(Hey there guys! I am so sorry this took so long to get out, but I have a good excuse! I went to Fanime Con! And it was awesome! And I cosplayed as Yata! Anyway, thank you very much for being patient with me, and as always, let me know what you think please!)

Chapter 10/ Iris

"And I don't want the world to see me

Cause I don't think that they'd understand

When everything's made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am."

Iris – The Goo Goo Dolls

"Yata..." Izumo let out a long sigh that ended in a groan. Yata opened one of his eyes to see the blonde sit heavily on the bench. This was it, he was sure of it. Izumo knowing who Yata liked and who he had been hanging out with would certainly make Izumo do something, like forbid Yata to see Saruhiko or make his friends not let him hang out alone. Yata had just ruined everything before it even really started.

"How long have you known he was the Blue King's kid?" Izumo asked. He sounded exhausted and defeated.

"From the beginning," Yata answered, opening both his eyes to stare at the ground in front of him.

"Why did you decide to hang out with him then?" Izumo asked while lighting a cigarette. Yata instantly became frustrated at this.

"I don't get why we're supposed to hate someone without even knowing who they are. How is it fair that just because he's a Blue, I'm supposed to hate him?" Yata grumbled and glared at his shoes. At this, Izumo looked over to Yata, and his brow furrowed. A few minutes of silence went by.

"It's hard to argue with that. But do you have any idea how dangerous this is? I can't protect you if Mikoto or the clan find out," Izumo said gently. Yata was confused by this.

"Aren't you going to stop me from seeing him?" Yata asked. Izumo let out a tired laugh.

"The only way I can do that is to either pull you out of school or transfer you to a different school. But those options will raise questions that I really don' want to answer. You obviously have found a way to keep this from your friends, and if I told them, I might as well tell the whole clan. There really isn't anything I can do, Yata," Izumo finished with a sigh. Yata wanted to smile but thought it to be inappropriate.

"I can ask you to stop seeing him. But something tells me that would be a waste of time. So can you promise me something?" Izumo stood up and looked down at Yata. Yata stood up also.

"Promise me that you will be careful. No one else can ever know about this. If this does get out, I will deny any knowledge of it. I can honestly say that I have no idea how Mikoto will react if he finds out." Izumo's tone was serious.

"I swear it," Yata replied, holding the taller man's gaze. Izumo gave a small smile and pulled Yata in for a hug.

"I'll do what I can to help and protect you," Izumo said before he let Yata go. Yata didn't know what to say to this, so he followed Izumo back to the bar in silence.

"Oh, and you owe me a chair and a glass," Izumo added. Yata felt nervous again.

"Okay. I really am sorry about that," Yata said awkwardly.

Back at the bar, Yata's friends were acting weird about his outburst. He didn't even think of what to say to them.

"I'll apologize for Yata. He had a bad experience at lunch something I had him do today. The guy was a douche bag." Izumo claimed as he started cleaning the dishes from dinner. An "Ooohhh" went around the room and everyone relaxed. Yata gave a thankful smile to the bartender, who winked at him with a small smile.

A few hours later, Yata's friends went home. All Yata really wanted to do now was play video games until he passed out, but Mikoto came home with bad news. Apparently the Green Clan was doing a massive recruitment through their app called JUNGLE, and many devices had been hacked for information about the Red and Blue Clans. From what the Red King had gathered, the Green King was planning to challenge the other clans for territory in the city.

"I'll contact all of the Red Clan and see who was hacked then get them new phones. Then I'll find out where the Green Clan wanted to strike and whatever else can be useful," Izumo said while already working on his phone.

"Just expect a fight at any time or anywhere. Yata, no running off by yourself until this bullshit is over," Mikoto growled in his deep voice. Yata nodded and went to his bedroom, pulling out his phone as he sat down to play games. To his surprise, Saruhiko had emailed him. Yata smiled at what he read but didn't reply, turning on his game to relax and go to sleep.-

Saruhiko woke up sore but in a fairly decent mood. He grabbed a smoothie before heading towards school, but was stopped by Reisi before he could leave the building.

"I'll pick you up from school today, Saruhiko. I can't explain right now but be careful today." Reisi had pulled Saru away from the morning crowd going in and out the front doors. The Blue King was a little tired and on edge.

"Okay," Saru replied slowly, eying Reisi carefully before he was called away. He stood still for a moment before making his way to school, wishing his throwing knives had come in already.

