[Trick\'s PoV]

"WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

� � � � � � I was really surprised by Haru\'s confession. This is the gag of the gags. I never expected that he would do such a thing.

� � � � � � "Yes, the one he\'s wearing right now is not a decoy. It\'s the real Camo. Otherwise, you would have not arrived there," Haru said.

� � � � � � "But the drink…" I whispered.

� � � � � � "Yes, I fashioned it in a way that Ellis wouldn\'t notice that I had my cum in there. I� just had to do it, you know? He\'s been invited to join The Krieg, so I must do something to at least… save him," Haru confessed.

� � � � � � I know I must ask further about the drink, but… "Okay, but… do you really have to do that yourself? I mean, why not ask your grandmother about it?"

� � � � � � Haru sighed. "Well, we are trained to deal with our own shit. Most especially if you\'re a Hoshino. My dad… He\'s way stricter than the Xing side, plus… He doesn\'t like the types of Ellis… You know…"�

� � � � � � "A drag queen? Transvestite?" I confirmed.

� � � � � � Haru exhaled sharply. "He\'s so traditional. He\'s even more traditional than Gramms. His beliefs have been established by his native Japanese roots. You know, the samurais…"

� � � � � � "But how do you really feel towards Ellis?" I kind of want to process this, for once and for all…

� � � � � � Haru smiled. "I\'m happy when I\'m with him. I like myself when I talk to him. I\'ve been with a lot of girls, but they weren\'t the type who talks about anything under the sun. I mean, he might not be the bookish type but he knows about life a lot, which I\'d say, I tried so hard to learn more of it. We\'re well-off and I never experienced his hardships. I just read them in books, but Ellis… At a very young age, life taught him a lot of lessons…"

� � � � � � "Happy is a feeling, I guess?" I giggled.

� � � � � � "Were you expecting a different answer, Trick?" Oh, gosh. Haru caught me.�

� � � � � � I shook my head immediately. "No, no. It\'s just that… You guys… I don\'t know if I can say this, but, if there\'s something going on between you two, well… You just have to be really honest about it."

� � � � � � Haru laughed a bit. "Well… Trick… I am sorry to disappoint you, but… I don\'t like Ellis like that, if that\'s what you want to know."

� � � � � � "Huh?" I\'m really confused right now. "But… you know, you have this sort of understanding between you. You guys have this love-hate relationship. You even called him Waffle. And the drink! You shared with him a drink with your jizz. Do those things not mean anything?"

� � � � � � "Oh, that? It\'s just a piece of me, Trick. I told you, I\'m just happy when I\'m with him. That\'s all," Haru said.�

� � � � � � "You don\'t do those things for nothing, Haru," I spoke with full conviction.

� � � � � � "Hmm…" Haru remained silent after a while, then he spoke. "Okay, how about concern? Is that a fine answer? Do I pass?"�

� � � � � � I just smiled faintly and shook my head. "You know what, Haru, intelligence won\'t suffice answers to the questions of the heart. Try using it sometimes, instead of your brain."

� � � � � � Haru giggled awkwardly. "You can be a good poet, you know?"

� � � � � � "Ellis should know about this," I whispered, which I caught myself, as we\'re not in speaking terms right now.�

� � � � � � "Uh-uh, you pinky swore," Haru grinned.

� � � � � � "Fine…" I groaned. "Hey, we saw you talking to Fenna again. Are the two of you doing okay?"

� � � � � � "Yeah, I just missed her, I guess. It\'s been so long since we really got together like this. I\'m actually worried about her in the next match. You know, potions, well, it could be an offensive attack, but I don\'t know how she could manage to use it to fight. She\'s not the combat-type, to begin with, so…" Haru just shrugged.

� � � � � � "Well, I say that she knew what she\'s into. She knew that this competition isn\'t for the faint-hearted. Think of the fate of the Albanian sisters. Who would think that it would be the last time we\'d be seeing them? Or the Saint-Pierre were just really horrible people. So much for the Saint in their name," I reacted.

� � � � � � "Yeah, about that, be careful of those people. They look people charmers, but they\'re ruthless," Haru seriously said.

� � � � � � "Fei warned me about them, especially the Borgs. They\'re the ones to watch out for."

� � � � � � "Right… So, what now? Are we good? Again, you pinky swore, Trick," Haru reminded me, then he put his thumb on my forehead. "So Fei won\'t read this in your mind."�

I nodded. "Okay, I promise I won\'t tell Ellis anything we talked about at this moment. Let me know if you figure out a way to unseal the spheres, okay?"

