I do not own any of the characters of K. They belong to Gora/Gohands.
I apologize for any OOC-ness of the characters. It's just my take on how they might behave in the event of situations such as these arriving.
GROWING PAINS
by chickypeg
Chapter 7: Security Blanket
"It's a bit early to be drinking, isn't it?" Izumo said to his closest friend. He placed another strong drink in a shot glass for the miserable looking red headed man who was sitting on the barstool behind the counter.
"I'm already drunk," Mikoto stated.
He looked at Izumo with bleary yellow colored eyes.
"I'm not a kitten damn it!" he growled.
"Of course you aren't," Izumo said, wondering where in the world he got the idea that he was.
The little kitten in the box nearby gave a little mewl, as if agreeing with Izumo.
Mikoto was about to snarl at it to shut-up, but something about its smallness and fragility made him think about Anna. He snorted at it instead, and turned to his shot. He drank it, and had Izumo pour him another. Mikoto's normal drink was bourbon, but when he was frustrated over something, he went for the strongest liquor Izumo possessed.
Since the alcohol loosened his tongue, Izumo took this as an opportunity to get him to talk.
"So why did you grab Anna away from Yata-chan yesterday?"
Mikoto shot his alcohol.
"Because I'm possessed, Izumo,"
Izumo frowned.
"What do you mean 'possessed'?"
Mikoto looked at him like he was an idiot.
"I need a priest. There's a lion spirit inside of me. A possessive one..." then with a comically disturbed look, he whispered, "it needs to be exercised."
"You meant 'exorcised.'"
"Whatever."
Izumo became intrigued by Mikoto's strange story.
"Oh? And what is it possessive of?"
"Anna," he replied.
"Anna?" Izumo repeated.
"Isn't that what I just said?" Mikoto snapped angrily.
Izumo lifted his hands in defense.
"Yes, yes, of course!"
That seemed to calm Mikoto a little. As he settled, he continued, "He was touching her where I touch her, where only I can touch her,"
Izumo felt a little disturbed by that. 'Touching' when stated by a twenty-four year old about an eleven year old did not sound right at all.
"What do you mean?"
Mikoto stood up abruptly, reached over the counter and grabbed Izumo by the back of his head.
"W-What are you doing?" Izumo demanded.
Mikoto began to rub his head against Izumo's head right above his temple. At the same time the door to the bar opened.
A male customer had been about to enter with a big smile on his face.
However, at the sight of the two men, his smile froze. His face went red with embarrassment at the sight.
"Um, I'll...come back later," he said with a nervous laugh and turned to go.
"No, wait! It's not what you think!" Izumo called out, pushing Mikoto away.
Unfortunately, the customer had already hurried off, leaving the resounding sound of the door slamming shut in their wake.
Izumo turned to Mikoto, glowering.
"What the hell was that? Don't ever do that again!"
"I don't want to. You have dandruff," Mikoto told him as he proceeded to light a cigarette.
Izumo grabbed a napkin and proceeded to take out his rage on it by tearing it.
"You...you bastard! I lost a customer thanks to you, and now this-"
"And it smells like you soak your head with Axe. No wonder you and that woman from the Blue Clan like each other so much: you soak yourselves in commercialized crap."
"We. Do. Not," Izumo gritted through clenched teeth.
"But you both stink of heavy perfume."
"I meant that we don't like each other!" Izumo yelled, throwing up the pieces of napkin in the air in exasperation.
Mikoto shrugged.
"Doesn't seem that way,"
"We don't-" Izumo stopped himself, realizing it was futile to argue with him, "what the hell did you mean by touching, and why were you rubbing your face on me?"
Mikoto's face showed an unusual helpless expression.
"Because I like to rub my nose and my face on Anna's hair like that. Am I a pedophile, Izumo?"
Mikoto looked so miserable that Izumo's anger receded quickly. He knew Mikoto was many things, but pedophile certainly wasn't one of them.
"Do you have sexual feelings for her?"
Mikoto made a face of disgust.
"What? Hell no! She's only eleven! She's a cub damn it!"
Izumo was surprised to hear Mikoto describe Anna as a cub, but considering that Mikoto was like a lion and Anna was still so little, he supposed that she really was a 'cub'-to the Red King anyway.
