I held Bear-Woof tightly as I rocked myself in my sister's bed. I couldn't sleep in my room, not after what had happened. It brought back too many bad memories. Sadly, so did Bear-Woof. Its scent reminded me of Tetsuya...

At the same time, the scent comforted me. It reminded me of when I was younger, back when dad threw it out of the car. Back when I met that dark skinned, golden eyed boy who smiled like the sun. I...I couldn't believe that same boy had done that to me.

Tetsu... How could he have...? No, he couldn't have been the one! Y-yet, I also refused to believe that Roa and Etsuo were with the enemy. B...but Kohri didn't trust those two, yet he trusted Tetsu. So maybe Tetsu was innocent.

Tetsu... Having seen him give his hamburger to a hungry Yuko reminded me of when he bought me a sandwich at the cafe in his university. Come to think of it, I hadn't paid him back like I promised.

I got up and looked outside my sister's window. The stars were barely visible, unlike in the countryside. Satoru's words from our battle in Grand Chasm echoed in my head. Was Tetsu really pretending to be nice?

I fell to my knees and let out a cry. Why did this have to happen? Why?

"What are you doing, Rosa?" I asked myself. "Get up, you won't find the truth like this. You need answers." A gasp escaped my lips. Tetsu, I needed to talk to him, whether I wanted to or not.

"You really do love that guy, huh?" a voice called out.

I turned toward the door and saw my sister standing by the doorway. She ran over to me and hugged me tightly.

"Sis," I mumbled.

"I know you don't trust your instinct anymore after what happened with those spies, but if you seek answers then I will help you," Setty said, running her hand through my hair. "I will help you erase any doubt if Tetsuya did it or not. Then that way, you'll be able to take a step forward and move on. But if it does turn out that it was him, then promise me that you will forget about him."

I hugged her as tightly as I could. "I..." I sniffled into her hair. "I pr...promise."

Setty smiled slightly. "Be strong, Rosa. I'll avenge you, no matter what must be done."

*Serrano*

I closed the door behind me and left the sisters alone. I'd come with Setsuko, but had decided to stay outside to give them some space.

I lowered my head and stopped. Was Tetsu really innocent? If so, then I had made a big mistake.

I took a deep breath and continued walking until I overheard King Osamu and another talking. I hid behind a pillar and watched as a man in a white lab coat handed him a piece of paper.

"Let's see the results," King Osamu said. He looked at the envelop with down-turned eyes. Slowly, the king opened it and took out its contents. The king took a deep breath. "Thanks. I ask that you keep this a secret for the time being, at least until this war is over. If my oldest daughter were to find out she will surely kill him."

What are they talking about? Who would Setsuko kill? Tetsu?

"Hey!" a voice called out. Approaching the scientist and King Osamu was a man in a black cloak.

Kuroshi! What is this slave-owner doing here? Did he return here for Nori? If only we didn't need Tetsu or him for the war. Why is it that we're left to rely on criminals?

"What's that?" Kuroshi asked.

King Osamu glared at Kuroshi. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to discuss training. If we are to defeat Daisaru and the other Pillars we need to get stronger, right? Also, I wanted to know what's going on with Tetsuya."

The king took a step forward and slammed the man up against a wall.

"You dare walk in here as if you own the place. Look at this and try to deny that the peasant wasn't the one who did it!" he yelled. The king pressed the letter in his hands up against the man's face. "Read it!"

"Huh?" Kuroshi asked. His jaw dropped open at what it was he saw.

Wait, is that... a DNA test? No... Tetsu... How could you do this to her? Why did you do this to someone who loved you? Someone who still naively believes in you?

"This...this is fake," Kuroshi said, taking the paper away from him. "It has to be. There's no way that Tetsu would have done that to Rosalba."

"You only say that because you're..."

Kuroshi turned to look at me. "Come out!"

King Osamu punched him. "Enough, he's already heard enough!"

Kuroshi glared at the king. "You spoke on purpose, didn't you? You want Serra here to distrust his cousin!"

The king delivered a punch to the man's gut. "Stop making excuses for that wretched pig! Once this war is over I'll have him burned at the stake for all to see!"

Kuroshi grumbled. He looked at the king's eyes with unease. "You, aren't lying..."

"Of course I am not!" he yelled as he grabbed Kuroshi by the collar of his cloak. "Who do you take me for?"

"Well, you did use lies to separate Sofia and..."

"Shut up!"

Kuroshi chuckled. "You don't wish for Serra to overhear this bit?"

Osamu dropped him to the floor. "Get out of here, you piece of trash! You and that pig should never have been selected!" He turned over to me. "Know that this is your fault too, Serrano! You are the one who chose that rotten cousin of yours to be the owner of Agnes!"

He was right, it was my fault. If I hadn't chose Tetsuya then none of this would've happened.

