*Maki*

"Say, Father," I said, walking down the ivory stairs. Father had gone to the garden at the front of the palace while we had eaten. He stared at the wisteria trees apprehensively.

"Yes, Son?" he said, not turning to look at me.

"Who exactly helped you return from exile?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.

He smirked. "It still annoys me that you think I needed help. But you're right. I did get some help from the inside." He took out his phone and showed me a picture of several people dressed in red and green robes.

So, it was them. My half-siblings. But which ones? All of them? Though, it didn't surprise me. They weren't happy with Shin'en getting the title. More so as he was an absent king who didn't issue many edicts. Nor were they happy with his desire to pass on the title to me. If anyone was to be ruler, it should've been one of them. At least that's how they saw it. If anything, Shin'en was a better candidate. Those who desired power were often only in it for the perks and not because they wanted to help people. One who wished to help others often became a doctor, a teacher, or the like. 

"Call them. I'll like to speak to them," I said.

Father smiled. "Oh? Trying to order your father, are you? That takes a lot of guts." His light-teal eyes exuded intense pressure. It took all of my resolve to not bend the knee. "You still have much to grow, Maki. Like Shin'en you still don't know what it means to be a Lordship."

"I know it better than you do," I said, gritting my teeth. "All you ever did with your power was to wage war."

"That's why I am needed now. Someone who can lead armies is tantamount to securing peace. Shin'en might be capable with his military genius, but you are not."

He was right. I was no Shin'en. My contribution to the war thus far had been minor. I even lost to Princess Rosalba in a sparring match. Hideo was the one who defeated Grandfather, not me. And he was also the one who engaged him in battle at the castle. Even when fighting Bylet back in Xeleria, it was Tetsuya and Serrano who dealt with him. I did well against Grandfather, but not well enough to stop him from having taken Zangetsu. If anything, it was that weakness that led to Ifrit taking over Conrad.

"You realize it now? Your own weakness?"

I bit my lip and looked away. "I do. I'm not strong like you, Father."

Father scoffed as he walked past me. "All five of you inherited your mother's softness, but you probably got hit by it the most."

Mom... Wished I'd gotten to know her better. She had Kou, Kei, and me in relatively quick succession. That might've been why she died giving birth to my little sister. As a yuki-onna, having flame children already took a toll on her, more so if there was no pause.

"Dad. Why did you have us?" I asked.

He looked over his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"I know you lost my older sister, but you still had Shin'en and my half-siblings. Your lineage was secure."

"Oh, that. Well, that's because your mom wanted you. Caring for some of your half-siblings seemed to have made her want to have some more children." He sighed. "That was a mistake. She should've known that after giving birth to you." He put a hand over his face. "But it was also mine." His eyes trembled. "If anyone should've known how dangerous flame children were, it would be me. I grew up on such stories from Xeleria."

I patted him on the back but said nothing.

"There you are! We were looking for you!" Koukyuu said, running over to us.

"Kou," Father said, turning to look at her.

She swung her arms behind her back. "What were you two doing out here? Watching the wisteria?"

"More like glaring at them. Uh, Father was," I said, smiling.

Father wrinkled his nose at the tree behind us.

"I don't know. I find it pretty," Koukyuu said, smiling. She giggled. "It's kind of weird how the king of trees dislikes one."

Father crossed his arms. "I'm more a flame guy than a tree guy."

She sighed. "Seems Kei is the only tree guy in our family."

I smiled. True. I liked trees, but I wouldn't call myself a tree lover.

"Why were you looking for me anyway?" Father asked.

"Oh. We're ready to head out." She beamed. "Can't wait to see Shin'en! It'll be the first time the five of us are together."

He averted his gaze. Was he still mad at Brother for exiling him? He was dragging the kingdom down a dark path. After years of war, both civil and against Kuroriku, our people needed peace. A man bent on revenge like him couldn't understand that.

"We're ready to leave now!" Tetsuya yelled as he came out of the palace. He had changed into a red shirt, blue jeans, and still had his crimson pancho wrapped around his waist.

Hyosetsu rubbed his ears. "Must you be so loud this early in the morning?"