"Then what do you feel?" the bartender prodded.
Mikoto slumped over the bar.
"That she's mine, that she's like light in a dark world and I'm afraid of anyone taking her from me. Even Yata."
"You don't mind when I hug her," Izumo pointed out.
"You're an old man."
Izumo made a strangled noise and tried his best not to loose his temper. A drunk Mikoto was definitely an insulting one.
"Funny coming from you-you're only two years younger than me," Izumo stated as he opened a bottle of water and poured some for Mikoto. He did not think he could handle his friend's drunken slurs anymore.
"You've crossed your mid-twenties. You're going to hit thirty just now," Mikoto gave him a lopsided grin as a blew out a puff of smoke, "you're oooooold."
Izumo said nothing but waited for Mikoto to drink his water and sober up. He made a note to himself to remind his friend of this incident on his twenty-sixth birthday.
He did sober up, and as expected, rather quickly.
"You're not possessed and you don't need a priest," Izumo told him shortly, still miffed by his friend's insults.
Mikoto, more sober now, muttered, "Then what the hell is going on?"
Izumo lit a cigarette for himself. He blew out the smoke, and replied, "Children have security blankets-something that makes them feel safe and well,"
"I guess I am like Anna's security blanket," Mikoto muttered.
"Yes, but I wasn't talking about you being Anna's security blanket. I was talking about her being yours."
Mikoto frowned at his friend.
"I don't get what you're saying."
"We're men with dark pasts, Mikoto. We've seen so much fighting and we've been in so many fights. Anna is a child, yet so adult-like. Her innocence, her presence, her very nearness offers some kind of salvation, especially to you. Perhaps she is someone who helps to remind you that you are sane."
Mikoto listened as his friend spoke, never interrupting.
"She is someone you cling to as much as she clings to you. She just displays her attachment to you more than you do her, but everyone knows that she is very important to you. 'A light in your dark'-that is what a security blanket is to a child. If someone else touches or holds that blanket, the child gets angry, feeling threatened. No one would like to have the little light given to them taken away, only to have them live in the darkness, would they?"
Izumo's words were very reasonable, and true.
Mikoto nodded. He was relieved to know that he was not a pedophile.
"But why do I like to show her affection?" he mumbled to himself. He had not meant for Izumo to hear him, but his friend did.
"Every child holds its security blanket close."
"But why now? Why not before?"
"Maybe because you do have a personality like a lion, and those little goodnight kisses from her woke up the affectionate aspect of it."
Mikoto drank some more water.
"Sure I don't need a priest?"
"Quite sure," Izumo replied with a smile.
Mikoto sighed and stood up. He had to wake up Anna because they had somewhere to go today. He expected some of the other members of Homra to arrive soon as well.
"Izumo?"
"Yeah?"
"Change your shampoo."
Izumo tried not to fling any of his precious glass at Mikoto.
It was eight in the morning. Anna was still sleeping. Mikoto had awakened at six and had started drinking at seven. He decided that he needed a nice long nap when they got home today.
Mikoto walked into his room and moved to where the sleeping child lay.
She was dressed in her red night-dress and was covered by a white blanket that Mikoto had tucked around her to safeguard her from the cool air that blew in through the window. One of her arms rested on her stomach while the palm of the other was open and beside her head.
In the morning light, Anna looked almost ethereal with her silvery white hair and pale skin. The night-dress looked like bright, brilliant blood against her.
Mikoto sat on the side of the bed and watched her with a cigarette stuck in his mouth. He did not want her to go to school. He had come very close to changing his mind the day before when she had run upstairs and cried.
But he knew her safety came first. A security blanket that still existed safely somewhere, that he could still have to himself from time to time, was better than no security blanket at all. He was quite sure that Anna felt the same way toward him.
Mikoto was not usually the one to wake her. After all, he usually slept in very late and woke up after her.
He sighed and took his cigarette from his mouth. He was about to shake her shoulder to get her to awaken when she let out a soft breath and turned her head to the side, revealing the spot he was weak to.
Mikoto cursed himself. To hell with it, he thought. He was a damned affectionate lion after all.
