*Azami*

"That sure hit the spot!" I said as I dried my long hair. The barber got tied up in another job, so I decided just to shave and shower.

I grabbed the white button-up shirt on the bed. The maids lent me some of my brother's stuff. Since we were of similar height, they fit me well. I hoped that Osamu wouldn't get mad at me. As kids, he would gladly share some stuff, but there were some things which he would get angry if touched. His stuffed lion was one of those no-touch things.

Getting cleaned and putting on fresh clothes helped relieve some of my stress, but most of it was still there.

I put a hand over my chest as I reached the middle button. My gut told me something was wrong. No, it wasn't only one thing, but multiple stuff. What was going on out there? Were my nieces and son in trouble too?

"Calm down, Azami," a soft voice echoed in my head. "You need to be clear-headed. Besides, we aren't sure if your brother really is in any danger."

"I know," I said as I buttoned up my shirt more. I walked over to the door. "That's why I'm going to go see what I can find about his mission. If I can communicate with someone who is with him, then I can verify or discredit my suspicions."

"Do you know how to do that?" another voice asked. This one was husky.

"Not exactly, but I do know where to start. An inter-dimensional calling booth. Osamu gave me his number recently. I'm pretty sure I still have it." I turned around and knelt to pick up my worn-out pants from the floor. My hand rummaged around until it touched a piece of paper. "Here it is!"

The joy I felt vanished at the sight of blotted out numbers. I threw the paper and my pants to the floor.

No! It must've gotten socked by last night's rain shower! Why didn't I keep it someplace better?

I grabbed my hair and took several deep breaths. Felt like yanking it out in rage. What do I do now? Wait, maybe the maids or guards have it.

"Calm down. Getting agitated does you no good," the soft-spoken voice called out.

I let go of my hair and sighed. "I know." My eyes darted to the few strands of hair in my hands. I closed my eyes. My rage continued to get the best of me.

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of knocking. "Who is it?" I asked.

"It's me, Imelda. Would you like anything to eat, dear?"

"Nana?" I asked, rushing over to the door. I opened the door and burst into laughter at the first genuinely familiar face in a long time. "It is you!" I hugged her and lifted her from the ground.

"Put me down, dear!" she yelled, yelping.

I snickered and put her down. "Sorry. Got a little overly excited there. It's been so long since I've seen you."

"Yeah. Last time was the funeral of your little boy," she said, lowering her eyes.

I shut my eyes. "You knew I was there?"

"Yes. Why didn't you get closer? Serra needed someone to lean on. After everything that happened with his brother and mom."

I opened my eyes. "I wanted to, but I couldn't." My hands trembled. "If I got close to him, I might've hurt him more. I was mad." I fell to my knees and grabbed my head. "I wanted to vent to the world! At the Sky Father, Earth Mother, and everyone else! Why did a sweet kid like Conrad die? He didn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. Conny was as nice a kid as they come." I hugged myself. "He wasn't guilty of anything." Tears streaked down my face. "All he wanted was to be with his friend."

Nana Imelda knelt down and patted my shoulder. "I know it hurts, dear. But some things are best faced straight on."

I wiped my tears and nodded. "I know that now," I said, laughing. "I wished that I did back then. If I did, I probably could've avoided a lot of suffering. Not only my own, but Serrano's too."

Nana bobbed her head. "Yes, dear. That said, it appears that little Conny isn't actually dead."

My eyes widened. "What?" I jumped to my feet. "But we all saw his burial!"

She averted her gaze as she rose up. "I don't know all the details, but that's what I've heard from some of the guards. That boy came here with a weird-looking woman. They wanted to enter the palace, but Mr. Itou wouldn't let them. He said that they were enemies and that the boy claiming to be Conrad was likely an imposter. The minister told this to your brother too."

I gulped. "T-that makes sense. Wait, not many people know about Conrad's existence."

She crossed her hands. "Indeed. How this woman and her partner knew is a mystery. I think that the king suspects there's more to it. He told the Seven-Hills to keep an eye out for the boy."

"Where are the knights?" I asked.

"They said that they were going to Xeleria to aid the king."

My mouth dropped. "Is that so? The situation must be dire."

Nana nodded. "Yes." She closed the door behind her. "They're up against beings with amazing regenerative abilities. Your wife turned out to be one of them."

My eyes widened. "So, it's the abysmals," I said, grabbing my head.

"Yes. Your father-in-law is the one leading them."

"Reginald?" I asked. "Why is he doing this? He was close to my father! He even married my father's cousin!"

"Well, it seems that things changed. Considering that poor Tulia died, he might've lost all affection for this realm."

That was true. Selena's mom had perished seven months before Conrad was born. After Conrad's birth, I hadn't heard much from him. I just knew that he had taken his youngest children to live in his homeworld.

"I suspect that red-haired woman with the Conrad-look-alike is one of them. The Prime Minister did refer to them as enemies. The only other possibility is that she's a Kasai no Ki."

"Yeah, her being red-haired would point to that second one too. But does that mean that people around here still see the Kasai no Ki as enemies?"

Nana turned around. "Yeah, several do. You should know, having lived in the streets."

"Most of the Kasai no Ki I met were friendly," I said. Wait, a significant number of my fellow homeless were Kasai no Ki... "There's still discrimination against them, isn't there?"

She nodded. "Yes. Those people are pushed to the edges of society. Some nobles are even itching to eliminate them."

"What? Are they insane? They're people too!" I yelled.

Nana snickered. "I wish that they were here to hear you. Not that words would sway them. You know how stubborn nobles can be. Those who are politicians are doubly so."

