Hello there everyone! Sorry for the quick departure, but I took a tiny break after that massive last chapter. Now, we'll have a few filler chapters before we jump into the next arc, maybe only 2, possibly three. Then we can begin the end.

I mean...

What?

Enjoy!

It had already been a few days since Drake had gone, and his presence was felt heavily by everyone in the group. Damien could tell they all missed him, no matter how much they tried to hide it and act normal. There was a noticeable gloom hanging over them as they prayed he would be okay. He just hoped his friend was being safe. But that wasn't the only thing he'd been focusing on for the last few days. He'd been worried about his sister.

Steph, like Nashi, had been somewhat recluse since Drake left, staying in her bedroom at their parents house. Damien had only spoken to her a few times, and she was curt with him every time. He knew Drake's problem was stressing her out, and he ad no clue why it was affecting her so much. Well, that wasn't true. Steph had been pretty blunt about her reasons when she'd exploded on him before Drake left. But even so, he'd felt like she was more troubled than she should be.

Unless she was crushing on him, of course.

At first the thought was irritating and revolting, but it made more sense the more he thought about it. Drake seemed to have a way to attract girls. He'd had a fan club after the Grand Magic Games, for God's sake. Maybe Steph's problem was she had feelings for him. He didn't know obviously, but he wanted to help her any way he could.

And so he was back at his parents house, staring at it from outside. He knew Steph couldn't see him, because her bedroom window pointed out the back. He entered the house as silently as he could, closing the door behind him. He trudged up the stairs and towards Steph's room, trying to figure out how best to solve this problem. He had no clue.

He'd just wing it. What was the worst that could happen?

He reached Steph's door and knocked on it three times, waiting quietly.

"Steph?" He asked, "it's me. You awake?"

"Yes," her voice came from inside. "What is it?"

"Can I come in?" He asked her. She audibly sighed.

"Sure, it's unlocked," she replied. Happy he'd already gotten this far, he opened the door and walked inside her room.

Steph's room was in an awkward in between phase of childhood and adulthood. Her bed had been replaced with a bigger one appropriate for her age, but the paint job and overall vibe of the room was still one for a little girl. Across the room, sitting in the windowsill and watching the sky was his sister. She was wearing pajama pants and a loose t-shirt, clearly not dressed in any way. Her hair even somehow managed to look messy, even though she kept it short-cropped.

"Hey," he greeted as he closed the door. Steph cast him a glance, her blue eyes overclouded.

"What is it?" She asked, sounding about how she looked. Damien pocketed his hands and took a deep breath.

"I wanted to check up on you," he said, "I haven't seen you around."

"I've been here," she answered.

"Doing what?" He asked her. She sighed again.

"Watching the skyline," she replied.

"Why?"

"Just because," she answered. He had no idea what to say to that, so he said nothing. He scanned the room as he grasped at straws, trying to find a way to help her out.

"It's not good to keep yourself cooped up," he finally said, "come out and come to the guild hall. Eat and drink, it'll make you feel better."

"No it won't," she said. "I don't want to drink."

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because I saw what it did to Drake," she said. "I never want to look like that." Damien felt it might have been important to mention the alcohol had little to do with Drake's poor mental state after Nashi died, but he didn't say that. He didn't want to piss her off.

"This isn't any better," he said. "You're just sitting her letting yourself overthink things. You can't do that. You've got to get out and do different things."

"I don't wanna," she said. Damien frowned.

"What do you want to do?" He asked her.

"Go and help Drake," she said.

"We can't," he said, "so no go."

"Then I don't want to do anything," she said. "I'll wait until he comes back." Damien almost said 'if' in response to this, but stopped himself. Drake would come back, he definitely would. He wouldn't be able to convince Steph of that if he himself didn't believe it.

"Look Steph," he said, "I don't want to ask after how you feel about Drake, but the facts remain: this isn't healthy. We need to get you out and-" He stopped as Steph scoffed and closed her eyes.

"Why does everyone say that?" She demanded angrily. "Why do people assume I'm in love with him?" Damien said nothing as Steph turned to him. "I'm not in love with Drake, Damien. Never was, never will be."

"Well..." Damien stuttered, "that's a bit presumptuous."

