Tempest Kingdon, train station, 02/02/2033, 10 p.m

  As everyone dropped off and started to discuss plans for the next day, Kettei walked towards Tom, his expression grim

  “What’s the matter, Tom?” he asked, concerned

  “Not here, there are too many people. Let’s go somewhere else. We don’t want other people to worry” Tom explained, as he started walking towards a nearby building, as Kettei followed behind. There, Saori and Evelyn were waiting, as the two walked into a secluded room

  “Sorry we called you out of the blue, Kettei” Evelyn started, standing up from her seat and walking towards him: “But there’s something you need to know”

  “That’s okay, what’s the matter?” Kettei asked, settling into one of the chairs

  “Kruger went behind our backs. Her and Bacha Taroyaka ratted you, calling you a threat” Saori explained, calmly: “In short, they could kick you out or arrest you”

  “Why would they do that though? I mean, it doesn’t make any sense” Kettei asked, trying to understand

  “Your guess is as good as ours, Kettei. I’m sorry we couldn’t protect you” Saori apologetically said, looking down

  “You have nothing to apologize, princess Saori. You did your best, I’m sure of that” Kettei retorted, placing a hand on her shoulder: “Still, it’s a pain in the butt, but I’ll have to deal with it. Promise me you’ll take care of my sister until this ordeal is over” he added, his glare softening as he sighed

  “You do care a lot about your sister, huh?” Evelyn asked, curiously

  “Yes. I’m her big brother, and lately it’s like they’re taking away my right to take care of the people I love” Kettei responded, looking towards Evelyn, his glare serious and dark: “I’ll show them what happens when they play with fire” he smirked, as he walked away. There, Alice was waiting for him

  “Hey… What’s the matter, bud?” she asked. Her face filled with worry

  “It’s nothing. Stay out of this, please” Kettei replied, his gaze saying otherwise. A detail Alice noticed as she grabbed his face, pulling him closer to her

  “Don’t ye ‘Stay out of this’ me. Yer problem is me problem. What’s going on, Kettei?” She scowled, angered

  “Someone ratted me to the king. I’ll deal with this. I ask you to stay out, because it’s something I’d rather have you uninvolved” Kettei explained, calmly, as Alice grew even more frustrated

  “Who did it? Please tell me, Kettei” She asked, grabbing his shirt

  “I can’t tell you that, because I don’t know who it was” Kettei explained, gently

  “I believe ye do, ye don’t wanna tell me because I’d get worried, that right?” Alice pondered

  “That as well, but mainly because the person who did so is close to the king. In fact, it’s his secretary. Any move against her would be a death sentence, and I know how impulsive you are, Alice” Kettei explained, his glare cold as he walked away: “I’ll see you tomorrow” he added, his gaze softening, as he walked to his dorm, falling asleep in the couch. The following day, his sleep was interrupted by some guards barging in. As he woke up, Sora and Martha stepped in front of him, their glares tense

  “Hand us Izawami. Now” One of the guards ordered, his tone stern

  “Over our dead bodies!” Sora and Martha exclaimed. However, Kettei placed his hands on their shoulders

  “No need to fight. You want me? I’m right here” Kettei commented, extending his hands

  “Wait, what are you doing? Are you seriously going to hand yourself to them?” Sora asked, annoyed

  “Tell me, what are the causes for this arrest?” Kettei asked the guards, curious

  “Treason, because of you stopping our invasion of Falkia” one of the guards replied

  “In my defense, do you think causing a war would help? No, it’ll cause unnecessary deaths. Innocents dying due to your reckless actions. More importantly, I doubt you would’ve handled the shadow beasts without my help” Kettei explained, his gaze coldly fixated on the guards

  “I know, but it’s orders from the king. I’m sorry” the guard said, almost guilty

  “Don’t be. You’re doing your job” Kettei murmured, with a smile. Just then, the guards put handcuffs around his wrists, as they walked away. Almost halfway through the journey back to the castle, the guards suddenly let go of the handcuffs

  “Go, young man” one of them whispered to his ear

  “What? But- “Kettei asked, confused

  “You were right. You’ve helped us a lot, despite being a descendant of the Goloa race. And the king and his lapdogs always made you suffer. But be aware, us disobeying his order means we’ll get the archery squad” Another guard explained, smiling

  “That’s not fair. Why putting your life at stake for a guy you don’t like? WHY, TELL ME!!” Kettei asked, shouting

  “Maybe it’s because… We’re so focused on executing young rebels, and what we consider threats… We want to save one for a change” a third guard responded, as he unchained Kettei. As he did that, an arrow struck said guard in the head, as it fell forward on Kettei’s arms. As the blond student raised his head, he saw Bacha Taroyaka standing in front of him, with a bow in her hands

  “What a shame. Must’ve missed him” She said, her amber-colored eyed narrow, as she aimed for Kettei again. However, this time he was quick to teleport himself and the two remaining guards to a secluded area. There, Kettei put on a mask and a cloak

  “Keep a low profile and go to your beloved ones. They’ll be asking where their husbands, sons and/or daddies are. And it’d pain me if they were to not see you again” Kettei whispered, gently: “I know how it feels not to have a paternal figure around. Take care, you two” he added, giving them cloaks and masks to go unnoticed, before teleporting near the shore, where Alice usually waited for him.

