"Mikoto!" Anna cried, collapsing on the ground. Her best friend, her light, their leader, was gone. The only colour she could see, faded into the grey scale to join the rest. Hunched on the ground, Anna's tears and emotion brought her to a world of happiness where she could escape the harsh reality.
Anna woke up in her room above the bar. She had been carried back by another clansmen and tucked safely into her bed. As usual, after waking up, Anna proceeded into Mikoto's room only to find him missing and things untouched like he had already gotten up and left.
A wave of emotion came over her like a tsunami to Japan. Her face suddenly covered with tears, she slowly walked toward Mikoto's bed, climbed up and cried herself back to sleep.
Outside the door Izumo and Yata could be found, all of HOMRA had taken a hard hit when they realized what had happened to their leader, but Anna took the hardest hit of them all, Izumo decided he would talk to Anna when she woke up, Yata agreed. They knew she needed everyone to help her get through this as much as they needed her.
Light slowly seeped into her world. The world of grey scale and splashes of red. She sat up to find herself in a room other than her own. Anna took a deep breath, she was going to be brave for Mikoto. She knew better that he would want her stay strong, that she could make it through this. Anna slid off the bed and straightened out her night gown.
Downstairs in the bar small footsteps could be heard overhead. Izumo looked up, he knew who it was, but decided to give her a few minutes alone first.
Back in her own room Anna began dressing herself. She looked at the HOMRA insignia imprinted on her skin. 'Be strong.' She reminded herself before pulling her dress over her head and placing the small hat atop her head. As she walked toward the door a photo of all the clansmen on her dresser stopped her. It was taken the year before, everyone was in it, Mikoto and Tatara too. She wiped the tears that began to well from her eyes. She knew what she had to do.
Anna opened the door and marched down the stairs, her head held high. On her way to the bar she passed Izumo who was going up. Izumo looked at the small girl surprised, shocked that she had already left her room and headed downstairs. A smile grew on his face, but he knew that he still had to talk to her.
Sitting on one of the barstools when Izumo re-entered the bar was the small girl that he just passed in the stairway. "Would you like something?" "Juice." She answered. Anna always asked for juice and Izumo always gave it to her in a cocktail glass. She liked how the glass looked and didn't want to feel out of place in the bar with a normal glass.
Izumo poured her the drink and leaned against the bar. "I know you understand what happened yesterday Anna, but you can't pretend it didn't happen." Anna took a sip of her drink, keeping her head low she murmured "I know what happened, I will never forget it. Mikoto was taken away from us and I will never be able to get rid of the pain inside me." Izumo sighed, he knew Anna was a strong girl, but he knew such a painful event would hit her hard. "You have to be brave Anna. For Mikoto, and the rest of the clansmen. I know it's hard, but we'll get through it together."
Anna finished her drink and slid off the stool, disappearing on the other side of the counter. She walked around the side until she got to the opening and could see Izumo again. "I know," She stated, looking directly at him, "Which is why I want to help everyone as much as I can." Anna finished, before walking out the door of the bar.
A smile spread across Izumo's face. From the time Anna had spent with Mikoto and the rest of the clansmen, she had learned so much, became remarkably caring and become exceptionally brave. Just like Mikoto. The new red king or not, Izumo knew that Anna would become their clan's new leader.
Standing outside the bar, looking at the familiar city seemed so different now. It was the same city she had always been a part of, but nothing seemed out of place. Everything continued like the previous day's events never occurred, it was almost eerie.
Seemingly from nowhere Yata appeared on his skateboard from around the corner. "Morning Anna!" he said with a smile, Anna nodded as he proceeded inside the bar. She could tell that he was putting on a brave front for her, she could see the pain consuming him. Anna took a deep breath and continued down the road.
Normally she and Mikoto would go for a walk around town everyday. Today, Anna would go alone. On her walk she spotted one of the members of Scepter 4 on their patrols. He must have been unaware of the events that took place the day prior, not knowing Anna was of HOMRA, he told her children should not be out alone and to return home. Anna lifted her chin and looked to the sky. This man may not know yet, but Anna was an outlier. She continued down the road, ignoring the man's words.
In the meantime Izumo had already brought together their small clan. They all knew why they were there for one reason or another. "Our clan is in need of a new leader, someone who can keep us all together and do what's best for HOMRA." Everyone's head low, no one was ready for such a change, but they new it had to happen soon, for the sake of their clan and their friendships.
A mumble could be heard among the group "Anna." Everyone turned to look at one another. "Anna should be our new leader." Yata announced, he knew that she would be the perfect person. Someone that cared for them, someone that they trusted. She might not be able to make all the decisions on her own, but together they would be able to figure things out.
The rest of the clansmen nodded in agreement. Izumo smirked, he was glad this was how things turned out. "She won't just be our leader, she will be our Princess." He added. Cheers were heard among the group, the decision was made.
As the door to the bar creaked open Anna stepped in to find all of HOMRA in the bar. Izumo stepped toward her spoke up among them. "Anna, we have decided that we want you to be HOMRA's new leader." Anna's eyes grew in surprise, she didn't expect this to be the reason everyone was together. Yata walked up beside the young girl with a plastic tiara they decided to get her, removed her hat and placed the crown atop her head. "You will hence forth be HOMRA's princess." Izumo stated.
Anna smiled, Mikoto may be gone, but HOMRA would remain strong. With the help of the clansmen, Anna would make sure that they would stay together for as long as she could. She would sustain Mikoto's legacy and maintain the family they called HOMRA.
