Hooray! I had so much interest in this story that I hurried to get the next part up...or maybe it's just because I'm having fun with this story. :) Thank you, everyone, for reading this. I don't really have much to say here, but since everyone does, I thought maybe I should to. So, without further ado, proceed to introductions!
As the day progressed, the rest of the members of the gang who called Homra their second home slowly made their appearance. Kamamoto had the chance to retell the story several times, always forcing Yata to describe events he himself had not been eyewitness to. Each new person to enter asked the same question: who was this girl they'd never met? Before long, everyone knew the story well enough that just about any of them could retell it.
When two more boys showed up—one in a ball cap, the other with a derby hat—immediately asking the same thing, a curly haired brunette wasted no time responding, "That's Haruna, Emi, Totsuka-san's girlfriend."
Even though the bar had become quite rowdy by that time, everyone stopped abruptly, turning to attentively observe Totsuka's reaction. The accused tried his hardest not to be intimidated by the dozens of eyes burning questions into his soul. He very well may have just been caught. A guilty smile began to spread across his face, unable to keep it hidden. Fortunately for him, a room full of loud mouths couldn't keep quiet long enough to wait for an answer.
"Chitose-san," someone scolded the accuser, "don't say things like that for no reason. Totsuka-san isn't like you."
That point having been brought out, some of the pressure was differed from the center of their attentions. An open discussion began, with each member of the group stating their personal opinion of who Emi was. They had completely abandoned the idea of asking the boy she had come to see, instead spouting third-hand facts and imagined possibilities as their evidence.
"He called her 'Emi-chan,'" Chitose presented his defense as to why he was certain they were dating, which happened to be an event he had not witnessed himself. "He clearly knows her well."
"She could be a relative," a Devil's advocate argued.
The group seemed evenly divided on the matter. Totsuka scratched his head, unable to hold back his grin that was now becoming one of embarrassment. How would he ever reveal the truth to them now? From behind the bar, Kusanagi gave the victim a knowing look of pity. He was well aware of the girl's identity and precisely how much she meant to Totsuka. After all, he had been there with them.
"I would know," Mikoto said. All respecting that their leader was voicing his opinion, the group instantly hushed to listen. After a long pause, he stated with such certainty that anyone who had formerly disagreed with him would feel like a fool, 'If Tatara had a girlfriend, I'd know her." It was difficult to tell if knowing such a thing really mattered to him or he was just wishing they would be quiet. He still sat in the same place on that couch, staring at her—either blankly or with deep concentration.
Yata basically cheered—while Totsuka swallowed back a laugh, unnoticed—and announced, "That's right! I knew Totsuka-san would never get a girlfriend without telling us!"
"King," the boy in question finally spoke for himself, addressing only what Mikoto had said, "you do know her."
Even though there was no verbal acknowledgement on his part, the redhead's frown deepened as if he had kind of suspected he knew her from somewhere.
"Well, if Mikoto knows her, she must be Totsuka's girlfriend," Kusanagi drawled teasingly as he dried out a shot glass. Basically, he was telling the boy to spit it out already.
Once again, all eyes fell on him, mouths agape and jaws dropped. In defense, Totsuka raised his arms, "Oi, I wouldn't say 'girlfriend.' We've only been getting to know each other for a short time."
'A short time' being so ambiguous, Chitose pried, "How did you two meet?"
"Well," Totsuka began, thinking back to the day it happened, "Five years ago—"
Unable to contain himself, Yata interrupted, "Five years isn't a short time!"
Chuckling at how badly this explanation was coming out so far, Kusanagi drilled his knuckles into the shorter teen's skull, ordering, "Just listen to the story."
Thoroughly reprimanded, Yata sat, quietly annoyed, while Totsuka recommenced, "Five years ago, before King got his powers, the three of us were eating lunch near the shopping center. I was walking in the street when this girl had her purse stolen. She shouted out, 'He took my purse!' and pointed to a nasty man with crooked teeth and a hood covering his face who was running off in a hurry."
