"Ugh…" Yukio mentally grunted. "What is going on… Where am I…?"

He found his consciousness drifting in a dark void, aimlessly moving about… until he saw a figure appear before him. The only thing illuminating the place.

"Who… is that?" he asked himself, only to get a closer look and, "Wait… is that me? Why is my hair like that?" was the only question he could muster from the top of his head as he looked at the individual's back.

But then the person turned towards him, "!!!" and gave the grin of insanity. "Who… what…"

The person with the appearance very similar to himself, moved his lips as if to say something inaudible, and then leapt at him.

"GUH!!!" He awoke, his breath ragged and body stiff, still trying to recover from sleep.

It had been some time until Yukio had awoken. Actually, no. It was already more than a day after the latest incident.

"This is… my room in the yacht?"

There was a noise of something metallic falling to the floor. Reflexively looking, Yukio saw Layla pressing her hands onto her mouth and tearing up.

"Yukio… you're really… you're really awake!"

"What happened, Layla?! What fell?!" Shin came bursting in. "Yu, you're alive!"

"Ehehe…" Yukio awkwardly laughed. "I'm not sure if that's relief or…"

And immediately everybody else entered the scene as well.

"Idiot, we confirmed he was alive the moment we retrieved him." Diavolo jabbed at his side.

"Oh, that's right! Hehe!" Shin grinned.

"Here, let me check how you're doing." Randolf sighed and smiled, grabbing at various tools on the desk near him.

"You seriously churned our guts there, boy." Arashi smirked, crossing her arms.

"Wait, I'm having trouble remembering…" He sat upright.

"Easy there…" Randolf tried to help him. "Don't push yourself."

"What was I…"

"We were fighting the beast and you jumped in alone all of a sudden," Diavolo summarised.

"That's… I see… But why did I…?"

Amidst the group, someone particular trotted forward with heavy steps.

"!!! Hannah, you're alright now! Thank goo—!"

WHACK!

Before he could finish, Hannah gave him a hard slap. Everybody shuddered for a moment and then the room fell silent. Yukio put his hand on the area she hit and guiltily, but surprisedly looked back at her. Her eyebrows knitted, lips pursed, she glared down at him.

"What were you planning on doing? Do you have any idea what I felt when the first thing I heard after waking up was this?! What do you think of yourself?!!!"

"Hannah, I…I don't… I don't know… I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry?! Do you think sorry would've brought you back?! Are you pretending to be Diavolo or something?! If you have half a brain cell, you should know that since he was back in Derdalf, we could still do something about it, but if things didn't go currently, we would've lost you forever! We wouldn't even be able to recover your corpse!

Just what is the matter with you?! ALL of you! Just when I finally get used to all the extreme things you do, I have to face this! I know we all are risking our lives here, but what is with tossing away yourself before we even reach our destination?!"

A few seconds of silence pass, until,

"Is this what the Rose have simmered down to?" Arashi spoke out from the back.

"What?" Hannah asked, attempting to read between the lines.

"If you remain naive like that, I fear for Rose's future. But then again, you were a sheltered girl who spent most of her life during Derdalf's lowest point. Am I wrong?"

"Oi!!!" Shin grabbed Arashi by her collar. "I've been wondering for a while but, aren't you a little too negative?! The three of us aside, you don't know how Hannah lives! Living in a powerful family, she has a lot of responsibilities to take care of! How would a regular citizen like you understand? You don't get to say all that!"

Arashi sighed. "You lot are still children I see… getting worked up over words like this. And besides…" She looked towards Hannah again. "I'm sure she knows what I'm talking about. Why don't you tell them… about your father."

"What's there to tell?" Shin interrupted. "We already know that Mister Thomas left the country for a huge project. And that he took 100,000 of the city's elites along with him. That's why Derdalf has felt so empty, isn't that it?"

"Have you not faced a number of situations where the topic of her father came up? Why don't you ask her yourself instead of reacting so easily like kids do?"

"You—!"

"Stop, Shin!" Hannah shouted. "I'll tell you guys. Let her go."

"Hannah…" Shin murmured, and as soon as he loosened his grip, Arashi smacked his hands away.

"I'm sure you all might have wondered about how my father is. And I'm sorry for not telling you guys. It's a little hard for me to speak of him since—"

"You don't have to if you—"

"No! I must. It's completely unavoidable to not hear of my father when one is living in Derdalf. To summarize, he's a prodigy among prodigies, and… as the next line, I'm living in his shadow. Normally, one would inherit the family's power after reaching adulthood, but he… he got it at the age of 12. And here… look at me. I haven't even been able to use Raze!"