"It isn't," Steph replied. "I promise you that." Silence fell over the siblings, making the room overflow with a tense atmosphere. Damien sensed Steph was in a foul mood now, but he didn't know why. He hadn't said anything that bad, had he?

"I didn't mean to offend you," Damien said. "I was just trying to say this is unhealthy."

"I know you didn't mean it," Steph said. "How could you? You don't know anything about me..."

"What?" Damien asked.

"Nothing," Steph replied, closing her eyes. "Damien, I'm sorry. I'm being a bitch right now."

"You're worried," Damien said, "I am too. But you can't focus on it or you'll drown in it. No one can beat a staring contest with a problem they can't control. It'll always win."

"Well what did you have in mind?" She asked him.

"I did have one thing," he said. "We haven't gone on a job together in a while, so I scooped on up from Mom." He pulled out the job offer, waving it at his sister. "Want to come along?" Steph stared at the poster for a bit before she looked back out the window. After a beat of silence, she took a deep breath and hopped off the windowsill.

"Sure," she said, "let's go make some money."

"So, remind me of our job again?" Steph asked as she stoked the flames. Damien yawned from the other side of the flames, lying on his side. They had set in camp a ways off the road for the night, in a clearing in the forest. Steph had changed out of her pajamas and into tight jeans with boots, and a long-sleeve white shirt underneath her winter jacket.

"Easy peasy," he said. "This nobleman got his housed robbed by bandits. He says he knows exactly who did it, so we go and meet find, find out what he knows, and then go get his stuff back. It seemed what was stolen was very valuable, so he's paying top dollar to get it back."

"Sounds simple," she said. "is that all there is to it?"

"As far as I can tell," he said. Steph nodded and stared at the flames for a bit, the crackling the only noise around them.

"Are you good to fight?" She asked him, making him raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He asked her.

"Well," she said, "With everything going on with the Demon Lords, I assume you can't take over into either of them. Xisplate and...Who was the other one?"

"Vantros," Damien answered, "and no, I can't transform into them still. That said, I've got my base demon form I can use. Unless these bandits are Wizard Saint level, I won't have a problem."

"I see," Steph said. "I don't think you ever told me how you got control of Vantros. When did that happen?" Damien watched the flames crackle quietly, recalling what had happened.

"It was the fight with Devil Advocate," he said. "Uh, that was Katsuchi, Tetsu and Azzie's old guild. They had a Demon Lord Takeover Wizard with them named Taisho. He was everything I'm not; crazy, power-hungry, and uncaring."

"Sounds just like you," Steph said with a teasing smile.

"Very funny," Damien said. "Anyway, Taisho and I butt heads when practically everyone was injured. It was kill or be killed, and Taisho forced me to transform into Xisplate for the first time since I...Since I nearly killed you." Damien made sure to correct himself before he said his sister was dead. Steph watched him warily from the other side of the flames.

"What happened then?" She asked quietly. Damien watched the flames quietly, trying to think of how to respond. He could see the battle in the flames, Taisho's face as he realised he'd miscalculated.

He isn't worthy.

Beat him to death.

Kill him!

He could still hear the voices of the damned screaming in his ear.

"I killed him," Damien answered as he stared at the fire. "I don't recall much, but from what I remember I judged Taisho's soul and banished him. Seeing as Taisho and Vantros were connected, I consumed Vantros' power when I took Taisho's life." Steph stared at him quietly, but he didn't want to meet her gaze.

He somewhat regretted killing Taisho. Well, he didn't regret saving his friends, but he'd lied to Steph when he said he didn't really remember. He did. He remembered judging Taisho's soul. He remembered banishing it, and snapping his body's neck. It was a very vivid memory, and it sickened him.

"I bet you regret asking now," he said as he looked up at her. Steph cast a smile.

"No," she said, "I'm proud of you." Damien made a face at this.

"Why?" He asked.

"You did what you had to do," she said, "even though I'm sure you were scared." Her smile widened. "I wish I was there to see it."

"Now I know you're lying." There was another beat of silence before Steph shifted where she sat.

"Have they spoken to you recently?" She asked, "the Demon Lords I mean." Damien frowned and shook his head.

"No," he replied, "they haven't."

