Anathema

So I got bored, and decided to write this thing- idk how far I'll take it. Love the manga and anime (Have you seen the animation? It alone makes the show worth the watch.), and so I decided to put my own little twist to it. The story will loosely follow the manga/anime, but please be warned, as it is technically an Character Insert story, a lot of the story will center on Taka and her relationships with the original characters through out the series. So I don't want anyone to IM me about how I'm not staying true to the original story should it ever veer off course.

Everything I write happens for a reason, and in Tatara's famous last words "Don't sweat it, it'll all work out."

I do not own the K Project Series, or any of it's characters. Just my OC's (this is the only disclaimer I'll be doing).

And last but not least, if you haven't read the manga or seen the anime (I highly recommend you read the many manga series' before watching the anime) SPOILER ALERT!

Rancor-

Noun

1 - Bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice

Takara "Taka" Totsuka was not what one would call a social butterfly. She understood the need for human interaction, and indulged in the psychological necessity on a strictly as needed basis. Usually, that is. Her older twin brother, Tatara, was very different from her in this way. People flocked to him like humming birds to sugar water, and he soaked up the attention like a sponge, always seeming to have unlimited patients in every situation and the ability to make friends with the most unlikely of people. It's this personable trait of his that Taka both admired and scorned.

She loved her brother more than life itself, and she would do anything for him, even if it meant putting her own happiness and health on the back burner. This time around, she was doing both. You see, the problem with having such a personable sibling was the fact that they could attract the attentions of any array of human being. And there were plenty of times that Taka didn't approve of Tatara's new friends. The two men she was currently sitting across from were prime examples. Hate's a pretty strong word, but it was close-

"You're pissing me off." Ah, there it is. If one phrase could sum up the entirety of how she viewed these particular men, then that was it. They were infuriating. Or at least, one of them was.

Taka glanced up from her bowl of ramen, her traditional scowl replaced with a look of apathy that would put the normally stoic Suoh Mikoto to shame. Coincidentally, it was this very same man who had spoken to her, his face scrunched up in annoyance. "Good fucking morning to you too, Red." His frown deepened at the sound of her customary nick name for him, something she had labeled him with on the very first day of their meeting some two months prior. "The hell crawled up your ass today?"

"Hmm..."

She lifted her chop sticks and pointed them at him across the table. "Good. I hope you get septicemia, eventual sepsis, and croak."

Izumo, the less annoying of Tatara's newest best friends, gave a dramatic sigh as he pulled out a cigarette from his coat pocket. "And it starts. Seriously, can't the two of you go more than five minutes with out causing a scene?"

"No." Taka and Mikoto said in unison, neither one backing down from their intense staring contest. Izumo rolled his eyes at their childish behavior. Like oil and water; or fire and gasoline. From the first time they locked eyes, they had been fighting. The arguments were petty and could spark out of nowhere, and more often then not they would escalate into physical altercations. Izumo would be lying if he said that the first fist fight they had gotten into hadn't scared the shit out of him; Mikoto was abnormally strong by human standards, and he had a hard time holding himself back in a fight. But after the tenth fight or so, Izumo's worry soon tuned into annoyance and the reluctant acceptance. Where the hell was Tatara? It was only when he was around that Mikoto and Taka wouldn't try to rip each others throats out.

"Septicemia?" Mikoto questioned, his furrowed brow quirking ever so slightly.

"Basically I want you to die from slow, naturally occurring blood poisoning- Don't put your grimy fingers in my food!" Taka smacked at Mikoto's hand as he reached back for another piece of meat from her ramen bowl. "Jeeze! Doesn't Izy-chan ever feed you?!" She grabbed the bowl and pulled it as fare away from him as possible. "Go get your own!" Unfortunately, Mikoto was many times taller than her, and once he had his eyes set on a plate of food, there was little that could be done from stopping him eating it. So naturally he stood up and leaned over top of the table, making Takara lean back away from him in a failed attempt to save her lunch. She leaned back so far that she would have fallen off the bench had she not grabbed reached out and grabbed hold of his shirt with her free hand. "Back the fuck off!"

"Stingy."

"I'll be as stingy as I want!"

Izumo rubbed his temples in aggravation as a crowd of people started to turn and watch the spectacle. "For the love of god, will the two of you knock it off already!? Takara, just share your food!" His demands fell of def ears however, with the two teens getting into an interesting wrestling match, during which Taka was somehow able to eat and fend off Mikoto's attempts to steal her food. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Izumo let out a tense sigh. "Tatara, please save me from these animals..."

"Hm? Did I hear my name?" It was as if god had sent Izumo an angle; Tatara, the older of the two Totsuka twins, came meandering out of the crowd, his trademark smile plastered onto his face. "Hello! Sorry that I kept you all waiting; I was talking to one of my sensei's and picking up Takara's homework." He sat a large black back pack down onto the table top. "Did I miss anything?"

At that moment Taka came flying over the table top, landing with a undignified grunt on the ground behind Tatara and Izumo, the later of whom sighed heavily. "Nothing out of the ordinary." Tatara laughed as his sister pulled herself up onto her hands and knees, before crawling half way onto the bench.

She opened her eyes to shout at Mikoto for throwing her, only to find that her now empty ramen bowl was sitting on the table directing before her. "More." That single word from Mikoto was enough to push her into full on bitch mode. She picked up the plastic bowl and threw it at him, hitting him square in the forehead with just enough force that his head rocked back ever so slightly.

"DON'T STEAL MY FOOD THEN ASK ME FOR SECONDS, DICK WEED!"

"Bye King! Izumo!" Tatara waved enthusiastically at the backs of Izumo and Mikoto as they went their separate ways from that Totsuka twins. Izumo was the only one to wave back, making Taka tsk in annoyance; Mikoto had always been to arrogant for her liking. She liked Izumo though, and returned his wave with a two fingered one of her own.

"Seriously Tatara, I don't know what you see in that guy." Taka said earning an eye roll from her older brother. " He's just so- so-"

"Intriguing? Enthralling? Kingly?"

Taka grimaced at her brothers adoration towards the infuriating red head. "You know if you like him that much, you should probably just confess. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to understand subtly."

Tatara laughed joyously, his right hand coming up to wave off her disgust. "Taka, you're so funny! Of course, I do agree with you about how dense our dear King can be at times."

"Please don't lump me in with your delusion." Taka said as she turned to walk away, leaving her brother and his unwavering mirth to follow behind her. The two of them continued on in relative silence, with Tatara humming a light tune under his breath and Taka walking with her hands laced behind her head, her lips pulled into a small pout.

This was how they spent the majority of their time when not with Mikoto and Izumo. Patrolling the streets, stopping into various shops as they went to satisfy Tatara's ever growing list of hobbies. It was a way to pass the time as they both avoided going home for as long as possible. "Oh, Taka, look at this!" Tatara held up a not so impressive looking bonsai tree, which looked much more like a twig set in an ugly terracotta pot full of dried up earth.

Taka pinched her nose at the rotting smell that came from the pot, and pushed it away from her face. "Gross! Don't just shove rotting trees under my nose like that!" Tatara only laughed at her out burst as he continued to examine the obviously dying plant. "What could you possibly want with that old, dried out stick?"

"Why, I want to nurse it back to health of course!" Tatara said as he checked the price tag, grimacing slightly. "Though I think I'll have to pass on this one..." He set the potted plant back down before turning towards her with a wide smile. Taka glanced between him and the plant, her pout growing into a frown. "Well, should we start heading home?"