"Basically, he's someone who was born to rule. Someone who was able to identify various problems of the nation and take action against them. Ruthlessly, if needed. Someone who was able to look into the darkness of society and still accept them. That doesn't mean he left them be, though. He handled governance on both the surface and the underground, thus improving Dimelia greatly, especially Derdalf. Not to mention he was beyond strong enough to hold force against silly retaliation. An ideal ruler to keep a nation in check, even if he is really hard on the people at times. If you ask me, he's more than capable enough to rule more than just Derdalf. But those geezers at the capital would naturally not just give up their seats due to some 'great' achievements," Arashi explained.

"That's right. But that's not all. My father is someone who can see even further ahead. He is willing to grasp the slightest chance of opportunities. Even if there arose times when it seemed like he made mistakes, it still worked out really well. Hence, the people of this city really think highly of him. He is someone who looks at the global benefit of all. That's why he made a deal with the capital."

"...A deal?"

"Yes. A deal which, if completed, would provide undeniable evidence of his superiority. The project he went for… is the unification of most powerful countries in the world. A Union that would permanently establish the ruling nations that governed the world. Something that would make the lives of the people and authority much easier if done right. If he succeeds, Derdalf would officially become the new capital of Dimelia and he'd become the new President."

"What the…! But then, what if he fails?"

Hannah tightened the grip on her hand. "If he fails, then he is exiled, Derdalf loses its status as its own city and the Rose are disbanded."

"Wait, then aren't the odds seriously against him?"

"Yes, but it's the least he is to offer back as someone who is basically overthrowing the ruler of the country itself. We should be glad that they didn't suggest something like slavery. What he's doing is a borderline coup, is what they say."

"However, if someone is confident enough to still go for it, it only shows how capable he is," Arashi continued after her. "I wouldn't be surprised if he actually succeeds even. Which leads us back to my original point. Aren't you guys simply a means for Hannah to boost her reputation?"

"Eh?"

"Even as the next in line, she is completely overshadowed by her father. As such, she has no choice but to work her bones out to match up. Basically everything she does would be a means for her to be like her father."

"Don't be ridiculous! Hannah is not like that!"

"I bet someone told her that too. Something along the lines of, 'It's okay even if you don't become like your father. You can be known as your own person' and the like. A father who everyone admires, and a daughter who everybody loves. Seems about right. She tries everything in her arsenal to gain the people's favour. But one thing she was missing, was a project large enough to be considered comparable to what he is doing. That's where we come in."

The room was silent. Everybody thought that it made sense. But… that was not the kind of person Hannah was… was she?

"While I think it's true that she cares for your well being, how come she didn't react as much when Diavolo got lethally injured? Perhaps, the death of a comrade on her first attempt at something big would put a stain on her reputation, would it not?"

"That's it, I've had enough of you! I'll—"

"No, stop, Shin!" Hannah shouted. Her lips pursed and grip tightened in frustration. She searched her mind for what to say next.

"Till now, I've never thought of it that way, but… now that she says so, it might be true. Maybe subconsciously, I really was doing all this because of that reason. But this bitter feeling… What is this? I hate it!"

"As you said, it might be true. If it was my father in my place, he might have done things differently. He might not have fazed even if we lost comrades during a mission. But know this: I am not like my father. I am not sacrificing anyone! Call it naive if you want, but that's just how I am. People aren't pawns. They have their own characters, agenda, history and family. I don't have the right to take all those away. Nobody gets left behind."

"Even if that means you might one day cause the ruin of the Rose?"

"Even if it one day causes that to happen!"

"I see. If you're that convinced there's nothing I can say about it. Whether your family rises or falls, it's not my business."

"Hey, you. You should've said that part from the very beginning!" Shin pointed his index at her.

"I'll say this again. I only care about my sister. If our incidents are being used as a means for someone else's benefit, then I need to know."

"Well then you clearly lack sense of timing," Diavolo finally spoke out. "Don't tell me you never realized that what you're doing can result in conflict between us, did you? Who's gonna take responsibility if that causes problems mid mission? Whether it's naivete or being unable to suck up what people say, it's a risky gamble speaking your mind like that. After all, we are just kids, aren't we?" he threw shade.

"........." Arashi didn't speak a word and just left the room silently.

"You guys, come on…" Randolf gave an awkward smile.

"What? Not my fault. She said it." Diavolo shrugged.

