A/N: I'm a bit sick with the stomach flu currently so don't expect much, thanks. ~Maya

To OtakuWriter5441: Aw, thank you. Haha. :D And please no crying, thanks.

To Mirei-Chan: I'm sorry it made you cry. I didn't mean to. And vulgarity doesn't bother me at all, feel free to let that tongue loose. And I refuse to give away any spoilers for the story, sorry. :/

To JUSTANOTAKU: Do your homework! Haha, but at least you're done now. And lol, fangirl army makes me laugh. Glad you enjoyed it too!

To Elisabeth O neill: Thanks!

To maitedawarrior: Thank you~

To indrani: O.O You're kind of scary. But thank you and hopefully your friend will find someone who will make him happy for the rest of his life.

To DevilSurvivor: Why is every one crying?! Stop that!

Fire Starters

Chapter Four

Mikoto stared at the ceiling above him as his head rested against the arm of an ancient couch. He was currently in a storage room that was his current bedroom as Honami and Anna had taken his bedroom temporarily. Somehow, for he didn't have the energy to remember, Honami and Anna had come to stay with the clan at the bar. Mikoto rolled onto his side as he noticed the sun falling. Tonight himself, Izumo, Tatara and a few clansmen would go to the school where Honami worked, bringing Anna along with them for Honami had to stay late for extra work. They would go to not only guard the two, but to discuss some things about the child. Mikoto sat up and ran his fingers through his hair as a memory suddenly hit him.

A teen girl sat on his bed with his head in her lap and gently massaged his scalp as he slowly drifted to sleep. She hummed a soft lullaby that drifted through the room with an air of relaxation. It was in times like these that Mikoto could truly appreciate the beautiful woman in his life. She was smart, determined, independent, patient, loving, gentle, and most importantly – she was understanding. She knew and didn't mind that at this time, all he wanted was to be babied, though he would never say it out loud.

She sighed and kissed his forehead, eliciting a deep hum from his chest as a sign of contentment. She giggled at him and ran her fingers through his hair one last time before rising from the bed to brush her hair and braid it. It was long, silky, and black. Her brown eyes showed happiness as she wove her hair together and smiled at him softly. She blew him a kiss to which he sent her a soft, lazy smile in return. She hopped into bed beside him and cuddled against his left side, her place that she had officially established as hers.

"Mikoto," she said softly. He hummed deep in his chest showing he was listening. "I love you. Do you love me?" Mikoto peeked at her through the corner of his eye and smiled lazily once more. He didn't need to answer her, she already knew. He loved her more than the sky, sun, and life itself. She was his queen, she was his every thing.

Mikoto grunted as his chest tightened. Sometimes it felt like she was with him only yesterday. Her touch would be fresh on his skin as gooseflesh rose at the memory. He missed her, every day he missed her and with each passing moment his loneliness grew. She was his queen, but he felt he was no longer a king without her beside him. His beautiful, perfect, Red Queen of Homura. One day, he would find her again and bring her home to his side where she belonged, where she made him complete.

He sighed and dressed knowing Izumo would be up the steps to harass him soon enough. He looked over to the box beside the head of the couch to see a dusty picture frame. He picked it up and blew off the dust reveal the girl and himself along with Izumo and Tatara and Kamamoto. It was from their last Christmas together shortly after Kamamoto had joined and Mikoto had given her her ring. She was wearing all of her jewelry in the photo and was looking up at him with such love and adoration it made his heart hurt.

He placed the photo face down on the box and grabbed his jacket. Walking out of his 'closet' he found Anna staring up at him with her large violet eyes and a blank stare. His mind was still racing with thoughts of his lost love and he knew she saw this in his mind when she ever so slightly furrowed her brows. He continued to watch her as she looked through his mind and a very small frown fell onto her lips.

"You loved her?" Mikoto sighed and looked away towards the stairs. He walked away from the girl as she followed close behind him. "She loved you too." She continued knowing he was listening. "She's alive." Mikoto stopped and turned to the child holding a red marble to her left eye. "She misses you and is very sad, but she can't leave. He will die if she tries to escape." Mikoto narrowed his eyes in confusion before grunting.

"What do you mean?" Anna shook her head.

"I can't see more than that." Mikoto sighed and looked downcast for a moment. Motioning for her to follow him they made their way downstairs to the bar to see Izumo cleaning up and restocking inventory.

"Are we ready to go?" Mikoto nodded as Anna grabbed onto the hem of his shirt. He glanced down at her but made no move to remove her and the lot of them left for the school.


At the school, Mikoto, Izumo, Tatara, Yata, Saruhiko,and Kamamoto were all standing spread out in an empty classroom. They had sent Anna off with Honami and were speaking together quietly. Izumo had taken out a cigarette but stopped short as he realized he was in a school and promptly put it away.

"Weren't that kid's parents killed by the center?" Saruhiko said suddenly in a cold tone.

"Hey!" Yata kicked back his chair and stood. Raising his eyebrows, he glared at Saruhiko in a reproachful way. Saruhiko glanced back at Yata particularly coldly.

"Think about it, maybe that kid didn't want to go to the center at first and her parents were suspicious. So when they refused to send her they killed them and made it look like an accident. They didn't want to lose a good test subject." He continued.

"Don't just say random things based off of your imagination!" Yata yelled back at him.

"I'm just saying what every one else is thinking," he stated blandly. Yata turned to Izumo who sighed.

"I'm thinking the possibility isn't low," Yata was shocked and Saruhiko looked between the two.

"You think she realized that and is willing to do this now to protect her aunt?" He paused. "No, even if she did see it, she might be trying not to." Izumo heard a slight noise outside the door and getting up to look, found nothing but a dark hall.

"Something up, Kusanagi-san?" Kamamoto asked only to receive a shake of from the others head.

"Nothing, just thought I heard something." He returned to the inside of the classroom and the group continued to talk. "What'll you do, Mikoto?" Mikoto slowly looked up when addressed, while still leaning against the window. "This is how things are. Like Totsuka said, making Anna your clansman is one option too." Mikoto frowned in a complicated way.

"…I can't make someone into a clansman if they're not interested."

"Want to try and convince her?" When Tatara tilted his head and said that, Mikoto's face got even more complicated and he looked away.

"…it can't hurt to not make a brat go bad, can it." Tatara smiled wryly at those words that could also sound like they weren't like Mikoto.

"I guess." As Mikoto looked out the window at the dark school grounds, he said

"And before that we might as well, crush it."

"For now, we can finish this talk when we get home, I'll go check on Honami-sensei and Anna-chan," Izumo made his way down the hall to the only other lit room when he heard footsteps behind him. "Is something wrong Tatara?" He asked as the brunette moved to his side.

"Nothing, just thought I'd tag along." Izumo nodded and they entered Honami's office. She was just getting ready to go home when they entered and gave them a bright smile.

"Ah, sorry to make you wait. I just finished my work. I can go ahead and leave…"

"Huh, Honami-sensei, what about Anna-chan?" Asked Tatara, who had peeked into the office and realized that the small, doll-like form was nowhere to be seen. Right then, Honami's smiling expression clouded uneasily.

"Eh? Anna hasn't gone over there? She said she was going to go to Suoh-kun and everyone, and left here just earlier…" Blood drained from Izumo's face and when he reflexively looked beside him, Tatara had also paled. Anna had come to the classroom where they were talking. At that time, what had they been speaking about?

"I'll go look." Tatara said as he quickly left the room. Izumo soothed Honami, who was worried, and said he'd go check the classroom, then rushed back to where Mikoto and the others were. If that conversation had entered Anna's ears… cursing their own carelessness, Izumo ran down the hall.