Disclaimer: Eh… You know the drill…

I can be such a hypocrite. I said that I would make up for lost time. So here I have another update. But it has been over month since my last update. This fic is, of course, being read. It's just that people don't know how to click the Go button at the bottom of each chapter.

How depressing…

I have my reasons for being gone these past weeks, and it's not sloth.

Check my updated profile. Stay honest; you'll get what I mean… eventually.

Chapter 6: Toki wa kawaranai RHYTHM o kizande (Time engraves an unchanging rhythm)

Kaidoh let his arms hang limp as he slouched. He walked around slowly with his snake-like eyes half open, not really noticing the people around him. He had decided to put up with that kind of treatment from Louise just until he could find a way to get home. He expected that he would have to be the object that she would vent on for a little while longer…

He closed his eyes and let out a small hiss of exasperation as he walked.

Fshuuuuu…

When he opened his eyes again, a single enormous eyeball was staring at him. It had four long, thin, lightning-shaped appendages, a horn on top, a sort of finger on each side, and a long tail below it. A layer of purple skin for eyelids covered its back and appendages. It was floating at his face, its pupil almost touching the bridge of his nose.

He stared at it for a while and it stared at him right back. His mind did not fully register what he was seeing, until the creature did the most obvious action it could possibly do. It blinked.

Kaidoh jumped back, letting out a roar of shock. He collided with someone behind him, nearly falling back as he tripped on a pair of feet. A high gasp came from the person behind as the clanking of dish and tray resounded and something fell to the grass.

The creature floated away nonchalantly, oblivious to the commotion it had just caused.

"I apologize" Kaidoh turned to the person behind him, bowing appropriately.

When he looked up, he saw a young lady with short, straight, black hair. She was wearing what looked like a black maid's uniform with a white apron. She was carrying an empty tray. It should have had a dish but he noticed that the plate and the brown slice of cake were on the grass, already dirty.

"No, it's ok. I am fine" the young lady replied reassuringly as she bent down to pick up the cake and the plate.

"Please, let me" Kaidoh quickly picked up the slice and the plate. He knew when he was at fault.

"Thank you" she thanked him as he placed the slice on the plate and placed them onto the tray she was carrying.

As he did so, she noticed the strange symbols etched on the back of his left hand. She stared at them, before looking up at Kaidoh's face with a curious look on her own face.

"Could you perhaps be the one who became Ms. Valier's Familiar?" she asked him suddenly.

"I suppose so…" Kaidoh replied, quite uncaringly.

The young lady noticed his reaction, or lack thereof and quickly lowered her head and looked to the ground.

"Sorry…" she said. "I did not mean to be rude…"

"It's nothing…" Kaidoh assured her. "I just do not like the idea of staying in this strange place. Anyway, how did you come to know of me?"

"For a commoner to be summoned as a Familiar is quite big news" she explained. "And when I saw that rune on your left hand, I thought it might be you."

"Rune on my left hand?" Kaidoh asked, perplexed. He had never noticed anything wrong with his left hand at all. He was completely unaware of what the young lady was talking about.

He looked at his left hand and stood rooted on the spot, his face contorted in rage that he was trying desperately to subdue. His fists were clenched and his shoulders tightened, and he almost shook with anger.

The young lady watched, half curious and half afraid, as the person in front of her let out a long, drawn-out hiss to calm himself down…

Fshuuuuu…

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After the two persons passed, Tezuka, Fuji, Echizen and Tachibana rejoined the rest of the group. Eiji, Taka, and Oishi comically pried themselves off the stone wall and rejoined the group as well. When all of them were accounted for, Tachibana revealed to the rest of them what he had just seen.

"The two who had just passed… one of them was Kaidoh!" he told them all.

"What?!" most of them yelled in unison.

"That was Mamushi?" Momoshiro asked incredulously. "Let's go get him, then!"

