*Conrad*

[Ten years before the events of the main story]

"Wakey, wakey, little bunny," a voice called out. I opened my eyes and saw my big brother grinning at me.

"Huh? What's going on, big brother? Don't think today's my birthday," I said, rubbing his eyes. Usually, I was the one waking him up.

He chuckled. "I'm gonna take you outside."

I smiled. "Really?" I lowered my head. "But, won't Mommy get mad?"

"No worries, she agreed to it!"

I jumped out of bed and hugged him. "Really?"

He snickered. "Am I not trustworthy?"

I giggled. "Yippee!"

"Hmm, but why today?" I asked.

"There's no special reason, but there is one," he said as he put me back down on my bed. "You've seemed rather depressed lately, so I figured some fresh air would perk you up."

It had been a long time since I had last gone out.

"So, where are we going?" I asked, jumping up and down.

"Over to Tetsu's place."

I pouted as I remembered our first meeting. The guy had been rude to my big brother! Calling him weak and not worthy of being Aventine's chosen.

"I don't want to go," I said, turning away.

"Why not?" he asked, putting a hand on my forehead. "Ya aren't feeling sick, are ya?"

"I'm fine, but I don't want to go to his place. He's a bully!"

Serrano laughed nervously. "I know that Tetsu can have a... difficult personality, but he's a nice guy once ya get to know him."

I jumped out of bed. "I'm not sure, but if ya want to go then I will too! I'll protect ya from that bully!"

Serrano sighed. "He's not as bad as ya think."

I ran over to the closet and grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a purple shirt. Not that I had much to pick from. Mommy didn't buy me many clothes, since I rarely went out.

I rapidly changed out of my bunny onesie and put them on. "Ready to go!"

"Ya're really fast," big bro said with a nervous smile.

I grabbed his hand. "Let's go, big bro! To confront that big bully! I'll teach him what happens when my big brother is mistreated!"

Serra sighed. "Conrad, I can take care of myself just fine. Plus, I doubt that ya'll be able to win against him. Sure ya got a good kick on him last time, but that was because he wasn't paying attention."

I punched the air and kicked it as well. "Ya sure? I've been training in my free time. I'll be able to protect ya, Serra!"

He patted my head. "Come on, that's my job! The big brother has to protect his little siblings."

I smiled. "Have ya gotten stronger from fighting with him?"

He averted his gaze. "I would like to think so, but I still got a long ways to go in order to take him down."

My smile faded. "Hmm, bully sounds tough. But, don't worry! Together, ya and me can defeat him!"

"Ya will be sitting down," he said, ruffling my long white hair.

The door suddenly swung open. Standing at the entrance was Mommy.

"You two sure are noisy today," she said, yawning.

"Is Mommy going to join us?" I asked with a hopeful smile.

"Join you? I'm not sure. It's only going to be a fight between kids."

Serra lowered his head. "Yeah..."

Mother's golden eyes lingered on my big brother for awhile, until she finally stepped forward. "Good luck. Try not to lose against my big brother's brat this time," she said, patting him on the head.

Big brother smiled. "No worries, Mommy. I'll definitely beat Tetsu this time!"

Her lips curled up slightly. "Glad to hear that, now make it a reality."

Serra nodded vigorously. "I am! Tetsu will be paralyzed in awe after I'm done with him!"

"Let's go, big brother!" I yelled, grabbing a hold of his hand.

"Bye," Mommy said, waving at us.

***

Big bro and I traveled downhill for about an hour before we came upon a 'town' of sparsely placed houses, each with their own plot of land. The one we were going to was in the northern edge, surrounded by a field of lavender and a wide open space with the occasional apple tree.

"This is Tetsu's place?" I asked, looking around.

"Yeah. You've been here before, but that was when you were a baby."

"I see," I said, hugging my rabbit plushie. My big brother had made it for me in school. I smiled. "Look, Mr. Buns, lavender! Brother always washes you with it."

Serrano smiled. "Well, with lavender-scented detergent, not actual lavender. Though, it does contain some lavender oil."

"Huh..." I said, blinking.

"Serra!" a voice called out. A blur raced over to my big bro, knocking him to the ground. "Ya're here! Ready for our battle?"

"Y-yeah, now get off me!" he said, pushing the brown-haired boy off of him.

He chuckled. "Sorry!" He turned to look at me and backed off slightly. "Ya brought the killer bunny!"

I smiled. Seemed my kick had made quite the impression on him.

"Yeah, I thought he could use some time outside."

"Well, a bunny is usually happier when they got space to move around. At least, that's what I read," Tetsu said, turning around.

I stared down at Mr. Buns. "Ya want to run, pal?" I asked. I moved its head and smiled. "Alright!" I rushed on without my brother and cousin.

"Woah, he's fast!" I overheard Tetsu say. He chuckled. "But, I'm faster!"

I turned around and saw him chase after me.

