[Past]

"Hello?" I said, picking up my phone as I headed toward the training room for my daily work out.

"Hey, Serrano! This is Kohri," the voice on the other side said.

"Kohri? Is something the matter? I heard the call for backup, but thought you had it handled."

"I do. The reason I called you is-"

"Here, give me that!" a familiar voice snapped. "Son, I found him! I found him! I finally found him!"

My silver eyes widened. "Dad? Why are you with Kohri? Is everything alright?" I asked, stepping aside.

"I found him!" he yelled.

"I get that, but just who is it that you found? Or are you just badly drunk, again?" I asked, walking down the stairs while gazing around to make sure that no one was overhearing. I might have told Rosalba and Piedad about my dad, but I couldn't let the servants know about his state. Gossip came out of their mouths as easily as saliva.

"Your brother! I found your brother! Can you believe it?"

I lowered my phone and jumped over the remaining stairs.

"Sir Serrano," the guards outside asked as they saw me rush past them. "Is something the matter?"

"This doesn't concern you!" I snapped, lifting the phone up to my ear.

"Doesn't concern me?" Father asked as his voice became distant as if he were pulling the cellphone away from his mouth in surprise.

"Not you! I was talking to the guards. Now, tell me, what exactly do you mean by you found my brother?"

"Yeah, Conrad. I found him," he said, joyfully.

"Conrad? Why is he here?" I asked. "Is mother with him too?"

"No, but there was an angel with him, a Kasai no Ki angel. I am not sure as to how your brother came in contact with her, but what matters is that he's here."

"I see, where are you two right now?" I asked, coming to a halt outside of the palace grounds.

"We are in the police station by the castle."

I came to stop and turned toward my left. Toward the east was a straight road which went as far as the eye could see. It was said that each of the four roads to and from the castle were uninterrupted, thus forming a giant cross in the middle of the maze of the capital. The center of that cross was the royal courtyard.

The four roads weren't originally part of the city, they were the products of the decades-long renovation of the city which occurred prior to the start of the latest war with the Kasai no Ki. Their construction led to a lot of housing issues at the time as buildings and old roads had to be demolished or rerouted to make way for the new roads.

I sighed. Getting to the police station was going to take time going by foot as it rested in the middle of the commercial center which was packed at this time of day. At least, walking there would take quite some time.

I spread out my wings and leapt into the air. I touched the crystal earring on my left ear. In my hand, the earring detached from my ear had transformed into a rusted-looking, straight double-edged sword.

The sword wasn't only my weapon, but also served as my insignia as one of the Seven-Hills, elite knights known throughout the nation and even beyond its borders. Thus, it was this symbol which allowed me to fly across the capital without being questioned. Yes, me using it for such an occasion could be considered an abuse of power, but at the moment I didn't care. All I could think of was seeing my little brother.

I flew past several stands and two-story buildings which lined up against the eastern road. In no time, I made it to the blue rooftop of the police station.

"Hey, nice to see you made it," a red-head called out from below. It was Kohri. Standing by him was a white-haired man with clear, light blue eyes. In the arms of the man was a boy with the same hair color but with skin just as pale or paler than his.

"Conrad!" I yelled, jumping off the rooftop, landing on the front steps of the police station. "Brother!" I raised my eyes toward my father. He looked as disheveled as he did the first time that I had ran into him. Truth be told, I didn't want to see him. If it weren't for him being with Kohri, I probably would've brushed off his call altogether. "Dad, what is he doing here? He should be home! Did... did something happen to Ma? Why is he in this state?"

"I know." His eyes fell upon my brother. "It appears that he ran away in search of someone. I assume it's you."

"Me?" I asked. I had asked him to remain home until I returned for him.

"S...Serra," my little brother said, as one of his red eyes peered back at me weakly. Those eyes... they caused him problems... Mother, she was abusive toward him because of them as well as his skin and hair color... but I couldn't push myself to tell anyone. She was still my mother, I couldn't just rat her out.

Yet, I also had to protect my younger brother. I did so in my own way... My own way...

***

Suddenly, everything cracked around me like a dream coming undone. A piercing pain rang through my forehead. Before I knew what had hit me, I was struck again, this time harder.

I let out a grumble. "What was that?" I snapped.

Suddenly, I saw a pair of golden eyes staring back at me. A bright smile formed on the face of their owner.

"Finally, something worked!" the muscular young man said, stepping back.

I rubbed my head and leered at him. "Tetsu..." I gasped. "Tetsu?" I glanced around as I found myself in an entirely white room.

My cousin laughed. "Sorry about that! I couldn't figure out how else to snap you out of your trance. As for where we are, it seems that we're in a dream version of the tower in the center of Munil.

"Munil?"

"Yeah, that's where we were taken after you departed. Did Setsuko not mention anything about it when you talked?"

"I forget if she did..." I responded, trying to recall the conversation. It felt like it was ages ago since she and I last talked. I glanced at the pure white ceiling. "So, this is a dream version of that world, huh?"

"Yeah, seems like it. If not, then Hideo woke up and packed up his futon as well as mine and those of the others'."

I turned to look at him. "Wait, you're sharing a room?"

"Yeah, but only us guys. The crown princess doesn't trust Eiichi at all."

I nodded. That was so obvious, that he might as well have said 'duh' after his answer.

Tetsu tilted his head from side to side. "Are you feeling better now?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "After that headbutt, what do you think?"

He stepped back. "Sorry, again."

I sighed. "Was I really in that bad of a state that you had to hit me like that?"

My cousin lowered his gaze. "Yeah. Your eyes were pale, as if your soul were shattered."

