He sat there, like a lost puppy, staring at the wall in front of him. He did that often lately, which wasn't left unnoticed. At least, not by Fushimi. The odd thing was that it wasn't being returned: Yata never saw him as he walked past, never turned his head when a flash of blue could be spotted beside him. Hell, even when he walked next to him he only stared at the ground, until he finally snarled at his former best friend to 'leave him the fuck alone'. That wasn't the Misaki as Fushimi could remember him. Normally when he saw him, he would've started yelling and fight him right away. Now he was merely being as emo as one could be, sitting in the shadows to avoid the bright sunlight and doing nothing but stare. Fushimi knew all too well what had transpired. And it was starting to piss him off.

"Misaki, stop ignoring me and tell me what's going on." he said one day. No reply, except for the cold glare that was thrown into his direction. The third-in-command clacked his tongue in irritation and crossed his arms.

"You really are a weird one... Something has been going on with HOMRA, hasn't it?"

"None of your fucking business, monkey." Yata spat. That was slightly better, but... He still hadn't gotten punched in the gut, which was something that normally would've happened. No wait, normally this weird conversation wouldn't have taken place at all.

"Ever since Suoh Mikoto died, I've seen more bitterness on you thugs' faces than on a funeral." "So fucking what? It's not like you give a damn shit about that." Fushimi sighed. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. There's nothing wrong with a bit of curiosity, right?" "Don't you have something better to do? Like, hang around those Blues or something?" Yata snarled. "I have a day off." "That's an even better reason to stop bugging m-"

Saru, who had heard enough, grabbed Yata's head and kneeled down, ignoring the redhead's protests. "You've changed. It annoys me. I want to know what happened."

Yata stared at him wide-eyed. That was unexpected. Then again, Saru had always been the unpredictable type. He sighed, reluctantly recalling the events of a few weeks before.

"Kusanagi-san, wha- Huh? Why's nobody here?" Yata looked around cautiously, expecting his former teammates to jump out of their hiding places and greet him. Instead only Izumo was standing behind the counter, polishing up a glass.

"Because they don't have to anymore, of course." the blonde replied without looking up. "Their King is dead. Our powers have disappeared along with him. The bond has been broken."

Yata couldn't believe what he said. No, he didn't want to believe it. Of course, Mikoto was dead and they didn't have their powers anymore, but just a few days earlier they had still gathered in the bar. Why did they all decide to not come around and have fun like in the old days?

"B-But Kusanagi-san, there has to be someone who still believes in the bond, right?" the younger male said, almost jumping over the counter. "I mean, there's no way-" "I'm sorry, Yata-chan, but I have to dissappoint you. They won't come back, and neither will Mikoto."

Yata was still too stubborn to give up that easily. "We could call them and ask if they come over again!" he tried. "I'm sure it's worth a try, they can't just-"

"Stop being so selfish, Yata." Kusanagi interrupted him, his voice cold as ice. "Accept it. HOMRA is over. Now get out." And this time, Yata couldn't do anything but obey. He picked up his skateboard and sped out of the bar, not looking back.

"So... HOMRA fell apart after Suoh Mikoto died..." Saruhiko murmured. "That's-" "What? Weird? Pathetic?" Yata huffed, chuckling bitterly. "I guess that's true. After Kusanagi-san kicked me out, I started searching for some of my former fellow members, but none of them was actually willing to come back. Can you imagine that?"

Saru dully looked at his former friend, the smallest hint of surprise lying in his deep blue eyes. He stood up abruptly, only to hear Yata mumble something.

"Saruhiko... What... What should I do?" The redhead looked at him. He was hurt, obviously. Somehow Saruhiko understood it. Something inside him broke, but quickly repaired itself as he noticed how weak he was being. The taller male clacked his tongue.

"Don't look at me like that, Misaki." he said. "It's not like I know what you can do, neither do I know... what I should do." The Scepter 4 member clenched his fists and looked at the ground, ignoring Yata's confused look.

Saru turned his head to him. "Just don't think that HOMRA made you a better person or something." he said. "In the end, they were all a bunch of gangsters anyways."

"Stop spreading that shit, Saru!" Yata yelled, standing up as well. "You were part of them once too! I'm sure that Mikoto-san would've let you-" He paused when he realized what he was saying.

"I'm sorry to say it, but it's just as Kusanagi-san said: HOMRA is over. Deal with it." Without saying anything more, Saruhiko walked out of the alleyway, scratching his scar. The scar without the insignia.