Hey guys~! :D

Sorry it took so long with this, I've been focusing on An Interesting Twist even if it doesn't generate a lot of views. I just enjoy that story and am currently obsessed with Owari no Seraph LOOL

First off, I just want to say: WARNING! WARNING! IF YOU'VE NOT READ K SIDE: RED, YOU'RE GOING TO BE READING SPOILERS!

Obviously I'm not copying-pasting the entire thing into my story because, lets face it, my OC's aren't in the original series, so I'm going to mix it up a bit but I have to follow some lines to some extent. There's a lot of information in the chapters I'm trying to cram into this one, so I had to pick and choose what to put. It's not all going to be here, but for those of you who have read the novels, you'll understand what's going on. To those of you who haven't read the novel, you're going to think that I'm jumping around and leaving A LOT out.

NOTE: Unedited, but I didn't have too much time to give it a good look-over. I'll do so tonight when I'm in bed and my table is fully charged :)

PIECES OF ME

CH X

Anna Kushina; The New Arrival – Part II (of III)

"So, King..."

Kaori, who was sitting beside Mikoto quietly picking at her bowl of ice cream, looked towards Tatara and instantly noticed Anna hiding behind him. The fact that Tatara was grinning at the silent Red King made her own lips pull into a grin, waiting patiently for Mikoto's vassal and long-time friend to speak.

"What?" Mikoto looked at him and eyed him suspiciously, only to notice Anna was staring at him with her large, mirror-like eyes.

As Anna stared at the King, he suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She always stared at him like that, as if she were reading every thought in his head or seeing right through his soul. Those red eyes, that looked like glass hiding every emotion flooding in her being.

"It's a beautiful day outside, no?" Tatara began with an innocent tone and his grin still in place, "It'd be a shame not to go, say... To the amusement park?"

Mikoto's brow rose, "Then go."

"It'd be a shame not to go to the amusement park, no?" He repeated, his grin widening.

Kaori giggled at the expression on her lovers face, "Mikoto, I don't think it's Tatara asking," She gave Anna a very supportive, gentle smile, "You can ask him yourself, Anna. Tatara and I promise not to let him be mean to you."

Anna glanced at Kaori for a moment before slowly dragging her eyes up to meet Mikoto's amber ones, "I never got to go to an amusement park before..."

"Is that so?" Came the curt, almost ground out response.

Of course this was a setup. He knew if he said no, after hearing what Anna had to say and in front of two of the most important people to him, no less, that he'd be called a 'jerk', or a 'fiend'. Kaori was bound to scold him at some point for not humoring the young girl, so to save himself a lot of grief and a headache in the evening, Mikoto reluctantly agreed to accompany them to the amusement park.

This also peeked the interest of several other HOMRA members, so it became a clan excursion for the day. Yata and Kamamoto were more than happy to join, leaving a very excited russet haired boy to drag his unhappy partner along with them.

Kaori giggled as they walked through the gates, noticing the extremely happy expression on Tatara's face while he, Kamamoto, Anna and Yata walked ahead of herself, Mikoto and Fushimi. She opted to hang back to amuse her lover and the boy she felt she was very close with, feeling somewhat honored that he stuck so close to her and didn't seem all that uncomfortable.

"Are you hungry, Anna?" Kamamoto grinned down at her, "They make amazing crepes here!"

Anna looked up at him with wide eyes and nodded slowly, "Okay."

Tatara smiled and gripped Anna's hand gently while Kamamoto disappeared to go and collect their treats. Yata on the other hand, stared widely at all of the rides as if he'd never seen any of them before.

"Never been to an amusement park?" Tatara teased.

Yata shook his head, "No. Never got the chance, so I guess Anna and I are in the same boat!"

Anna blushed slightly at that, looking up at Yata as he chuckled in response to a silly comment Tatara had just made.

Meanwhile, Fushimi stood beside Kaori and Mikoto while he watched the display, "Why did I have to come to?"

"You had to come because you're part of HOMRA, and it made Anna happy when we all agreed to go," Kaori grinned at him, "Just humor the lovely lady for a little while, okay?"

Fushimi gave a click of his tongue but said nothing more.

Mikoto eyed Fushimi for a moment before looking at Kaori, "Are you going to go on anything today?"