"Oh, no, Mr. Buns. That bully is after us!"

"Ya can't run from me!" he yelled with a crazed grin. He was rapidly closing the gap between us.

"Ahh, he's scary!" I looked forward just in time as I was about to hit an apple tree. I sidestepped it and ran toward the field of lavender at the back of his house.

Tetsu came to a screeching halt behind me. He let out a cry as his shoulder slammed into the apple tree.

"Tetsu!" Serra yelled. "I told ya to be careful when running near the trees."

Tetsu rubbed the right side of his head. "No need to tell me that, I know that now." He sat down on the grass and chuckled.

"Is he alright?" I asked, walking over.

Serra sighed. "I wonder that too sometimes."

Tetsu smiled. "It was fun, though! Ya two are rather nimble on ya feet."

I glanced at my bro. "Serra is nimble?"

Serra smiled as Tetsu nodded his head.

"Yeah!" Tetsu said. "That's probably his best skill."

A female voice snickered. The three of us turned to see a raven-haired woman with large violet eyes standing behind Serra and me.

"Just like your father," the woman said.

Our cousin tilted his head. "Papa was good at dodging?"

She held a hand out to him. "Yeah, it was rather annoying. You never want to be pulled into a long match against him, he would tire you out."

Tetsu glanced at big bro. "Hmm, is that why Pa picked him?" He chuckled. "If that's the case, I need to become even more nimble than him."

His mother sighed. "You're still going on about Aventine being yours?"

"No, but if it wants, I would gladly accept it!" he said, grinning. "I just don't want to lose to Serra in any regard."

"Well, big bro is smarter," I whispered.

"What was that?" Tetsu asked, leaning forward. "Serra is smarter than me? How would ya even know that?"

"It's rather obvious," Serra said, snickering.

Tetsu narrowed his eyes at him. "What was that, Mister? I'll have ya know that I've mastered the entire one to twelve multiplication table!"

"Big brother knows long division," I said before sticking my tongue out at him.

The golden-eyed boy grumbled. "In that case, I'll learn it too!"

"I'm glad to hear that you want to learn long division, but not everything should be a competition," his mommy said, patting him on the head.

He pouted. "But I don't want to fall behind Serra."

"If you do, you can catch up later. You're a smart kid, even though sometimes it's not obvious."

He stomped his foot on the ground. "Not ya too, Ma!"

Aunty Anis chuckled. "Sorry. So, are you two ready for your big match?"

Tetsu put a hand on his hips and smiled at big brother. "I've been ready. How about ya, Serra?"

Serra smiled. "Same, Tetsu!"

I patted big bro on the back. "He's going to defeat ya for sure this time!"

"Hmm, is he?" Tetsu asked, chuckling. "Let's go find out! Tere and Taku have finished making the ring!"

The three of us followed Tetsu further east, until we arrived at an open space. Spread across it were various sticks strung together with string.

Overlooking the makeshift ring were several tombstones. One was my granny's. She had died the same year I was born, so I had no memories of her. I wasn't sure what she had died of, nor was anyone else for that matter.

Not too far from her grave, was my uncle Tekeshi's. He had been the owner of Aventine before big bro.

Suddenly, two figures jumped down from the hill bearing uncle's grave.

"Ready?" asked a girl with hair like aunty Anis, but her eyes were gold like Tetsu's.

"Yeah!" Tetsu replied as he moved his hands up and down. And big bro said I was energetic...

"What were you two up to?" Anis asked.

"We were cleaning Pa and Granny's graves," a boy with green eyes said. He looked a lot like Tetsu, but was taller by about a foot.

"We should get them some flowers once we're done," Tetsu said, trying his best to smile. He glanced up at the graves. "Pa, Granny, please bear witness to this battle. May the strongest and smartest win."

"That would be big bro!" I said, laughing.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Ya sound overly certain. Have ya been training in secret?"

"Only the basic exercises ya taught me," Serra admitted.

He smiled. "Good to hear ya haven't been slacking!"

"I would never defeat ya if I did."

He snickered. "Good point."

"Here's ya swords," his sister said as she picked up two wooden swords from the ground and threw them at the two.

Tetsu ran over to the ring and swung his sword. "Come, Serra!"

My big bro entered the ring and copied him. "Ditto."

"Begin!" Anis yelled, throwing her arm up.

The two rushed at one another, rapidly swinging their swords to block the other and counter.

My eyes widened. Big bro and Tetsu were better than I had thought...

"Gah!" Tetsu yelled as he pressed down on big bro's sword.

Brother pushed back. His teeth were gritted and his face stern. "I'm not losing again!" he yelled, knocking cousin's sword away. He lurched forward and stabbed.

Tetsu gasped and blocked big bro's stab with the side of his wooden sword. "That was close."

Big bro backed away and spun around, nearly hitting Tetsu on the chest if the latter hadn't used his sword's hilt to block.

