Mimic walked over to the immobilized Beast Spirit that was lying on the harbor. She drew a card from her card holster and casually dropped it on the Beast Spirit's body. Without putting up much of a fight anymore, it was absorbed and sealed into the card. The card flew back into her armored hand and she slid it into her card holder before ejecting her Change Ace card out of her buckle to undo the transformation. Turning around, she was shocked to see Craig looking at her with wide eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that he had seen her. She then said the first thing that popped into her mind, "You...didn't see that, right?"

Episode 18: Manipulation

"You...didn't see that, right?"

Craig rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Would you be mad if I said yes?"

Kat sighed. "No, I kept this from you long enough anyway. I'm really sorry Craig but, how could I tell you about something like this?"

Craig crossed his arms, "How about the same way I told you about my parents?"

Kat could sense a touch of anger in Craig's voice. He had every right to be mad. He was her best friend and only moments ago he told her of his most painful memory. Kat could only think of one line that might save her: "You never asked?"

"Oh, OK. So when we started hanging out with each other I should've asked you: 'Hey Kat, fight any slimy shell headed monsters lately?'" Craig said sarcastically.

Kat was really surprised because that line usually worked on everybody. She decided to see if she could somehow turn the tables. "Some gratitude you're showing me. If I remember right I just saved your life!"

"I'm thankful but I still feel betrayed by this," Craig sighed. "I'm not angry at you. I just don't want you to get hurt. You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"Look Craig, I'm fully capable of doing this and I'm fully capable of taking care of myself!" Kat said firmly, feeling insulted that Craig implied that she was weak.

"I know you are, Kat. It's just that I could've lost you today," Craig said with concern.

Kat seemed indifferent. "So? The only thing you would've done is go on with your life. You've done it before."

Craig began to yell, angered that his concerned meant nothing to Kat, "Do you know how many years of pain I went through waking up everyday knowing that I'll never see my mom and dad again? I don't want to wake knowing that you're gone forever too!" Craig took in a breath knowing that he was about to get a lot out of himself. "You think it's so easy for me to move on? I've lost my mom and dad already I don't want to lose the girl I love too!"

Kat was incredibly shocked by what she just heard she had to check if she heard him right, "Wait, what was that last part?"

"I'm not gonna hide it anymore," he said, "I love you, Neko," Craig said in a strong but trembling voice, "I've felt this for the past few months or so and I know it's not just some silly little crush. Ever since I met you at school I knew there was something special about you. I'm still a bit angry though you know…" Craig started to go off on a rant.

Kat wasn't hearing the rest of what Craig was saying, the only thing she thought about was the three words that meant the most ("I love you") and he even used her first name when he had said it. The thought of being with Craig wasn't even a bit unappealing. It was nice. He was a nice enough guy, she had to admit. He tried to help whoever he could and whenever he could. He even helped her when he didn't know it was her to begin with. He was even nice enough to work a job he wasn't even getting paid for at the restaurant. He had volunteered without expecting any sort of payment whatsoever.

'Maybe I should give it a chance,' she began to think, 'Then again, my being a knight could get him hurt or even worse, killed. What the hell should I do? Is he still even talking? Only one way to shut him up I guess.'

Kat grabbed Craig by his shirt and, impulsively, pulled him into a deep kiss.

Craig's eyes widened as he was totally thrown off guard by this kiss. As soon as he realized what was happening he simply just closed his eyes and let it happen. Craig felt really strengthened by the kiss and felt like he could've taken out that Beast Spirit with one blow. If this was a dream then he never wanted to wake up.

Kat was lost in the kiss. When her lips met with Craig's she felt like the world was slowing down just for the two of them. She felt like the animal she represented flying through the sky without a single care in the world. This just felt so right to her. She then pulled away.

Kat breathed, "Woah! That was intense!"

Craig grinned, "I know….wanna kiss again?"

Kat looked at him sternly, "I'm being serious, Smith!" Craig winced. He knew Kat meant business when she called him by his last name. "It's just, well," her eyes darted away, her face blushing, "Part of me...part of me really liked it...but..."

