IT WAS ALL FUN AND LAUGHS IN SAKURA SAKU, WITH ALL THE PLANS THAT WE HAD FOR OPERATION: MAKE HARU FALL IN LOVE WITH ELLIS.
However, when we arrived at the Xing mansion, there was a different aura that we felt, even I who isn't magically inclined yet. It seemed that the mansion is full of sorcerers, witches, wizards, and a lot more. Fei, Ellis, and I went directly to the greenhouse and asked Jia what's happening.
It was my first time going here. Although I know that there is a commotion in the mansion, I can't help but marvel at the flowers and plants in this greenhouse. There were the regular orchids, roses, tulips, and the common flowers we see in the market. Yet, there were those odd ones, and I can tell that they contain powers, especially the pink one with eight petals that looked really sharp and could perforate.
We went straight to where Jia is staying.
"Jia, what's happening? Where's Haru? He was with us some time ago," Fei spoke to Jia, who was looking uneasy.
"Fei, a lot of magical families are here. They are looking for shelter, as we speak. They said that the ingelids that appeared in their household were far more uncontrollable than the ones that we encountered. Many were devastated. The ingelids became way darker. Madame Corvina flew to Edinburgh the very moment she knew that her sisters were in danger. Only few of the families that we are affiliated survived the attack," Jia explained.
"Who are in the mansion?" asked Fei.
"The Anthonys of Mumbai, the Marasigans of Manila, the Oliveiras of Rio de Janeiro, the Campbells of Auckland, the Hysenbellius of Tirana, and I also saw Salvatore before I went here to the greenhouse, so I guess, the Mantovanis of Milan are here. That's all I know, so far. I think the elders are in the library discussing about these sudden attacks. The children are in the grand hall. They're really big guys and girls, I must say," Jia replied.
"Hi, I'm Ellis, Trick's really good friend," Ellis introduced himself. "Just a clarification, does this mean that there are a lot of hot guys in there?"
Jia chuckled lightly. "Well, I guess. I think among them, you might find Salvatore Mantovani attractive."
"Ooh, I once had a crush on an Italian stallion, so… I'm interested," Ellis nodded his head.
Facepalm. What a slut Ellis really is. "Ignore him, Jia. He's just fooling around."
"No, it's okay," Jia spoke. "I guess this mansion needs a little fun, after all. The grim faces of the people when they arrived here are absolutely terrifying."
"Fun, you say?" Ellis turned to me and winked. "Beat my face, hun. In fifteen minutes, we're gonna turn the party!"
I'm liking the idea that we are going to bring fun to the place, but Ellis's uncontrollable sluttiness is unforgiveable. I asked Fei if that's okay, and he was more than interested to find out how will Ellis look like after I fix his mug. Jia is supportive too. I wonder how Haru would think if he sees Ellis. While doing that, Fei explained the reason Ellis was with us. Jia couldn't help but to laugh so hard, despite her prim and proper attitude.
After fifteen minutes, Ellis did a quick drag and I beat his face similar to Gaga's makeup in Applause, that white face with various colors splattered all over it. Fei and Jia were clapping really loud when they saw it. Jia was asking me to beat her face some time as she was really mesmerized by how I quickly and excellently did it. Fei planted a kiss on my cheek when he saw how talented I am.
Now, off we go to the grand hall.
Upon going there, we met by this familiar figure that I was excited to see how he would react after seeing Ellis.
"Haru, where have you been?" Jia asked.
"I went back to my room and wrote a few paragraphs," Haru replied, then he turned to me. "Nice to see you here, Fei… and… You! Why are you here?" He was referring to Ellis.
Ellis just scoffed. "Dear boy, if you don't want me, I don't want you too. You see, that door will lead me to a sea of hot men who will kill each other just to have me, so… Bye, hun. I'm rejecting you."
Ellis walked further and we all followed. Fei did this teasing face that made Haru angrier.
Haru walked faster and held Ellis's hand. "Hey! No one rejects Haru Hoshino. Take that back."
"Meh," Ellis yawned. "I'm gonna get myself a man in there… Or men. I don't know. Depends on my mood tonight. So, skedaddle."
"No!" Haru growled. "I like your nerve, Ellis. Let's see what will happen in the next three days."
"But you only do guys, right?" Fei even dared to push his buttons.
"Oh, by the way, Jia, you mentioned that there's a hot Italian guy inside?" Here, I also contributed to this impromptu Operation: Make Haru Fall in Love with Ellis, which is really fun.
"Salvatore Mantovani," Jia said with a light chuckle.
"That beefcake? Ugh. Big bod, small brain," Haru defensively uttered.
Ellis scoffed. "All the more reason I wanted him." He even slurped his saliva.
"I graduated with Latin honors. That guy only grows grapes in his mother's vineyard!" Haru insisted again.
Ellis's eyes dilated and his mouth opened wide. "So, he's a [grower]."
