Hey guys,

I had a bit of free time this morning so I decided to get the show on the road and bring us right into what I can only call the first mini arc I will properly venture into. This will give me some time to write and keep you entertained while I try and come up with everything (aside from the big bad which I did over the summer) for what will become the second major arc of DBR. If you remember me taking a cruise right before August, the characters I introduce in this chapter were written on a notepad during a night on said cruise. Setsuko's design was inspired by some random cartoon me and my sister happened upon during an in room breakfast and well, I really wish I had caught the name of whatever it was playing on the tv that morning because I'd love to credit it for giving me a base for little Set.

Other than that, I hope you like the new characters because you're going to get to spend quite a bit of time with them, at least for the next three or so chapters. Enjoy what is more or less the introduction chapter into this. And remember, if you ever have an idea or character to send it, give me a review or pm, I'll always reply. Enjoy the chapter and see you in the next one,

xKiha

"What? You're going away?!"

It was now March, a bit over three months since the Xenolith incident was brought to a halt thanks to the alliance. Kimiko spent quite a bit of January in the hospital recovering and then at home for a while, trying to fully heal her body before coming back to school. She ended up returning in early February and from there, things seemed to be returning to normal for everybody.

Sure, there were some demon battles during this time, but nothing too major to draw any concern from. However, in Kimiko's book there was still the absence of the sixth spell she had grown somewhat afraid of. Every battle they faced, she waited and waited, wondering just when it was going to show up and change their lives as they knew it.

And now, they were sitting on the roof, sharing a lunch between the seven of them as they had all grown used to. It was the day before Spring Vacation and this was the time Kimiko had decided to bring up what she was going to do. Today was the final day of her year as a freshman, Seki giving them a few days off before they started up school again as the next year. It felt nerve-racking, but classes weren't going to change or anything, so she would still have Kenja and Aislinn beside her. But still, it left her feeling more experienced and older. And it was slightly exciting.

"Yeah, I'm leaving." Kimiko nodded as she looked to the surprised Kyo sitting opposite her.

"W-When? And for how long?" All those little vacation things he had hoped to do suddenly dying out when he heard Kimiko saying this to him.

"Well, for all of break I guess." The brunette shrugged. "I must have forgotten to ask because I was so excited to go see my cousin. Yusuke's always been like a big brother to me and we haven't been able to see each other as much as we'd like anymore."

"Ah, that sounds like fun." Kenja said, giving her a smile. "Where does your cousin live?"

"Yusuke lives in the Tohoku Region of Honshu."

"Isn't that full of mountains?" The sickly blond asked, a bit curious.

"Yep, but it's also really nice farm land." Kimiko replied. "His family grows some pretty amazing crops every year and some of the most perfect rice." Her smile brightening as she let her mind wander about her entire family.

"Well, I am sure you will have a wonderful time."

"Same to you," A slight smirk spreading across Kimiko's face as she look to the somewhat confused Kenja. "After all, you now have an entire break to do stuff with your boyfriend."

Kenja glanced away, Setsuna, not helping much by sitting at the sickly blond's side, narrowed his eyes. "Don't joke like that, Isahowa, it isn't funny." Looking to Kenja for a moment only to see the slight hurt in down casted azure that refused to look back at him now.

"Anyways," Michael began, not really wanting the conversation to focus on whatever Kenja and Setsuna were at this point. "When are you leaving?"

"Early tomorrow morning, I guess." She shrugged. "I've got to spend the rest of my night packing my and Tsumi's stuff."

"Oh, Sumi's going with?"

Kimiko nodded. "Mhmm, I couldn't exactly leave him behind, now could I?" Well, maybe she could have, but even the poison demon child had become hung up on just whatever his book was hiding from him. It was driving them both completely up the wall and maybe the cool mountain air would finally give them some peace.

The others seemed to look at who had grown into the leader over time, it'd be a bit weird not finding themselves roped into anything during this break and just being able to do whatever they felt like doing, aside from whatever demon battle might sneak up on them during it.

The school bell rang, different people trying to pack up whatever they had brought to share with the rest of the group today. Kyo looking to Kimiko with a soft smile before he got up, heading to his own classroom. "Have fun okay? I'll miss you back in Otaru."