"Hmm..." Taka took out her PDA, checking the time stamp; it was nearly eight thirty. "Yeah; the dead beat should be gone by the time we get there." Tatara chuckled a bit under his breath before walking past her and out into the busy street. Taka took another look at the dried up bonsai tree before following her brother out of the shop.

The toe of her converse scuffed the pavement just moments before the sound of the flesh hitting flesh resonated heavily in the densely populated street. Glancing up, she half expected to see a couple of drunken idiots fighting over some slutted up chick; she was not however, prepared to catch Tatara who came falling back into her, leaving both of them sprawled out on the sidewalk. "Tatara, what-?!" Pushing her brother just far enough away from her to get a look at his face, her eyes widened in shock when she spied a trail of blood trickling down his chin from the corner of his mouth. "What the hell-!"

It felt like her head had been split open at the temple by a metal bat; she would later learn that it had actually been a size thirteen steel toed boot that had taken her by surprise. She tried to fight back as what seemed to be hundreds of hands made a grab for her and Tatara. She managed to grab one of them with her right hand, and willed their energy away from them, feeling the smallest ray of hope when she watched them fall to the ground. Taka's victory was short lived, however, when the same heavy force that had struck her head came crashing down onto her hand, resulting in a series of snaps and crackling to come from said appendage. The pain was excruciating, and it coupled with her profusely bleeding temple made her vision begin to black out.

Ahead of her she could barely make out the top of Tatara's head, as he lay on the ground in the fetal positon, taking blow after blow with barely a sound. She tried to reach out for him with her shattered hand, but she was stopped by the same guy as before, though this time he'd slammed his foot into the middle of her back, knocking the wind out of her. Was this it for them? They came into the world together in a violent, unimaginable way. So it only made sense that they should die together too, right?... this what they call cruel irony? Avoiding going home to an abusive free loader, only to get beaten to death on the streets...

The sound of sirens and running foot falls soon met her ears, and just like that the beating was over, their assailants making a run for it just as the flashing lights of Scepter 4 appeared. Pushing herself up onto her knees with her good hand, Taka managed to drag herself over to her brothers side. "A-ani..." She didn't get a response at first and fear gripped her heart. "A-ani! Answer me, damn it!" It took but a second after her out burst for him to move his head, his brown eyes peeking up at her through the curtain of his sandy hair. Oddly enough, he smiled at her. "Ani..."

"D-don't look at me like that Imoto... I-it's gonna be alright..." His speech was slurred, and blood coated his teeth. Just before the medical team got to them, Tatara lost consciousness, his ever present smile fading. Taka reached for him again, but was stopped by a member of the medical team as they came to kneel between the two siblings. Once again Taka found herself surrounded by strangers, but this time around she felt no pain. At least, not in the physical sense.

"You okay Mikoto?" Izumo stood behind his beloved bar, a long stemmed glass held in one hand while he shined it with another. His closest and oldest friend, Suoh Mikoto, leaned heavily against the bar from the other side, his brows furrowed and his mouth pulled into a deeper frown then normal. He was dressed in his high school uniform, having just finished that days classes, and was promptly ignoring the cup of tea he had requested upon entering the HOMRA Bar. "You've been tense since yesterday; still thinking about those kid's that have been hanging around?"

"You mean that annoying little brat and his bitch of a sister?" Mikoto said, the underlying bitterness in his voice making Izumo pop a small smile.

"You gotta admire his persistence; he doesn't seem to care that you hate it when people come around and kiss up to you all the time." Izumo set the glass down, an even wider smile coming to his face. "His sister on the other hand, seems like she couldn't care less if you just dropped dead on the spot. As different as night and day, those two-hm?" The phone at the opposite end of the bar rang, stopping Izumo mid sentence. "But you gotta admit, they both got balls."

Mikoto's frown, if at all possible, deepened. From behind him he heard Izumo answer the phone, but he didn't pay him much mind as his own thoughts were starting to wonder a bit. Yeah, those twins sure where a pain in the ass; and Izumo was right, they were as different as night and day. It was hard for Mikoto to decide which one pissed him off more."-Thanks for calling. Yeah, don't worry, I'll take care of it." Hearing Izumo hang up the phone, and catching the forlorn tone in his voice, made Mikoto perk up and glance at his friend over his shoulder.

"Uhh, well... I'm not sure how to tell you about this." Izumo said, turning towards Mikoto with a trouble look on his normally passive face.

"Tell me what?"

Izumo sighed and scratched the top of his head in a hesitant manner. "Those kids we were just talking about; that was Taka. I guess they were jumped last night, and landed up in the hospital. Tatara insisted that she call us..."

Mikoto tsked and turned away from Izumo, his hands balling into tight fists. Those idiots.

Tatara Totsuka looked like shit. His left leg and arm were in casts, a thick gauze bandage was tapped to his cheek which looked swollen and severely discolored, and a tight bandage was wrapped around his head. But despite looking like he'd just been hit by a city bus, he was casually reading a book. When Izumo and Mikoto stepped into his room, the smile that lit up his face wasn't any less radiant as it normally was, though he did wince when the action stretched his bruised cheek. "What a surprise, what brings you here King?"

"King of what, exactly?" Izumo asked as he walked over to the bed side table and set down what looked to be a twig set in an ugly terracotta pot full of dried up earth. "Here; your sister said that you were interested in bonsai. Though I'd be damned why she insisted that we get you the sickest looking tree we could find."

"Ah," Tatara smiled warmly at the weakened little tree. "I'm hoping to nurse it back to health. It seems wrong to just leave it alone, when it's in such a sad state. It was very nice of you to bring it, even if it was by my imoto's request."

"Who jumped you, kid?" Mikoto said, clearly not interested in the small talk. Tatara looked his way, the warm smile never once faltering.

"Listen pal," Izumo said, regaining Tatara's attention. "If you keep hanging around this guy, you're gonna be spending a lot of your time in the hospital. That goes for Taka too." Izumo gestured towards Mikoto, who didn't seem to be the least bit offended why Izumo's words. "You might think the two of you will be safe, being near someone this strong, but you'll find out the exact opposite is true."

Tatara chuckled a little. "We'll be fine, don't worry; Takara is a lot stronger then she looks. They just got the jump on us is all."

"Maybe you didn't hear what I was tellin'ya." Izumo said just a second before Mikoto lifted up his foot and kicked the end of Tatara's bed, making the teen jump in surprise.

"Don't play around." Mikoto said, his amber eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Tell me who did this."

Like a switch had been flipped, the soft smile of Tatara was replaced with a somber frown. "Before I tell you who it was, I have a huge favor I need to ask regarding Taka. Will you hear me out?" Mikoto and Izumo shared a side long glance, before Mikoto nodded his agreement. "Okay... it's my foot." A heavy pause filled the room, and before Mikoto and Izumo knew what was happening, Tatara's smile was back in place and all seriousness had vanished. "It really itches like crazy! Could you scratch it for me? I'd ask Taka, but she'd probably just hit me with her cast!"

Izumo quirked a disbelieving brow at the teen who lay covered in bandages before them. "Huh?" Tatara only chuckled at their confusion, wiggling his toes that peeked out from the foot of his cast. Much to Izumo's further surprise, Mikoto actually did it. He didn't look to happy about it, but he actually reached over and scratched Tatara's foot. And then, much to Izumo's relief, he punched Tatara atop his head. For a second, Izumo was staring to think that Mikoto had lost his mind.

