Devil God Toji Kanaki stared up at the clear blue summer sky, counting the clouds as they passed, his mind divided between thoughts of the past and the events of the present. 

He absently scratched the three large jagged markings on his right cheek—scars he’d given himself decades ago when the barrier shut between himself and Natsu. He’d not only lost his soulmate that day, but also his best friend, his family, and ultimately, through decades of brutal training, torture, and grief…half his mind. 

It was enough to twist him into a being that was feared and vilified throughout the Realms, especially by those who were unfortunate enough to be at the wrong end of Toji’s sword. To those he helped, however, he was known as a hero and a savior.

Two things Toji absolutely was not; Natsu deserved those terms, not him. 

That wasn’t to say that Toji didn’t care about others; he was just highly selective of who he chose to help. Exiles, victims of abuse, those who were weak and defenseless…Toji would fight for them.

Even if they never remembered it in the end.

Because of what he’d endured in Hell, he’d also become fully estranged from his family, running from them whenever they got too close. 

They lost the privilege to know anything about him the day they turned their backs on him, giving into their fear of him instead of accepting and loving him like they’d promised. Toji wanted nothing to do with the Helman’s, and hadn’t for eleven years…

Outside of one. 

A young boy with sharp ruby red eyes and thick blonde hair he’d given his one treasured possession to on the day he and Natsu took off with Toji’s imp, Silver. The triangular green stone around Tristan's neck bounced off his chest with every parry and thrust of his sword. Tristan paid it little mind, sneering at his sparring partner, and grumbling as the imp advanced again effortlessly.

The demon imp reveled in Tristan's frustration, teasing the sixteen-year-old god Prince until the lad was exhausted. Silver giggled, shifting into his small monkey form and made his way over to Natsu, leaping onto his shoulders and folding his tiny hands on his Master’s dark head, his bright amber eyes glittering with amusement while Tristan continued to grumble a litany of insults in the monkey’s direction.

Natsu sighed, his expression thoughtful. “You’re moving too slow, Tan,” he commented. 

“No, Silver’s just being a little shit!” the teen countered. “He’s cheated me out of three moves and—”

“Moves you saw coming, kid,” Toji called out from his place on the ground, lifting his hand into the air. He pointed at Tristan without looking. “Don’t blame the monkey.”

Tristan glowered at him. “You’re not even watching, how would you know?” he grumbled, petulance overtaking reason. 

A thick tendril of dark energy snaked from Toji’s core, slamming into the ground at Tristan’s feet, knocking him off balance with a yelp. “At least you were quick enough to dodge that,” he snarked.

Tristan opened his mouth to release a sharp barb of his own but Natsu cut him off before he could. 

“That’s enough,” he said in his soft, calm voice. Natsu folded his arms and sighed, his emerald green eyes fixed on his nephew. 

Flickers of distress caught Natsu’s attention as the god Prince gripped the handle of his sword tighter, his expression tight. The boy’s upcoming graduation from the Helman Army Academy was looming overhead, and was likely a huge contributor to Tristan’s anxiety.

The pressure to prove his worth was clearly affecting him, and Natsu could feel it. He sighed heavily, aware that something needed to give before the boy snapped. “You need a break,” he said after a moment.

Tristan released his sword, letting it fade to mist at his side. “No, I need to perfect these movements before the final—HEY!” He flinched as another of his uncle’s tendrils smacked him in the forehead. He put a hand to the offended area, glaring at Toji as the Devil God rose from the ground and walked up to wrap his arms around Natsu from behind.

“I’m bored,” Toji announced, dropping his chin to Natsu’s shoulder. Natsu rested his head against the taller man’s and grinned softly. 

“We should remedy that,” he said.

Toji narrowed his eyes at Tristan. “Maybe we should put you to a real test. Watching you lose to Silver is getting sad.”

Silver grinned mischievously, moving from Natsu’s shoulders to Toji’s. Tristan frowned.

“You want me to participate in a duel?” he said, then shook his head. “I can’t, Toji, you know that. If the Academy finds out, I’ll get expelled and lose my position with Commander Katsuki.”

“So don’t let them find out,” Toji shrugged. “You’ve become a very good liar over the last decade, what’s one more?”

Tristan groaned, rolling his eyes. “I can think of twelve different reasons why that’s a bad idea.”

