Klick and Bruce found themselves gravitating towards each other more with every sparring session bringing them closer. It didn’t take long for their friends to start noticing it.

One afternoon, Ruo Han joined the rumoured new couple for lunch on Bruce’s request. The shark merman had been rather secretive for a while and even Klick was wondering what the man had to say. Ruo Han initially thought Bruce was going to confess and had to play the wingman but he wasn’t expecting for Bruce to tell them about his new rooming arrangements instead.

“I’m going to move rooms and live with Carlos,” the shark merman said. 

Ruo Han blinked. “Congratulations?”

Klick who was sucking on an avocado paused. Carlos? His heart rate increased. That was the name of his target and unless it was a different person, Klick had finally found his target! Who would have thought that it would be Ruo Han’s ex-roommate and Bruce’s new roommate?

Bruce made a face. “I’m not exactly thrilled because I don’t know what kind of person he is. That’s why I called you out.”

Ruo Han nodded. There really wasn’t much to say about Carlos and most of the things he knew about the man didn’t sound pleasant to the ears. The cheetah demon was a man whore and it doesn’t matter what kind of species or gender they were, Carlos would most definitely sleep with them if they allowed him. If Carlos wasn’t born an alpha, he would be societal trash with how he spread his seeds everywhere.

As a man of virtues, the cultivator tried to be polite but somehow, Bruce understood what Ruo Han was telling him and made a face.

“You don’t have to sugarcoat it. I understand now. As long as he doesn’t decide to bring his playmates to the room, I suppose it is possible to deal with him somehow. How frequently does he go night hunting?”

Klick was unfamiliar with some of the terms but he understood the gist. Carlos sounded like his target and Klick started to think of a plan now that he knew where his target was. He had to get closer to the cheetah demon to kill him. However, he would first have to inform Amanda. The academy director made it very clear from Shen Long’s example that murder on campus wasn’t allowed. Yet, the archmage gave him special permissions to attend her academy and helped him hide his second gender so that he could make an easy disappearance from the campus after his job was completed.

Ruo Han noticed that Klick was uncharacteristically silent and asked if something was wrong.

The bat assassin didn’t answer immediately. Would it be too obvious that he was trying to get close to Carlos if he asked for more information about the man? Deciding to risk it, Klick put on his best smitten-smile and asked in a voice that both alphas had never heard before. It sounded very meek and Bruce felt something horrible twist in his gut.

“Why do you want to know?” Ruo Han asked carefully. Carlos was bad news and as an alpha friend, he didn’t want Klick to get hurt from associating with Carlos even if he didn’t want to interfere with anyone’s love life.

On the other hand, Bruce felt a horrible demon trying to tear its way out of his stomach to kidnap Klick and brainwash him so that he would never think of Carlos again.

“Don’t think about it,” the shark merman sneered. “Even if he is a man whore, I don’t think he would be interested in you. Besides, didn’t you hear what Ruo Han just said? Carlos is an alpha trash. Even if you want an alpha lover, you shouldn’t settle for less. There are plenty of other options.”

Klick sulked. He knew that. Even to him, the idea of asking for Carlos’ type sickened him. Klick didn’t want to bear Carlos’ offspring or sleep with him. Getting pregnant won’t happen but sleeping with Carlos was a very possible outcome if he wanted to get Carlos’ guard down to murder him. The assassin wasn’t sure if he needed to actually sleep with the cheetah demon yet but it was a very real possibility.

Ruo Han touched Bruce’s arm and shook his head. While he shared the same concern for Klick, Bruce’s words were still a little too harsh. Love was blind and while they could only watch out for Klik’s interest as friends, they couldn’t stop him.

“It’s enough,” the cultivator said and Bruce rolled his eyes, storming off when Klick refused to listen to him.

There was an ugly monster in Bruce and now, he finally knew that there was no denying what he truly felt for the beta boy. If Syris was able to fall in love with a beta, Bruce didn’t see why it couldn’t happen to someone else. In fact, while he wasn’t so convinced it was love, at the very least Bruce now understood that he cared a great deal more about the blind bat demon more than he initially thought he did.

“Dammit!” he cursed and slammed the wall nearby, startling a few passing students. They recognised who it was and quickly scurried away. 

Bruce paid them no heed. His thoughts were more focussed on understanding why Klick would be attracted to such trash. The bat demon deserved so much better. He was a great friend, a strong beta who was constantly striving to improve himself and overcome his disabilities. Why should he settle for someone like Carlos? Sure, the cheetah demon may be a looker and Bruce wasn’t much compared to him. However, Carlos was full of rocks in his head and in his pants. Compared to him, even Bruce was a much better option!

Ruo Han and Klick watched as Bruce left and didn’t say a word. Then, Ruo Han sighed. He could understand Bruce’s frustration. However, the shark merman might be a little too dense to truly understand why he was reacting in such a manner. He pitied Klick who looked like he was very hurt.

“Don’t blame him,” he told Klick gently. “I think Bruce is just looking out for you. I know it is hard to stop yourself from liking who your heart likes but Carlos really isn’t a good candidate. You should really think over it and if you still think you’d like to give it a try with Carlos, you can let me know. I’ll see what I can do to support you but please, don’t do anything you’d regret.”

Klick nodded. He was touched by their concern and promised not to do anything rash. It felt slightly bad for deceiving them but Klick was an assassin. He had a job to do and nothing was more important for now.

“Once the job is over, I’ll tell them the truth,” Klick promised himself. He would also let Syris and Floopy know the truth before he left the Academy. 

When he first entered Time Cross Academy, he didn’t have any expectations. It was simply a job and Klick didn’t know he would meet so many wonderful people that he could call his friends.