Dad lurched at me with his fist but stopped just before he hit me. But the air pressure was enough to push me back.

After eating a couple of Taku's leftover carrots, we finally went to train. Think half an hour had passed already.

I gritted my teeth and jumped into the air.

"Bunny Kick!" I yelled as I came back down.

Dad smiled and jumped out of the way. My barefoot struck the ground, shattering it.

Dad's eyes became bigger than Uncle Osamu's. They looked like they could fall off.

I smiled. Now was my chance! I ran at him and leaped again, this time going with a vertical kick.

He shook his head and held out his hands, grabbing my foot. His feet were pushed into the ground like the wheels of a truck in mud.

Using my other foot, I hit his arm, forcing him to unhand me. I jumped back and ran at him. "Double Bunny Kick!" I yelled, leaping at him as if jumping over a hurdle.

Dad chuckled as he avoided me.

I whimpered as I landed on my tail.

"You got to speed up, bunny boy."

I pouted. How was he so fast? He wasn't a bunny too, was he? Pretty sure he liked tiger stuff.

I jumped to my feet and picked up a pebble. I kicked it around with my leg.

"What do you think of doing with a pebble?" Dad asked.

"Bunny Score!" I yelled, kicking the rock at him.

He gasped as it started to burn up. He ducked and watched as a plume of dust flew out of where the pebble had hit.

"T-that was like a meteor!" Dad exclaimed.

I raised a hand to my mouth. Maybe I should rename it Bunny Meteor.

I giggled. "Scared? I am one of the Pillars of Darkness, after all. Don't think I'm a pushover just because I'm a bunny!"

Dad sighed. "I wouldn't think that. Especially considering who scary your aunt can be."

I blinked. "Which one? Rocio or Plu?"

"The former. Even as a little kid, she packed a punch."

"You fought auntie?"

"Almost did, but your cousin Setty intervened. In addition to her, I did see her go at it with Eiko, your Uncle Takeshi, and your mom when she was a pre-teen."

Wow. She must've been brave to have faced off two of the Seven-Hills despite having been a kid at the time. Likewise if she faced Mommy. When she was happy, she wasn't scary, but when angered...

I shook my head. It was best not to remember that. Doing so only played into Itou's plans.

"What was that?" a voice called out. It was Serra. He and Setty carried baskets full of potatoes and onions. Why no carrots? They were the best root veggie there was.

My brother dropped his basket and rushed over to me. "Con! You're awake!" He picked me up and twirled me around.

My head spun. "I think I might lose my carrots," I mumbled.

"Huh?"

Setty sighed. "He means he's going to throw up."

"Oh." He put me down and patted my head. "Sorry about that, little bro."

I glanced up at his dirt covered face. "Got carrots?"

Setty laughed. "Still the same little carrot monster."

I put my hands on my hips. "But I'm a bigger carrot monster now." I placed a hand on my head. "See? Taller now."

Serra chuckled and ruffled my snowy hair. "You've still got a long way to go to overtake me, sport."

I frowned. "But you're a tiger. Can a bunny become taller than a tiger?"

"Probably not, but your aunt's tall despite her abysmal form still being a tiny rat," Daddy said.

I beamed. "Then I might overtake brother!"

"You only have a few years of growing left, so chances aren't good," Tetsuya said as he walked over to us. Yuko, Rosa, Kohri, Onami and he had been watching us from a nearby hill.

"Who knows, Hideo grew while you were in Munil," Serra said.

I giggled. Just being a little shorter than my brother was enough for me.

Tetsu chuckled. "Though, why do you want to be as tall as Serra? I'm taller than him by half a foot!"

I looked up at him. "I'm not greedy."

My eyes widened as I remembered Piedad.

"Do you know how Piedad is doing?" Dad told me that I couldn't see her when I asked while eating. Something about us being together could trigger our archdemon halves. Piedad was more susceptible according to Takuya as she didn't have her angel tool.

"Not sure, I haven't spoken to those back in Sir Hideaki's lands since we left."

I frowned.

"I think it's best that Piedad is moved elsewhere," Takuya said as he walked toward us. He carried a bowl of tasty smelling soup with him.

"Oh, is my carrot stew ready?" I asked, running over to him.

He smiled. "Yeah, here you go. But be sure to blow on it fi-"

"Hot!" I said, sticking my tongue out.

"-first." He covered his mouth and chuckled. "You really are Serra's little brother. Always rushin' to eat your favorite foods, even though they're still pippin' hot."

Setty nudged Serra as Kohri made me an ice cube to cool down my burning tongue. "So, you've burned your tongue because you couldn't wait for a cookie to cool down?"

My brother blushed. "Maybe..."

Yuko giggled. "Yuko remembers Mr. Serrano did that at Eita's place."

Setty shook her head at my brother. "And here I used to think you were more patient than me."

"Hmm, think we should stop picking on Serra. Else, his brother's going to bunny kick us," Tetsu said.

I nodded. "Seems my bunny kick got etched in your memory."

"Kid really is stronger than he looks," Hyosetsu said as he joined us.

"Hey, brother! Done with your training?' Kohri asked as he waved.

Hyosetsu clenched the white handle of his katana. "Came to see what was all the commotion."

"Didn't know you liked gossip," Rosa said, giggling.

He crossed his arms. "Oh, so that's what it was. I better get back to training then."

"Wait. The food is ready," Taku said.

I blew on my carrot stew and took a sip. It was still hot, but not the burning tongue kind. The ice Kohri gave me might've had something to do with it too.