� � � � � � "Sure," Haru said. Then, we both decided to return to the hotel.�

� � � � � � I\'m sure, something\'s holding back Haru. Is it drag? Is it his father? Is it Fenna? Is it the competition?

� � � � � � Or is he just not ready for a thing like that?

***

AFTER TONIGHT\'S DINNER, FEI APPROACHED ME AND ASKED ME IF HE COULD SNATCH ME AWAY FROM THE GROUP.�

� � � � � � They were planning to have another round of "Fast Talk", but Fei and I decided to accompany Ploy, Beam, and Ton to the exit as they were now going back to Thailand. Haru decided to just stay in the hotel room and Jia was with Dakarai the entire night, so it\'s only me and Fei who will be taking them to the exit.

� � � � � � "So, this is it," Fei said to Ploy.

� � � � � � Ploy smiled. "We\'ll still see each other after the competition. You\'re still going to Bangkok, right?"

� � � � � � "I\'m gonna cook for you two, remember?" Ton reminded, which we all laughed.

� � � � � � "Tell Haru to see me too after the contest, okay?" Beam said.

� � � � � � "I will," I willingly uttered. "So, from the gates, where will you be after?"

� � � � � � "Oh, one of the K/orean organizers told us that a van will fetch us here and that will be our ride to the airport of Northern Siberia," Ploy said. "Oh, before we leave, I want you to give this to you guys."

� � � � � � Ploy handed Fei and me gold bracelets, which we wore right away. "These are souvenirs, so you\'ll remember us always. It\'s our way of saying thanks for your kindness."

� � � � � � I shook my head. "You guys have been kinder to all of us. Have a safe trip."

� � � � � � "Oh, I think this is the van," Ton said as he pointed to the vehicle approaching us. A K/orean guy, which I think, one of the organizers of the event, went down to the van and greeted us nicely. Then, he took all the bags of Thai team and put them all in the back part.�

� � � � � � "This is it, guys. Good luck and I hope you win," Ploy said.�

� � � � � � Before leaving, the three of them hugged me and Fei. I felt their sincerity and kindness one last time. After that, we bade our goodbyes to them and saw the van hit the road.

� � � � � � We then turned our backs and walked. While we\'re walking, Fei slid his hand in me, interlocking the fingers.�

� � � � � � "Oh, how I missed holding your hand like this, sweetie," Fei uttered.

� � � � � � I giggled. "I missed this too."

� � � � � � "Now that we\'re alone…" Fei looked at me with both of his eyebrows raising up and down.

� � � � � � I raised one of mine, though. "What are you suggesting?"�

� � � � � � Fei pulled me closer to him and whispered directly to my ear. "You know… Fool around… We\'ve never done it for quite a while, yeah?"�

� � � � � � I let go of his hand immediately. "Are you crazy? What if someone sees us here?"�

� � � � � � He then held my hand again. "Then let them watch."

� � � � � � "Hah! I never dreamed of being a porn star," I said.�

� � � � � � "I think I\'d be famous in that industry if I really pursued it, yeah?" Fei proudly said. Well, he\'s well-hung. He\'d have a lot of fans all over the world.

� � � � � � "Oh, gosh, you really thought of it?" I chuckled.�

� � � � � � "Well, I\'m just exploring my options," Fei winked at me. "So, what do you think? Let\'s do it. I\'m ready." Fei then pulled my hand and placed it on his pulsating bulge! Oh, gosh, he\'s already hard!�

� � � � � � "Fei!" I hissed.�

� � � � � � "Come on, let\'s go to the forest. I know an area where there are a lot of tall bushes," Fei suggested.

� � � � � � I groaned. "Of course you do. You\'ve imagined us doing it there, haven\'t you?"

� � � � � � "Well… I have a very imaginative mind," he scratched his head and chuckled.

� � � � � � "Okay, how about—" I stopped talking when I heard a vehicle running past us. I noticed that it was the same van that Ploy, Beam, and Ton rode before. I looked at Fei and asked him. "Is it…"

� � � � � � "Shit…" Fei\'s face was filled with fright. He looked at the gold bracelet and it was slowly corroding. I looked at mine as well and it was turning into dust.�

� � � � � � "What\'s happening, sweetie?" I asked with my heart beating damn fast.�

� � � � � � "Ploy, Ton, and Beam… They\'re dead," he whispered.

� � � � � � Oh, gosh! How did it happen? Did the K/orean guy kill them?

� � � � � � Poor Thai team…