"Does that worry you?" She wondered. Damien wasn't sure how to answer that. He was already plenty worried about the situation, but did he get more worried when they didn't speak?

"Vantros has never said much to me," he said slowly, "but I guess I wonder what Xisplate is doing. I got so used to him being around."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Damien said, "after I used him to defeat Taisho, he'd show up sometimes and talk to me. Usually he'd just mock me or say something mean, but I guess I got used to it. Now that he doesn't show up anymore...I don't know."

"Do you miss him?" Steph asked. "Are you worried about him?" Damien pondered these questions for a minute. Did he miss Xisplate? His first instinct was to say not really, but the more he thought about the more he realised he did. He'd grown accustomed to him showing up. Even now, talking about him, he expected him to be here.

"I suppose so," he said finally. "It's weird, but I do."

"It's not weird," Steph said. "For better or for worse he's been with you forever. To not even feel his presence after so long would feel alien."

"...Yeah," Damien agreed, eyes on the fire. He wanted to avoid thinking about the upcoming battle with the Demon Lords over Nashi's soul, but he had some difficulty with that. He closed his eyes in irritation.

"Let's get some sleep, we'll be there in the morning."

"This the place?" Steph asked. Damien nodded as the pair stared up at a massive mansion in the countryside.

"Looks like it to me," he said. Steph shrugged at this and reached forward, knocking on the door. It took a few seconds, but soon the door opened, and Damien's ears were assaulted with the sound of children playing and laughing. An old butler was at the door, watching them with his sunken eyes.

"Can I help you?" He asked, sounding exhausted.

"Uh, we're here about the job notice," Damien said, holding up the poster. The butler nodded, moving to let them in. As they entered, Damien noticed that at least six children were running around the entrance hall.

"Follow me," the butler said, ignoring the children completely as a maid came in to scold them. Damien tried not to stare, but he couldn't help it. The more rooms they passed, he became a bit more disturbed. There was a lot of children in this house. He'd already seen at least ten, and he heard more than that.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Steph asked as she leaned towards him.

"I don't know, but it's creeping me out," Damien noted. They followed the butler up a large flight of stairs towards a pair of large dark oak doors, which the butler knocked on.

"What?" A voice asked from within.

"Sir, some guild mages are here about the notice," the butler said.

"Ah! Let them in, let them in!" The butler opened the door for them, and the two of them walked inside.

Now Damien was really confused.

There was at least 7 women in the office with them, all of the in nice looking dress. He tried to ignore how the dresses rode up on the woman's legs revealingly, or how their chests popped out of the top, but it was rather difficult. He cast a glance at his sister to distract himself, and found she was having a hard time finding where to look as well. Finally, they both settled on who they assumed was the noble they were serving.

He was a rather unimpressive man, fat and short. Damien wasn't surprised by that, or by the rather illustrious clothing he wore. He'd already judged the man was richer than rich by the reward offered.

"Hello Mages!" The man greeted, his jowls making Damien want to laugh. "Excuse us, we were just chatting. Ladies, could you please leave us alone?" The women in question all made to leave the room, and Damien tried to ignore them. He felt much better once they were gone. "I apologise, I wasn't expecting you today! I am Don Yoku, the man of this fine house!"

"It's fine," Damien answered, "I'm Damien, this is Steph. Now, let's get down to business. You were robbed?"

"Yes!" The noble agreed, slamming his pudgy fists on his desk. "As you can see, I'm a very rich man. Very, very rich." The man paused for effect, but neither Damien or Steph said a word. He didn't really care, and he could tell his sister was unimpressed. Don Yoku coughed, "yes, well, as a precaution I have my house guarded by hired help. However, last week, I was betrayed! My hired help let robbers into my coffers, and they stole a sizeable amount of money from me before disappearing. I insist you find them and retrieve my money!"

"Slow down," Steph said, "do you even have any idea where they could've gone?"

"Of course!" He insisted, "their base in situated in a nearby town, if you could even call it that! It's more of a campsite for destitute losers! They will be there!"

"You sure?" Damien asked.

"Yes of course!" He snarled, which was not at all threatening. "I am trusting that because you are guild wizards, I can assume I will not be robbed again."

"Don't count on it," Steph muttered.