Soul shattered? Then, I must've had a gaze like the one Dan had after his kidnapping.

"I'm sorry."

He raised his head, revealing his widened eyes. "For what? I'm the one who hit you just now."

I tried not to laugh, especially given the circumstances. "I mean for worrying you. You already have a lot on your plate."

He put a hand on his hip and scoffed. "Not as much as you, it seems."

"You...You could tell?"

"Of course, I could and I still can! I know that a lot happened between us, but at the end of the day, you're still my cousin and best friend." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So... if there's anything bothering you, please let me know."

I smiled, but I quickly gasped as I realized there was something on my head. I reached out for it and picked a flower off of my hair. It was an aster. This variety I'd seen in Xime's language of flowers book. If I wasn't mistaken, it meant 'remember me'.

"Ahh, sorry about that!" Tetsu said, laughing. "You weren't paying attention to me, so I figured that you might snap out of it, if I placed a flower on your head."

I sighed. "Tetsu, you really are a kid."

His face reddened, yet he still managed to smile. "Yeah, well, I've kind of grown used to it. I know that I still got a lot of adulting to do, but I'll get there at my own pace."

I snickered. He really was like the sun. The brighter he shone, the more light covered me.

"So, where did you get this flower from?"

"Oh, that... Hanketsu gave it to me," he said, looking away.

I gasped. "Hanketsu?" I glanced around. "Is he here?" Maybe I could get him to give Conrad a message. He was my brother's past-life as well as his intended guardian angel, after all.

Tetsu took a deep breath. "No. He left. He said that the next time I see him, he'll be someone else."

Wait. Was it possible that the rest of his spirit returned to Conrad? But how could that be? Part of his spirit had to always remain inside Zangetsu.

"Do you have Zangetsu?" I asked.

"Yeah, I do," Tetsu said, pulling out his rosary from underneath his shirt. We both gasped at the sight of the cross. It had turned into white stone.

"Zangetsu is... dead," I muttered.

Tetsu gulped. He curled his hands into fists. "So, what he said was true. He really did give himself up for me."

"What?"

"Hanketsu, he performed a technique of some kind to revive me, but at the cost of himself."

He grasped a strand of his hair. Some of the white it had after he had revived was now replaced by its usual brunette color.

He clasped the stone cross with his other hand. "At first, I didn't understand what he meant, until now. He gave up the essence within his angel tool to save me."

"I see, so that's what happened." Could this be tied to the revival of my brother?

I stepped over to Tetsu. He was shaking and biting his lip in an attempt to keep himself from crying.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Cry if you must."

"I've done enough crying as it is," he said. He looked straight at me. "I must meet his expectations. Even if those include saving my own father from the abyss."

I gasped. "What?"

"He said that he needs saving. Do you know something about it?"

I gripped my head. "No... This is all my fault."

"Huh?"

"Uncle, he fought Aster after I failed to even injure her. He did it so that I could chase after Conrad, but before I could even begin pursuing him, I ran out of energy and nearly died if it weren't for Lady Saya."

Tetsu gripped my shoulder and gave me a sympathetic look. "There's nothing we can do now, but to amend our errors. I've gotten stronger, but not enough as to defeat Hanketsu. I need your help, Serra. Hanketsu wanted us to get stronger."

"Yeah..."

He furrowed his brow. "But, before we begin, care to explain what you mean by 'chase after Conrad'?"

I took a deep breath. "It might be hard to believe, and I still don't understand how it happened, but my little brother was revived just like you."

"Think it was Hanketsu?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. It's possible. But, I think that the abysmal leadership might also be connected to his revival. Else, why would he be with them."

"Conrad is on their side?"

I nodded. "Yeah... Seems they made him the Rabbit Pillar."

Tetsu smiled. "I see. In that case, that makes things easier."

I blinked. "It does?"

"Yeah. Unless if they name a new Cat Pillar to replace my old man, there are only twelve Pillars of Darkness we gotta worry about now, in addition to the two Rulers. If we can convince your brother to join us, that'll lessen the leadership's numbers at least a little."

I smiled. "Yeah, guess you're right."

"If he's willing, Conrad can help us turn the tide of the war too! Especially, if he has Hanketsu's power."

I gulped. "I rather he not participate in this war. I'll get stronger so that we won't need him to defeat grandfather!"

"Same here!"

"Your bond is really sweet," a voice echoed from the direction of the doorway. Standing outside of the room was Aventine.

"Mom?" Tetsu asked.

The woman smiled. "I'm not your mother, but rather your ancestor."

He laughed. "Is that so? Guess I know where mom got her looks from."

She giggled. "Indeed." My angel stretched out her right hand which became covered in a flash of copper light. Replacing the light was a platinum sword with seven symbols. "Well, how about I complete what my father set me out to do?"

"Father?" Tetsu asked.

"She means Hanketsu. This lady is Aventine," I said.

"Woah! So, you're my old man's angel?"

She nodded. "Yes, young one. I am Aventine Tsukiko Kuroriku, the original wielder of my namesake weapon," she said, pointing it at us. "Now, come at me. I shall see how you compare to Tekeshi."

Tetsu smirked as he transformed Agnes into its shield form.

Of course, he would be happy, it had always been his dream to surpass his old man.

"Let's do this together, Tetsu," I said, transforming my earring into its bronze-colored sword form.

"Yeah!" he said, standing behind me. "You attack and I defend, alright?"

I smiled as I recalled the Tetsu I met when I first got Aventine. The old him would've rushed straight into battle by himself in an attempt to get all the glory.

"You got it!" I yelled, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Thoughts? Predictions going forward?**