"E-e-even so, Yukio was so amazing back then! I didn't even know you could do that!" Layla stuttered, changing the topic.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"That's right! Yu, since when can you walk on water?!"

"What? Walking on water? Guys what are you talking about?"

"...You don't remember?" Randolf asked.

"Remember what?"

Then they explained everything. Starting from when he started acting strange, to him sacrificing himself and then fighting atop water, and finally the slow walking towards it until he fell unconscious.

"Wait, so what happened to the beast?"

"Hehe! Why don't you go outside and see for yourself?" Shin smirked and pointed back with his thumb.

Outside, it was sunset. As far into the horizon one could see, one could make out only few dark specks of land. One would normally embrace such a beautiful and peaceful scene, but after what they had gone through, Yukio could only feel unsettled and confused. But given Shin's casual behaviour, did they handle it all on their own somehow?

Yukio stood on the front deck, looking around the scenery, his friends standing right behind him waiting for him to respond.

"What happened? I don't understand."

"Hehe!" Shin grinned and grabbed a bucket of water on the side. The confused Yukio was still in the dark, as he tossed the water out into the sea.

"???" Yukio stood there.

But within seconds a deep vibration filled the air around them. Some distance to the side, the water waves formed a particular shape before it bulged outwards. And then finally, it revealed a gigantic black object, or rather, a beast.

It was the same beast that terrorized their lives, as far as Yukio was concerned, a few moments ago. An event that actually occurred more than a day ago.

Yukio's heart stopped for a moment and his muscles spasmed. He almost took a step back, but seeing everyone keeping their calm, his anxiousness didn't escalate. The only feeling he had was this feeling of uneasiness. Unknown to his now calm mind, that feeling was the trauma his tortured body suffered.

"What is the meaning of…?"

It wasn't attacking. Rather, it was merely following alongside them, staring intently at him like a docile animal.

"After that, for some reason, it suddenly lost its hostility and brought you over to us. It's been following us around ever since. Looks like you gave it quite the scare, hehe!"

"I… don't remember…"

The beast brough its head closer to the yacht and stared directly at Yukio and nobody else. Its large eyes blinked gently as if longing for something.

"Regardless Yu, because of this guy, we haven't been facing any other sea beast throughout the rest of the journey. At least that's what Sis and Bro have agreed to. You better thank it properly!"

"I-I see…" He approached it slowly and caressed its reptilian, yet aquatic skin.

"Gurnu~! Fuu~!" It closed its eyes and made a joice as if it was happy. A strange creature indeed.

"Even so, to have tamed a Strattaphilandorea, you're quite something. I'm really intrigued!" Randolf approached with a cup of liquid for Yukio.

"A Stratta—what?"

"Ah, my bad. My inner doctor just surfaced. It's nicknamed the Duke of the Sea. Just call it the Sea Duke."

"That's quite the title for a beast defeated by amateurs a while ago," Diavolo commented.

"That's why I'm saying I'm surprised. Their strength being as it is, they're incredibly hard to study. So far, three variants of the species have been hypothesized. Although we had yet to see this guy's full power, I have this gut feeling this one's actually weaker than others among its brethren."

"Wait does this mean our fighting force just increased?" said Shin.

"I doubt it. The Strattaphi… Sea Duke aren't amphibians. The island we're going to is small, but it's not small enough for it to attack so easily even from the sea," Randolf replied.

"How far are we?" asked Yukio.

"We should reach a few hours after sunset," Randolf answered.

"Wait… today? That means we're—"

"Early, yes. All thanks to your friend here."

"I see." He turned towards the Sea Duke and caressed it again. "I'm sorry. I can't remember what happened but, you're an ally now, right?"

"Gunuu~!"

"And that's where you'll be working now," Diavolo chipped in.

"Hmm?"

"All's well and good, Yukio. But this doesn't change the fact that what you did was really weird. It was unlike you, all of us noticed it. And that can't just be a coincidence. I've accepted that the three of us are odd even for foreign standards. So whenever something happens, anything at all, that needs attention, I need you guys to immediately consider finding the reason."

"The reason…" he murmured.

"Rest, Yukio. And collect your thoughts. If it's something that can help us deal with what we're about to face, try grabbing onto it. If there's something you need to discuss, all of us are here. Just because my case isn't identifiable, doesn't mean yours is too."

"That's right! I agree with him, Yu! You're not the same as when we first saw you. You've defeated us more than once, and that's not a fluke. You're already our rival too!" Shin encouraged.

"Shin and Diavolo's… rival…" Yukio muttered and smiled delightfully. To have been recognized by the friends he looked up to… the friends who he wanted to help out and never hold back… those people acknowledging him meant a lot.

