Any mention of anime/manga/game/movie titles are not mine; I don't own any of them and are credited to their creators.

Sorry...it is pretty lengthy... ^^; Lots of information to put

** i'll change it if i dislike it

--- (TAORIS) --- (TOARIS) --- (TAORIS) ---

"Good morning my flowers." The black haired, Chinese teen sang in a happy voice to his flowers that were outside his bedroom window. Today was the first day of summer vacation and Tao was much excited to relax and hang out with his girlfriend. Since the two went to different schools, they haven't had much time with each other.

"Now let me just water you so I can go meet up with Jia."

He leaned over his bedside and grabbed a small water bottle. He unscrewed the cap off and started to pour the contents in the flowers. The Chinese teen tried his best to sing, but he knew that his singing skills were pretty much a dud; rapping was much more his style.

"Hu?" He blinked when he saw a petal fall from one of his favorite flower. "Ah, man." He picked up the fallen petal. 'Poor petal…he won't be able to grow with the rest of the others.' The Chinese teen leaned out of his window and blew the petal for the wind to carry it. 'Have a safe trip.' He beamed.

"Tao!" The black haired male looked over his shoulder to see his older step-brother, Zexiang, standing by the bedroom door. "Are you talking to your flowers…again?"

"Hm." Tao puffed his cheeks cutely at his older step-brother. "You know what they say…talking to flowers keep them happy and they live longer."

Zexiang chuckled and made his way over to Tao, patting his head. "Yeah, yeah. But those flowers are always in bloom. They never die."

"I don't think it is strange! I think it is awesome!" He glanced back at this flowers and petted them as if they were a puppy.

"You know what…I seriously think that you are…like, turning back time for them." Zexiang narrowed his eyes jokingly. "Turning back time just so they can live long."

Tao rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Those are only in books like these." Tao grabbed his japanese comic books that were beside his pillow. "Like Naurto…Sailor Moon…Kingdom Hearts." He sighed a bit before placing them neatly beside his pillow. "It would be awesome if I had some powers though." He started to make the infinity symbol in the air. "Then I could be an awesome superhero!!"

"Yeah, yeah." Zexiang waved his hand. "You and your anime…cartoon…whatever obsession You're 18 now and must start thinking like an adult."

Tao stuck out his tongue at his older step-brother."Anyway, I'll be back. I'll be hanging out with Jia today."

"Hm. Have fun." Zexiang nodded, exiting his younger step-borther's room. "Oh!" Zexiang stepped back and placed his hand in his back pocket. "Tao…you have a letter."

"Letter?"

"Hm." He nodded, placing it on Tao's desk that was near the door. "No return address though." He said before leaving.

"Thanks!!"

Tao hopped off his bed, making his way to grab his messenger bag from his closet. He checked himself out in the mirror before leaving his room.

"Hm." He pursed his lips before fixing his hair. "There." He smiled at himself in the mirror. The panda made his way over to the door, glancing at the letter than his step-brother placed on his desk. 'Letter? Hm…' He picked it up and opened it to briefly see what is inside. He lifted the letter paper a bit, before fully pulling it out. 'Weird…just this weird insignia and thats it…' He shrugged and placed it in his messenger bag. 'I'll just read it later.' He thought as he exited his room. Once the door clicked, the petal that Tao blew into the wind, back tracked, making his way back to his flower, and reconnecting himself, as if it never fell in the first place.

Tao made his way down the steps and yelled for his step-brother that he is leaving now. Closing the front door, he hopped over the small front gate and started to sprint his way to his girlfriend's house.

The panda lived quite a ways from Jia's house, being two towns over, thus making Tao take a small train ride just to meet her. He didn't mind; they would take turns going to each other's houses, and some days when neither are busy, they would meet in the middle, and hangout in the town there.

It used to be easier for both; Jia did at one point live next door to Tao, but as time went on, Jia's parents found better work two towns over, thus resulting Jia and her family moving.

Tao took out his cellphone that had a dangling Lucky Star character charm given from Jia, and started to text his girlfriend that he just left and will be there soon.

"Hm. Such a nice day…I wonder what we will be going. Movie? Quick brunch?" Tao placed his cellphone in his pocket, and continued to walk.

