Frankie woke up in a bit of a freight, unsure about what he just saw.

It was certainly another vision of Pyra's, but…

What was that?

Was it her past? Who were all those people? Why was she so…sad and frightened?

What had to have been a million questions flew through his mind as he wondered which to ask first, but then he took a second to notice Pyra. Lying there. Right next to him in the covers.

And he noticed how she clung to his arm as she slept, body shivering, as if she was still frightened of what might happen to her outside.

He simply stared.

…no…not now.

He'd ask her some other time. He didn't want to force her through that again, at least…just not now.

He put a comforting arm around her warmly, making sure not to wake her. As he did so, her body stopped shivering as her entire mood soothed. A small yet very bright smile formed on her face.

"Pyra… it's gonna be okay… I'm right here… and I'm not going anywhere…"

He told her that, over… and over… and over again. Pyra's eyes fluttered open sadly as she felt Frankie's embrace on her, she looked up at him sadly and sniffed sorrowfully.

"Frankie…" She sobbed as she buried her face in his chest. "Don't look at me… I'm such a wreck… what kind of a Blade am I to be in such a pathetic position like this…? Just leave me here to rust… I don't mind… I've never minded…"

"Pyra… that's enough…" Frankie calmly and gently, but carefully scolded, removing her face from his person to look her straight in the eye. "I really hate to admit this, especially cuz it's all been happening so fast, but… you've just been… making things easier for me these past few days… even before I awakened you, just having your core crystal near me got me through overtime and all that jazz. I might not know the first thing about being a Driver, but one thing's for sure… I care about you, not as my Blade, but as my friend, a very dear friend I feel like I've known for a long, long time."

Pyra was welling up in tears once again and just put her head back down, shifting the grip on Frankie's arms to a tight, if a bit scared and shaky hug.

"Oh, Pyra…" Frankie mourned as he held her as close as he could, rubbing her back soothingly in an effort to calm her down. Pyra's eyes opened slowly once again, she wasn't sure exactly what kind of affection he called this, but it was… nice, comforting, even.

"So, we're never doing that again. Not for the time being."

"Uh…yeah…" Frankie tried to protest to his brother, but he knew he had a point.

"Like I said before, as her 'Driver', whatever emotional and physical pain she goes through when doing her Blade…stuff, you feel too. And with how much pain she was in, just, no. I'm not going through that. I'm sorry."

"I…I understand." Frankie slumped into his seat a bit, feeling a bit defeated.

Kaito sighed as he reached over and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"I'm…sorry big brobro. It's just…you were in a lot of pain when we went into that vision-place thing, and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt when you don't need to. Just until we figure this situation out a bit more, okay?"

"Okay…"

Frankie was still rather slumped in his seat, a bit bummed. If a simple vision like seeing the temple was out of the question, there's no way trying to see into Pyra's own past would be on the table.

Kaito, partially because he was curious and partially to pick up his brother's spirits, decided to ask a much lighter question.

"So…you two get up to anything under those covers?"

Frankie shot back up in his seat, red as a peach.

"N-NO! Cochino! We just-we just-we didn't do anything I swear! We just kinda…lay together…"

"Ohoho, that all? Well, it starts somewhere I suppose…"

"You-you shut your mouth, and quit being so concho, you weirdo…"

"Hmmmm… I'll think about it."

Just as things settled down, Pyra entered the room, clearly disheveled.

"Morning…" She said groggily.

"Oh! Pyra, dear, you look horrible, what happened?" Miko asked in horror. Pyra rubbed her neck sheepishly as she looked over to Frankie hopefully, waiting for some kind of answer out of him. He simply shook his head 'No' with a somber expression on his face.

"That's… that's personal information I don't want to talk about." She explained.

"So… you just lay together, did you? Are you suuuuurrrreee that's all?" Kaito sneakily asked his brother.

"Kaito, quit it. Pyra needs to sit down for a bit." Miko pointed out as Pyra headed over to the seat next to Frankie and plopped her head down on the table, sighing heavily.