A dark haired boy in glasses was hardly paying attention, 80% of his focus dedicated to some activity on his PDA. Still, he was listening well enough to scoff and mutter to himself, 'How did you know his teeth were crooked if the hood was covering his face?" Of course, Fushimi's criticism of the story was not said with adequate enthusiasm to interrupt the recounting of it.
Totsuka continued, "She was with a couple friends of hers, but they all seemed rather helpless against the robber, so I ran after him. I figured someone needed to. Somehow, the guy was much bigger than me once I caught up to him, and it was totally impossible for me to overpower him."
There was a collective sigh as the boy continued trying to describe his failing attempt to rescue the stolen purse. It was the kind of mishap that Totsuka typically got himself caught up in, allowing himself even to get beat up over the bag of a complete stranger.
"Apparently, Kusanagi-san must have been watching because he went and called King from inside who came to save me. He blew that guy out of water so easily! And then he shoved the purse in my arms with an irritated glare like, 'Did you really have to bother getting mixed up in this?'" Totsuka had exchanged his voice for a deeper one, but it really did neither Mikoto nor irritation much justice. "But I knew that was really the kind of thing he wanted to do."
"You're getting distracted," Kusanagi pointed out when he realized Totsuka was heading off on a tangent—one that he could go on for a long time.
"Right," he agreed, bringing himself back on topic. "The girl came up to us with her friends, holding a handkerchief to my face and fussing over my injuries. Even though King had saved her purse, she thought I was the hero somehow. Then, we all introduced ourselves, and…that's it."
Shocked, Yata came out of his stupor and demanded, "That's the end? You introduced yourself and then…?"
"We left," Totsuka clarified, verifying that it really was the end of that story.
In the background, Fushimi complained, "How anticlimactic."
"So, this is her," Mikoto understood, pointing to the sleeping girl like he did recognize her after all. Starting now to make connections, he added, "Then, last month, when you barged in, saying, 'King, guess who Kusanagi-san and I saw today,' that was her too?"
"Bingo," Totsuka congratulated. A second later, he chose to tell also that story, "Three weeks ago Kusanagi-san and I ran into her working at the convenience store. She remembered us, and we remembered her, which brought us to chat a little. She's working there all summer to help pay university expenses and so on…but there were other customers, so we left. Kusanagi-san gave me this look and said, 'If you were going to make a move, that was your chance.'"
"He had this unbelievably happy look on his face the whole time they were talking," Kusanagi added his input. "Then he just left like she was any other store employee. Wouldn't let me talk him into doing something about it, even if fate doesn't give you three chances."
"Later, King said something like, 'If you're going to go on and on talking about her, why don't you go talk to her?' I thought about it for a while, and after two days, I went back to the store to ask her to eat with me. The date went well, and since then…well, here we are."
It all made sense to them then—how five years could be a short time, and why he hadn't told anyone yet. They seemed relieved to know he hadn't really been keeping secrets from them. Things weren't that serious yet. All questions having been answered, what remained was only to wait for her to regain consciousness. In the meantime, life gradually returned to that of a typical Saturday at Homra.
Evening approached, and one voice could be heard rising above the others at a card game that had been set up. "You cheated!" Yata accused, standing from his chair to strike a threatening pose to Chitose who was currently collecting a number of salt and pepper shakers that had been used as bids. Thankfully, no real customers were in at the time, or they would be deprived of seasonings. "Look, my hand clearly beats yours, but you talked me into folding."
"How is that cheating?" The current winner inquired, boasting his earnings that would later all be returned to the tables from which they had come.
"You can't bid that high when you have nothing in your hand!" Yata persisted, avenging his losses.
"What do you think 'bluffing' is?" A third player joined the dispute, all his emotions thoroughly concealed beneath a ball cap, a hood, and dark sunglasses.
"That costume of yours, Bandou, is not true bluffing," the boy across from him mentioned. He had hair that, by anyone's assumption, was modeled after Mikoto's style.