As Mikoto stalked out of the room, he could hear Izumo scolding Tatara about something or other. To be honest, he didn't really care at the moment. He was so infuriated with the whole mess. He knew, in some way, this this was his fault. He'd let those two tag along and now they've gone and ended up in the hospital, jumped by a few no good thugs just looking to pick a fight with him- "Whoa, what did that window ever do to you, Red?"

Mikoto let out a rather shallow sigh; he was already on edge. He really didn't need her ganging up on him right now. "Just go away." He said as she came to stand directly beside him. He didn't bother to look her way; he'd recognize that annoying voice anywhere. But he did look at her reflection, and what he saw only made his foul mood worse.

Taka wasn't a weak woman; while he actually tried not to go all out on her when they would fight, he knew that she had some power in her. Unlike her ditzy brother, Taka had what it took to win a fight. So seeing her in a full arm cast and a gauzed up head just pissed him off; she was better than that. But like Tatara had said, who ever these people were, they had gotten the jump on the twins. It made Mikoto wonder if the outcome would have been different if Taka had seen the attack coming. "If I could leave this place I would, but they gave me an anklet that triggers the alarm system if I step foot outside this hall. Fuckers."

Mikoto grunted, and just like that the tension in his shoulders lessoned. If she could fire off at the mouth then she couldn't be hurting that bad. "Are you gonna tell me who did this, or am I gonna have to hit you too?"

Taka leaned heavily against the window with her good side, laying her injured temple against it's cool surface. "Like hell I'm gonna let those bastards get away with what they did to Tatara." Mikoto glanced down at her, an expectant look in his eye. "All I can remember is getting hit in the head with something really hard; a witness said that one of the guys kicked me with black steel toed work boots. Guess they were all wearing them. I also remember seeing white scarves; they all had one tied around their upper arm."

"Hmm..."

She looked up at him, and he was surprised by the level of anger he saw in her eyes. Sure, they were normally always at each others throats; they just didn't mix well. But this time was different. The depth of her anger was almost terrifying, or at least he's sure it would have been to anyone else. "If you find who did this, and you happen to feel in a generous mood, give them a few good whacks for Tatara."

"What about you?" Mikoto willed himself to disengage their staring contest and returned to looking out the window. "You're in here too."

She snorted. "If I hadn't let him leave with out me, then this wouldn't have happened." He looked at her reflection, his brow furrowing in confusion. "He might be older than me, but I've always lead the way for him. I've always been his protector. But this time I failed at my job." She tucked her injured arm into her side, a certain level of resolve falling onto her face. "I deserve the beating I got." Mikoto sighed, and slammed his fist into the top of her head, abut a lot softer then he had to Tatara a moment ago. Taka squawked none the less, her uninjured left hand coming up to grab at her scalp. "Holy mother of- you prick, I already have a fucking concussion, why the hell would you hit me?!" She socked him back with her left hand, hitting him right in the gut and instantly regretting her decision when she hit solid muscle. "Shit, mother fuckin' dick weed son of a-"

"There." Mikoto reached out and laid his hand on top of her still throbbing head, making her pause in her cursing. "Now you've had the beating you deserve. Idiot." And with that he walked away, leaving her fuming in the hall.

"One of these days Mikoto, I'm gonna stick my foot up your ass and use you as a leg warmer!" Shaking out her newly injured left hand, she cursed under her breath before turning to continue on her original path of Tatara's room. She was met by the amused face of Izumo who held his hands up in surrender as if by force of habit. "Damn, will you please start feeding him things that are higher in fat so when I punch him I don't break my hand?"

Izumo chuckled a little. "I'll do my best; thank you for taking the time to talk to him though. I was worried that he was going to lose his cool in the middle of the hospital." Taka tsked and turned her head to the side, a sour look on her face.

"As if I did it to calm him down; if anything I was hoping to pick a fight with him." She shrugged and made her way past Izumo who had a look of surprise. "It's boring as hell in this place; but I guess he wasn't in the mood to fight. Damn it."

Izumo watched her walk into Tatara's room, and he instantly heard her yelling at him for not telling Mikoto anything about he men that had attacked them...yeah, those two are as different as night and day... Mikoto and Takara however...

The day that Tatara and Takara were released from the hospital couldn't have come soon enough for the younger twin. If she had to spend another week in that place, she might have gnawed her foot off to be rid the anklet and escaped. Tatara couldn't help the chuckle that left him as he watched his younger sister practically bounce on the balls of her feet while he finished checking them out. With his nearly dead bonsai in hand, and Taka at the back of his chair pushing him forward, they exited the hospital at long last."FREEDOM!"

"You're so silly Taka; we were only in there for a couple of weeks." Tatara said as Taka took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air despite the distinct chill that was present.

"Yeah, I know; but I was dying of boredom." She said before taking the lead, pushing her brother in some random direction. It was a little harder than expected, given her right arm was still in a cast up to her elbow (the full arm cast had been deemed ready to come off after the second week, thank god), but she managed not to hit anyone. It felt nice to have some semblance of normalcy back in their lives, even if their aimless wondering was all they had at the moment. "Speaking of dying, are you sure that bonsai is still alive?"

Tatara nodded his head with enthusiasm, and held it up for her to examine over his shoulder. "Of course it is! Just look at the base of the trunk; see? It's already starting to grow green!"

"...Isn't that moss?" The two siblings stopped and glanced over their shoulders, surprised to find Izumo and Mikoto heading their way. It had been Izumo who had spoken to them.

"Hmmm, I guess it could be." Tatara said with an optimistic smile. "But I like to think of it as a step in the right direction! Speaking of a step in the right direction, what a surprise meeting the two of you here!"

"You got out early." Mikoto said, his sharp amber eyes glancing between the two twins and their injuries. Taka shrugged her shoulders and turned Tatara so that he could face the other two properly.

"No reason to stay there any longer than we have to." She said earning an eye roll from Tatara.

"More like Takara badgered them into letting us out." He laughed despite his sister shooting him a sour look. "I thought she was going to throw the poor nurse out the window."

"It's still not to late for me to abandon your ass here, ani." Takara said earning a sheepish giggle from Tatara. "Anyway, we should be heading home; our dad is expecting us-?" Takara blinked in mild surprise when Izumo walked over and took of the wheel chair from Taka, asking Tatara for directions to their home. "Um... could I consider this kidnapping?" She asked as Izumo started to push Tatara in the direction of their apartment. She frowned; she wasn't really planning on taking him home yet... not while there was a chance the dead beat was home.

"You coming?"

Taka jumped at the sound of Mikoto's voice so close to her, drawing her out of her troubling thoughts. "Doesn't look like I have much of a choice." Mikoto grunted in response and the two took off after Izumo and Tatara. Taka was mentally flogging herself; if she had known that they were going to come today, she wouldn't have pushed leaving so soon. She would have much rather them not know. But now, they were walking Tatara and herself home; and that's not somewhere she wanted to be.

"If you haven't recovered, you shouldn't have left." Mikoto said, sounding more than a bit frustrated at her.

She shrugged. "Tatara wasn't kidding before; I was losing my mind in that place. I hate being sedentary for so long." She looked down at her right forearm, which was tucked gently against her side now that she wasn't pushing Tatara. Looking past her arm she spied what looked to be white bandages wrapped around Mikoto's knuckles, the sight making her brow furrow. "...did you find them?" Mikoto gave her a side long glance, grunting in response. "I know you didn't have to do anything; it's not like you owe him an ounce of your concern. And even if you didn't do it for him-"

"Shut up." Mikoto said, his brow furrowed in frustration.

