DISCLAIMER: I do not own K or the characters of K. All of the rights and trademarks of K belong to GoRa/Gohands and such. I only claim ownership over the OCs in this story.
A/N: Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. And don't judge me for my pairings later on; they are simply my personal preferences. And if any of you are hoping for FushimixYata, look elsewhere. There will likely be no yaoi in this at all, in fact. Also, if I'm remembering or spelling anything wrong, please tell me so I can fix it. I hate inconsistency, so I would really appreciate it if you could let me know. Thanks, and again, I hope you enjoy reading this.
The Eighth And Black King
He smiled, watching those below him run around frantic in their evacuation of the school grounds. Sometimes, being on an island wasn't exactly beneficial to the students. He himself was proud to count himself amongst them.
'Adolf is doing a good job, getting the innocents and the clansmen to evacuate. Hopefully, with my plan, it won't come to that. I don't quite get what it is you think you're doing, Silver King, but I'm not going to let you die today. And if all goes well, the only dead King will be the Colorless one. Best report back to Kokujoji-san before I do anything though.' The smiling teen walked towards the door of his dorm room, stopping in front of the mirror to take a good look at himself and make sure he was ready for this. His school uniform was properly worn, tie and all. He untucked his shirt and made sure his jacket sleeves were rolled up to his elbow, so his forearms would show. His messy black hair was cut short from a visit to personally see the Gold King a few days ago (after all, one does not see the Gold King without looking nice and neat). His unusual ruby red eyes shone brightly with the liveliness he felt at the thought of what he had just become a few hours ago. It was a miracle no one had noticed, given the commotion that began right around then, but the explosions had given him a smokescreen that blotted out the evidence of his actions. As he went to the door he pulled a small box out and opened it. Inside was a ring with a black diamond on it and a pendant shaped like an infinity symbol. He quickly put them on. Taking a deep breath, he pulled a gold colored cellphone out of his pocket and flipped it open, hitting the redial button. An old man answered on the other end.
"How is everything proceeding? Will your plan work?" asked the elderly, yet powerful voice on the other end. The Second and Gold King, Kokujoji Daikaku, was apparently worried.
"Weismann appears to be up to something, like you thought. He can only be planning to either trick the Colorless into the Red and kill both to prevent a repeat of the Kagutsu Crater incident or die by Suoh Mikoto's hand while containing the Colorless himself. So, yes, the plan will work. Is THAT ready yet?" calmly replied the young teen, well used to acting as an agent of the Gold King and interacting with him in this manner.
"Though I don't like what you clearly plan to use it for, yes, it's in place inside the shrine. I had that friend of yours put it there and then escape. She's already back with the rest of the students outside the blast radius should things go wrong. I hope you know what you're doing."
"Kokujoji-san, relax. I have it all under control. Everything will work out fine, and if it doesn't, my life will already by forfeit. Adolf K. Weismann, Munakata Reisi, and Suoh Mikoto will walk away alive-or I won't," the teen reassured.
"Get it done then, Kratos," the aged King said, hanging up immediately after.
"Rather impatient, aren't we?" came the boy's late reply, but he shrugged and continued on. Kratos, the Gold King had called him. It was a new name, one that the teen took as a sign of respect. Before, he had been called Kage by the Gold King, a name symbolizing his position in life as the Gold King's shadow. That time was gone now. "Now then, it's about time I get to work." He slipped on his shoes and ran out the door, leaping down the stairs to the next landing and then jumping out of a window, breaking it. Despite being called Kage, he had always been a rather dramatic person. Yatogami Kuroh, unfortunately, was just below him, carrying a girl he recalled was named Kukuri. She had been hosting the Colorless last he knew, and if she was here, then that meant things were proceeding a bit faster than he'd anticipated.
"You! Why are you...what are you-" came the flustered and surprised reply of the infamous Black Hound.
"Not important. Is the Silver King making his move? Answer now, because I can save him and the other Kings so long as I make it in time," Kratos yelled. Kuroh hesitated, and then nodded with that proud look of his.
"How can I help?" the Silver Clansmen asked. Kratos didn't have much time left to get to the shrine in time, so he picked a short and decisive answer that Yatogami Kuroh wouldn't misunderstand.
"You can't. Only Kings can do anything from here on out. Anyone else will be a hindrance," Kratos answered, unknowingly mirroring the sentiments of the Silver King. He took off running, moving as fast as he could to reach the shrine. Far above he saw a silver glow arc through the air and dive down between the red and blue auras colliding outside the shrine. Four Swords of Damocles now hung suspended over the island.
"Isn't this the guy you're looking for?" asked Isana Yashiro, AKA Adolf K. Weismann, the First and Silver King. "Hey! What're you doing? Stop! Stop it! Stop that! ...Hurry...only a King can kill another King."
"Yeah, I appreciate that," replied the Red King, Suoh Mikoto, "Thanks for bringing him here."
"Stop it, Suoh!" yelled the Blue King as he ran forward in a vain attempt to stop the Red King, "Don't do it!"