He turned the corner of the neighborhood street, a little short cut that he has taken many times, to the train station. Tao started to pass by small familiar local shops in his way; he stopped in his tracks as he came across shop that he has never seen before. "Hu? Did they just open?" Curious, he stepped closer and peaked through the window. "Dragon trinkets?" He said softly to himself. "Dragon shop I guess?" He continued to look through before thinking that he had enough. He stepped back and glanced at the shop sign. ' 'Yong' huh? I should stop by sometime.' With that, he backed away from the window and made his way.

As he walked, a small gust of wind blew, making Tao hold onto his light jacket. "Whoa!!" He looked up to see many little petals flowing the in the same direction as he was going. 'What a wind!' He shook his head to get rid of the petals that got caught in his jet black hair.

Once most of the petals were gone, he decided to jog his way over to the train station. He was glad that he knew such a short cut, or else, it would have been a drag taking the long way. As he entered the train station, he paid for his ticket.

'I have at least 10 minutes…hm, might as well read that letter or whatever.' He opened his messenger back and took out the letter. Inspecting it again, he can't help but wonder who it came from. 'Better yet…who sent me this…yah, I bet it was the kids down the street.' He shook his head and pulled out the letter paper, seeing the insignia once again.

The insignia bore a circle with a simplistic design head of a tiger. Three small red triangles, one on top of the circle and two at the corners, creating an imaginary triangle itself. Tao could only shake its head.

'Seriously…what is this?' He whispered to himself as he traced the insignia with his index finger, going in a circle before creating the big triangle. "Hm?" Tao swore he saw a small spark once he finished tracing the big triangle. Thinking that his mind was playing tricks on him, he glanced up to see an owl-eyed, glasses teen standing next to him.

The teen glanced over at Tao, nodding his head, in which Tao did the same gesture. He turned back in his letter and decided to end his curiosity once and for all; he opened the top and took out the letter.

'Hu?' To his surprise, the letter bore the same insignia. 'What the hell?' He shook his head. 'I knew it…it was probably Daeryong and Soryong who did this.' He puffed his cheeks. 'Those twins!' He turned over the letter and rolled his eyes. As expected, it was the insignia. 'Who would send me this? If this is a prank…it isn't a good one.'

Just as he was about to place the letter back in its envelope, Tao felt a shock went through his body.

'W-what the -- '

His thoughts were broken when he realized that everyone and everything around him started to slow down, as if he was watching a television in slow motion.

Tao's eyes widen at what was happening in front of him. "What the -- What the hell?!" Tao started feel himself levitate from the ground. "H-huh?!" He looked over to his side, remembering about the owl-eyed, glasses teen that was beside him, but noticed that he was gone as if he disappeared. Tao then looked back and forth, even trying to turn himself around, but had no luck. Tao started to feel himself panic; he was floating from the ground and everything around him seem to be slowing down more within each second. Everything was just illogical. He glanced down, only to be shocked to see the same insignia that was on the envelope and letter, now below him, glowing an alizarin crimson color.

Within a split of a second, Tao disappeared, thus, everyone and everything still remained still.

--- (TAORIS) --- (TOARIS) --- (TAORIS) ---

"Hey…kid."

Tao groaned a bit, but he felt another shake. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a bit.

"Kid…get up. We don't have time to wait for you."

Tao shook his head, trying his best to wake himself up. He glanced up to see a taller figure standing and the same owl-eyed, glasses teen from the train station earlier, kneeling before him, with his hand on his shoulder. "Y-you…you were at the train s-station right?"

"Hu? Uh…yeah, you were next to me right?"

By then, Tao brought himself up to sit properly. He was about to ask the owl-eyed teen about the events that happened at the train station, but froze when he realized that he was now in a forest, a forest whos leaves were a tint of a timberwolf color.

"W-what is wrong with the trees?!" Tao cried out as he pointed at the trees that were around him. "Where are we?!"

"Calm down." The taller said, shocking the panda a bit, due to being surprised of his voice. "The trees are fine." The taller stepped forward and bent down, extending his hand for the other to take. "Here, just…get up first. The ground is dirty."

