Chapter 11

Not a lot in this chapter because I have finals and nothing much happens with HOMRA in the episode. But Kimiko has started to open up. She is still having trouble letting go of Tatara. But she has a couple breakthrough moments with a couple people this chapter. Still, we don't know what else happened the night she stayed at Chitose's. Stay tuned and don't forget to REVIEW!

We sit quietly as Kusanagi explains everything to us. I'm laying on the couch by the window next to Misaki. My feet are crossed and propped up on his knee. He also has slunk back into the sofa. We felt so defeated, and yet… it wasn't our king who had been demoted. How could the Prime Minister do that to Munakata? "So…" I don't look at Kusanagi, but instead I stare across at my sneakers. "Even the government is blind, nobody can see that JUNGLE is corrupt, power hungry, egotistic-" Yata cuts me off as his own thought occurs to him. "Is that why Saruhiko jumped a sinking ship and betrayed everyone… to join the greens?" I mutter to myself, "That's not why…" but thankfully nobody hears it. The truth is… I had seen Fushimi. A few weeks before this, about a week after he had gone missing."

Weeks ago

I was supposed to patrol with Chitose that Friday. However, he had conveniently called Kusanagi saying he was sick. It was only two days after I had spent the night at his place. Nobody knew what had happened that night. They only knew I had stayed at his house because we were attacked by greens and needed a place to hide, but we both kept everything else a secret. However, people seemed to notice the tension between us. How could we talk about what was said that night? How could we talk about what had happened between us? I didn't even know the answers to some of the questions.

It was starting to get dark as I walked through the park. I had missed it. The trees and the flowers, but something new caught my eye. It was a slender guy in a dark coat walking through the path. "Fushimi?" It was him! "Fushimi!" I called out to him but he didn't even turn his head. I ran towards him, "Fushimi?! Hey, don't ignore me." As I reached him, I grabbed his arm and spun him around. "What are you doing here? We've been looking everywhere for you?" He didn't respond at first and I repeated, "Fushimi? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for me, eh? I don't recall it being the priority of the red clan to go looking for an old traitor." I let go of his arm and frowned. "I wish you would stop calling yourself that, Saruhiko…" He raised a cocky eyebrow. "Oh, why? Because you left HOMRA too and don't want to fall into the same category as me?" Every word of his was like one of his knives slowly pecking at my core. "No… because everyone needs to get over that. Holding a grudge is the most self-destructive thing you can do."

"So is being in love with someone who's dead." I started to see less and less of Fushimi and more of the soul-less pervert that had taken over his body. I stood still trying to think up a way to respond without allowing harsh words to escape my mouth but he kept talking instead. "Besides, Even the Captain said I'm used to being a traitor, so why change who you are." He allowed a sarcastic grin to spread across his face. I looked surprised. I knew Munakata had been a bit cruel to Fushimi lately, but to say something like that… "Damn. He said that to you?" Fushimi adjusted his glasses. "Whatever. I've learned to not care about what people say. Those who do spend too much time worrying about reputations and those change every day." He didn't mean that. He looked me up and down a final time and pulled something from his pocket. I flinched a bit and tightened my fists as he withdrew a knife. "Easy, Mrs. Totsuka. I'm not going to pick a fight with you and your broken aura." He spun the knife until the handle faced me. "Take it. There's a new green in this area stirring up all kinds of trouble… you might need it." I took it and looked up to say thank you, but didn't. For instead of seeing a concerned look, I saw his crooked grin. It was as if he found what he had just said… ironic. "O- Ok… Will do." He then pulled out his phone for something and walked away from me. I glanced down at the knife and examined it… "Fushimi!" He turned and looked back at my concerned face. "Just… don't do anything stupid, ok?" He didn't say anything but he let out that snickering giggle of his through his teeth which told me… too late.

I haven't told anyone about that night. I didn't think it would have made a difference anyway. Also I didn't care to hear a lecture from Kusanagi about how I shouldn't patrol on my own. My feet slink off of Misaki's knee as he stands. "I'm going to patrol the area again…" He grabs his board and sulkingly walks outside. I hear Kusanagi from the counter. "Go with him, Kimiko. I don't like it when he's like this…" I stand with a nod, "Ok, sure." Anna's face hasn't moved from the counter. It breaks my heart to think of the burden's she is carrying. I untie my red flannel from around my waist and put it on over my tank as I walk to the door. As soon as I push through it I ram into someone on the other side. "Oh crap, are you ok?" Looking to see who I had run into, I notice it's Chitose and Shohei. "H – hey…" Chitose mutters at me. "Um. Hi…"

"I.. I like your shirt. Never seen ya in red before." I'm suddenly very aware that we both are wearing red fleece. Shohei laughs while holding his nose. "Heh… yea you look like a couple." I try to ignore his comment and look at him. "Is your nose ok?" He shrugs, "It's fine. What kind of baby would I look like if I let walking into a door be painful?"

