Hideo stared at Kiara. "See ya later, sis. Take care of yourself."

Kiara smiled faintly. "I will!"

"We made some tea for you!" Dossie said, holding up a porcelain cup.

"I helped!" Nat said, grinning.

"Hence the 'we'," Lay said, patting his head.

Ki's nose scrunched as she drank it. "Ugh, what did you put in it?"

"Everything!" Nat and Dossie said, grinning.

"Everything?" Silas asked, eyes wide.

"Meant to help Ki feel energetic again! Energetic!" the duo and Layla said, swinging their hands into the air.

"It isn't poisonous, is it?" Hideo asked, staring at it suspiciously.

Ki stared at it.

"Etsuo helped!" Layla said, grinning.

Kiara laughed. "That explains the banana peel flavor."

"Eh? Then it probably is!" Hideo said, eyes dilating.

Kiara moved the cup away as Hide went to grab it. "It tastes weird, but it's not toxic!"

I walked over. The tea gave off a certain vibe. "It's really packed with energy-restoring teas."

"Sounds like Sirocco's 'sport elixir'," Bora said, scrunching his nose.

"He helped, too!" Layla said, giggling.

Sirroco laughed awkwardly. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Well, we do want her to recover, right?"

Kiara smiled. "Thanks, Roco."

"That said, it really does work. It even helped four eyes here gain some muscle in what were noodle arms," Bora said, squeezing Sirroco's arm.

Sirroco grumbled and yanked his arm free from his grasp. "Let go of me, meathead!"

Bora backed away. "Yeah, looks like you are completely back to normal."

Hideo smiled. "Well, I'll be heading out. Take care!"

"You already said that," Ki said, sighing. "I'm not that reckless!"

"'Not that reckless' being the key words," Hyosetsu said, crossing his arms.

"He's right!" Hideo said.

Kiara blushed.

I laughed. "You're speaking out? That's unusual, Hyochi."

He grumbled. "It's Hyosetsu to you, cretin. Now get going before I cut you in half."

I shrugged and walked away. "Alright, alright. Talk about a harsh reception." I chuckled. But that meant he must've been feeling better.

Spreading my wings, I flew into the sky.

"I'll lead the way," Emile's ancestor said as he took off too. "We should probably head to Hoin first, then go to Sera. It'll probably be easier to convince the royal family if we have Emile's wife to help us."

"Alright," I said as Sabine and I followed him. "Hide, let's go!"

"Coming!" Hideo said, his green wings taking him up into the air.

"You don't have to worry, we'll keep an eye on your sister!" Sirocco yelled, waving.

"Yeah," Bora said, grinning.

"All of us will!" Ponien said, waving both arms.

Kiara blushed and laughed. She must've felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

Hideo smiled and flew after us, not that we had strayed too far away.

"You know, you really remind me of my little sister when she was younger," Emile's great-grandfather said.

Sabine turned away. "That so?"

Kohri said they met her, Sabrina. If Sabine wasn't a clone, that only left her being Sabrina in the interim year when she went missing. Wait, but if that were true then that meant she would return to her time. Also, that would mean Akari was my daughter. Then her father never truly abandoned her like she thought. But, why didn't Sabrina explain that? Or had she lost her memories again?

"Yeah. I might be inclined to say you're the same person."

Sabine sighed. "I wonder the same thing too."

"Don't stress about it. We'll find out who you really are eventually. That said, whether you are her or not, you still have me," I said, slowing down so I could fly closer to her.

She blushed. "Eii."

"Sappy," Hideo said with a slight smile.

I laughed. "Let's speed up. We are safe in Kyuu Seishinian airspace, but we could run into trouble elsewhere."

"True. Mrs. Suzuran suggested we fly above the clouds," Kiyoya said, glancing upward.

"I'll take care of it," Hideo said.

I gasped as Hideo vanished from view.

"Huh? Where did he go?" Sabine asked.

"He must've turned invisible." Though, this was only the third time I had seen him use it. Or rather not seen. "Though, how will that help?"

"He's pushing the clouds lower," Kiyoya said.

"Will it even work?" Sabine asked.

"I wonder the same thing. Surely the security of the various nations aren't so lax."

"True, but most of their radar are magic based. There hasn't been a war with angels in centuries, so only wealthy countries like this one have such radar."

