"Serrano! Tetsuya!" a girl yelled, well more like a group of girls all talking in unison.

"Who are these people?" Rosa asked as she watched the dozen girls walk out of one of the rooms.

"I should be asking you that," said a copper haired girl as she glared at Rosa.

Rosa returned the gesture. "I'm Serrano's-"

"She's a friend," Serrano said, smiling nervously as he pulled Rosa away.

"To me she's a strange girl," Tetsuya said as he averted staring directly at the girls.

"How rude!" Rosa said, puffing her cheeks.

Tetsu snickered and ruffled her hair. "It's true, though!"

Rosa's face flushed as she slapped away his hand. "You aren't all that normal either, Mister!"

The girls shot Rosa death glares.

"Well, we better get going," Serrano said, pushing Tetsuya and Rosa down the hall. "See ya!"

"Can't we join you?" asked a different girl.

"We sort of have to do something, just the three of us. Maybe next time!" Serrano said, trying his best to smile.

The girl blushed and nodded. "Alright!" She shot Rosa one final dirty look and turned around. "Let's go, girls."

"Who were those girls?" Rosa asked as she gazed back at them.

Serrano sighed as he continued to push Rosa.

Rosa jumped forth two-feet and turned around. "I can walk without you pushing you know. So, tell me already, who are they?"

The Seven Hill Knight took a deep breath. "They're what you would call 'fangirls'."

Rosa eyed Tetsuya. "Fangirls? Ahh, so that's why you reacted that way. You thought I was like them, didn't you?"

Tetsuya rubbed the nape of his neck and nodded. "Yeah, you could say that." He snickered. "Lucky me, it only turned out to be a girl who talks to herself instead of another admirer."

Rosa kicked his left foot, causing him to jump and hit the wall.

Tetsu rubbed his foot. "Woah, violent much. If you want me to stop then just say so."

"Haven't I already?" she asked as she leered at him.

Serrano snickered. "Ahem. Stop it you two. We are going to have a fight, but it isn't between you two. Though that wouldn't be a bad match up considering your overall skill levels are similar."

Rosa grimaced. She put her hands over her ruby bead bracelet. "Is that so?" She formed a rock in the palm of her hand out of what appeared to be thin air. "Do you mostly use earth angelic attacks?"

"I'm more of a physical fighter," Tetsu said, swinging his arms behind his neck. "But when it comes to angelic attacks, I prefer to use darkness. I do have some earth abilities, though."

Rosa swung her hands behind her back and grinned. "I would say that I am too, but in my case, I prefer earth attacks over darkness."

Tetsu chuckled. "I figured you weren't shabby on the physical front from that kick alone," he said. "That kick actually hurt somewhat. Didn't think a small girl like you could do that."

Rosa stuck her tongue out. "Just because I'm short and young doesn't make me weak." She leaned in and smiled. "Anyway, what kind of angelic attacks do you know?"

Tetsu chuckled. "You'll see for yourself." He glanced at his cousin who came to a halt and turned toward the right. This door wasn't lavender like the others, but navy blue like Serrano's hair. 

"This is it. We're here," Serrano said. He turned the silver door knob and cracked the door open.

The room was as dark as a moonless, starless night. However, all that changed when Serrano walked in. The ceiling lit up bit by bit, dot by dot until the ceiling resembled a starry night sky. The center of the room flickered on last. Its light wasn't golden like the tiny stars, instead it was as silver as the metal itself.

"Woah, it is like a planetarium," Rosa said, stepping inside. She eyed the floating domes at the edges of the room. There were seven in all, one for each color of the rainbow. Each one was slightly higher than the other with the lowest of the seven being the red dome and the highest being the violet one.

Orange feathery wings emerged from Rosa's back. "Mind if I view this from above?"

"Go ahead, you'll be better off the farther away," Tetsu said.

Rosa put her hands on her hips. "I am getting the impression that you hate me."

Tetsu shook his head. "No, that's not it. I'm saying that for you own safety. Uh, you'll see what I mean once we've begun."

"Hmph, whatever. I'm out of here!" The noblewoman jumped into the air, and flew over to the orange dome.