“I can think of one that makes it a very good idea.”

“Boredom isn’t a reason.”

“I disagree a thousand percent.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Natsu cut in, placing a hand on Toji’s left cheek and turning slightly to kiss his right. “He needs a break, Neko. He’s earned it.”

Toji feigned indifference, letting out a cat-like yawn before adding, “Okay, fine, but I get to decide how.”

Tristan dropped his shaking head into his hand. “Of course you do,” he muttered.

Natsu chuckled softly. “What did you have in mind?”

“I saw a flier for a Renn Faire upstate a few days ago and I wanna go.”

Natsu straightened, turning slightly in Toji’s arms, a grin crossing his lips. “You mean the one I had up on the tablet?”

Toji made a face; he hated modern tech and steered clear of it as much as possible. “Ick. Yes. On that abominable device.”

“What’s a Renn Faire?” Tristan asked, eyebrow cocked in confusion. Growing up in the Veil, events like that didn’t exist.

Toji grinned, his fangs making an appearance as his blue and red eyes lit up. He opened his mouth to tell his nephew all the amazing things a Renaissance Faire had to offer, but was stopped by a sudden light appearing just behind him. 

While Veil tears usually indicated the arrival of a member of the Helman family, people Toji didn’t want knowing where he was on a good day, this one brought forth someone he did approve of.

“Julian!” Tristan exclaimed.

Toji and Natsu grinned as the Wanderer appeared in full, the door closing behind him. Julian laughed as his little brother jumped at him, hugging him fiercely. It had been too long since they last met up that Julian smiled unashamedly.

Julian released him, his swirling light blue eyes dancing with mirth. “It’s good to see you, too, Tan,” he said, ruffling the boy’s thick blonde hair. 

“Where’s Ren?” Natsu asked, surprised the celestial elf wasn’t at his mate’s side.

“Visiting friends in Kanaki Valley,” Julian replied. “I’m meeting up with him when I’m done here.”

Toji snorted. “That’s right, you’re not one for social calls.”

Silver leapt from Toji’s shoulders to Julian’s, his tail wrapping around his neck. “You could make an exception at least once, you know.”

Julian shrugged, petting the tiny monkey. “Old habits die hard, my dude.” His expression shifted, becoming more grave. “I need you to go somewhere for me.”

Everyone instantly sobered. If Julian was asking for a favor, it was a big deal. Wanderers couldn’t interfere in the lives of others, not directly. But they could go through channels if the need was great enough.

“Where?” Toji asked.

Julian told them and Toji and Natsu exchanged a look.

“We were just talking about heading up that way,” Natsu said. 

“Convenient,” Toji added.

Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial, handing it to Toji. The redhead held it up in front of his face, inspecting the purplish liquid within.

“Looks sus,” he intoned.

“It’s medicine,” Julian replied. “From a planet you’ve probably never heard of.”

“Try me.”

“Chromaldus.”

Toji blinked, lowering the vial. “You have my attention.”

“Ever heard of Summoners?”

Toji blinked.

“Thought not,” Julian grinned. “They’re people with a special gift that can summon beings from other places; countries, Realms, planets, even universes if they’re strong enough.”

“Is that possible?” Tristan asked, eyebrow raised.

“Anything is possible,” Julian said with a grin.

Toji squinted at him. “And one of these ultra-special people summoned a creature from this Chromodhamus place?”

“Chromaldus,” Julian corrected, biting back the annoyance that usually arose when dealing with his uncle. “And yes, they did. Not just him, either, there are at least two others with him.”

“Awesome,” Toji said, giving him an impatient thumbs-up. “What’s that got to do with me?”

Julian pointed at the vial. “I need you to give him this.” He looked pointedly at Toji, the Devil God’s brow raised.

“Medicine…” he muttered, inspecting the liquid as he spun it between his fingers.

“Strong medicine,” Julian nodded.

“How strong?” Silver asked, jumping back to his Master’s shoulders and reaching for the vial. Toji swatted his paw away, denying the monkey access.

“As fuck.” He described exactly what it was for, what it could do, and how it should be administered, and Natsu’s jaw dropped.

“That is strong,” Natsu said in awe. Toji nodded slowly, eyes wide in amazement while Tristan gave a dumbfounded shake of his head.