"Good thing we got approved then," I said. "Wait, does that mean they picked up on Hideo when he warped us back to the school?"

"I imagine so. But given you were with my cousin, and made contact with one of the border guards, Mrs. Suzuran, they probably let it slide."

"Hopefully we won't run into any demons," Sabine said. Tetsuya's hot sister and Nicolas had told us that they had ran into one of the demons that Serrano had faced in two occasions already.

I snickered. "Don't worry, I'll pierce any that get in our way."

She sighed. "Okay. But I rather avoid a fight. Especially when there are people directly below us."

"If a battle breaks out, it'll be best if it happens near the border with Tora.  It's less populated," Kiyoya said as he sped up.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip proved to be smooth sailing. It was less than an hour of flying once we went into mach-two speed.

"Here we are," Kiyoya said as he came to a gradual stop. He descended outside the lawn of a tiny house.

"This place is big," Sabine said.

"Really? Well, guess it is compared to the places of our companions," I said.

She laughed weakly. "Well, your place and the palace do dwarf a lot of stuff."

"Yeah. You are a real rich boy. This place is as big as my house," Hideo said as he made himself visible. He had been going visible and invisible during the entire trip.

"Were you training your ability's duration?" I asked.

"Yeah. How did you figure?"

"Well, it was odd that you kept using it despite the cloud cover.

"Seems very helpful," Sabine said.

Hideo smiled slightly. "Thanks. I think so too. I'll help me snipe as many enemies as possible."

I turned to look at Kiyoya. "So, are you going to knock or not?"

"Emile went ahead of us, so he should be expecting us," Kiyoya said, stepping forward.

"So, is your actual kid still alive? Emile's grandfather?" Hideo asked.

"Isn't that insensitive?" Sabine asked, sighing.

The guy sometimes made me look tactful.

Kiyoya smiled slightly. "It's alright. He is. As is his mother."

"How long do mages live anyway?" Hideo asked.

"Not again," Sabine said.

"It varies," I said. "Depends on their level of cultivation. While most think the stronger a mage is, the longer they live, that isn't necessarily true. Some forms of cultivation actually reduce one's lifespan in return for a large boost in power."

"Eiichi is right. However, I've managed to extend her life considerably," Kiyoya said.

"Wait, how old is your wife?" Hideo asked.

"Hey, one doesn't ask a lady that!" Sabine.

"I know that much, I'm asking him."

Sabine facepalmed.

"Do not be too harsh on him. Hideo's a bit special," I said, patting her shoulder.

Hideo grumbled. "If you're trying to say I'm weird, tell me something new."

Well, at least he knows it.

I laughed weakly. "Well, aren't we all weird in our own way?"

Kiyoya laughed. "True. My wife can be a bit of an oddball."

Sabine smiled. "So you're attracted to an oddball too. Maybe we are siblings."

I shrugged. "I'm not odd. I'm unique."

Hideo laughed. "No, you are odd."

I chuckled.

"That said, she's approaching five hundred. So she should be halfway, at least," Kiyoya responded.

"Oh! Assuming she survives the war," Hideo said.

"Does he have no filter?" Sabine asked, glancing at me.

"Think it's part of whatever it is he has. Hyosetsu and his brother are the same," I said.

"It's called autism," Hideo said, narrowing his eyes at us.

I laughed. "Surprised you're being upfront about it."

He blinked. "Why?"

"You rarely bring it up."

"Do I have to? Not everyone who has it shouts it into the four winds. We just want to come off as normal." He looked down. "At least I do."

"I heard you didn't like talking about it. That's why I'm surprised."

"Oh. Well, just because I am not, it does not mean I like people treating it like it is some kind of exotic thing. It's more common than you think. Kohri, Hyosetsu, and even the king have it too. As did Dan. I wouldn't be surprised if more people we knew had it. Including within my own family."

"Like the little kitten?" Sabine asked.

"Lay? Yeah, I've wondered about her. Especially how extreme she can be when it comes to her love for cats. It's harder to diagnose girls than boys. Or so I've heard."

Wonder why that was. Could be because of the social differences between girls and boys?

Hide turned around and narrowed his eyes at a tree. "Someone has been watching us all this time."

"You're barely saying this now?"

"Thought it might've been an oversized squirrel or something."

"Rude!" a voice called out. A boy with brown hair and gray eyes jumped down from the tree.

