“Jongin!” a young teenager called out, running up to the shirtless, but wearing a fire-resistant apron, bronze-skinned man currently making a sword.

“Can’t hear you, Jae,” the other lazily drawled out, inspecting his sword behind the welder’s mask before bringing it back down to pound away at the metal some more.

“You said my name! You heard me!” Jae retorted back, stopping a few feet behind the said man to watch him manipulate some fire onto the metal to bend it some more.

Kai chuckled, still not turning around, “Still didn’t hear you.”

Jae pouted, stomping his feet childishly, “Jongin! Train with me!”

“Why?”

“Cecilia’s not here, remember?”

“Oh, I remember,” Kai mumbled, turning around to eye his best friend’s younger brother, “You got taller.”

Jae frowned, using his power of telekinesis to lift the mask off of the other’s face, “You say that every time we see each other… and that’s every other day, at least.”

Kai sighed, looking up at his mask before taking a glance at his sword. Shaping it could wait, he supposed. He looked back to the person he also liked to call his little brother, “Why do you want to train again?” He raised a brow curiously. “It’s a good thing I came to my workplace outside of the castle today.”

The younger nodded, pouting a bit, “So our family can win and gain our spot back within the castle.”

The elder frowned slightly. That’s right. Cecilia and her family were once one of the five families living within the castle; one of the families who won the tournament every five years to become one of the most prestigious families within the country. After their father somehow forgot and lost his high-leveled powers of telekinesis and astral projection, they were forced out of the castle, both Cecilia and Jae too young to have done anything to stop the other families or win the last tournament. That was basically the reason why Cecilia left to go to the Academy in Mae – to get their spot back in the castle.

“Fine,” Kai eventually muttered out, putting all his stuff away, “We’ll train so you or your sister can win when she gets back and visits next year.” He watched as Jae effortlessly helped him put items away without moving a finger before turning back around, “You’ve already grown so much since your sister left.”

Jae smiled proudly, not hearing the group of guys coming up behind them, “Of course! I have to follow in her steps and not be insanely behind when she comes back.”

Kai chuckled, tilting his head back to look at him before his eyes suddenly landed on the son of one of the five families of the castle. “Jae,” he softly said, the younger looking at him weirdly before turning his head to see who he was staring at.

“Is this kid bothering you, Kai?” the son questioned with a sneer, “I’ll take care of him if he’s bothering my best friend."

The other rolled his eyes, quickly walking up and in front of Jae who stayed still, “Come on, Taemin. Stop messing with him.”

“I don’t understand why you still hang out with him when his pretty sister is gone and their family is already thrown out of the castle grounds,” Taemin said, voice becoming a bit gentler, “And I don’t get why you don’t just stay within the grounds. You live there for free because you make our weapons.”

Kai simply shrugged, turning his body to sling an arm around Jae’s shoulders playfully, “I miss my old place.” He watched as Taemin frowned, eyeing their friendship and how close they actually are. He gave a lopsided smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Tae. I’ll be back in the castle by then.”

Taemin glared at him, not liking being dismissed, “Kai-”

“I’ll be back then,” Kai glared back, body heating up instinctively, “Go.”

“You have no right.”

Jae started tugging on Kai’s hand, trying to get him to just separate from the other. “I have a right if I’m also living within the castle. Being a part of the five families has no leverage against me. I could care less.”

“Let’s just go, Kai,” Jae whispered, earning a bark of laughter from Taemin.

“Listen to the brat then come back and become royalty once again.”

Kai glared, arm lifting off of Jae’s shoulders as fire wrapped around his arms like snakes, “Stop treating him like trash.”

Taemin’s own eyes lit up to the challenge, lifting his hands up to pick up stray rocks around them, “I’ll treat him how I like until his useless father miraculously gains back his power.” He watched as Kai’s flames grew before his eyes hardened and manipulated the rocks to hit his friend.

The other glared back, reaching his arm back to throw a huge fireball at him, when Jae immediately jumped in front and his eyes hardened, just like Taemin’s, stopping the rocks from going any closer to them. His hands were up in front of him as he quickly eyed each rock before throwing it back in Taemin’s direction who easily tossed them up to the sky.

“I was the one who won one of the top five spots to allow my family to live in the castle,” Taemin sneered, eyeing Jae, “I can crush you easily.”

