[Palace Infirmary]

"Master," Yuko mumbled. Her face was stained with tears. Earlier, she had lashed out on Serrano after what had happened. 

Kohri on the other hand had remained respectfully silent, allowing Yuko to do the lashing out for him.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. It'll just take some time for him to wake up," I said, placing a hand on her shoulders.

The little girl looked over at me and let out a slight cry. "Yuko doesn't want to be alone again."

"Hey, you got me too," Kohri said, smiling. "Uh, but yeah. It would be best if Tetsu is along for the ride."

I lowered my eyes toward Yuko and petted her head. "You won't be. I am going to go outside to get some fresh air. Care to join me?"

Yuko shook her head and pressed her head against Tetsuya's right arm. This man really did have some sort of ability, making people care for him despite the allegations against him.

"Kohri, please watch over them," I said as I walked over to the door.

"Don't worry, I will," he said with a slight smile. It was nice to have him around again. Kohri usually made things feel less burdensome than they were.

I opened the back door of the palace's infirmary and walked out. The night-time air was crisp with the recent rains. I turned right and saw Serrano seated down in a bench with his hands crossed together as if in prayer. He glanced up as soon as he saw me.

"How is he?" he asked, his brow furrowed. His eyes were red, as if he had been crying.

I smiled and sat down next to him. "You still care about him, don't you?" I asked, poking his left cheek lightly.

He averted his gaze. "No... well yes, but it's only because he's one of the Five Knights of Prophecy. Your father would be furious if I ended up killing one of the five."

I narrowed my hazel eyes at him.

"You know, you're just being a tsundere. Though, you're right about my father needing him. He spared his life because of that," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Though you know that's not it. A friendship can't just die over night. I know that the allegations against him are heavy."

I looked down at my hands and recalled how I had treated Tetsuya.

"You know, if I hadn't taken the time to talk to Rosa, I would probably have reacted the same way as you just did. My sister, while still fearful of getting close to him, wants to give him a chance to prove himself."

He sighed and glanced up at the starry night sky. "Rosa is being naive again."

"And if he's innocent?" I asked, leaning toward him. "What then?"

He closed his eyes. "I would love to think he is, but for now there's no proof that he is. On the contrary, the evidence as it stands is against him. Kohri trusting him isn't indicative of his innocence. He isn't a living lie detector. He can make mistakes."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Really? I don't know of any previous error in his judgments."

He opened his eyes and glanced directly at mine. His eyes looked gorgeous in the silver moonlight.

"How about him leaving the Knighthood until now?"

"You know why he did..." I gasped. "Wait, is the reason for why you don't want to trust Tetsuya until he's proven innocent because of what happened with your brother?"

He stood up. "I better go to sleep. I need to be ready for tomorrow's mission."

I stood up and grabbed his left hand. "Serra, you mustn't blame yourself for what happened all those years ago. Conrad's death isn't your fault!"

His face reddened a little so he averted his gaze. "Don't... don't call me that. It reminds me of that guy. And you would also blame yourself if you had a chance to save your sister but didn't take it." He glanced back at me. "So... how is that guy doing?"

I sighed.

"He's healthy... though I sort of messed up in my treatment. I tried to give him a potion infused with the mana crystals. I did so to strengthen him, but they were too much for his body to take. I don't think that he'll wake up for some time. Kohri and Yuko are watching over him right now. Though, I plan to stay here to make sure my mistake doesn't worsen his condition."

"I was hoping you would. I will be fine leading our group on my own." He stared at our hands. "You think my treatment of Tetsuya is unjust, but why are you treating him nicely? I know that you agree with Kohri that it wasn't him who raped Rosalba and you need to keep your father's knights alive and healthy for combat. Not to mention fulfill your sister's wishes of giving him a chance to prove himself, but sometimes I feel there's more."

"More?" I asked, tilting my head at him.

"Your interaction on the morning of the ball, it seemed as if you were flirting. Tell me, are you... are you..."

I let go of his hands and chuckled. "What? Don't tell me you're jealous? Wait, wait, don't tell me your attitude toward him is driven because of jealousy?"

"No, of course not! Who do you take me for, Eiichi?" I asked, wrinkling his nose.

"But you two are 'friends', his attitude might have rubbed off on you. Hey, he's the one putting those negative thoughts about him in your head, isn't he?"

My fiancé shook his head. "No, Eiichi has nothing to do with my treatment of Tetsuya, other than the initial accusation. Also, he's isn't my friend. You know fully well that's only feigned. A son of a peasant like me requires friends in high places in order to survive. Even though I'm the strongest of my generation of Seven-Hill Knights, I am still looked down on by the rest of the noble houses within the various clan branches. Honestly, Kohri is more of a true friend than that guy."