Now was the time to make sure to live up to their expectations. His hard work paid off, and he was rewarded. Finally being able to stand side by side with them, this was the first time Yukio truly felt happy. His friends were talented people. But if a nobody like him could achieve this through regular hard work, then…

His determination blossomed.

"Understood! I got it! Thanks, you guys!"

And thus, they reached their destination. The remaining journey went smoothly. Not only did they no longer have to worry about attacks, but they even got an extra bodyguard, or rather, a pet, watching out for them.

But of course, it was not a land-faring creature. Once they touched shore, it was time to say goodbye.

"Thanks for guarding us this whole time!" Yukio said gently, touching its snout. "A lot of things happened, but it was finally thanks to you we were able to reach here safely with enough time to heal."

The Sea Duke didn't reply but playfully nudged Yukio's hand and advanced onto his face.

"Hey now, that tickles! I already told you I don't know what happened back then. I don't know what you see in me, but the fact you're an ally now makes me happy. Let's meet again someday!"

The beast made a light screeching sound unlike any of its previous calls. It was unbelievable how a beast with such a thick neck could make such a high pitched sound. It was as if they were listening to a beast cub.

They said their goodbyes but they all felt that it would still be guarding them on their way back, if at least secretly.

Climbing up the cliff on the shore, they could finally look at the scenery of the whole island.

It was indeed abandoned and desolate. Even if it was a small piece of land, it was more than enough to have a battle of a small group. Atop the cliff, it was fairly a flatland.

"Looks like they picked their spot well. There's no opportunity for an ambush on either side." Arashi sighed. "We're setting camp here."

"Remcon, do you sense anyone?" Hannah asked.

"No, other than us, there's not a single soul."

"Alright, I'll leave you in charge of the yacht. Leave things here to us."

"Understood. I bid thee good fortune," and left.

The sky had gone dark by the time they were done setting up their temporary residence. They were on time for their meeting and it would roughly be about twelve to fifteen hours before their adversaries arrived.

"I'm getting this bad feeling," Shin muttered, sitting in front of the campfire.

"Same here. Looks like I'm not alone," Arashi agreed. "It's all flat and there's no chance for an ambush. We can see the whole island from here and if we look out from the cliff, the entire horizon is visible. But it still worries me. I might be overthinking but I'll go look for traps or the sort."

"Good idea. I'll go too."

"Count me in."

Majority had the same concern. All of them went out to scout while Diavolo, Yukio and Layla were left to hold the fort.

About five minutes passed as they left, until Yukio broke the lingering silence amidst the breeze.

"Diavolo… can I talk to you for a second?"

"??? Alright, but…" He looked towards Layla.

She shook her head, "Don't worry about me. Sounds like it's something important," and smiled.

"Got it. Let's go, then."

The place they approached was but a small distance away from the cliff they ascended from. Diavolo hung a leg over the edge and made himself comfortable. Yukio simply squatted down and held his knees, seemingly looking for the right words.

Both parties were reminiscing on recent events. It was not just Yukio who was worried about something, but so was Diavolo.

Now that the chance had unexpectedly presented itself, he was caught off guard and needed a while to think. But ultimately, he prioritized one thing, and that was to apologize.

"I'm so—"

"I think…" Yukio didn't seem like he was hoping for Diavolo to speak up first, thus decided to speak himself, unintentionally cutting him off. "I know how you feel now, Diavolo…"

Diavolo was confused. He knew how he felt? As in, apologetic?

It was Diavolo's selfish decision of helping Suzume that got him into this mess. He didn't think much of it, even when he was injured, because he got back up. He was even mentally prepared for his friends to get injured. After all, they themselves also agreed to follow along with his decision regardless of reasoning. They were best friends who shared their childhood and were still living under the same roof on a foreign land. They would stick together through thick or thin.

But Diavolo was not as prepared as he thought he was. After he witnessed Yukio's spectacle, familiar but unpleasant feelings resurfaced. The situation was nothing like before and yet he couldn't help but have his heartstrings pulled painfully. Even if he gave words of consolation, encouragement or practicality, deep down, he still felt guilty. He wanted to apologize and get it out of his mind.

But now Yukio said he felt the same?

"We're similar… in many ways. Even if the three of us shared our childhood together, it's only Shin who is a pure native of the island. Both of us are foreigners."

"That's indeed the case, but… where is he going with this?" was what went through Diavolo's head.