Takara felt her temper flare up. "I'm just trying to say thank you, ass!" She hissed out at him, determined not to draw attention from Izumo and Tatara who seemed perfectly happy in their own little conversation.

"Just say it." Mikoto sighed the words, sounding truing exhausted with the entire conversation. Takara puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. They walked in a tense silence for the next couple blocks, with neither wiling to even glance the others way. It wasn't until they were in the home stretch that Takara decided to swallow her pride.

"Thank you." She tried hard not to sound begrudging, and it seemed to have worked seeing as all she got in return was a small nod. They neared the front door to their ground floor apartment, and Taka couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh when she didn't spot the dead beats car. She trotted forward, putting herself in front of Izumo and Tatara in order to open the front door and allow Izumo to wheel her brother in. Her previous regret to allowing the two men to escort them home came reeling back, however, when she stepped into the apartment. Empty beer bottles and dirty dishes littered every surface, and there were burns in the carpet from go only knows what. The air reeked of vomit and sex, though it seemed that where ever the dead beat was now, it had been a while since he'd been home. "Fucking Christ." She didn't try to hide the anger in her voice as she walked into the apartment and started just kicking things out of the way. Izumo and Mikoto shared a look behind the siblings backs, but they didn't dare voice their opinions. Or at least, Izumo didn't.

"Is this normal?" Mikoto asked as he spied a particularly interesting looking plate that seemed to have started to sprout it's own eco system. Takara glared at him over her shoulder.

"Thank you for walking us home." Tatara said before his sister could go ape shit on the seemingly oblivious Mikoto. "With Taka's arm, I'm sure we would of had to make a few stops along the way."

Izumo took Tatara's queue and started for the door, pushing Mikoto out ahead of him. "Don't even mention it! Feel free to stop by the bar when ever you like." He flashed them both a wide smile before effectively shoving Mikoto out the door and shutting it behind them.

Takara scoffed, her temper still flaring from Mikoto's idiotic statement. ""Is this normal?" What an ass!" She hissed beneath her breath as she made her way into the small kitchenette in search for a garbage bag. Tatara watched her go, sighing ever so softly as he took in the mess around them; this was going to be a long night for the both of them.

Izumo took a long drag off his cigarette, a worry line scoring his brow. "Your lack of tact never ceases to amaze me." He said, earning a grumpy grunt from the younger man beside him. "It should have been obvious from her reaction that their place doesn't normally look like that."

"She's always pissy." Mikoto said, sounding almost as tired as Izumo felt.

Izumo rubbed the back of is neck, trying to ward off his growing headache. "Well maybe now we know why. I don't know about you, but I didn't hear a single thing about their dad coming to see them in the hospital."

"She calls him Dead Beat." Izumo gave him a curious look making Mikoto sigh in annoyance. "I've heard her when talking to Tatara." Izumo makes a thoughtful sound, and the two continue their trek in silence.

Taka thought her arm was going to fall off. It had taken her nearly four hours to fully clean up the apartment, or at least make it look decent. Washing dishes with only one good hand had been a nightmare. The carpet burns would never come out, but at least the place didn't smell like fornication. She was currently in the bed room that she shared with Tatara, the two of them relaxing on their shared bed. "I wonder where he is." Tatara said, earning a side long glance from his sister.

"Who knows? Or cares for that matter." She said, turning over onto her side. "I'm just happy to be back in my own bed, even though it means having to be back here again." Tatara made a sound of agreement before the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Takara's mind wondered back to their time spent in the hospital; it had truly been a boring time. When Izumo and Mikoto weren't there, she had no one to talk to and nothing to occupy her mind with. She wasn't like Tatara, who could talk to anyone about anything, or read a book about nonsense. She was far more physical than her twin, and needed constant physical stimulation in order to not loose her literal shit... as her mind continued to wonder, she began to feel drowsy. Glancing over at Tatara she couldn't help but smile when she found him sound asleep, his casted arm tucked awkwardly above his head. Deciding not to fight it off, she allowed herself to fall into a particularly peaceful sleep.

"Suoh Mikoto, I swear on all that is holy and pure in this world, if you don't lay off me I'm going to throat punch you." Taka wasn't sure what had started todays fight. There was a part of her that was pretty certain that the two of them had simply looked at each other and an nonverbal agreement had been met; today, we fight. And while they had always been testy towards each other, she couldn't help but notice just how testy her redheaded mortal enemy had been over the last few months. Yes, fucking MONTHS. It had been almost three months since the jumping, and ever since the day she and Tatara had been released from the hospital, Mikoto had been going through some major PMS.

It was like Mikoto was just in the mood to fight, and she was more than happy to take him up on his offer. The Dead Beat had been around more often than she was comfortable with, and she would take any reason as a good reason to let off some steam. "I'd like to see you try." He said, his amber eyes smoldering from across the room. She glared back with equal intensity. Challenge accepted.

Sitting at the bar Tatara and Izumo glanced between the two wearily. They could sense the fight brewing, and this time around it sounded like it was going to get physical. Rather than try to step between the two, Izumo let out a pensive sigh. "If the two of you are going to get into a fight, do so outside and not in my bar." He said, exasperated by the two of them. The arch enemies didn't even spare him a glance before they stood and moved towards the front door, heading out into the street in a rather orderly fashion considering they were about to beat the shit out of each other. "I swear, the tension between those two grows stronger by the hour."

"King seems to be on edge lately..." Tatara's worry caught Izumo off guard for a moment. It was rare for the young man to show anything but jubilation, which often made it hard to tell what he was truly feeling. "Maybe he's using Taka as a way to get over whatever's bothering him."

"Mikoto isn't as complicated as all that. If something were bothering him, he'd most likely just go out and put a stop to it. He's just been bored." Izumo said earning a curious look from Tatara. "You know, Taka said something interesting to me the first time we visited the two of you in the hospital." The bartender leaned against his bar top, his head resting lazily in the palm of his hand. "She said that she was bored stiff; when I left your room, I saw the two of them talking. Mikoto was pretty pissed off at you, and I had been worried that he was going to loose his cool in the hospital. But he seemed to have calmed down after talking to Taka. The thing is, she told me that she only talked to him because she was hoping that he would want to fight."

Tatara laughed at that, earning a quirked brow from Izumo. "Yeah, that sounds just like Taka for sure." Tatara's smile turned sad, his normally bright eyes becoming fogged with emotion. "Taka's always been a fighter. I'm sure you've come to realize that our home life isn't the greatest, at least not by normal standards. Once our mom walked out, our dad became pretty abusive towards us, though he always seemed to favor me. Guess he knew I wasn't able to fight back." Tatara's smile was back again, the ease in which he spoke of his abuse catching Izumo off guard. "But after a while, Taka started to get in his way. Naturally, it didn't stop him, but I think Taka said something to him. One day he just stopped hitting me." Tatara's face grew dark, a bitter frown falling onto his lips, so unlike his normal carefree smile. "I'm positive that she told him to leave me alone; that she would take all the beatings he had to offer. Ever since then, she's gotten into the habit of getting into fist fights, though shes backed off quite a lot in the last year."

Izumo's frown deepened; he had no idea exactly how bad their situation was. Sure, he could tell from his one and only visit to their apartment that their dad was an alcoholic, probably had some kind of gambling problem and liked to being home random women. But to beat up on his kids... that was pushing it past the line of acceptable in Izumo's mind. Not that he could truly do anything about it. "Sounds like she looks for fights because she thinks she deserves the beating..."

