*Kimura*

"There you are! Where did you run off to?" Emon asked as I made my way to the dining hall of Nine Petal Academy.

"I went to check up on something," I said as he ran over to me.

He rubbed his chin as we walked side by side. "Why the long face? Did something happen?"

I averted my gaze. "I ran into the second princess of Kuroriku. She was engaged in a card duel with one of the abysmals on the file that Kuroshi gave us before he ran off to assist Serrano against the Ruler woman."

"Hmm. A Spirit Duel, I assume?"

"How did you figure?"

He snickered. "Skah was the previous Spirit King."

"Spirit King?"

"That's the title of the top spirit duelist."

"Wait, how do you know that? Have you played it before?"

"No, but I did see kids playing it during one of my missions in the north of our country."

"A mission? What kind?"

Emon snickered. "Not as a knight, but as a missionary." He placed a hand on his chest and smiled. "Remember, my primary job is as a spreader of the faith of the Earth Mother and Sky Father."

"I thought you stayed in that old temple of yours all the time."

"If I did that, I wouldn't be doing a good job. While we priests aren't to allow the world to influence us, we need to go out to it to change it."

"But isn't everyone influenced by the world?"

"You could say that. What matters is that it's a reminder to avoid the temptation of worldly stuff. Many seek out things such as money or even attention rather than furthering their connection with the creator."

I scratched my forehead. "I see. Then I guess that I'm a worldly person."

Emon scoffed. "I figured that out the day I met you!" He glanced at me and smiled. "Still, I know that deep down, you care for others."

My face reddened a little. I wasn't nearly as kind as he thought. I was only assisting Maki and the others to protect my home, not because I necessarily cared for people.

"Nice job finding him, Em," a voice called out.

I laughed as I stared at the white-haired young man. "I was just thinking about you."

"Ehh? Don't let your sister hear you say that, or she'll get mad at you for having thoughts about her boyfriend."

"Not like that!"

Maki chuckled. "I'm just toying with you. So, what was in your mind?"

"Nothing important."

"Ki ran into the Rooster Pillar. He said that the Kurorikuians were talking to him."

The prince's smile vanished. "Did you capture him?"

"No, he ran off when I gave chase. The Seven Hills and their allies didn't seem very concerned about him."

"Well, the file on him does say he's weak."

I had thought the same thing, but that man's agility clearly made up for it. He even managed to dodge the thorns on the back of my neck, a split second before making contact.

"And he does look the part, but I get a feeling he's more dangerous than he wants us to believe."

The prince crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brow. "What makes you think that?"

"Is it because he plays card games with his enemies?" Emon asked.

Maki glanced at him. "Card games?"

"That too, but I think there might be more to it. Rosalba said he came here to speak to Serrano."

Our prince gasped. "Did he?"

"No. I think the duel was to determine that."

Maki rubbed his chin and turned around. "We're going to have to keep watch over Serrano. That makes two people who have sought him out. I'm going to go find the princess and ask her about it. Her soon-to-be brother-in-law may be an important asset to our enemies."

"What I'm curious to find out is why a demon came after him," I said.

Emon stepped forward. "That is concerning. Hopefully, that one is the only demon who tries to mess with us. Else, this could soon turn into a two-front war."

Maki nodded. "Makes me glad I decided to leave the other Flames stationed back home. Anyway, rest up. Tomorrow we're going to be marching to Xian with its royal family. My older brother and my sister-in-law will be securing the ruins here."

"I'm going to train some more," Emon said. He smiled at me. "That's actually why I went to look for Ki here."

I grinned. "So you wish to train, huh?"

"Have either of you defeated the other?" Maki asked.

"No, we both get knocked out, or it gets called off," Emon responded.

I leered at Emon. He was the only one who could successfully neutralize my mana's toxic-like effect. If it weren't for that, I would surely have won all those matches. That said, he did drive me to perfect said effect further.

"I see. Maybe I'll join you after I'm done speaking with Rosalba," Prince Maki said.

"Hmm? Looking for me?"

We turned around and saw the princess of Kuroriku accompanied by her teammates.

Maki glanced at Kohri, who now carried Serrano on his back. "He hasn't woken up yet?"