"We'll get it done," Damien said. "Did they take anything as else?"

"As a matter of fact," Don Yoku replied, "they did. In my safe I had an urn, which contained the ashes of my first wife. I loved her dearly, and they stole that as well! I'll have it back!" Damien neglected to ask how many other wives he had, but he assumed it had to be all of those women he'd seen earlier.

"What did it look like?" He asked.

"The urn was made of the finest silver and gold in the area," the noble said. "It is ringed with the gold, and spells her name. It is unmistakable!"

"I see," Damien replied, "well, if you're so sure it's all this 'town', we'll so and retrieve it for you. We'll be back before long."

"God's speed, the pair of you!" He shouted, the both of them turning to leave. The Dreyar siblings excused themselves from the office, and then sped to leave the mansion. Once they got out and were a ways away from the house, Steph turned to Damien.

"What the hell happened in there?" She asked curiously. Damien shrugged, mystified.

"From the looks of it, he lost his wife and gained a dozen more," he said. "How much do you want to bet that this missing money is the workers lost wages they never got?"

"I'd say it's a decent chance. Guy doesn't seem like he pays well."

The town looked about as bad as Don Yoku said. The buildings were run down, and the main road was in horrible shape. Damien put his hands on his hips as he watched it.

"How much do you wanna bet their hiding in here somewhere?" He asked. Steph hummed and tapped her foot.

"Well," she said, "I'd say pretty high. Let's go and do this." The two entered the town, the cold winter weather whipping around them. Damien saw his sister pull her collar closed to her mouth to protect it from the cold.

"If they confront us," he said, "I'll take the majority of the heat. You should look in the houses to see if we can find the urn and money."

"I can fight for myself," Steph said defensively.

"Never said you couldn't," Damien replied, "I'm just saying, we should look and fight at the same time. They might try and run. And I get the feeling you're faster than I am."

"Are you openly admitting to being worse than me at something?" Steph asked, "that's a new one for you."

"Yeah well, let's just say I'm full of surprises." he said, "now, let's find this guys wife and-!" Damien stopped talking and instantly activated his takeover, and reached for Steph. He took her under his wing, and felt the arrows bounce off of the hard membrane.

"Shit, he knows!" Someone shouted. Following the arrows, Damien saw a group of archers up on the rooftop near them. They took off as he saw them, and he released Steph from his grasp.

"Seems they know we're here too," he said. "Do as I said; search the houses and find the goods. I'll fight."

"Got it," she said, stretching her arms. "Be careful."

"I will," he said. "You too." He watched his sisters legs charge with lightning, before she disappeared into a dust cloud. Sighing and stretching his wings, Damien burst into the sky and looked at the town from above. He could see groups of men converging on where he and Steph had been quickly, but Steph was already gone. Smiling, he aimed for the nearest group of dropped on them with the speed of a rock. When he landed in threw up a dust cloud, hiding himself from them. Once it cleared, he saw himself surrounded by the men.

"I suppose you guys are Don Yoku's hired 'help'," he asked.

"So what if we are?" One of the men asked, "That man is a monster! He deserves to lose everything." Damien got the sense this guy was telling the truth, but he didn't get a chance to ask. The men converged on him with swords and other weapons, but it wasn't going to prove any challenge. A pulse of Darkness radiated off of Damien, knocking all of them off balance. In a swift flurry of motion, He hit all of them on the back of the heads and knocked them out. The last one of this group didn't fall when he got hit, and instead grabbed onto Damien's red breastplate.

"You don't understand anything..." the man hissed, his eyes blurry from the hit, "Don Yoku...He deserves to die for what he's done..." With this he collapsed, and Damien sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I'm going to have a stern conversation with that man before I return his urn," he muttered.

It didn't take Steph long to search a lot of these houses. Most of them were completely empty, save for some torn up furniture. Did anyone actually live here, or was it a ghost town. Rounding a corner, she found herself face to face with a group of armed men guarding the biggest house in town, watching her warily.

"Seems it's probably in there," she muttered. Arching her back and preparing herself, Steph charged her magic.