"Wait, Momo-senpai!" Echizen stopped him just as he was about to race off to chase the two. "There was someone with him, a foreign girl about as old as me."

Momoshiro blinked for a few moments, and then his eyes closed. He put on a huge grin and held his chin as if deep in thought.

"Ah… young love!" Momoshiro remarked suddenly, sounding very much like an old man.

All of them in the group stared at him weirdly. Kamio knocked him on the back of the head and made him snap out of his daze.

"YOU IDIOT!" Kamio reprimanded him as he grasped the spot where Kamio hit him. "Kaidoh is just the same age as us!"

"I was only kidding…" Momoshiro said, wincing from the pain.

"That wasn't the point, Momo-senpai" Echizen scowled. "They were both talking in old European. Only Tezuka-buchou can communicate."

With that, everybody looked to Tezuka, but he was not paying attention to the discussion. The golden-haired Seigaku captain was looking to his side at the building where the two came from with a look that was even more serious than the one he usually has. However, when they turned to look at the spot that Tezuka was staring at, nothing was there that seemed out of the ordinary.

"Saa, Tezuka?" Fuji said as he placed his hand on Tezuka's shoulder. "What is it?"

"Be careful, all of you…" Tezuka said to the group ominously. "I believe that someone has already seen us…"

"We can't do anything about that anymore…" Tachibana Kippei said. "What do you think we should do about Kaidoh and the other person?"

"Pursuing and observing them is the best option at the moment" Inui answered his question, looking up from his collected notes. "From my previous data on Kaidoh, I believed that he could not speak any other languages besides Japanese and English. He does speak a little bad German, though…"

"Right! Let's go spy on Mamushi and that foreigner!" Momoshiro declared loudly to the sky, striking his fist up as well.

"YOU IDIOT!" Kamio reprimanded the loud Seigaku player as he knocked him on the back of the head again. "Do you want those foreigners to find out where we are?"

"It doesn't matter anymore" Momoshiro suddenly said seriously, earning a surprised look from Kamio and the rest of the group. "Someone has already seen us earlier…"

"Good point" Kamio gave in to his surprisingly logical reasoning.

The group started heading slowly towards the lawn at the west side of the building where the caped people were with the strange creatures; the place where Kaidoh and his companion walked towards. They still kept themselves securely hidden in the bushes, almost completely ignoring the agreement of Kamio and Momoshiro to throw caution to the wind.

As the group started moving, Tezuka let out a quiet sigh of exasperation. Fuji noticed it immediately from his best friend and rival.

"Saa, Tezuka?" Fuji asked him, surprised by this extremely rare occurrence of a show of any emotion at all.

"This is one of the reasons I rarely go with you when you all hang out…" Tezuka said quietly to his brown-haired friend as he walked.

Fuji smirked at this as he followed their beloved team captain…

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"Is everything ok?" the young lady asked the peculiar person in front of her.

"Yes…" Kaidoh replied. After those few moments of rage, he was finally able to calm himself down. "Sorry for that. It's just that I really am not pleased with this rune, as you call it."

"Eh?" she asked, utterly confused at how a simple rune can make someone that displeased. "Why, what does it say? A name?"

"No" Kaidoh replied bluntly, as this was his usual way of answering.

"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself…" the young lady apologized, trying to pick up the conversation on a more pleasant note. "I have been blest to serve here. My name is Siesta, just a mere commoner like you."

"Kaoru Kaidoh" Kaidoh introduced himself with a nod. "I do not understand this Noble – Commoner thing… and why do you all stand for their abuse?"

"The people who can cast magic are Nobles and all others are Commoners" Siesta thoroughly explained to him with a voice just barely louder than a whisper. "No commoner can really go against a noble; we are all no match for them."

Just as she finished saying this, a loud call resounded at them, making them both turn to the direction that the call was coming from.

"Oi! Is the cake still not ready?" the blond boy who called out complained to them.