Craig prompted, "But what?"

Kat started to tear up, "I just...I just..." She just yelled out, "I just can't!" she ran away. 'I'm sorry, Craig,' she apologized in her mind, not even hearing that he was calling her.

Craig decided to go after her and then grabbed her arm to stop her. She did. He said, "Kat, wait. At least tell me why. I think I deserve to know."

"You don't understand how dangerous my life is," was all that Kat could say without turning around. She couldn't face him; she didn't have the nerve.

"You're right, I don't," Craig admitted. "I don't care either. I wanna be with you. I'll even fight by your side if I have to. I can't ask you stop what you're doing, but I want to help in anyway I can." Craig smirked, "Besides, that armor was pretty becoming of you."

Kat couldn't help but laugh a little at that last statement. She was also flattered. She thought it was cute that Craig could be so sincere with his feelings but also have a great sense of humor at the same time. "I'm still not too sure," Kat admitted.

Craig just simply walked up to Kat. "Close your eyes for me," he said.

Kat trusted him so she closed her eyes. She didn't know what to expect but she soon felt a small metal chain around her neck.

"OK, open them," Craig said.

Kat opened her eyes and around her neck she saw Craig's scythe necklace hanging proudly. Kat knew it was Craig's most cherished item that he owned. She turned and looked at him, bewildered. "Are you giving this to me?" Kat asked.

"For the time being," Craig started. "I want this to help you make a decision about us."

"Thanks, Craig. I promise I'll let you know." She pulled Craig into a hug and whispered "Whether we're just friends or something more, I'll always be with you."

Craig smiled, "Same goes for me."

Kat got on her bike and put her helmet on. "Don't worry, I'll let you know." She then rode off.

Craig waved, "I'll be waiting."

Desmond was on his way to the homeless shelter. He was one of the many church volunteers who used what spare time they had to help those who needed it despite what it was. The sun had set and the skies were dark, filling up with twinkling stars. Clad in his usual ensemble of black clothing, Desmond dug his hands into his coat pocket as the crucifix he wore around his neck glinted in the darkness.

He didn't have much time left, he realized that. The dizzy spells were becoming more frequent as were his bloody coughs. He had to get all the Rouge Cards and soon before time ran out for him. His mind then drifted to the other Knights. They were both his obstacles and his allies. Obstacles since they wouldn't hand over their cards and allies since they also made his job easier by sealing some of the other Beast Spirits out there. If it was under any other circumstances he would just wait until they collected all the cards for him before he took them even by force if need be. They didn't have any comprehension of the true power the cards had together. He had read about the old myths and legends and knew the risks. Besides, he didn't really have anything else to lose, did he?

He walked through the park. Even at night it was still beautiful. It was also peaceful out and had a sort of ambience because of the lampposts that lit up the stony pathway. He saw a couple holding hands and sitting near the lake enjoying each other's company. He envied them. He didn't have anything like that.

Or did he?

He thought back about Raven, the pale skinned and purple haired girl of the Titans. She was quite attractive and they shared many of the same interests. Could he really pursue a relationship with her?

His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed a black robed and hooded figure. The figure asked, "Are you the Knight of Genbu?"

"If I am, who are you whom inquires?" Desmond asked back.

The figure didn't answer and only snapped his fingers. In flashes of black 8 Dark Roaches appeared before him. This was the mysterious hooded figure's answer.

Desmond took his hands out of his pockets. In his right hand was his Change Ace card and in his left hand was his Genbu Buckle. He smirked. He would be late but not too late since all he had to do was dispatch these creatures quickly.

"Henshin!"

"CHANGE GENBU!"

Takada was at the cashier counting money. They were going to close early since it had been a tiring day for them all. Steven, Sven, Tom and Sheila had gone home. Kat walked in and looked quite haggard. Leo walked out of the kitchen to greet his sister.

"Konbanwa, onee-chan," he greeted.