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  As expected, she was indeed there, looking at the waves. Kettei sat next to her, making her jump from the scare as he took off his mask

  “What are ye doing here?” She asked, laughing

  “I must leave Tempest in a few minutes. I came to say bye, for the time being” Kettei responded, smiling: “I also wanted to apologize for being a prick yesterday, but you know I can’t put you in any danger” he added

  “Yeah, I know. I thought they had already arrested ye” Alice snickered

  “They did, but I was let go by the guards. For the time being, I can’t stay in the kingdom, not with all this going on” Kettei responded, handing her a necklace: “This is the Pearl of Summoning. If you are in trouble, use it to summon me. I’ll be there in a whiff” he added

  “Thanks. I also have a parting gift meself” Alice said, gesturing him to near his face. As Kettei neared his face, so did she, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek, before pulling away and looking away, blushing furiously. Kettei had more or less the same reaction. The pair stayed silent for a good five minutes, before Alice spoke up again: “Take care, ye dumb blondie” she added, with a smile, as Kettei stood up

  “That’s me line, ye redhead” he retorted, as he teleported outside the kingdom and hitchhiked his way to Falkia

  As Kettei traveled, back at the castle, the king smiled gleefully as Rosa and Bacha walked in, kneeling before him

  “Report on the Izawami hunt?” King Edward asked, turning his gaze towards the two girls

  “He left the kingdom, apparently” Bacha responded

  “Good enough. Although we can’t lower our guards around that boy. He’s even smarter than his father. There’s no predicting what his next move will be” King Edward crossed his arms, pondering

  “Shall we look in the other kingdoms?” Rosa asked

  “No, it’s good enough he won’t interfere with our plan of getting the Doom Tiara. As of now, we have three out of seven scrolls. Next up is Leadale. Given our easy connections with their chancellor. Get ready, we leave in four days” King Edward responded: “You two may go now” he dismissively added as the two walked away.

  Not long after that meeting, a figure with green hair and purple eyes, and a rather short height of 165 cm walked in, with the king’s back still turned

  “Are you two back for some debriefing?” King Edward asked, turning around, before freezing in place, his eyes wide with horror: “No, you can’t be alive…”

  “Long time no see, old friend. I hope you’re protecting my kids, but from what I heard just now, it seems quite the opposite” the figure smirked saying that, but his eyes stated something else

  Shifting to Kamome’s headquarters, Sora, Martha, Tom, Saori and Justin had just reunited. Everyone had serious looks on their faces. Sora was the first one to speak up

  “So” he started: “Care to clarify why guards were at my dorm room, Saori?” he asked, staring at Saori with fury

  “And most importantly why were they looking for Kettei?” Martha added, furious as well

  “It’s complicated. When you guys were in Bellum two days ago, I overheard Uncle Edward talking with miss Rosa Kruger and miss Bacha Taroyaka. The two of them persuaded him into either arresting or killing Kettei. I sent those guards to pretend like they were under the king’s influence to arrest him, but free him halfway. Unfortunately, Bacha caught up to that and killed one of the guards. I believe the other two are safe” Saori explained, her arms crossed

  “That was well thought of you” Justin admitted, impressed

  “You’re forgetting one thing” Sora underlined: “Who’s going to tell Yui? What’s a damn 13-year-old going to think? That her big brother abandoned her like everyone else? A big brother who took care of her basically her entire life? ANSWER ME, YOU NOBLE SCUM!” he asked, fuming

  “I… Didn’t think about that aspect” Saori admitted, much scared by Sora’s outrage more than anything else: “Also, could you use more adequate words towards a noble?” she asked

  “Right, my apologies. I was going to call you a bitch, but that would’ve been far worse” Sora commented, before changing the topic: “So, how much do you think this will take?”