Tetsuya bit his lip. "Sorry!"

Hideo yawned.

"Seems someone is sleepy despite drinking a boatload of coffee," Koukyuu said, smirking.

Hideo jumped. His face turned red. "I'm awake!"

"Now he is," Kei said, chuckling.

"Let's head out," Osamu said as he and several others gathered around. Among them were Eiko and her family, Miyuki and her family, Marina and her family and friend, and Tetsu's mom and aunts. His uncle and grandfather stood by the palace entrance. They must've come to send their loved ones off.

"Alright," Father said, holding out the orb.

"Yahoo! Magic world!" Nate said, jumping up and down.

Silas put a hand over his head. "Hey, calm down or you'll be jumping into space."

Nate giggled. "I'm not that good of a jumper. Ki might, though!"

Kiara chuckled.

Father shattered the orb, unleashing a wave of prana that swallowed us into it. As soon as it cleared, we were in the middle of leafless cherry blossom trees.

"Feels like forever since we were here, but not much time has passed," Conrad said, staring at the dormant trees.

"Yeah, last time we were both here, we were fighting each other," Serrano said.

"Then you went into a coma," Rosa said.

Serrano rubbed his head. "Right. The dream world really shifted my perception of time."

Osamu stared at the trees with downcast eyes.

Eiichi sighed. He must've been thinking of his father.

"You've made it," a voice called out.

We turned toward the direction of the school. A tall, white-haired, blue-eyed man in a white robe strode toward us. Big brother had a wide smile on his face.

"Long time to see, Shin'en," Father said, smiling slightly, but there wasn't much warmth in his eyes.

Shin'en narrowed his eyes at him. "Father. I've heard what you've done. Do you know what kind of mess you nearly put Kasai no Ki through?"

Father crossed his arms and turned away.

"Someone is unwilling to admit mistakes," Kohri said.

"No one asked you, Hide!" Tabiki snapped. He cupped his mouth.

Hideo blinked. "Me?"

Hideaki tilted his head. "Uncle, were you thinking of my father?"

Father lowered his head. "Yeah."

Hyosetsu glanced at Kohri. "Your brother was like mine?"

"You could say that."

Kohri chuckled. "Reminds me of our conversation in the basement."

"Yeah, you two interacted like old friends or even brothers," Azami said.

Zaki stared at Kohri. "Never realized it before, but he is a lot like Dad."

"So your father was a goofball?" Hyosetsu asked.

"That doesn't sound like the Hideyoshi we fought," Miyuki said.

"Yeah, he was cruel and frightening. A beast on the battlefield," Eiko said.

"Kohri can be those things too when pushed!" Conrad said.

Kohri chuckled. "So can you, Con. Think that applies to most of us here."

"True. People are a lot different in battle than they are outside of it," Anis said. She lowered her head and glanced briefly at her brother-in-law.

Rosa eyed Suzuki who stood next to her. "The knights were like that too, weren't they?"

"Not all of us experienced a drastic shift. Eiji didn't change much. If anything, the war revealed more of his bloodthirst," Eiko said.

"That man has serious issues," Zaki said.

Alabaster lowered his head. "He liked battles, but the Eiji I knew wasn't like that." He raised his head to the blue yonder.

"As I've said, I think it's that Eiji showed a side of him to you that he rarely showed others," Eiko said.

Anis smiled. "You two were lovers, right?"

Alabaster coughed. "W-what makes you say that?"

Osamu sighed. "Now isn't the time for your fantasies, Anis."

Anis huffed. "You can't hide the truth from me! It's as clear as day!"

"While you might be right, His Highness is right. Now isn't the time," Eiko said, stepping forward. "I know it is weird to hear this from a once enemy, but we need your help, Shin'en."

He smiled. "I was planning to. I've already tapped into my network to find recruits."

Zaki smiled. "That's my cousin for you."

"Didn't expect to see even you here, Zaki? Planning a family reunion without us? Isn't that a tad cruel?" a voice called out. We turned to see a green-haired, blue-eyed young man accompanied by a blue-haired, red-eyed woman.

"Hekima, Deko, what brings you here?" Koukyuu asked, turning around.