Trying to turn the conversation away from himself, Bandou glanced back and forth between Yata and Chitose who were still arguing. "Why did we let Yata-san play anyways?"
"Well," the other recalled, "he got all excited, saying, 'Saru and I used to play this game,' or something."
After pondering for a moment, they both determined a better source of blame, or at least clarification. "Fu-shi-mi-kun," Bandou drew out the name while they both glared his direction. The boy in glasses looked up to see what they wanted, so Bandou questioned, "Didn't you teach Yata-san the rules to the game?"
Fushimi sighed and looked away, scolding himself for having ever imagined they might be inviting him to join them. It wasn't like he really wanted to play, anyhow. Telling himself this, he suppressed whatever emotion may have been surfacing with the more comfortable feeling of aggravation. Annoyed that they didn't want to play with him? That they bothered him with their question? That all they ever asked him about was Misaki? Any or all of the above; it didn't matter which he chose.
"I taught him, but he never remembers." By the way the response came out, the others both assumed the irritation was towards the thought of playing cards with his best friend. They shivered at his complete lack of interest and went right back to their game.
Totsuka watched this exchanged from where he stood and felt an immense sort of pity. None of the five people there had understood the true feelings behind each other's actions. If he were to step in and tell them all so, however, it would change nothing. Instead, he smiled, appearing to be amused, and then gazed out the window.
"Do you want to come watch the sunset, Anna?" He offered, warm, evening light casting a golden glow over his features. "The sky looks like it will be very red."
"Not tonight," the girl replied as if something prevented her from joining him in an activity she would enjoy very much. A second later, she explained, "She'll wake up soon."
Immediately, Totsuka also abandoned the fiery sky to join Mikoto and Anna in watching Emi. Standing right in front of the couch, he hovered over her face, impatiently waiting for her to awaken. It felt like it must have taken forever, but Anna's prediction came true. Pale, brown eyes opened slowly to the sight of dirty, blond hair and a black pendant dangling rather close to her in expectation.
"Good evening, Emi-chan," she was greeted by the person she had been waiting for all along.
"Totsuka-san," she replied, pleased to see him, even through the groggy confusion of sleep that still lingered. "Where are we?"
Taking her hand, he helped her sit up, reminding, "Homra. Remember I invited you here this evening?" Still holding her hand in his, he sat on a cushion of the sofa where she had previously been laying.
"Oh, yes," she agreed as events returned to her memory from before she passed out. "I was waiting for you." Even though her voice was too soft to be heard throughout the room, anticipation of her revival had drawn everyone to gather nearby. Noticing this, Emi commented, 'There are more people here now than before."
Totsuka nodded. "Unfortunately, had I been on time, I could have introduced you to everyone separately, as it should be. I got caught up buying ingredients for dinner tonight. Who have you met already?"
"Officially?" She glanced around the room, trying to recall who had introduced themselves. Pointing to only one person, she answered with a smile, "Kamamoto, Rikio-san. He is a friendly and helpful person. And, of course, Kusanagi-san also."
Knowing there were three other people she should have met, Totsuka frowned in their direction. Gesturing to one, he asked, "Wasn't Yata here the whole time?"
Emi did not deny it, responding, "Oh, is that his name? Poor boy."
"Poor boy?" Totsuka repeated, slightly confused.
Kamamoto explained for them both, "Yata-san couldn't introduce himself to a girl if he only had to read his name from a card."
Thankful for the explanation, Emi turned back to Yata. "Hajimemashite," she said politely as if they were meeting for the first time.
Redder than the sunset outside, Yata did his best to return the greeting. Totsuka did not force him to suffer for long, though, proceeding to their leader, "Do you remember Suoh, Mikoto-san?"
Just looking at the man made her pale and feel dizzy. He wasn't even acting as sure of himself anymore, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Totsuka's hand was comforting, though, and she squeezed it tighter to rebuild her fleeting courage. If he was completely calm in the redhead's presence, she should be able to also.
