As the sun rises Arwain rushes into the bedroom, pouncing on Kazu. Kazu reaches out and grabs her into a hug, she giggles as he pretends to munch on her shoulder and tickle her sides. Anna turns to the commotion next to her and can't help laughing at the spectacle.
Kazu stops long enough to give his morning greeting, "Good morning, welcome to tomorrow ladies."
Petal peaks her head in the room to see why Arwain was laughing so hard, she smiles and thinking out loud she says, "I want a child too…" As Kazu and Anna look at her, she realizes she said it out loud, she blushes and runs out of the room.
Anna looks at Kazu and smiles, "Looks like we need to find her a good man, otherwise you'll need to help her with that." She giggles to herself as she gets out of bed.
As Kazu gets out of bed, Arwain refuses to be set down. "Sweetie, it's hard to get dressed with you clinging to me, can I set you down long enough to get dressed."
Arwain agrees, but as soon as he is dressed she reaches out to be held again. Kazu picks her up again, "Happy sweetie?" he asks. She cuddles into him, and nods her head.
Anna smiles at him, "Looks like you have been adopted as her father. Congratulations, let me know when you want a non-adopted one." She winks as she turns to leave. "After me, I'm sure there are some other volunteers in the house, residents and visitors alike." As she finishes her teasing she steps into the hallway, making her way downstairs.
Kazu looks down at Arwain, Arwain just looks up at him, shrugs and says, "I think you are a good daddy." Kazu kisses her forehead then heads out of the room carrying her to breakfast.
Thinking to himself, Kazu ruminates on how Arwain is acting. "She is acting half her age, usually with me. Is it because she feels safe, and is using me to get reacquainted with males. Or is it that she is trying to forget the last six years, and in her mind, since she adopted me as her new dad, she is six in human years. It's very confusing. Maybe I'm babying her too much."
As they arrive downstairs, they see the boys from Tara's team, but Ari and Tara are not downstairs yet.
Mica asks about the magic he is using to light the rooms without fire. Kazu does his best to explain how it works in terms he should be able to understand. Eventually he holds a bulb in his hand and uses a small amount of electrical magic, and the bulb lights up. This demonstration quiets Mica. He then goes and sits on the couch, with a very contemplative look on his face.
Another 10 minutes have passed and Tara and Ari are still not downstairs.
Lina comes into the room and lets everyone know that breakfast will be served in five minutes. She then asks if someone could get the stragglers out of bed. Almost everyone in the room elects Kazu for the job. He looks at Anna, a half hidden smirk is on her face. Kazu immediately knows something is up.
He decides to play along with whatever plan she cooked up. And heads up to Tara's room. He knocks on the door, no one answers. He opens the door and steps into the room. No one is in there. Figuring they are in Ari's room he knocks on the bathroom door, and yet no one answers again. He opens the door and steps inside, as he does he is greeted by the two women bathing. Or more precisely, two women enjoying a relaxing nap in the tub.
Kazu sits on the edge of the tub and says, "Ladies, Breakfast is going to get cold soon if you don't get your rapidly pruning booties to the dining room."
Tara sleepily looks up at him, "Join us, this is really relaxing." She smiles at him for a moment then realizes where she is and how she is dressed, or more accurately, not dressed. She stands up quickly, accidentally slamming her chest into his face. She slips, Kazu reaches out and catches her, which allows her to regain her footing.
Ari in the background starts laughing, "All that swagger last night, Talking about how hot he finds…"
Tara tackles her with a hand over Ari's mouth. Tara looks back at Kazu, a sheepish grin on her face, "Don't listen to this mad woman, The hot water is messing with her mind."
Kazu reaches for Ari's hand, which she gladly takes. He helps her out of the bath, allowing him the first view of her hair she was so worried about. He moves her hair to the side, and takes a good look at her shoulder area. "Well it's official, Half-Minotaurs can still be very pretty."
Ari turns bright red, then turns to Tara, and gives her an 'I win' smile.
Kazu turns back to Tara and reaches a hand out to her, she grabs it and Kazu helps her out of the tub.
As the girls head to their rooms, Kazu follows Tara into her room. Heading to the door to the hallway he says, "I want to see both of your cute butts downstairs for breakfast… see you in a bit ladies."
A few minutes after Kazu arrives for breakfast, two smiling adventurers come into the dining room.
Mica, Kristoph and Johan look up at Tara then at Ari, then back at Tara. Johan asks, "Who's your pretty friend?"
