A/N: Hello there! Eris here. I'm super duper tired and exhausted as of the moment but for some reasons, I find myself wanting to write this fanfic. Hehe. So, please forgive me if this kind of sucks since I really can't think straight anymore at all. But anyway, believe it or not Mikoto Suoh is my all time anime crush. Since after K Project had finished airing, I didn't stop thinking of him even for just a day. I don't know. His character just left a big impression one me. Maybe that's why. xDDD

I have absolutely nothing against Munakata Reishi-chan and Fushimi Saruhiko-chan but I don't want to add a bunch of OCs anymore and they seemed to be perfect for the role so they're gonna be the antagonists here especially Rei-chan. xDDD Hope you like it!

A Warmer Shade of Red

Shade 1

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, you bitch?" Misaki Yata yelled as he forcefully brought down his hands on the counter of the bar that served as HOMRA's headquarters. He eyed their unexpected and unwelcome guest scornfully as he clenched his teeth in anger. A tinge of red aura seemed to cover his form as he stood motionless in his place. No matter how you look at it, Yata was definitely not pleased seeing the raven-haired woman in front of him.

"Now, now Yata-chan. No need to be so violent. You know what would happen if those gentle hands of yours had somehow grazed the surface of the counter, right?" Kusanagi grinned evilly like a Yakuza boss as his hands slowly formed into fists. He looked straight into Yata's eyes which did a good job of intimidating the younger teen.

Around them, the other members of HOMRA watched the scene unfolding in front of them quietly. None of them moved and none of them dared to say anything. Like fragile China dolls in danger of breaking with even the slightest movement made, they decided to play safe and not involve themselves anymore with the ruckus that's threatening to disrupt their peaceful days at Kusanagi's bar. Either, they were too surprised at the sudden appearance of an all-too familiar woman; they don't want to interfere with one of Yata's so-called late rebellious fits of anger, keeping in mind how troublesome it was to handle a hyper-active guy in his late teens, or maybe they were too scared to say something, seeing that Kusanagi has his switched flipped on like an overprotective bar owner.

"But…" Yata broke his eye contact with Kusanagi and looked down. Regardless of the situation, he knew that it would really be a terrible idea to make an enemy out of the Red King's right-hand man. "Are you okay with having that bastard in here?" He pointed a finger at the girl which caused her to bow her head slightly with downcast eyes.

Kusanagi exhaled deeply and rubbed his temples. "And… is it proper to call a girl like Akane-chan a bastard?"

Yata clicked his tongue in disgust as he turned to face the girl. "Tsk. You're probably right Kusanagi-san. It's not proper to call her a bastard…because she's far worse than a bastard. She's a leech who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of anyone's feelings for her own benefit. She's a whore who treats men as nothing more than tools which she could use to achieve her ambitions. A heartless bitch who doesn't deserve a place in the world. In fact, the world might even become a better place if people like her would just die. No one would cry over her death, no one would mourn for her; no one would give a damn care! Sure, her corpse left lying on the road would somehow inconvenience other people, but no one would dare to pick it up. You know why?" Yata walked towards her with a grimaced. He stopped short a little beside her and placed his mouth a bit closer to her ears. "…because it's much better to be inconvenienced by a despicable corpse lying in the middle of nowhere than let someone like you live and hurt even more people." He blurted out in an insulting tone.

Beside him, the girl bit her lip in a futile attempt to keep herself from crying. She closed her eyes and clenched her hands tightly. It was obvious as the day that Yata's words hurt her more than he could imagine. She tried her best to stay calm despite the fact that she was on the verge of tears. Her body trembled slightly as a whirlwind of emotions threatened to make her fall on her knees that very instant and reveal what she was really feeling inside- that she was really hurting inside. What HOMRA's vanguard said was indeed too heavy and painful to accept, but who was she to reject it? After all, they were all true. Every single word that came from Yata's mouth was true. Even if she might deny it, even if she had a reason for doing it, she knew that she couldn't ignore the fact that she was indeed the woman Yata described her to be. A leech. A whore. A bitch. And every word that is synonymous with those three. Perhaps Yata was right. It might be better if she could just die silently without anyone noticing. Yes, she had thought of that too. However, her heart wouldn't allow her to kill herself without even apologizing to the person she truly loves.

With that in mind, she just stood there silently, letting the Red Clansmen shoot daggers at her. She knew very well that she had no right to complain. If possible, she's willing to give up her life on the spot, to let them take her life, to die by their hands, if that's what it takes for them to forgive her. But she knew that things will not go that way. The Red Clansmen of HOMRA are not like that. Their King would definitely not permit such actions.

Kusanagi placed one of his hands on his waist and did a facepalm. "Stop it, Ya-"

"Mikoto-san…" Yata cut him off mid-sentence, pretending not to hear his words. "Mikoto-san may seem like a cold heartless person, but deep inside, he's not like that. You may see him as a strong and invincible person who fears nothing but at the end of the day… he's a normal guy like everyone of us in here. A guy who also smiles, a guy who also feels pain… and most importantly, a guy who loves and treasures his girl more than anything else in the world!"

