Chapter One- Revival of the Flame
As the Red King's Sword of Damocles came crashing down, Reisi lunged forward with his sword in hand. He wasn't going to allow things to end like this, not when he could change it. As the broken sword reached a point to where it could no longer hold itself up and Suoh Mikoto accepted his fate, a bright light exploded from all of the sides around them. Things seemed to slow down, and Reisi was thrown to the side, away from the Red King. Suoh himself glanced up to see that his Sword of Damocles had halted in its downfall. Pieces fell off of it and Suoh could feel its weight. Suddenly, it slowly rose back up to where it had been before. Reisi groaned as he stood back up and then stopped to stare at the sword. Its owner collapsed to his knees and closed his eyes. It was obvious that the man was struggling to stay conscious. The Blue King's eyes wandered over to see his own sword suspended in midair. Both were glowing brightly with their own respective colors. The Captain of Scepter 4 didn't understand what was happening, and neither did the leader of HOMRA.
The redhead opened his eyes with a great effort. They were a dull yellow, as all of the wariness caught up to him.
"What is happening… Reisi?" he asked, breathing heavily. The other man shook his head.
"I have no idea, Suoh." came the response. "I was sure that-" There was a pause, as if the speaker didn't want to continue for fear of offending the listener. Suoh smiled slightly.
"It's fine. You can say it."
Reisi shook his head again. "I just don't understand. I was sure that you were going to die. Your sword was almost to the ground." Suoh laughed but it was empty. Then he coughed and took a deep breath.
"Even if that thing doesn't fall, I have a feeling I'm still done for." There was more coughing, then a groan. His chest heaved as he drew a shaky breath. "Everything is catching up to me. I won't last much longer in this condition." He stood up, holding his side. The yellow-eyed gaze watched the sword above him. He looked defeated, and only a step from death.
"You better take it easy." Reisi limped over to him and they both sat down. There was a creak above them from the red-cloaked sword. It teetered threateningly above them and the pair could tell that it leaned somewhat to the side.
"I better tell you this before my time is up." started the Red King. His listener raised a hand to halt his speech. Suoh blinked then let out a sigh. "You're not gonna let me say this, are you?" He chuckled, fighting off the urge to cough. Reisi stretched his leg and let out a hiss when it reached its length. The man gritted his teeth and started to press his hand along his leg to check for any breaks while the other stifled a cough. Once the check was finished, there was a sound as Reisi let out the breath he had been holding.
"You're going to have to wrap that when you get back." Advised Suoh, laughter in his eyes. A 'hmph' was his only reply. Reisi, jaw still clenched, wrapped both hands around his knees and squeezed. He growled as the pain doubled.
"It's only my knee." He said through gritted teeth. The hold lessened. Breathing with relief, Reisi relaxed his jaw. "I must have twisted it when I was thrown." Suoh shrugged and laid down on his side. After a moment's silence, he voiced the question that had his brows furrowed in thought.
"Did you cause that, Reisi?" The accused narrowed his eyes. The redhead's back was turned to him and his right arm was propped underneath his head.
"I did not."
Silence ensued once again as both men replayed the moment in their minds. Neither came up with an explanation. Suoh rolled onto his back and folded both arms behind his head. The lids of his eyes closed in exhaustion while he sighed. Reisi's voice jerked him from his light sleep a short while later.
"I have no explanation for what occurred earlier. The only thing I can say is that you are very lucky. Lady Luck was surely looking down upon you today." There was a small amount of regret in his voice. "Though saving you may not have been her smartest decision." He added glumly. Suoh kept his eyes closed. The same thought had arose in his mind as well.
"You may finish the job if you like."
Reisi jerked in shock. "Do you really think I would accept that offer?" There was a rustle of clothing as Suoh shrugged.
"Doesn't matter to me." He opened his eyes and they locked onto the stunned face in front of them. "But whatever you chose, chose quickly." Reisi frowned.
"I don't need you to remind me of that." Came the scoffing reply. "I've already made up my mind."
Suoh stretched. "Good." They were both quiet.
"You know, we should get going." Reisi nodded in agreement.
"Yes, we should." Reluctantly, he stood up and winced when pressure was put on his injured knee. Suoh followed suit and stepped up to Reisi.
"Need help?" he asked with a smile. Reisi waved him off, took a few steps, and then nearly fell. Suoh caught him in time and slung the wounded man's arm over his shoulder.
"You're hopeless, you know that?" With a grunt, he shifted his body to accustom the extra weight. Reisi let out a breath.