"You heard the man, Red King," Kratos said, suddenly slamming into the Red King from the side to interrupt the attack and stop him from overexerting his Weismann Level (I think that's the right terminology; correct me if I'm wrong). The two skidded to a halt just in front of the small shrine they were fighting in front of. Kratos brushed some snow off his short black hair and walked over to the shrine doors with a smile. He began to fiddle with them until the old doors opened.
"Who the hell are you?" Suoh Mikoto asked, getting to his feet. He didn't seem happy to be interrupted, but it wouldn't have been easy for a normal person, nor even a powerful strain to send him flying like that. The odd teen seemed familiar to boot.
"You may have heard of me back when I was called Kage. Now...my name is Kratos. It's a pleasure to actually speak to you," came the second interrupter's reply, turning on his heel in the snow to execute an overly flashy bow, waving a hand through the air with a flourish. At the same time he decided he was done with wearing the red tie on his uniform and undid it with his other hand, looking up and straight into the eyes of the Silver King.
"No!" was the first thing that Kratos heard. A white fox spirit flew out of Isana Yashiro's eyes and hurtled towards Kratos' eyes at high speed.
"Relax, Weismann. I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a better...PLAN!" As he spoke the word 'plan', Kratos reached behind him and took a hold of a head of long silvery hair, dragging into view the original body of Adolf K. Weismann, kept alive by Kokujoji Daikaku the past several days since the airship crashed. Kratos felt that using it as the sacrificial pawn to rid the world of the current Colorless King was the best possible situation. Weismann couldn't hope to return to it anyways, so why just keep it laying around when Kratos could use it for a good cause? "See, now you don't have to die. Suoh-san, if you would be so kind..." Kratos shoved the confused and disoriented Colorless King, now contained within the body of Adolf K. Weismann, towards the Red King.
"It would make me happy to put him out of his misery." A flaming red fist slammed through the body of Adolf K. Weismann, vaporizing it and killing the Colorless King in a massive fiery explosion.
'Now comes the fun part. Bet they didn't see this coming." Above head, the Swords of Damocles clashed and glowed brightly. The Swords of the Silver and Blue Kings emitted protective auras as the two defended themselves from the explosion. The Red King's Sword of Damocles gave off a massive red glow as it crushed the Dark Sword of the Colorless King. Then there was the katana-like fifth Sword of Damocles. It was black in color, like the Sword of Damocles of the Colorless King, but it was darker and more like a pitch black. The aura emitted by this Sword of Damocles seemed to envelop both the Red and Colorless Kings' Swords of Damocles. As the Colorless King's Sword dissipated it's essence fused with the weakened Sword of Damocles belonging to the Red King, repairing the Sword and healing the Red King. As the smoke cleared, there was a bit of panic initially, and confusion. It wasn't until the three remaining Kings looked at Kratos that they realized what had happened, or at least some of what had happened.
"How did you...wait, that isn't the Sword of the Colorless King," Isana Yashiro stated, amazed at the occurrence of an event he hadn't believed possible.
"What are talking about?" Suoh's seemingly lazy or perhaps apathetic take on this turn of events brought Munakata to his senses.
"Suoh, your Sword of Damocles..." The Blue King gazed at the repaired red object in the sky with a mixture of relief and skepticism.
"Don't worry, Munakata-san. The Sword of Damocles is truly repaired. That is one of the abilities of the Eight and Black King, the Newborn King. Correct, Kratos-san?" The Silver King directed the attention back to Kratos, whose black diamond ring glowed like Suoh's earring and Munakata's saber hilt.
"That would be correct. And thank you for officially recognizing me, Adolf...Isana Yashiro. I don't quite know why, but the Dresden Slate decided to make me a King with the power to heal other King's so long as a donor, be they strain or King, offers a portion of their power to start the healing process. Then, both King and donor begin to heal slowly so long as they remain within a mile of me. However, I took advantage of the Colorless King's death to fully restore Suoh-san's Sword of Damocles," Kratos explained, a bit eagerly. He paused for a moment, and Munakata began to laugh.
"I can't believe this convenient ending could have possibly occurred," the Blue King said, still laughing.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Munakata. I'm done here. Bye." Suoh walked off, hands in pockets. He didn't have any reason to stick around after all. Munakata sighed and followed him shortly after, leaving Kratos and Isana Yashiro still standing at the shrine...or what was left of it, rather. There was a crater that had been left after the explosion leaving only half of the shrine intact.
"Well, I guess we'd better make ourselves scarce, ne Isana-san?" Kratos walked over towards the stairs leading down away from the shrine towards the school. The Silver King followed, twirling his parasol.
"I'm fine with you calling me Shiro, Kratos-kun. We are old friends after all," the Silver King said, enjoying this turnout and deciding to go with the flow like usual, letting things unfold without interfering, "and may I say, congratulations on becoming a King. Your timing was perfect."
"Are you sure about the name thing? I did desecrate your original body, using it as a sacrifice and all." Kratos, apparently, felt a bit guilty about doing that without asking Shiro first.