He lowered his head and rubbed his cheek against hers, and then buried his nose in her soft hair at her temple.
Anna stirred.
"Mikoto," she murmured.
"Wake up," he ordered, his mouth close to her ear.
Anna opened her eyes abruptly, surprised that his voice was so near. She blinked and sat up.
Mikoto was nearby with a cigarette in his mouth, looking at her from the corner of his eye. He removed it and blew out some smoke.
"Get dressed. We're going out soon,"
He said nothing else and left the room.
Anna was a little bewildered as to why his voice had sounded so close-until she caught the scent of cigarette smoke and tobacco from her hair.
She gave a tiny smile; she really had felt him nuzzling her in her sleep.
Munakata Reisi was not surprised to see his rival sitting on a bench outside the main headquarters for Scepter 4. Mikoto was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans with a black jacket around his shoulders. His shoes were black boots with a matching black belt on his jeans from which a silver chain dangled. On one wrist was three metal bands while his other hand had a matching ring on his index finger.
Clutched between that finger and his middle finger was a cigarette.
What surprised Reisi was the little girl sitting about a foot away from the Red King. She was dressed in her usual lolita outfit of red and black ruffled material with a hat and a ribbon in her hair.
"Suoh," he acknowledged coolly.
"Munakata," the Red King returned on an equal note.
Reisi turned to Anna.
"Kushina-chan," he greeted more warmly.
She only nodded.
"So you decided to come to the school?" Reisi asked her.
Anna looked at Mikoto.
"She's going, but not here," Mikoto informed him.
Reisi reached out and grabbed Mikoto by the shirt.
"Are you stupid? She needs to go! It isn't safe!"
Mikoto calmly caught hold of Reisi's hand and removed it from its clutch on his clothing. He flung his hand away.
"You should have expressed your worry over her safety the day you barged into Homra, claiming that you were concerned over her wellbeing by telling me the truth behind your visit," Mikoto said.
Reisi stiffened momentarily, then stepped away from him.
"What are you going to do?"
"Deal with it," Mikoto answered.
"The Gold King said that you would help with the investigation if the group has not been caught and tried by September,"
Mikoto said nothing.
"I suppose it has to do with you protecting the child until school starts."
Mikoto remained quiet.
Reisi gave a sneer, then walked over to Anna. He knelt in front of her and asked her gently, "Are you truly happy with them? Don't you know that the Blue Clan can offer you so much more?"
Anna was gently touched the top of his head.
"Munakata-san,"
"Yes?"
"Although you came to us with hidden agendas, you are a good person and I sense that you really would not like to see me harmed in anyway. You are a good person," she told him with her usual expressionless face, "but you are not red."
Reisi gave her a surprised look, then smiled and straightened.
"I see."
Mikoto stood up and nudged Anna off the bench.
"Take care of her, Suoh," Reisi said.
Mikoto looked over his shoulder and told him, "Better than you could, Reisi,"
After dealing with a patrol matter from some of her subordinates, Seri found herself walking through an alley.
She sensed something behind her and spun around quickly.
To her surprise, she saw Izumo standing there, hand in one pocket while other the other was being used for the cigarette in his mouth.
He did not look like the usual Izumo.
Izumo was usually calm, mild and smiling.
This man was smiling, but it was cold. There was an almost sadistic look in his eyes.
Seri instinctively moved back in fear. Izumo followed her slowly, until she backed into the wall of the building behind her. He came close enough to her to press his larger, warm body against hers. He took his hand out of his pocket and slammed it against the wall beside her head, making her heart tremble.
"I got a little letter in the mail," he informed her softly.
"It was by our rights that we try to take her. She is a strain, she is our responsibility and you do not have rights over based on Protocol 21," she told him.
"You know your law quite well, Seri," he said her first name with an edge of harshness. It startled her, and her eyes widened a bit, looking up at his own green ones.
Izumo took her chin his hand between his thumb and forefinger, while still holding the cigarette between the valley of his middle and forefinger. Seri's eyes fell on the burning ash of the cigarette. She could feel its heat on her face, making her worried. Izumo seemed angry enough to want to burn her.