"He's out cold. The battle with the abysmals must've drained him more than we thought," Kohri said.

The prince sighed. "Hopefully, he awakens soon. Him being in this state makes him a prime target for more attempts of kidnapping."

"We'll watch over him," Rosalba said.

"Yeah," Yuko said.

Emon glanced at the red-haired boy with cat-ears. I think his name was Nori.

"Woah, where did you get that staff?" Emon asked.

Nori glanced at the wooden staff in his hands. It didn't look like anything extraordinary, nor did it appear to be made of ancient wood.

"Nori got it as a gift from Xime's daddy," the cat-boy said.

"Hey, you finally said my name!" Ximena said, laughing.

Nori's gripped his staff and gulped as if nervous about something. Or maybe he was just shy?

Ximena patted his head and hugged him. "It's fine. I want you to say my name."

Nori blushed.

"Does he have a crush on you?" I blurted out.

"I think he does," Kohri said.

Ximena let go of Nori. "I don't think so."

Nori pulled up his scarf around his face, which was almost as crimson as his hair.

I leered at his caretaker. "You're an oblivious one, aren't you?"

Yuko walked over to Nori. "Stop, Nori is going to pass out!" she said, hugging her friend.

"Thanks, Yuko," Nori said as he leaned against her shoulder.

"Wow, he got dizzy from embarrassment," Kohri said.

Onami cleared her throat. "Kohri, I think I need to have another conversation with you on your bluntness..."

"Wait, don't blame me! If you're going to give me a lecture, take Kimura too!"

"I'm not going to sit and be lectured to!"

Onami glared at the two of us. "It doesn't have to be a verbal lecture."

Kohri and I gulped.

"Your girlfriend is scary," I whispered.

"Yeah, but she looks hot when mad," Kohri said, blushing slightly.

I stepped away from him. Were all of the Seven-Hills weirdos?

Maki coughed as he stood behind us. "Pardon the interruption, but I believe we have more pressing matters to address. Rosalba, if you don't mind, I would like to ask you some questions on your encounter with Skah."

Rosalba glanced at me and then back at him. "That's fine. I was prepared to share with you what happened."

The future king of Kasai no Ki smiled. "That's good. Let's do so in my brother's office. The other team leaders are waiting there. Kohri, could you accompany us there? That's where we'll be keeping him until we depart tomorrow."

"Why there of all places?" Ximena asked.

"It's at the center of the building. If anyone attacks, we should be alerted to it before they can arrive. Emon has placed several sealing wards across the palace too, so any demon who comes will need to enter the normal way, though the front door or by breaking in."

"Nori wants to learn how to do that!" Nori said, snapping out of his dizzy state.

Emon smiled. "You wish to be a priest, right?"

Nori gasped but quickly nodded. "Yeah. Did Nori's staff give it away?"

"Yeah. Plus, your clothes have traces of holy mana on them. Only those who can use holy attacks leave such a trace. Well, that or their clothes were made by a holy person."

"It's both in his case," Ximena said, patting the cat-boy's head again.

Nori moved his shoulders around as if bothered by something.

"Hey, are crushes considered worldly desires?" I whispered to Emon.

"I think it depends on what the attraction is based on and if it's healthy," Emon said.

"You have no idea?" I asked.

"Well, love is a natural part of life, but if it becomes obsessive, that's where things take a bad turn. But it can sometimes be hard to distinguish the line, that's why some holy men and women decide to opt-out of having romantic and sexual relationships altogether."

"I see."

I looked over my shoulder and realized that the royals plus Kohri and Onami were gone.

"I'm going to go make sure that Serrano is well taken care of. If you want, you can stay and train with Emon," Ximena said before running off.

"Bye," Nori said as his cat-ears dropped down.

Poor kid. He had to fall for a woman who is blind to his feelings.

"Let's go and train! I'll teach you some cool trick that will fend off demons," Emon said, running over to him.

Nori's ears rose. "Really? Yippee!"

"Can Yuko accompany mister and Nori? Maybe Yuko will be able to learn something too!" Yuko said, jumping up and down.

Emon laughed. "You're welcome to. It will be a major help if you do, especially if more demons attack like the one who appeared today."

