Chapter 1

The Brass Heart

I lied in bed, not moving an inch. I stared at the note that described the date my mother would be back from her trip, well I called them trips, but considering she was gone more than she was at the mansion.

"Man, I wonder what's so important that she actually needs to come home," I let out a heavy breath. My nineteenth birthday had just passed, but my mother rarely came by for stuff like that.

No it was probably something else.

Whatever it was, it made me nervous. As a mage, and especially one that made pacts with demons she had a tendency to bring home weird shit. No doubt she had another one of her weird experiments with her.

It still wasn't worth complaining about, I jumped off the bed smiling. "I guess I should be happy I can at least see her," I said to myself wandering out of my room and into the mansion halls proper.

Our family was loaded, I assumed it was due to all the jobs my mom took. The mansion was large and expansive, right on the outskirts of the nearby town. There were at least two floors, three counting the basement and probably more rooms than some inns.

There was just one problem with that...there was only four people staying there. Five if you counted my mom, which I personally didn't considering how often she was gone.

Me, my sister, a cat, and...

"Laiton!" I shrill voiced echoed through the air. I turned my head to see a strange bunny-eared woman sliding towards me. Before I even had time to react she crashed into me causing us both to slide down the hall until we reached one of the walls.

"L-Lamy, isn't that a bit much?" I said rubbing the back of my head.

"Sorry~ It's just every time I see you I get all hot...hehehe," Lamy said, drooling. I pushed the demon off of me fearing that she'd probably try to grab more than just my chest if I didn't get her off of me soon.

Lamy was technically the first demon I ever made a pact with. My mother found her just wandering around with no where to go around two years ago, so she brought her here. Since she was too weak to be of any use to my mother she decided to pawn the bunny eared demon off to me.

Not that I minded, Lamy was kind of cute. In a weird gross kind of way. Though I was always nervous to let her wander around less she get charged with sexual harassment.

"Anyway, Lamy mom will be home soon. So if you could make something to eat?" Lamy wasn't really our maid, but I figured she probably would want that kind of duty instead of talking to my sister.

"Hehehe, when you ask me to make dinner like that it's like I'm your wife!"

"I was more thinking along the lines of maid," I replied.

"That's even better! Do you know how many rich aristocrats end up doing freaky stuff with their maids?!" It seemed that my reply just made Lamy's imagination grow even wilder.

"A-anyway, just have something done soon. It doesn't have to be anything fancy," I said causing Lamy to smile.

"You can leave that to me!" Lamy puffed up her chest before walking into the overly large kitchen. Lamy wasn't really the best cook, but what she made was at least edible. Maybe cooking and science crossed over enough that one skill set could be used for the other.

Either way my gaze fell to the staircase causing me to grown. I was going to have to interact with my sister. I could hear faint music coming from her room as well as out of tune singing.

I walked to the second floor, the music growing loud enough that I could actually hear the lyrics.

"Don't tell me that you love me!"

I slumped my shoulders, it was a ritual that she indulged in often. Still, I was lucky she had a room on the second floor and not on next to mine. I didn't bother even knocking as I opened up my sister's room, noticing her standing on her bed.

She had short black-hair, like everyone in my family. She was wearing her usual over-sized puffy chest, making her look closer to a mini-baroness. On the floor was a small cat creature with red fur, the creature's paws being wrapped around a pair of drumsticks with a drum set in front of it.

"What the heck Lation! We're practicing here!" My sister screamed. She then stomped her foot, nearly causing her bed to fold in on itself.

"You can do that any day right? You remember mom is supposed to come by today..." I said causing my sister to groan.

"Who cares, unless she brought something for me I'm not going down to greet her!" My sister replied prompting the small cat creature to speak.

"Cuivre, didn't you say you needed to ask your mother for more lessons?" The cat creature asked.

"I'll do that later Pierre, right now we got to learn this song!" My sister wrapped back around to the more pressing matter. "Speaking of which, you need to learn how to play the bass!" Cuivre pointed to me.

"Eh? You have to be kidding me? Do I look like the type of person that can just learn to play an instrument at the drop of a hat?" I asked.

"It's not that bad, it's not like you have anything better to do," Cuivre threw out a not to subtle insult.

"If you need a member for this band, why not ask Lamy? She's usually just hanging around the manor," I said causing Cuivre to stick out her tongue.

"Come on, she's just too weird. Her head is shaped like a block, and any instruments we give her would probably slip out of hand," Cuivre pointed out.

I couldn't really deny any of those allegations about Lamy. Then again, I had a feeling we were straying further from the reason I came in there anyway. "So you're not coming down to see mom?"

"Nope, if she wants to see me she can come up here~" Cuivre then crawled off her bed, heading to her closet.

"Fine, I'll tel her you said that," I sighed preparing to head out of the room.

"Oh, by the way. If you are going to town, could you bring me some cheese and jerky. Also add a cheesecake to it too!" Cuivre asked.