Tatara shrugged, his previous sadness having evaporated in an instant. "Who knows? As far as it goes with King, maybe it's just their morbid way of flirting with each other."

Izumo rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't let either of them hear you say that."

That night, Taka and Tatara were walking home, with the former sporting a few good sized bruises on her jaw and a busted lip. She walked with a bit of limp now to, having landed awkwardly after Mikoto had thrown her; he'd gone pretty hard on her today, but as for what was bothering him, he hadn't indulged her. Not that she expected him too; they definitely weren't the feeling type. "Taka, why do you always fight with King?"

Taka glanced over her shoulder at Tatara, who looked genuinely curious (if not even a little concerned) to hear her answer. She thought over his question in her head; why did they always fight? What had started todays fight? He'd said something about her wearing a long sleeved shirt in August. Not that she'd ever tell him why she'd been wearing such concealing clothing as opposed to her normal tanks and T's... "Well... I'm not entirely sure, but every time he opens his mouth I just want to choke him out." She scowled, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Hell, there are even times that just seeing his stupid face throws me into a rage. To be honest, if it wasn't for your morbid fascination with him, I would avoid him like the plague. I'm sure the feeling is mutual."

Tatara frowned. "So, you truly dislike him?" He shook his head. "I just don't understand; I thought the two of you would get on just fine, seeing as you're so similar."

Taka spun around so quickly that Tatara nearly ran right into her. A deep, dark emotion boiled in her honey brown eyes, but if it intimidated Tatara at all he did a very good job of hiding it. "Don't ever compare me to that man! We're nothing alike at all! He's stubborn, and arrogant, and hot headed!" Tatara laughed out right at her, making her scowl deepen.

"I'm sorry Imoto, but if you're going to insist that you're nothing like someone, you should try picking out traits the two of you don't share." Taka quirked a brow at him, though it was obvious that she was far from ready to accept what he was saying with out a fight. "It's okay to like someone, Imoto. Even if it doesn't always make sense."

Taka felt her cheeks grow hot. "Where in the hell- I don't like that dick weed! And I'm highly insulted that you would insinuate such a thing!" With out giving him time to respond, Taka turned on her heel and started marching away...the NERVE of him... insinuating that I could like an ass hat like Mikoto... Tatara didn't try to close the distance between himself and his sister, and instead left her to stew on her own. When the two made it back to their apartment, two things became blatantly obvious.

Number one: the dead beat was home.

Number two: they wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.

It was seven AM when Izumo came upon a curious sight; huddled on the front steps of HOMRA, his jacket pulled tight around his shoulders sat Tatara. Worry instantly took hold of Izumo's heart. "Tatara?" At the sound of his name the young teen stirred, his tired honey brown eyes peeking up at the bartender though his messy bangs. Izumo sighed and pulled out his keys. "Come on; let's get you warmed up." Tatara followed him in at a sluggish pace, something that was distinctly out of character for the normally up beat teen. His spirits lifted ever so slightly when Izumo placed a large mug of hot cocoa on the bar top and pushed it towards him. "Here, before you catch your death." Tatara took the mug up into his hands, sighing contentedly at the welcome heat of it. "Long night?" Izumo probed, hoping to gain some semblance of a reason for the normally vivacious teens droopy eyes.

"You could say that..." Tatara said, trying in vein to force a smile onto his face.

Izumo took one look at that smile before letting out a rather low sigh. "Alright, no beating around the bush this time." Tatara's eyes widened in surprise as Izumo leaned across the bar to level out with him. "Tell me what happened."

Tatara blinked owlishly, his trademark grin slipping easily into place. "I'm sorry, Izumo, but I'm not sure what you mean. Nothings happened, a least nothing out of the ordinary. Everything's fine!"

"Forgive me, Tatara, but I'm not buying into what you're saying." Izumo said, and just like that the smile had faded from Tatara's face. "Where's Taka? Normally it's like pullig teeth to get her to let you out of her sight. Maybe I should just call her and see what's going on."

Tatara shook his head ever so slightly. "I'm afraid that you wont be able to reach her for a while. Imoto isn't feeling very well today..." Izumo was at a loss; the way Tatara was talking, looking like a kicked puppy, made it difficult for him to accept that Taka was simply not "feeling well". Especially after what Tatara had told him about their home situation just the other day. And, if that wasn't prof enough that something was up with the two twins, then hearing Tatara call his sister Imoto was a dead give away.

Izumo sighed, his mouth falling into a grim line. "Alright. You can stay here for as long as you need to." He pulled his PDA from his pocket, and hit one on the speed dial. Tatara watched him with curious eyes; who was he calling? "Hey, sorry to bother you. Something's come up with the twins. Yeah... I've got Tatara here... yeah... don't do anything to rash..."

Tatara chuckled nervously as Izumo hung up the phone. "Taka's not gonna be to happy." Izumo shrugged his shoulders and began his morning routine to open the bar, leaving a very tired Tatara to snooze over his cup of cocoa.

Taka winced as the peroxide drenched gauze tugged at a particularly long gash that ran up the back of her left arm. As if having a broken right arm wasn't bad enough, right? Last night had been horrible. It'd been the first time in a long time that their dad had come home that drunk, and he hadn't gone easy on her; apparently he was so concerned over the state of her face from her fight with Mikoto, that he felt she needed to be taught a lesson about not getting into fights. What better way to teach non-violence then by smacking her around a little.

She was just about to give up on cleaning out the rest of her arm when she heard the distinct sound of the dead beat waking up, his wet and heavy cough making her cringe. She wondered how much longer he had to live, not that she particularly cared. But as much as Taka hated him, she hoped that he would hold out until after Tatara and herself were sixteen. Just a little less than a year left. At least then they could avoid foster care. "Guess I'll have to sneak out the window..." she thought out loud; the idea of facing that man so soon after a fight left a bad taste in the back of her throat, and it wasn't from the blood on her tongue.

Before she finished putting away the first aid kits contents, a loud banging sound could be heard from the front door. Now who in the hell was that- she heard the sound of splintering wood followed by a loud crash and her fathers shout of shocked anger. "Who the hell are you-" Taka made a mad dash for the living room, thinking that someone was trying to break into the apartment. Thank god their wasn't anyone in the duplex above them; this time someone would have been sure to call the cops. Coming out of the hall Taka's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she caught the tail end of the dead beat getting punched in the face.

"W-whoa! Mikoto, what the hell are you doing?!" She shouted as the dead beat lay gasping on the floor. "You can't just kick in people's doors-"

"Shut up." Mikoto snapped at her before lifting his foot and kicking her dad in the side. Taka intervened then, running over and getting between Mikoto and her dad before the older and much stronger teen could do any more damage. "Get out of my way, Totsuka!"

"The fuck I will! This has nothing to do with you!" She pushed against him in an effort to put more distance between him and her dead beat of a father, but she may as well have been trying to move a brick wall with how little progress she was making. Her father took this moment to scramble to his feet and into the kitchen, pulling out one drawer after another, leaving their contents scattered on the floor in his wake. "Get out!"

A loud crack, like thunder, echoed through the small apartment. It took Mikoto and Taka a moment to realize what had happened, Taka's hand shakily moving from Mikoto's chest to her abdomen where her fingers curled into the fabric of her tank top squeezing out the blood that had started to soak through. "O-oh..." The small gasp of shock was all she could muster before her knees gave out from under her. Mikoto barely caught her under her arms, his own shock quickly bleeding into furry as she became dead weight against him.

