Author's Note: Hello! This is a new K-Project story, as you can see. I decided to go a little more traditional and create a story that is based off the manga, K: Memory of Red. I hope you all enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!
Silently, just like she had taught herself to do, the teen unlatched the back door leading into the HOMRA bar. It was early in the morning, around one o'clock or so, and Emilia knew that very few, if any one, would be up at this hour. After stepping into the building, she gently shut the oak door behind her. The first thing that hit her was the smell. To her keen nose, it smelled like numerous people who lived here smoked. It was a fact she had confirmed a few days ago, when the eighteen year-old had snuck in during business hours to survey the building layout. With just one visit, she had memorized the bottom floor, and judging from the ceiling, the next floor was similar. Soundlessly, to keep from waking the occupants, her feet thudded softly as she ascended the wooded stairs. Once Emilia reached the landing, her feet paused and her head cocked to the side to listen for any sign of life. Nothing caught her attention, so the teen continued forward, halting outside each door, searching for a certain person. At last, after many painful minutes of patience, the door in front of her seemed to be hiding her target. Her shaking hand reached out and gently grasped the golden door handle. The handle turned under the slightest pressure from her hand, as though egging her to enter.
Following many poundings of her heart, the dirty blonde slipped inside the room, pulling out a silver-bladed dagger from within her back pocket along the way. One step, five steps, ten steps and finally Emilia was in front of the figure asleep in the chair. She raised the switchblade to chest height, slightly reluctantly. It wasn't like she wanted to kill him; it was just her job. She had been offered a very high sum of money to kill Suoh Mikoto, and the amount was one that she wouldn't dare scoff at. Besides, she needed the money for food, clothes, and other necessities. Especially since she had been kicked out of her apartment recently due to neighbors filing reports about suspicious men in business suits visiting the teen at ungodly hours in the night. So, thanks to herlovely next door neighbors, she had lost the small residence, the only place Emilia could crash once her many jobs were finished. The switchblade gleamed in the lowlight filtering through the crack between the bottom of the door and the floor with threatening malice. One cut across the exposed neck and her job would be over. It wasn't her choice way of killing, as she preferred cleanliness to messiness. Snapping back to reality by blinking rapidly and shaking her head, Emilia was about to draw the blade across the skin when-
The golden eyes flew open and flames ignited around the formerly sleeping figure. Emilia stumbled back with a cry and raised both arms to shield her face from the searing heat. The redhead glared at her with unmasked fury and the fire grew larger and started to lick at Emilia's beaten-up sneakers. The young woman let out another shriek, too worried about her own safety to be concerned about waking the occupants of the other rooms. She felt strong arms grab her biceps and yank her back, causing the girl to pull at the sudden restraints. Being caught was no better than being killed. She would rather die than have to face the rage of Homura. But whoever was holding her was too strong and the teen ended panting and exhausted. The dirty blonde allowed herself to be shoved down onto the floor, too tired to try to resist. Voices shouted out but Emilia had a hard time distinguishing one from another. Her head pounded from her previous screams and the adrenaline was still pumping through her veins. Usually she could break away without a problem, but for some reason her body wouldn't listen to her demands. Instead it slumped against the person next to her. Someone was talking in her ear and she figured the owner was the same individual who held her arms behind her back.
"You and I are going downstairs. If you try to resist, I'll snap your arms in half. Got it?" Emilia nodded. The voice spoke again, but this time rose so the other members of the room could hear it.
"I'm taking her downstairs."
Once Mikoto gave a nod to the speaker, the teen felt a harsh tug on her pinned arms. Grudgingly, she allowed herself to be led downstairs, tripping on every other stair, with the small sliver of hope that her captor would lose grip and she could make a run for it. Alas, the moment never occurred and as an alternative, she was shoved onto a couch and told to stay put. Since Emilia liked her arms intact, she stayed. Eventually, various people started to come from the rooms on the floors above her, most looking as though they had just woken up. Chances were, they just had. Last to arrive was Suoh Mikoto himself. A blond with a camera suddenly popped up in front of her and Emilia turned away. She hated being filmed; no exceptions. The cameraman let out a disappointed sigh. He then trotted across the room and began to talk to an auburn-haired teen who yelled at him to get the camera out of his face. A ghost of a smile crossed Emilia's lips. At least there was someone else here who didn't like to be on film almost as much as her. Her eyes followed the perky filmer as he made his way around the room, stopping to talk with each group that occupied the room. Once he had finished, the real business began.
"What's your name?" It took the female a moment to realize that the question was aimed at her. Just like she had expected, every pair of eyes in the room were on her. She swallowed nervously before answering.
"Kawazame Emilia." The bartender, who Emilia now recognized as the owner of the voice, seemed to ponder the answer for a heartbeat. Since the name didn't seem familiar, he moved onto another question.
"Why were you trying to kill King?" Emilia focused on choosing her next answer carefully. She didn't want to give away too much but only enough so that their hunger for information was sated.
"It was a job," she replied slowly and cautiously. The teen raised her head to meet the eyes hidden behind tinted sunglasses. "I needed the money." A deep rumble of a voice jerked her attention away from the blond.
"And I was your target?" Emilia nodded. There were a few snarky remarks made by surrounding Homura members. Most of them contained comments on how stupid Emilia was if she thought she could kill their King. Her jaw clenched while she glared at the speakers. They only glared right back. A camera entered her field of vision. She jerked back with a small hiss. The object pulled back slightly and a grinning face peered from behind it. Emilia frowned.
