This is a revised and rewritten version of the story, HOMRA's New Stray ; renamed to Home Sweet HOMRA. I will eventually delete the old version of the story and will only continue with this one. If you have any compliment or critique, please drop it in the reviews so that I may improve in my writing.

Disclaimer: K is owned by GoRa and GoHands, I only take credit for my OC, Shishio Harumi.

CHAPTER 6

I slowly returned to my senses. It was like waking up drunk from a party, my mind still clouded and a killer hangover building in my head and stomach. It was dark and then I noticed it was because I was blindfolded. My body was pressed onto the cold hard concrete floor and I tried to move a little and for a frightened instant, thought I was paralyzed and then I felt the restraints on my wrists and ankles, the cold metal biting into my skin. My good old pals.

"Wait- backtrack a sec here… what happened?!" my mind screamed. I remembered being assaulted and then all I could smell was a sickly scent like a cheap perfume badly imitating the scent of flowers. The type I used to gag at whenever I pass by those salesgirls, handling out strips of paper squirted with the cheapskate product they were trying to promote. Hence, concluded that, I, Shishio Harumi, was kidnapped, again.

I stiffened when I heard sounds shuffling around me. "The captivators?" When I listened closely, I could hear the soft ruffles of fabric and clicking of the metal cuffs. I could also hear occasional sobs punctuated the silence. From the sounds of it, it seemed the others were girls as well. Strange… I wasn't the only one here. Of all the times I was kidnapped, this is the first time I was involved with a mass-kidnap. Well, there's always a first time for everything.

A gunshot was fired and a "BANG!" echoed through the air accompanied with several strangled yelps and shrieks. "Whatta' fine batch of bitches we got here," a rough male voice sneered, "We're gonna hav' a feast tonight and when we're done with y'all, we're gonna sell y'all to some fun houses."

The heels of his shoes clicked against the floor and grew fainter until it was gone. The cries around me grew desperate as they realized what was in store for them while my mind worked on the matter in hand. What are they going to do to us? How much longer till they come back for us? Will they kill us?

I tugged at my blindfolds until it came undone, blinking hard several times to adapt to the flood of light and I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I examined my surroundings. Crates, boxes and remnants of dusty machineries were strewed about. A factory? Seems likely. There were about 15 other girls with me in a spacious vertically-barred cage, like animals on display. We were an assorted bunch, age varied from as young as middle-schoolers to early 20s. All of us were striped of our coats and belongings. The other girls were huddled up together in a group, weeping away and awaiting their misfortune to befall upon them. Some of them were whispering names I believed to be their family or friends. I slumped against the back of our prison. Well… there's nothing I can do.

Suddenly, I realized… when was it that I stopped struggling? When did I start accept my misfortunes as just part of my sad fate? When was it that I wished I didn't survive but… die? I knew the answers in my heart but I didn't want to acknowledge them because it hurts. It's because I didn't want to go back. To that place colder than the Artic, a place equivalent to the misery of hell. To see father and the hatred in his eyes whenever he looked at me but never knowing the reasons behind it. But now it's different. I have a reason to fight, to struggle, to go back to. HOMRA. Even if I can't escape on my own, they'll come for me right? … I'm sure of it.

I shuffled towards the door. I tried pushing/pulling on the door but with no avail. I tried the same with the bars. No luck. I leaned my back against the bars and stared at my hands until a thin layer of red aura encased my limbs. I hated it, my power. When I was at the age of 6, everything that I touched went ablaze. Scars from old burns when I couldn't control it still remain on my body. All the teachers and kids in the kindergarten would cower away in fear. The servants would avoid me like the plaque. I was the odd one even among the strains.

"Monster."

"Weirdo."

"Freak."

Only mom would stay by my side, telling me that it was alright. That I wasn't strange, that I was special. Eventually, the power dwindled as I grew older to the point like it never existed unless I put all my will into it. People start to forget about my power and I became normal again in their eyes. But it's still there. Never once had I used my power when I was kidnapped or hurt because it was like a stigma in my life. But now HOMRA showed me a different meaning to my power. Strength to protect others. A bond. Honor.