The poison bookreader blushed softly, nodding with a smile. "I'll be sure to do so."

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Kimiko had never liked flying, but to reach her destination she had no honest choice. After getting up fairly early in the morning to head to the airport and spending about two hours on a plane with the seriously overexcited Tsumi, they finally landed.

"Kimiko?" Tsumi said nervously as he tugged at the pants she was wearing at the time, the two exiting the plane. "I should have asked you before, I guess, but what is your cousin like?"

A genuine smile would spread across her face when she spoke about him or told a story about Yusuke, Tsumi seeing it from the moment he mentioned said cousin. "He's great, you'll like him a lot. He's hardworking, but a lot of fun. Kind of a trickster, but it's almost fitting with the way he acts sometimes because even Yusuke has an inner little kid that wants to play."

They entered the airport in Aomori, Tsumi looking around. "Ooh, then where is he?" Eyes darting around with excitement to meet the stranger his bookreader adored so.

"Probably at the baggage claim, so let's head over there." The bookreader calmly said, her demon not sure what that meant but nodding anyhow as he followed her to wherever it was that she was headed.

It was a bit of a challenge to get to where they needed to be, Tsumi continuing to almost cling to his bookreader when the crowds of others trying to reach them same destination could get too close to them. To his surprise, Kimi seemed to keep her cool fairly well when the droves of people got closer and closer to them to the point where they were practically suffocating in a claustrophobic mess of strangers who all seemed to be angry for a reason that Tsumi couldn't really understand.

"There we go." Kimiko whispered to him, seeing the doors leading into their destination with that smile growing once again.

The baggage claim was huge, meaning the sweaty mess of angry strangers flushed out into the room, all heading to different places to retrieve what they needed before leaving the place of nightmares known as an airport.

"Kiki!"

Kimiko jerked at the sound of a nickname given to her and used by only one person, looking around. "Yusuke?" Voice full of excitement as Tsumi turned to find a male heading towards them both.

Yusuke was a rather tall guy, a few inches taller than the poison bookreader with what seemed to be a somewhat cocky look on his face. He had short and scruffy brown hair that seemed a bit messy, his emerald green eyes having a teasing factor to them. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt with a somewhat stretched out color, loose black pants likely used for working up on the mountain and once pure white sneakers now slightly stained brown thanks to mud being cleaned off them many times.

The older boy pulled his cousin in a hug, Tsumi able to see the muscles in this new boy's arms when he hugged his bookreader. Obviously, whatever Yusuke did all day really toughened him up.

When Kimiko was released, teasing green eyes focused on Tsumi, the boy bending down. "Hey, this little man right here must be Tsumi." Ruffling the poison demon's hair. "I never took you for the type to take in an orphan right off the streets like that, Kiki."

Kimiko nervously laughed. "Well, I guess everything happens for a reason." Trying to ignore the fact that she had her purple spellbook in her carry on with her. Better safe than sorry, right?

"Well, I'm sure he'll get along well with my little Setsuko." Yusuke chucked as he stood back up again.

Kimiko lifted an eyebrow, not sure what he was talking about. "Setsuko? You've never mentioned a Setsuko before."

"Oh right, that's a surprise." Yusuke smiled.

"Yusuke, come on, answer me. Who is Setsuko?" Kimiko repeated, not liking being left in the dark, even though this seemed to make Yusuke smile even brighter.

"Come on, let's go get your bags."

"Yusuke! Tell me, who is Setsuko!"

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.

Kimiko didn't get her answer, at least not for the entire car ride to the Aoyama household. She'd ask and he'd playfully change the subject, succeeding in pushing Kimiko's buttons and making Tsumi laugh with every dart out of the conversation the poison bookreader wanted to have.

She didn't want to tell him she was scared at the mention of some little girl he never brought up before. She hadn't seen him in basically two years and her worst fear was finding out that during this time her cousin had become a teenage father.

That couldn't be that case, now could it?

"And here we are."