"Yummy?" Big bro asked.

I beamed. "Yup!"

"I'm going to go check on my cake! It should be done already," Tetsuya said, running on ahead.

"Why is he always running?" Teresa asked as she and Nico joined us.

Hyosetsu snickered and glanced at his cousins. "Sounds familiar."

Setty side eyed him. "Hey, I don't always run. Plus, I did that more so as a kid."

Serra snickered. "If anything, she yells at people half the time to not go ahead of her now."

Setsuko bumped him with her arm. "Enough talking. Don't forget your promise. Oh, right."

Yuko stopped and looked around. "Xime isn't back yet?"

"Where did she go?" Hyosetsu asked.

"She said she was going to see her grandparents."

"She's probably just catching up with them," Teresa said. "Reminds me to go see her father back in the capital. We didn't have time for him to teach me purifying techniques."

Taku smiled. "He's a good teacher. Taught Woolsey and me."

Teresa's eyes widened. "I know that uncle studied to be a demon hunter too, but I didn't know Xime's dad taught both of you. Had thought it was a one on one thing. How did he handle him?"

Taku touched his chin and looked up at the blue sky. "He showed us what to do and then had us do it. Sey struggled more than me."

"Not a surprise. You were always a better student."

"He spent a whole month learning the basic technique. Despite it, he didn't express wanting to quit. He wanted to learn demon slaying techniques, no matter how long it took."

Teresa frowned. "Must be because of the demon that killed our grandma."

Right, Serra told me Mommy's mommy died before I was born. A demon had gotten to her. Wish I could've met her. Serra said she loved bunnies.

Takuya nodded and strode ahead. "Yeah. It's why I became one too." He clenched his hands into fists. "But my techniques might not be enough to defeat the archdemons."

"Say, you fought Ifrit before, didn't you?" Serra asked.

I gasped as a memory came to mind. It was of a blood soaked Taku glaring at me as he held a lifeless body in his arms.

"S-sorry," I said, clenching my head.

"Huh?"

"F-for your friend..." I said, staring at my half eaten stew.

Setsuko gasped. "Wait, you have Ifrit's memories?"

I nodded, not looking up.

Hyosetsu sighed. "Forgot what I told you earlier, kid?" He stared at me with those icy eyes of his. "Ifrit might've been a byproduct of your soul, but his actions aren't your responsibility. If any of your lifetimes could be blamed, it would be Hanketsu. He created that monster."

I clenched my rosary and averted my gaze. Hanketsu...

A pair of hands touched my shoulders. I glanced up and saw a pair of green eyes staring back at me.

"Hyosetsu is right. It's not ya fault. I don't even fault Hanketsu for it. So don't kick ya-self over it. Got it?" Takuya said, ruffling my hair.

I smiled. "Thanks." But it still felt odd to have all of these memories. And they likely weren't all of them either, given how long the archdemon had lived. Even Hanketsu's had to be more than what I could recall.

If only Kaguya were here, she would be able to bury the memories of those two. But, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. The archdemon's memories could give us valuable information to win this war. Assuming I could pull those forth. Thus far, I could only remember bad things. Such as what he did to Taku's friend and how he framed Dad, leading to the collapse of my family. I-it was all for the sake of creating me, a vessel for his revenge against the Sky Father and his angels.

"Say, Taku, why did you suggest moving Piedad? Is it because of the demon portal near the village?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Nico gasped. "Wait. This place is dangerous too. There's one of those nearby."

Taku gritted his teeth. "Yeah. It's a bad idea for you to stay here long."

I lowered my head. Thought that I could finally enjoy some peace and quiet at home.

"Maybe we could use it to our advantage. We could cover the place in anti-demon traps. If they were to focus their forces here, it would be an advantage to us elsewhere." Tetsu said as he emerged from my house with carrot cake.

I jumped and he moved back. "Hey, no cake until you finish your food!"

"I'm not jumping because of that. It's your idea."

He grinned. "Like it?"

I nodded.

"I don't know. Using our home for that feels bad," Teresa said, rubbing her shoulders.

"Yeah, plus the idea of using Conrad as bait is..." Serra said, cutting himself off at the last part.

"I don't mind, really."

"As long as we plan well and have plenty of backups, it might work," a black-haired man with purple eyes said as he stood by our backdoor. "Plus, Sorrel and I are here."

"It gives me a chance to do something too," auntie Anis said as she rolled up in her wheelchair. "Even if I don't fight, I can still have Palatine do so in my place. It would be a shame not putting the strongest of the Seven Hill angels to good use."

"We better get planning in that case," Dad said with a slight smile.

Takuya sighed but had hints of a smirk. "I'll give the Demon Hunter association a call. Having a couple more here would be beneficial."

I beamed. "That's a good idea!"

"Is it now?" a voice in my head echoed. Shivers ran down my back. I-Ifrit.

"Con, it's fine. Do not panic. It's what he wants," my cousin said, giving me the same stern look as before.

Could he hear what I did?  Regardless, he's right. I shouldn't worry. Fear was the enemy.

Serrano hugged me from behind. "Is Ifrit trying to take over?"

I grasped my spoon. "Yeah. But I won't let him." With those words, I devoured the remainder of my soup. "Seconds, please!"

My cousin smiled. "Sure."

"Wait until you have dessert," Tetsu said, chuckling.

"If it's as good as your cookies, I bet it will be," my brother said.

I smiled. "Looking forward to it."

I wasn't going to let Ifrit take hold of my heart once more. He wasn't going to use me as puppet again.

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