"I'm sorry, Pyra, I was just-" Kaito tried to excuse himself before getting cut off by the Blade.

"There's no need for apologies, Kaito, I just… don't feel like I'm up to do much right now…" She admitted.

"Want me to call the library and excuse you?" Frankie suggested.

"Nonono- don't do that, that's the one thing I'm looking forward to… storytime, anyway, and… I'll be sure to save that lion king book for the very end of the day just for you, okay…?" Pyra's tired frown turned to a trying smile as she looked Frankie's way. The young man was flustered yet again as he tried to make a case for himself, but nothing more came out than quite a few noticeable stutters.

"The sun hasn't risen over the hills yet, and work isn't for another four hours for Pyra, and five hours for you and Frankie, we could always have a little breakfast." Miko suggested, holding her tummy in hunger just underneath the table.

"I got you covered, Koko Puff! Extra crispy 7/11 chicken coming right up!" Kaito hollered as he got up out of his seat.

"Kaito, I do apologize, I really do, but that hardly qualifies for breakfast." Pyra tut tutted. "I could whip up something real quick for all of us to enjoy, if you don't mind me raiding your storage and making a bit of a mess of the kitchen."

"No, Pyra, I don't want you doing anything right now." Frankie stepped in, or rather, up as he excused himself from the table lightly. "I'll handle the cooking."

"You… you will…?" Already Pyra was lighting up, ever since Frankie first mentioned cooking as a hobby of his those couple days ago, the thought hadn't left her head and left her feeling a perpetual feeling of excitement as she wondered about the kinds of preparations someone with such a carnivorous appetite would produce.

"I will, Pyra." Frankie nodded sharply before turning to Kaito. "Baby bro, what have you and Miko got?"

"Oh, well, pretty much everything, Miko runs through the fridge like a horse when I'm not looking, so I always need to have extra snacks available." Kaito said. Miko burped a little on cue. Her boyfriend raised a teasing eyebrow at her while the tiny brown haired woman blushed nervously in response.

"Perfect! I know a super easy meal that includes a little bit of everything, one I've been wanting to try myself, as a matter of fact, I just hope you don't mind your eggs fried, I'm not an omnivore, I can admit that." Frankie chuckled cheekily.

"Oh? So this'll be new for you as well? My, you're pulling out all the stops for us, aren't you, Frankie?" Pyra asked giddily, trying to contain her excitement.

"Well, it's the least I can do after baby bro and sis helped us quite literally get back on our feet. Now the three of you sit back and relax and I'll get right to it." Frankie glanced towards Pyra's way once more, "And no helping! If you help me, I'm gonna be mad!" He lightly teased, earning a chuckle out of Pyra.

"Your wish is my command, my Driver." Pyra responded with a polite bow. Frankie tried to hide his blush as he gathered himself together, heading off to the kitchen to get everything all set up, looking back fondly at Pyra, who was just watching him leave at this point. He felt himself get a little warm for a second… which he assumed, or rather, settled on the idea it was just because Pyra herself was very warm and being so close to her for so long just had that effect on him, nevertheless, Frankie was off.

Kaito smiled cheekily at his older brother as he went about his merry way through the kitchen.

"Yeah…he's gone."

"Hm?" Pyra looked over, confused.

"When Frankie's cooking, heck even when he's just thinking about cooking, he gets in this zen-state where he's diligently focused on what he's doing. It'd take a serious jostle just to snap him out of it now."

"O-oh, is that so?" Pyra blushed and twiddled her thumbs as she wondered for a moment if she was like that too.

Then her tired mind wandered into a realm of possibilities. Cooking with Frankie together, chatting about yummy recipes, playfully snacking a bit too much on the job, holding each other by the arm as they went about their-

"Pyra!" Kaito snapped to get her attention. The Blade quickly awoke from her daze.

"Y-yes?" She looked over attentively, but she was clearly struggling to keep that attention going as her tired eyes began to waver.

"Dios Mio, poor girl's barely sitting upright. Can you get her a cup of tea, Miko?"

"Of course!" Miko rushed over to the screaming kettle.