Tao felt himself turn pink. He has never had someone do that for him since he was a guy; feeling self-conscious he quickly picked himself and dusted himself clean. By then, the owl teen stood up himself; the taller stood up straight, surprised that the other's action, but chuckled.

"N-now," Tao cleared his throat. "W-what…n-no, you were next to me at the train station." He turned to the owl-eyed, glasses boy. "Did…did you happen to see what was going on? Everything slowed down and --"

"I know." He nodded. "I was there too." He said in a smart-aleck way.

"B-but…what was going on?! E-everything slowed down a-and…and then the insignia on the ground…the letter --"

"Ah, well, then you are in the right place." The taller patted Tao on the shoulder.

"R-right place?" He shook his shoulder harshly, moving the taller's hand away from his shoulder. "I don't even know where I am!"

"Chanyeol…he is brand new." The owl teen said, pushing his glasses up a bit.

"Oh?" He turned to face the other. "Well…that explains it. Very clearly." He nodded, making Tao raise his eyebrow at him. "Ah, Kyungsoo, we should get going if we are going to make that opening ceremony."

'Ceremony? What ceremony?! What is this place?! Why are they calm?!' Tao looked around and feeling a bit unsure that is going on. Being in the middle of the tmberwolf colored forest, he frozen in place. 'J-Jia… Zexiang…mom, dad!! H-how will I get back?!'

"Right. Lets go."

Tao looked over at the two, seeing that they started to walk away from him. "H-hey!" He started to sprint to catch up with them. "H-how do we get back? I want to go back to the train station." Tao asked as he kept walking with the two.

"Sorry," The taller, Chanyeol, said as he stopped, causing Tao to bump into him.

'W-whoa! He is so tall!!'

"But uh, honestly…there is no way out."

"W-what?!" The panda looked at the shorter, Kyungsoo, and back at the other. "Y-you can't be serious."

"Hm." Kyungsoo wagged his finger. "Chanyeol was…well, he was sort of right. But, as of now, we can't go back."

"Why not?!" Tao had a tone of worry in his voice. He was definitely getting scared.

Kyungsoo clicked his tongue and scratched his head furiously. "I don't have time to explain this. Just follow us."

"No!" Tao started to back away from the two, feeling cautious as ever. Two people were telling him to follow them, to a place that he doesn't even no. "I am not going anywhere until someone tells me what is going on!" He crossed his arms, giving the best glare that he could give. "Right now, tell me!"

The owl rolled his eyes, but the taller could only smile. "Now, now…erm…whats your name?"

"M-my name?"

"Well, yeah." He chuckled. "I don't want to be calling: hey you." He smiled. "You know my name…Chanyeol. And he is Kyungsoo." He gestured over to the shorter, who gave a huffy exhalation. "And we will tell you everything once we reach our destination. We have to walk a ways to get to the place."

"No. I want to know everything…right now. This," He motioned the forest around them. "Is not normal!"

"Obviously." Kyungsoo said softly, earning himself a slight nudge from the other. The owl narrowed his eyes at the other, but quickly shook it off. 'I don't have time for his.' "Look…kid…or whatever, but," He gestured behind him with his thumb. "We have to get going."

"No way!" Tao stomped his foot childishly. "I want to now right now!" He swiftly made his way over to the other side of the two, now standing in front of them. "You can't go without telling me! We are not moving!!"

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes before he let out a sigh. Chanyeol, on the other hand, chuckled; he glanced at the other and gave a nod. "All right, all right. We will tell you."

"H-hu?!" Tao blinked. "R-really?"

"If you tell us your name we will."

'My name…' "T-Tao. Its Tao."

"Well," Chanyeol glanced over to Kyungsoo. "This will be the first to miss the ceremony."

--- (TAORIS) --- (TOARIS) --- (TAORIS) ---

During the past minutes, Kyungsoo took it upon himself to tell Tao what was really going on. He informed the other that the letter that Tao received was an invitation to a tournament to participate in a one on one combat that tests the physical and special abilities of the person. When Tao interrupted, asking what Kyungsoo meant, the owl pushed up his glasses and proceed to say that certain people in the world are special than others; meaning that they hold special abilities that normal people don't have.

