[Trick's PoV]

"HARU, CAN I TALK TO YOU IN PRIVATE?"

Right after the horrifying match between the Hysenbellius and the Saint-Pierres, I talked to Haru and forgot about being in shock with Kaltrina's and Flutura's situation. I felt pity for the sisters. They don't deserve that kind of treatment. They didn't have to die in the first place.

But I guess, people will have to die in this tournament. Fei warned me about it and it didn't sink in me until that fight happened.�

Haru and I decided to go to the forest to talk. No one is there and we can talk peacefully.�

"What do you wanna talk about, Trick? Is it about Fei?" Haru asked.

I shook my head. "No, it's about Ellis."

Haru scoffed. "I guess we have nothing to talk about."

"No, no, Haru, I'm serious. Please listen to me," I stopped him as he was about to take a step to leave. "I know recently that Ellis and you have a little fight, but let's go past that for now. I'm worried about him."

Haru's facial expression changed. "Why?"

"Before I start explaining, I'd like you to have an open mind. Can you do that?"�

"Of course," Haru nodded. "What is it? What's bothering you?"

I took a deep breath and started talking. "So… Ellis told me about Camo and I told him about the Valenti. We've been together in both places. You know, they have their own places, right?"

"Yes," Haru briefly replied.

"Then, you know that you do have these some sort of.. guardians inside you, right?"

Haru cleared his throat. "Yes."

I squinted my eyes. "May I ask what's their appearance?"

"They're like these metal spheres. Why?"

I sighed. Here goes nothing. "Haru, I have them in full human forms. Also, I have fourteen. You guys have seven, right?"

Haru's countenance altered from serious to shocked. "Fourteen? That's impossible. How did you do it, Trick?"�

I sighed. "I really don't know. The seven are with me all along. The seven are from Fei. You know how it happened, right?"�

"You've taken his cum," Haru uttered without a doubt.

I smiled faintly. "Well… Anyway, Ellis would like to find out if these spheres have human forms too. We asked one of the spheres and it told us that they do have their human forms as well. We just need to unseal them, and the only way to do it is to corrode the spheres using the fire of a—"

Haru cut my speech as he already knew what I was going to say. "Monstigna."

"So, you knew?" I confirmed.

"All of us knew," Haru said.

I continued explaining. "Okay… So, I know what a monstigna is. It's a fire creature that takes the form of a bluish-white beast. I accidentally summoned it when Fei and I were practicing, and I figured that it was dangerous, so… Ellis asked me if I can summon a monstigna for him in Camo to corrode the spheres, and I refused to do so, as I know that it will risk our lives."

"Good judgment, Trick," Haru commended. "You must not use a monstigna."

"So… what am I going to do? Ellis and I aren't talking and I hate it. We can't keep avoiding each other, especially we stay in the same room," I sighed again in disappointment.

"I'll figure out a way, but never with a monstigna," Haru said. "Don't tell him about this, okay?"

"Sure," I confirmed.

"So that's it?"

"Yeah," I said.�

Haru nodded. "Okay, after having this talk, I do have three questions for you."

"Shoot," I spoke.

"First, who knows that you have fourteen guardians?"

"Fei, Ellis, and now, you," I responded.�

Haru nodded. "Good. No one else must know about this, Trick. Let's keep it among us. We can trust Jia, but if it's not necessary, you don't have to tell it to her. Okay?"

"Got it. What's your second question?"

Haru cleared his throat once again before asking. "Can you tell me how Ellis told you how he got those spheres in Camo?"�

"Oh, let me recall… you crushed the necklace and added it in a drink that tastes like Cosmopolitan. The one he's wearing right now is a decoy," I confessed.

Haru giggled, but he stopped. "Okay, now, my third question is… Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course. You're going to keep mine, too, right?"�

"Definitely," Haru said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," I looked at him seriously. What is he going to tell me?

"Pinky swear?" he grinned as he raised his pinky finger at me.

I locked mine in his and said, "Okay, shoot."