"I'm sorry Pyra, but if you can stay with me, I'd like to ask a few questions." Kaito shuffled around with some books.

"O…of course, my dear…little…brother…"

"Aaaaand she's half asleep again." Kaito placed the books down in defeat, though couldn't help but smile at Pyra taking his 'sister' expression so literally.

"Not even 'bro', full on 'little brother' status, huh? Girl wears her heart on her sleeve, I can say that much." He chuckled.

"Reminds me of a certain dork, heh-" Miko teased as she placed cups of tea for herself, Pyra, and Kaito before sitting down. The three all took a collective sip and breathed the warm air in their lungs out with great relief.

"R-right, so what did you want to ask me, Kaito?" Pyra was already looking much more refreshed and awake, but was a little fidgety, wondering what might have spilled out of her mouth when she was drifting off.

"Glad you asked, Hermana-"

"Wait what does that-"

"Don't ask-" Miko stated.

"-since the whole vision-dealio was a bust, I wanted to try and quiz you on some general stuff about being a Blade. Now, I understand your past is a bit of a touchy subject-"

Pyra sighed heavily and glanced sideways towards the ground, somewhat dreading this conversation now.

"-buuuuut, the moment you feel like you don't want to answer, just let us know and we can stop asking."

Miko put a comforting hand on Pyra's knee. "We're only doing this so we can find ways to help you feel more secure, so the last thing we want is for you to feel uncomfortable instead."

She gave a chipper and light smile to the Blade, which she returned with a glance and then a slow smile of her own.

"Well…alright…"

Miko then quickly whispered in her ear slyly. "Also he's a journalist, being a pain in the butt with questions is his whole thing."

"Hey!"

Miko simply turned back with an innocent smile.

"Anyways, I wanted to ask you about this-"

He placed the 5th volume of Heart Snacker on the table, causing Miko to nearly spit out her drink.

"DON'T SHOW HER THAT YOU DOLT, IT'S INDECENT!" She practically jumped onto the table trying to cover it up.

"Miko this is the copy YOU got cuz you wanted to read it."

"Sh-shut up! I just find the main heroine relatable!"

"Dawww, I did think she was a lot like you."

"You-you really think so…?" Miko shifted around in a flustered manner while she blushed intently.

Pyra gently yet firmly cleared her throat. It was about as unaggressive an action one could make, but the mere sound of this incredibly patient and sweet girl asserting herself somewhat got Kaito and Miko to immediately sit back down.

"So um…what is it you wanted to ask me about this?" She gestured to the book.

"Well, this series seems to take a lot of inspiration from Greek mythology, and a lot of the concepts in it are…let's just say rather familiar."

He flipped through to a page and handed the volume to Pyra. It was a page giving a basic summary of Blades and Drivers, and the moment Pyra saw those words in the text, her eyes widened and she immediately buried her face in the pages, reading through them at lightning speed as Kaito and Miko watched on in some shock.

After a few moments, Pyra returned to reality and placed the book down, seemingly having finished the entire volume.

"Well?"

"I must say I was…rather surprised with these similarities."

"I knew it!" Kaito briefly pumped his fist, "How similar were they?" He held a pen and paper in preparation.

"Well…it's a bit odd. It feels like every major detail is correct just with some nominal element being inconsistent for each one."

Kaito and Miko shifted their seat positioning to listen more carefully.

"For example, in the story, the Blades can seemingly transfigure themselves into their weapons, body and soul." She raised her hand and, o the massive shock of her two listeners, a giant flaming sword appeared in it, the same one that appeared on her first day with Frankie.

"But the way I know of Blades isn't quite the same, we all have our unique weapons that bind us to our Driver, but we don't become the weapon like they do in this book."

The two just stared at Pyra holding this massive, very heavy looking sword of fire casually in utter disbelief.

"O-oh my, I didn't say something wrong, did I?"

"N-no, Pyra! We're just still…not completely used to all of this craziness…" Miko reached out to the sword's Blade, only to lightly recoil as she noticed how hot it was.

Pyra quickly returned the sword back into the ether in embarrassment, also to their shock.