"Hey, kid!" I yelled as the three of them started to head out for the gymnasium.

"Hmm?" Nori asked, turning around. "Talking to Nori?"

"Yeah. I wanted to give you some advice. If you want to get the girl, you have a lack of fear. Else, you might never be able to catch her attention. Girls love confident guys, after all."

Nori turned as red as a tomato again. "N-Nori will try!" he blurted out as he closed his eyes.

I laughed. "Try saying that again, but with more vigor."

He took a deep breath. "Nori will try!" he yelled, this time without blinking.

I pointed at him and grinned. "There you go! Nice job, kid! Grow stronger and more confident, and maybe you'll have a chance with your crush, or at least be able to get another easier."

Nori's ears lowered a little. "But, Nori only wants Mistress Xime..."

"Couldn't you have left out the last part?" Emon asked, sighing.

"Hey, I can't feed a kid false dreams. You're a priest, you should know better."

Emon gasped. "You're right!" He laughed. "Thanks for that, Ki."

I grumbled. He was an odd one too.

"Want to come with us?" Yuko asked.

"I'll catch up with you later. I'm going to have something to eat first."

"Bye then!" Emon yelled as he dashed away, causing the other two to go after him.

I laughed. Why was that guy always running when going from place to place?

I rubbed my stomach. "Well, time to eat," I said, smiling to myself.

"Let's go, Adela!" a voice called out. It was that of a little boy.

"Wait, up Elli!" a girl yelled out even though she sounded like she was on the brink of passing out.

"Haha, you'll never catch me!" he first voice yelled.

We turned around and saw two kids coming our way. The boy in front glanced up and gasped as he noticed me.

I reached out and stopped him.

The boy yelped. "I'm sorry! Don't hurt me, tall scary man with tattoos!"

I grumbled. Why did kids his age keep confusing me for a gangster just because I had tattoos?

"I'm not going to hurt you. You're lucky I noticed in time, or else you might've gotten hurt."

"He's right, Elli!" a pink-haired girl said as she staggered toward us. She leaned against a wall and gasped for air. "Thanks for stopping my big brother, sir."

I laughed. "You're fortunate I did as you look like you would've passed out from further running. Who are you two anyway, and why are you here?"

"I'm Elliot, and this is my little sister, Adela!" the boy said with a grin. "We came here with our parents and big brother."

"Your parents and brother? Where are they?"

"Here I am," a voice called out.

Elliot jumped as he turned around and saw a man with cherry-blossom colored hair like Adela's.

"Dad, you found us," Elliot said.

The man grinned. "Yeah. You gave me a tough time too. I was almost tempted to teleport around in search of you, assuming I could. The talismans that priest from Kasai no Ki put up are preventing me from warping in and out."

I chuckled. Another job well done, Emon.

"Thanks for the help, Kimura," the man said.

I gasped. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

He blinked. "We just worked together to help prevent space from distorting. How did you forget meeting me?"

"Oh, right! You're... uh... how do you say your name?"

The man sighed. "it's Liang."

"Right, Liang. I'll be sure to remember it."

"I get the impression you struggle with names," Elliot said, snickering.

"Hey, cut me some slack, kid! I've been meeting new people left and right these past few days! Plus, I didn't talk to your old man much as we were focused on preventing another tear in the universal fabric."

Liang patted his son's head. "He's right."

"Well, you better remember mine too," Elliot said, chuckling.

Even if I do forget his name, I doubt I'll ever forget meeting such an overly confident kid.

"Where are you heading off to now, Kimura?" Liang asked.

"I was on my way to grab a bite." Though, people keep getting in my way...

"I don't think there's anyone in the kitchen right now to make food," Adela said.

"Yeah, we just came from there," Elliot said.

"How about we change that, hmm?" Liang said as he picked up his son.

"Yay, time to cook!"

"Please don't," Adela said. "Your cooking is lacking..."

Elliot pouted. "How rude! One day I'll make yummy food that'll have your mouth watering!"

Liang chuckled. "You can watch me cook, though, little man. Maybe even help me chop some veggies."

"Yay! Chopping! I love chopping!"

I grumbled. I hoped the kid wouldn't chop off a finger...

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I would love to hear your thoughts on it :)**