A week passed since Flare had separated Wild Hunt from the capital. A lot of things had been going smoothly, then. People have been living happier than usual.

Within the Imperial Palace, Emperor Makoto sat in his high royal chair, in the middle of the throne room. His eyes looked around and saw no one standing before him, no one kneeling before him. The only ones who were currently in the throne room were him, and the Minister Honest. He sighed, feeling bored.

"What seems to be the problem, your Majesty?" Honest asked, seeing the child emperor look depressed.

"There is no problem, Minister... there's just this person I've been thinking about."

"Is it a woman?" Honest asked.

Emperor Makoto blushed a bit. Feeling a little embarrassed. "N-no! It's not like that!" He cooled down a bit. "It's just..."

"Yes?"

"This person named Flare. The one that can generate fire..."

"What is there to talk about him?"

"I've heard plenty of good reports about him. I heard he's fought and captured a few Night Raid members, catching lots of criminals in the capital. I heard that he's doing what he can to keep the capital safe and is well liked by the people."

"My, my." Honest raised a gray brow. "Where or whom did you receive this information from?"

"I heard a few of the palace maids gossiping about him." Emperor Makoto answered.

"Oh, really?" Honest stroked his beard. "Then, I'll just have to speak with them about him." He placed a fake smile on his face.

"If I recall, he's the latest member of General Esdeath's police. The Jaegers. And yet, I never met him. Huh."

"Really..."

Inside of Honest's head, Honest is starting to see Flare as a troublesome fellow. Claiming an Imperial Arm that Honest had yearned for, for years. Ruining his work, by catching and arresting his secret accomplices. Crime rate had gone down these past few months. He imagined that the people within the lower levels rallying from behind Flare and treating him, like he was almost a symbol. Could possible start a new rebel alliance. Honest silently growled.

"Minister? Are you alright?" Emperor Makoto asked.

"Hm?" Honest spaced out, until the child Emperor asked. "Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking about this Flare, fellow."

"Really... I think I want to meet him. It would be the best thing to do to appreciate his hard work." Emperor Makoto said.

On the outskirts of the capital. A widow named Kije and her daughter named Logue visited the cemetery on the outskirts of the capital. They dressed in black funeral clothing and prayed in front of Bols' grave. They kept that routine of showing up everyday, since the funeral months ago. They would pray for fifteen minutes each day, then leave.

Flare stood by and watched Kije and Logue pray for Bols.

Ever since Flare joined the Jaegers, he shared a mutual bond with Bols and his family. They would get along well and would sometimes be invited to dinner. After the death of Bols, Flare took it on himself to sometimes watch over and protect his family from danger. So far, no one has threatened them since then.

"Is there anything I can do for you? Do you need money or a place to stay?" Flare asked in concern.

Kije shook her head no. "It's alright. We've received enough money from General Esdeath, as wages from working in the Jaegers."

'That definitely sounds like Esdeath. She's not the type that's interested in money. She usually gives it to her comrades and soldiers. Speaking of which, I have to think of something special when she comes back...' Flare thought as he looked at the blue sky.

"We also have some savings from before our marriage. I plan on raising my children, well." Kije told Flare.

"Children?" Flare glanced at Kije a bit.

"Oh," Kije looked down at Logue for two seconds. "I guess, I never told you, before." She walked to Flare, and placed both hands on her pregnant belly. "Bols and I are having another child." Kije found out she was pregnant shortly after Bols died. Even if she had known before, she would've wanted to surprise him.

Flare grunted as he just learnedthe news of Kije's pregnancy. His eyes widened a tad bit as his body also stood still. He was happy for Kije. "Congratulations..." But, suddenly thought about Bols and how he would probably react if he found out. This made him from happy to sad. If only Bols had more time to live. Flare frowned, lowered his head, his eyes were darkened by shadow and his fist gripped. "I'm sorry..."

Kije and Logue remained silent and looked at each other. Wind blew by, causing their hair to lift a bit. "We know. Logue and I miss him very much. We're thankful for everything you and Bols had done to keep this land safe. We wouldn't have came here much, if you weren't around."

"Thanks."