"Konbanwa, otouto-chan," she replied. "You closed early, huh?"

"Hai," Leo nodded. "We have a test this Monday so we need the time to study. I let the others off work early."

"That's good," Kat said. Takada and Leo blinked. Something seemed wrong.

"Daijoubu, onee-chan?" Leo asked.

"I'm fine," she said. "No worries." She gave him a reassuring smile.

"You sure?" Takada asked. "You look like you've been through hell."

"Just had to fight a Beast Spirit at the docks, nothing else," Kat said.

Takada and Leo looked at each other.

"What?" Kat asked. She knew something was off.

"That's strange," Takada said. "Leo fought a Beast Spirit too at the Titans' place."

"You did, huh?" Kat asked. "What was it?"

"One of the Royals," Leo answered and revealed the card. "The Category Jack of Spades."

It was Kat's turn to blink. "You beat a Category Jack all on your own?" She congratulated him, "Good job!"

"But something's still bothering me," Takada said.

"What, Tiger-Boy?" Kat asked.

"You both fought Beast Spirits, but neither of your phones detected them, right? I didn't get a signal today either and these phones have a long signal range," Takada said. He looked concern.

"Must be a glitch," Kat waved it off. "We beat them easy, right otouto-chan?"

"Hai, onee-chan," Leo nodded.

"You both don't seem to understand. Our phones tell us exactly where and when a Beast Spirit is attacking. If something's jamming the signal then we're in trouble because we won't be able to know when a Beast Spirit might attack and we might not get there in time! Lives could be lost!" Takada explained frantically. He was serious.

The twins let the reality of Takada's words sink in. He was right. Kat took out her phone and Leo did the same before handing them over to Takada. Kat said, "Check them. Maybe there's something wrong with the phones."

"I'll do that," Takada nodded.

"Arigatou," Kat nodded. Leo then noticed something.

"Onee-chan, where did you get that necklace?" he asked.

Kat blushed and stuttered, "Um…ah…"

"BLIZZARD!"

Shadow destroyed the last Dark Roach with the swing of his staff. Its frozen body shattered to pieces as his staff made contact. Shadow panted. Usually he could last longer than this, but right now he was getting exhausted. He coughed repeatedly as he supported himself on his staff, slightly lurched forward. He looked up at his final adversary with his blue eyepieces.

The hooded figure tilted his head to the side. He said, "Impressive. You lasted longer than I expected."

"You're next!" Shadow said as he gripped his staff and charged. He drew a card and slashed it through.

"STAB!"

He let out a loud battle cry and plunged his staff forwards into the hooded figure's chest.

Suddenly, a powerful screech emanated from under the figure's hood. He lampposts in the area shattered as Shadow placed his hands on his ears. He was forced onto his knees as he couldn't maintain his balance.

The screeching stopped and Shadow heard a whistling sound like something metal swishing through the air. He looked up.

He screamed.

Raven's eyes snapped open as she gasped. The scented candles in her room reacted to her distress. What had happened? What was wrong? She did not know.

The Titans had taken nearly all day to repair the windows that had been broken by the Eagle Beast Spirit. That, however, wasn't bothering her. Something had happened, something bad, and she did not know what it was.

She knew something had happened. She just wasn't sure where, when and to whom and that frightened her.

She looked to the night sky outside her window. She looked at the stars. She was worried and scared…But why?

Kat then said as she took Leo's hand, "Otouto-chan, let's go up to our room so we can talk privately!"

"Nani?" Leo questioned as his sister dragged him up the stairs towards their room. Takada was wiping the counter and blinked. He shrugged before going into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Up in their shared bedroom, Kat slammed the door shut and faced her brother.

"Daijoubu ka?" Leo asked his sister worriedly.

"I'm fine!" Kat tried to calm down. She then said, lifting up the necklace for Leo to see. "This necklace," she began, "Was given to me by…" she blushed, "By Craig."

"Craig-san gave you that?" Leo asked. Something was brewing in him. It felt almost like sibling over protectiveness.