"I am, aren't I?" He pushed up his glasses with his free hand. With the Red King supporting him, Reisi and Suoh started to make their way to the location of their factions.
They reached the common area of the school grounds ten minutes later. Both groups were armed and yelling insults back and forth, each blaming the other for the destruction that lay around them. Once they noticed their leaders, the members scattered and stood in two opposing sides; Reds on the left and Blues on the right. Seri and Izumo exchanged glances once they noticed the state that their kings were in. The duo stopped a short distance from the crowd. Silence blanketed the square. Izumo was the first to step forward and speak.
"There's something you should see, Suoh." The Red King glanced up and removed Reisi's arm from his shoulders. Izumo gave a fleeting look to the Scepter 4 lieutenant behind him and she raised her hand. The red and blue masses parted at the signal. In the wake of the groups stood a girl.
She had brown hair that hung to the middle of her shoulder blades. On her figure was a school uniform, the dull colors seeming to stand out against all the red and blue. Her eyes were a warm chocolate color that nearly matched her hair. Izumo turned to her and she gradually made her way to stand even with him. Nervously, her eyes flickered all around her surroundings. Similar to a snail, her feet inched forward at a slight push from the bartender. Just then, her wandering eyes focused on a spot above the ginger's head. Her mouth opened in a small 'o' of wonder.
"Is that your broken sword, mister?" came the small voice, as she pointed upwards. Suoh's gaze followed hers to the spot she stared at. When he removed his eyes from the invisible sword, he was almost surprised to see that she now stared at him.
"You can see that?" The question made the girl blink. She nodded, her hair swinging forwards then back. Reisi, who only stood a foot away, murmured under his breath at Suoh, "There's no way she can see the Sword of Damocles. Not even other kings can if we don't reveal it." Suoh waved him off and whispered back, "Let's just check, all right?" The girl's head tilted as her chocolate brown eyes locked on the symbol.
"Mister, do you want me to fix it?" There was a jerk from Reisi as the man tried to hide his astonishment. Even Suoh's eyes widened. Murmurs traveled the ranks of the clansmen.
"Can she really do that?"
"Is this a joke?"
"What if she's a king too?"
Seri raised her arm and they quieted. Suoh thought carefully before speaking his next words. If what she proposed was truly within her power, he wasn't going to try to scare her off. She could turn out to be a very strong player in the game of the kings.
"You can do that?" he questioned carefully, not wanting to seem too interested. The girl nodded vigorously. "All right." Suoh's eyes seemed to center on another place and the Red King's Sword of Damocles appeared. His eyes refocused when he blinked tiredly. Reisi frowned with disapproval.
"Are you sure about this, Suoh?" he said in an undertone. "She could be fooling you." The Red King ignored him. The young woman stepped forward and closed her eyes. A breeze ruffled her hair around her face and everything was still. Then, alarmingly, the sword groaned and leaned like it had previously. Faster than thought possible, it started to fall. Yells came from the ranks of the clansmen and over their noise the girl spoke to Suoh.
"I need you to use your power." Suoh acted quickly and snapped his fingers. A red flame appeared between his thumb and forefinger. Worriedly, the Red King glanced up. The sword was only a few feet above them. When it reached the height of being only a foot above their heads, the flame ignited with power and swirled around him. The sword heated up and grew red with the flame. The distance between the sword point and Suoh's head lessened to half a foot. Just as it was about to crush them, the girl's eyes flew open and in a flash she pressed her hand to his chest. A bright light exploded from between her fingers. The sword halted in midair and rose back up. The broken pieces flew to the partial sword and fitted into the place from which they had separated. It glowed fiercely one last time as the sword repaired itself. Once the process was complete, the blaze faded along with the fire surrounding Suoh. The crowd stared then cheered. The girl stepped away and smiled.
"I told you so, mister. Now it's fixed!" Suoh stared at her.
"Yeah," was the only word he could think of to say. Reisi limped up to Suoh and glared at him.
"Warn me next time before you ever do something like that again." The other man laughed.
"Who says there's going to be a next time?" The blue-haired man muttered under his breath a few unfriendly names. The healer laughed alongside Suoh. Suddenly, her balance wavered. Both men stopped what they were doing.
"Are you all right?" The girl gave an exhausted smile.
"Yeah. I'll be okay in… a little...bit…" The voice trailed off and her eyes fluttered shut. Her body began to fall to the ground. Before it could hit the pavement, Suoh caught her. The Red King held the small figure against his chest and Reisi knelt down to her. He pressed two fingers against her neck.