"Probably," She looked at Mikoto, "Are you going to sit o a bench and brood the entire time?"

"Probably."

"Figured as much," Kaori sighed softly, "Promise me you'll come on at least one ride with me, if not me and Anna."

Mikoto's brow rose, "You think you're going to steal her from Tatara or Rikio anytime soon?"

"Oh, I will. Even if I have to knock one of them out to do it," She teased, looking over to see Kamamoto had returned with two crepes in his hand, holding one out for Anna to take, "She seems to really like Rikio, doesn't she?"

Mikoto watched the scene in front of him with a neutral expression, "Hn."

"Saru!" Yata suddenly ran up to the three and grabbed his less-than amused partner by the wrist and began dragging him away, "Lets go on some rides!"

Fushimi glared, "Misaki, let go of me!"

Kaori watched the two and giggled before looking at Mikoto, "Are you really just going to sit on a bench and brood all day?"

Mikoto stared as Tatara approached them, "Yeah. You go ahead and have fun."

"Mikoto..." Kaori frowned slightly.

"King, mind if I borrow Kaori for a while?" Tatara beamed, not at all fazed by the scathing look the Red King shot him, "I'll take that as a yes."

Mikoto let Tatara pull his lover away from him and sighed when they walked over to join the others, following behind at a distance until he reached a bench in a designated area for smokers. Deciding this would be where he occupied for the entirety of their stay, he lounged back and looked up to the sky, ignoring all of the concerned stares he received and allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts.

. . .

Kaori watched as Anna continued to pull Kamamoto and Yata towards the more fast-paced, daring rides and would go on them without even a blink of an eye. It amused her to think that such a tiny, expressionless young girl found entertainment in something so dangerous. It was even more amusing that on certain rides, Anna would give Kamamoto a doe-eyed look and he would exert some of his power to make the rides go faster. The spinning teacups seemed to be her favorite, seeing as how Anna would drag Kamamoto and Yata behind her to go on them repeatedly.

"Do you think she's finally starting to enjoy our company?" Tatara looked down at Kaori with a smile.

She nodded and sighed softly, "I hope that we can get this whole ordeal with the Center over with so that we can take her. Even if I have to sign adoption papers and become her legal guardian, I'd like to see her with us rather than play the experimental doll to the Gold King."

Tatara nodded, "I think Izumo would agree with you and offer up to be her guardian as well."

"Yeah. He and I have already privately talked about it," Kaori watched Anna and could have sword she caught a glimpse an an almost-smile, "He said that if there needed to be two names on the certificate, that he would sign with me since Mikoto is still on the fence about having her around."

"That's very kind of him," Tatara smiled, "I would do it too, if it meant that we got to keep Anna with us."

Kaori nodded and smiled up at Tatara, "I know you would."

They continued to follow closely behind the three for quite some time, not noticing the sun had begun to set until Anna finally expressed that she needed a break. It was during that time when Kaori finally realized how close the tiny girl had gotten with Kamamoto, making her smile brightly at the sight of the two nestled together with Anna laying on top his bulging stomach.

He looked absolutely content with this and had a huge smile on his face, even as Yata teased him.

"So," Kaori looked up at Tatara, "Did you happen to see where Saruhiko went?"

Tatara gave her a thoughtful look for a moment before blinking, "Come to think of it, no."

"Wouldn't it be grand if he made his way over to where Mikoto was?" Kaori grinned cruely, "They'd have no choice but to talk if that were the case."

With a chuckle, Tatara shook his head, "You're evil."

"I know."

"Should one of us go find King?" Tatara asked, "It's getting dark out and I'm sure Anna would enjoy it if King joined us for one ride."

"I'll go," Kaori smiled.

As she offered to go retrieve Mikoto, Anna looked over to her, "Can I come?"

"Sure!" Kaori grinned.

Anna slowly slid off Kamamoto and padded her way over to the brunette, accepting the hand that Kaori held out to her and followed closely beside the woman as they searched for the Red King.

It was a comfortable silence between the two as they walked in tandem, with Anna gripping Kaori's fingers tighter every now and then to remind her that she was there. It would bring a smile to Kaori's face whenever Anna would gesture towards a stand with large stuffed animals with her emotionless face and wide eyes seemingly sparkling with glee. She made the tiny girl a promise to bring the boys along to win her whatever it was she wanted before they left for the night, satisfying Anna to the point where she almost, almost smiled up at her.