At that point, the more Tao was confused. Kyungsoo figured much, and decided to do a little demo. He looked around and noticed that their were a couple of pebbles around him; he grabbed them and placed them in front of Tao. With the raise of his hand and snap of his fingers, the pebbles, at command, started to float. The panda's eyes widen as Kyungsoo started to move his fingers, letting the pebbles follow his motions.

"I have the ability to control earth…shape it…generate it…that includes sand, stone…rock, dirt…even metal."

With that, he closed his hand to form a first, thus resulting the pebbles to be crushed into dust. Kyungsoo blew the dust away from Tao.

"Get it? Terrakinesis."

"T-Terrakinesis."

Kyungsoo nodded; he gestured Chanyeol to do the same.

"Mine is Pyrokinesis." Chanyeol started as he sat closely next to Tao. He showed the panda his palm, in which Tao gave a tilt to the head. "I manipulate fire." As he said the last word of his sentence, a spark of fire came; it started to swirl around before forming into a DNA like model, moving gracefully. Tao was mesmerized.

"T-Thats pretty."

"Yeah…but dangerous."  Chanyeol closed his hand, hence closing the mesmerizing fire that he was controlling.

Tao was amazed; he started to wonder what his special power was. Judging from what Kyungsoo said, he was invited to the tournament too, meaning that he must hold some special power. He started to ask Kyungsoo how people know or how people get invited.

"I don't know that myself…I mean…I don't know who sends out the letters. It just came to me…last year."

"Last year…so…this is your second time coming here?"

"Yup. Me and him." He gestured to Chanyeol. "In that note, we have these." Kyungsoo rolled up his left sleeve, along with Chanyeol doing the same, to show Tao two, geometric wristband tattoo on top of each other, with just space separating them. "These…are called 'Year Marks'."

"Year marks?"

"Yes. They represent how many times you come to the tournament. Some people return…then there are some that decline."

"H-how do you decline?"

"Simple. You just don't trace the insignia on the letter."

"What if people just…don't do it and throw it away?"

"Then…they don't get invited, but really, if you think about it…something mysterious as that tends to make you wonder about it. Makes you want to…to pick at it if you know what I mean." He sighed. "Look, Tao…I don't have all the answers…I just know the brief information."

"O-oh okay."

"Anymore questions?" He was about to stand up, but Tao tugged his arm. "What?"

"Well…Kyung-owl --"

"K-Kyung-owl?!"

"Hm." He nodded. "Your nickname."

"Kyungsoo is fine…I-I don't need --"

"So, Kyung-owl…" Tao interrupted, placing his finger on his cheek. "Where do we…'fight'?"

"There is a dome that is a little ways from here." Chanyeol said, pointing to the direction. "If we go…we can show you."

"Really? T-then lets go." Tao started to stand up, grabbing Chanyeol's wrist and pulling him up in the process. "Lets go Chan-giant!"

"Chan…who?" The taller blinked at the panda, who nodded.

"My nickname for you…you are really tall…taller than me!"

"U-uh but I'm not--" Before Chanyeol could say anything else, he was pulled up to his feet. Tao then took the opportunity to pull Kyungsoo as well.

"I must know this…this…this dome!" The panda started to have fire in his eyes. Just from listening to the two, he couldn't help but feel excited. To him, it sounded something that he would read from his manga book…or an anime show, or even a game on his nintendo 3DS. Now he gets to be in one.

As they started to walk, Kyungsoo figured that the ceremony was over, thus they would have to figure everything out for themselves. At the time like that, Tao interjected, asking what the ceremony was about. The owl explained that the ceremony was a welcoming ceremony; welcoming the returning and the new combatants. He continued to say that attending the ceremony, it gives a chance to see the others since everyone is going to be together for three months.

That is when the panda froze in his spot. "T-three months." He held up three fingers, just to reiterate. "Three."

"Yes…three. Three months."

"W-what about h-home?!"

Chanyeol shook his head. "Back home…time is practically frozen."