Forcing herself to be calm, she explained, "Protocol 21 allows for my clan to take custody of an underaged strain if we feel that the person who is caring for her, who is not her guardian isn't sufficiently giving regard for his or her wellbeing. That letter was issued to you to let you know our intentions,"
"You did not have permission from her legal guardian."
"Scepter 4 has some jurisdiction if the child has been living separately and has has little contact with her legal guardian based on provisions 12 and 13 of the Protocol."
"But Anna has not been living separately from her legal guardian," Izumo told her with a smirk. He let her face go and took a drag from her cigarette.
"What are you talking about? Our data shows that she has not been with her aunt for a very long time!" Seri argued.
Izumo caught hold of the front of her neck. He could easily strangle the woman, but he did not. Instead, he let his thumb slide upward to her lips that he lightly traced with deliberate slowness. Despite his almost gentle touch, Seri could feel the tightly reigned rage.
"I am Anna's legal guardian," Izumo informed her.
"What?!" she gasped, about to ask more, but Izumo had forced her head against the wall.
Calmly, almost affectionately, he pressed his forehead against hers and murmured, "We had her aunt sign over her guardianship to me and that was information we kept very quiet to protect Anna in case someone like you tried to take her away. No one really cares if you underestimate us, Seri, but I advise that you don't. We knew about the strains being captured, and some being killed, and I know we kept our friendship out of clan issues, but you really pushed it with me, Seri-chan,"
"Izumo, you don't understand-"
Izumo let her neck go and lightly traced the curve of her cheek, almost tenderly, with the back of his knuckles.
"What don't I understand? Why you didn't tell me right away how much danger Anna was in? That really and truly, your clan only wanted her power, not her best interests? That you tried to take her away from us, even going to legal means to get to her?"
Seri saw his eyes narrow, and a deep burning rage in those eyes behind those glasses.
"I didn't want to, Izumo," she told him, using his first name.
"Then why?" he demanded harshly.
"Because I was ordered to. My loyalty is with the Blue Clan," she replied.
Izumo made a disgusted sound and let her go. "So much for caring so much for Anna's welfare that you wanted her to 'evolve like the butterfly she is.'"
Seri calmed herself and walked to him. She handed him a small disk in a plastic case.
"I didn't think we actually could take Anna from you, neither did my King. However, we could not see Anna being safe with you," She gave an annoyed look, "but it seems that you unruly men might actually be able to, since you were able to stopper our efforts to get her. This disk is data I gathered this data for you-without Scepter 4's knowledge."
Izumo accepted the disk, and looked at in confusion.
"It contains information we gathered on how strain's mature and grow physically, emotionally and mentally. It is very detailed and it could contain information vital to how you bring Anna up."
Izumo frowned at her.
"Why, Seri?"
She gave a cold look, "Because I want Anna to 'evolve into the butterfly' I know she is, and I think that the ones taking care of her should try harder. I also added some information on the Rise. It could be useful to you. We will also be working with the Gold King on this matter, so my King will keep conveying information to yours on the issue. But for now, take this information that I have on them."
"How did you know that we know?"
"Only because the Gold King told us," Seri replied.
She gave Izumo a weary look.
"Following orders to compromise my friendship with you was not easy, Izumo. When we came in that first day, we were quite certain that you all had forgotten that Anna was growing up. We were right about that much, and we suspected that you would ring me up to have those talks with her, and from there we could lure her away with the school. What we didn't know was how well you keep track of the occurrences in this town, Izumo. Or the lengths your king would go to protect Anna. Or how well you cover up and hide information to keep her safe. I did not want to be so underhanded, Izumo. It was difficult for me to carry out these tasks."
Izumo gave her a genuinely warm smile. He placed his hand on the top of her head.
"I'm sure it was."
"I'm glad I underestimated you," she told him.
She was about to walk away, but he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against him, making her gasp in shock, and blush bright red.
She looked up at his handsome face in surprise.
"You know, maybe we should have a little talk too. In bed."
Seri glared at him and struggled against him.
"I don't like men who come on so strong."
Izumo merely smile and pushed her against the wall of the building behind her. One arm still on her waist, the hand of the other was still pressed against the wall to the side of her head, pinning her there once more.