"He's…ch-changed a lot since that day." After stuttering somewhat, Emi pulled herself together faster than Yata could. Still, it was said in a whisper, like a secret that shouldn't be shared with the man only five feet from her.
"We all have, haven't we?" Totsuka replied as if he becoming the king of a group of people with fire-related super powers was as minor as the change in Mikoto's haircut since five years ago.
All the man said was, "Yo." Still, his deep voice sent such a shiver down her spine that she froze in fear. Her eyes were wide open and dazed. Totsuka took note of this and laughed consolingly.
"Don't worry," he explained, seeming to know exactly what she was afraid for, "the reason he's so strong is to protect those close to him, just like that day I tried to save your purse. Why do you think all these people gather around someone so scary looking?"
"Huh?" Mikoto wondered if that had been an insult or a compliment. Saying things like that would usually result in Totsuka getting his head crushed, but since his girlfriend was there, Mikoto let it slide, instead settling further into the sofa.
"No offense, King," the younger boy excused affectionately with a grin.
"King?" Emi repeated the term of endearment that Totsuka had used for so many years it just came out naturally. She thought it was strange.
"Well, he is kind of our leader," he replied vaguely. Then, before he might be forced to reveal the details of mysterious subjects such as Dresden Slates, and Swords of Damocles, and the sources of extraordinary fire powers, Totsuka gestured to a small girl in a frilly red dress with a matching hat. "This is Kushina, Anna. She actually just moved in to a bedroom upstairs, making her the newest member of our group."
"Hi," Anna said shortly. It was pleasant but cold, as if a sense of formality obligated her to even say that much.
Emi's first inclination was to contest that it was inappropriate for a young child to hang out with a bunch of guys in a bar. On the other hand, she seemed so very much alike Mikoto that there hardly seemed a better place for her. Both of them were definitely keeping something huge locked up inside.
Moving on to the other people in the bar, Totsuka stated, "By the door is Fushimi, Saruhiko. He's pretty reserved around people he isn't familiar with, but he's really great with electronics, and research, and stuff like that. And he knows the answer to basically any question you can think of."
Fushimi stared at them, bewildered. Never had he, in his entire life, been presented in such a way. Startled by it, he fumbled for a moment over words to say back.
"Er, uh…hey." He eventually decided on that. It sounded dumb, but once it came out, he couldn't take it back. For goodness sake, why did Totsuka have to say such strange things?
They did not linger long on the blunder, though, as Totsuka continued down the list. Pointing to the teen with the same hairstyle as Mikoto, he introduced, "Fujishima, Kousuke is a very polite and calm person. You two would probably get along. He is also very caring, especially towards animals, and sometimes brings them home with him until we can find them a new home.
"Those two sitting at the bar are Chitose, Yo and Dewa, Masaomi," Totsuka next explained. They both waved lazily, so she would know for sure who was being introduced. "They have been friends forever, even though they are complete opposites. Chitose is very outgoing, especially toward girls, while Dewa is composed and serious. And last is Badou, Saburouta. Could you at least show your face for a second?"
According to the request, Bandou pulled back his hood, removed the ball cap, and took off the dark sunglasses. "Hello, Miss," he said with a tiny bow. The boy revealed was not at all unattractive—aside from the obvious hat hair—and Emi couldn't help but wonder why he would keep all his features hidden.
"So that's everybody," Totsuka concluded, feeling more stress about the introductions than he would have expected. As one short summary of the whole event, he said, "Everyone, this is Emi-chan. Emi-chan, this is Homra!"
If you compared his excited exclamation to Yata's "indoor voice," it would sound like a whisper, yet Totsuka was basically shouting when measured against Emi's tiny comment, "I will do my best to remember your names."
Calming her down with just one look, Totsuka assured, "You will have plenty of time to get to know them, but right now, I think we're all hungry. I planned a special meal that will help you learn more about Homra." Standing up, he let go of her hand for the first time. Before he left her to cook, however, he glanced back and mentioned light-heartedly, "So pay attention."
