*Hideo*

"Alright, everyone ready to go fix the town?" Tetsuya asked as he yelled at my people.

The people, including the kids five and older yelled yes.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What does that guy think he's doing?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Seems he's rallying the village," Koukyuu said, joining me.

I scoffed. "That was a rhetorical question."

"Psst, Hide!" Kiara said, appearing behind all of a sudden. "You won't get her to like you if you talk to her like that."

I coughed. "Would you drop that already? I don't like her!"

My eyes shifted toward Koukyuu who had joined the town as they marched with Tetsuya.

"That cousin of our seems to be a natural born leader," Ki said, smiling.

I averted my gaze. Great, shown up by the peasant, again!

"Are you mad?" Silas asked, smirking as he walked over to us. The twins and our dad followed close behind. Dad carried a still half asleep Alex on his shoulders.

"I'm not! Why would I be?" I asked, scoffing.

"Don't lie," Kiara said, poking me on the chest. "I know that you aren't very fond of him. Why's that? Did he do something bad to you?"

I shook my head. "No, he's actually been helpful. I just don't like how he gets more attention than me, especially from girls, despite being a peasant..." I sighed. "Alright, I'm jealous, happy now?"

"Yeah, Dad was right about you needing to grow some more," Kiara said, smiling weakly.

I sighed and slid my hands into the pockets of my pants. "I know, never disputed that."

Silas snickered as he followed after me. What did he find so funny? Oh well, it probably wasn't worth asking him about it. Likely more teasing, which I really wasn't in the mood for.

My eyebrows rose. Koukyuu had paused and looked over her shoulder.

"What's the hold up? Aren't you the future duke of these lands? You should be helping lead the recovery efforts instead of leaving them to your cousin," she said, giving me her typical stern look.

I averted my gaze. "Yeah, but I'm not really much of a leader." I lowered my head. When my team was first made, some of its members didn't respect me. Borasco for example saw me as a kid, while Kiara continued to treat me as if we were at home. Even the new members such as her, Zydeco, Zyuuni, Ayumi, and Sonata didn't treat me as their leader. At least Zydeco and Sonata didn't look down on me like she and Borasco had. The only one who threated me well was currently in the hospital.

My eyes shifted toward the town of Shiwabe which had allowed us to use its fields as a campsite. Borasco had taken Sirocco to the closest city hospital once his condition was stable enough to safely transfer him.

Koukyuu put a hand on her hips. "Should I take the lead in that case? You did make me intermediate leader of your group. Though, right now only you and I are the only ones here since the others stayed back."

I laughed. "Not true. My original team members are here, such as Kiara. Well, except for two of them. Sirocco got seriously injured by the one who destroyed my town, so he had to be taken to the hospital by Borasco, Eiichi and Eita's cousin. I'll introduce you to the ones that are here later."

Koukyuu snickered. "You seem to be fond of them."

I blinked. "I do?" I lowered my head. It wasn't like I'd interacted with them much. Would've been nice if I had. Well, I still could.

The princess of Kasai no Ki swung her hands behind her back and nodded. "Yeah, you were speaking with a proud tone. They must've helped you out in a pinch before."

I scratched my head. They did help me out in the labyrinth inside of the abysmal palace. They had dealt with the minor enemies which allowed me to fight Roa. Sirocco also tried his best to protect my home and town, almost to the point of death. Borasco and Levech also aided in slowing down Satoru. If only Levech hadn't ran out of energy, that fox wouldn't have gotten away.

"Master Hideo," Levech's voice called out. I jumped soon after I realized he had appeared in front of me.

"D-Don't appear all of a sudden like that!" I snapped.

Levech tipped his head. "Pardon, but this is important."

I blinked. "Did something happen?"

"I went ahead to see how Sir Naoru was doing and when I arrived he had passed out."

"W-what happened to Nao?" Cami asked as she and the others caught up to us.

"Seems you were right to worry about that guy," Amun said, sighing.

"Yeah. He probably overworked himself," Silas said, grumbling.

"It appears he was taken over by a demon and then released from its grasp after having a discussion," Levech said. "At least that's what it seemed like to me."

My eyes widened. "A demon?"

Cami covered her mouth with her hands.

Levech nodded. "Yes. Currently, the royal family are tending to them."

"We better bring them some medical equipment," Koukyuu said.

"Setsuko should be able to teleport here, though," I said. "Would probably be better."

"It appears that they are staying put to access the situation. From the sound of it, he should be fine. But one is never sure."

"If only Xime's dad were here," Kiara said.

I blinked. "You met her dad?"

"Yeah," Dad answered for her. "He helped us out with purifying the palace. Though, there are still some remnants left. He, Prince Azami, and his son used all of their power to close the vortex that formed from all of the impure energy."

