"Hey, kids! Done eating?" Father asked, showing up in the kitchen with dripping wet hair.

"Yeah, we are," Con said, jumping out of his seat. He rubbed his stomach. "The carrot stirfry Suzuki made was delicious."

Suzuki smiled. "Glad you thought so."

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Setsuko asked as she handed her the plates.

"Yeah. I have to return to training. I'm nowhere near as strong as you. Think even Reno has surpassed me." She sighed. "It was bad enough being weaker than Emon, but being outshined by both my little brothers is just too much."

"Well, one of them does have a Seven Flame Angel tool and the other has Dad's predecessor as his guardian angel," Tetsuya said.

She shook her head. "That's not what gives them the edge over me. Even before Emon got his angel tool, I could already tell he was going to overtake me. He was more skilled than I was when I was his age. While, Reno works harder than anyone I know, even more than Mother and Father."

"More than me?"

The redhead giggled. "He is still training while you're playing basketball and chatting."

Tetsuya grumbled. "Now you're making me not want to go." He glanced at my brother. "But, I can't do that."

"Serra and I can watch over him just fine," Setsuko said, walking back over to us.

"Sounds like you're jinxing yourself by saying that. Remember what happened last time you two were tasked to guard someone?" Suzuki asked.

I gulped. Right. Her brother and Cousin Mei got Etsuo out of the dungeon and took Dan and Kiara with them.

Setty sighed. "Good point."

Suzuki smiled as she walked into the kitchen to put away the plates.

"Well, let's get going!" Dad said as he finished drying his hair with his towel.

"Dad, could you not have finished drying yourself in your room?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the wet floor.

He chuckled. "Yeah, but I was too excited to spend some quality time with my two boys."

Connie beamed. "Let's go, let's go!"

Tetsuya ruffled my brother's hair. "You're one hyper bunny."

Father laughed. "You were one hyper lizard as a kid!"

Tetsuya blushed. "Dragon, not lizard!"

He waved. "Yeah, yeah. Everyone knows that lizards are just baby dragons!"

"Who told you that? Baby dragons are called dracolings. And while there are stories of lizards becoming dragons if they live long enough, one would also have to call baby dragons snakes for the same reason," a voice called out. "Same goes for sea horses."

I blinked as I saw Ryonoko walk in. "Sea horses?"

Ryonoko crossed his arms and smiled. "Yeah. In Wynaga and in Xeleria, they can respectively become dragons and gain draconic magic! There have even been cases of fish! Though, they have to jump over a waterfall and pass a dragon's gate."

Father glanced at Tetsu and chuckled. "You were a hyper, chubby fry."

"I'm not a fish either!" Tetsu snapped.

I glared at Dad. "Father, stop picking on Tetsu."

"Okay! I'll stop."

No wonder Mason annoyed me so much. He reminded me of Dad and Uncle Shi.

"Then there are snails and slugs," Ryonoko mumbled.

"What doesn't turn into a dragon in your world?" Piedad asked, eyes wide.

Ryonoko laughed. "Everything else. Well, birds are a tad different from the ones here."

"Draconic birds?" Conrad asked, jumping up and down. "Pie, let's go to Wynaga after the war!"

My doppleganger grinned. "I would love to be your tour guide."

"Is it fine for the crown prince to do that?" I asked.

Setty nudged me with her elbow. "How can you still ask that after meeting me?"

I laughed. "True. Maki, Zafir, and you are oddballs. I should've expected the same from the prince here, even if he is my doppelganger. Zafir's probably the most princely, all things considered. "

Setty grumbled. "What's that supposed to mean? You aren't very normal for a prince either!"

I laughed nervously. "True, but in my defense, I was raised in the countryside, not among nobles. And as you know, my old man lacks manners."

Tetsu laughed. "And yet you turned out more polite than Setty!"

Setty glared at me.

"Enough dragon trivia and royal talk! Let's get this city tour on the road!" Father said. Did my comment not phase him? Hmph, he probably was used to being called impolite by now. Or perhaps he never cared.

Ryonoko smiled. "I'll follow you out the door."

"Are you going someplace too?" Setsuko asked as we walked to the door.

"Yeah. I'm off to see Amira! She's staying with her family here. I want to tell her to come to the palace to join the other pregnant women. No one knows how much destruction the demons could rain on the city to split us up. I want to know that she's somewhere where I can keep her and the baby safe."

"Good idea."

Tetsu smiled. "Big bro told me you were buying baby stuff."

Ryonoko blushed. "Yeah. It isn't long until my little tyke is out of the oven."