For the past hour and a half, Tsumi had been in awe of everything from the small town to the mountain areas they were beginning to reach. Sure they didn't actually scale the mountain like the poison demon had secretly wished for, but this was still pretty exciting to be so close to something so huge and probably full of interesting things. Now he was looking at a very old school Japanese home, he hadn't seen anything with this sort of design before, which made him all the more curious to see it.

"Wow, Yusuke, is this where you live?" The demon child asked, his purple eyes widened with curiosity and even more excitement.

"Yep, born and raised right in that home right there." He turned off the car, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Now then, we best say hi to everybody before they feel left out."

Kimiko nodded as she grabbed onto her stuff as the three exited Yusuke's old red truck. "And now are you going to tell me who Setsuko is?"

"Patience, Kiki." Yusuke said. "You're going to get too hyped up over such a little thing. You're going to make this uneventful."

"But, Yusuke, I need to know." Kimiko whined, balling her hands into fists. "Is Setsuko your daughter!?"

Yusuke stopped right in his tracks, turning around to look at her for a silent moment before bursting into laughter. "Is Setsuko my daughter?!" He didn't seem to be able to stop laughing, shoulders shaking with amusement and chuckles. "Did you seriously just ask me that?"

"Y-Yeah…" Kimiko's own cheeks tinting pink with embarrassment. Obviously she had asked what her cousin regarded as a stupid question.

He managed to calm himself down fairly quickly, clearing his throat. "Sorry to disappoint you, Kiki, but Setsuko isn't my kid. I took her in like you took in your little orphan."

This sounded even more suspicious when coming from the mouth of somebody else. Of course, this being her cousin, she didn't allow herself to think anything more about this. But then again, the thought of her cousin possibly being a bookreader was something nobody was going to want to think about, especially not Kimiko.

"Is that the only funny thing you want to ask?" Yusuke asked. "No curiosity about my dog having kittens or my vampire bunnies? My mermaid girlfriend that lives in the mountain spring?"

Tsumi opened his mouth to say something any child would only to have his bookreader place her hand over it, silencing the poison demon as Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Alright, Yusuke, you win. Let's just go inside."

"As you wish~" He teased, continuing to smile as he led them into the house, showing them where to leave their shoes before entering proper.

To the surprise to Tsumi, the house wasn't as full of people as he would have imagined, Yusuke leading them into the kitchen where they would find only two middle aged people in. These people obviously being Yusuke's parents with his mother having his emerald eyes, but this pair seeming to loving and good natured while his father had his wild and almost untamable brown hair.

"Now now, look who's decided to come spend some time with us." Kimiko's Uncle looking up from his book and smiling to his niece.

"Uncle Hajime, Aunt Miyu." Kimiko bowing to them both before being pulled into another hug from her Aunt, Tsumi studying her arms as well to see if they had the same muscles that Yusuke did. Well, she had muscle, but not as much as her son did. "It's wonderful to see you both again."

"And this must be Setsuko's new friend." Hajime noted, studying the poison demon almost awkwardly standing in their kitchen. "Well, she must be around here somewhere." His own brown eyes looking around for a second before cupping rugged hands over his mouth. "Setsuko, darling, come out here, please."

From one of the open doorways, everybody would here a squeak, a little girl peering out nervously with only one eye visable.

"Hey, Set, there's nothing to be afraid of." Yusuke smiled, his voice suddenly gentle and coaxing. "Remember my cousin Kimiko who I used to tell all of those stories about?"

She nervously nodded, remaining silent with still only a sliver of her body showing.

"Well, it's just her and her little friend Tsumi. Nobody here is going to hurt you, so it's okay to come out and say hello."

The little girl continued to hesitate, shaking her head nervously with slight fear.

"Aw, come on out, Setsuko. You don't need to be shy around us. We're all family." Yusuke coaxed, walking over to the open doorway and offering his hand, the child taking it with her own small hand. "Atta girl, now come on." He lead her into the kitchen, the child unable to make eye contact with either Kimiko or Tsumi.