My half-brother, Hemika, scoffed. "Shin'en called on me. Something about needing my skills." He crossed his arms. "That said, he refused to elaborate. But it sounded interesting enough to draw me out."

Shin'en smiled. "Sorry for making you take time off from your doctor duties."

"You're a doctor?" Hideo asked.

Hekima shrugged. "Didn't you hear? Or do you need someone to look at your ears?"

Hideo gritted his teeth. "What was that? I'm not deaf!"

"I hope not. I already have my hands full with a strange case."

Koukyuu blinked. "Strange case?"

"A sound mage girl who can't hear. It seems something went wrong with her powers."

Kou frowned. "Did she make herself deaf?"

"Not exactly. I would say more, but you know how confidentiality goes."

Hideo scoffed. "I don't care about your weird cases. Come on everyone, let's spread out." He turned to look at Emile "We should go see your family and that prince Kiyoya mentioned."

The various knights had recounted some of the discussions of their meeting. Including Osamu reminding us of the explosion caused when an abysmal core shatters. Although, great-grandfather hadn't exhibited a major one. Perhaps it was because he wasn't a true abysmal after all. If that were the case then killing his mother wouldn't raise much trouble.

"Let's head out too," Tetsuya said, glancing at Yuko.

Yuko smiled and nodded. "Time to see Uncle!"

"Daddy, can you show us around?" Marina asked.

"Sure!" the king of Mizu no Kin said, patting his daughter's head.

The Five Knights' teams waved away as they, Emil, and the Mizu no Kin royal family split off from us.

"So, Maki. Mind showing me how much you've grown since we last saw each other? I want to see if you truly are worthy of being the next king," my half-brother asked, grinning.

I took a deep breath. "Honestly, I am not ready yet."

His smile vanished. "I see. Should've expected it. You're as pathetic as always."

"Don't call him that!" Akane said, stomping over.

"Who is this?"

Akane put her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. "I'm his fiancee!"

"Akane. I can fight my own battles," I said, sighing as I pulled her away.

She frowned. "I know that, but sometimes you can be rather passive."

Deko smiled. "You have a lot of guts for a girl who doesn't appear like much." She strode over to her. "Or are you stronger than you look?"

Akane glared back at her. "You're right. I am not strong in terms of power, but I don't need strength to verbally protect those I care for."

She stepped back and laughed. "My, my! Aren't you a daring princess? Hopefully, your children will inherit your character. They'll be better off that way."

I smiled. "I have to agree."

Akane blushed. "Maki! You're making yourself sound bad!"

I rubbed my ear. "Well, I can't deny it. I'm not anything like Father, the Kuroriku, nor them."

"But that's what makes you great!" Akane said, stomping.

My face heated up. "It does? How?"

"You're not obsessed with strength. Nor do you look down on those weaker or of lower status than you. You took me in when I had nowhere to go following my escape."

"Escape?" Deko asked, blinking.

"It's a long story," Koukyuu said. "But to make it short, Akane escaped from one of People's Republic of Kasai no Ki's 'Worker Camps'. My brother and Ken found her on the run."

Ken nodded. "Maki helped her despite my pleas not to do so." He turned away. "I felt assisting her would put us in danger."

"Yeah, you thought she might've been a swindler," I said, smiling slightly.

My retainer sighed. "Well, you also were wary, not taking her medicine as you thought she might've been trying to kill you."

Tabiki smiled. "So that's the story. At least he isn't naive like a certain princess."

Osamu glared at my father. "Leave Rosa out of this."

Father laughed.

I sighed. "Father, stop being a jerk. Come on. Let's get going. We didn't come all this way just to chat about the past."

"Do you know who we should recruit?" Koukyuu asked.

I shook my head. "No. But I'll like to do some training with Shin'en. My magic might come in handy later on."

"Wonder how Zyuuni's has been coming along," Akane mumbled as she swung her arms behind her back.

I glanced up at the sky and smiled slightly. "Same, but knowing him, he's probably working his butt off." That's why I have to do the same. Can't let him leave me in the dust any more than he already has.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^^. Feels like ages since I've written from Maki's pov.**