"Are you enjoying your time with us?" Kaori asked, letting the curiosity get the better of her.

Anna nodded but said nothing more, simply looking up at her as if she knew Kaori had more to say.

"You seem to really like spending time with Rikio," She pointed out, grinning down at the girl while she nodded again, "What about Misaki and Tatara?"

"They're nice," Anna replied slowly, "Misaki is loud."

Kaori giggled at that, "I agree. He can be a little loud when he gets going, but he's very fond of you. We all are."

Anna looked up at her and stared for what seemed like forever. It wasn't until they neared where Mikoto was sitting, with a nervous looking Fushimi beside him, that Anna shifted her gaze to stare at the now uncomfortable Red King.

Slipping her hand from Kaori's grip, Anna rushed over towards the bench and stopped a mere foot away from it. Her eyes were fixated on Mikoto in an almost eerie way, making him shift slightly and look straight to Kaori to avoid giving the doll-like girl a disgruntled, rude face in response to her attention.

"I take it that Tatara sent you to find us?"

Kaori nodded, "They wanted you and Saru to join us for at least one right," She walked over and reached down to grab Mikoto's hand, pulling towards herself so she could attempt to haul his figure off the bench, "Come on, be nice and just come with us for one ride. It won't kill you!"

Mikoto made a face but didn't struggle against Kaori, allowing her to heave his body into a standing position before he looked down to see Anna still staring at him. At some point both Tatara and Yata reappeared to collect Fushimi and the others, pulling them towards where the ferris wheel was to get there before they closed it down.

As they walked towards the spot, Mikoto looked down at Kaori, "Did you notice them?"

"I thought I saw someone earlier, but I figured since we have her out in the open and after what happened at the facility, we would be watched," Kaori looked at Mikoto, "I think that's why Tatara was so adamant about you joining us. He wanted to make sure they wouldn't blindly attack because they would outnumber us otherwise."

Mikoto nodded, looking over to Tatara, who was smiling down at Anna talking to her despite the fact she hardly spoke back, "Stay close to me for the rest of our time here."

Kaori nodded and walked beside him as they tailed behind the group, feeling somewhat disappointed for Anna when they arrived to the ferris wheel only to see it had been closed. She looked down at her and could see the open disappointment on her face, when Mikoto released her hand and walked over to the child.

It shocked Kaori more than Tatara when he leaned down to scoop Anna up with one arm and situate her on his hip before motioning with his free hand for her to go to him, wrapping his arm around her waist to secure her against him when she was in reach. He muttered for her to hand onto him before grabbing Tatara by the collar, and with one powerful kick from both feet, they leaped into the air with hardly a sound. When they reached the top of the building that stood at the highest point, he released Tatara before setting Anna down on her feet. He felt Kaori's arms leave his neck and looked down at her for a moment before looking around at various sections of the park with narrowed amber eyes.

"Tatara," Mikoto said in a voice that told the younger male he was in trouble, "If you knew they were going to be here today, why hide that fact and just outright tell me you wanted me to come?"

"It wasn't my idea," Tatara gave him a sheepish smile, "It was Izumo's. He wanted to make sure that when we came here, that we would have you as insurance to stop the Blue's from attacking."

"They're still surrounding the area," Mikoto grunted.

Kaori frowned, stepping close to Anna while Mikoto brushed passed them to stand near the edge of the roof, "You're going down there?"

"I'm going to scatter them and chase them off," Mikoto never looked over his shoulder towards her, "I want you and Tatara to stay up here with the brat. They obviously don't like the idea that she's with us and probably think I'll turn her into my clansman. There's a reason no one's telling us about why she's so damn important, but at least this way I get to play with the soldiers and let off some steam in the meantime."

Tatara chuckled softly, "Well, you have the two vanguards and Rikio down there as backup."

As Mikoto moved to step over the edge, Anna caught his sleeve, "Mikoto..."

"The Blue's won't touch a civilian. It's an agreement they made long before all of this, so don't worry," He said in a tone unlike the usual one he used, catching a glimpse of Kaori smiling towards him for being so gentle (in his standards) towards Anna, "It'll be done soon, so stay with Kaori and Tatara."