"It's fine. In fact, it was my first thought when I tried to figure out how to stop the Colorless King, but I figured it would take too long to get here. I'm glad someone managed to pull it off. I really wasn't looking forward to dying. I suppose I owe you my life now, Kratos-kun." Shiro laughed a little and walked along happily. He could sense his two clansmen crossing the bridge to come find him.
"I should have known. You always did win whenever we would play chess, Shiro-kun," Kratos replied with a laugh. "I sensed the Silver Aura on Yatogami Kuroh. Was he the first Silver Clansmen?"
"No, that would be Neko." Shiro's smile brightened, pleased that his clan was recognized by the new King so easily. It was a sign that there would be no accidental releases of his power. "I'll introduce you, since it seems we'll be sharing the island for a while. My airship, as you know, is gone. I was planning to claim Ashinaka High as my new territory to protect the students and the place my clansmen have come to call home."
"Ah, really? I was wondering what you planned to do. I don't mind at all. Actually, I feel like I'm imposing on you. I haven't considered territory yet, but I suppose every King needs a Throne. If you don't mind having me, I would like to request you put up with me for a few more years until I graduate Silver King." Kratos stopped and formally bowed, taking on a serious tone. This was official King business and had to be done properly. "I will gladly be your messenger to the other Kings to inform them of the change in territory when I go to introduce myself in addition, regardless of your decision."
"I would be honored to host the Eighth and Black King, Ubatama Ryuujin, also known as Kratos. I would also be honored to accept your offer to be a message bearer to the other Kings," Shiro replied, equally serious in tone and manner. Then the two started laughing, like the whole thing was an inside joke. They continued on until they reached the fallen clock tower, where they waited for the two Silver Clansmen. Eventually a short, slender girl with long pink hair and mismatched eyes came into view. "Ah, that's Neko." The girl began to move faster, picking up speed until she was close enough to tackle Shiro to the ground with a hug.
"SHIROOOOOOO! I missed you Shiro!" she cried as Shiro laughed and patted her head affectionately. Kratos heard a throat being cleared to his right and looked over to see that Yatogami Kuroh had returned as well.
"We didn't have the time to properly exchange introductions before. I am Yatogami Kuroh, servant of the Silver King Isana Yashiro. And you?" the long haired man asked, speaking and holding himself like a gentleman. Kratos was impressed by his composure.
"I am the former servant of the Gold King, once known as Kage, now called Kratos, and a strain like yourself. I am also known as Ubatama Ryuujin, the Eighth and Black King. It is a pleasure to meet the Silver Clansmen of my old chess opponent," Kratos replied, with equal levels of gentlemanly stance and tone. It was people like Kuroh who made him want to be polite to others. "I am obligated to inform you that, for the next few years, I too shall dwell within the Silver Clan's territory as a guest until my graduation. I look forward to our time together, Yatogami Kuroh."
"Shiro, why is that guy talking like Kuro?" came the childish and yet lively voice of Neko. Shiro laughed a bit more and gave the answer a bit of thought for once.
"Well, he used to be a friend of mine. He's the type of guy that talks to others the way they talk to him, ne Kratos-kun?" Shiro said, answering Neko's question with a somewhat rhetorical question of his own.
"True, true, though don't count on me speaking like Neko. That's just too out of character for me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get to work on spreading the word." Kratos bowed slightly to Kuroh and walked off with a wave to Shiro and Neko. "Feel free to use my dorm room until yours is fixed. Or better yet, you could get someone to build you a little house. See ya later."
"Shiro, I have never heard of any previous Black Kings." Kuroh cut straight to the point with the discussion that Shiro knew would follow.
"That's why I gave him the moniker of 'the Newborn King' earlier. He's the first." Shiro's comment drew Kuroh's interest, as he knew little of Shiro's Kingly privileges as the First King.
"Shiro, are you allowed to determine such titles?" Kuroh asked, curious about his new King now that he had his memories restored. He wondered what differences there were between the responsibilities of the Colorless King and the responsibilities of the Silver King.
"I am. Since the powers of the Silver Clan are absolute and eternal, meaning that we three and any others who will join our clan in the future will not age, we also are the ones with the privilege of giving little nicknames like that. We'll be the ones to see everything firsthand, like a living historical record. Now then, I believe a party is in order. So, let's get going." Shiro managed to get up with Neko in his arms, since she'd turned into her pink cat form and curled up on his chest, purring contently.
Over the following hours, SCEPTER 4 took control of the security of Ashinaka High and once all the fires from the explosions were put out the students were allowed to return to the school. After getting a decent assessment of the damage, Hyuga Chiho, the Student Council President, took command of the student body to set up decent temporary housing for the students whose dorms had been destroyed or damaged by the battle. Neko made Shiro less conspicuous, but a lot of the students remembered him guiding them out. Not a one was aware of the part-time job that Ubatama Ryuujin had up until recently as a member of the Usagi, the Gold King's Clansmen. After some discussion with the administration and a favor called in from the Gold King, Isana Yashiro became an official student of Ashinaka High and actually got a PDA. For the time being, the Silver Clan is living in the dorm room of the currently unaccounted for student Ubatama Ryuujin, the Eighth and Black King.