"W-what?" The taller told Tao that when it happened to them, returning home, everything started from the beginning, right when they wake up. Basically, the day starts over, but memories of what happened to those that were in the tournament, remember everything, but never speaks about it. "O-oh. See…" 'T-then Jia or brother won't be worried…I guess that it is okay…but still…'

"Did you have any plans or something?"

"U-uh," Tao cleared his throat. "Um, I was…um, going to meet my girlfriend today."

"Oh?" Chanyeol placed his finger on his cheek. "You're taken huh?"

Tao blinked a bit. 'He sounded sad j-just now.' "Um, yeah."

Chanyeol sighed, frowning a bit. "Too bad."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and gestured Tao to come closer. He whispered to the other that Chanyeol is the type that falls in love at first sight. "Plus, after the tournament last year, he and I hanged out a couple of times…he told me that he met someone during the tournament, but once it was over…they broke up for reason I don't know." Kyungsoo nodded his head. "Sounds like he was really in love or something."

"Oh…um," The panda glanced over at Chanyeol. "S-sorry Chanyeol?"

"Nah…its okay." Chanyeol gave a gentle smile at the other. "We should get going by the way."

The two nodded and started to walk through the path. As they continued to walk, another thought went through Tao's mind. 'Three months…but I didn't bring any clothes or anything. Hm…and, where are we going to stay? Is there a motel around here? A-and food? I mean, I can cook…but food…does this place have food? Or maybe there is a fast food place.' He glanced up at the two, talking a bit. 'I better ask.' "Erm, Kyung-owl…where are we going to sleep? And eat? Is it like camping? What about the clothes."

Kyungsoo chuckled and shook his head. "No. Think of it as a…boarding school…or summer camp. There are dorms…and they provide us the clothes. Two sets of sleeping clothes, two sets of casual clothes…whoever provides the clothes know our measurements pretty well...weird huh? And our fighting clothes --"

"Fighting clothes?" Tao's ears perked up.

"Hm. They are like uniforms…or something like that." Kyungsoo nodded. "Everyone is different from the other, if not, slightly different. It is a requirement for us, but for the champion, he can wear whatever."

"Ah…I see. A-and food?"

"Food is provided. Last year, there was a grocery store…it was awesome." Chanyeol interrupted. "So, food was no problem."

'Awesome!! And those fighting clothes!! Sweet!! I wonder what mine looks like! Is it cool like in the anime or in manga?!' The more Tao started to be excited. 'Maybe this whole tournament thing won't be so bad.'

As they started getting closer, Tao could hear voices of people, talking and laughter filled his ears. 'W-we must be close.' Tao thought; he walked closer to Chanyeol, not wanting to separate from the two.

Soon, the panda was able to see others walking about and talking with each other. What amazed him the most is that there are some showing off their powers. He saw one girl, who held out her hand, which had a ring on her finger; it illuminated and an antique bronze colored beam came straight up from her ring. A lion appeared from her ring; the roar of the lion, made Tao jump, holding onto Chanyeol tightly to his arm.

"It's okay." Chanyeol comforted him. "Haelim is super nice when she isn't fighting…and her lion won't attack unless commanded."

"H-Haelim? Thats her name?"

"Hm." He nodded. "She has celestial zodiac physiology…the ability of the zodiac signs." He then pointed at his hand. "She hold a ring, in which at her command, releases a celestial zodiac. Cool huh?"

"H-h-h-hu?!" 'That is awesome!! Just like a…a…super girl in my manga!!'

"Over, there," Chanyeol pointed at boy with red-ish like hair talking to another. "His name is Jiho…but he likes it when people call him Zico. He is super cool. His special power is will-o'-the-wisp manipulation…or…erm, I think it is also called fox-fire manipulation."

'L-like Shippou from InuYasha!!'

"Its cute too…fox ears and tail pop out when he fights."

'Wow.' Tao was truly amazed; as he continued to walk while looking around, he stared at the other people showing others their powers. It really started to make him wonder what his power was. 'Is it really like Chan-giant's power…or Kyung-owl's power? Do I control water?! O-or maybe air? I would be so badass if I control air.'