"Thunderclap!" She shouted, bursting forth with speed the average person could never see. She stopped dead behind the group of men, who had to turn to see her. As they did, her magic activated, bursting forward and sending them all flying. She watched them sail through the sky and hit the ground, somewhat upset they weren't more of a challenge. Still, she didn't like the feeling of this. She felt like the bad guy.

Shrugging her shoulders, she walked up the steps to the house and kicked the door in, startling the two people inside. The man stood in front of the woman, guarding her with his hands.

"Don't hurt us!" he insisted, "please, we can explain!" Steph made a face. Neither of these two matched the looks of the rest of their crew. As oppose to looking like soldiers or mercenaries, they had the look of privileged kids down on their luck. They curly blonde hair was tussled and greasy, and their soft faces were grimy. The only thing that didn't match was their clothes, which looked like they had stitched the outfits themselves.

"Well, explain," she said. "I assume you know why I'm here?"

"Of course!" The man said, "that bastard in the mansion sent you!"

"Yes," Steph replied, "and you two are?" The man gulped, raising his hand to his chest.

"I'm Edgar,"he said, "and this is Marilyn, my sister." Marilyn watched Steph fearfully from behind her brother, not saying a word.

"And what are you doing here?" Steph asked. Edgar gulped.

"Taking what is rightfully ours," he said. "We're-"

"Hey Steph, find the stuff yet?" Steph looked over her shoulder to see Damien in the doorway, still in his demon form.

"Kinda," she said, gesturing to the kids. Damien made a face as he walked in, deactivating his takeover.

"Who are they?" He asked, "they can't be older than fourteen."

"They were getting to that," Steph said as she looked back at Edgar. The blonde boy looked terrified of Damien, so he focused his eyes on Steph.

"As I said," he said, "we're taking back what is ours by right."

"By what right?" Damien asked.

"Birthright!" Marilyn shouted from behind her brother before hiding again. Steph raised an eyebrow at Edgar, who sighed.

"Mari and I are the children of that man," he said shakily. "We are Don Yoku's first and second-born." Steph raised an eyebrow at this, scanning the children carefully. Soon, she could see the resemblance. Edgar had his father's nose and eyes, while Marilyn had his eyes and ears.

"I see the resemblance," she said, "I don't mean that as an insult., by the way." Edgar nodded thankfully.

"Our father is a monster," he said. "Our mother, she...She was sick for many years. But the second, the second her deathbed had been cleared of her corpse, that bastard of a man kicked both my sister and I out of the house and disowned us! H-He didn't even let us see our mother before he cremated her and put her in this urn!" Edgar gestured to Marilyn, who Steph could see was holding the urn tightly in her arms.

"We didn't even get to say goodbye," she whimpered weakly.

"So yes," Edgar said, "we asked our fathers guards to help us, and thankfully they are good people. They broke into his safe and stole the urn, as well as enough money to pay themselves for their trouble and to help us escape."

"Why haven't you done just that?" Damien asked, "why hang around in this decrepit town?" Edgar exchanged a glance with his sister, who nodded.

"...We also left a note," he said slowly, "offering an escape for any of our half-siblings in that house. I know their fate will be the same as ours should their mothers fall ill or die unexpectedly. He does not care for those children because he wants too, he only does it to appease the women he wishes to have sex with! So we were going to wait to see if any joined us, but I suspect our father did not let them see the note..." Steph stared at the pair quietly, empathy welling up in her chest. If this was true, and she was libel to believe it was, than they had every right to do this.

"It was foolish to hang around," she said finally, "a colder pair of wizards might have found you." Edgar made a face at this.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Steph exchanged a glance with Damien, who nodded.

"If what you say is true," he said, "than we won't be taking anything. We both...Well, we both know what it's like to not get a proper goodbye." Steph grimaced at this. They did know that.

She knew that more than anyone.

"...You won't?" Edgar asked, "you'll leave us alone?" Steph nodded smiling at him.

"We're not heartless," she said, "don't worry, we won't take anything."

"B-But surely our father offered a hefty reward!" Marilyn insisted.

"I doubt he'd even pay it anyway," Damien offered. "And money doesn't replace family. Nothing does."

"Bit of advice though," Steph said, "leave this place and ever return. Your father will be on the lookout for you both." Edgar and Marilyn both looked surprised at this, exchanging a glance.