"Lamy is making lunch," I pointed out. "Though, if I do have to go out I'll at least try to get you a cake."

"Yay!" Cuivre cheered before her attention was pulled to one of her many outfits.

I left my sister's room heading back down stairs. The only thing left was just to wait in the sitting room until either Lamy was done cooking, or my mother returned home.

I made my way back down stairs and into the overly large main room. I sat in one of the seats looking up at the paintings my mother hand brought home. Like most things they were overtly tacky and jarring. Most of the manor colors followed white, gold and brass. Random paintings with demons on them didn't seem to fit with the rest of the ascetic of the house.

Then again, I wasn't really a house designer.

I waited for a few minutes before I heard a knock, but it wasn't at the door, but rather on the window next to me. I slowly turned my head to see long black hair, tattoo's and marking's littered her face. Despite the scene being straight out of a horror novel I was used to it.

"Mom, you can use the front door you know..." I just sighed opening the window. Without hesitation the black dressed woman crawled through the opening like some kind of spider before flopping onto the floor.

"I know, this is just more fun~." My mother laughed standing up. Most of her clothes were large robes that covered most of her body. In her fingers were her signature staff. Though she was carrying what seemed to be a small chest object in her other hand.

"Lamy is making lunch, so w-"

"Oh know, I'm not planning on staying very long." My mother raised her hand before taking a seat at one of the many chairs. Despite her youthful appearance anyone with half a brain could tell she was using magic to hide her real age. One of the view personality types that my sister and mom shared were how vain they were.

"So what's up? It's not like you to visit."

"Well, I have something to give you, as well as something I need you to do," my mother said twirling her staff like some kind of cane.

"Is it demon related?" I asked bluntly. Our family weren't demon hunters per-say. While we did handle demon related issues, we were more interested in making sure the relationship between human and demons were at least a bit balanced.

Thus we formed pacts with them. Though I say we, but it was mostly my mother that did most of the work. Apparently she formed pacts with the Four Demon Gods, I say apparently because I ever met one of them.

"You could say that..." My mother said tossing me the case. "Inside that golden box is a claw of a demon, I want you to summon it and make a pact with it."

"Huh? That's it?" I was confused. Less that she wanted me to make a pact and more why she would bother coming home in person to do something so simple. "You could have mailed this to me you know..."

"Well, that's not the only reason I came here." My mother then reached down her shirt before pulling out a golden necklace. Well it was less like a golden necklace and more like a golden necklace holder in a shape of a cross.

I had seen the necklace plenty of times during my childhood. My mother pretty much always took it with her everywhere she went. "I'm giving this to you."

"What? Is this some kind of passing of the torch?" I laughed. I couldn't really imagine my mother doing something so cheesy, yet here she was making a big deal out of the necklace.

"Hey now, this thing is really important, so important that I I'm tasking you with finding the second half of the necklace."

"Hmm?" I was confused. Though looking at the piece of jewelry closer it did seem incomplete. Like something was supposed to go inside of it, but I didn't know what.

"A silver part is supposed to go into the center making it complete. I want you to find that silver piece, as well as the person wearing it," my mother said.

"That's it?" My response made it sound like the task was going to be simple, but without the proper information it would be borderline impossible to find such a person.

"Pretty much, the box I gave you will only open once you complete that task. Think of it as a bit of an incentive to get it done in a timely manner," my mom said giving me a wink.

"I...don't think a woman your age should be acting all cute," I said bluntly. It seemed my words had the effect of a dagger since my mother clutched her heart the moment they entered her ears.

"P-please don't say that, you're going to make me cry..." My mother wiped the fake tears from her eyes. "To get back on track, do you know my last name?"

I stared at her blankly, wondering if she was making fun of me. "Cœur is our last name right? What kind of question is that?"

"No, no, I mean my Maiden name," my mother corrected forcing me to close my eyes. She mentioned it once before, but it was a long time ago...even before Cuivre was born.

Then again, apparently my mother never married my father. She simply took his last name because it was convenient. I never really even met my father personally, but I couldn't help but wonder if it was going to be a pain to do so.

"Sorry, but I can't remember," I scratched the back of my head causing my mother to laugh.

"No worries, my maiden name is Fullbuster. The reason this is important is because I think your cousin may have the second half of the necklace," my mother wagged her finger.

"I guess that makes things easier, do you have any other information on him?" I asked.

"Not really, besides that he might be in his late twenties early thirties," my mom then sighed. "Since your uncle died I had assumed that the rest of his family died with him, but it seems that someone actually managed to make it out. Even the age could be wrong considering how little information I had to work with."

"That's fine," I said standing up from my seat. "I guess the last thing I have to ask is if you know where he is currently living?"

"Magnolia town as I recall."

The moment she said that my face scrunched up. "That far away? That is like a four hour trip..."

"Now now, I didn't teach you and your sister Devil Slaying for all those years just for the two of you to lie around," my mother then smiled. "Think of it as...an extended vacation or something."