Taka's dead beat of a father looked upon them with horror, his entire body shaking so violently that he looked as though he too could faint at any moment. "I-I... she-" He instantly regretted trying to speak as Mikoto, who had been trying fruitlessly to stem the bleeding of Taka's wound, shifted his burning eyes onto the low life that had shot her in the first place.

"You."

Tatara sat in the same spot he had occupied for the last week, his eyes wondering over the pages of his latest interest, glass blowing. There was a menagerie of beeps and whirring sounds that permeated the air, but by now he had learned to tune them out apart from the steady chirp of the heart monitor. It's one sound he paid close attention to, no matter what ever else he was doing.

The last week had been a hit and miss in that small room; Taka, who had been shot in the back by their father, had flat lined on two separate occasions in the first three days. The panic that had gripped Tatara's heart in those ten minutes it took to bring her back had damn near been enough to make him drop dead himself. Their father, the son of a bitch, was dead; the stress of shooting his own daughter and the third degree burns he had sustained after a freak explosion at their apartment were enough to do him in. Oddly enough, both Taka and Mikoto escaped said explosion, which was chalked up as a gas leak incident, unscathed. Tatara was sure that if she had gotten even the slightest bit of damage from the fire, Taka would have died along side their father...

A knock at the door broke Tatara from his ever darkening train of thought. "Please come in," he called out, grateful to welcome any form of company at the moment. Not even he, in his unfathomable good nature, could hold out against the gloom that came with the near loss of his sister. His spirits were doubly lifted when the familiar face of Izumo entered, a comforting smile set on his lips. "Izumo, what a surprise; I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow. Decided to close up shop early today I presume."

Izumo nodded his head, producing a grocery bag and holding it out for Tatara to take. "I was on my way home when I decided to stop by and see how things were progressing. I brought you some thing to eat too." Tatara took the bag with a brilliant smile, obviously over joyed to be able to eat something besides hospital food. "I take it she hasn't woken up yet?"

Tatara shook his head as he set the bag down. "Nope!" He stretched his arms above his head, his ever present smile falling a fraction of an inch. "I'm not going to push her to either; she deserves a long rest after all that's happened." He stood up then and walked over to his sisters side, waving his hand in front of her face. "Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't think she's faking being asleep some times. Every once in a while the heart monitor will pick up, but the nurses tell me she's most likely having a dream when that happens."

Izumo quirked a curious brow. "I didn't know that people in comas could dream."

"Me neither!" Tatara went over to the small side table and picked up a book, holding it out for Izumo to read the cover. It was a medical text book that focused primarily on the brain and it's many functions, and ailments that could alter said functions. "But I've been reading up on them while she's out, and I have to tell you that for being something so negative, comas are incredibly interesting!"

"You don't say..." Izumo wasn't sure how to take Tatara's newest interest; after all, he only became interested in comas after his sister was put into one. "You never cease to catch me off guard with all your hobbies Tatara." Said teen chuckled and hugged the text book to his chest. "Has Mikoto stopped by yet?"

"No." Tatara said, a thoughtful smile replacing his enthusiasm. "Not that I blame him for avoiding this place; after what happened, I'm sure he's out beating himself up, though I really wish he wouldn't. It's not like he meant for it to happen."

Izumo rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, he's been pretty down this last week. And Scepter 4 has been right up his ass too, since Taka's a Strain." Izumo gave the sheepish Tatara a wilted look. "You know you tow could have warned us about that." His grimace shifted to a look of surprise for a moment, and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, speaking of Scepter 4 I was able to talk to their King; since the two of you are close to being old enough to live on your own, he's willing to bend the rules a little. You don't have to worry about going into foster care."

Tatara's face glowed at the news. "That's amazing! Taka will be so happy to hear that when she wakes up!" He turned back towards his sister and bent over, poking her in the cheek. "Hear that Imoto? We don't have to go into foster care-hm?" Tatara stood straight up then, his finger coming to his chin in thought. "But where are we going to stay now that the apartment's gone? Taka's going to worry herself into another coma over that, though I'm sure it'll all work out in the end."

"We'll think of something." Izumo said, the wheels in his head already turning. "If nothing else I could rent you guys a couple rooms above HOMRA; I could always use a couple extra pairs of hands during rush hour at the bar."

Tatara flashed him a sweet smile. "Thanks for the offer Izumo; I'll be sure to talk to Taka about it when she wakes up." Izumo nodded his head in understanding; he knew that the two siblings would never live apart from each other if they could help it. "Will you talk to King for me?"

"Hm? About what?"

Tatara's smile became docile, and his eyes solemn. "I think he needs to come here. She might wake up if he does."

Izumo looked down at the unresponsive Taka, his brow furrowed in confusion. "And what makes you say that?"

"Oh, just call it intuition."

"Hell no."

Izumo sighed in exasperation. He'd been trying to ease Mikoto into the idea of going to visit Taka in the hospital for nearly three days now. Said young woman had yet to wake up, though it seemed that health wise they were in the clear. "You can't avoid her for the rest of your life; especially since there's a good chance they might be living here soon."

"You're being awfully stubborn Mikoto," Izumo and Mikoto both glanced to Mikoto's left. Sitting at the bar was a long time friend of Mikoto's, Reisi Munakata. Izumo quirked a brow at him while Mikoto's scowl deepened. "After all, it is partially your fault that she's in this state to begin with. The least you could do is visit her."

Mikoto growled and turned his back on his supposed friend. "Fuck off." Munakata chuckled, and Izumo was left wondering the same thing he always was when ever Munakata came around.

He just couldn't see what made the two of them friends. They didn't fight like Taka and Mikoto, but they sure as hell didn't see eye to eye on a majority of topics. Mikoto was brash, and had a violent temper. He was more likely to beat someone into a coma and then try to ask questions, and he sure as hell didn't think rationally when it came to obtaining what he wanted. Munakata on the other hand was cool and collected; hard to anger and even harder to catch off guard, everything he did he did with a purpose. He could talk circles around anyone, and he had a knack for digging straight into the heart of matters. But the mutual respect and trust shown between the two polar opposites couldn't be faked.

Munakata finished the last of his tea and laid a couple bills down to cover is tab. "Sitting here punishing yourself isn't going to change what happened." He said making Mikoto and Izumo both stiffen up. "If you really want to repent, you can start by being there when she wakes up." Munakata stood then and headed for the front door, waving at Mikoto and Izumo over his shoulder. "I'll be back after the Totsuka twins have settled in; Scepter 4 wants to make sure that the Strain, Taka, is properly cared for under the Third King." Mikoto visibly flinched, his hands clenching into fists in a failed attempt to hide the red aura that was slowly starting to seep from his palms.

Izumo sighed and waved back, though he was sure that Munakata hadn't even notice. "See you soon." No sooner had the door the bar clicked shut then did Mikoto get to his feet and stalk towards the back. "Don't go there if you're just gonna be all pissed off. Scepter 4 did a pretty good job explaining away the apartment fire." Mikoto paused mid step, his right hand resting on the back doors handle. "They wont be able to do so if something happens in the hospitals ICU."

Mikoto grit his teeth in aggravation. "Shit." Slamming the door open with his shoulder, he stalked away from the bar, leaving a partially melted door handle in his wake. He would go visit her; but first he had to blow off some steam.