"I'm sorry, this is all too weird isn't it…"

Miko raised her arms kindly to reassure her. "No no, it's not that! I just think it's so cool that you're so strong, Pyra!"

"Oh…you…really think so?"

Miko nodded her head aggressively, which made Pyra smile and scratch her cheek. Not that she had much room to speak, given how accepting she was being to this completely new environment, but she was just now realizing how accepting these two were of her…everything.

It was an odd yet comforting feeling to see how open-minded people could still be in this time.

Kaito was quickly jotting down this new information. 'Pyra can summon a giant fire sword at will, she's a lot more buff than she looks (heh, have fun big bro), and she seems pretty heat resistant…'

He then made note of what Pyra had stated. "I see… so it's safe to say this series is more of an adaptation of these concepts than being a direct translation of them…I guess that makes sense."

Miko sighed. "Yeah, I guess expecting a story with fashion tastes like…this…" she gestured to the cover, where the voluptuous witch lady was posing scantily clad with cat ears "…to be historically accurate to anything would be asking a bit much."

"Actually, the fashion sense is probably the thing most accurate to the truth!" Pyra explained.

Miko and Kaito just slowly stared at Pyra for a moment, round three of them in shock. Kaito very sneakily tried to note that aspect down as well before Miko gave him an annoyed look.

"W-well I…guess the outfit you had on when you appeared before Frankie on the cameras was…" Miko stopped as she just made a sudden realization. "The cameras! I almost forgot!"

She quickly started gathering her things and setting up her laptop before getting right to work.

"W-what is it, Miko?" Pyra asked, concerned.

"Oh, don't mind her. She's a bit like Frankie in that when she gets really into her work, she clocks out most everything else. Observe."

Kaito took a cookie and slowly held it in front of Miko's face. After about 5 seconds, she took it out of his hand with her mouth and started eating it, all without raising her hands or even looking away from her screen.

"I…I see."

Pyra was a bit bummed her conversation with Miko was cut short, but didn't want to interrupt her work. From how she reacted, it seemed like it was very important to her…

Instead of getting too lost in thought with that, the Blade instead turned to Kaito, who turned to her respectively after he was done petting his working lady.

Both Frankie and Miko were so buried in what they were doing that it felt like there were two construction sites going on right in that room. So Pyra decided to ask:

"So…do you often get very wrapped up in what you're doing like they do, Kaito?"

"Hmm…well I wouldn't say-"

"Yes."

"Yes."

Both Frankie and Miko simultaneously cut him off before he could answer.

"Heh, worth a shot-"

Pyra giggled.

--

This was…nice.

It was so cozy and warm just being around these kind people. Despite only knowing them for a few days it…really felt like they were becoming her new family. A family she could relate to more, and be more herself with. One where each day could be relaxing, eventful, and memorable in some way for her.

The thoughts of her visions from last night now felt like a distant memory.

'Maybe…maybe this is where I was meant to be…after all this time…' The young Blade looked at her little circle of friends fondly; first to Kaito, who was reviewing his notes over and over again with a steely focus, proving that Frankie and Miko were indeed right, he was quite a riot indeed. Then she turned over to Miko, still violently tapping away on the keyboard keys as she worked on her own thing, for such a tiny woman, she had a serious drive and attitude, it was almost… admirable even. Then she set her eyes on Frankie. She couldn't quite make out exactly what he was doing on the stovetop, but his rapid hand movements as he moved from one pot to another, seasoning each in an lost rhythmic fashion was a sight for her to be sure, she always did appreciate a cook who took his work seriously. That and he was just very nice and pleasant to be around, relaxing too, even if they couldn't finish their Disney binge from the other night, it already gave her something to look forward to. "He's so… cool…" She thought to herself as her eyelids drooped ever so slightly. She wasn't exactly sure what to call these feelings. Of course, she had experienced touchy emotions like embarrassment or flustering before, but… they never reached the path to her heart quite like this.