The appetizers did not need to be cooked, and so they helped stave everyone's hunger while Totsuka prepared the main dish. The options served were chips and a variety of red salsas spanning from sweet to rip-your-tongue-out spicy. The boys all passed their time seeing who could eat the most of the hottest one without crying, but there were plenty of screams from those who couldn't handle it. The girls, however, simply contented themselves with the mild sauce, observing the delirium with the slightest curiosity as to how hot the sauce might actually be.
Totsuka soon came over with two sparkling, red drinks. Before delivering them, he asked Emi, "What do you think?" It was a vague question, but he only wanted to know what might be on her mind at the instant.
She glanced at all the ones who had gathered by the spicy sauce and quietly replied, "Silly boys."
Amidst the racket they were making, somehow Yata overheard her comment and butted into their conversation, "What did you say? Do you think you could do better?"
As if seeking guidance from the one who had provided the food, she looked questioningly to Totsuka. He shrugged and laughed, seeming frightened of the hottest flavor himself. Setting the drinks down before the two girls, he grabbed a chip with a scoop full of the medium salsa.
"There's a reason I got three varieties." That was the only input she would get from him, but he lingered around to see what her decision would be.
Through watery eyes and burnt lips, the boys who could still talk goaded her on. Fujishima, Dewa, and Kamamoto had long since been defeated by the sauce, and they sprawled or slumped on the floor, waiting for Kusanagi to bring them the requested ice cubes. With Yata and Chitose so keen on the idea of having Emi try it out, Bandou also got carried away cheering for her. Not that any of their three runny-nosed faces truly encouraged her it was safe to try.
Still, Emi turned to Anna, offering, "I'll try it if you will."
The little girl looked up from watching the bubbles float through her new beverage with some little excitement. She had been wanting to taste the red sauce also but was too afraid to do it on her own. Anna nodded once in agreement, which brought a shout of glee from Yata and Chitose.
"It wouldn't be right…to let Anna…eat that," Fushimi muttered, leaning against the wall like it was the only reason he could still stand. He too had tried the salsa—unwilling to be thought weaker than the others. When Yata had mockingly pointed out that he was crying from it, Fushimi had stubbornly stomped back to the bowl, taking a bigger portion to prove himself. In even worse shape after the second serving, he had taken a third, determined to conquer the food product. He lost that war, and was now panting and limp a short distance from the rest of the commotion.
No one paid heed to his warning, Chitose mentioning, "Anna knows what she's doing."
"She's probably stronger than you," Yata teased his friend.
A potential argument was put on hold as Emi took half a chip. Coating it with a reasonable amount of the hottest sauce, she put the whole thing in her mouth at once. All eyes watched attentively for her reaction. Emi swallowed with difficulty. A single tear fell down her cheek through lightly closed eyes as she held her breath, trying to contain an unattractive reaction.
After a moment, she sighed, smiled, and said, "It's good." There was, however, a layer of sweat on her brow, and her voice had come out weaker than normal.
"So graceful," Chitose marveled.
Knowing it was now her turn, Anna passed the same offer down to Mikoto, "I'll do it if you do."
She really had no right to make such a deal, seeing as she was already obligated to taste some. Still, their leader sighed hoarsely, making a sound that nearly resembled a growl. Since it seemed he had agreed, Anna fulfilled her vow. With a small chip, she dipped the corner in the salsa only the tiniest bit—in spite of Fushimi's warning. The taste seemed to surprise her, but she said nothing.
Disappointed by how little she had taken, Mikoto passed up the chips entirely. Reaching across the table without leaving his spot on the couch, he simply dunked his finger in the bowl and brought it back to his mouth. He frowned and grumbled, but it appeared to affect him least of all.
"Now you're the only one who hasn't tried it," he reminded Totsuka, who had yet to return to his cooking.