The brunette male sighed as he watched her vanish from his point of view. "Wow, that girl is a piece of work."

Serrano snickered. "She and her sister both."

"Her sister?"

Could it be that Rosa really is who I thought ? She did respond to the possibility of her being one of the princesses in a suspicious manner.

"Hey, don't wander off into daydream land. Are you ready or not?" Serrano asked as he made his way toward the center of the white-tiled field in the center of the room.

Tetsuya slapped himself and ran over to join him.

"Please don't go easy on me!" Tetsuya said, staring directly into his cousin's silver eyes.

Serrano smiled as he reached for the single crystal earring on his right ear. "You really think you can take it?" He glanced at the orange dome. "Hey, Rosa! You're the referee! Start the battle when you're ready! The winner will be whoever knocks out the other or throws them outside of the ring's boundaries."

"Got it! Get ready!" Rosa yelled.

"What is this a car race?" Tetsuya asked, covering his mouth with both hands.

"We do that for track too," Serrano mumbled. During all his years at university, he had been part of the track team. In fact, he was the star runner of the team.

"I heard that, Tetsu! Now I got to start again. Get ready! 1, 2, 3, set!"

Tetsuya turned toward his opponent. A brilliant lavender light radiated from within Serrano's left palm. A rusted plain sword manifested itself from the light.

Tetsuya raised his right arm as Serrano rushed at him. The silver-eyed youth swung his sword downward over the golden-eyed boy's head. The brunet jumped back as Serrano swung downward.

Serrano smirked and sliced the air in an arc. Tetsu raised his right hand over his head.

An explosion of purple light covered the young men and was followed up by a screeching sound akin to a multitude of cars crashing at once.

"No way," Rosa said as she held her skirt down as shock-waves from the blast traversed across the miniature stadium.

The light and smoke cleared to reveal Tetsuya gripping Serrano's sword arm. Serrano's sword had struck the untransformed Agnes.

"No way! He stopped it with his bare hand. It's not even bleeding either," they could hear Rosa say.

"I should've known that you would try something like this. Sorry for underestimating you," Serrano said as he grinned.

Tetsuya scoffed. "Be sorry once you've lost!" He twisted his cousin's arm, causing him to drop Aventine and then went down and swung a fist upward. Saliva flew out of Serrano's mouth as he flew back but Tetsuya wasn't going to let him off that easily. He pulled him back in for another strike.

Serrano winced as his stomach was met with yet another fist. He raised his head and glared at his opponent as he rushed at him like a wild beast. 

He scoffed. "Seems that I'm going to have to rely on my angelic attacks, but that's fine. Should be enough to defeat you," Serrano said, grinning.

"Oh, really?" Tetsuya roared as he kicked the ground, shattering parts of it.

Darkness mana flew in from Serrano's surroundings and covered his skin. The energy was one of the seven manas which were used in the creation of their universe. It was the legacy of Hanketsu, the archangel of darkness and first king of Kuroriku.

Violet shadows seeped out from his mana covered body and danced around him. The darkness spun around, forming a spiral and grabbed a hold of Tetsu's fist.

Tetsu grunted as he tried to yank his arm free from Serrano's shadowy-hold. The purple tendrils rose up his arm, pulling more of it in.

The silver-eyed young man snickered. "Fine, I'll show you the respect you deserve, dear cousin!"

Darn it, went ahead and got myself caught. Suddenly the tables have turned. Tetsu chuckled. But, I won't let him have his payback.

Tetsuya let go of his cousin and spun clockwise. Spikes of earth emerged from the ground, slicing through the darkness.

Serrano spread out his dark-blueish-silver wings and leapt into the air. The shadows faded as the distance between him and Tetsu increased, freeing the latter.

Tetsu growled as his arm passed through the gas-like umber wisps which lingered in the air like mist.

Serrano smiled as he dove down and flew around the more muscular youth.

Tetsu grunted as the tips of Serrano's wings would occasionally strike him, pushing him around in various directions.

"Is that all, little Tetsu?" Serra asked, grinning. "I thought that it would take more than a few hits to get you down. Usually I need to deliver a super strong hit, or a lot more average attacks to knock you out."