Ari answers in her deep adventurer voice, "Oh… That's Tara, don't you recognize her out of her adventuring clothes?"
After a double take, Mica runs up to Ari, "Ari is that you? What happened, when did you turn into a girl? Did Kazu do this to you?"
Ari starts laughing, "Don't blame Kazu, he had nothing to do with me being a girl, I was born this way."
While she was talking the rest of the group gathered around her. Before she realized she was surrounded. Nervously she looked at the people gathered around her, waiting for the negative comments. What she received was the opposite, The boys in her party were apologizing for all the man talk they dragged her into. The girls on the other hand were praising her on her beauty, strength and Rask even praised her for being able to do guy talk without giving away that she was a girl.
Eventually the Q and A session with Ari ends when Lina brings in everyone's breakfast.
After breakfast Kazu asks Tara if she wants to see the workshop he had built. Tara enthusiastically agrees to the tour. The rest of her team asks if they can join, and before long everyone was standing inside the doorway in the workshop. Rask notices that her work she started before bed has finished so she moves to begin the next batch. Kazu begins his tour with the wood lathes. As they move on they see that Rask is working on the metal lathe. Kazu explains that she is making parts to make another metal lathe. Kazu explains that some parts that have to be made are too precise for a level 4 metal magic user to make, when they can't do it reliably with magic the metal lathes and the CNC machines take over. He continues the tour showing them the machine he made to make pipes out of softened steel. He shows off the power hammer to help make swords and daggers faster. Every area of the shop had something they had never seen before. With the questions they all had, the planned hour-long tour ended up lasting three hours.
As he is finishing the tour Lina comes into the workshop. "Kazu, there are some guards at the front door that want to talk to you."
Kazu walks around the side of the house to the front door, as they round the corner, no one is at the door. Kazu looks back at Lina, she shrugs her shoulders and gives an I don't know look. The group continues to the front door, and as Kazu steps inside he sees the guards messing with the stuff in the foyer.
Kazu standing inside the foyer asks, "How can I help you today?"
The six village guards turn to face him, a guard steps forward to talk to him. Kazu recognizes him as the creepy guard that he and Anna met when they first came to the village.
As the guard gets within a meter of Kazu he says, "It has come to our attention that you are harboring dangerous creatures on your property."
Kazu looks down at him, "I have no idea what you are talking about, no dangerous creatures on this property. If there is anything on this property that can harm any of my people, I and my girls remove it permanently."
The creepy guard points, "So you do not think that is not dangerous?"
Kazu's eyes follow his finger to see him pointing at Orolfie.
Kazu turns back to the guard, "Dangerous, she can be, but creature she is not. She is a friend, my family and a carded Hunter."
The creepy guard then points again, this time at Ari. "And what of this monstrosity, is she…"
Kazu interrupts the guard, "Be careful, you are in my home talking about my friends. That beautiful woman you are pointing at is also a carded Hunter. Now get to your point or get out of my home."
The guards around the foyer all put their hands on their swords as the guard in front of Kazu issues his command. "By order of the Guards of the Village of Touren, all non-humans in this house are to be handed over to us, and you are to be arrested for harboring the non-humans."
Kazu asks, "What authority do you think you have to demand anything here? Hunters are granted more authority than the village guards. What makes you think you have authority in my house to do what you please? Most of the people you see before you are Rank B or higher carded hunters. You will be taking no one from my home today, or ever. Now get out before I arrest you for breaking and entering."
The creepy guard points again, this time upstairs. A guard is standing behind Arwain with a dagger to her throat.
The guard smiles at Kazu, "Come quietly and no one will get hurt."
Kazu looks down at the guard, "Oh, someone is going to get hurt, and I guarantee that they are in a blue guard uniform. Release her in the next three seconds, or none of you will leave here on your own feet. 1, 2, 3."
During his count down his eyes begin to glow blue, as he finishes the countdown he disappears. The creepy guard turns to say something to the guard with Arwain. The guard is no longer with Arwain, he is now flying through the air straight at the creepy guard. Kazu is now standing next to Arwain.
Kazu takes a moment to check on Arwain and kiss his baby girl on her forehead before he disappears again.
As the guard from upstairs slams into the creepy guard, Kazu appears behind the three guards standing on the dining room side of the foyer. He grabs the helmeted head of the two on the left and right sides and slams them into the one in the center with just enough force to knock them all out.
As the three guards drop Kazu turns to the remaining 2 guards, he menacingly walks towards them. He appears to grow larger to them with each step. The guards are frozen in fear. As he reaches out to grab their heads, the one on his left faints.