To Kaidoh, the boy's voice seemed familiar. For a single moment, he racked his brain to figure out when and where he had heard that voice before, until nausea almost overcame him again as he finally recognized that voice.

"He's that irritating moron I passed in the hallway last night!" Kaidoh thought harshly, as, for the second time that day, rage overcame him. "He was the one who levitated me!"

He vividly remembered the sickening sensation of being forcefully levitated, and he felt his wrath rising even more. Earlier that morning, he swore to himself that he would make the pitiful person who dared to do that to him pay… and he decided rather rashly that this was the perfect time to do so. Opportunity presented itself to him as he was soon brought back to reality.

"Yes, right away!" Siesta apologetically replied to him.

When she was about to head off to fetch another slice of cake, Kaidoh quickly grabbed the platter she was holding and took it from her hands.

"This is fine for that stuck-up moron" Kaidoh told her bluntly.

"Eh? But that's been…" Siesta started to speak, but she immediately closed and covered her mouth, a mixture of shock and fear etched on her face as she stared at Kaidoh.

He had just shot her a glare even more menacing than his usual snake-like glower. It was almost as if he had entered into a devil-like state, telling her quite plainly that it was not wise to try and stop him at the moment.

Kaidoh walked towards the blond male and his lady companion, his mind one-tracked about his resolve to punish the arrogant fool.

The blond, known as Guiche, was seated, having tea with Montmorency, the blond girl with big, long locks he was with the morning before. The male was carrying on his lap what looked to be a gigantic, brown, ridged mole with a blue, inverted triangle on its forehead and long fore and hind claws. He was stroking its head as he talked, trying to impress his companion, who had a tiny orange toad, which was flicking out its tongue to make heart shapes in front of itself. With his usual arrogance, he tried to pick up the conversation at where it left off.

"Your familiar is also cute, just like you" Guiche said to her in true player fashion.

"You're as flattering as ever!" Montmorency replied, giggling a bit.

"Well, I cannot tell lies in front of your eyes" Guiche added to his flattery.

"Of course, you just don't mention the lies you conduct, right?" Kaidoh rudely interrupted their conversation with his deep, husky voice.

"What the?!" Guiche exclaimed, surprised at the sudden intrusion.

"But recently, I have been hearing a rumor that you're also dating a first year!" Montmorency told him harshly. "Hey, Guiche, what is he talking about?"

Before Guiche could even get out a single syllable to explain himself, Kaidoh interrupted again.

"So the brown cape worn by the girl you were with last night meant that she was a first year…" he muttered, audibly enough for Montmorency to hear every word.

Knowing full well that he was caught in the web of lies that he himself created, Guiche sought for the only way out that he knew.

"Montmorency! It's noisy here, so… ah… let's go over there, under that shade!" he said desperately, standing up, grabbing the blond girl firmly by the wrist and pulling her away from the table and more importantly, away from Kaidoh. In his haste, he left his furry, brown familiar on his chair, and as he left, it waved its right fore claws at him as if to wave goodbye.

Kaidoh stared at it startlingly with his snake-like eyes and it stared right back at him with its deep, dark brown eyes. They continued to stare at each other for a few more seconds, and a light blush of mixed curiosity and animalistic pheromone made its way to Kaidoh's face. Kaidoh has always had a weakness for cute and fuzzy animals, and it was calling to him to play with this peculiar one in front of him. He slowly approached it with a cautious hand, as Guiche continued to drag Montmorency away.

By a sharp twist of fate, the first year aforementioned, known as Katie, was just across the lawn, and quickly approaching. She was carrying a white picnic basket with both hands as she walked. She seemed to be looking for someone specifically, and would once in a while turn her head to a random direction, trying to find someone familiar to ask. Upon seeing Kaidoh, she walked over to him hesitantly.

Kaidoh was preoccupied, crouched, and playing with Guiche's lovable mole familiar. He was making it chase a stalk of a weed, and it was happily obliging.