"Mine still has eight or seven months left, I think," Tetsu mumbled.

"Hope my nephew or niece takes after my sister," Setty said, smiling.

Tetsu narrowed his eyes at me. "Why do people keep ganging up on me? Hmph, it's because I'm the shield knight, isn't it? Alone, no one can hope to take me down."

"Big head!"

I snickered as Father opened the door. "It's all an act. Tetsu's his own biggest critic."

"H-hey!" my cousin snapped, blushing.

"See? He doesn't want others to know."

Tetsu sighed and shook his head. "Forget it. I give up."

I patted his arm. "Sorry."

He smiled slightly at me. "It's fine. So, where are we off to first?"

"The museum?" Conrad asked.

He scratched his cheek. "I rather not go there without Taku."

"We should have invited him."

"Yeah, but he's training with Teresa right now. They need to get stronger to take on the archdemons."

"Right, our job is taking down the abysmals," Setty said, crossing her arms. She stared at the garden. Haname had been kind enough to restore it for us.

"Us means Tetsu and you, right? I already said that I won't be fighting the abysmals," Connie said, frowning.

I patted his back. "Yeah. You, I, and Piedad will be focused on Cianio."

Tetsu gasped. "But, weren't we planning to fuse to take down Margaret?"

I crossed my arms. "That's a last resort from the sound of it. I'll ask Lady Saya about it in the meeting."

"I see."

Con smiled. "Are you going to miss big bro?"

Tetsu smiled slightly. "Maybe a little. Surprisingly, we haven't had many chances to fight side by side."

"We should probably try to refine our fusion, just in case we do end up needing it," I said.

He grinned. "Yeah!"

Setty sighed. "Honestly, I'm jealous of how close the two of you are."

Father laughed. "If Anis heard you, she would fantasize."

Tetsu shivered. "Mom sure can be weird at times."

What exactly did they mean by that?

"Ohh, cotton candy!" Conrad said, running over to a street vendor.

"I'll like one," a red-haired man in a suit said. He turned around and held it up to Conrad. "Here you go, Bunny."

Conrad's eyes widened.

I jumped forward and grabbed his shoulders. "Conrad, be careful with eating that."

"Didn't you see? I just bought it. But if you don't want it, I'll just eat it myself. See you around, Bunny!" he said, waving. Setty followed the man and grabbed him by the wrist. "Who are you?"

The man lowered his sunglasses and smiled at her. "How can you not recognize me? I'm the prime minister."

"B-but that can't be," Piedad said, staring at my brother.

Conrad narrowed his eyes at the man. "Could Ifrit have time traveled? T-then that means that he beat me after all..."

"No, this guy is a fake," Setty said, pushing the man.

"Hey, watch it! You can't just treat the Prime Minister like that! You might be the crown princess, but there's a separation of powers that you must abide by!"

Setty gritted her teeth. "Stupid demon."

He wagged his finger at her. "Stupid? I'm not at all." He grinned. "If anyone is dumb here, it's you. For hitting me, I'll drag you into a political maelstrom like no other, Princess. Ahh, the princess is trying to intimidate me! She wants all of the power for herself!"

Setty cupped his mouth. "Shut it, snake!"

"Setty, let him go. You're making things worse for yourself," I said, grabbing her hand.

She sighed and unhanded him. "Fine."

The fake Itou dusted himself off. "Hmph, how rude. They sure don't make princesses like they used to."

"Ca-Camio?" Piedad asked.

The man turned to look at her and smiled. "Hello, Mother. Would you like some cotton candy?" He held it up to her. "Father didn't want any."

"So, you're that annoying guy from the tower," Setty mumbled, staring him down. If her eyes were literal daggers, Camio would be on the ground, bleeding to death.

He scoffed and bit into the cotton candy. "If anyone is a nuisance, it's you. Anyway, tata! I got to go report what you did to me." He touched his fingerprint-covered face and smirked.

"T-that weasel!"

Azami sighed and rushed at him.

Camio jumped up, avoiding his fists. "H-hey! What's the big idea?"

Father grinned. "My reputation is already in the gutter, so if I hurt you, nothing ill will come to me."

"Augh! Mother would still be in control of Piedad if it weren't for you!" Camio said, launching a fiery fist at him.

Father grasped the fist with an ice-covered hand and twisted his arm.

Camio smiled and spun his body around, fixing his arm.

"Woah!" Connie said, mouth agape.

"You liked that, Papa? I can teach you some more neat tricks!" Camio said, kicking Father.