I snickered. "True." I gasped. "Hey, don't you think Eiichi was too quick to accuse Tetsuya?"

He rubbed his chin. "Yeah, that has bothered me too. However, I saw the guy discussing something with the king when Rosa and Tetsuya departed. I doubt that he managed to sneak out and make it to her room in such short time without him bumping into someone while running at lightning speed in a crowded ballroom. Eiichi isn't good at curving in tight spaces."

"True, he moves in a straight line and falls when he fails to curve." I snickered. "The guy sure is ungraceful despite his appearance."

"Hey," Rosalba said as she made her way through the palace alley we were in. She was escorted by a pair of female guards.

"Sis, what are you doing out here at this time?" I asked.

She lowered her head. "I... I was curious..."

"About my cousin?" Serrano asked, putting a hand on his hip. "You should be more wary around him. Both of you. At least until we have settled his case."

Rosalba pulled the orange silk blanket around her shoulders tighter despite the warmth of the late spring night.

"I... I know. That's why I took the detour here instead of passing his room. I... I just wanted to know how he was doing."

Serrano sighed. "You two truly are sisters. It's fine to see him if you feel that you're able to withstand it. Plus, he's currently with Kohri and a girl called Yuko so you should be fine. You two guards, make sure that the trash doesn't try anything."

This guy really is a good actor. I bet he cares about Tetsu as much as Roa did about Etsuo when we held the latter hostage.

"Yes, Serrano, sir!" the two guards said in unison as they saluted him. My fiancé might have had a hard time impressing the nobility, but he had earned the full trust of the lower and middle-class foot soldiers and guards with ease.

"Where are you going?" Rosa asked, watching Serrano walk out of the limestone alley.

"I'm off to bed. Gotta wake up early to go to the Abyss. Someone needs to do that fool's job."

Fool? Sure hope he means his cousin and not me!

Serrano flashed me a smug grin.

He meant me, didn't he? This guy can sure be annoying!

"Take care," Rosa said, waving at him.

Serrano waved back without taking the time to glance back. "You too!"

"Hey, how about we go back inside?" I asked, attempting to forget my fiancé's remark. "It's late."

Rosalba glanced at the back door leading to the infirmary. She wrapped the blanket tighter and hugged the plushie our late mother had given her as a baby. After taking a deep breath, she took a step forward.

I touched her shoulder which caused her to jump.

"Sorry, I didnt' mean to scare you," I said, looking down at the black stone sidewalk. "If you're this nervous, maybe you should wait until tomorrow to see him. Or maybe later."

My little sister shut her eyes and curled up into a ball. "I... I still can't do it."

I went around her and squatted down to her eye-level.

"Listen, Rosa. Pushing yourself to see him will accomplish nothing," I said, caressing her face. "It's reasonable that you're afraid of seeing him after what happened to you. Even if he might not be the one who attacked you, he is still the biggest suspect until we get proof that says otherwise."

I wiped her tears away and held her tightly in my arms. Seeing her like this, it was heart wrenching. Whoever did this to her was going to pay dearly. Tetsuya had better not have done it, or I would never forgive myself... much like how Serrano hadn't forgiven himself for what happened all those years ago with his little brother.

*Etsuo*

[The Next Day-Abyssia]

Gracefully, I danced across the wooden floored room, carefully avoiding my brother's punches. 

Man-kin was unleashing his fists like crazy. Ever since we had returned from Zionia, he hadn't been acting like his cheerful self. He wasn't even in his 'cold' persona, rather it was like a bad mix of his two personas.

I stopped one of his punches, only to have my hand strike the floor. He had increased the gravity of it.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" I asked as I held my hand with the other and rose. I was lucky that he hadn't had limited the range of the effect. Or else I would be on the floor, begging him to undo the gravity on my entire body.

Man-kin turned his back to me and wiped some of the sweat pouring down his brow with his shirt. Despite being younger, he was in a better shape than me. No matter how much exercise I did, it was hard for me to gain any noticeable muscle mass. Then again, I was kinda of a slacker compared to him... and maybe I had a little more bananas to eat than he did.

"Aren't you mad?" he asked, looking down at me. There seemed to be something condescending about the look he was giving me. Did he blame me for getting myself captured? It was my fault in the end after all. I was too weak to guard against Sir Hideaki's relentless onslaught of attacks.

Tilting my head, I asked, "About what?" Other than you having a better toned body than me despite you being younger than me?