"You know, you're cold hearted, but I bet you like being overpowered in bed," Izumo was telling her.
Seri gasped in surprise.
"Izumo, we're friends, we can't-"
He brought his head lower to hers.
"Can't. Or won't? We've been fighting this for so long, Seri. I see it in your eyes whenever you drink that horrible red bean paste drinks behind my bar. You want me."
Seri turned her head away, trying to shrink away, but Izumo smirked and kissed her ear gently, then lightly he kept pressing his lips down the curve of her cheek, close to her mouth.
He touched his forehead against hers again.
"I've been fighting it, Seri. Every time I see you," His breath was on her, his lips so close to hers. She wished he would just press his mouth against hers, "I've thought about all the ways I could have you...you under me, to-"
Someone cleared their throat from the alley's entrance.
Izumo and Seri were stunned to see Mikoto standing there, calmly smoking a cigarette. They broke apart quickly when they realized Anna was standing beside him with one hand clutching his jacket as she looked on with a blank face.
"M-Mikoto?"
"Anna-chan?"
The two were flustered, and blushing deeply. However, they quickly pulled themselves back together quickly and went back into professional mode.
Seri looked at Izumo.
"Kusanagi-san, it was good to see you today."
"Likewise, Awashima-san."
Seri was about to go, but Izumo caught her shoulder. He lowered his head so that only she could hear his words.
"Technically, I am Anna's adoptive father. She needs a mother."
Seri looked at him over her shoulder and smiled warmly, but somewhat sadly.
"Thank you, Izumo, but today my loyalty is to the Blue Clan, and their priorities are first. But forever, your loyalty will be to the Red Clan."
Izumo returned her sad smile.
They looked at Anna who had let go of Mikoto to approach them.
"Well, I guess we better going!" Izumo said, about to take Anna's hand and walk her away.
"Nothing huh?" Mikoto reminded him of the words Izumo had practically shouted at him more than once, regarding his relationship with Seri.
"It's nothing Mikoto, nothing!" Izumo insisted. He turned to Anna, "Nothing at all, okay Anna! You understand, right?"
Anna, showing no emotion as usual, whether in expression or tone nodded.
"You were only trying to have sex with her,"
"Of course...wait! Wha-Anna?" Izumo gasped while Mikoto slapped a hand to his face and Seri let out an exasperated sound.
"How do you know that?" Izumo demanded.
"Ah...that's called seduction, right?" Anna pressed.
"Answer my question!" Izumo snapped at her.
Anna looked up at him and told him with dead seriousness, "You were so full of passion that your thoughts were being spilled from your body. I accidentally picked up those words,"
Izumo and Seri groaned. Izumo felt Mikoto's anger spike a little. Who could blame them? Neither wanted to hear the word 'passion' come from Anna's mouth.
Anna looked at Seri.
"You said that I should only have sex when I get married," Anna reminded her.
Seri looked uncomfortable.
"Well, that's true."
"Then why were you letting him get to you?" Anna's voice was not condemning, merely curious.
Seri was trying hard not to reveal her nervousness. She also noted that Izumo was listening quite intently.
"Well, you see Anna I've never done this sort of thing before and-"
"You're a virgin?" Izumo gasped and was rewarded with a slap from a highly peeved Seri.
Seri turned back to Anna while Izumo rubbed his bruised cheek.
"Ah...I felt that on my heart," he told Mikoto who gave him a mildly worried look.
Meanwhile, Seri was speaking to Anna again.
"Remember I said that you when you like someone, you might actually want to let things happen between you?"
Anna nodded.
"Well, it's like that. But it doesn't mean that you should or you shouldn't. I would advise you to wait until marriage,"
"So I can do it before?"
"That decision is yours. Remember that you need to be prepared and mature in different dimensions of your personal self before making that step. I believe that marriage should come first and to when getting married, it is advisable that you be mature in those areas in the first place," Seri told her.
Anna nodded.
Seri smiled at her, stroked her hair affectionately before going to leave. She bowed politely to the King and Izumo, then disappeared out the alley.
"Get out of Cloud nine," Mikoto told Izumo who was looking extremely pleased by Seri's words.
Izumo grinned, took Anna's hand, and followed Mikoto out of the alley.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