Father let go of his fist and threw the melting ice into the floor. He jumped back as the ice bits exploded. "Ugh, don't call my son that! It makes me feel as if you're my grandson!"

Camio stuck his tongue out. "That would be gross! Then again, Dad does want to kill my real gramps." He held a hand up, vanishing into a stream of black flames.

"He's gotten stronger since we fought in the tower," I said.

Setty nodded. "He isn't making stupid mistakes." She lowered her head and groaned. "I messed up."

I patted her back. "It's alright. That man isn't even the real Prime Minister, to begin with. If we can prove that, we can negate whatever he's plotting."

"Way ahead of you," Tetsu said, grinning. He pointed at the core of his shield. It had a strange black slit running through the center, making it resemble an emerald eye.

"Huh?" the two of us said, blinking.

"Oh, I didn't tell you? I awakened a new ability last night! Draco's Eye! With it, whatever my shield sees is recorded. We can prove that the real Itou isn't even an angel, thus unworthy of being prime minister."

"That's a great idea!" Connie said. "Though, I got another one!"

I tilted my head and smiled. "And what would that be?"

He grinned. "I'll pretend to be Mr. Itou! And I got my mana to prove it."

"You're a genius, Conrad!" Piedad exclaimed.

My brother blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "T-thanks."

I ruffled his hair. "Indeed, you are!"

"Huh? Where did your papa go?" Piedad asked, looking around.

I saw Dad walking over with a pair of cotton candy sticks. One purple and one orange. "Here you two go."

"Candy!" Conrad said, taking the purple one.

Piedad smiled shyly. "Thanks, mister."

Dad laughed. "Mister? That sounds stuffy! Please call me Aza."

"Haha! That sounds just like you, Aza," a voice called out. We turned a saw an orange-haired man in a white sweater walking toward us.

"Peace," Dad said, eyes wide.

He made a peace sign and chuckled. "You can call me by my real name, Az."

Dad tapped his head. "Uh, what was your real name?"

Peace laughed and punched Father lightly on the chest. "You clown!"

Father punched him back lightly. "So, what brings you here, Masao?"

He swung his arms behind his head. "I should be asking you that! You look a whole lot better than what Sato described!"

"Oh, he told you about me?"

He nodded. "Yeah. He seemed worried about you."

Father smiled. "I wasn't surprised to have run into him, given it was near his place, but I am with you."

Masao grinned. "I was out with the kids. The wife sent me here to get them some candy."

Dad gasped. "You finally decided to settle down?"

Masao lowered his head and laughed. "More like I finally found the one." He glanced at Conrad and me. "These two are your kids... Jalapeño and Conner, right?"

Tetsu snorted. "Ja-Jalapeño! I go to use that one next time!"

I narrowed my eyes at Tetsu and then at the orange-haired man. "You did that on purpose, didn't you, 'Uncle' Masao."

Conrad giggled. "Close, it's Conrad! Though my friends and family call me Con, Connie, and Con-con."

I rubbed my chin and looked up at the blue sky. "Think only our aunt Plu calls you the latter."

Masao smiled. "Conrad, huh? Rad!"

Father laughed. "He sure is!"

Conrad blinked. "Is that a pun? Do you know Uncle Skah? You remind me of him."

Masao crossed his arms. "Sure! He used to tag along with your mommy. He was a cute kid. The kid had a talent for music. What did become of him anyway? I know he became the Mystic champ, but I didn't hear him doing anything significant after that."

My brother bit into his cotton candy. "He became a papa and opened a shop in another world!"

My father's former band member smiled. "Glad to hear it. That said, I did hear about you." His smile vanished. "Are you a zombie?"

Conrad frowned and nodded slightly.

Masao glanced at my father. "What did you do, Az? The kid seems fine, but reviving the dead is taboo and often goes wrong."

"It wasn't me. It was his grandfather." Father laughed. "Also, this zombie only eats carrots."

Conrad walked like a zombie. "Carrots!"

I snickered.

His tummy growled. "No, seriously. I want some."

"But you just had some!" Tetsu exclaimed.

Setty sighed. "He might be a bigger carrot monster than we thought."

My brother patted his stomach. "The mention of them makes me crave them."

Piedad giggled. "You are a hungry bunny!"

I frowned. Was that really it? Or was there some other reason? Uncle Shi had kept it a secret that he needed a vast amount of energy to live. Perhaps, the same went for my brother. If so, what would we do when the amount exceeded whatever we could provide?

**Solar Note: Pardon the long delay. Alas, I finally got to complete it. And in time for Tetsu's birthday too! Hope that you enjoyed the episode ^_^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?**