Before Pyra would get too lost in thought, Frankie at last came out with the food all plated up for each and every one, and just as he said, it had a little bit of everything. Toast, baked beans, eggs, bacon; to which Frankie was very emphatic on his distaste for crispy bacon, a conversation Pyra remembered all too well, even now, it made her laugh; mushrooms, tomatoes, and sausages. He had made a full English breakfast, he wouldn't admit to it, but he did have it in his mind it would impress Pyra; he didn't know her whole background, but something about her just screamed… old world European, and a generously proportioned girl like her certainly had to appreciate a meal of this size.

While Kaito and Miko immediately got to eating, Frankie put his hands together and began to pray silently, as did Pyra. Although, she may have peeled out every now and then to get a glimpse of him doing just that… she was the only one she could really remember who actually prayed before a meal, and seeing her newest Driver do it himself just felt… special.

Pyra eyed the plate carefully, trying to decide what to try first, all the while, as he ate, Frankie would glance over to try and see her reaction. He knew a lot of these foods were prepackaged, and as someone who didn't eat eggs, he was worried she wouldn't really be able to form a strong opinion on the matter. He breathed a sigh of relief as he watched her go for a mushroom; one of the few things he could absolutely pride himself on. At first, she had a plain expression on her face as she took her first bite, to his disappointment… only for that to be washed away as she could taste the juices of the mushroom rush into her mouth… savory… buttery… smooth… refreshing, almost… all words Pyra could have used to describe the taste, but she was much too busy eating to offer much feedback. Dipping a shroom or two into the egg yolk or juice of the tomato made her positively giddy, taking a sip of tea to wash it all down, she was feeling great, and that in turn brought out a big huge smile on Frankie's face. Mission "Feed the Birds", as he called it in his mind, was a success.

All the while, Kaito and Miko watched the whole ordeal intently, with Miko being the first to notice Frankie looking Pyra's way to see her reaction. It was far from uncommon for Frankie to do this, but considering this was Pyra they were all dealing with, it probably meant the world to him in that very moment. Kaito smiled brightly as he noticed and listened in on the conversation the two were having.

"You season them like meat?! What a concept!"

"Well before I got into them, my mom always tried to convince me that's essentially what they were and… well, the rest is history; but you know the old saying, "Butter makes everything better"!"

"Oho! And how! You sneaky little meerkat, you…"

"And now- people say that salt is the king of all the seasonings, and if that's true, Garlic is without a doubt the emperor. Garlic powder sometimes isn't enough, some fresh chips or even the jarred kind really just take those flavors over the edge and gets the taste buds flowing… I'm guilty of making a garlic butter sauce to drizzle over my steaks I already seasoned with garlic powder…"

"Ooo… that's a heart stopper…"

"Is it? I'm still kicking!"

"Well, don't stop now, you've got me hooked! I'm gonna need to hear all about what goes on in those little recesses of your mind!"

"OKAY!"

Seeing the two of them just so… happy together and enjoying their time even in the wake of a horrible incident from the night before and this morning if they were to believe Frankie, it really did make them smile; watching these two dorks just be dorks about the things they loved most. Pyra may have finished her plate, but Frankie's was barely touched, only the bacon was gone and maybe a mushroom or two.

"Yup… he's gone, alright…" Kaito sighed dreamily.

"And so is she…" Miko added as the two watched the taller pair just keep talking and swapping recipe thought processes. "So… what should we call them?"

"Miko, come on, I see just as easily as you can what's going on between them, but let's give it a little more time, okay?"

"I don't know… love does quite a few things to a person… you wouldn't have even been able to recognize my high school's student council's Vice President when she first joined with who she became after she and the President fell in love… and with these two, it looks like things are going pretty quickly…"

"Well… how about… Fryra…?"

"That's so cheesy… I love it."

"And this little guy right here is my secret ingredient!" Frankie proudly stated as he pulled out a green bottle with a dark liquid on the inside. "This here is what we call soy sauce, that's the smooth savory flavor you're tasting! Goes great with chicken…"

"Well well well… guess I'll have to keep that in mind, Chef Francois…" Pyra teased, causing Frankie to blush a little nervously, chuckling in the very same manner.