Suddenly, Logue walked towards Flare, who catches his attention. "Thank you for catching my papa's killer." She smiled.

"You're more than welcome." Flare bent down to Logue's level and hugged her. He then let go of Logue and stood up to face Kije.

"Thank you for trying to keep all of us safe." Kije said after hugging him.

Flare cracked a smile and chuckled. "Thanks a lot. By the time you return, this capital is going to be tyranny free."

Kije smiled at him. "Thank you. I look forward to it." She then grabbed Logue's hand and left the cemetery, heading home, as Flare watched them leave. As the mother and daughter were walking, Logue looked at the blue sky and saw a white cloud that nearly looks identical to Bols' mask.

Flare suddenly teleported himself in Chinatown district. He looked around the street and noticed that he was not far from Mei Ling's house. He walked the rest of the way to her house, which was less than a mile away. Flare didn't break a sweat, as he walked. As soon as he got to the door, he knocked carefully. Due to gaining strength by training. About ten seconds, a person had unlocked the door.

"Oh! Hey, Flare!" Mei smiled after opening the door. She was happy to see Flare.

"Hey." Flare smiled and raised a hand and waved.

Mei peek her head out the door to see if anyone was around. "Come in, before anyone sees."

"Okay." Flare entered Mei's home and quickly closed the door behind him.

"Thank you for coming over." She wore a red sleeveless top with a diamond shaped cut in the middle, revealing her navel and cleavage. She had also worn blue shorts, brown boots and a belt. Her light brown hair was placed in a double bun. She even worn the Imperial Arm that Flare once gave her.

Flare shared a hug with Mei, but knew that he had to be gentle. He didn't want to crush a pregnant Mei with his strength. "It's really good to see again."

"You too, Flare. It's been a while since a Jaeger has taken me anywhere." Mei joked.

"Yes, it has." Flare blushed a bit, remembering the last time Flare spent the night over. "Is there anything you need?"

"Well, yes. I kind of went overboard and all of this..." Mei pointed her hand at the table.

Flare gasped as his eyes stared at the wide food spread on the table. There were at least fifteen different dishes of Asian traditional food that Mei Ling had made. He almost drooled as he gazed. He could tell that each of them were delicious in their own right. "You made a spread?" He asked.

"Yes. Just for us."

"What for?" Flare asked with a happy look.

"The truth is... I've been craving food lately, and not even I can eat this much food all by myself." Mei twiddled her fingers and blushed a little. "There is a certain amount of food that I'm only aloud to eat. I can't eat much, because..." Mei made eye contact with Flare and lied her hands on her pregnant stomach. "I'm pregnant."

Flare silently gasped. A blush appeared on his face, his ears tuned in and his eyes grew a bit after hearing those last words of hers. During the months he spent working around the capital, he learned from an old man what pregnancy was and where babies come from. He knew babies came from people, but didn't know that they were conceived through sexual intercourse at the time.

"Really? You mean that we're..."

"Mm-hmm," Mei slowly nodded. "I went to the doctor, once. We're going to have a baby."

Flare paused for about four seconds, then sniffed and wiped some water from his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her upper back, lightly hugging her. Mei hugged him back, as she let tears of joy out. The two were going to be parents in less than a year's time. The last time Flare had seen Mei Ling was the morning he left her house after sleeping with her, months ago.

"I'm going to protect you both." Flare said.

Mei brought her face up to look at his. "I know." The two shared a moment as they kissed once and connected foreheads, as their noses barely touched. The moment was short-lived as Mei had felt a kick within her womb. She gasped.

"What's wrong?" Flare asked, after disconnecting foreheads.

"The baby... just kicked me." Mei looked down at her pregnant belly and smiled. She looked up to Flare. "Do you want to feel it?"

"Yes." Flare nodded and bent down to Mei's stomach and placed his left cheek on her pregnant belly. He closed his eyes and opened his ears, as he listened to the noise the fetus was making. He then felt a kick from the fetus through skin contact.

"Did you feel it kick just now?" Mei asked as she touched his hair.

"Yeah. I did." Flare stood up and smiled. "I'm happy."

"He's really happy to see you." Mei smiled at Flare, before kissing his lips.