"Hai," Kat answered before she continued, "He also said that…" she blushed harder, "He said that he…" her face turned red. "He said that he…" smoke was escaping from her ears.

"He said that he loved you?" Leo supplied. Kat nodded quickly. "Onee-chan!" Leo clasped his hands and smiled, "That's great!"

"No it isn't!" Kat shouted. "I mean…it felt good to know how he felt, but…"

"But what?"

"But you know that we have a job to do, a very dangerous job."

"Sealing the Beast Spirits," Leo stated.

She nodded. "Hai," she paused, "Which is why…which is why…I just can't pursue any kind of relationship aside from friendship with him." She looked her twin in the eye. "You agree with me, right?"

Leo was silent. What was he supposed to say? He knew his beloved twin sister was in pain and confused. He did the only thing he could.

He hugged her.

"Onee-chan…" he said soothingly as he rubbed her back.

"I just don't want him to get hurt…The Royals might just…" she trailed. "What should I do?"

Leo spoke sagely, "No matter what kind of relationship we have with people, people will always end up getting hurt. It's an occupational hazard, I guess. But pushing people away is not the way to live. Even with these powers we are still pretty much human underneath and we need human connections. It's what makes us whole."

"So what should I do?" she asked.

"What do you think?" he asked back.

"I think I need to sleep on this," she said before letting him go. "Arigatou, otouto-chan."

"You're welcome, onee-chan," he said before saying, "But if Craig-san does anything to hurt you…"

Kat groaned. Her twin brother was becoming overprotective of her. "Otouto-chan…"

"Gomen, onee-chan," he apologized, "But you are my favorite sister after all."

"I'm your only sister."

"And that makes you my favorite."

"You're not going to talk to him, are you?" Kat asked him warily.

"Maybe…"

"Otouto-chan…"

"Gomen." He then said before he walked down the stairs, "Oyasumi, onee-chan."

"Oyasumi, otouto-chan."

Sunday morning…Café La Salle was closed for the day.

Kat yawned as she woke up from bed. She looked down to her chest and saw Craig's scythe necklace dangling around her neck. She smiled and blushed a bit at the memory of when they kissed before he gave her his most precious item.

'Correction,' she mused mentally, 'His most precious item…is me.' She was sincerely flattered when she realized how he felt for her. She didn't think he felt anything but friendship. She chided herself, 'And you say your otouto-chan's oblivious. Look at yourself you dolt!' How could she have missed all the signals? Either Craig was very good at hiding his feelings or that she didn't even try to look. 'How long had he been hurting?' Did she even deserve a guy as great as him?

The words of her twin did help her sort out her emotions. Her logical side told her to forget about Craig and focus more on the Beast Spirits, but her more…sentimental/emotional side told her to pursue it.

Leo was right. No matter what, people would always be in danger but they couldn't just simply turn away from human interaction and turn into empty shells.

She looked at the clock. It was 9 am. Great, she slept in. She sniffed under her arms and grimaced. She needed a shower.

As she was lifting up her shirt, Takada burst into the room. "Kat!" he yelled. "I fixed the…" he got an eyeful and Kat blushed. "Um…"

"ARGH! HENTAI!"

ZAP!

Takada was now in a block of ice.

"ARGH! HENTAI!"

Leo looked up and chuckled. He was already downstairs in the dining area of Café a Salle. He was packing a picnic basket. Question was: Why?

A few minutes later, Kat walked down the stairs in fresh clothes. She had already taken a shower. Lagging behind her was a defrosted and thawed out Takada. He was still dripping wet.

"Baka!" she scolded the Knight of Byakko. "Next time knock!"

"I'm sorry!" he apologized.

Leo shook his head and laughed slightly. "Breakfast is ready," he said as he pointed to a table with pancakes, toast, orange juice and fried eggs.