All he had to do was take another step, but it was proving far more difficult than Mikoto would ever admit. After all it wasn't every day that he would come to visit a coma patient, let alone someone who's coma was partially his fault. He'd done exactly what Izumo had warned him not to do; he'd gone and lost his temper, broke down a door, inadvertently put a relatively innocent teenage girl in a coma, and blew up an apartment building in less than half an hour. He hadn't even meant to go there to start anything, but that all changed when he saw the car parked out side of the apartment. If that bastard hadn't been home... Mikoto let out a pensive sigh; he couldn't push all the blame onto a dead man, no matter how worthless he'd been when he was alive. But now what was he supposed to do? It's not like he could just act like nothing had happened; a man was dead, and Taka- the only thing that saved her, is the fact that she's a Strain. But what if-

"Oh, King!" Mikoto felt his mouth twitch into a frown when the ever enthusiastic Tatara poked his head out of the hospital room door. "I'm so happy to see you! Taka is to, though she may not realize it right now." Mikoto's shoulders visibly slumped; how was Tatara able to compound his guilt with less than fifteen words? "Ah, sorry I'm being rude; please come in! I was just getting ready to talk to her."

Mikoto reluctantly entered the hospital room, and was relatively surprised by what he found. Despite having obviously been sleeping for quite some time, she looked relatively healthy. The last time she'd heard anything from Izumo about her condition, she'd still had a breathing tube and was covered in wires. Now the breathing tube was gone, though there was still a feeding tube going in through her nose...that looks ridiculous and uncomfortable... and the only wires that were still attached consisted of three on her forehead, and a couple on her chest beneath her gown and blanket. The heart monitor was giving off a steady reading, and it sounded strong.

"-it'll help her wake up sooner."

"Hm?" Mikoto shifted his eyes away from the unconscious Taka towards her twin, who was giving him the oddest of smiles.

"I said, that the doctor recommended that we talk to her as often as we can." Tatara said before taking up one of the two chairs that resided on the left side of the bed. "He said that hearing familiar voices can help a person wake up faster."

Mikoto's brow furrowed in confusion. "And what the hell are we supposed to say?"

Tatara put a thoughtful finger to his chin, his eyes rolling up in thought. "Hmm, he wasn't specific really, so I guess you can say what ever you want." He leaned back in his chair, his hands coming to fold together in his lap. "I don't think it's the words that matter really; it's the sound of someone's voice that wakes them up."

Mikoto grunted in frustration. "What ever." He took the chair next to Tatara, sitting with a stiff back and shoulders. He felt so awkward being there; why the hell was Tatara even allowing him to be there? Shouldn't he be calling security, demanding that Mikoto leave? It is his fault that Taka's in this state, and that their dad was dead. Glancing at the older twin, Mikoto frowned; how could he still be so up beat?

"I just remembered!" Tatara jumped to his feet, making Mikoto blink up at him in surprise. "I have to make a quick run to the gift shop, do you mind waiting here with Taka? Normally I would call in a nurse; I'd just hate for her to wake up alone..."

There was absolutely no part of Mikoto that wanted to stay in that room, alone with a coma patient. And worse yet, what if she woke up and saw him there? Tatara seemed to have already forgiven him, but to be honest Mikoto had half expected that to be the case. There didn't seem to be anything that Mikoto could do that would shake this kids unwavering faith in him. But Taka wasn't Tatara; Mikoto half expected her to ban him from ever coming with in twenty yards of her and her brother ever again, or worse, actually try to kill him. "Thanks King! I'll be back in a few!" Mikoto gapped after Tatara who was gone before Mikoto could even begin to deny his request. That sneaky little...

Sighing in defeat, Mikoto sank down into his chair, his arm crossing over his chest and a slight scowl settling over his face. What the hell was he doing there? Walk in and walk out; that had been his plan. But now he was stuck in this room, with nothing but the sound of a heart monitor to keep him company. How has Tatara not pulled his stinkin' hair out by now? Mikoto had only been there for ten minutes, and he was already starting to lose his patients.

"If you would just wake up and stop being stubborn, we could go home." That's it; he's lost his mind. He's talking to an unconscious human being. He's officially reached a new level of boredom that he didn't even know existed. "Damn it..." Mikoto rubbed his hand down his face. "What the hell am I supposed to say?" He sat forward, his eyes trained intently on her face. "I guess I should apologize for blowing up your apartment... and getting you shot... and kicking in your door..." With every confession he wilted a little more, the gravity of his mistakes weighing all the heavier on his heart. "But I wont apologize for what I did to your dad. I knew that bastard was there; and I knew what he'd been doing. Izumo told me, but I'd had my suspicions since the night we walked you two home... but you should have been the one to come to us. I'm guessing that your pride held you back." Mikoto sighed and sat back in his seat, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. "Not that I have any room to judge anyone when it comes to their pride." He scratched his scalp sheepishly, his scowl loosening up across his face. "As stupid as it sounds, I actually kind of miss having the two you around. Life's gotten pretty boring not having someone to fight all the time..."

Flash

Mikoto jumped, startled at the sudden flash of a camera that momentarily blinded him. He jerked his head around, trying to find who had taken the picture. "Wow, I never knew that you could form such long sentences." His head whipped around, and his mouth hung agape in shock as he was met with the mischievous brown eyes of Taka. She waved an old polaroid photo back and forth, a smug smirk on her face. "Hmmmm, so you've actually missed me huh? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't shocked."

"What the hell- you've been awake this whole time?!" Mikoto felt a mix of anger and horror; anger because he'd been tricked into thinking that she was still in a coma, and horrified that he'd been caught actually talking to her while she was "sleeping".

"Not the whole time; I mean, I've been out of the coma for just over ten hours, but I really was sleeping when you got here." Taka looked at her handy work, a bright smile lighting up her face before she placed the photo and the camera on the night stand. "I woke up right around the part about kicking in my door..." Mikoto once again physically wilted, his reaction catching her the slightest bit off guard. She wasn't expecting him to be beating himself up so much over this; after all, it was them. The two people who'd just been trying to kick each others teeth in. "Why such a long face? Tatara already told me what happened."

"Hmm."

Taka sighed. "Ah, back to grunts huh? That's to bad, I was really enjoying our one sided conversation before." A light dusting of pink spread across Mikoto's cheeks making her laugh, though she instantly regretted it as the gesture pulled at her bullet wound. "Gah, bad idea- anyway, you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. And while we're being honest with each other, I'm sorry for getting mad when you showed up." Mikoto perked up a bit, his head cocked to the side and his brow furrowed in confusion. "You were there to help, and you're right, I let my pride get the better of me. I was just really surprised that you of all people would show up, and then I-"

"Shut up." Mikoto sighed and slouched back into his seat. "Just say it."

It was Taka's turn to flush pink, her nervous habit having been picked up by Mikoto once again. "Thank you." Mikoto hummed in response before looking over at the bed side table. "Before you say anything, no. I'm not destroying the photo. Deal with it."

He scowled and turned his head away from her hotly. "What ever."

"Hmmmm..." Taka looked around the room that Izumo had offered to her; it was pretty spacious, with a single bed and a small dresser that had a mirror hanging over top of it. Surprisingly, the furniture looked rather new; she would have to talk to Izumo about paying him back for it once she found a job. There were even some cloths in the dresser, though she was a little concerned about how he had know her sizes. "Probably best to just believe the Tatara told him..."

