to disguise themselves. "They're the Four Lords…"

"Wait. Four Lords?" Dellons looked up, seemingly surprised as he also sharpened his gaze. A myriad of expressions crossed the blonde's face as he muttered distractedly, "Not a date then…"

"What is he doing with them?" Eileen was visibly pale now.

In the end, a vein popped up on Dellons' head. "Hoo… that bastard Lu Bu didn't heed my warning, huh?" He was apparently irate enough to crack his knuckles, ready to punch some people.

Spike observed further and spoke when he noted that one of the guy, the slender man with long, bluish-silver hair in pony tail, put his hand on Kris' lower back and guided him to get into a limousine, and Kris let him. "Well, Kris doesn't seem to be unwilling either. He'd run if he really didn't want to be there."

"What… why is Kris with those people? You called them Four Lords, Rachel, Dellons?" Rudy sounded more worried now, because Dellons' reaction was quite alarming and Rachel and Eileen expression at the time weren't reassuring either.

"Oh boy…" Rachel sighed while Eileen looked upward in rather resigned look.

"I take the Four Lords are important people?" Jave asked, seeming mystified and Spike himself wanted some answer about that.

"Troublesome people," Rachel, Eileen and Dellons said at the same time before they looked at each other.

"We should sit down and talk about them then," Spike suggested.

"Nah, we ought to follow them. I have a feeling that they're about to cause some nasty problems for Kris," Dellons cracked his knuckles again, smirking slightly. He didn't seem about to relent to other suggestions and since he said it would cause Kris problems… of course Rudy's reaction was predictable.

"I'll get the car," he said, face becoming serious as he turned 180 degrees to fetch the rental car.

"We should wait for Rudy at the exit gate then," Eileen suggested.

"I'll follow their limo first then," Dellons started running, not even bothering to wait for his friends. "I'll send the G map on their location later!" he shouted as he ran as fast as he could to catch up with the limousine that started to drive away.

Spike looked at Jave and then at Eileen and Rachel. "While we wait for Rudy at the gate, would you tell us about those Four Lords?" he asked the girls and they looked at each other briefly, seeming to communicate with their eyes, before they turned to face Spike and Jave and started to explain…

End of Round 6

Tbc…


A/N: Ugh… sorry, had to cut it here. The word count was getting crazy. And the story dragged longer than my initial thought. I hope you guys aren't bored to tears reading it ^^;. Anyway… comments?

Teaser:

"You're telling me… that around our boarding house is covered with spots to generate magnetic field energy, strong enough to open a portal to the other world?" If Kris sounded incredulous as he said it, it was because he felt incredulous about the theory.

"Not exactly strong enough to do that," the man said, sounding mildly amused, but mostly serious. "The usual activity of the field is monitored tightly and those spots never spiked energy in the level like last month before, so you tell me, Kris Tenebra. What did you do last month that made those spots react and generate so much energy in alarming such level?"

Kris couldn't exactly tell him, them, but for the sake of garnering more information, he had to say something plausible that could be the cause of this anomaly.