Grabbing hold of the guard on his right he commands, "Answer my questions, why are you really here?"
The guard in his grasp looks up at him, his eyes glowing yellow. He speaks in a sleepy monotone way, "We were sent here to separate you from your women."
"Why separate me from my family?" Kazu asks.
The guard responds, "I do not know, we are just following the orders of Lord Ozul. We were to arrest you and hold you till his man comes for you. The women are our reward."
Kazu, annoyed, asks, "Reward like as in property?"
A panicky Anna interrupts, "Lord Ozul Casimir?"
"Yes." the guard says.
"Kazu, That is the warlord that took over my hometown, if he has made it this far we have to do something… leave… we have to leave." Anna states frantically.
Kazu still holding the guard's head in his right hand motions Anna to his left side. He holds Anna, then says. "We are not going to leave our home because some guy is heading this way with some men. Last night while Mica was getting us, Tara and Ari fought off over a dozen MossWolves, and killed all but six in the few minutes it took for him to get us. A single MossWolf can fend off 100 or more soldiers. We will be fine staying."
Kazu turns back to the guard, "Is this lord coming to our village?"
The guard says, "Yes."
"How many men does he have?" Kazu asks.
"15,000 as of 11 months ago, I don't know the current numbers." answers the guard.
Kazu continues the questioning for a few more minutes, but only one piece of useful information is obtained, the guard commander and the rest of the guards are not with them.
As the guards begin to wake up they find that they are bound in the back of a wagon, and stripped of any useful tools and most of their clothes. The creepy guard yells to be released almost immediately after waking. Rask, who is sitting in the cart with the guards, slaps him in the back of the head and tells him to shut up. Kazu, Orolfie and Orelfa are pulling the cart. Tara's team is geared up and walking along the sides of the cart. Anna and the twins are acting as rear guards.
"Do not worry your creepy greasy head, you will be released after we get back to town, right into a jail cell." Kazu says dryly.
A few minutes later they arrive at the gate they normally enter. The guard sees the people tied up in the back of the cart.
"Hey Kazu, did you catch some more bandits?" As he finished talking he notices the people in the cart are some of the guards. "Well crap, what did they do for you to do this to them?"
Kazu explains the situation and the guard lets his group into town.
Arriving at the guard station, two guards that were walking out stop to see who Kazu's group caught this time. Realizing they are guards, and which guards were in the cart they start laughing. "Finally did something stupid enough to get caught this time? Apparently you did, what made you think going after a house full of Rank A Hunters was a good idea? The Commander is going to love seeing this, hell I'm loving seeing this."
The second guard runs back inside to get their commander. A few minutes later the guard, the Commander and 4 other guards come out front. They collect the tied up guards and take them inside. The Commander gets brought up to speed on why Kazu brought them in. Kazu informs them he wants to press charges for breaking and entering, attempted kidnapping, assault, and theft as three of the guards had items on them from his foyer. After filling out the paperwork on the charges, Kazu also fills the Commander in on the information he received from his questioning. The Commander reassured everyone that he will take care of everything else. As they turn to head home they hear the Commander barking orders to separate the suspects.
On the way home Anna fills Kazu in on all she knows about the Warlord the guards work for. Other members of the group add other information and some rumors.
Once they arrive at home Lina, Arwain and Petal meet them with hugs and eventually food. Arwain is now clinging more than usual, if Kazu is not holding her Orelfa is.
The rest of their day ends up being a relaxing day, Petal and Lina are the busiest they have ever been. They felt responsible for Arwain being taken by the guard, and their way to make up for it was to be overly attentive to everyone's needs.
After being home for a couple of hours, everyone ends up in the living room, so Kazu declares movie night for the rest of the day.
Searching through his anime, he finally decides on a fairly new series about a beast tamer, in it he tames a cat spirit he saved and a dragon girl who was beating people up on a bridge. They watch all thirteen episodes before as a group they decide it's bed time.
Kazu and Anna head up to bathe first, Arwain wants to sleep with them so she joins them for their bath. A minute into the bath Orelfa shows up looking for Arwain, seeing her bathing with them she asks to join. As no one had a reason for her not to, she quickly joins them. After their bath Kazu and Anna start to head to their bed, Arwain asks to sleep with them. Orelfa wanting to be with her mom asks to join also. Again finding no reason to say no, the four of them lay down in bed. Arwain lays on his chest, Anna takes her normal spot, and Orelfa takes the other side. After giving out kisses, and wishing everyone a good night, they all fall asleep.