Rowen scratched fiercely at his head then shook out his shaggy blue locks, wandering blindly into the living room. He yanked his dark blue t-shirt down to smooth it and fastened the top button of his jeans when he noticed it was undone. It was still early in the day - well before noon, even - and he'd somehow woken without Sage's insistent pestering. What was the world coming to?

Bringing his gaze up from the floor, he wasn't surprised to find Dais and Yuli cuddling on the couch, watching some offbeat anime scrounged off Kento's shelf of movies. All astonishment over the two of them seemed to have vanished with the dawning of the new day. He smirked at the thought.

He'd just left Ryo and Mia getting cozy at the kitchen table with a bowl of strawberries, White Blaze rumbling lowly in the tiger equivalent of a purr in a comfortable curl around their feet. Looked like those two were finally attached at the hip. Rowen grinned. It had taken them long enough.

"Good morning, Rowen," Cye called from the recliner.

The bleary-eyed archer turned to greet his friend and received a shock that nearly gave him a heart attack. Clutching at his chest and now wide awake, Rowen blinked and made a face of complete bewilderment. He was staring at Cye...who was nestled securely in a thick-armed embrace, his auburn hair mussed where it was being played with by an enthusiastic Kento. "Whazzafuck?!" the archer erupted, confounded by this unexpected scene.

"What's wrong?" Cye asked, stunned by Rowen's outburst.

"You... Kento... Am I missing something here?"

Yuli peered at Rowen questioningly over the back of the couch. "You didn't know?"

"Know what?!"

"Kento and Cye-"

"No! Of course I didn't know!" Rowen cried, flinging his hands high into the air. "No one in this house tells me anything, I swear! How long?" He waited impatiently for an answer, arms crossed and tapping his foot against the floor.

"Longer than you and Sage," Mia's voice answered from the kitchen.

Rowen pouted. "How did I miss it? How *could* I miss it?" He flopped onto the open end of the couch and sighed. "You guys *really* need to stop keepin' secrets around here."

"So, you gonna let Sage loose any time soon?" Ryo called, foregoing the urge to mention how many secrets Rowen had kept himself.

Chewing at his lip, Rowen considered. "Mmm...maybe."

"He's going to get you, you know." Ryo was now standing in the hall archway, Mia snuggled close to his side.

"There's no way he can get loose on his own and I'll ...ease the tension... before I even try," the archer shrugged. Then, a door upstairs banged shut. Puzzled, everyone took a head count. Nope. No one was up there except... "Uh, I'm taking a long walk. I have no idea when I'll be back, so don't bother looking for me," Rowen announced, shoving to his feet and heading toward the entry hall and the front door at a brisk pace.

He'd just stepped into the hall when they all heard Seiji's voice. "ROWEN! GET UP HERE NOW!"

"Eep!" was all they heard out Rowen before he shot out the door followed quickly by a flash of blond hair and a dark green jacket.

Kento watched carefully down the stairs for a long, long minute. He most definitely did *not* want to be caught right now. Even though Sage had chased Rowen outside over five minutes ago, one never knew when circumstances could change. It was now or lose what might be his only chance!

He pushed open the door of Sage's room just enough to pass through and squeezed himself inside. Good thing this room had plenty of light streaming in the large windows. Flipping on a light would have blown his cover if someone noticed. Now, where...? Ah! That's right.

Hoping and praying that at least one camera had remained hidden in the immaculate room, Kento headed for the pile of books Rowen had accumulated on Sage's dresser. In all, Kento had planned on only having the tapes for Mia...with back-ups he would keep himself. Then, last night, Yuli had hinted that he and Dais knew what was up, so Kento'd added making another copy for the brat. Pushing aside some of the books, a sly grin came across Hardrock's face. The camcorder appeared totally undisturbed.

He picked it up and began restacking the books, when he noticed a small handwritten note stuck to the side of the camera. Kento's eyes popped open wide as he read it and he cast a furtive glance around the room. Quickly reassured himself that he was the only one in the room, he read the short message again.

                              Kento,
                                    Found both cameras. Left them
                                    running. Expecting copies.
                                               -Rowen

First, he raised an eyebrow. Then, he considered. Last, he grinned. Damn. Maybe he should set a price and start taking orders...?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

END ^_^