Hearing the last part of Yata's statement, Akane's mind was suddenly filled with memories of a once happier past as the tears she tried to hold back moments ago came flowing from her eyes like a continuous stream with no sign of stopping. She suddenly felt weak and her body shook violently as loud sobs escaped from her mouth. She buried her face in both of her hands in hopes that she could restrain herself but she failed. All the pent-up emotions which she pushed deep into the abyss of her consciousness slowly resurfaced and betrayed her, making her expose her pitiful and pathetic self to everyone present in the bar. She hated it, but it's not like she could still do something about it.

"I…I know Yata-chan. I definitely know about that." She mustered every ounce of strength left in her body to prevent her voice from shaking. She looked at the teen beside her with eyes filled with pain and hoped that somehow, her feelings might reach him.

Yata, on the other hand was caught off-guard and his eyes widened in great surprise. He couldn't hide the fact that he and Akane were once good friends, but he didn't allow his past feelings to interfere with the present. Yes, they might be friends before, but what's done is done. It's surely not enough to stop him from hating her after what she did.

"Don't… don't you ever call me like that again!" Yata yelled at her and without warning, slapped her hard on the face. Everything happened so fast that even Akane, who was quite known to have good reflexes, was not able to defend herself from the slap.

She fell with a loud thud on the floor with a blank expression in her eyes.

"You know?" Yata placed his hand above his head and laughed awkwardly. "Really? You knew that?" He looked up and laughed once more, this time loudly and harshly. "So, you knew about it?"

Dejectedly, without even bothering to look at Yata, Akane nodded.

"Don't fuck with me you bitch!" Yata kicked the chair on his left forcefully which created a loud screeching sound that echoed through the walls of the bar.

"Stop it, Yata-chan!" Unexpectedly terrified and scared, Akane closed her eyes and for a second time, buried her face in her hands. She cried yet again, but this time, it was a silent cry though still evidently filled with ache.

Seemingly deaf of her please, Yata ignored her. "If you knew… then why did you hurt Mikoto-san? He loved you. He loved you so much. He loved you more than anything in the world… more than himself… more than his clan. He placed you above everything. And he was contented and happy. He was happy being with you. He said that he needs nothing else but you. That you were already more than he could ask for. You were his life. The very reason he wants to continue living. That's why… That's why…" All of a sudden, Yata fell on his knees behind Akane. He supported himself by planting both of his arms firmly on the ground. "That's why… it really hurt him. That's why… he was in so much pain when you left." Drops of tears began to fall from his eyes as he repeatedly punched the cold ground beneath him pointlessly.

Akane looked at him agonizingly, feeling guilty of what she did- even though she was made to do it against her will. She wanted to tell him the truth, She wanted to explain everything, not just to Yata but to everyone at HOMRA and most especially to Mikoto. She wanted to let them know.

But she also knew that she couldn't do that, because if she did, everything else would have been in vain.

Akane tried to extend her arms and touch Yata's shoulder but before she could even do that, he spoke.

"That's why; don't ever expect to be that woman again. Because there's just no way that's gonna happen. One day, I know. Mikoto-san will find someone who is worthy of his love. And for sure, he will love her more than he loved you!"

And with that, Akane felt her heart broken into pieces. She bowed her head and let her tears flow freely without hesitation. She didn't care about HOMRA seeing her like that anymore. All she could ever think of was the piercing pain in her heart, the heavy feeling in her chest. She couldn't bear it any longer. She couldn't hold it back. She knew that the chances of her getting back with Mikoto was close to zero but never in her dreams did she ever think about him loving someone else. It wasn't unusual for him to do that but for her… seeing him with someone else… felt so foreign. It never occurred to her before, or to be exact, she never once dared to imagine Mikoto in the arms of another girl because for sure, it would be the end of her. That may really be the only reason for her to kill herself without apologizing to him first. That why, she needed to tell him how she feels while she still has the chance.

"Don't cry and pretend to be sorry. It's pretty annoying, you know!" Yata struggled to stand on his feet and dusted himself. "Stand up." He yelled at her but she pretended not to hear. "I said stand up, you-" Before Yata could even land a kick on a crouching Akane, someone touched his shoulder.

"That's enough, Yata."

Yata spun around to face the origin of an all-too recognizable voice.

"Mikoto-san…" He looked at him apologizing and bowed. "I'm sorry, I was just-"

"No need to explain yourself. I understand." Mikoto assured him.

The Red King shifted his gaze to look at the woman in front of him who was bent down on the ground. He slowly walked towards her, wearing his same usual expression which unbelievably wont make you think that he's actually approaching his ex-girlfriend who had hurt him greatly.

"Akane…"

Hearing her name spoken by the voice which she had grown to love, Akane felt his heart beat at an incredibly fast pace. Her mind suddenly went blank as her thoughts were filled with all of the things she wanted to say to him. She had always longed for a chance to talk to him, and he's now here standing in front of her. She better not let this rare opportunity slip by her again.

She slowly lifted her head and when her eyes met his, she found herself crying for the nth time that day. She hadn't seen him in a while and in spite of the situation, she was happy to be able to gaze at his face again. In normal circumstances, she would happily throw herself in his arms but now, she knew that it's nothing but a mere delusion.