Man-kin let go of his shirt. "Don't play dumb! About being unable to defeat the enemy. I mean the King and the others, not you getting yourself captured. Though, to be honest, it was certainly embarrassing to hear that my h..." He stopped and lowered his head. "That my big bro got captured."

I smiled slightly. Now he was starting to act a bit more like his usual self. Which come to think of it, Man-Kin really resembled our Zionian cousins as well as Roa in various ways. I mean, other than the whole physic aspect of which he was closer to Roa and Serrano.

"Oh, that," I said, continuing to clench my hand. "No. In the end, Pa made them realize that if he wished, he could destroy them whenever. In most likelyhood, they're currently low in confidence."

"Just like you after I've crushed you to a bloody mess," a smooth voice echoed behind me. I didn't need to turn to figure that it was Satoru.

"Hey, Etsuo!" Roa said as he walked into the dojo. He had a large smile on his face. "Satoru and I will be heading to Xeleria shortly for our next mission, wanna come?"

I shook my head. "No, it's alright," I said.

Suddenly, an alarm went off.

"W-what's going on?" I asked.

"It must be another raid from those angels," Satoru said, turning around. "Let's go, Roa. My father is waiting for us."

"Wait, I'll come with you!" Man-Kin yelled. He marched over to them. "Please, let me come with you!"

Satoru grinned. "Sure."

"Huh?" I asked. "You want to go with them?"

Man-Kin nodded. "Yeah, I want to see the other universes like you did with Mama's birthplace. I didn't get a chance to step outside of the castle, so I never really had a chance to experience Zionia. So, I at least wish to see the world where Papa spent some of his youth in."

I lowered my gaze. Hearing that made me want to accompany them as well, but I needed to look out for Kiara and Dan who still had yet to wake up. My parents were exhausted after the ritual to stabilize the Sacred Crystal, so they would need some help if those angels come at us.

"Alright, I'll let Mama and Papa know," I said, grinning.

Man-Kin grinned back. "Thanks, big bro!"

"Oi!" Reno yelled as he appeared behind Roa and Satoru. "Where are you shadowy folks off to?"

"We're going to visit the Realm of Magic, wanna come?" Roa asked with a grin.

Reno stepped back. His jaw was wide open. "You mean Xeleria? Of course I do!" He jumped as if he realized something. His red eyes were lowered to the floor. "Though, I need to stay here. I can't leave my cousins and in the state they're in."

A red-haired young woman walked up to Reno. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on the back of his head. "Go with your friends. I'll take care of Dan and Kiara," she said with a warm smile.

"Same here," I added.

Reno chuckled. "Wahh! You two are the best! Well, it seems like I'm going to Xeleria after all! And don't worry, Sis, Etsuo! I'll be sure to bring back some souvenirs for you two!"

Roa laughed. "Just don't get too many or it might be difficult for us to carry them all back."

"Since you're coming too Reno, I'll simply let Roa and you handle the task of gathering intelligence on the Ziz. After all, I got some other matters to attend to," Satoru said as he walked on ahead of them.

"Say, what did happen to your 'Plan B' back in Zionia?"

"Oh, you mean my job as a piano instructor? That was only a cover so that I could-"

The alarm suddenly blared louder.

"Maybe someone should take care of that first," Reno said, crossing his arms.

I took out my crystal and had it show us who the intruders were. An image appeared from the stone, revealing Serrano. He was accompanied by Setsuko's group, minus Setsuko herself and the guy who wanted to kill me in the dungeon.

The group were descending down a spiral rock, the place where Satoru and the others were about to head to in order to get to Xeleria. Within it was also the gateway to where we were.

Satoru grinned as he glanced back at me. "Serrano, eh? I wonder, would that peasant playing knight suffer more if I were to kill him, or if I were to leave him alive."

Is he talking about Tetsuya? And here I thought this guy had mellowed out after his defeat in the hands of Rosa. I guess I was wrong.

Reno grumbled. "Serra, eh? He's gonna be a tough one to handle. I was only able to handle him thanks to Mei's ability shutting off his powers. Plus, Alabaster isn't completely healed from his confrontation against Setsuko, either."

"Don't worry, we'll handle my cousin," Roa said, smirking.

"Your cousin?" a voice called out. We all turned to see a hooded blue-haired man.

"Grandfather," Roa, Man-kin, and I said in unison.

Grandfather smiled as he stared at the crystal.  Thousands of shattered cores now littered the space around Serrano.

"This one is Selena's kid... Roa, Man-kin, together with Satoru and Reno, bring out as much of this young man's power as you can. I wish to see how powerful this cousin of yours truly is. If he proves impressive then he will serve our interests greatly."

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