"That test has to have been manipulated!" Kuroshi yelled. "Tetsuya is innocent, Serra. You have to believe in your friend!"

"M-my friend?" I asked as I stepped out from behind the pillar. I transformed my violet earring into its sword form. "He's not my friend any longer, to me he is trash. It's as simple as that." I scoffed. "Do not worry, Your Majesty, I will fix my mistake. When the time comes, I will take Tetsuya's life. I will not allow Setsuko or you to dirty your hands with his blood."

King Osamu nodded. "I certainly hope so, because if not then you too will pay dearly, peasant."

I lowered my head and turned my back to him. "Don't worry."

"Serra," Kuroshi called out as he reached a hand out for me.

I put an arm over my eyes as I reverted Aventine back to its earring form. 

I walked downstairs blindly. The tears wouldn't stop flowing as I recalled that boy who was like a brother to me. I should've known something was wrong with him earlier. I failed to save him. I wasn't able to rescue him from the darkness in his heart, and now that darkness had led to someone getting hurt.

I knelt down by the stairs. It was just like with my mom... I couldn't save her either. In the end it was my little brother who got hurt. And now my failure to save Tetsuya had hurt Rosa.

*Tetsuya*

I put my head on the table of the restaurant. All night we searched around, looking for a doctor who would attend her, but none would take her in. We even went to look for that ghoulish salesman. However, even at night his shop didn't reappear where it was when I had bought Yuko.

We had wasted a whole day's worth of training, but at least Yuko seemed happy, eating her food with joy.

I touched my pouch of gold coins. I would soon need to hunt for food again as we were running out of money. Though, I could always sell the items we find in Abyssia and elsewhere. Maybe I could make a deer jerky stand. Yuko needed to be the one running it, as most would probably avoid me like the plague.

"Are you alright, master?" Yuko asked. She fixed her blue hat which I bought for her to hide her ears. "You seem lost. Did Yuko do something wrong? I didn't reveal my secret, did I?"

I shook my head. "No, it's not you..." I let go of the pouch. "I was just thinking about what we should do tomorrow."

"Are we going back to that dark world? Yuko doesn't want to go." Her body shivered.

I couldn't blame her, even I didn't want to return to that awful world. We had barely made it out of there alive the first time. We had barely improved at all.

"First let's train with our weapons," I suggested.

I recalled the training station at the castle, the place I got my first essence crystal. Rosalba mentioned that they could increase our power. Suddenly, I recalled what it had done to her wound, it had healed it completely.

"I know this place, but I'm not sure if they'll allow us in."

She gave me a confused look. "Why not?"

I looked down. "Haven't you noticed yet? The way most people treat me? Only in this restaurant and at the weapons shop we visit am I allowed in. That's why no one would attend you."

"Oh, yeah. They all avoided Master, especially the girls."

To think that at one point I wished girls would stop gawking over me. Now it was the complete opposite, they ran from me as if I were a demon.

Without warning, I rose from the table. "It seems you're done. Let's go," I said.

The castle, would they allow me into the training station? Most likely not, but I had to try for Yuko's sake.

Yuko cleaned up after herself and came rushing back to my side. "Ready!"

"Ready for what?" a familiar voice called. It was Kohri. "Hey, if it isn't Yuko! Long time to see, girl!"

Yuko smiled widely. "Yeah!"

I patted Yuko's head. She really was a quick learner, I had only told her what to say if asked about her origins again.

Kohri studied her closely. He even sniffed her hair. "Hmm, I am not sure how I didn't notice this before, but she's a member of the Kyuu-Hyaku clan, isn't she?"

I grabbed Yuko's hand tightly. I was ready to run out of there.

He crossed his arms and chuckled. "You know, I have a friend who's one too. She actually smells an awful lot like Yuko."

"Kohri is a tanuki too?"

Kohri snickered. "No. I'm not." He glanced up at me with those icy-blue yet kind eyes. "Uh, actually... Hey, Tetsuya, would you mind if I tag along with you?"

"We don't mind," Yuko said, grinning. She glanced down at the table and bit her lip. "Uh, but it's Master's decision."

"'Master'? What happened to 'Mister'?" Kohri asked, chuckling.

I let go of Yuko. "With us? Why?" I pulled him over to a corner of the restaurant. "You sure that's your final decision?"

Kohri laughed. "I told you already. I don't care. Plus, I want to help battle those monsters. I can't have you two and my brother risking your lives in that other realm while I stay here doing nothing."

What an odd guy he was.

I grinned. "Sure, I'll be glad to have you back on my team. We need to practice. But first let's head to the castle, I'll like to get some essence crystals. We will need them if we hope to survive in the Abyss. I'll explain to you what it's like on the way there."

"Sounds good to me!"

***

The three of us left the restaurant and headed straight for the palace.