"Ano… aren't you the commoner familiar that we saw last night?" Katie asked him quietly. "Have you seen the person I was with then, Guiche-sama?"

Kaidoh, although annoyed, stood up, stopped what he was doing, and tried not to be disrespectful. As he did so, he got another idea that would become the perfect coup de grace to the damage and seed of doubt that he had already planted earlier.

"Over there…" he said seriously, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder.

When Katie peered over his shoulder as well, her face lit up with excitement. She went past him without so much as a thank you as she rushed off towards Guiche, who was still dragging Montmorency by the wrist.

When Guiche saw her coming, he quickly let go of Montmorency and smiled an innocent smile just as she approached. This ushered a suspicious look from Montmorency, who, after being dragged like a child, was not at all pleased.

"Ah… K… Katie!" Guiche greeted her innocently. "Hey…"

"I've been looking all over for you, Guiche-sama!" Katie said excitedly, raising her white picnic basket. "This is the homemade soufflé I was talking about last night. I thought it would be perfect for today's tea party."

"What… why… thank you!" Guiche thanked her, sensing his imminent doom.

"Last night?" Montmorency asked incredulously.

"Well, you see…" Guiche tried to explain, failing horribly.

"You brought it on yourself for two timing…" Kaidoh said camly, and in the process, sealed Guiche to his fate.

"Y… you!" Guiche looked at him with despair. In a last ditch effort he stood up straight and pointed accusingly at Kaidoh. "You're creating a superfluous misunderstanding between these two girls!"

At this overly dramatic declaration, people who had been previously busy with their own familiars stopped what they were doing and started gathering around the unfolding scene.

"What's this, what's this…" a plump blond male with an owl familiar perched on his wide shoulders said to the other people watching, effectively attracting even more attention to Guiche. "It seems Guiche is starting something with that Commoner Familiar."

"Pitiful… trying to blame it on me" Kaidoh said exasperated. With that, he let out a small hiss of annoyance.

Fshuuuuu…

"Two timing?!" Katie said worriedly, not wanting to believe that it was true.

"So you were putting your hands on this first year?!" Montmorency screamed at him, her face contorted in rage.

"You're mistaken, Montmorency the Perfume!" Guiche tried to calm the now hysterical girl. "Please do not warp your rose-like face with anger! This is some type of mistake!"

At this, Katie almost burst into tears.

"How awful of you!" Katie said, crushed about this incident. "You said we were together!"

"In any case, both of you calm down…" Guiche said desperately, this time looking as if he really feared for his own safety, knowing full well that he had no way out of this mess.

The two wouldn't hear of it.

"YOU LIAR!!!" Montmorency and Katie shrieked angrily at him at the same time.

And with that, Montmorency slapped Guiche so powerfully that he staggered back and then fell down painfully on his butt, as the two scorned women stormed off in different directions.

The audience that had gathered earlier started laughing at Guiche, who had a large, red, hand-shaped slap mark on his left cheek.

"You got dumped… by two different girls, Guiche!" the plump blond male said gleefully. "Well, it was your own doing!"

At first Guiche looked down to the ground because of the complete humiliation of the scandal, but he looked up to see Kaidoh's emotionless face staring blankly at him, and his rage got the better of him. He stood up and faced Kaidoh directly.

"It seems you…" Guiche started to speak angrily, "… do not know the etiquette towards a noble"

"Noble or otherwise…" Kaidoh replied bluntly, looking . "I don't give a damn…"

"Very well." Guiche said. He had an evil look in his eyes as he looked Kaidoh in the eye. This look was something Kaidoh returned with a fiercer glare with his snake-like eyes.

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"What is that stupid Mamushi doing?!" Momoshiro scowled quietly to no one in particular.

The two teams were just around the curvature of the building's walls, watching the scene unfold from a distance. Two girls, a blonde wearing a black cape, and a brunette wearing a brown cape, had just stormed off from the uproarious crowd. In the middle was a blond male confronting Kaidoh, who, in turn, had his back turned to them.