Tetsu gritted his teeth and swung his sword down as fast and as hard as he could. Brother jumped out of the way and jabbed.

Cousin slapped bro's sword aside and spun around and aimed for big bro's neck.

Serra ducked and poked Tetsu's chest.

Tetsu's eyes widened. He burst into laughter. "Not bad, cuz, ya finally got a hit on me in a formal duel. However, ya gotta do it another time before ya can officially win."

"Huh?" I said. "But big bro hit ya already."

"One needs to get two out of three points," his big sister responded.

Tetsu grinned as he and big brother returned to their original spots. "I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Round 2, begin!" Aunty Anis yelled.

Tetsu backed away this time instead of rushing at big bro right away.

"What is he up to?" I wondered out loud.

Tere gasped. "Could it be... Tetsu sure is doing a risky move..."

"Hmm?" I glanced at my big brother as he continued to pursue Tetsu. Our cousin was getting dangerously close to the edge. "Wait... Big bro, be careful! Don't let him knock ya out of the ring!"

Tetsu grinned and walked around Serra and swung his sword at him. Big bro moved a foot back and blocked just in time.

"No..." I said, staring as big brother held a foot out of the ring.

"Ya tricked me..." Serra said, eyes wide.

"Remember, I did say the 'strongest and smartest'," he said, winking.

Serra grumbled. "How dirty, and ya wish to be a knight..."

"Yeah!" I yelled.

Tetsu frowned. "Well, all is fair in a real war. Ya gotta use the cards given to ya. Now, let's see who wins this!"

Serra walked back to his original spot again and took a deep breath. "Ya won't fool me twice."

Cousin smiled. "I don't expect to."

"Round three, begin!" Anis yelled.

"Go, Big Bro!" I yelled.

Brother maintained his ground this time, but so did Tetsu.

I blinked. "Huh, why aren't they moving?"

"Not sure, usually the one who makes the first move has the advantage," my cousin Teresa said. "Do ya know, Taku?"

"I think that they're both plannin' to win using a counter," he responded.

Tetsu grumbled and bolted forward, swinging his sword down but then moving it up, dodging my brother's block. He tilted the sword and lowered it toward big bro. Serra, however took the chance to swing his horizontally. The two gasped as each made contact with the other.

"D-did they just tie?" Teresa asked.

Taku chuckled. "Seems like it."

Tetsu grumbled. "There can't be any ties!"

Serra nodded. "Let's continue."

Anis smiled. "Such energetic children."

The two of them continued to fight, but each time they would hit the other at the exact same time. It kept on repeating until the sun lowered in the horizon. Finally, they both plopped on the ground.

"Gahh!" Tetsu yelled as he took several deep breaths. "When did ya become this difficult to beat?"

Big bro panted. "S-seems that I can't completely break through that wall of yours."

I ran over to the two of them. "Ya were amazing, though," I said.

Tetsu smiled and looked straight at my big bro. "We were, weren't we?"

Serra blushed slightly and laughed. "I guess we were."

"Hey, kids! Do ya want some snacks?" Aunty Anis yelled. She had left to go prepare food. She blinked as she saw the two on the ground. "Aww. Seems I missed it. So, who won?"

"Neither," Teresa said, sighing.

Tetsu laid down on his back and stared at the reddish-sky. "Never had a fight this exhausting before."

"Nor have I. My whole body aches," my big bro said.

Cousin's eyes glistened as he continued to look at the sky. "I gotta train harder, or else I will fall behind after all."

Big bro snickered. "Can't wait until I do."

"Yeah, well, that won't happen."

"Yes it will!" I exclaimed, walking over to Serra. "My big bro trains every morning between meals and school. Plus, he has me to support him!"

"Well, I got Taku and Tere," he said, standing up. He smiled at me. "Maybe one day, when ya're older, we can fight too. Ya already got a great flying kick!"

I smiled widely. "I would love that! Then, I can finally make ya pay for having bullied big bro!"

"Bully?" he asked, tilting his head at me.

"Tetsu is rather blunt and pushy, but he's not a bully," Aunty said, kneeling next to me.

"He's not?"

Tetsu rubbed the back of his neck. "I dislike bullies... If I ever become one, I would hate myself."

"Hmm," I said, hugging Mr. Buns. This Tetsu sure was different than what I had imagined.

Serra gasped. "We gotta return back home! Mommy only gave us until sunset!"

"It will be nightfall by the time you arrive home. It's best that you spend the night here. I'll call my sister-in-law, that way she won't worry about where you are," Auntie said.

I smiled. "Thanks, Auntie!" I said, running over to hug her.

She hugged me back and rubbed her face against mine. "Awww, aren't you adorable? And warm too! Just like a real rabbit!"

I giggled.

"He sure is," Serra said, laughing. "He's my precious little bunny brother!"

**Solar Note: Dedicated to my little angel**