She was quite a bit shorter that Tsumi, causing the demon to wonder just how old she was supposed to be. The way she carried herself made it seem that she was older, but she was about three inches shorter than him even so. She had these big brown eyes, kind of like something you would find on an innocent baby animal that looked up to you for help, her eyelashes gently curling outward to makes said eyes seem even more innocent. She had what seemed to be very soft and smooth skin, having orange hair that was pulled into what seemed to be twin buns on both sides in a bit of a spiral fashion. She was wearing a pink gown with white accents and lace on the bottom and soft white shoes that seemed to be ballet shoes, a big red bow on the top of her head.

She was absolutely beautiful, Tsumi studying her with a cock of his head, completely fascinated by her in every way. But when he looked at her, she seemed to grown all the more nervous, blushing harshly and continuing to avoid his eyes.

"I'm very sorry about how Setsuko is acting." Miyu sighed. "She's dreadfully shy when it comes to anybody she's never seen before. In fact, I think the only one she's ever opened up to without a struggle was Yusuke and even he wasn't sure just what he did to get her to stick to him like she does."

"How did you guys meet her?" Kimiko asked as she to found herself looking to the adorable little girl, who continued to cringe and blush at the increasing number of eyes looking to her.

"Yusuke said he was walking home on one of the rainy days when he found a bunch of kids picking on her. He got the kids to leave her alone and go home and then went to help our little Setsuko out. But he said that when he offered to walk her home, she wouldn't take it. And when he asked her why, she told him that she had no home to go back to and no parents to speak of, so he took her home and the rest is history."

The brunette frowned as this statement, watching Miyu turn back to her cooking. "Didn't you talk to the authorities about it?"

"Of course we did. But, even with the police searching everything and testing her blood, doing everything they could possibly think of, they still weren't able to find anything or any clues about just where she could have come from or where anybody in her family could be." Miyu replied. "Yusuke, please set up the table, I'm almost done with dinner!

"But, anyways, Kimiko, at the end of every rope the police went down there was nothing. They said we could decide what we wanted to do, send her to an orphanage until she found a new family or take her in ourselves. This wasn't a hard choice for any of us though, because we had already fallen in love with the sweet little thing and were eager to let her stay with us forever."

Kimiko smiled gently. "That's a nice little story." Seeing Setsuko finally glance up at her and Tsumi only to whimper, shaking her head and rushing out of the kitchen. "Poor thing, we must really be scaring her…"

"Don't worry about Setsuko, she'll get over it soon enough." Yusuke sighed, although with his tone even he was dismayed by the response he had gotten from the little girl. "She'll warm up to you guys in no time, I know she will."

"Of course she will." Miyu nodded. "Now, Yusuke, what did I tell you about the table?"

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"Now then, this will be your room."

Kimiko smiled softly as she and Tsumi were brought to the guest room down the hall, seeing the two futons already neatly set up on the ground. Today had more or less consisted of catching up with the rest of her family, telling them all that had happened in the two years since she had last properly seen them and listening to all the stories they had wanted to share with her of what they had been doing during all that time. "Thank you so much, Aunt Miyu."

"Oh, it was no problem, darling. Now you two best get some rest, for all I know, Yusuke might have the entire week planned out for you two." The woman smiled, watching them enter the room before slowly closing the sliding paper door. "Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight, Aunt Miyu." Kimiko smiled, placing her stuff where she wanted it to go. Looking to the tired Tsumi who flopped onto his futon with an exhausted sigh. "You tired, Tsu?"

"Who would have thought your family would be so tiring?" He muttered, watching Kimiko take their purple book out of her backpack and flip through it, the child's eyes widening with curiosity. "Why are you looking through the book?"

"Guess I'm just wondering what's going to happen while we're here." Kimiko said. "Maybe, this will be where we find out what the sixth spell is."

"Maybe." Tsumi yawned, curled up as Kimiko smiled softly. "You're right, we should get some rest." Climbing into her own futon as she continued to wonder just what her spellbook had in store for them. It was pretty exciting, Kimiko unable to keep herself from smiling as she began to drift off.

But what neither knew was that a small girl had been listening in on the conversation, biting hard into her lower lip. "I knew it…" She whispered with a shaking voice as she began to head into her own room. "H-He's a demon child…."

'Please…I don't want to have to fight him. But if I have to…I will.'