With a gentle squeeze, he managed to pry Anna's hand from his clothing before jumping down to meet the Blue's. Kaori walked closer to the edge to watch Mikoto in action, not missing a beat when his sword appeared high in the sky. They were too high above ground for her to hear what he was saying, but she knew him well enough that he was going to taunt the Blue clansmen out of hiding. Either that, or use the force of his power to flush them out.

From beside her, Anna stared in awe at the magnificent sword in the sky. Tatara noticed this and smiled, explaining to her what that signified and its purpose. She noted that it appeared damaged, but Kaori eased her worries by telling her that every King that reigns in their power suffers from some sort of minor injury. She told the child that a sword was a perfect representation of a King and their condition, being that if they were sick, the sword would be sick along with them.

"He holds almost too much power for one person to control," Kaori sighed, "He keeps a tight reign on it and always has to worry about letting go or having his hold slip even for a second, but it's a burden that comes along with being a King."

"Fire is dangerous," Anna whispered, "It's too powerful."

Kaori nodded, "It is."

"Think of it as a beast inside another beast," Tatara walked over so he was beside them rather than behind the two and looked up at the sword in the sky, "I think those damaged points are from his internal struggle to keep the beast of his power at bay. It helps now that he has Kaori to help calm his tendencies, but it's going to be a struggle within himself for the rest of his life."

Anna looked to Tatara before turning to Kaori, who had placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "You must of seen it. His dream, I mean. He told me that you two connected, so you must have seen it."

With a slow nod, Anna turned to look down at the scene below, "Is it painful to become a King?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no," Tatara looked down at her curiously, "Why do you ask?"

Anna watched the fiery display that Mikoto put on down below for quite some time before she formulated what she wanted to say. She didn't enjoy seeing all of those Blue clansmen running around in the midst of all of those flames, but it didn't appear that they were getting seriously injured from it all.

I want to become the Blue King.

. . .

During the evening, several of the Red clansmen made their way to the school Honami was currently in working overtime. Kusanagi and Mikoto had discussed a few things and decided to leave Kaori with Anna, but the child protested. Honami offered to tend to her while she finished her work and was more than happy to have the company in her office after Kusanagi said that Anna was feeling a little lonely.

Conversation went back and forth for a while as all of the Red Clan spoke about the happenings from earlier that day. Kusanagi was not only shocked to hear that Anna declared that she wished to become the Blue King, but concerned and agreed with Mikoto's suspicions. Sure, the girl was an extremely powerful strain for being so young, but there were reasons that no one could gather for why the Gold King and the Blue's wanted her so bad.

"There's the incident with her parents that we can't overlook," Kusanagi exhaled in a deep sigh.

Fushimi eyed him for a moment, "She hasn't realized that the Center most likely had her parents killed in order to obtain her?"

"Saru! How could you say that!" Yata glared.

"Misaki, Saruhiko has a point," Kusanagi looked at the hot-headed russet boy for a moment, "It's not entirely unlikely that they would have orchestrated something like this to take Anna from their custody. This way, they would have an alibi that no one would question."

"So what do we do?" Tatara sighed, sitting back in his seat at the desk.

Kusanagi glanced over to Mikoto, who had been silently standing by the window the entire time, "Are you going to do it?"

"I can't make anyone into one of my clansmen unless they are willing," Mikoto looked at his second-in-command, "I won't force her, either."

"But what if we could convince her to join?" Tatara looked at the Red King.

Mikoto eyed him for a moment before looking out the window, "A child in a group of good-for-nothings, huh?"

Tatara grinned at that while Kusanagi chuckled, "It's decided then."

Unknown to the group hidden in the classroom, Anna had overheard what was said in revelation of her parents.

She ran.

. . .

What Kaori had heard the next morning after walking into the bar area broke her heart. The boys were discussing what had been broadcasted on the news and Anna's name had been mentioned silently amongst them all. They were talking about her powers and how they could have possibly caused all of the incidents that happened during the night, being that many people were taken to the hospital with unique circumstances.

"Do you think her power is more effected by her emotions?" Kaori voiced aloud, "Something that caused her pain the past could be what's causing her to feel these things."