"Kohri," Hyosetsu snapped as soon as we arrived at the castle grounds. He stood guard by the main entrance. "What are you doing with this scumbag?" He took out his sword. "Don't tell me that you're in cahoots with him? Do you plan to overthrow the royal family?" Ice formed under his younger brother's feet. "If so, then I'll destroy you here and now before you tarnish our family's name!"

"Stop," Yuko yelled, stepping in front of us. "Master and his friend are not mister's enemies."

Hyosetsu put away his sword. "You're that little girl from before, Yu-something."

"Yuko Akiyama. Yuko's master and Kohri are kind people."

The older ice prince grinned. A sword clashed against my shield. His blade was an inch away from my face. "I don't trust scum like him, little girl. Brother, you should also stay away from this guy. Or prepare yourselves to be labeled as renegades."

"Tetsuya is innocent," Kohri protested. "He appears to have been framed."

The elder brother sighed. He shook his head as if embarrassed by his younger brother. "Like always you follow your heart before your head. No matter, I'll end up as the future clan leader anyways."

Kohri ignored his brother and walked up to the guards. "Using my authority as heir of the Kuroyuki no San branch, I ask that you allow us in."

Hyosetsu winced upon hearing his brother refer to himself as such. He watched as the guards opened the palace doors.

"Boy," the woman who I met on my first day here said as I walked past her. "Don't try anything funny. We're only letting you in because lord Kohri promises to keep an eye on you."

"I won't," I assured her as we entered the palace grounds.

Yuko marveled at the various flowers. "I remember these," she hummed.

I ignored her, instead quickening my pace. I was afraid that if we lingered for long we would run into some more unseemly people.

Once through the golden palace doors, I once anew saw the mosaic of our ancestors on the black floor.

First thing I did was to run over to the image of Hanketsu. Whoever made the mosaic must've met Hanketsu, or used an image created during his lifetime.

"Something wrong?" Kohri asked.

I shook my head. "Nah. I was just paying my ancestor his respects," I said with a slight smile.

"How did you know that his ashes were under that mosaic?" Setsuko voice rang throughout the lobby. She descended the steps and walked past me.

Cold steel touched my face. I didn't have to turn to guess who it was.

"I told you stay away," Serrano yelled, the side of his sword touching my face. His voice seemed colder than usual, as if the hatred he held for me had increased.

Yuko ran up to us. She grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the sword. "Why is everyone trying to kill Yuko's master?"

Serrano lowered his sword. "Who is this child?"

"You don't remember her? She's Yuko, one of our army's members," Kohri responded.

Setsuko kneeled down and touched the mosaic. "So, you've really did end up joining him once more despite knowing his supposed crimes. If you trust him that much to go ahead with it then it seems that he might be innocent after all." She gave me a hopeful smile.

Serrano shook his head. "Setsuko, don't be an idiot too! How can you rely on Kohri's judgment instead of your own eyes? This... man, if he can even be called that, committed one of the worst crimes possible against your sister. He should be kept at arm's length until after the war."

She turned around and walked over to him. She grabbed his sword by the blade. Her eyes were without fear as she pulled it downwards.

"I don't completely trust him, but it does make me doubt what we had seen. My sister also does. Anyway, why did you come visit us, Tetsuya?"

"Nice of you to remember my actual name," I said, smirking. It was bittersweet to see her trust me more than my own cousin. "I came to use the room with the essence crystals."

"There are none left, but..." She took out a small bag of ten or so essence crystals. "I'll give this to you if you defeat us as a team."

"Two versus three is unfair," Yuko said, tilting her head.

"I rather not fight a child," Serrano said. He reverted his sword back into its earring form. "In fact, I rather not fight any of you, it's useless to invite you back into our fold."

"Serrano!" his fiancée snapped. "I won't permit you to speak another negative word about Tetsuya or his group."

Why does she seem to defend me? I supposedly hurt her sister, so where did all that anger that she felt toward me go? Could it be a ruse to gain my trust? Maybe she wants answers.

"I don't like the idea of working with him either, but we still require his help," the crowned princess continued. "He'll face his trial once this is all over. With his help we'll get this over with quicker, then my sister will receive her justice. So until then, please try not to alienate him further."

Oh, so that's her aim. She needs my help...

Serrano sighed as he stared at my armor. Unlike Eiichi who reacted with fear, and Hanketsu who reacted with nostalgia, he reacted with a grimace. "Kohri, why did you give this guy that armor?" he asked as he lowered his eyes.

He clenched his hands and shut his eyes tightly. It seemed as if he was trying his best not to cry. Though, it seemed as if he had already done some crying not too long ago.

His reaction...does Serrano know the armor's previous owner?

Kohri gave me the same look that Serrano had. "He needed some new armor. He kind of reminded me of the original owner of the armor, so I gave it to him. Now, where will the four of us battle?"