"You're lucky King didn't burn you," said the man. Emilia just stared at him. "Ne, Kusanagi-san, do you really think she would kill King?" The bartender poured an orange liquid into a glass and handed it to the redhead who had yelled at the camera-carrying blond earlier.
"Of course," he replied. "There are plenty of people out there who would love to get rid of Mikoto. Luckily, most of them don't act on it." With the last statement, he shot a look at the girl sitting on the couch. Emilia lowered her gaze. To avoid any other looks she may have been receiving, she began to pick at a frayed string on her black jacket. Letting her eyes wander over the article of clothing, the teen realized that she needed a new one. Soon. Along with her apartment, she had lost all her other belongings when the police had shown up on her doorstep. They had tried to give it to her, but a group seeking revenge on Emilia, had intercepted the exchange and burned everything. That had been two weeks ago. To make matters worse, all the money in her bank account had been stolen. Probably by the same group that had destroyed her property. Reluctantly, Emilia had been forced to resort to stealing various outfits. A large portion of them had been shredded due to street fights she got involved in. Where ever she went, people had a bone to pick with her. That was the only reason she had accepted the job to 'off' Suoh Mikoto, even though he was the last person she would want to tangle with.
"Why do you need the money? Don't your parents take care of you?" The two questions tore Emilia from her thoughts. Once again, the camera lens was stuck next to her face.
"I need it for . . . different things," mumbled Emilia. "My parents are dead. They died a couple years ago in a car accident." There was a sad sigh from the blond in front of her.
"I'm sorry, Emmy-chan. That's really sad," murmured the cameraman, now looking downcast. "But you don't have to turn to doing bad deeds because of it." Emilia shrugged.
"The worst thing I've done is probably stealing. In all honesty, this is the first time I've taken on a job like this," The female furrowed her brows. "And it'll be the last," she finished, meeting the gold eyes of the person she had been hired to kill. Mikoto watched her coolly, surveying her actions. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
"You don't have to worry about me trying anything else. I'm through with all of this underground stuff. So you can just let me go and I'll-" Emilia's remark was cut off by Mikoto.
"You look horrible." The camera started to fall and the carrier let out a gasp.
"That's mean, King!" Mikoto shrugged.
"It's true," he pointed out, pulling a cigarette from his pants pocket. The other frowned.
"Doesn't mean you have to point it out," he sighed. The red light on the camera stopped blinking. It was set down on the table in front of Emilia and the filmer ran a hand through his hair. "But I suppose you don't feel like elaborating?" he asked, sitting down next to her. Emilia shifted her weight on the cushion. She opened her mouth to say that she didn't, but to her and everyone else's surprise, she began to tell them what had happened; starting from the time she had found out what had happened to her parents, to up until that night. They listened quietly, letting her rage and rant about every little detail. Once she finished, Emilia felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"Seems like you've had quite the life, Emmy-chan," The man next to her smiled gently. "Do you feel like settling down and staying in one place?" The question made Emilia blink.
"I've never thought of it before," she replied honestly and a bit shyly. Then she seemed to realize that the man had called her by a nickname. "What'd you call me?" she asked, while someone else moved behind her.
"Emmy-chan," he answered happily, giving her another grin. Emilia bit her lip. No one had ever bothered to give her a nickname before, let alone become close enough to her to even call her by her first name. And now, this stranger was calling her Emmy-chan, using her first name even though she never remembered giving him permission. Strangely enough, Emilia didn't feel angry. In fact, she felt a bit glad.
"I'm Totsuka Tatara," he said, then moved on to introducing the others. "The bartender with sunglasses is Kusanagi Izumo and in front of him is Yata Misaki. Over there are Kamamoto Rikio, Chitose You, Dewa Masaomi, Fujishima Kosuke, and those two are Bandou Saburota and Akagi Shohei. The lone dog over there is Sutr Eric." As he named each person, they gave a nod or waved. It seemed like their aggressiveness from earlier had faded. "And of course, you know who King is," Totsuka continued, as though there weren't enough names to remember. "Finally, the little princess next to Yata-chan is Kushina Anna." The little girl glanced over her shoulder from a glass she was drinking from and blinked at Emilia. Emilia gave a small wave to the white-haired Strain. Turning back to face Totsuka, she pulled back when she saw who was standing in front of her.
Suoh Mikoto held his hand out to her as though to shake hands. Emilia glanced up at him to only see his face as impassive as ever. Slowly, she reached out her hand to take his but let out a yelp and yanked it back when the outstretched hand became cloaked in red flames. Remembering her near experience earlier in the night, she held the almost-burnt hand against her chest. Totsuka chuckled from beside her.
"It's alright. He won't hurt you," chuckled the Homura member. "The fire only burns people who aren't worthy," He gave Emilia a reassuring smile. "Go ahead." Emilia's eyes wandered back to Mikoto's hand.
At Totsuka's encouragement, she reached her hand out again and took the burning hand. Emilia's grey eyes widened as the flames crawled from their hands, up her arm and over her body. The fire blinded her vision for a moment and the teen was shocked it didn't burn her. She felt it grow the hottest over the top of her left bicep. Then it was over. The flames faded, leaving Emilia breathing slightly harder than she had before. She lifted her hand and stared at it, fascinated to not see any burn marks covering the skin. Her mind began to wonder where the fire had gone and as an answer, she felt her stomach grow warm, as though the fire was just waiting for her to let it loose. She couldn't help but grin. Totsuka laughed and she raised her head so that her wide grin was visible to everyone in the room.
"Welcome to Homura, Emmy-chan."