"Aw, right when I was going to offer kissing it to make it all better." His face turns bright red. I always thought his crush on me was pretty cute. So did Totsuka, hence the reason why he allowed him to flirt with me. Shohei waves his hands to try and come up with something to say, "Wait… well… I wouldn't say it is the most painful thing but it's not the least either!" I giggle as his voice gets more high pitched. The door closes behind us and I see Chitose has gotten sick of the conversation and gone inside. Shohei squinted his eyes in confusion. "Huh… he sure got moody real fast. Did something happen between you two?"

"NO! Why does everyone keep asking that?"

"Damn. Sorry!"

"No… don't be. It's ok." I pat the brim of his hat down over his eyes. "I need to go catch up with Misaki. I'll see you later." He pushes the brim back up with one finger revealing the cunning look on his eye. "And maybe then we can talk about that kiss?" I just grin and roll my eyes, "Raincheck…" He goes in and I run down the streets to try and catch up with Misaki. "Hey! Slow down." He puts his foot on the ground to stop himself and I catch up. He examines me. "You don't look as out of breath as usual."

"Really? I guess my training is paying off." He nods. I had been running every morning with Kosuke and sharpening my self-defense skills every night after patrol with Rikio. After spending almost two months back at HOMRA, it was becoming more and more like I never was rusty at all. Even my power came easier these days. But if I held onto someone for too long, my Aura would overtake me. Misaki lets out a huff. "These damn greens are a real pain in the ass."

"All the greens, or just Fushimi?" He shoots me a sideways glance. "All of 'em. I'm sick of their shit. Why can't they just come and face us instead of hiding like a bunch of cowards."

"Yea… hiding, and yet they pop up everywhere." I look at his face and see that I'm just making things worse. My phone rings. It's Yo. I quickly send the call to voicemail and Misaki sees. "What the hell happened between you two?"

"Ugh, Nothing!" The phone dings in my pocket and I pull it out to see that Chitose has texted me four words. "Please, talk to me." I don't get it. Earlier he only said one sentence to me in passing, now he wants to chat? I just respond, "busy." And put the phone away. Misaki is silent like he's trying to figure out what is going on by examining my face. I have to change the subject. But to what? JUNGLE? Misaki was depressed enough. I glance down at his board and get an idea. I set my left foot on the back of the board and kick off with my right. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"C'mon. You promised you would teach me some tricks right."

"Get off, you're going to break your neck." I pick up my speed and make wobbly circles around him.

"Oh, you just know you're too slow to catch me with those short legs."

"Ok. Now you're getting it…" I laugh as I kick faster down the street.

You know… you probably are going to hurt yourself.

"You're just sore because when you tried this you faceplanted."

I remember. You were sitting with Yo on the curb watching when I fell. Your face was so adorable with that look of worry.

"Chitose just laughed at you…"

If I recall, I laughed at myself.

"Yea…" I almost lose my balance and hear Misaki's yell behind me as he sees me stagger. "Careful, Miko!"

"I'm fine, Yata!"

Did you get distracted? Did I say something? I shouldn't be here.

"No! Tatara please don't go. Please stay with me."

Heh, How long do you plan to keep me in your pocket for, my sweet Kimiko? Or are you ever going to let me go?

"…Never."

"KIMIKO WATCH OUT!" I see that I'm approaching a telephone pole quickly. I try tilting the board to the side, but it causes it to roll in front of Misaki who I crash into. With a couple of thuds we topple onto the pavement. I groan as I lay on my back with Misaki on top of me. He places his hands on the pavement and pushes himself up. I see his worried look. "Are you ok?" I guess my plan to cheer him up backfired. But the concerned look on his face certainly cheers me up. It's so genuine. He had been walking around with a furrowed brow ever since Fushimi left SCEPTER 4 on Christmas Eve. I just sling my arms around his neck and pull him back down into a hug. "K- Kimiko?"

"I'm fine, Misaki." I let out a gentle laugh. "I'm not much better than Totsuka at skateboarding, huh?" He pulls out of my hug and stands with a grin. Then he offers me his sleeve. That's a little trick the boys had worked out. Because my power wasn't as stable as it used to be, they offer me their sleeves instead of their hands to keep me from having to use my gift. With one heave he pulls my up with his arm and then kicks his board into his hand. "You were doing pretty good for a minute there. You just have to practice." Suddenly a familiar laugh came from the sidewalk. "How quaint. Instead of patrolling you decide to do skateboard tricks. You must be very proud." We simultaneously turn. "Munaktata?"

"What are you doing in our territory, blue?"

"Easy, Misaki." I place my hand on his shoulder and look back to Reisi. "Izumo told us what happened. I'm sorry to hear that the prime minister demoted you."

"Hm." He tilts his head to adjust his glasses then slips his hands back to his coat pockets. "And yet you hardly appear to disagree with his decision." Misaki pipes up. "Yea! Maybe that's because you waste HOMRA's time with your petty protocol!"

"Yata…" I glance at him, "Go patrol the park. I'll catch up with you."

"But, Kimiko." He looks concerned again. But there is something else in his expression. It's like he's a kid being sent to his room after doing nothing wrong. "Go on. I trust you to do it alone." He gives an untrusting glare to Munakata, slams his board on the ground and rolls away on it. I fiddle with the ring on my finger before slipping my hands into my back pockets. I notice what side of the street he came from. It appears as if he had just left the bar. "Did… Did you just come from Homra?" He ignores my question and watches Misaki as he vanishes around the corner. "Your vanguard still appears to be sore at me."

