*Nori*

Nori's uncle smiled a bit. "Well, if you're going to be waiting here a while, how about you come over to my place? Aemilia can prepare for you her famous mushroom soup."

Nori scratched his cheek. "Thanks for the offer, but Nori's not fond of mushrooms." Nori ate one while on his mission to find the vajra, and it gave him a severe tummy ache.

He put a hand on his hip and smirked. "I bet that you ate it raw, huh?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything? Are they more edible when cooked?"

He turned around. "You'll find out the answer yourself if you have a bit of my wife's soup."

Nori frowned. "Okay." Nori didn't want to be rude to his family. Prayed that Uncle was right. Nori didn't want to repeat that bad experience.

"I'm sure you'll love it. I've had it, and it's delicious!" Onami said, grinning.

Nori's frown vanished. Hearing her say that made Nori look forward to it.

"Wait, is it a good idea to house them?" the male villager from before asked. "Two of them are angels. Sure, one is half, but we aren't sure of their intentions."

"Our intention to wait for our friends to catch up and to reunite Nori with his family," Ximena said, trying to hide her anger but failing.

The man stepped back.

"I think that we'll be fine. If more angels come by, send them to my house. If they do turn out to be enemies, I'll take responsibility."

The man's wand dissolved into red light. "Alright. Aemilia is the village chieftess, so I'll let them pass."

"Thanks, Naruhiko," Uncle said with a slight smile. He glanced at Nori. "Come, kid. I got something that I'll like to give you."

Nori blinked. "What is it?"

He closed his eyes. "You'll see."

Nori nodded. "Okay."

"Huh? You're really not going to ask?" Nori's cousin asked.

Nori tilted his head. "Should I?"

"No. I mean, I would."

"He's quite the passive one, huh?" Uncle asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Nori lowered his head. They said that as if it were a bad thing. Maybe it was...

"Say, can I make a request?" Ximena asked, stepping forward.

"A request? What kind?"

"It involves teaching."

Uncle scratched his forehead and glanced at the mountains dividing Kyuu Seishin and Xian. "I'm sorry, girl. I am no teacher."

"But mom is," Nori's cousin said with a slight smile.

His head patted his back and laughed. "She's an elementary teacher. Don't think it's the kind she's looking for. A coach is a better term for what she wants."

"A coach? Like for magic?"

"Yeah," Ximena said. "Nori and I want to learn more about the magic of the Nekomata."

The kid grinned and glanced back at his dad. "Why don't you coach them, Dad? You're strong!"

He sighed. "I already said, I'm not the type who likes teaching."

Nori's cousin's smile vanished. "Come on, Dad. Why are you that way?"

His dad narrowed his eyes at him. "Don't think that I can't see through you, Nobu. You just want me to teach them so that you can learn too."

Nobu's face turned as red as his hair. "You caught me, again."

Nori chuckled. "Want to learn magic? It's not nekomata magic, but Nori knows a few spells."

"Of course I do! It doesn't matter if they're nekomata spells or not. I want to learn magic!"

"But you do know a few nekomata spells," Ximena said.

"Yeah, but Nori's not as good at using them," Nori said, looking down.

"What spells exclusive to our branch do you know?" Uncle asked, glancing down at Nori.

Nori held out a hand. "Ignis." Black flames erupted out of his hand.

Ximena gasped. "You can manifest black flames with a simple Ignis spell?"

"Yeah, but Nori doesn't like them. They're destructive." Nori clenched his hand, and the flames vanished. "This basic spell is the only one in which Nori can use them and still retain control."

"Still, you're more talented than I thought. Most of us can only use cyan flames," Uncle said as he shifted his eyes forward.

"Are those hard to control?" Nori asked.

"Fire isn't an easy element to use. For most non-nekomata, one mistake and one could end up scarring themselves. After all, it was the birth of the fire god which killed Nami and brought death to this world."

"How tragic," Akane said, putting her hands on her stomach as she walked.

Nori nodded. The death of Nami was a sad tale. One that showed that gods themselves don't necessarily live forever.

"After killing his newborn out of rage, Nagi sought to bring his wife back. He would've succeeded if he hadn't seen what Badadon had done to his wife."

"I don't think his mistake was necessarily seeing her. It was being appalled by her transfiguration," Ximena said, averting her eyes. "His love wasn't enough to see past that."

Uncle glanced at the flowerless cherry blossom trees dotting his house. "That which is beautiful is easy to love, that which isn't is easy to hate."

Nori glanced up at the sky. The Sky Father was, is, and will always be infinitely better than Nagi. For he is the one who loves despite knowing even the ugliest aspects of people— those innermost secrets, the ones that make one feel guilty and dirty. He overlooks the negative thoughts, asking only for people to turn to him.

Nori wished he could be more like him. The dark thoughts of revenge continued to echo in Nori's head. Part of Nori didn't care if Mean Mister remained in the darkness forever, caged like how he had Nori's family and friends!

"Ugh," Nori said, shaking his head.

"Are you alright?" Onami asked.

Nori shook his head. "No. Nori feels dirty."