The day went by slowly, and Saruhiko's mind went over every scenario possible if Yata met him at lunch. He wouldn't be able to eat; his nerves had put his stomach in knots. He couldn't know for sure if Yata would even show up, but he really hoped he did. Not that he had any idea what he was going to say. He wanted to try whatever Yata had suggested. "A couple." But how would that work since they couldn't be seen together? They couldn't just leave school. Maybe they could work something out for after school hours, but even then the Red Clan was everywhere and Reisi was keeping a closer eye on Saru.

Saruhiko was brought out of his thoughts by the bell for lunch. Saruhiko's stomach jumped to his throat and he tried to hide his trembling hands by shoving them into his pockets. He walked slowly, eyes glued to the floor, and told himself to breath. He stopped at the doors that led to where he would meet Yata and closed his eyes with a deep breath.

It was an overcast day; the sun was trying its hardest to peak out from the layer of clouds, making Saruhiko squint slightly. He looked around the area and didn't see Yata. He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding, as well as releasing his clenched fist and jaw. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, his eyes studying the ground in front of him. If Yata didn't show, that definitely would make both their lives easier. Saruhiko knew his life was best if he was alone; he had always preferred it that way. But he also hadn't known happiness before Yata had invaded his bubble. Smiling, butterflies, wanting to make another being happy. All these were new to him and involved the least expected person in the world.

A clatter of claws and a ruffle of feathers interrupted Saru's thoughts. He looked up to the chain link fence in front of him to see a bright green bird perched. Saruhiko couldn't explain why, but the bird made him feel uncomfortable, like it was watching him.

Before he could think on this further, the door opened and Yata popped his head over to see Saru. A small smile appeared on Yata's face, and Saruhiko tried to smile also, but it turned out more like a grimace.

"I'm glad you're here," Saru said gently, his throat tightening. Yata stepped next to Saru and leaned against the wall, his bag falling to the ground, his eyes on the raven head.

"We can just forget I said anything," Yata offered. Saru looked at him sharply.

"I don't want to. That's not what..." Saru trailed off, looking away in frustration. He now understood how Yata felt yesterday; saying these things was hard. He let out a sigh and faced Yata.

"I want... you...too. What you said, it's-" Saruhiko couldn't form a sentence that made sense and felt a little dizzy from everything going through his head. He took a deep breath to steady himself and looked into Yata's eyes, which seemed to be pleading for Saruhiko to say something good. With a wave of courage, the raven head stepped closer to Yata and took his face in his hands. He paused for just a moment, like asking for permission to act. When Yata didn't pull away or act negatively, Saruhiko leaned in and touched his lips to Yata's. They both were reluctant and gentle, Yata's hands ended up on Saru's chest. A few long moments passed and Saruhiko pulled away, his glacier orbs locking with Yata's hazel ones.

"Okay," Yata said with a smile.-

"All along it was a fever,

A cold sweat hot-headed believer,

I threw my hands in the air, said "Show my something."

He said, "If you dare, come a little closer.""

Stay – Rhianna

Yata understood now that explaining things to Saruhiko wasn't necessary. That kiss, his very first kiss, had said everything he felt and told him how the raven head felt about him. They looked at each other for a minute or so before Yata nuzzled himself into Saru's chest. Saruhiko wrapped his arms around the shorter male, resting his chin in his hair. Silence fell over the two, like they were both processing what this action meant.

"So how is this going to work?" Saruhiko broke the silence gently, still holding Yata like he never wanted to let go. Yata closed his eyes and sighed softly.

"I don't know yet. It's not going to be easy though," Yata replied, a smile escaping him at this thought.

A loud squawk interrupted the pair's comfortable silence, making Yata jump and look for its source. When he saw the green bird staring at them unblinkingly, Yata tilted his head.

"That bird makes me uncomfortable," Saru responded to Yata's confusion.

"Let's go to the back wall," Yata suggested, stepping out of Saruhiko's arms and picking up his bag. Saru followed and sat against the back wall. Yata sat next to him and intertwined their fingers. He was immediately distracted by the green bird flying to perch on the fence in front of them, staring at the pair with interest. Yata narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell?" he grumbled, glancing at Saru next to him, who was studying the bird inventively.

"You think it wants food or something?" Yata asked. Saruhiko clicked his tongue and shrugged.

"I don't know. There's something wrong with that bird though." Saru replied, tightening his hand like he was getting protective.

Before anything else could be said, the bell rang. Yata sighed and slumped his shoulders.

"Dammit," he groaned.

"Let's just stay here," Saruhiko offered. Yata shook his head.