"What will you say to our father?" She asked warily, "he's not one to accept not getting his way."

"We can deal with him," Damien replied. "Don't worry about it."

"...I don't know what to say," Edgar said, tears welling up in his eyes. "You're both so kind to refuse his money. We'll never forget this."

"Focus on escaping," Steph replied. "Then you can be thankful."

"What the hell do you mean you let them have it?!" Don Yoku screamed, slamming his hands into his desk and standing up. Damien wanted to laugh. The man looked like a tomato when he was angry. "That was my wife! My money! How could you let them have it?!"

"See, here's the thing," Damien said. "You neglected to mention that the ones responsible for the theft were your children, whom you threw out and refused to let them say goodbye to their mother."

"Oh, what a surprise!" Don Yoku shouted, "guild wizards with brains and hearts! I did not hire you to be empathetic losers, I hired you to retrieve my belongings!"

"Is that all she was to you?" Steph asked. Damien could smell ozone, Steph was about to start crackling. "Was she just something that you own? Something others can't have?"

"She was my wife!"

"She was their mother!" Steph shouted, a thunderclap sounding in the office. "And you didn't even let them say goodbye to her?! You kept them from her and kicked them out?!"

"I reserve the right to do that!" Don Yoku replied, "The Magic Council will be hearing of this deliberate refusal to fulfil a contract! I want you both thrown out of your guild!"

"How will you do that with no tongue in your mouth and crushed hands?" Damien asked. Don Yoku paled.

"...W-What?" He squeaked.

"Here's the thing, Donny," Damien said, "we won't be threatened by the likes of you. If I wanted to, I could snap your neck like those pencils on your desk. And you'd deserve it too. But I don't want to go to prison, so I'll refrain." Don Yoku gulped.

"But," Steph said, "if I ever hear news of you throwing our another child because their mother died, So help me God, I will burn you to a crisp. Do you get it, you fat bastard?" Damien only watched as Steph stormed the desk, jumped on top of it, and grabbed Don Yoku by his shirt. "If I hear anything bad about you after this, I will come back for you. And I'll make sure you can't hurt anyone ever again! I'll make sure you don't leave any others kids with no where to go!"

"Y-You wouldn't d-dare attack a noble!" Don Yoku shouted at her.

Steph responded by raising her fist.

BOOM!

Damien watched as the smoke cleared, and Don Yoku looked like he'd passed away in his seat. Steph had driven her fist right next to his ear, creating a lightning bolt that burnt the side of his head and shattered the window behind him.

"That enough proof for you?" Steph asked, getting no reply. Without another word, Steph turned and left, Damien trailing behind her. It was funny, he'd hoped this mission would take Steph's mind off of things.

And yet, he felt that it had the opposite effect on her.

The two of them were back at their campsite from the night before, staring at the flames again.

"So," Damien started, trying to start a conversation. "That wasn't what I was expecting." Steph scoffed.

"Me either," she replied. "But I think we did the right thing for those kids."

"Yeah, we did," he replied. "They deserve to have their mothers remains. To grieve her normally." Steph nodded.

"They deserve the chance to say goodbye," she said. There that was again. Steph seemed hung up on that.

"Seemed he really pissed you off," Damien said, avoiding her eyes as he picked at his teeth. "About not letting those kids grieve, I mean." Steph was watching him warily, before turning to the fire.

"...Yeah," she said, "that got under my skin."

"Why's that?"

"You know why," Steph answered immediately. Damien frowned.

"Because I didn't let you say goodbye," he said, "after I saved your life."He wanted Steph to say he was wrong, but she didn't say a word. He was right, then. "I hope you understand why I didn't."

"Of course," she said, "you were afraid of the timeline getting messed up. I know that. But, still...It doesn't make me feel any better." Damien could tell she was still quite upset, but was trying to hide it.

"It must have been hard," he said, "being all alone like that for so long." Steph took a shaky breath as she nodded.

"It was. Did I ever mention how much I hated the place you left me at? It was horrible. The family looking after me was nice enough, but the place itself...The other kids never really accepted me."

"They didn't?" He asked.

"No. They always bullied me for being abandoned. An orphan, a freak. They called me all of that and more. Sparky, freak, unwanted, unloved, fa-" Steph stopped mid-sentence and cleared her throat. "It wasn't fun."