  “We don’t know” Tom replied, looking down: “I feel like we failed him after what he’s done for us” he added

  “Because we have, Tom. He’s been going kingdoms left and right to solve crisis and build connections for us, and we can’t even protect him? He lent us this base to make us rebuild, did big stuff for us since before he joined our university… Can we really consider ourselves his friends if we can’t even grant him and his sister, which is what he fights for, the protection they deserve?” he asked, his tone stern, but also sad. A long silence fell over the group, acknowledging that they could’ve done more. Justin then stood up and grabbed a bag: “Fuck it, I’m getting Kettei back. If you wanna join, follow me. If you don’t, then you can live with guilt and regret. For not stepping up when our friend… No, our brother needed us the most” he added before walking out the door. Another silence fell, this time heavier from the words Justin spoke, as after a moment Sora, then Martha, then Saori and Tom joined Justin to retrieve Kettei.

  Back at the castle, the king, overwhelmed with horror, stared at the figure, his mind flashing with various thoughts

  “Why are you here, Shanyuan? I thought you were…” King Edward gritted his teeth. However, not even the time to finish, and Shanyuan was in front of him, dagger in hand aimed at his stomach

  “I know everything here. Should I remind you I still have connections thanks to the Tsuneo-Goa, my special forces?” Shanyuan questioned, his glare cold, as his eyes switched from purple to brown, surrounding himself with a grayish aura: “Of course you have, you weren’t always the sharpest tool in the shed”

  “What did you just say?” the king asked, fuming

  “Are you deaf as well as dumb? Let me refresh your memory then. You promised me that, in exchange for a good word, you would’ve helped me investigate my wife and take care of my family. Never thought you’d sneak a bomb in my car, which I’m miraculously alive” he coldly responded, as he started digging his dagger in the king’s stomach

  “Why you little… GAHHH!” the king groaned in pain

  “Good thing I kept myself updated. If I could kill you, I would” Shanyuan stated, his glare distant as he lowered his dagger and turned around: “But you know me, I don’t usually dip my hands in shit” he added as the king, now infuriated, tried to slash him, only for Shanyuan to teleport away

  “That… bastard” the king commented as he held his wound, from which blood was slightly gushing, but was quickly medicated: “He’ll fucking pay” he added, still pissed off

  A few hours passed, and Kettei reached the doors of the Falkia kingdom, where he was warmly welcomed by its citizens for stopping a potential war not long ago. After grabbing a mushroom and melted cheese zapiekanka for dinner, he headed to the castle, where he was greeted by Fei-Yang

  “Hello, Kettei. I must admit, I wasn’t waiting for your visit” he greeted, as he started accompanying him to the main room

  “Greetings, Fei-Yang. Yeah, I probably would’ve come by when Riku’s baby was born. Speaking of, which trimester is his fiancée on?” Kettei asked, grinning sheepishly

  “I keep forgetting you’re bad with dates. Lady Sophie’s in her fifth month” Fei-Yang commented, smiling

  “I guess that makes me human” Kettei commented sarcastically, before switching topic: “How’s Mannie?”

  “Mannie? Oh, Manuela, right. She’s doing fine. Her and Lady Sophie are becoming good pals, although I hope she doesn’t ask about baked potatoes and jam again” he sighed, as Kettei burst out laughing

  “Baked potatoes… With Jam?! Ahahahaha! I can totally picture that!” he said between laughs as he stopped: “I hope it’s not cherry”

  “Oh, no. It’s kiwi jam” Fei-Yang responded

  “That’s even worse!” Kettei exclaimed, stifling a laugh. After a few minutes, they reached the main room, where Riku was asleep on the desk: “Seriously? Don’t drool on the documents, cousin” he commented, sighing

  “Lately he’s been overworking on some stuff” Fei-Yang explained, calmly

  “I mean, he is the prime minister now” Kettei pointed out, as Riku woke up after a minute or two

  “Fei-Yang, can you grab me some water… Oh, hello Kettei… Wait, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU IN FALKIA?!” Riku asked, fully awake after seeing Kettei, his eyes setting on his food: “IS THAT A FUCKING ZAPIEKANKA?!”

  “Y-yeah. I bought one extra for you. Figured you’d be hungry” Kettei responded, handing him one, as Riku consumed it in less than a minute

  “Thanks for the food. Now, why are you here?” Riku asked, after finishing his food

  “I was kicked out of Tempest. Count my blessings, their first idea was execution. That aside, I need a place to live and a job, and I was wondering if you could help” Kettei explained

  “You… WHAT?!” Both Fei-Yang and Riku exclaimed, shocked, before they regained their composure: “You’re still a student, so I can grant you a few luftees to get clothes, pay for food, water and bills” Riku explained

  “See, here’s the problem. With all this, I’ll probably be expelled by Tempest University” Kettei explained, calmly

  “Say, Kettei, have you thought about joining our army?” Fei-Yang asked, as that question caught Kettei’s attention