"I see," I said, crossing my arms.

"Why are demons appearing?" Koukyuu asked.

"Guess you haven't heard from Setsuko yet. They are planning to invade this realm," Dad said. He sighed. "Soon we might find ourselves in the middle of a two front war. The unfortunate thing is that a dimensional is a lot harder to fight as one doesn't know where they might appear."

"Not true!" Kiara said. "We do have an idea."

Silas tilted his head at her. "We do?"

Kiara nodded. "Yeah, the various portals."

"That's right," a voice called out. We turned and saw Nicolas walk over to us.

"You didn't go ahead with your team leader?" I asked.

He scratched his right cheek and glanced at the east. "I wanted to do some sightseeing."

Silas gasped. "Sightseeing? Does it have to do with what Ki was saying?"

Nico chuckled. "You catch on quick, kid. Yeah. I wanted to see a few things. Serrano and your sister came here from Abyssia by a portal toward the east of your hometown. While, my uncle entered through one in the mountains by Sir Takeshi's home. There's also the portal in the sacred mountain outside of the capital."

"You uncle?" I asked, taking a step back.

Nico averted his eyes. "Well, I've yet to confirm he is my uncle, but I have a strong feeling he is." He closed his eyes. "I know that I'm probably stupid for saying this in front of you but it's best that you know."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Know what?"

A red fox tail spun around him as a pair of horns emerged from his forehead. "I think my dad is the one who destroyed your hometown."

I gulped. "W-what? H-how is that possible? U-unless if he time traveled."

Nico scoffed. "That's probably it. I heard from my teammates that the abyss does result in a time dilation when moving to different realms. One can end up in the next day."

I gasped as I recalled what Kuroshi had said when he took us to Xeleria. The others had gone to that realm before us yet appeared there days later than we did. But could that happen in reverse and in the span of two decades?

Nico sighed. "This all a theory, of course. I'll like to verify it before we make any further moves."

I tilted my head. "Though, you don't look like him. You look more like my cousin Reno."

Nicolas laughed as he made his horns and tail vanish. "That so? Maybe if I grew out my hair I would be able to see the resemblance."

Was he truly Satoru's son? He didn't have his personality at all. Maybe he got it from his mom.

"Nico, there ya are! I was looking everywhere for ya!" Teresa yelled as she ran toward us. Zafir followed not far behind with a scowl on his face. His little sister chased after him in turn.

Silas flinched as soon as he saw Zafir's sister.

The girl waved at him. "Oh, it's Silas!"

Silas turned his head away and grumbled. "Why are you glad to see me?" He snickered. "Wait, don't tell me. You have a crush on me, isn't that it?"

Marina grabbed her stomach and laughed. "What? A crush on you? Why would I like a kid?"

Silas gritted his teeth. "What was that?"

"I called you a kid, you know, a child."

"You're one too, you royal brat!"

Marina giggled. "I know. That's why I'm not dating anyone. I don't want to make mistakes."

Zafir glanced at his sister and laughed slightly. "Adults make errors when it comes to romantic relationships too, you know." He glanced at Teresa as she spoke with Nico. "Trust me."

So, that's what's going on here. Zafir is jealous of Nicolas! But didn't he like Akari? Hmph, this is why I hated romance! It was all very convoluted! Plus, hurt was basically assured for one party or another.

My eyes shifted toward Koukyuu without me wanting them to. That's why I knew not to pursue a relationship with someone who liked another.

Koukyuu covered her face with a hand. "Is my hair a mess? Or do you have a staring problem?"

I jumped. "N-no!"

She sighed. "I already told you that I don't like kids."

I coughed as she walked away.

Silas patted my shoulders. "It's alright, big brother, don't listen to her."

"Wait, you're consoling me?" I laughed. "Wait, it's because Zafir's sister called you one too, right? Wait, are you the one with a crush here?"

His cheeks reddened. "N-no!" he said, running off.

Silas sure was a child. Maybe I was too for running away from love. I'd given up before even trying.

I ran after Koukyuu. "I'm not a child," I said as calmly as I could. My dad was the most mature person I knew, so mimicking him was a good idea.

Koukyuu closed her eyes. "That you're still on that topic proves you are."

I bit my lip. Great, I dug my hole deeper.

She giggled. "Really, don't pay too much attention to it. It was only a joke."

My face heated up. Today was the first time I'd seen her laugh this much.

I smiled and ran after her. "Okay."

**Solar Note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter ^^. What are your thoughts on all of the character focused chapters as of late? Do you like seeing them? Or you can't wait for me to move the war plotline along? Or both?**