Flare glanced at the spread. "Who's going to eat the food?" He chuckled.

She gasped, as she then remembered the spread on the table. "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot."

Mei quickly brought Flare and they both sat at the table. Mei clapped her hands together and chanted. "Thank you for the Meal!" Flare did the same thing she did, and the two feasted. The two ate, like there was no tomorrow. Thirty minutes later, the dishes that Mei had made were all, but eaten. There were little scraps of food on the plate. Flare's appetite was big, as he had not eaten anything earlier that day. He had over ten plates of food. Mei however, had at least two plates, before giving in.

"That was great spread you made, Mei. I could never get tired of your cooking." Flare stood from the table and stretched his body a bit.

Mei stood up from the table and walked towards Flare. "I'm glad you liked it. It was the least I could do for... my baby daddy." Mei chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Flare told Mei. He slightly glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was Seven O' clock.

Mei cupped his face and turned it towards hers. She reeled his face closer and pressed her lips against his once again. "Please, stay. For one more night." She murmured before kissing him again.

"I don't know... People outside might need my help."

"I know... but I want you tonight. Please. Stay. For me... and the baby." Mei's auburn eyes looked cute to Flare, as she stared, with tiny orbs of water forming in it. She looked kind of upset.

"Alright. I'll stay."

"Goodie!" Mei chanted, as she clapped her hands together.

Flare had agreed to stay the night with Mei Ling and protect her, in case anyone tries to break in and cause harm. After dinner, Flare helped Mei clean up the dishes, then shared the same bathroom and bathed together. It was more like, "You wash my back, I'll wash yours." Mei would playfully splash some water on him. After an hour of bathing, they were prepared for bed. Flare slept in his boxers again and Mei had worn a green robe, big enough to make her pregnant belly fit. They later shared the same bed that night. Mei lied on her side, with her head close to Flare's. Flare looked up at the ceiling, and couldn't get something off his mind. It was as if, he was sensing a bad omen.

'This omen... something doesn't feel right' Flare thought.

Later that night, a group of Imperial Arm users had appeared on the outskirts of the capital, with a black dragon by their side. The group Wild Hunt had discovered a black dragon Danger Beast and managed to tame it to do their bidding. The group returned after being banished by Flare on a deserted island. They wore long dark brown cloaks and stood still, looking at the scenery.

"Hurray! We made it back!" Cosmina sounding energetic.

"There it is. The capital. It looks peaceful at night." Syura said as he removed his hood.

"I can't believe it took us a whole week to get here, again. That Flare guy interests me, now. I can' wait to study him." Dorothea fantasized about sleeping with Flare, then experimenting on him, to study his power.

"I can't wait to play with Flare." Cosmina blushed, as she fantasized violating Flare. She grunted and nearly fell to the ground as she got kicked on her backside from behind by Enshin, who was irritated with her behavior.

"Are you crazy! That bastard is the reason we were stranded on that island filled with Danger Beasts for a whole week! He kept me away from all the pretty broads in the capital! I will never forgive him for that." Enshin hissed as he imagined himself, supposedly sleeping with women, but in reality, he just want to rape them.

"I can't believe that he kept all the sweet and innocent children away from me!" Champ growled, as he imagined so many innocent children's faces.

"They're just children. You're not going to die without seeing another one." Dorothea told Champ.

"What you say?!" Champ snapped at Cosmina.

Syura grunted as he was hearing his group argue a bit. "All of you. Shut up! I'm going to be the one to get revenge on that bastard, Flare. And then, I'm going to take over and become the new Emperor of this Empire."

"What makes you say that?" Dorothea asked.

Syura smirked at his team and raised his hand in the air. He suddenly generated a white sphere made of nothing. "With this new Imperial Arm that I possess, I will finally be able to conquer this land and become its new Emperor. But, not before I get my hands on Flare." Wild Hunt stared at Syura for a moment, then smiled.

Wild Hunt has returned to the Empire with a plan and a vengeance. While they were away, Syura had discovered a new Imperial Arm, unknown to the current capital. More will be known about it within a few chapters.

The child Emperor now wants to meet Flare. When they do meet, how do you think their meeting turn out?