Jae opened his mouth to talk but stopped himself when he saw Taemin’s dad walking up to them. He clenched his teeth, watching as the other’s dad placed a hand on the other telekinesis user’s shoulder. “Why are you out here, Taemin? You should be training in the castle for the tournament next year.”

Taemin didn’t even look at him as he shifted his stare from Jae to Kai, “I was out here trying to find our welder and blacksmith to train with.”

His father didn’t even acknowledge Jae’s presence, simply turning back around to go back to the castle grounds, “Well, it seems like Kai is too busy with that ex-general’s son. Wait until tomorrow. Come.”

Jae and Kai scowled, watching as Taemin instantly turned around and left, leaving them alone. After a few minutes, Kai grabbed Jae’s hand, instantly tugging him to go to where the younger lived so they could help his dad learn old moves again. Jae frowned, quickly catching up to the other’s steps, “Cecilia will come back, right? She’ll be powerful enough to win us our spot back?”

Kai frowned, not knowing if that was true. He hadn’t heard from her in a long time. He bit his lip, thinking about it. “If not,” he internally winced – he did miss his true best friend, albeit possibly in more ways than one, he hasn’t really dated anyone since she left, “You will be strong enough to earn your spot back in the castle.”

The younger smiled softly at the elder’s words, squeezing his hand gently, “Thank you, Jongin.”

The elder rolled his eyes, “Stop before I burn your for being too cheesy.”

Hours later, Taemin huffed, his opponent smirking at him meters away, “That’s not fair.”

“Aww, what isn’t?” Hyorin smiled back, appearance still almost as pristine as when they first started their training. She had minor bruises from fighting hand-to-hand combat with Taemin, but besides that, she was completely fine as the other tried to get more air into his system.

“You have pheromone manipulation,” he deadpanned.

Hyorin started walking up to him slowly, eyes shifting colors as she used what she was known for throughout the castle; it was how she won first place in the tournament four years ago. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Taemin’s eyes widened, throat suddenly constricting as he tried to back away and avoid her gaze. His hormones were starting to shift out of control, and he really didn’t want to pin her against the ground while their fathers watched from the window high above them while they have their meeting. “It’s completely unfair,” he muttered, almost tripping on his own two feet.

“Don’t be like that, Taemin,” the other cooed out, eyes twinkling with mischief, “Come on. Succumb to your desires.” She and her family have always been in the top five families in the castle, simply because she mastered her powers easily at a young age. She and Cecilia actually considered themselves friends and rivals at the same time because of her pheromone manipulation and Cecilia’s knack for flirting. They used to always be in the castle together as well, being the same age and both female.

Above them, Hyorin’s father laughed, watching with amusement in his eyes as Taemin tried to actually run away from his daughter, “Your son is useless against my daughter.”

“I hate to admit that you are right,” Taemin’s father muttered, annoyance evidently laced in his tone, “Even without her using her power, he would probably succumb to his hormones anyways.”

“We need to make sure our children can keep our spots in the tournament next year,” Joon’s father interrupted, bored look on his face as he eyed his companions, “I’ve heard Chima’s kid, Jae, has been training a lot to get their spot back.”

Taemin’s father whipped his head to him. Their family was the last to join the royal five since the Lemaire family was finally thrown out. “He won’t be able to win against Taemin.”

The other shrugged, not paying any mind to it. He knew Joon trained every day, and the only one he lost against was Hyorin during the last tournament. “If he grows to be just like his father, he might overthrow you and your entire family.”

“Yes, but then he will lose his powers just the same as Chima,” Jiyeon’s father commented as well, second of the newest families to join the royal five, “I am sure he is not a real threat.”

“The only threat will be Chima himself if he regains his powers.” They all turned to the last of the families, the mother of Taecyeon. “Really, we should not even be the ones in this room. The winners should be in this room, talking over business, future plans, and the country.”

“We are calmer than they are right now,” Hyorin’s father reasoned, looking back down to see his daughter laughing her head off when he assumed Taemin simply fled from the room away from her. He smiled, “They will be in this room next month. How about that?”

“Surely, fights will break out once they all gather in the same room,” Joon’s father drawled out, thinking about his son and how eccentric he can be at times. He sighed, thinking about how all of their kids will act like together – Hyorin with her flirty and laidback personality, Joon and his eccentric attitude, Taecyeon’s goofy yet stern one, Jiyeon with her dual personality, and Taemin with his cocky and bratty one, “Yeah. Fights will most likely break out.”