They came to a stop, in front of a large bulletin stand, listed of hundreds of names. Kyungsoo hummed as he scanned through the names, pursing his lip along. "Ah-ha!" He pointed at the board. "Well…what you look it here…surprisingly…we are in the same dorm room."

"R-really?" Tao looked at the name; he smiled. "W-we are!!" 'Good to know that I'm roomed with people that I know.' As he looked again, he saw a name that he didn't know. Tao pointed at it, asking the two if they knew him.

Kyungsoo checked the name and shook his head. "I don't…maybe Chan --"

"Sorry…I don't know him…Joonmyun. Doesn't ring a bell. Maybe he is new too."

"Joon…myun." Tao said softly. "Well, then I hope that the four of us will be a great friends." He beamed at the two, making Chanyeol and Kyungsoo chuckle.

"Well…since we are here and we missed the opening ceremony…there are no fights today," He pointed at the large bulletin stand. "As you can see here. They start tomorrow. Is there any place that you --"

"The dome!" Tao said, scaring Kyungsoo a bit.

"S-sure. U-um, over here then."

Kyungsoo led the way through the people, they eventually made it to the dome where all fights were going to be held. It large, big than what Tao expected. It shined a silver color, with no windows that he could see from his perspective. As they entered, Tao started to get excited and ran ahead. He came to a railing, in which he grabbed.

'Whoa!!' "Wha!! So cool!!" Tao said, his voicing echoing in the silver dome. "What is this?"

"This," The owl-eyed boy gestured in front of him. "Is the Tiger's Blood Nest…the place where the one on one combat takes place."

"That," Chanyeol started. "And it is where our physical and special abilities are tested."

"Cool…it is like pokemon!! But even better!!" Tao's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"You can't wait?" The taller asked, in which the panda shook his head.

"This sounds so exciting!" Tao beamed. "This is so much better than reading my comic books."

"Well, good luck with that. Though, everyone's goal here is to defeat the Devil." The shorter said.

"T-the who?"

"The Devil…well…that isn't his name…that is just a nickname that everyone calls him here. Now that I think about it…no one knows his real name. Some don't even go near him. All they say is, 'Hey! There is the devil!' and they point and run the opposite direction. But anyway, he has been the reigning champ for 11 years now. Hm, at least that is what the others day. "

'Oh? No one knows his name? Thats sad…strange and sad.' "Uh, what is his power?" Tao asked with curiosity.

Chanyeol bit his lips before answering. "Erm…Dragon Physiology…others call it…the devil's power."

'D-Devil's power? That…sounds…so cool!! Scary, but cool!!' "I wonder what he is like…he sounds…interesting."

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo glanced at each other before giving worried looks. "Erm," Kyungsoo started. "J-just be careful around him all right. Rumors spread and they are just freaky."

"What kind of rumors?" Tao asked, tilting his head to the side cutely.

Chanyeol slightly blushed at the panda for his head tilt. "Erm, well…just bad rumors. Just don't go near him. Or better yet, stay away from him. You see him, you go the other direction."

"B-but I don't even know what he looks like."

"Good."

Tao bit the inside of his cheek. How will he know what this Devil is like when he doesn't know what he looks like in the first place. For all he knows, he could have passed him as they were walking past the others. He shook it off and figured that his gut instincts will tell him to go the other way. He looked over at the stadium. Around him were hundreds of seats that went around; the bottom was fighting arena, which made Tao tilt his head a bit.

'Transparent floor…how interesting.'

"Ah…they didn't change it. Good." Chanyeol leaned over the railing to get a good look at the arena. "Last year, they had that."

"What is the purpose of that? Or is just for looks?"

The taller shook his head. "It either helps you or works against you. Hm…think of it as a projection. It is clear right?" Tao nodded his head. "Now, once the match begins, it will randomize a field for you and your opponent…it maybe water…or a forest…snow, industrial setting…anything that will fit in the area. If it is the opposite of your power…it will be a good for your mental skills too. Gets you to think on what to do in situations that are going against you."

"Ah, so it is like the game. And if you do well…you level up! Right!?"

"I…guess." Chanyeol hummed.

"We do 'level up'." Kyungsoo said as he leaned on the railing himself, air quoting in the process. "We learn new things to do with our powers. Interesting additions."