Kat and Takada sat down. "Arigatou," Leo's sister said before she said, "Itadakimasu," and dug in. She saw her brother dressed in his usual black jacket, red Chinese shirt, black pants, white scarf and goggles. His shoes seemed to have been shined and his hair neatly combed before he pulled it back and tied it into a braid. She saw the picnic basket and put two and two together. Takada had a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth as he too saw the change in Leo.

"What's the occasion?" Kat asked. She grinned. She could just guess what it was.

"Oh this?" Leo pointed. "I have a picnic with-"

"Your girlfriend?" Kat teased.

"No!" he shouted out, cheeks red. "I mean, yeah. I mean she's a girl and she's a friend but she's not my girlfriend!"

"Sure she isn't," Kat continued to tease. "Not yet at least," she added under her breath.

"She must be really cute, huh, Seiryu?" Takada asked as he called Leo by the name of the dragon he represented.

"Hai, Takada-san," Leo nodded, still blushing a bit. Kat snickered a bit before she took a sip of orange juice.

"Just remember to treat her right," Kat began. "And use protection."

"ONEE-CHAN!"

Takada added, "I could lend you some magazines that could help you out." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while he grinned.

"TAKADA-SAN!"

The Knight of Suzaku and the Knight of Byakko both laughed at the flushed Knight of Seiryu. He shut his eyes and turned away from them.

"I'll see you two later!" Leo said as he left in a huff with his picnic basket. "Ja ne!" He closed the door behind him. Kat shook her head.

"Oh, he's got it bad," Kat said with a laugh.

"Never see him get so flustered over a girl," Takada spoke, "Ever."

"This girl's just special."

"She must be to get him all flushed like that."

'Bakayarou,' Leo thought in his mind as he rode his bike towards Titans Tower. Jinx was staying there. He pulled up in front of the main door and rang the doorbell. He saw the large doors slide open and he walked in. He took the elevator straight up to the top floor and walked down the corridor towards the common room.

He had stopped by a flower shop to purchase some flowers for Jinx. It wasn't anything fancy or anything, just something he thought to pick up based on a dating guide he had read. Thinking of the dating guide made him think of the magazines Takada had offered and their content.

'If it's anything like I imagined…' he blushed a bit.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing videogames. They seemed to be the only ones present in the common room.

"Ohayo, Cyborg-san, Beast Boy-san," Leo greeted them.

"Hey, Leo," Cyborg waved.

"Yo, dude!" Beast Boy waved too.

"I came to pick Jinx-san up," he said.

"For your date?" Beast Boy grinned. Cyborg grinned too.

Leo blushed and said nothing. The two friends chuckled.

Jinx walked into the common room, dressed in her usual black witch's dress with the striped stockings. When she saw Leo, she smiled.

"Hey there," she greeted.

"Ohayo, Jinx-san," he greeted her back and presented her with the bouquet. "For you."

"You're so sweet!" she beamed as she sniffed the flowers. "I'll get ready, okay? Wait for me!" Jinx then rushed out of the common room.

Leo couldn't get it out of his head on how cute Jinx looked smiling like that. He sighed.

"Boy, he's got it bad," Cyborg said to Beast Boy.

"Dude, you got no idea," Beast Boy replied.

"Jinxy-chan…" Leo sighed.

"Has the process been completed?" King asked as he approached Isaka.

"Yes, King," Isaka nodded. "He's now our most loyal pawn, a puppet to our every whim."

"Perfect. Prepare him for his first mission in the name of the Royals."

"As you wish, King."

Raven could not concentrate on her meditation. She felt something was not right. She just wasn't sure what it was nor was she able to push it into the back of her mind. She looked worried. Something had happened and she knew it was bad, she just didn't know what it was.

A/N: Okay, this REALLY can't be good. What happened to Shadow? Why haven't the phones been detecting Beast Spirits? Stay tune for he next installment of Advent Knights of Legend for the answers.

BTW: Zombi138 helped me out with this chap. He did most of the beginning for me. A shout out towards him. Lizbrasco also helped me out.

Preview of next chap: Leo and Jinx are out on a date and Kat is conflicted to either call or not call Craig. Leo has to fight a Category Queen.