Tatara nodded, "She gave a burn on my arm when she touched me after first meeting me," He lifted his sleeve up to show what remained of the mark on his forearm, "They said that the people taken to the hospital either said that they felt that they were drowning, or had been severely burnt."

"Did I cause this?" Fushimi muttered, earning a concerned look from Kaori, "I was the one who brought up that the Center executed her parents."

Kusanagi moved to speak but he'd already shoved his chair back and made his way to the door, not stopping as Yata hollered to him to stop. It was obvious that he blamed himself, but the others didn't feel he was fully responsible. They hadn't considered Anna spying on them while they talked, so they were all at fault for overlooking something so simple as a child's curiosity.

They were all so upset with watching Fushimi run out of the bar that they hadn't noticed Mikoto had disappeared, somewhat worrying Kaori but Tatara just shot her a reassuring smile.

"We should try and track down Anna," Kusanagi ran his fingers through his dirty blond tresses, "But where the fuck do we start?"

"She could be at the Center," Kaori looked at him, "If she were causing trouble in the public last night, Scepter 4, with or without a King, would have stepped in to detain her."

Kusanagi sighed in aggravation, "Lovely. We'll never get her out of there, then."

Crush it.

"On second thought, we already know what our King wants to do," Another sigh escaped Kusanagi's lips, earning a curious look from Kaori, "We're going to break down the doors to the Center and go take Anna back."

Kaori went wide eyed, "What?! But that's Gold territory!"

"You know what your idiot boyfriend is like," Kusanagi pulled a cigarette from the pack in his hands and placed it between his lips before lighting it, "We'll just have to get you and Tatara down to the main holding level so you two can get her. We're going to be the muscle."

Tatara smiled while Kaori frowned, "If it comes down to a fight, we're at an extremely bad disadvantage."

"Don't worry!" Yata grinned, "We may be small in numbers, but with Mikoto leading us, we're unstoppable!"

Kaori watched as the young teen scrambled to run after Fushimi with his skateboard in hand, leaving Kamamoto, Tatara and Kusanagi to gape at his hasty exit.

"We should plan this out since Mikoto will be making his own rules," Kusanagi leaned down and shuffled around the back of his bar before pulling out what looked like a rolled map, "I kept the map of the Center, so lets go over this before we walk into anything."

Tatara nodded and walked over, waiting for Kusanagi to finish unrolling the paper on the counter top. Meanwhile, Kaori noticed that Bando had returned with several other new faces. Chitose and Dewa, the newest recruits, followed him in closely and waved to Kaori when their eyes landed on her.

"Not only do we have to keep the majority of our clan with us to infiltrate this place, but we can't leave Honami unprotected," Kusanagi muttered, "So we'll need at least three or four guys with her."

The door to the bar opened once more, as they all looked over to see Mikoto walk in. He headed straight for the bar, where Kusanagi had a glass of alcohol waiting for him. He explained what had already been discussed with the Red King before giving him a pointed look.

"Boss, we can't have you lighting the place up because the Center is attached to a civilian hospital," Kusanagi warned, "So we're going to be the force that gets us down to the lower levels and wait until the last possible moment to have you let loose."

Mikoto picked up the glass and took a drawn out sip while giving Kusanagi a menacing look, "Fine."

"We've decided that Kaori and Tatara will be the ones to get Anna, since she doesn't mind being around either of them," Kusanagi said to Mikoto, "I know you don't like the idea of Kaori getting involve with any clan affairs, but Anna likes her. She needs someone that she can trust if she's going to willingly come with us."

"I will bring Tatara, but not Kaori," Mikoto narrowed his eyes, "That's not up for negotiations."

"Mikoto," Kaori frowned as she met his eye.

"No," He gave her a sharp look, "It's bad enough that we have to go and break the kid out the Center, but if the Gold clan decides to try and stop us, you're in danger. If I didn't think she'd run for the hills when she saw me, I wouldn't be bringing Tatara, either."

Tatara watched the two and sighed, giving Kaori a sympathetic look before reaching out to place a hand on her arm, "I'll make sure nothing happens to any of your boys, Kaori. You can trust me."

"I know," Kaori sighed, reaching up to rub her forehead with one of her hands, "I just feel useless while you're all going to be risking your lives."