"Wow…this is just so cool! I mean, powers don't exist and only anime and manga…even games…movies…this is just awesome!"

The owl chuckled. 'So excited for something like this.' "Hey Tao…what is your power?"

"Hm?"

"You know ours…what is yours?"

Tao hummed. "I-I don't know to be honest."

"You don't know?" Chanyeol raised his eye brow. "How can you not know?"

"W-well…I don't know. How did you guys know?"

"For me," Chanyeol started. "I discovered my power when I was home alone. I think I was about 6 or 7."

Kyungsoo pondered  a bit. "Mine happened during recess time when I was 10. I think…it was a long time ago anyway." He waved it off. "Lets go check out our rooms. Maybe that Joonhoon guy is there."

"I think it was Joonmyun." Tao corrected, in which Kyungsoo waved it off again.

"Joonhoon, Joonmyun…Joon-ravioli whatever. Lets see if he is there."

--- (TAORIS) --- (TOARIS) --- (TAORIS) ---

"14…15…16…and here we are, 17." Chanyeol said.

Upon approaching their dorm rooms that they will be staying for 3 months, Kyungsoo took the opportunity to inform Tao that when entering the building, all powers are disabled temporarily for safety purposes, giving everyone a safe night without worrying as much.

"That actually reminds me of a question…who created all of this?"

The owl blinked. "The…building?"

"Hm." He shook his head. "I mean this whole tournament thing."

"Hm, well…from what I remember last year when they told us…it started 500 years ago."

Tao then choked in his spit, causing Chanyeol to pat his back. Kyungsoo explained that it was in fact 500 years ago when the tournament began, but the exact person to start all of it didn't leave his real name…but his nickname was Thrakon."

"Thra…a what?"

Kyungsoo could only shrug. "It was a weird name…but when I came back home…it meant 'Dragon' in ancient Greek. So…I'm guessing he is a dragon power type of guy." He nodded at his answer.

'Oh…another dragon user?' "Hm. Oh! H-how are we going to get in? Are we going to get a key or --"

"Nope." Chanyeol took out his letter, straightening it out a bit. He faced the insignia towards the door and soon the paper illuminated a carnation pink color. Immediately, the paper turned a golden color key with the bow showing the insignia. "This is how we get the key."

"S-so cool!!" Tao said a bit loudly. In seconds, the door opened to show a soft eyed, bistre colored hair male in front of them. He blinked a couple of minutes before giving an angelic smile.

"Hello." He said softly. "You guys must be my roommates."

"U-um, yeah." Chanyeol nodded as he waved the key around. "Joonmyun right?"

The male, Joonmyun, nodded. "Thats right." He stepped to the side, opening the door wider. "Please, come in."

The three entered the room; Tao was stunned at how modern the rooms were, despite being in the middle of the forest. 'This…is awesome.' Straight in front of him showed two doors, in which he guessed that those were the bedrooms, to his left was the living room area along with the kitchen and table place, to his right showed two more doors, figuring that it were the bathrooms were. 'Awesome!!'

"I'm Chanyeol." The taller started. "This is Kyungsoo, and he is Tao." He gestured to each of them. "I am a fire manipulator…so pyrokinesis"

"Mine is terrakinesis."

Joonmyun nodded. "Fire and earth manipulators. For me it is gelidkinesis."

Kyungsoo hummed a bit. "Water right?"

He giggled. "Thats right. I manipulate water and moisture." He turned to Tao, giving him a gentle smile. "What about you?"

"U-um, I-I don't know." The panda said shyly. He started to feel a little bit embarrassed in not knowing his powers. 'I was invited here after all…I must have some power…r-right?'

"Oh, well, don't worry about it." Joonmyun patted his shoulder. "It will come sooner or later. Just hope that it will come before your match."

"Hm." He nodded. 'I hope so too.'

"Hey, Joonmyun, I was wondering," Chanyeol place his finger on his cheek. "What is your year mark?"

"Oh?" He rolled up his sleeve and showed his year mark. They were surprised to know that he had 4 geometric wristband tattoos, meaning that this is his forth time coming to the tournament.