"Shhh…" Ann put her finger up to her mouth and looked disapprovingly at him. "I can't hear them at all."

"No offense intended, Tachibana Ann-chan" Shinji started murmuring to her. "However, even if you hear them, you would not fully understand their conversation, seeing as they are speaking in old European…"

"That isn't what I meant" Ann told him quietly. "Just a few minutes ago, I could hear that they were making a big fuss about something, now they're too quiet."

"What were they saying, Tezuka? Tachibana Kippei turned his head behind him to face his friend, who was, in turn, out of sight. "What the…?!"

"Hey… Fuji-ko isn't here either!" Eiji exclaimed to the group.

"What?!" most of the group yelled out.

"Shhh…" Ann put her finger up to her mouth again and tried to calm them down. "Quiet, you guys!"

"I'm sure that they have a good reason for doing so…" Oishi said. In fact, it was quite the opposite, for he wasn't sure at all.

"At any rate, Echizen can be a substitute!" Momoshiro declared with a huge grin on his face, knowing full well how to piss off his favorite kouhai.

"That's right, Ochibi!" Eiji added innocently, but he gave himself away with the mischievous grin that he also had on his face.

With a scowl, the stoic first year pulled his red and white cap lower on his head to hide his eyes. His two senpais were 'reminding' him of how he got all sulky when he was just made a substitute at the Junior Invitational Tournament and just got lucky to compete because one of their contestants, Kirihara Akaya, got injured in mid-game.

"It's not as if you could talk, Momo-senpai" Echizen put on a grin of his own as he decided to strike back. "You didn't even get in…"

With a laugh, Momoshiro took all in good stride and patted Echizen on the back thrice, whether by chance or on purpose, effectively knocking the wind right out of him. "Hai, Hai. You're right."

"Anyway, Echizen, what were they saying?" Oishi asked him, ignoring the previous good-willed exchange.

"A duel…" Echizen restated, concentrating on the heated confrontation in the middle of the crowd. "The blond guy just challenged Kaidoh-senpai to a fight… and he accepted."

"Eh?!" the group exclaimed as loud as they could without alerting anyone else of their location.

"Not good…" Momoshiro said solemnly. "That guy must be crazy…"

"Are you talking about the foreigner or Kaidoh-kun?" Ann asked him quietly. "I mean… you challenge him all the time and you fight a lot too."

"The blond guy" Momoshiro replied worriedly. "It's different when we fight. We're rivals, so it comes naturally for us to fight each other, and we're used to it. After all, we are still teammates. But that guy is a complete stranger. If he makes Mamushi snap, he's dead… literally."

"You can't be serious, right?" Ann asked incredulously.

"I'd forgotten that…" Echizen sighed. "Kaidoh-senpai goes berserk when he gets too frustrated or annoyed."

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"I'll be waiting in the grounds in front of the Vestry!" Guiche declared challengingly. He pointed a rose to Kaidoh's face, before storming off.

Kaidoh looked at the furious Guiche with disinterest as the blond went farther away. He was about to let out a hiss of exasperation…

Fsh---

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Louise cried at his ear, and Kaidoh lost his hearing momentarily. She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him away from the crowd.

"What the hell were you thinking foolishly accepting that duel?!" Louise asked him incredulously, still dragging him.

"Where are you taking me?" Kaidoh asked her, completely ignoring her earlier question.

"To apologize to Guiche, if we hurry, he may forgive you" Louise explained hurriedly.

"I refuse" Kaidoh said bluntly, stopping in his tracks and pulling his hand away from her grasp.

"You really understand nothing! A Commoner can never overcome a Noble!" She screamed at him, scrunching up her eyes in annoyance. "You're lucky if you get out of this just hurt!"

When she opened her eyes to continue scolding him, she found that he was nowhere in sight.

The new fics still aren't done...

How depressing...