Hideo smirked.

"Wait, you tricked!"

Kiyoya laughed. "Figured it would be you, Hal."

He turned to look at him and smiled. "Great old guy!"

Kiyoya laughed as Hal ran over to hug him. He patted the boy's back. "And you call others rude."

"Just because they are!"

Was he like Hideo?

"Well, come on inside!" Hal yanked on his ancestor's arm.

I laughed. He reminded me of me. Wonder if I could get in touch with Master.

We entered the house. It was pretty nice but old fashioned looking. The number of antiques on the walls and on stands didn't help make it feel any more modern.

"There you are, Hal! I was wondering where you went! Oh, hello, Kiyo," said a gourgeous blond woman with the same gray eyes as Hal.

"Greetings, Rebecca, Judie," Kiyoya said. He smiled at the blond haired boy clinging to the woman's shoulders like a monkey.

The little kid poked his blue eyes from behind her and quickly hid again. 

 "Seems he's shy," Sabine said, cooing. 

 Hide smiled slightly. "Reminds me someone."

"If you cousin were here, he would've said the same thing, I bet," I said, laughing.

"Which one?"

"Peasant."

"Oh, Tetsuya. But why?"

I laughed. "it's best you ask him. Or better yet, ask Serrano."

"Serrano? Wait, was he like that when he was little?"

I nodded. I'd met him during one of Setsuko's birthdays. He sure was adorable. Setsuko and I would chase him around. Back then, we thought he just wanted to play hide and seek. Turned out he just wanted to be left alone. How Tetsuya got him to open up was a mystery.

"It's okay, Jude, no need to be shy," Rebecca said.

Hal walked up to him. "Yeah. If they try to do something funny, I'll kill them."

Did a six year old really just say he would kill us?

"He sure is overprotective," Sabine said, laughing.

Hideo walked over to Hal and patted his head.

"Huh?" Hal said, looking up at him.

"Keep protecting your little brother," Hideo said.

The chuckled. "I don't need you to say that. I plan to!"

He was thinking of Dan, wasn't he? He had to be.

Rebecca smiled at her oldest son and patted his head. "I'm glad you say that. Puts me at ease in regard to the upcoming war."

"Huh? War?" Hal asked.

"War?" Jude asked, tilting his head. Did he even know what that meant? The kid was three.

She nodded. "Yeah. That's why Sir Kiyoya is here. He's looking for allies to fight in a massive battle."

Kiyoya crossed his arms. "So, Emile did tell you. Where is here anyway?"

"He is gathering allies. He went to convince Lady Amber and her husband to fight with us."

"Vermeil's parents?" Hal asked. "But, why do you have to help?"

"Because, if we don't all pitch in, this world might change forever. That's if it survives."

"But if you die, my world changes forever!" Hal said, hugging his mom's leg. "I don't wanna lose my mommy or daddy."

I lowered my head. The kids would end up like my littlest siblings if that were to happen.

"Do not concern yourself with that," I said. I pointed at myself and grinned. "They'll be fighting alongside yours truly. No one can get past me!"

"You mean you'll protect them?" Hal asked.

I nodded.

Hal stared at his brother then back at me. He held his pinkie. "Promise?"

I laughed and wrapped my pinkie around his. "Yeah."

He smiled. "Good. If ya lie, I'm gonna find ya and kill ya."

Eh? He sure is a dark kid.

"Jude will help too, right?"

Jude blinked and nodded.

Kid probably didn't even know what he was agreeing to...

"My, what little confidence you have."

Hal grinned. "Then I take it I can trust ya!"

I scoffed. "Of course! Sabine and your old man here will also help."

Kiyoya nodded. "I won't let anything happen to our family."

"Don't forget me," Hideo said, putting his hands behind his head.

Hal chuckled. "Then Mommy and Daddy are in good hands."

Rebecca smirked. "That said, you underestimate us, son. Your father and I are perfectly capable of defending ourselves."

"Yeah, but I want insurance."

"Think you mean assurance, kid."

"That too!"

Rebecca laughed and hugged her oldest son. "I do appreciate you worrying about us. But don't worry. We will be fine. We won't have you and Judie become orphans."

Hal snuggled his mom. "i know."

I smiled slightly. I had my own family to protect and return to too.

**Solar Note: Late Happy Easter! Hope you had a good one!**