“The person who needs this won’t soon forget you for giving it to them, Toji,” Julian added with a soft, knowing smile.

Toji snorted softly. “Everyone forgets me, Juli,” he said, bringing his cold mismatched gaze back to the Wanderer. “I make sure of that.”

Julian sighed, remembering that, for all the good Toji did, not one person in the whole of the Universal Core was allowed to remember. 

Toji couldn’t risk his family catching wind of where he’d been or what he’d done and tracking him down. 

“Look for the big red guy,” Julian said. “He’ll know what it’s for. And for whom and why.” He jerked his chin at Toji’s pocket. “We went to a lot of trouble finding this for you,” he said. “Don’t do anything reckless with it, alright?”

Toji gave a devilish grin that almost made Julian regret coming to his uncle at all. “Trust me, my dude. I’ve got this.”

“Sure,” Julian said with a dubious sigh. He turned to his brother as he drew a line in the air, opening a tear in the Veil to Kanaki Valley. Natsu and Toji moved to the side so as not to be seen

“Sorry I couldn’t stick around, Tan,” he said.

Tristan shrugged, giving his brother a reassuring smile. “It’s fine,” he said. “Maybe next time?”

“Definitely.” He gave the teen another big hug. “Congratulations, bro. You’re going to make an amazing Guard.”

Tristan swelled from the praise, waving to his brother with a more confident grin as the Wanderer disappeared through the tear and the air sealed itself up behind him. After a second, he turned to his uncles. “So,” he said, shoving his hands in his back pockets. “What’s a Renn Faire?”

Toji, his mismatched eyes bright with excitement, turned to his nephew, and smiled.

***

Far away, warm and cozy in Iris’s private studio, Zayzann stood, tall and proud with his wings trembling in anticipation. His watch-mate carefully circled him with a handful of sewing pins at the ready, eager to finish another article for her companion. The Paxoram was up first for custom-tailored clothing, with Alden waiting patiently for his turn.

Every brush of her delicate fingers over Zayzann’s unfitted shirt caused the Paxoram to jitter in place before resuming his silent watch over his partner. Aloe-green eyes traced Iris’s every movement, captivated by the whispering quiet of gentle hands that smoothed the fabric flat to pin in place over Zayzann’s sturdy frame.

A pin caught unexpectedly on the Paxoram’s down, causing Iris to pull back and avoid skewering her partner. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Zay,” Iris apologized as she recovered the offending pin. A painful, pernicious pressure boggled Iris’s dark, earthy eyes as another headache crept up on her. She’d tried to ignore the narrowing of her vision, until her faculties failed her and the pins fell out of her shaking fingers.

Hah. Zayzann shivered as an icy hand dug under the waistband of his pants, startling the Paxoram with Iris’s unexpected enthusiasm. Curious at the sudden contact, Zayzann’s head lowered to see if his watch-mate was teasing him, only to catch her reeling in place at the onset of another dizzy spell. 

Instead of an affectionate provocation, his partner had grasped for purchase on the closest support to keep herself upright, finding the Paxoram’s feathered body with shaking fingers. Pale and trembling, the sickly woman had that same look again, the one that spurred panic in her companions.

“Iris? Are you all right?” Alden asked as he crouched to retrieve the spilled pins underfoot.

The weary watch-mate fumbled before replying. “Y-yes, I think so. Just a little dizzy. Must have been working too hard recently.”

“You don’t have to push yourself on our account, sweet one,” Zayzann replied, his voice tender and affectionate. “We have more than enough clothes between us, truly.”

“I agree,” Alden added. Firm hands found Iris’s scrawny waist, helping her stand and hugging Iris from behind once she was upright. “You haven’t had a day off in weeks.”

And we’d been meaning to surprise her soon, Alden thought. He and Zayzann had been conspiring to take their watch-mate on a much-needed vacation, and perhaps now was the time. Why not? I’m sure Zay would agree…

“Iris, how would you feel about taking a break tomorrow? No chores, no responsibilities; just a little adventure to get you outta the house,” Alden added, with a wink to Zay.

“W-what did you have in mind?” Iris asked.

Catching his drift, Zayzann cut in. “How about a nice day trip to that festival you told us about?”

A crinkle returned to her eyes as she smiled, and Iris excitedly listened to her partners’ plans. The way they explained it, tomorrow was sure to be an interesting day.