So far, this was the limit of the flames I could bring out. This won't work... I looked back at the girls. No, I'd rather be doing something then mopping in misery. With new determination, I held the a between my hands.

XOXO

"The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone."

Kusanagi frowned as he redialed the number.

"The number you have dialed is unavailable. Please leave a message after the tone."

"Who are you calling?" Shouhei asked quizzically as he watched the bartender jabbed into his phone.

"The number…" the second-in-charge slammed his phone onto the counter before the automated message was finished, causing the other members to jump in surprise. They often seen the man's wrath when his precious bar was in question but never before have they seen him taking his frustration on his bar. Something must be wrong.

"Izumo…" the silver-haired child whispered softly from her seat at the bar, concern in her eyes.

"Harumi…" Kusanagi gritted out, "She's not answering her phone."

"You don't think she is…" Shouhei paled.

"Maybe she's still sulking?" Totsuka suggested with a smile but the humor didn't reach his eyes.

The bartender glared at the light brown-haired male for a second before barking orders at the HOMRA members who jumped up from their seats when their names were called, "Yata! Kamamoto! Go search the park! Shouhei and Bandou, to the supermarket! Chitose and Dewa, check around the streets! Fujishima, take Eric with you and go ask around if anyone had seen Harumi!" The group left the bar in a hurry and to their respective location, fueled by their worry for the female member.

"Let's just hope my intuition is wrong," Kusanagi said weakly and lightly patted Anna's head.

XOXO

"Damn it." I panted silently, drops of sweat trailing down my face in effort to melt the bar. I sat back and studied my work. So far, I've melted the bottom of the bar and currently working on the top. All it needs is a good push and it should come out with no problem. The bars weren't set to close to each other so with this one removed; we could slip out of the cage one-by-one.

I jolted when I heard a door noisily creaked open and footsteps of people echoed through the building. "No," I whispered. It must be night now as the man stated he would return by then. Without a watch or a window around us, I could only guess the flow of time and work quickly before the man comes back. But it's too late now. Reluctantly, I left my work of escape and vaguely retied the blindfold around my eyes before dropping unceremoniously onto the floor.

"Time to hav' some fun ladies," the man from earlier said and rubbed his hands together. I could hear the smirk in his voice. He ordered one of his lackeys to open the door. No one noticed the bar I've tampered with. I could hear someone marched into the cage and tugged on one of the girls out who pleaded for help.

"Noooo! Please! Let me go! Someone help me, please!"

"Shout all you want girl, but no one's gonna hear you," the man laughed. "Time for you to give us some service."

I gritted my teeth. I could hear the girl's wail and scream which only caused the man to laugh harder. Something in me snapped. I jumped off the ground, my blindfold falling off in the process, and ran towards the tampered bar and rammed my shoulder against it; resulting it to clatter onto the ground. I quickly grabbed the bar and held it between my hands like a sword. Weapon in hand, I ran out of the door they carelessly left opened, thinking that since the girls were in handcuffs and in fear, we wouldn't make a move to escape. Bad decision.

"Huh?" the leader turned around at the noise and merely missing the bar I swung down at him by a hair's breadth, "Shit!"

"BASTARD!" I shouted as I accessed my surrounding. For the first time, I had a good look at the captivators face; a bunch of hostile and scornful thugs, "Let her go!"

"How d'ya- don't just stand there! Get her!" the leader commanded his men.

I fended off the men for several minutes, swinging the bar violently towards whoever that nears me. I could feel myself starting to weaken, probably from overusing my power. I began to pant. Taking advantage of my tired state, one man took hold of my weapon and yanked it out of my grasp before I could react. I stumbled forward and fell onto the floor.

"Hold her down," the leader said. I scooted away when two men came towards me but my cuffs won't allow me. I trashed about when I felt their hands upon me, holding me down.

"Boss," One of the men holding me said, "I remember seeing this girl is with the HOMRA."

An eerie smile crept over his face, "HOMRA. So you're with HOMRA. Looks like my wish to get back at em' is fulfilled sooner than I expected. Throw that girl back with the others and fix that bar," he gestured towards the girl he bought out before facing me again, " We're gonna hav' some fun with you, HO~ MU~ RA~ bitch~" My body involuntarily shivered as blood drained from my face, afraid of what they would do to me.

