"Here," Setsuko said, offering me a drink as I hammered away at a desk. All of the buildings were fixed, but most lacked furniture.

I smiled and took the glass of water. "Thanks."

She reached over and took the hammer away from me.

The princess was pretty good with a hammer. Probably from her days building and repairing homes in the Kaguya's slums.

"You two are still at it?" a voice called out.

We turned around around and saw Nico.

"Did Teresa send you to check on us?" Setsuko asked.

He chuckled. "No. I was actually looking for a sparing partner."

"Tere will get mad at you for asking us, but I'll be glad to join you," I said.

Nico waved his hands and shook his head. "I was actually looking for her. Thought she would be with you."

"She went with Zafir to check out the commotion earlier," Setsuko said, pointing outside with her hammer.

"Then she should be back soon. Eita's brother caused it," Nico said as he held the bag in his hands.

I sniffed the air. "Are those cookies?"

Nico took out a big cookie. "Yeah, wan-"

I snatched it from him before he could even finish asking.

He watched in amazement as I devoured  the cookie.

Setsuko sighed. "Your manners are truly worse than mine."

My face reddened.

"You better control yourself around them. Else what would you do if the enemy offers you a poisonous cookie?"

I sighed. "You're right."

Nico laughed. "Reminds me of..."

"Of who?"

He lowered his head. "My dad. He would react that way with curry."

"Sounds like big brother Dan," a voice called out. We turned around and saw Nate on Teresa's shoulders. The kid started to tear up.

"There, there. Don't cry, Nat. We'll find your brother and my dad. I promise," Teresa said as she shook her shoulders in an attempt to rock him.

Nat sniffed and wiped away his tears. He reached for his backpack but stopped. "Eli..."

"Master Eliott isn't here," a green-haired girl said as she sculpted something out of wood. She was pretty good at it for a five-year-old.

"My plushie!" Nate cried.

The girl leered. "Oh. right. Forgot it had the same name as the young Master."

"Aren't you Adela's friend?" I asked.

She smiled slightly. "I'm her attendant. I came here to watch over her and her brother."

"A five-year-old looking over a six and eight-year-old?" Setsuko asked, tilting her head.

"Guys, I'm sorry to bother you, but we should go get Nate his plushie," Teresa said as she now carried the sobbing boy in her arms.

The little girl put her hands on her hips. "What a crybaby."

"I-I'm five!" he snapped.

The girl rolled her eyes. "As am I."

Teresa smiled awkwardly at the girl. "I think ya more mature than the average."

The girl crossed her arms. "I get told that a lot. Guess it's true looking at how childish my peers are."

That girl sure was something...

She sort of reminded me of Setsuko as a toddler. Like her, Setty mocked me for being a crybaby...

"Little girl, could you tell the others that we left for Tetsuya's place?"

"I don't know who nor where that is, but alright," the girl said.

"Tetsu's place?" Setsuko asked.

Teresa smiled. "Could he mean what I think he does?"

I turned to look at Nate. "I'll open up the portal for you."

Nate smiled. "Finally?"

I nodded. "Think I've regained enough mana."

Setsuko put a hand on my shoulder. "Let the expert do it."

I crossed my arms. "Expert?"

She smirked at me. "I drew some mana from my surroundings as you were hammering away. That way you won't have to do it. And don't worry, I'll have enough left to not pass out."

I smiled back at her. "Alright. Go ahead."

She held out both hands. A dark portal appeared in front of her. On the other side was Tetsu sitting in his living room sofa, reading to Yuko and his mother. Onami, Rene, Amun, and Layla simply watched. As did four other people. Two I held a faint memory of while the other two looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place who they were.

"Another portal?" a purple haired girl said, looking over at us.

Teresa jumped through the gateway. "Mom! Tetsu!"

"Tere!" Auntie said as she tried to stand up. She grabbed her leg and winced.

"Mom, don't push yourself," Tetsu said, touching her arm.

Teresa's eyes widened. "So, what Nate told us was true."

Nate jumped out of his cousin's arms. "Auntie can't walk still?"

Anis shook her head. "No, I'm not sure how long it'll take."

Nate kicked the floor. "Darn..."

"It'll be fine," Rene said as she took the plushie from her daughter and handed it back to her son.

Nate hugged his blue elephant. "If you say so."

Anis looked down at her legs. "I won't let this illness defeat me. Even if I can't use my legs again, I'll just find a way around it like Mom did."

The woman on the wheelchair next to Tetsu smiled. "That's the spirit."

Anis smiled at her.

Teresa glanced at the woman. "Grandma?" She ran over and hugged her
"I haven't seen you in forever!"

Anis's mom chuckled as she patted her granddaughter's back. "Yeah. You should've come to visit us."

Teresa let go of her and fidgeted. "I wanted to, but I don't know how to drive and it's a long flight from here."

"It's alright, dear. Now, I only need to see my darling Takuya."

"Probably will be awhile since he's with my dad and the others," I said.

Rosemary glanced at me. "Serrano? What happened to your hair? You look like the spitting image of your father with it and those blue contacts. Did Tetsu and you decide to paint your hair white?"

I sighed. Why did she have to compare me to Father? "These aren't contacts. They're my real eyes."

Anis's father narrowed his deep-violet eyes at me. "How do eyes change color? They don't seem special like those of Xelerians and you're not using Second Heaven or a form like that either."

"You know about our eyes?" Onami asked.

The man moved his head side to side. "I've met a couple in my life."

Tetsu stared at his remaining strands of white hair. "We didn't dye our hair either. It's a long story."

I touched my chest. Sometimes, I could still fear Margaret's claw against it. Thankfully, she had missed my core.