"Mi…Mikoto… no, sorry. I meant Souh-san…" She tried to say clearly.

"What do you want Akane?" Mikoto replied in a monotonous voice devoid of any emotion. The expression on his face was still stiff as it was before.

"Uhmm… I came here to… Suoh-san, I came here to…"

"What?"

"The thing is, I've got something to tell you." Akane said while avoiding any eye contact with him. She knew that if she looked into his eyes, she would find herself drowned into those amber orbs once again. Mikoto, on the other hand, was looking at her jadedly.

"Then, hurry up and say it already."

Akane looked down and nodded. "Suoh-san, the truth is-"

"So, you were here after all."

Before Akane could even say anything, she was cut off in mid-sentence by a voice which sent shivers run down her spines.

"Yo, Akane. And here I was, wondering where you might have gone. The moment I took my eyes off of you, you came running down here in filthiest part of Shizume City."

"You scoundrel! You have some guts showing your face in here Munakata Reishi?!" Yata shouted angrily as another unwelcome guest made an appearance at their headquarters.

"Oh? Is that the way to talk to a King, Mi-sa-ki?!" Fushimi suddenly appeared from behind Reishi, smiling maniacally at Yata with his tongue out.

"Fushimi! What do you think you're doing here? Looking to get your ass kicked?" Yata sprinted forward towards the two Scepter 4 members but he was stopped by Mikoto.

"Calm down, Yata-chan." Kusanagi said from the back of the counter.

At that moment, everyone in the bar switched to fighting mode as a blanket of red aura engulfed them.

"What do you want here, Munakata?" Mikoto asked with a serious expression on his face.

Munakata laughed hardly and touched his glasses. He cleared his throat and slowly approached Mikoto.

"Don't worry, Red King. We're not here to fight. I'm just here to pick up my woman." He replied with a mischievous smile on his face.

With that, Mikoto's expression suddenly became a bit darker but not dark enough for everyone to notice.

He sighed, stayed silent in his place and closed his eyes.

"Let's go Akane. You're coming back with me to Scepter 4." Munakata shouted.

Akane bowed her head and looked at the opposite direction, pretending not to hear his words.

"Didn't you hear me Akane? I said we're going!"

Still no reply.

"Oh? So, that's how you'll play, huh?"

Munakata tip toed slowly and silently near her and without any warning kicked her hard without showing any mercy.

"Get up! I said we're going!"

"Stop that Rei-chan! That hurts!"

"If it hurts, then get up and come with me!" He kicked her again.

"I don't want to!" Akane replied between sobs.

"Huh? What did you say? I can't hear you!"

"I said I don't want to!"

"Oh, really?"

Just then, Munakata bent down and grabbed her hair. He gripped it tightly with his hands and proceeded to lift Akane through it.

"Ouch! Stop that Rei-chan! It hurts! It hurts!"

"Then, you'll do what I say, right?"

"Alright. Alright. I got it. I'll come with you."

"That's a good girl. If you have said so sooner then I wouldn't have to do this, right?"

With one big thrust, Munakata threw Akane down the floor with such force that it made her squeal in pain.

Munakata turned to look at Mikoto and he saw him still standing silently in his place with his eyes close. But he could also see that Mikoto's hands were now clenched very tightly into fists, he was biting his lips hard as if he wanted them to bleed, and he was also swallowing and panting vigorously and rapidly.

Seeing this, a smirk formed in Munakata's lips as he grabbed Akane by her arms and pressed her against him. He placed his hand under her chin and kissed her hard. He basically smashed his lips into her and thrust his tongue inside her mouth, exploring the wetness of her cave and teasing her tongue to respond to him. As Akane moaned in refusal, not wanting what Munakata was doing to her, Munakata paid no mind but deepened the kiss even more until they finally have to separate for air.

"Rei-chan, what do you think you're-" Akane was about to protest to him when he suddenly slid his hand underneath her shirt and grabbed the fullness of her breasts. He squeezed them aggressively as he pressed his huge erection behind her.

"Please, stop it Rei-chan. Please stop." Akane cried.

Munakata started to pant hardly when he realized that he was about to lose control at an inappropriate place. Letting go of Akane, he fixed his glasses and looked at Mikoto. This time, he was not closing his eyes anymore but rather, he was looking at his right with a dead expression on his eyes.

"Akane, you belong to me… and only me. Try to remember that." He said in a triumphant voice and turned to leave. Akane gave one last look at Mikoto and seeing that he was not looking at her, she quietly followed behind Munakata.

After discerning that Munakata, Akane and Fushimi were out of sight, Mikoto turned and walked towards the counter and sat. He was staring into space when Kusanagi placed a drink in front of him.

"You know. You don't have to hide you feelings." Kusanagi said a matter-of-factly.

"What the hell do you mean?" Mikoto replied in a jaded voice.

"Then why did it look as if you were about to murder Munakata earlier? He may not have seen it, but your aura was amazingly deadly back there, as if there was an intent to kill."

"Oh, really? Must be your imagination."

"Is that so? It must be my imagination then."