XOXO

The trio sat quietly in the bar, waiting for any news of the missing female member from the other red clansmen that were out on the search. Kusanagi was behind his bar, his head on his hands and staring solemnly at his phone on the polished rosewood counter while Totsuka stared at the clock that was nailed above the door, watching the past few hours ticked by. The silver-haired child sat unblinking into her red marble on the sofa. A map of the city was laid out on the coffee table in front of her.

"What's going on?" Mikoto yawned as he materialized at the bottom of the stairs. All the while, he was sleeping away in his room upstairs, oblivious to the happenings beneath him.

"Something has happened to Harumi-chan. She's not answering her phone. I've sent the boys out looking for her." The second-in-charge said.

The redhead frowned at his friend, disliking the answer he got.

'Trit-trit-trit' Kusanagi immediately grabbed at his phone, "What is it Dewa?"

"Chitose and I found Harumi-chan's phone in an alleyway," Dewa hesitated for a second, "Besides that, there's nothing else. We questioned the passersby but no one saw her."

"Is that so?" Kusanagi glanced over to Anna who nodded. The child scattered several marbles onto the map. She closed her eyes in concentration. The spheres began circling the map and until they clustered together at a certain point on the map. "She's around here," Anna said quietly. The bartender studied the map and circled the same location on the map in his phone. "I'm sending out the location of Harumi-chan to you guys now."

"Hai, we're going. Hey, Chitose, quit hitting on that girl and let's go."

"Yatagarasu here, we're on our way there. Oi, hurry up you stupid fatty!"

"Roger that, San-ch- ah, Bandou and I are heading there now.

"Fujishima here. I'm on my way with Eric."

The red king walked out of the bar with Anna following closely behind him before the bartender had disconnected the call. Totsuka and Kusanagi exchanged wry smiles. Although he isn't saying anything, they knew their friend was worried for Harumi. They quickly left their perch and joined the redhead. "It's fine. It's fine. It'll work out somehow," Totsuka chimed and for once, Mikoto hoped his idiotic friend was right.

XOXO

I winced as the man slapped me with the back of his hand, his ring that he wore on his pinky catching my lips, drawing blood. I gently licked the tender flesh and shot him a death glare, resolved to not let him see my fear. He stood back and looked at me with a sardonic face, relishing my torment. I was bought into a room and had my handcuffs tied to a chain attached to the ceiling so that I'm left hanging down limply with my hands above me.

"Who would have known those HOMRA sons of bitches would have such a lovely slut with them," he said, "They've bought down my business. They've ruined everything. And now, the gods have sent you to my doorstep. My lovely revenge and I'm gonna enjoy every moment when I'm gonna fuck you then cut you to pieces after I'm done. Then, I'll send your parts back to them."

I spitted at him, "You keep your filthy hands of me or you'll be sorry when they come rescue me."

The man laughed and took my warning as a jest, "You think the red king will come for you? Who do you think you are? You're nothing more than worthless slut. They will never come rescue you. You're gonna die and no one's gonna cry for you."

I tried to ignore him but his words stabbed me to a degree where it cracked the wall I built around myself, the facade I've been keeping up, always smiling and pretending to be fine even though I truly felt like curling up and crying my eyes out. Suddenly, the dam broke and flooding through were the bad memories I have tried to fend out. "Who do you think you are? You're worthless." My father had said before, pushing me away. But I still went after him, the naïve child I was, hoping that one day he'll accept me. But that has never happened and I end up hurting myself even more. "…just disappear." Father never once came for me, all the while it was mom who protected me but she's gone. HOMRA? Will they come for me, a girl they took in merely a few months ago or will they cast me away just like father did? Panic sets in as a painful realization came over me. I don't want this. I don't want to die.

The man took out a knife from his pocket, "Where shall I begin then?"