"You can shower before eating," Nobu said as he ran to the front door of his house. "We might live in the boondocks, but even here, we got running hot water."

Nori smiled at his cousin. "Thanks, Nobu."

Nobu rang the doorbell. Not long after, the door opened. Standing before Nobu was a lady with long black hair and orange eyes.

"Hey, Mom. We got visitors today." He pointed at Master, Onami, Akane, and Nori. "The red-haired boy is my cousin! He said that he'll be teaching me magic."

"He is, huh?" his mom asked, smiling at Nori.

Nori waved. "Hello, Nori here!"

"He speaks in third-person for some reason. It's kind of weird, but also a bit cool."

"Brother, try not to be so blunt," his little sister said, blushing.

Nobu's face turned red. "Okay," he said despite pouting.

Nori laughed. "It's fine. Nori likes honesty."

"And I'm used to blunt people. My boyfriend's about as outspoken as the kid is," Onami said, grinning.

Nobu's mommy patted the kid's hair. "Nobu's very transparent. Well, come on inside. The mushroom soup will be done in a bit."

"Guess that you can't take a shower while it's being prepared after all," Nobu said, looking back at Nori.

Nori smiled. "That's fine. Nori feels better now."

Nobu tilted his head. "Huh?"

"Cousin must be as weird as you," his little sister whispered.

"Hey!" Nobu said, jumping back. "I'm not weird!" He fidgeted. "Am I?"

"What about Nori?" Nori asked, scratching his head. "Is Nori odd?"

"Yeah, but aren't we all?" Onami asked, grinning.

Nori smiled. "Nori guesses." Nori glanced at Uncle. "What were you going to show Nori?"

"Oh, right. I'm going to take the kid to the attic. We'll eat as soon as I give him the memento."

"That's fine," Aemilia said, smiling. "Nobu, Zion, go wash your hands."

"Okay," Zion said, running ahead of her brother.

"Zion?" Akane asked.

"She's named after your world," Uncle said as he walked straight for the stairs.

"That man reminds me a bit of Shin," Akane muttered.

"How so?" Nori asked.

"Both are reserved. I wonder what happened in their past..."

"I know a bit of it," Onami whispered. "Uncle Yusuke and Aunt Yuna escaped together with him. Surviving wasn't easy for the three. Especially in a world that wanted nothing to do with them. If it weren't for my uncle-in-law saving them, the three likely would've died."

Yet, he named his daughter after that world. Why?

"How did you get to this world yourself?" Akane asked as they followed after Uncle.

Onami lowered her eyes. "It's a long story. I owe a lot to Kohri and Conrad." She closed her teary eyes.

"Serra's little brother? How do you know him?" Master Ximena asked.

"I'm ashamed to say." She chuckled. "The kid was a little too forgiving."

So, she knows Serrano's brother. He told Nori and the others that Conrad was revived and had become a Rabbit Pillar.

"We'll bring your friend back, promise," Ximena said, patting Onami's shoulder.

Onami smiled. "Thanks."

"We're here," Uncle said. Nori glanced up as his uncle opened a latch in the ceiling and climbed into the attic.

What kind of memento was there for Nori?

"I think I know what it is," Onami said as if she had read Nori's mind.

Nori followed after his uncle, but the girls didn't follow them. They simply waved instead.

Nori guessed that they wanted to give him some alone time with his uncle.

"Here it is," Uncle said as he pulled out a picture frame from a chest. He handed Nori a picture frame.

Nori gasped. It was a picture of a silver-haired man and an orange-haired woman. Both of them had cat-like ears and tails. The two of them were smiling. In the woman's arms was a newborn kitten.

"Daddy, Mommy," Nori said, hugging the frame. Tears rolled down his face. Nori fell to his knees and let out a whimper. "Daddy! Mommy!"

"Nori," Uncle said, kneeling down in front of Nori. He pulled Nori in and gave him a hug.

"Nori misses them so much, Uncle! Why did Daddy and Mommy have to die?"

"It's all that man's fault—the one who treated us as his property."

"Nori knows that he shouldn't, but he hates him! Nori hates Takeshi! He took Nori and Onami's parents away and used Yuko and Nori as tools!"

"I hate him too. As do Yuna and Yusuke. I'm sure that Onami and Yuko feel the same way."

Nori continued to cry without another word. It'd been so long since Nori cried like this for his parents. Nori wished that he had revived them after all but now was too late. Takeshi had told him that a revival had to be done immediately, else it wouldn't work.

Nori moved away from his uncle and wiped away his tears. He gasped as he saw that his uncle had cried too.

"Were you close to Daddy?" Nori asked.

Uncle stood up to his full height and held out his hand to Nori. "Of course. He was my big brother. When our own parents died, he had been the one who comforted me. Most think that I'm tough, but my brother was stronger. I could never hope to defeat him. Even if he were brought back to life how he was when he died, I doubt I could win."

"Nori wants to become strong like that. No, more! Nori wants to surpass Takeshi! If he ever escapes Abyssia, Nori will be the one who beats him! Nori won't lose to an evil cat!"