Tetsuya clenched his fists and spun around. A large grin appeared on his face. "I know what you're aiming for, Serra. I don't plan to let you get to me!"

Serrano chuckled.

Tetsuya raised his right fist which was being covered in orange mana. He tossed his punch straight to the white-tiled floor, sending shards of stone and snow-white dust flying in all directions. Serrano covered himself with his wings as the force of the attack pushed against him.

Now, to activate this!

"Awaken, Agnes!" Tetsuya screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran into the cloud of dust. His face and clothes had become ashen.

Serrano opened his wings slightly and gave the bracelet a glance. Nothing had happened. He sighed and jumped into the air. He performed several difficult to keep up with aerial-dashes.

Tetsuya clapped his orange-mana covered hands together and slammed them against the floor. The mana raised clumps of white clay and dirt and shot them at his cousin. 

Serrano flapped his wings and swatted the clumps back at Tetsuya by simply using the sheer wind force they were creating.

The dark-skinned young man raised his arm and called out his shield's name once again. But instead of deflecting them, he got pummeled as it failed to materialize once again.

"Seems you still can't transform it," Serrano said as he landed next to his sword. He yanked the weapon off the ground. "I guess I won't have use for this after all."

Aventine glowed violet and reverted back into its earring form.

Tetsuya eyed the earring.

Father. He once wielded that power. He chose Serrano as his successor instead of me... he must've foreseen this. He must've known that I was lacking in something... but just what is that something? What am I missing which Serrano has? No matter how long I've analyzed my cousin, I still haven't figured it out.

He shook his head. I need to focus on the battle. I'll aim for his neck and knock him out by hitting his pressure points.

"Stop daydreaming!" Serrano said rushing at him. Tetsuya gasped and crossed him arms to protect his stomach from his cousin's kick. BOOM. A loud sound echoed across the arena and the smell of concrete filled the air.

Tetsuya pulled one hand out of the crater that had formed around him upon hitting the concrete wall outside of the ring. He was lucky that he was a descendant of the angel of earth, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten out of it with a few light bruises. His legs wobbled but he willed himself forward.

"Damn. I-I lost." He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth tightly. "I-I didn't think I would lose like this."

Serrano sighed and sprinted over to him but a figure jumped down in front of them. It was the princess.

"That was incredible!" Rosa said, glancing back and forth between the two cousins.

"It sure was," Tetsu said, rubbing his arms and stomach. "Ouch, you really did go full power with that kick. I was barely able to shield against it."

Serrano chuckled. "Isn't that what you wished for?" His eyes shifted back to the silver and gold bracelet. "Sadly it appears that Agnes didn't transform."

"Want to go another round?" Tetsuya asked, staggering forward.

"What?" Rosa asked, putting a hand on Tetsuya's shoulder. "Look at yourself. You're barely standing. How do you expect to fight again? Do not be an idiot! Rest."

Tetsuya nodded as his eyes closed. "Okay."

Rosa yelped as Tetsuya started to fall like a mighty pine being cut down. She extended both hands outward and held him by the shoulders. "Easy there! Don't rest right now! Wait until I put you down."

Serrano covered a smile. He grabbed an arm of his cousin. "Here, let me help you," he said as he wrapped Tetsu's arm around his neck.

"That was an excellent display right there, you two," a voice called out from one of the floating domes.

A bright purple light emitted from the ring in Serrano's hand. "Huh?" Serrano asked.

A black-cloaked man leapt down, landing behind Serrano. "Aventine sure seems to have taken a liking to you, Serrano."

Serrano spun around. "Who are you? How did you get here? And how do you know my name?"

The man remained quiet for awhile before letting out a snicker.

***

Character Section (None of the following artwork is mine unless if stated. All credit goes to their creators)

Rosalba Kuroriku- Age: 16 (soon to be 17 in 17 days) Birthday: May 17th

Tetsuya Kuroriku- Age: 21 Birthday: August 28th

Serrano Kuroriku- Age: 21 Birthday: June 25th

Ximena Kasai no Ki- Age: 21 (soon to be 22 in a few 5 days) Birthday: May 5th

Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this chapter :). Would like to know your thoughts on the story thus far ^_^/!**