Gosh I hope I don't bring back too many feels about the last episode. I'm pretty sure all my friends wanted to kill me for constantly reminding them about if for practically 3 days straight. Contains spoilers for the last episode, so don't read if you haven't watched it yet!
Idek somehow it feels like I wrote Mikoto OOC-ly. But I tried my best. This idea resulted from a comment I made on FB with my friend after she watched it! You know who you are and I'm sure you're reading this, so hi. 8'D Enjoy, peeps~
Disclaimer: K Project belongs to GORA and Gohands. I wish I owned it but no, so there.
Suoh Mikoto wakes up in a world of white.
All his wounds are gone, and so is the dull ache in his muscles. Immediately, he knows and understands fully his situation.
"Haaaa… Is this heaven?"
He's not upset at all; rather, he feels quite relieved. He never did want the responsibilities of being the Red King. Not to mention that now no one else had to fear a repeat of the Kagutsu Crater incident that his predecessor had caused. He doesn't need to worry about accidentally hurting any of his loved ones anymore. Of course, he wishes there was another alternative in which he doesn't have to leave anyone behind, but it can't be helped.
He continues lying on the ground where he is. How long, he doesn't know, doesn't care. A few minutes? A few hours? It's hard to tell the time in here when everything looks the same. Then again, what does time matter when you're dead?
After some time, red snow begins to waft down around him, surrounding him. Well, it's not exactly snow per se, just looks like it. Mikoto recognises what it is immediately. It's Red Aura. More specifically, the red aura that he gifted upon each of his clansmen. He smiles gently as they fall on him, enveloping him with warmth.
He can tell which belongs to whom. Each feels different and distinct from the others.
Izumo's reminded him of home. It wasn't a surprise really, not with the man's motherliness to the rest of HOMRA. Warm. Compassionate.
Yata's felt destructive, yet not overwhelmingly so. Almost as if despite the sheer power it possessed, it would only be used to protect others.
Kamamoto's felt level, calm, consistent.
Akagi's. Bando's. Chitose's. Dewa's. Eric's. Fujishima's. All of them felt different.
Anna. She didn't receive any red aura from him, so he isn't able to feel her presence, but he most certainly didn't forget about her.
"Anna… Were you able to see this? It's a pretty red." Somehow, he has the feeling that she did. That everyone did. He knows they won't be able to forget the sight.
And then there's the last aura he feels. It's light and gentle, but it's clearly there. Gentle, quietly supporting everyone else from the sidelines, but no less important than any of the others.
"Totsuka," he breathes.
"Yes, King?"
Mikoto starts, but before he even has a chance to sit up and look for the source of the voice, Totsuka Tatara appears before him, smiling like how he always used to. He stretches a hand out towards Mikoto.
"You'll catch a cold, King," he says easily.
Mikoto can't help but to smile back. Figures he would see the guy here. "It's not cold at all."
"Mmm, I agree." Tatara holds his hands up to catch the red snow. "It's warm. Very warm. It's really pretty, isn't it? I'm sure Anna was happy when she saw this," he adds, almost as if he knew what was on his King's mind earlier.
"No one has forgotten. Will forget. We'll always be remembered."
Mikoto feels comforted instantly. Tatara never once fails to have this effect on him, even after he has a bad nightmare. He just listens to the younger man continue talking.
"I can imagine it now; when Kusanagi-san sees us again he'll scold and nag us for going on ahead before everyone else. Yata-chan'll be so happy he'll probably be crying tears of joy. And the first thing Anna-chan will do is to hold your hand like how she always does."
Mikoto can imagine the scene playing out as well. He sees Izumo heaving a big sigh after his lecture, then grabbing both Totsuka and himself in a hug. Without question, Anna would join in quietly as well, and before he knows it, all his clansmen would be sharing a huge group hug.
Tatara takes a glance at Mikoto's peaceful and relaxed expression and laughs. It's light and refreshing. It reminds Mikoto of an arriving spring after a long winter chill. Mikoto had thought he would never be able to hear that laugh ever again.
"We'll watch over them all. We may not be able to be there with them physically, but we'll never leave."
Mikoto makes a noise of agreement.
"And when it's finally time for them to reach this place, no matter how long it takes, the first thing we'll greet them with is—"
This time, he doesn't let the other man complete his sentence. He says it himself, almost as practice for what was to come in the future.
"Welcome back."
A slight upturn of the lips.
"We're home."
A/N: As with everything I've uploaded so far, this is completely un-beta-ed. Reading through, it feels like something's off, but I can't quite tell what. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to send them my way via PM or review!
About the red aura part, I was trying to describe how each member of HOMRA was like fire in some way or another, but I don't think I did very well. :/
Also, I find it hilarious how the 'sidekicks' all have names with the initials of A-F. I totally didn't realise it until I wrote this. The Blues too! Akiyama, Benzai, Camo, Domyoji? A-D! XD
Thank you for reading my first fic of 2013! ^^