"Heh, don't take it personally. He never liked you to begin with." We both grin at each other and Munakata's glasses flash in the sunlight as he looks to me. "And what about you? Are you still mad at me?" Of course I was. If he hadn't called for a confrontation with HOMRA last year, I would have been with Tatara when he was shot. I could have saved him… or died with him. Then Mikoto-san. I let out a shrug to hide the fact that he is intimidating me. "Clansmen can be a bit irrational when we defend our clan or our king. As for me, I try not to hold grudges."

"It doesn't matter anyhow. Once the silver king destroys the slates, we won't have a need for kings or clansmen."

"Destroys the slates? What are you talking about? That was his life's work, he wouldn't destroy them." Munakata's eyes leave the blue sky and land on me. "Wouldn't he?" He mutters it without so much as the lift of an eyebrow. After adjusting his glasses gently he speaks in a low, apathetic tone, "They've caused nothing but destruction and death. It is only expected that he would go to such measures."

"Who told you this!?"

"I don't see why you are getting so worked up. Isn't it the slates that cause you to be cursed with the gift Mikoto bestowed on you a few years ago?" I take a subtle step back as if his words are the same as bullets. The left corner of his mouth lifts, "Did you think your gift was that much of a secret, Kimiko-san? It's the business of Scepter 4 to know the strengths of other clans."

"You mean the threats…" He nods. "Yes, that too. Nevertheless. Haven't you missed the ability to shake a hand…" he steps forward, "To hug another," another step forward, "To caress someone without their emotions pelting every fiber of your being until you can't even distinguish yourself from the other person?" His face is millimeters from mine and I am staring straight into his eyes as if those crystal clear glasses are not even there. I hesitate before answering. "No…" His hardened face softens a bit at my answer. I repeat, "No, Munakata. I haven't. Because suddenly I realized that all those things you said… I can still do them. I'm the only thing standing in the way, not some gift from my king. And that is exactly what it is, a gift. It can be a burden sometimes. But it still does good. You should know that. Your sword is the same. It's a heavy burden to bear, but it's part of you. And you can't just run away from it." What am I saying? Do I actually like my gift? Perhaps it's not the curse I thought it to be. Munakata takes a step back from me and examines my face, as if contemplating our conversation. I notice something. There is a look in his eye that is familiar to me.

"You've heard him haven't you? Mikoto-san?" As I say that, the blue king's face doesn't change, but the look in his eyes looks slightly surprised. He doesn't respond so I take the liberty of explaining myself. "I don't always have to touch someone to know what is going on inside of them, Reisi. That look in your eye. I've seen it plenty of times in the mirror. It's not quite guilt. It's not really grief. But it also isn't doubt or ignorance. It's the look of someone who wants to have just one more conversation with somebody they've lost… so they imagine it in their head."

"I wouldn't be so quick to boast of your abilities of discernment, red clansman. Don't assume you know me just because we share the same loss."

"But it's more than that, Munakata. You cared about him, too. You both were always at each other's throats… but you only stand up to the people you care about. Right? That rivalry between the both of you might have fooled some people, but I knew Mikoto Suoh too well. He knew you better than you know yourself. He always had your back, even when it didn't seem like it. And you know he would not want you to run away from this… so why the hell are you?"

"Interesting accusations from a girl who spent the last year in isolation from her clan. Do you really think Suoh would have been proud of that?"

"I know he wouldn't have been." His face shifts a bit as if he expected me to respond more defensively. I take a breath, having gotten tense during our talk, and continue. "You and I, even Fushimi, we all have something in common. We run from a problem and try to validate it with a bunch of reasons we created ourselves. Reasons we use to convince ourselves that we are doing what is best. But honestly, the only reasons that matter are the ones that convince us to stay. The selfless reasons. Don't make the mistake I made, Reisi. Don't turn your back on people who have shown you nothing but loyalty."

"Heh…" He rolled his eyes and looked away, "And what of Suoh? Didn't he abandon all of you by taking the easy way out and letting his sword fall?"

"You're not Mikoto." His eyes widen and his face adjusts into a face that makes me think he has heard that statement before. He adjusts his glasses and turns on his heel to leave. I watch him take a couple of steps before something occurs to me and I choose to say it aloud. "Weird…"

"Hm?"

"I used to wonder… When I speak to Tatara in my head, it's just my imagination. I'm just having a conversation with myself, essentially. But then I thought, what is it that makes me imagine his side of the chat? And… I guess I just imagine what he would say if he was here." Then I look up from the pavement and back to Munakata who has stopped to face me. "So… maybe I'm not having a conversation with myself after all." The blue kind doesn't respond, but I can tell from the look in his eyes that he is thinking over what I just said. He gives a very slight nod of his head and turns away once again, this time leaving slower. Mikoto… King… He's not like you. But maybe he's trying to be. And therein lies the problem.

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