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.

"What good would it have done?" She asked, "it was done with, and you did what you thought you had too."

"It probably would have helped heal the rift there clearly is between us," he said, silencing her. "Steph, I know we've been over this, but I know I wasn't the greatest brother after Nashi died. Just leaving you in what was now an alien environment for you. But I want to make this better. I want us to be close, like we were when we were little."

"Is that what we were?" Steph asked shakily, "I recall you being annoyed by me always hanging around."

"Yeah exactly," he said, "close." This got a laugh out of her.

"I want that too," she said, "but, after all of this...i just find it hard to open up and be myself. I could do that with Drake because I was with him. But now he's gone, and I'm back at holding everyone at arms length because I don't really feel comfortable."

"Well start with me," he said, "Just be yourself with me, and we can go from there." Steph watched him warily for a moment or two, her eyes conflicted.

"Damien," she said slowly, "being myself isn't easy."

"Why not?" He asked, "are you really crazy or something?"

"No," she said, "but..." She didn't continue, making Damien feel confused. What was she hiding?

"Steph, what is it?" He asked, "what's bothering you?" She didn't say anything for a while, leaving the fire as the only noise. After a few minutes, she took a deep breath and turned back to him.

"I'm different," she said. "Not like Nashi, or Elise, or Ultear."

"How?" He asked, "you're a girl, their age, you're powerful and-"

"I'm gay, Damien," she blurted out, silencing him.

"Huh?" He asked after a beat of silence.

"I'm gay!" She shouted, "I...I like woman, not men! I'm a lesbian." Damien just stared at his sister for a moment, not sure what to say.

"That's it?" He asked her, her eyes widening. "That's the big secret? Damn Steph, I was expecting you to be a serial killer." His sister didn't seem to know what to say, her mouth gaping like a fish.

"...You're not mad?" She asked, "you don't hate me?"

"Why would I?" He asked, "if anything this makes it even easier to be close with you. We can discuss our tastes in women. You into curvy girls? I bet you are."

"I-W-Wait," she said, "I'm confused."

"How so?"

"I thought you'd think I was a weirdo," she said. "That you'd push me away."

"Is that why you were bullied where I sent you?" He asked. Steph clammed up at this, which just as well confirmed his theory. "I'm sorry they thought that way about you. It's not right to judge people like that. Had I known, I'd have done something. But know this, Steph; is this is the big secret, you don't have to hide it. Wear your own skin and be confident in it, because I can guarantee no one will care. No one will hate you for this."

"I-" Steph tried to speak, but her voice broke and she put her hand over her mouth, resisting a cry. Damien could tell this had been weighing on her.

"I don't know what you're thinking," he said softly, "but I want you to know I still love you. Mom and Dad still love you. Nashi, Elise, Ultear, Simon, everyone, we still love you. This changes nothing, except for who I have to keep an eye on to protect you from."

"Y-You better not," Steph said shakily, tears rimming her eyes. "I don't want you as a spectre over my dating life."

"Too late," Damien replied. There was a lapse in conversation, the only sounds was Steph snuffling and composing herself.

"Damien?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking over at her. For the first time in a while, Damien felt he was getting a real glimpse of his sister.

"Can I get a hug?" She asked, holding her arms out like a child. It reminded him of how she used to be.

How they used to be.

Getting up, Damien moved to sit beside her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into him. He was beyond pleased that she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Feeling a surge of affection, Damien kissed his sisters head.

"Thank you for loving me," she whispered quietly. He just smiled at this.

He was happy they could share this moment. Of being real with each other.

"One question, sis," he said.

"Yes?"

"Who's the most attractive girl we hang out with?"

"I am not answering that question."

"I'll get you too eventually."

"No you will not!"

"I will."

Silence.

Comfortable silence.

"...Probably Ultear. You were right, I like a girl with curves."

"Ha! I respect that."

Man, another long chapter! Crazy how I do that. I'm also rather proud of this chapter. What do you guys think?

Anyways, I've never done something like this before, but I feel it's an important message. The ones you want to love you, will love you for who you are. Don't compromise your identity for the sake of others.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!