"I can't. Mikoto ordered for us Red kids to stay together for a while. I only got away because they think I'm with Izumo," Yata explained while getting up.

"That's weird. Reisi told me to be careful today and that he'd pick me up from school," Saru said while standing also.

"It's something about the Green King and his clan," Yata said while walking to the door. Before Saruhiko could say anything, Yata turned and kissed the raven head with more confidence than before. He broke the kiss after a few moments.

"I'll email you soon," Yata said with a final smile.

Yata didn't get a chance to even look at his phone for the rest of the day. The bar was packed with clansmen when he got home, all talking about the Green King and JUNGLE. Izumo stopped Yata before he could go to his room to put his stuff away.

"The Green Clan made an aggressive move today. A couple of our guys got into a scuffle that ended because the police showed up. The Green King has also sent out spies to watch us and Scepter 4. One of them is his pet bird, very efficient in my opinion. Mikoto wants to stay on the offensive for now, just to see how big this thing gets," Izumo explained in a concerned tone. Yata's heart sank.-

Saruhiko had never been picked up from school, even in his elementary days; Reisi would walk him back to Scepter 4. So when Reisi was waiting for him at the front gate dressed in plain clothes, Saru was slightly confused. Reisi's violet eyes were methodically taking in the groups of students leaving and the parents waiting for their children. Reisi only gave a nod when Saru approached him, turning to lead him to a plain white car. The Blue King settled into the driver's seat, and Saru went to get into the passenger's side, but saw it was occupied by a Scepter 4 officer in uniform.

Once they started driving away from the school, Reisi finally spoke.

"The reason for all this and my warning this morning comes from recent events. The fifth king, the Green King, Nagare Hisui, has decided to attempt to make his presence larger in the city. The way he plans on doing this is reducing numbers in both Scepter 4 and the Red Clan. There was an attack on a group of Red clansman earlier this afternoon, and the Green Clan has been trying to hack into Scepter 4's network, along with all mobile devices for both clans. He has also started spying on both clans," the Blue King explained in an even, official tone. Saruhiko processed this for a few minutes.

"So the Green Clan is just randomly attacking us and the Red clan?" he asked.

"Basically. I have a continuous stream of intel on the Red Clan, thanks to Ms. Awashima's efforts. I've been informed that the Red King isn't going to attack yet, much to my surprise. All troops are on high alert in case the Green clan shows up. But I need your help, Saruhiko," Reisi finished with a glance in the rear view mirror. Saruhiko's eyebrows raised in response.

"I need your help in securing Scepter 4's network so the Green Clan can't get their hands on any information we have," Reisi said in a serious tone. Saru wanted to laugh, but settled for a smirk instead.

"Does this get me out of training for tonight?" Saru asked, still smirking. The Blue King allowed a dry chuckle at this.

"Sure," was his response. Right before they arrived at HQ, Saru sent an email to Yata.

"Hey, have work to do tonight.

I'll see you at lunch tomorrow."

It took about three hours for Saruhiko to go through Scepter 4's whole system to find any weak spots, then install a new firewall program, followed by setting up another network that the system would switch to automatically every few hours. By the time he was finished, Saru had a headache and an empty stomach. As a thank you token, Reisi had the cook make anything Saruhiko wanted, which was just a rice bowl with charred beef and a large soda.

The teen planned on doing homework, but instead found himself researching the Green King and his clan. They hid their tracks well, but Saruhiko was good at uncovering what people had tried to hide. The Green Clan's powers had to do with manipulating physics. It didn't seem like they had a main base, and most of their communication was done through their JUNGLE app. Saruhiko's jaw dropped when he scrolled down to a picture of a Green clansman with a green bird sitting on his shoulder; it was the same green bird from earlier in the day. Saru quickly went to Reisi's office.

"Is there something special about a green bird in the Green Clan?" Saru asked after closing the door. The Blue King had been reading reports.

"Why do you ask?" Reisi asked with a furrowed brow.

"I saw the bird today, during lunch," he replied carefully. Reisi tilted his head but remained in silent thought for several moments.

"What did the bird do exactly?" Reisi finally asked. Saru swallowed, making sure to answer carefully.

"It just... watched me. It didn't go away, and it followed me when I tried to move away from it," the raven head answered. Reisi narrowed his eyes slightly.

"That bird acts as a medium for the Green King, lets him see what its seeing and communicates through it. Apparently the Green King has taken an interest in you." Reisi didn't hide his concern. Saruhiko felt his knees go weak and his skin crawl in a cold sweat at this information.-