"Her heartbeat is slower than it should be, as is her breathing." He removed his fingers. "It must be because of the process she just performed to heal your sword. We'll have to keep a close eye on her." Suoh watched the young girl and spoke quietly, almost to himself.
"She saved my life, Reisi." The Blue King closed his eyes.
"I guess when you spoke about Lady Luck earlier, you didn't mean her, huh?" There was a short chuckle. The Scepter 4 Captain was silent. Izumo and Seri jogged up to the trio.
"Captain!" The man opened his eyes and looked up at the voice of his lieutenant.
"Yes, Awashima?" he asked, slowly rising from his knees. The blonde woman caught her breath.
"We were unsure about what you wanted us to do." The Captain sighed.
"I'll be there in a moment." "Yes, sir." The sole female soldier left. Izumo took a step back to give his leader room as he stood up with the girl still in his arms. The bartender shifted his gaze to the schoolgirl.
"So that's her." Reisi confirmed the statement with a nod, though it wasn't a question.
"Yes. That's our little Lady Luck." Izumo looked confused and Suoh gave him a glance that said he'd explain later. Reisi directed the next question at the HOMRA leader.
"What do you think we should do with her?" Suoh exhaled and turned to the Captain.
"I'll take her back to HOMRA." At first, there was opposition from the blue-haired man, but it faded when he saw the look in Suoh's eyes. Instead, he gave a nod. Izumo struggled to hide a grin.
"I suppose this means we go our own separate ways now." Reisi said. Suoh allowed himself a try at humor.
"You almost sound sad, Reisi. Don't tell me you're getting sentimental?" Reisi rolled his eyes but couldn't stop the smile that showed.
"Don't push your luck, Suoh." The yellow eyes sparkled.
"Why not? I've got luck right in the palms of my hands."
The three men headed to the group. Reisi walked away and joined the Blues, giving a final farewell wave to Suoh. Suoh nodded, and the Blues left. The Reds, on the other hand, crowded around their idol to see the girl. The man gave them a few moments to see her while he talked to Izumo, and then stepped back to allow Izumo to shout directions. The majority of HOMRA dispersed, leaving only the five main members; Rikio, Misaki, Anna, Izumo, and Suoh.
"Are we heading back to HOMRA?" The words came from all sides at Izumo as the skateboarder rode in circles around them.
"Yes, Yata. We are heading back."
"And the girl? Is she coming too?" he insisted. Izumo sighed.
"Yes, Yata. And the girl." Satisfied, Misaki stopped pestering the blond, though he didn't stop riding in circles. Izumo glared at him and Suoh turned to start their walk back. Misaki rode ahead, jumping and doing tricks the whole time. Twenty minutes later, they reached the street the bar was located on. Rikio jogged ahead, yelling at Misaki to slow down. Anna tugged on Suoh's sleeve and he nodded. She chased after the pair, holding the precious red jewels to her chest. Izumo and Suoh lagged behind.
"What exactly do you plan on doing with the girl?" Izumo addressed his companion, stressing the word 'exactly'. They reached the door of the building and could hear Anna and the other two inside. The redhead shook his head.
"I don't know. All I do know is that the school's one place she can't stay." The golden eyes narrowed.
Izumo eyed him warily.
"Why can't she stay at the school?"
There was a pause and laughter could be heard from inside. Suoh shifted the girl's weight in his arms. "There was something there. At the school."
"What kind of something?"
"Something dark and-" The voice cut off as the speaker drew a quick breath. "It shouldn't have been there."
Izumo leaned against the brick wall and crossed his arms. "And you want to protect her from it?" The King let out a frustrated sigh.
"Yes. No. " He managed to get out. "She saved my life and the least I can do is protect hers until we find out what the damn thing was." Izumo shrugged as he pushed off the wall with his foot.
"That's good enough of an explanation for me." The owner of the bar placed his hand on the handle and started to twist it.
"Izumo, thank you." The man blinked, and then shrugged again with an embarrassed expression.
"Just doing my job." And with that, the door opened. The two stepped inside and closed the door. A figure watched from the shadows, and once the door clicked shut, walked away; leaving nothing behind but a metal dog tag on a black chain.
Author's Note: I've been wanting to post this for a while. Currently, I am on the third chapter and will post the second if I get ten reviews! So don't forget to drop a review if you want to read more!