Yuko gasped.

"What's wrong?" Onami asked, startled.

"Yuko remembered something," Yuko said with a large smile. "Master helped alleviate Yuko's cough with potions he made using his shield. Maybe one could help Lady Anis too!"

Tetsu grinned. "Good idea!" He slapped himself over the head. "Can't believe it didn't come to me earlier."

"You think it'll work?" Anis said, looking at Yuko.

Yuko nodded. "Yuko used to have coughing fits often unless I was given some medicine, but now they're rare even without the medicine mean mister used to give me."

"Mean mister?" the purple-haired woman asked, raising an eyebrow.

Anis gulped.

Anis's father crossed his arms over his chest. "I take it she means your husband, huh?"

Auntie turned to look at her father. "H-how do you know?"

He stared at Yuko. "I've been keeping tabs on certain suspicious figures around the king. One of those being a man who went by the name of 'Kuroshi'. Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was the supposedly dead 'Hero of Kuroriku'. But, that's not all. I also heard that he had kept two children as pawns. I take it this girl is one of those."

"So he turned out to be a deadbeat," Anis's brother said. He sighed. "And here I thought he was a cool guy once he got over his cowardliness."

"It's worse than that," Onami mumbled as she looked down.

Yuko raised a hand to her mouth.

Anis took a deep breath. "it's alright. Onami, you can tell them if you want."

"Tell us what?" Rosemary asked.

Onami gulped. "Well, your son-in-law enslaved our family. Yuko, Nori, and me are the only ones who managed to get away."

Well, at least she didn't throw Tetsu under the bus by telling them he bought her.

Rosemary gasped. "Slavery? But that's illegal. It was banned by our ancestors centuries ago."

Her husband sighed. "Rose, you sure can be naive at times. It continues under the shadows. Most of it ran by the Prime Minister."

My eyes widened. "Ifrit?"

"Ifrit? His name is Itou last I checked," Anis's brother said. "Though, the guy does give off the vibe of a demon is disguise."

His father closed his eyes. "That's because he is. I'd long suspected Itou was Ifrit in disguise."

I curled my hands into fists. "Why didn't you do a thing about him?"

Setsuko sighed. "Come on, Serra. You should know. Both of us thought that man was shady, but we never had any solid proof of wrongdoings to sink him."

Saffron nodded. "I came close, but it was burned down. Also, all witnesses who provided the information on them suffered unfortunate deaths."

My fiancé grumbled. "I remember reading about those cases. There were also those called to testify who left the country and never returned."

"Yikes," Layla said.

"Indeed," Teresa said, frowning.

"Itou, that man's the father of my step-mom," Nico said raising a hand to his mouth.

Setsuko gasped. "Then that makes her part demon."

"No wonder she was so mean," Teresa said, huffing.

"You met her?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, at Crystal Tower."

Setsuko and I exchanged glances. "Do you have a half-sister called Maya?" I asked.

Nico nodded. "Yeah. You know her?"

Setsuko gritted her teeth. "So, that's why that lady rubbed me the wrong way. She's the daughter of that man. And just as shady as him too."

"Crystal Tower, now that's a place that's hard to garner a thing about. Its owner is an elusive man. All that is known of him comes from his days in Beyond the Scene."

Anis gasped. "He was one of Azami's bandmates?"

"So Dad knows the guy."

"Mom used to be their manager," Nico said, looking to the side.

"How scandalous," Teresa said. She cupped her hands over her mouth. "I mean..."

Nico smiled slightly. "You aren't wrong. It didn't get out until the story of Musa's child had emerged."

"I was kept a secret?" I asked, glancing at him.

"Well, yeah. You know how celebrity culture is like in this country. One's 'idol' is expected to remain single all of their life, belonging only to the fans. The revelation that your father had a son and wife was the beginning of the end of Beyond the Scene."

I lowered my head. So, it was my fault... I had called out Papa during one of his concerts... I doomed my family.

"Serra?" Setsuko asked as my breathing grew hoarse.

Tetsu stood up. "Serrano, are you alright?"

I pinched my nose bridge. "Just a little annoyed. If only I'd known, then things might have turned..." No, I said that I wouldn't think what if anymore. The past can't be changed anymore. What happened, happened. No amount of self-admonishment could change that.

My eyes turned toward Setsuko as she placed her hand on my shoulder. She smiled slightly as my breathing returned to normal.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

She let go of me and turned away. There was a light blush on her cheeks. "It's nothing. We're family after all." Her eyes scanned the living room. "Where are Rosa, Naoru and my cousins? Camila too."

Amun stood up from one of the smaller sofas. "My sister went with the princess. Your sister got an idea of some kind. Hyosetsu and Naoru went to make sure she didn't get into trouble, while the others just tagged along. Dossie also went with them."

"Surprised you didn't go with her. Isn't that why you jumped through the portal?" Teresa asked.

The older twin sighed. "Yeah, but I'm not her babysitter. Even if I do worry about her from time to time."

She reminded me a little of Uncle Osamu. He seemed concerned about Father at the tower, but had given him his space all these years.

Setsuko tilted her head. "What kind of idea did my sister have?"

Tetsuya chuckled as he sat back down. "She didn't say, but whatever it is, it has to be as zany as her."

The crown princess narrowed her eyes at him. "Rosa would punch you if she heard that."

"Any idea where they went?" I asked.

"I think she said something about your place," Layla answered for her older sister.

I blinked. "My place?" Why would Rosa go there out of all places?

"Want to go to your home?" Setsuko asked.

I averted my gaze. Truth be told, I didn't. That place was meaningless without anyone else to share it with.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?**