"Diavolo… after your mother died, you forgot a lot about your past didn't you? And when you two found me, I also didn't remember anything about myself. However…" He took a deep breath and looked out into the horizon. "I think I might've remembered something."

"!!!" Diavolo was surprised. "That's… that's great news, though! Why… do you sound so gloomy?"

"I'm not sure, but… I didn't remember anything concrete. When I was tossed into the sea to look for weak spots by Shin, I got the feeling I saw something, and yet I didn't. But after that, I had this immense urge to push myself to the brim. All the way until I would see my life leaving my body."

"..."

"Diavolo had that feeling before too, right? An unconditional urge to do something even if you risk your life. And then using reasons that sound logical and are believable but are actually just excuses."

"Unconditional… urge…"

"Think about it. In fact, I might've figured it out before you did. It's regarding helping Suzume, isn't it?"

"…"

"Would you really have helped just anyone if they were in a problem like this? You two had literally just met and you started throwing your life away. As far as I know you, only a handful of people can make you do that."

Diavolo eyes started to tremble.

"Not to mention Suzume herself willingly opened up to a stranger like you before any of us. There are other factors here and there, but one thing it definitely leads to."

"…"

"And that's the fact that you didn't help her out of the good of your heart, nor for being friends nor because of some romantic feelings that people spread rumors about. It's because she's related to your past, isn't it?"

"But I…"

"No matter what the two of us forgot, it's still in our subconscious. You came from Derdalf before, but your forgot. She lives in Derdalf. You're also the only one among us she addresses with a suffix from the northern regions, but you understood what it was immediately for some reason. It's not a coincidence."

Diavolo gulped. If that really was the case, then were the two of them childhood friends who got separated? But then, why hadn't Suzume said a word until now? Maybe not him, but she should've remembered, right?

"But that's not why I wanted to talk to you. I needed something to lead us here."

Diavolo's mind was brought back to themselves. That was not all?

"Out of us three, Shin is the most ordinary. Both of you are nice, but he's too dazzling. I can't let him bear this responsibility."

Brows furrowed, Diavolo kept listening.

"It's only something I can ask of you, who is also in a similar situation. Everyone knows you're not an ordinary person after witnessing your healing rate, but I might be the same too. But… I'm afraid it might be something more sinister."

Sinister? Although, it's true that the Yukio back then didn't feel like Yukio at all. Is he saying he turns into a monster, like… the rumors regarding Suzume?

"I was desperately trying to figure something out in the fight. I was saying I didn't know what happened, but I probably awakened something terrible. And yet that thing is an integral part of me."

"What you're trying to say is…"

"I'm just scared. I was never as strong as you two. I just didn't want to get in your way. When images of my forgotten memories appeared, I might've been able to find a way to actually become more powerful. I have this strong urge to uncover what it exactly is that I am, but at the same time I'm afraid that doing just that may endanger everyone.

That's why… if I ever lose my sense of self, I want you to take care of it. No matter how you have to do it."

Diavolo straight away understood what he was implying. "You say that, but you actually don't want to die, do you? You just feel conflicted because it's the first time you've experienced this happen. In due time, you'll get used to it and figure things out on your own."

"That may be so, but I still want to take a precautionary measure. You're the only one who I can ask of this. I get the feeling that I might be vastly different from everyone else, but my life… is truly more fragile."

"Hmph!" Diavolo chuckled. "And here I wanted to apologize for making you go so far for my decision. Now I look like a fool!"

"Eh?!"

"You'll be fine." He sighed, smiling. "And if anything happens, I'll just knock you back to your senses. Rest easy and keep doing whatever you need to. I simply forgot some events, but you don't know about your very origin. Your memories are worth more than mine. Even if something changes once you get them back, whether it's that Yukio 'minus' or the current Yukio 'plus', you're still Yukio.

You've finally come up here. We've considered you our rival. You're no longer the Yukio who needs protection." He rose up and rubbed Yukio's head vigorously. "You really gonna let a bunch of memories get the better of you?"

"Ack! Ugh! That hurts, Diavolo!"

"Let's get back! That sullen face will get Layla worried too."

Yukio comically cried as he followed him back, holding his head. But inside, although not entirely relieved, he felt less anxious. A lot less.

On the other hand, Diavolo too had a load off his chest. Yukio now had his own reasons to push ahead rather than just him. As for Shin… he wouldn't have to worry about him too much… right?

Either way, Diavolo had something else to think about. It was now that it had hit him.

"Just who was I making excuses for… I'm such an idiot!" he cursed himself. "After this is over, I'll ask her directly. Just who is she to me?"