I lowered my head. Did my brother fail to clean up this kingdom? Or did he give up on that goal?

"Yeah, I do. That's one of the reasons why I gave up my birthright to my brother." I scratched my head. "Though, I sometimes wonder if I things would've been easier for him if I hadn't."

Nana walked into the hall. "The King has struggled, but who knows if anything would've changed personally for him. He would work himself to the bone as a young man too. Remember how stacked his schedule was?"

I smiled. "Yeah. That guy could probably have been an idol with how well he managed to juggle a crammed schedule." Brother even had the voice. Sadly, he didn't like singing in front of others. But that made hearing his songs even more special. When we were kids, we used to sing happy birthday to one another. It sure made my day hearing him sing.

My nana patted my stomach. "That's enough talking about Osa for now. We need to get you fed."

I laughed. "Nana, I'm not a little kid anymore. That said, I would like some waffles with berry jam."

"Waffles, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah." Honestly, they reminded me of the time that Selena stuffed one into my mouth in anger after I teased her. It was hard to believe that the feisty girl I fell for ended up letting herself get hit by me. Did her love for me blind her?

"Azami? Why are you crying now?" Nana asked, wiping away my tears.

"Don't mind me. I'm just a little emotional being here for the first time in ages." I stared back at the room that I had once shared with my brother when we were little kids.

My young self's laughter echoed in my head as I heard Osamu whine as he chased after me.

"I sure miss those days."

"I do too, sweetie, but there's no rewinding the past. At least not that far."

"I know."

She squeezed my shoulder. "I'll go prepare those waffles you wanted. Lay down and rest for now. I'll call you once they'll ready."

"I want to go check something," I said, wiping my remaining tears away.

"What's that?"

"The throne room."

She gasped. "Even though your brother's not here?"

I chuckled. "To be honest, I'll like to sit on it." As a kid, I would sometimes put on Dad's cape, grab the royal scepter, and sit on the throne. Osamu would often laugh as I barked orders at my imaginary subjects.

Nana sighed. "You've had a tough life, but that child-like glee of yours lives on."

My face warmed up. "It does?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Well, I'll be going now. Try not to cause trouble while I'm away."

I grumbled. "I told you that I'm not a little kid anymore," I said as I followed after her.

Once we descended the stairs, Nana and I went out separate ways. She went left to the kitchen, and I went right to the throne room.

The mural of Hanketsu and Valencia in the middle of the lobby caught my eye.

"Son, are you really alive?" I asked, staring at Hanketsu's image. Conrad didn't look much like him, but I could feel the connection between them.

My eyes widened as the face of Hanketsu cracked.

Excellent, as if I needed a bad omen to tell me something's going on.

I turned my attention to the golden gates leading to the throne room. For some reason, Father decided to situate it between the two sets of stairs. If it were me designing it, I would've placed it on the palace's uppermost floor to overlook everyone.

I narrowed my eyes at the doors as I placed my hands on them. Something sinister was on the other side.

https://youtu.be/SGlkxekia5c

"Azami, be careful," my soft-spoken angel said.

"There's a demonic presence on the other side," my husky-voiced angel said.

I pushed the doors open and looked around. There was no one inside.

"It must be hiding," both of my angels said.

I nodded. "Come out, demon! I know that you're there!" Suddenly, the golden doors closed behind me. "So, you're locking me in here, huh?"

A cloaked figure emerged from the floor in front of the platinum throne. "Ahh, if it isn't the fallen prince. What brings you here?" the demoness asked as she sat down on the throne.

"Get up from there!" I growled as I transformed my blue bracelet into its knife form. "That's my family's throne!"

The demoness laughed. "Oh, but I am family. You're all my descendants."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, right. I forgot that you're not as bright as your brother. No wonder he became king."

"Insults won't get you anywhere other than an early grave!"

She laughed. "Early? I've lived for millennia already. So there's nothing early about it. Not that a weakling like you can kill me. Honestly, I wonder why my significant other took an interest in you."

"Your husband?"

She snickered. "If that's what you wish to call him. My 'husband' is the one who led you on your path to becoming an idol. His doing so allowed me to get my favored twin to the throne. In return, he managed to create the proper environment to birth his ultimate vessel."

"What are you talking about?" I snapped. "Don't speak in riddles!"

The demoness sighed. "This is why I hate dealing with pea brains." Earth spikes rose from the floor, tearing through the purple carpet leading from the throne to the doors. I jumped out of the way and threw my knife at her.

She held out a hand and grabbed it. The demoness let out a yelp as her hand burned. "How can you have holy power this strong?" she asked. "You're supposed to be fallen!" She threw the knife on the floor and stood up. Bats flew out of the sleeves of her cloak and rushed me.

"Return to me!" I yelled. My knife dissolved into a flurry of light and reappeared in my right hand.

The bats stopped advancing toward me. Instead, they danced around in circles as if waiting for their master's command.

"Call me surprised. You've managed to pull yourself back from the brink." She snickered. "Wonder if that'll still be the case once my dear has finished merging with your son. Or once your beloved brother loses himself completely, becoming my perfect puppet king."

The bats faded as a ring of light expanded outward from me. "What did you say?" I yelled, dashing at her.

She leaped back, but I slashed her right side, shredding through her hood. My eyes widened at the face I saw. The demoness resembled a teenage girl with brown hair and orange eyes.

"W-why do you look like Conny's friend?" I asked, stepping back.

The demoness rubbed her right cheek and grinned. "That's because I am her."

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