"This is your fourth time attending?" Kyungsoo raised his eyebrow. "B-but…I-I mean, no offense, but I don't remember you at all."

"Oh, well…I had red hair for the past three years…I changed it. Plus, I went under a different name too…I was usually called Suho…but I decided that I would like to be called by my real name instead."

"I see."

Soon, a knock was heard and Kyungsoo made his way to the door. As he opened it, a taller, dark coffee colored haired male was standing before him. He pushed up his glasses and nodded his head at Kyungsoo.

"Dr. Zhang." "Yixing!" The voices blended with each other, making Tao slightly confused.

'Chan-giant and Kyung-owl said…doctor…b-but Joon-angel said Yixing.' Tao scratched his cheek. 'S-so, what do I call him?'

Joonmyun beamed as he quickly made his way over to the other, approaching him like a school girl meeting her boyfriend. Tao could have swore he saw a sparkle in his eyes. The panda was getting more confused; he leaned over to Chanyeol asking him what was going on, but said that he didn't know what was going on either.

"I see that you have met your roommates." The doctor said with a smile. "Hello Chanyeol, Kyungsoo. Nice to see that you guys returned." The two nodded their heads. Yixing turned to Tao, tilting his head. "Ah, you are new right? Well, I am doctor Zhang…I'm the one that heals others after their match. You can call me Yixing if you like."

"Oh! A healer! That is so cool!" Tao praised. "I'm Tao by the way."

Yixing could only smile. "Nice to meet you. Well, I just wanted to make sure that Joonmyun was okay. You guys look responsible and kind...I won't worry as much." He beamed.

"Hm? Why would you worry?" Kyungsoo asked, in which Joonmyun told him that he was Yixing's inamorato.

'Male lover…but…' "How old are you guys?" Tao asked out loud, in which Kyungsoo and Chanyeol widen their eyes at how he asked such a question out right like he did. However, for Joonmyun and Yixing, despite being caught by surprise in such a question, chuckled.

"I am 19." Joonmyun pointed out. "Yixing is 28."

Tao's eyes widen. 'Oh my god!! I read this in a manga before!! This so the student and teacher love scenario!! Wah! And they are pretty handsome too! This so works!! So cute!'

Joonmyun blinked before asking Kyungsoo if Tao was okay since he was smiling out of nowhere. The owl nodded, placing his finger near his head and making a circle motion with his finger, indicating that Tao is a little crazy.

"Well…anyway," Yixing cleared his throat. "I'll be going now. Have a relaxing night." With that, he gave another kiss on Joonxing cheek before leaving.

"Aww!" Tao cupped his own cheeks, adoring the little scene he just witnessed. Joonmyun chuckled and closed the door.

"You are weird." Kyungsoo said to Tao, shaking his head.

"Well, anyway," Chanyeol started to walk around the dorm room. "We should have a big dinner or something! We should head to the grocery place and get some food."

The three agreed and started to head out of their dorm. Tao inhaled a deep breath. 'This place is definitely interesting.' He smiled as he continued to walk with his new found friends.

--- (TAORIS) --- (TOARIS) --- (TAORIS) ---

A tall man walked towards his room with a glare like expression. As he entered his bedroom, he tossed the rings that he had in his fingers on the dark red comforters. Inhaling deeply, he made his way to the balcony, looking over the various people below.

He growled a bit, his lips at the contenders as if they were fresh animals, just waiting to be eaten.

His eyes then looked over to the left when he saw four people running towards another building. One caught his eye, as he saw the black haired, Chinese male trip from his running. The Chinese male, from looking from afar, was whining, making the three turn back to tend to the other.

The man widen his eyes as he inhaled deeply once again; his pupils started to dilate. He his lips again before leaving the balcony.

'Well this is interesting.'

--- (TAORIS) --- (TOARIS) --- (TAORIS) ---

And so it begins...

comment if you like/mistakes = im sorry

hope that it made sense too...i was getting mixed up a bit myself.

edits maybe here and there if i see them >o<

[ Dragon in different languages ] [ x ]

CROSS GENE's Casper aka Zhong Ze Xiang

Tasty (duo) Daeryong & Soryong