The boy laughed. "There's a good reason for that." Changing the subject before he could be pressured into something he would regret, Totsuka described, "The drink before you is called, 'Shirley Temple,' named for a famous, American actress. It's made from lemon-lime soda, grenadine, and a cherry. Everyone is free to have one on request, but it was definitely special for you two."
Emi took a sip and said the same thing as upon tasting the salsa: "It's good." This time she was sincere.
Anna struggled for quite a while fishing the cherry out of the bottom. After eating it, her eyes lit up just a little and she made a rare request. "Tatara, can I have more cherries?"
"Of course," Totsuka agreed, disappearing to fetch more and finish cooking.
The entree of the soiree was lasagna. Everyone enjoyed the foreign treat full of cheese and tomato sauce. Afterwards, they had watermelon as dessert. Once the mess from dinner was all cleaned up, Totsuka came back and sat on the couch next to where Emi had spent her visit.
"Could you figure it out?" He inquired hopefully. "What did this meal say about us?"
Emi considered this thoughtfully, running through her mind all the details of every food they ate that night, searching for connections. Answering like she had pondered her response for a long time, she guessed, "You are all very lucky?" She was greeted by a room full of blank stares, many of them having no clue where the connection was. Seeing this, she justified, "Well…everything was red, you see? So I thought, traditionally red is the Chinese symbol for luck and prosperity, but it would be rude to say, 'It means you are all very wealthy.'"
With an encouraging smile, Totsuka reassured, "You're on the right track, at least."
"Something else that red symbolizes," she said to herself, thinking deeply.
Fushimi gave her a hint, mumbling, "You're thinking too much. They aren't that clever."
"Just red? What importance could a simple color—" Still thinking too hard, Emi stopped abruptly and looked around at the boys watching her. Hoods, chains, ball caps, long jackets, baggy pants, and an overall imposing, group mentality. "Is that like…your 'gang color'?" She asked, suddenly nervous.
"Something like that," Totsuka agreed, laughing to lighten the mood.
The night progressed this way until it became late. Then, it was time to go. Totsuka offered to walk her home because the neighborhood could be dangerous in the dark. Sighing like he was about to exert too much energy, Mikoto stood and accompanied them. If anything bad really did happen, Totsuka would need saved himself. Right as they reached the door to the bar, Emi stopped. Turning around to face the others, she bowed to thank Kusanagi and said bye to everyone else.
Once they reached her apartment building, she left them on the sidewalk, asking that they stay there until she turned the light on in her room. That would be visible proof that she got in all right. Totsuka watched the window, while Mikoto leaned against a brick post, smoking.
"So you aren't going to tell her, huh?" The redhead asked between drags of toxic air.
"Tell her what?" Totsuka replied in confusion, only taking his eyes off the building for a second.
Rather than answer that question with words, Mikoto stabbed a finger into the younger boy's forehead. It was no ordinary poke, however, causing a burning sensation to fill Totsuka's skull like a fever might.
Mikoto didn't pull away until Totsuka agreed, "Of course I'm going to tell her." Once he could address the matter calmly, he added, "I just thought it would be too much for one night. All of you can be a lot to handle without adding color-coded kings with super powers to the story. I'll find a time to mention it."
The elder laughed once, seemingly in disbelief that Totsuka's earnest intentions would ever be accomplished. "Honesty—" he began, as if to say something rare and wise. At that moment, the light flashed on. Totsuka pointed it out, and they turned to leave.
A few moments later, Totsuka remembered the comment that had almost been made and prompted his friend, "Honesty?"
"Hn," was the only response the short-winded man would give. He must have decided against giving the bit of advice. After all, anything like, Telling the truth only happens when you don't keep secrets from the start, would come across as hypocritical coming from either of those two boys. There would be more than one thing that Totsuka would have difficulty revealing to a girlfriend. After a little while, he decided it would be better not to dwell on such thoughts. Quickening his pace to catch up to Mikoto, he tried instead to remember all the words to the song he had stuck in his head.