XOXO

The red clansmen were assembled at an alleyway, looking across to an old factory. When they received word of Harumi's whereabouts, they searched around for her but made no avail. Then, Yata and Kamamoto came across the factory and saw men suspiciously going in and out of it although the building was clearly neglected and abandoned. The vanguard was about to charge in there when his chubby friend persuaded him against it. They later phoned the rest of the members and rendezvous at a nearby alleyway. "Mikoto-san!" the vanguard waved over to the red king accompanied by other two males and a female child who were coming towards the group. "We saw this factory and thought something was fishy about it," the boy explained when the red king reached them.

The silver haired girl felt about her sleeves and pulled out a red marble. She stared through the glass at the factory. "There are several men in there. And a group of girls," she spoke silently, "Harumi is in there as well."

"Well done," Mikoto said, lightly patting Yata's shoulder who grinned widely as he basked in the praise of the man he admires so much. "Now, let's go get her back."

The clansmen charged at the factory's door, hitting it with baseball bats and steel pipes they had for weapons until the metal door came off its hinges. About a dozen other men were in the factory when the red clansmen ambushed them but they themselves were prepared and armed. Weapons clashed and shouts were sounded. Yata, already riding on his skateboard, rushed at them, skillfully evaded bullets whizzing by and attacked the shooting men. Some men were about to attack Mikoto but they backed off when they saw his intimidating red aura highlighting his body and continued to attack the other clan members. The red king ignored the skirmish and sauntered towards the back of the factory. He stopped when he saw the caged girls. "She's not here," Anna said who was following the redhead. He frowned and motioned at Kusanagi and Totsuka who were behind him, "Free them and see to it that they return home safely."

"Well, if it isn't the red king. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" a man's voice taunted. "You idiots get back on your feet," he ordered his fallen lackeys. Mikoto's expression turned grim when he heard him, noting it was the leader's voice. "Don't try any rash actions if you don't want your bitch unharmed," the man said and dragged me forward. Ironically, I was already bleeding from wounds the man's knife flicked at me and my clothes were just stripes of ribbons, the sorry state I was in. I stood weakly and watched concern and anger reflected in the HOMRA member's eyes. The man yanked me towards him and pressed a knife at my neck, "Why don't you line up and have my men shot you all dead or else…" I felt a small river of blood running down my collarbone.

The red clansmen were barely able to suppress the urge to lunge at the man but they knew one false move made and I would be the one to pay the price. But I couldn't watch the others getting hurt for my mistake and hated myself for being so helpless and pathetic. "Let go…" I said, barely audible.

"Huh? So scare that you've gone crazy did ya?" the man sneered.

"I said," I mustered up whatever strength I had left and gathered up the heat to my core, and rupture into flames, "LET GO!" As quick as the flames appeared, it died out just as fast like a hiccup of fire. But it was enough to scare the man holding me. He shouted and dropped the knife in surprise. At that moment, Mikoto extended his flames towards me. The man yelped as he jumped back from burning inferno around me. Without the man holding me up, I legs gave out. The heat was intense enough to turn my cuffs into molten puddles and yet I was unharmed. I whipped my head around when Mikoto dashed past me and landed a fiery fist in the man's face.

"S-S-Stop! P-Please!" the man pleaded now that he has lost his leverage, his cockiness replaced with fear as Mikoto continued raining attacks on him.

A chill went down my spine when I saw anger and rage in his eyes. "Mikoto! Stop it, it's enough!" I knew I had to stop him or else he would have killed the man. I hated the man for what he has done and I wanted him punished but that doesn't mean I have the right to do so.

He abruptly stopped when he heard me cry out as if snapping out of a trance. He dropped the now unconscious man he was holding by his collar onto the ground. He approached me who was sitting on the floor and shrugged off his coat and draped it around me. I blushed when I noticed my under garments could be seen through my tattered clothes and pulled his coat closer around me, unintentionally inhaling his husky scent.

The other members stood deadpan as they have never seen Mikoto so… protective, but they were relieved to see Harumi safe. They caught the other escaping men and knocked them out cold, now that their leader was defeated.

"I'll have the boys see the other captured girls home," Kusanagi walked up to Mikoto and relayed his report, "And I'll call Seri-chan to round up these guys later."

The redhead ran a hand through his hair and nodded. He held a hand towards me, "Let's go home."

I smiled faintly and reached up for his hand, "Yeah… home."