"Fine," I conceded. There was no need for me to complain about. "Don't know why you don't do it yourself..."

My mother stuck out her tongue shaking her head. "I'm really bad at family stuff like this, it gets complicated and it brings up a ton of emotions I'd rather not think about."

At least my mother was honest. Whatever happened between my mother and my uncle probably wasn't very good considering she never mentioned him before, and the fact that he was apparently dead wasn't good either.

"I guess I'll head out early tomorrow, I'll probably end up spending a day or two in the city since its such a long trip."

"Good~." My mother then jumped from her seat. "I guess I should be going now."

"Huh? You aren't even going to bother seeing Cuivre?" I asked causing my mother to frown.

"No need, if she didn't bother coming down to see me then she probably doesn't care," my mother sighed before making her way back through the window. "Do tell her that I said hello though!" With that my mother jumped through the window and vanished.

I crossed my arms shutting the window before looking at the golden necklace, and box she had left behind. "I suppose I should tell Lamy she doesn't need to finish cooking."

I walked out of the main room making my way to the manor's kitchen. An oddly...neutral smell filled my nose. It didn't smell good, but it didn't smell bad either. It was the type of smell that told me that the food that Lamy made was technically edible, but nothing more than that.

"Laiton! Is Lady Oro here?" Lamy chimed, from the mess she made it was clear that she actually worked harder on the food than usual.

"Sorry, she just left..."

"What? Even though I slaved over this stove for all that time she didn't even bother to stick around?" Lamy sniffed. I instantly knew they were fake tears, but decided to play along.

"So what did you cook?" I asked peeking over the bunny-eared demon.

"I kind of just threw a few slabs of meat on a pan and salted it. I didn't really know what to put on it really..." Lamy was blunt with her lack of cooking skills. Not that I had any room to talk, me and my sister mostly just ordered food from town and ate leftovers of anything we didn't finished.

Thinking about it, that wasn't partially a good way for wealthy people to live.

Still I took a seat at the kitchen table, letting my mother's words play inside of my head. I couldn't help but wonder if Lamy had any information about the subject, despite her appearance she was probably quite a bit older than me.

"Hey Lamy, do you know the name Fullbuster?" I asked. The moment I did Lamy's ears twitched, almost as if she heard something from her past.

"Ah, actually I do recall someone having that name while I was at Tartaros. Though as a Lamy, I didn't really interact with him," Lamy pointed out.

"Never mind then," I doubted my uncle was a part of a group of demons. Chances are it was just a coincidence that a demon would share the same last time. After all, there were probably plenty of Fullbusters in the world. "By the way Lamy we are going on a trip tomorrow."

A-A trip, y-you mean like a honeymoon?!" Drool started to leak from the side of Lamy's lips.

"N-nothing like that, my mom was just asking me to help her with something."

"Huh? That's weird, usually Lady Oro does things by herself." Lamy said pacing me the food. I noticed a bit of red fluid leaking out of the top of the meat forcing me to slump my shoulders.

"Lamy, did you rush this?" I pointed at the meat.

"W-what? No way! I took my time cooking it!"

I sighed lifted up the steak before breathing fire onto it. I held back as much as I could, I liked my steak well done, but I wanted to avoid turning it into ash.

Despite my attempts one couldn't build a house on a broken foundation. Even if I made the meat edible it still probably wouldn't be good. "On second thought, let's just eat out." I said standing back up.

"You didn't like my meal at all did you?" Lamy let out an almost sad sigh forcing me to advert my gaze.

"Nothing like that, I just have to make sure Cuivre has something to eat too," I said, using my sister as an excuse. "It doesn't look like you made enough for everyone, and my sister has different taste than my mom so using the plate you made for her wouldn't work either."

"I guess you're right. Plus it's the perfect chance for me to try out that sourdough bread they were selling in town!"

"Then we should probably get going soon, the town gets busy around this time." It was close to lunch time after all. Besides, I was going on a trip soon, this would be my last chance to eat some of the food in Twister Town.

Author notes

Some general character design thoughts.

Originally Lation and his family last names were supposed to be Diamant, to match the theme of stones and metals. However I changed it to Cœur when I felt like it matched the personality of the family more.

Lation means Brass.

Cuivre means Copper

Oro means gold.

Which means the names translate roughly into Brass Heart, Copper Heart and Golden Heart.

Lation as a main character is someone who you are supposed to know as a friend more than someone you look up to. The kind of person who'd rather go out and eat than go on a grand adventure. The guy you know from down the street that just also happens to be an extremely powerful Devil Slayer.

It goes without saying, but the story itself takes place in the age of 793, after Alvarez Arc.

People who read Rave Master to the end will probably know who the 4 Demon gods are...

Originally this story was going to be called Brass/Golden Heart, but decided to change it to something more generic.

This is sort of a rewrite of "It's not Like Demons Fall From the Sky" Depending on how this one does I may turn it into a full rewrite.