Setsuko snapped her fingers, and the five of us were warped into a white room without any visible doors or windows. "Here." A stone seat appeared behind Yuko. The crown princess summoned her meteor hammer and smiled at the young tanuki girl. "Sit down, and enjoy the match."

Yuko sat down happily. "Go, Master, do your best!"

I scratched my head. I wasn't sure how I got into a battle with them. I hadn't even agreed to it.

Serrano touched his earring and transformed it back into its sword form. He held the purple grip tightly as he raised it in front of him. "This is a good chance to show you that you should surrender your dream of being the 'greatest knight who ever was', Tetsuya." He rushed at us.

Kohri transformed his miniature hammer back into its huge silver form. He hammered the ground, sending out a pulse of freezing air.

Serrano slowed down and put his free hand on the floor. "Frozen Corridor, huh?" Serrano stated as he snickered. "You should know by now that you need to use a Level Three attack to defeat me! Rupturing Earth!"

He broke the ice by lifting the white floor and turning it into rubble. He swung his sword, unleashing a force strong enough to reduce the rubble to sand.

I protected us with my shield, but I was still thrown against the wall. I slumped into the white sand. My cousin sure was coming at me with more than he did during our sparring matches in the Angelic Dome back at school.

"Tetsuya!" Kohri yelled, pushing the shield aside. "Are you alright?"

I struggled to stand up. "He...wasn't joking."

Kohri nodded. "Of course. Remember, your cousin is a member of the Seven Hills."

The Seven Hills...even in the rural parts of the country I'd been to, that name was well known. Though, in part that was because a second member from the area had been accepted into the group. That person being Serrano himself. The one prior to him having been my Pa.

Another reason was because of their status. They were an elite group of knights meant to guard the king. They were considered to be among the strongest members from the greater clan. In other words, they were the pinnacle of each branch. It was little wonder a man like him was chosen to marry into the royal family.

I grinned. Good, he's coming at me with much more than last time. Perhaps, he knows I'm not as weak as a month ago.

https://youtu.be/noSC9gzNhqg

"Hey, Serrano. Do you know what happened to the boy I trained?"

Serrano briefly lowered his sword, but just as quickly he slashed at my shield. My hands and arms burned from holding Agnes for my dear life. The guy wanted to kill me!

"Are you mocking me?" he asked, teeth clenched.

I smirked as I managed to hold him at bay. "Maybe! After all, it seems that boy I once trained doesn't exist anymore."

His silver eyes narrowed, and he pushed me against the wall.

Kohri dashed over to us and swung his hammer, aiming for Serrano's left arm. My cousin jumped to the side and watched as the hammer dropped to the ground. Ice covered the entire space where he once was, including my feet.

"Sorry!" Kohri yelled as he dissolved the ice around me. He was awfully fast with that heavy thing. "Stand up, I can't win this without you."

I push myself up and see that he had already gone on ahead and caught up to Serrano.

Serrano dodged and shifted positions with his soon-to-be-wife.

Setsuko's meteor-hammer struck Kohri's hammer, causing the entire room to tremble.

Yuko stood up. Her seat was showing signs of cracking.

"Wow," she said, mouth agape.

I struggled to move. Serrano glanced back at me and smiled. "Stay down, scum."

Scum? Oh that kid who I once played with was definitely gone!

I raised my useless shield in front of me. "Don't...you dare...call...me...scum...or..." My shadow danced under me as a shadowy tail began to protrude from my back.

"It's that power again," he mumbled to himself. He charged at me but I was gone.

"I'm here!" I yelled, appearing behind him. I wasn't sure how I did that at the time, nor did I give it much thought.

Serrano covered himself in stone armor. The stones making up the armor danced around him elegantly, ever moving. "Oh great stones of the divine, come and aid me; Precipice!"

Seven crags rose around me, stabbing my legs and arms.

I shrieked even louder than when I was tortured. Dark crimson blood dyed the white floor deep red.

"Tetsu," Kohri yelled. He broke away from Setsuko who had also stopped. My teammate rushed over to me.

"Master!" Yuko screamed. She got up and stumbled across the sand to make it toward me.

Serrano reverted his sword back into an earring and walked away. "You're no match for me, little Tetsu. Both of us knew that the student surpassed the master long, long ago."

I kept my eyes on him. He was completely different... If I wasn't in agonizing pain, I would've lashed out at him with all of my remaining strength. But slowly, my vision blurred until there was nothing but darkness.

**Solar Note: Thoughts? Theories?

If you enjoyed the Episode then click on that star :). The second song used for this chapter is called 'Story' which is song by Kensho Ono, the Japanese VA I imagine for Tetsuya if this story were ever made into an anime (and now you get what the 'cast' refers to xD).**