"If you want to be of some help, why not bring Honami here and help protect her?" Kusanagi offered, "That way, you and her will have protection. We also know that you've got one hell of a temper when needed, so I doubt those Blue bastards would stand a chance if you got pissed and had to fight along side the boys we leave with you."

Kaori smiled at his consideration, "Alright, I'll do that."

"You and Tatara are like the peace keepers, so I'm sure you'll try to use words rather than fists if it comes down to that," Kusanagi smiled back, "You and Honami get along, too, so you can help keep her relaxed while we're down there."

"So, we're doing this today?" Bando asked quietly from behind Tatara, earning a nod from Kusanagi.

"Gather all of our clansmen and have them meet us here," Kusanagi looked at Kamamoto, "Get a hold of Yata and make sure he and Saruhiko make their way over here immediately. As for Honami, Chitose, you and Kaori go and pick her up and then bring her back here."

Chitose nodded and looked at Kaori, who was already walking towards him when she was stopped by a hand clamping down on her shoulder.

Mikoto looked at her with a serious expression in his amber eyes, "I want you back here before we leave."

"I know," She smiled reassuringly at him, "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

The Red King shot Chitose a warning look before releasing his lover, letting her exit the bar with one of their newest members.

While the rest of HOMRA prepared for their assault on the Gold's territory, it took only twenty minutes for Kaori to return with Chitose and Honami. She was quickly ushered inside while Kaori gently pulled her into the kitchen to prepare some tea, leaving the boys to file out of the bar and meet outside the doors.

"You five will be here for the time being," Kusanagi motioned to the ones he was speaking to, "No one goes in, and no one comes out. Understood?"

They nodded.

It was only a few minutes later when Yata, who pulled a sour looking Fushimi behind him, showed up just in time for them to leave. Mikoto was not far behind them, having walked out of the bar already hostile and ready for a fight. All of his clansman could feel the pulsate of his power as he walked down the steps to join them, producing sparks as he stepped while his energy flowed off him in waves.

"Let's go."

. . .

Shiotsu watched as the Minato twins silently discussed what their opinions of what was about happen. He couldn't help but agree with them when the Red clan was mentioned, knowing that they had a particular fondness for the child Mizuchi was so fixated on. It was made obvious to him after talking with the Red clan's second-in-command, after he'd mentioned it but not come right out and admit it.

It also didn't suit his fancy when he watched the tins talk in turns, both seemingly excited for the idea of an upcoming battle. He'd make sure that the troupes of Scepter 4 were prepared for a fight, even if it wasn't their territory. Sure, he'd thought the Red clan was ridiculously brave for thinking they could storm into the Gold King's territory to break that child out, but he was curious to see how far they would get.

Shiotsu was always aware that Mizuchi was trying to prepare the child to become the next Blue King, but so far making no headway with her in regards to her having been "touched by the slates". He thought it was a waste of time. That girl was an exceptionally powerful strain, yes, but she was no King. Mizuchi, however, couldn't see passed that and was so focused on her that he was borderline obsessed.

"Ready the troupes and make preparations to have the civilians moved to avoid casualties if a fight breaks out," Shiotsu said to the twins, earning a gleeful grin from each other.

Hayato looked at Akito, "He means when a fight breaks out."

"With those noisy, brash Red's, it's guaranteed."

Shiotsu watched them, "Just do it."

"Understood," They aid in unison.

For those of you interested, I recommend reading the books anyways, just so you get a good look at how Anna joined HOMRA. I definitely recommend going to look at "Secrets of the Slate" on tumblr. They have a wonderful collection of English translations for almost ALL of the K Project novels and other projects! :)

Anywho! We're getting to the good parts, now! Next chapter will feature the battle and what goes on, as I've been doing two Side: Red chapters per chapter in this series, so the next update will finish off Anna's portion of the story! :)

Also, just a head's up, the next update following the completion of Anna's 'arc' is going to be upsetting, so prepare your kleenex's for those of you who are softies. I'm probably going to get teared up writing it, so just prepare yourselves. LOOL

Anywhooooo, I love you all SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH and thank each and every one of you for being so patient with me in regards to my schooling! I've got the date for my last exam and it's closing in on me faster than I would like it to, since Math is NOT my best subject, but it's the home stretch! Yay! :D

~ Kayori, out!