Fei and I were chuckling behind them.
[Do you know what Ellis is saying?] I talked to Fei in my mind.
[Grower? Yeah. Well, they grow the best grapes. They send us bottles of red wine every Thanksgiving.] Fei replied.
I was snickering as silent as I can. [No! The 'grower' that Ellis means is someone with a small penis when soft, but grows incredibly large when erect. On the other hand, a 'shower' is someone who's already huge, even when flaccid.]
Fei snickered too. [Oh, the more I know when I'm with you! But, hey, just to let you know, I'm the latter.]
Now, my eyes opened wide this time.
"Haru, go away." Ellis walked towards the door and we followed him.
"I'm watching you, Ellis. Don't you dare flirting with any guys inside," Haru warned.
Ellis grabbed his microphone with built-in speakers inside his big bag. He turned it on and spoke on it. "R-E-J-E-C-T-E-D."
We all laughed except Haru, who growled and followed us into the room.
"Hey, hey, hey, magic peeps! Miss Conflagration is in the house! Please feel free to use the pronouns she and her, as you don't call a Miss he, him, or his. Good evening, everybody!"
That caught the attention of the people inside the grand hall. Everyone gathered near the grand piano, which became Miss Conflagration's stage for the night. She really turned this into a party!
Right now, I think we're more than ten, mostly within our age bracket, or some may look young.
"So, I figured that there's some magical attacks happening all over the world. [Kumusta naman kayong lahat ngayon?]" Miss Conflagration suddenly choked. What the hell did she say?
"[Mabuti naman!]" said a guy near us cheerfully.
I looked at Fei and whispered, "What did Ellis say? I never knew she spoke another language aside from English?"
"Look," Fei pointed at Haru, who is giggling near the door. "He did it."
"He has that power?" Astonished, I asked.
"Yeah, he can manipulate the languages, which helps him in his chosen career, though, and in times like this, teasing Ellis," Fei said. "This will be a great show. Wait for it."
Miss Conflagration asked the man who responded earlier to stand. "Hello, handsome. May I know your name?"
"I'm Takipsilim Marasigan, a Filipino shaman from the province of Batangas in the Philippines. You can call me Taki for short," the guy named Taki responded.
"Taki, welcome to New York, and may I ask, did someone in this room mess up my language? I mean, I didn't expect to greet you all with that. I ought to say, 'How are you all', actually," Miss Conflagration explained.
"Oh, yeah, that's why I answered, 'We're good'. I understood you," Taki laughed and high-fived Miss Conflagration.
"Well, thank you, good sir. You're really cute, by the way. Nice muscular arms, indeed," Miss Conflagration praised. Well, he's cute and has a smiling face. After thanking him, Miss Conflagration asked him to return to his seat and continued with the show.
"Now, I figured that you guys are in a situation right now. I'm sorry to hear that. Therefore, let's have a fun night while we still can. [Kya apa taiyara haim?]" Miss Conflagration caught herself speaking another language again.
"[Mian taiyaar hoon!]' A guy on the far right shouted. "It means, 'I am ready!' My name is Janardan Anthony, and this is my sister, Sanjivani. We're both from Mumbai."
"Thanks and welcome to the Xing mansion. Actually, I was supposed to say, 'Are you ready?' So, thank you for responding! Come on, guys. That's a terrible joke. Stop joking the joker!" Miss Conflagration said, which made the crowd laugh.
When I looked at Haru, it seemed that his plan backfired because the crowd loved Miss Conflagration's charisma. He huffed and began to stare angrily at Miss Conflagration.
"Okay, let's have some music here! So, does anyone here know how to play the piano? [Qualcuno qui?]" Miss Conflagration once again uttered a phrase from a different language. She then looked at me and I pointed towards the door. She followed the direction and suddenly her face became austere.
She was about to take a step down the platform, but a really tall guy appeared in front of her.
"[So suonare il piano.]"
"W-What?" Miss Conflagration uttered with a trembling voice.
"I can play the piano. I'm Salvatore Mantovani, an Italian warlock from Milan. [Ciao, bella]."
I think Miss Conflagration lost the power of speaking, in any other language, as she was speechless. That bulky man in front of him was the one Jia was referring earlier!
I looked at Haru who is at the door, and he huffed again. Because of too much anger, he left and banged the door, which caused a commotion. He must have realized the gravity of his actions. Unfortunately, it all turned the other way around.
Salvatore started playing the piano while Miss Conflagration sang. They were performing Lady Gaga's "You and I". While people are enjoying, I talked to Fei.
"Haru got angry," I said.
Fei chuckled. "That's because he was not used to rejection. He got all the girls he wanted, but the irony of it is, a guy rejected him. That's a first, you know."
"Which is odd… Why would he react that way? I mean…"
"What do you think?" Fei winked.
Oh, gosh… Does this mean…