"Talking to yourself again Taka?" Tatara asked as he came bounding into the room and flopped onto her bed, making the smallest of smile come to her face. They had been through a lot in the last few months, so seeing him acting so care free was a relief.

"I was just admiring our new digs; I'm surprised that we each have our own rooms though." Taka sat on the edge of the bed. "But I guess when you actually see up here, this place is bigger than it looks from down stairs. I wonder what's in the other two bed rooms on this floor."

"Oh, well one belongs to King-"

"Nope." Taka stood from the bed and patted her jean clad legs as if to remove some imaginary dust. "Sorry. Not happening. I'd rather sleep under a bridge-"

"And the other room belongs to Anna."

Taka's ears perked up ever so slightly. Anna? As in, another girl? Living here? With Mikoto and Izumo? "And that would be... who exactly?" Tatara sent her wide grin before rolling off her bed and motioning for her to follow him out of the room. She did so with out a fuss, and when the two arrived at the second door on the left, she was surprised that Tatara knocked respectably.

"King? It's Tatara and Taka. May we come in?"

Taka's nose scrunched up; she didn't want to see him- she wanted to meet Anna-ooooohhhh. Taka's eyes grew wide at the realization; was Anna Mikoto's girl friend? Who in their right mind- "Yeah." Tatara pushed the door open and motioned for Taka to enter before him. Upon walking past the thresh hold, she could instantly understand why this was Mikoto's room. The bed took up most of the space with a couch sitting at the end of it, and as Mikoto was someone prone to falling asleep anywhere at any time, she honestly wasn't all that surprised. How ever she was completely caught off guard when instead of a full grown woman she found a little girl who couldn't be any older than nine or ten dressing in a red Lolita style dress. She had long white hair and red eyes that seemed to stare past Taka's flesh and straight into her soul.

"..." The two stared at each other for a while, with Mikoto and Tatara sharing a curious look themselves. And then Taka moved, placing her self on the floor beside Anna who instantly scooted until she was tucked into Taka's side. "I love her." Taka said making Tatara and smile and Mikoto quirk a brow at the two.

"The brat-" Mikoto grunted when Taka's fist made contact with his thigh, effectively giving him a Charlie horse. "Shit... what the hell was that for?!"

"Don't be mean to the princess, dick weed!"

Anna glanced between the two of them before looking up at Tatara, an unspoken question in her eyes. Tatara smiled down at her and gave formed his fingers into the "okay" sign. "Don't worry, their always like this. It's how they show their affection for each other-"

"As if." Taka and Mikoto said in unison, which lead to another glaring contest by the two. Anna sighed, though she seemed to come to an understanding about their dynamics. She reached out and grabbed Mikoto's pant leg, giving it one firm tug and effectively shifting his attention from Taka to herself.

"Will she be red?"

Now Taka wasn't sure what Anna meant by that, but judging by the frown that Mikoto formed she guessed that he wasn't overly fond of the idea. In fact, when he looked her way again, he entire persona was screaming "hell no". "...maybe."

Taka quirked a brow at him, completely lost at this point. She motioned for Tatara to lean down towards her which he obliged her in doing. "The fuck is he staring at me like that for?" She half whispered to him, her eyes still trained on Mikoto who now looked mildly annoyed by her antics.

"Mikoto is the Third and Red King now. As such, he's able to gift his Aura to others." Tatara turned around and lifted the back of his shirt, showing Taka his left shoulder blade. Etched across his skin was an intricate, almost tribal looking Tattoo with obscure calligraphy reading HMR at the bottom right corner. "If the Aura accepts you, then you are free to wear the Kings Crest."

Taka's frown only deepened; she wasn't offended that Mikoto was reluctant to offer her his Aura. Hell, the two of them already fought like a cat and dog, god only knows they didn't need to add actual fire into the mix. But Tatara had joined... this put Taka in an odd positon. To be honest, she wasn't interested in becoming a Kings pawn; she never had been good at taking orders, and the thought of having Mikoto as her superior made her stomach knot up in mild disgust. But if she didn't join... Taka sighed. "Do you want me to join?" She asked Tatara as he pulled his shirt back down, his signature smile falling onto his face.

"Of course I do! You're my sister." Tatara said, making both Mikoto and Taka frown. "But it's not up to me; only you can choose what to do with your life, Taka."

Taka and Mikoto shared a long look after that, the wheels turning in both of their heads. Could they make this work? "...I'll think about it." Taka said, earning a grunt of acceptance from Mikoto and a pleased grin from Tatara. Anna however looked uncertain, her worried red eyes glancing between Mikoto and Taka.

The last three months have flown by so fast, the date on the calendar nearly gave Taka whiplash. Shortly after moving into HOMRA Bar, Taka and Tatara began working for Izumo, earning their room and board and some cash on the side. The decision of whether or not to join the Red Clan was still up I the air for Taka; to be honest, she had yet to see the appeal. From time to time the members of HOMRA would go out on small missions, usually to beat up some thugs that were getting out of hand in HOMRA territory. Mikoto never really did anything, as he apparently wasn't needed to clean up the riffraff. He spent most of his time at the bar, lounging around. It was like pulling teeth to get him to do anything; Taka could easily compare the Red Clan to a Pride of Lions, and all the members were the lionesses hunting on their Kings behalf. She wasn't fond of the idea.

Also, the fact that she wasn't an official member didn't seem to bother any of the boys that were under Mikoto's rule. Rikio and Chitose were always the first to offer her help in the kitchen, while Bando and Fujishima would tend to the dinning area to help out Tatara and Izumo during the rush hours. It was her time spent with them that made her consider joining HOMRA; they had quickly formed a bond thicker than blood, and watching them go off on their own to beat down some drug dealers always left her pacing the floor. But then Mikoto would come down stairs in all his apathetic glory, and crush the idea. She couldn't fathom working for such a lazy, uncaring King.

This particular night was different though; there was a few major players that were calling Mikoto out, and for once he seemed to be taking things seriously. The only problem was, that Tatara and Anna were going to join him on this adventure, and Taka was not happy about it. "I really don't think this is a good idea." Taka was leaning against the open door jam of Mikoto's room while the Red King idly smoked a cigarette while he waited for the others to arrive. "There's no reason for Tatara and Anna to go with you; they'd just be put at unnecessary risk."

Mikoto sighed, a thick plume of smoke rolling from his nostrils as he regarded her with indifference. "This isn't something that you have a say in." His callous words made the corner of Taka's mouth twitch in frustration. "They requested that all of HOMRA attends; that includes Tatara and the brat."

Taka, who had been fighting to keep a straight face, scowled. "So if they don't go, they could be in danger?" Mikoto shrugged making Taka sigh. "Fine. Then I'm going with."

"You're not a member of HOMRA."

"Then that means you don't have a say in whether I tag along or not." Taka and him shared a level stare, neither one willing to back down. Taka knew she was being stubborn, and she knew that Mikoto was well aware of this fact as well. "You're not my King; you're just my annoying room mate. But Tatara is my brother, and Anna is my princess and I'll be damned if I'm just gonna sit back and let you lead them into the direct line of fire. I'm going."

Mikoto took one last drag off his cigarette before snuffing the bud out in his ash tray. Pushing himself to his feet, he stalked towards her, his eyes hard and his brows furrowed in frustration. He stopped just inches from her and stared her down; a lesser woman would have instantly faltered, given just how much larger Mikoto was compared to Taka. But she held her ground, and glared back at him with just as much intensity. "You piss me off."

"The feelings mutual, Red."