Uncle scratched the back of his head. "You've never seen him fight, have you?"

Nori froze. Yuko had seen him, but Nori hadn't. Apart from when he knocked out Tetsu when he was out of control during his rematch with Eiichi. But that didn't really count.

"Not really. At least not that Nori remembers."

"He's leagues above anything I've seen. Even in this world, the only ones I can think of who can rival him are the Magus Maximus and his wife."

Nori gasped. "Magus Maximus..." Nori knew that was the title of Lady Saya's younger brother, Daisuke. Still, there was something about the title that hit his soul.

"That's the name for the strongest mage."

Nori smiled. "Nori knows."

"You do?"

"Of course. Nori met Daisuke briefly. It was originally the title of his dad, Takehaya no Mikoto. The son of Nagi born after his descent to the realm of the dead."

Uncle smiled. "You're the scholarly type or what?"

Nori's cheeks warmed up. "Not really. Nori's reading skills aren't all that great still. Nori only knows as his mommy told him about Takehaya."

"Right. My sister-in-law did love maintaining the oral history of our people. Not that it did us much good in captivity, but it was what led me here."

Nori smiled. "Glad to hear that mommy's stories helped."

Uncle chuckled. "They were more than just stories. They're the identity of our people. One that neither Margaret nor Takeshi could take away."

Nori blinked. "Who's Margaret?"

"She's the one who owned us before Takeshi. In some ways, she was crueler than that evil cat. She enjoyed watching us kill one another. Brother would kill brother. It's why our population dwindled so much."

Nori gulped. "Did she make Daddy and you fight?"

"No. Thankfully, it never came down to that. But, the Dragon Lady, as we called her, did make Yuko's grandfather fight Dad. Both perished in that battle. That woman, she was the same as that cat. A being who couldn't be opposed." He clenched his head. "I can still remember those dragon-like eyes. It was as if they could see into a person and shred their soul. Honestly, that one was a true demon."

Nori clenched his hands into fists. "What happened to her?"

"She's alive," a voice called out. Nori glanced over his shoulder and saw Onami. "I had the misfortune of meeting her after I had escaped. The ones who intercepted us on the way here, they were her sons."

Nori gasped. Yuko and the others were left to fight her sons?

"W-why didn't you say so?" Nori asked.

Onami averted her eyes. "I wanted to get away from them. Seeing them brought back memories that I've sought to forget."

Nori lowered his head. "Are Yuko and the others safe?"

"I'm certain that they are. Those two didn't feel anywhere as strong as their mother."

Nori sighed in relief. "That's good."

"Margaret's sons, huh? I wished that I could meet them. Killing them would've been a nice step toward my revenge," Uncle said as blue flames enveloped his fists.

"I have a feeling that we'll be meeting her again soon," Onami said, continuing to avert her gaze.

"Then Nori needs to get stronger soon too!" Nori said, stepping toward Onami.

Uncle's flames vanished. He walked over to Nori and patted his head. "You know, on second thought, maybe I can try teaching you."

"Really?" Nori asked, glancing up at Uncle.

He nodded. "I'm not sure if it'll be enough, but yes. That said, I won't be letting you fight her alone. She's too strong for one man to take down."

Nori beamed. It'd been the first time someone had referred to Nori as a man. Everyone else saw Nori as a little kid, even after he'd had grown.

Sand danced around Onami. "I'm going to do so too. I need to get payback on her for what she made Nao and me go through." Her sand fell to the floor as her stomach suddenly grumbled. She laughed. "Though training can wait until we eat."

Nori giggled. "Onami's just like Yuko!"

Uncle laughed. "Let's go eat." He ran ahead and descended the stairs.

Onami gasped as her phone began to vibrate. She pulled it out.

"Who is it? Yuko?"

"No. My sister doesn't have a phone. It's my boyfriend. He sent me one a few moments ago, asking where we were. He said that he would be on his way here, but..."

"Kohri? What is he saying?" Nori looked over her shoulder. His eyes widened upon seeing the message. Nori didn't understand it entirely, but Kohri was saying that Osamu needed help. He had been taken over by a demon.

"Looks like we have to delay training."

Nori hugged the picture frame of his parents. "No. Nori's staying here."

"Huh? But the King is in trouble."

"That man along with Mean Mister tried to turn Nori into a tool!"

Nori glanced up and saw Onami staring at him with her mouth wide open. She quickly closed it as soon as she noticed Nori staring.

"I see," Onami said, turning around. "Then the other girls and I will go ahead. We'll return in a bit. Though, I should probably ask Aemilia to give me the soup on the go."

Nori lowered his head again. Is it right to not help? Osamu hadn't hurt Nori as much as Takeshi, but he wasn't innocent either. Like Mean Mister, he was paying for his crime.

"As children of the Sky Father and Earth Mother, we are called to love. That includes those who do us wrong," Miki's words echoed in my head.

Nori closed his eyes. What should Nori do, Sky Father? What's your will?

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter, if so then click on that Star! Thoughts? Predictions?**