***

[Ellis's PoV]

FINE. IF TRICK DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE ME A MONSTIGNA, THEN SUIT HIMSELF, BITCH. I DON'T NEED HIM. THAT SELFISH MOTHERF/UCKER.�

But these men I'm with right now can be helpful.�

I'm surrounded by cute boys right now in the lake, where Tiberion was swimming happily. Taki and Taka were swimming earlier, but now, they just sat beside me. I actually convinced them to swim some more, because I wanna see these twinks flaunt their lean bodies, so the beefcake Tiberion could have a competition with his big guns. They've already worn their shirts, so…

Well, I'm sure these men have tricks up their sleeve. Although, I must say that the beefcake doesn't know how to make one, since he lived underwater. He might be disliking fire.�

Yet, the twink twins must know something about fire. They're hot, anyway. Do I make sense?�

Also, why have I not invited Salvatore here? He's also hot, but… Ugh. I remembered our talk regarding being friends with ex. Nah. I might have a debate with him about it if I take him here. Maybe next time.�

"Where's Trick?" Taka asked while I am contemplating about asking them to summon a monstigna.

I just shrugged. Did something non-committal. I don't care about that bitch right now.�

"Maybe Fei and he are in the room, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…" Taki then raised both of his eyebrows at the same time.�

"What?" Tiberion arose from the water and grunted.

"I'm just kidding," Taki showed Tiberion a peace sign.�

"Kitraji," Tiberion shouted, then he dove back to the lake.�

"What?" the three of us spoke.

Tiberion arose his head from the water. "Asshole."

"Oh, cool!" I said, then I turned to Taki and Taka. "Curse words! You guys, you're lucky you know a lot of languages. I only know English."

"We only know Filipino and English, too, and our dialect in our province," Taka said.

I scratched my head. "I'm confused about that. What is a dialect and how it differs from a language?"�

Taki explained. "A dialect is like an inflection of a certain language to a specific area, but they don't totally change the core rules of the main language. Say, in the Philippines, our national language is Filipino, but in various provinces, Filipino is used differently. There might be changes in the intonation, or spelling, or in some cases, the terms or words are replaced by slangs that our province only understands."

"Okay, like for example, I say something, like, 'bitch'. In New York City, when I call someone a bitch, she's like my sister. A close friend. A person I know. But in Alaska, I don't know, it could be a… lake?"

"Yeah!" the twins agreed, but Taka clarified something. "Although, I don't think they call lakes in Alaska bitches."

We laughed. "I was just making up an example! Anyway, this is fun. How about you teach me some curse words. I think that is the best way to learn a language."

"Adulra! Lizytar! Troendi!" Tiberion shouted from the lake.

"Boy, are you calling Pokémon names? You should say 'I choose you' after saying those," I suggested.�

Tiberion swam near us and explained what he just said. "No, these are curse words in Merizem, like Kitraji, which means, asshole."

"Ooh, what do they mean?" Taki asked.�

"Slut, bitch, and whore," Tiberion answered.

"Oh, excuse me, did you just call my other names?" I uttered, then all of us laughed. "How about in the Philippines? What are the ones that you have?"

"I think the most famous is 'Putang ina mo', which literally means, your mother is a whore," Taki spoke.

"Well, that sounds like a fact to me," I said, which made them giggle.

"No, that's the curse phrase itself. The contracted form is 'tangina', which turned into a general expression and not just a curse word. Like, it applies to anything," Taka added.

I clapped "Oh, how functional. It's like my favorite word, bitch. You can use it in different expressions. Like, when I'm angry, or happy, or sad, or about to spill some tea."

"Yeah, it works just like that," Taki agreed.

"Okay, okay, tell me more! I love this!" I excitedly said.�

The entire time I had with them went that way. I learned new words with these boys. I forgot about my real intention why I asked them to go with me here. It was a productive afternoon, anyway.

Maybe it's not the right time to unseal the spheres…

Maybe I should forget about it for now…

Maybe it's the time to unseal their undies… Don't you think?