That's right. Only one day late this time. By the way, we're thinking of doing a sequel. What do you readers think? Does this story deserve a sequel? Like a post-MK story. Don't forget, also, if favorites and reviews make it to 30 each, we'll post bloopers, deleted scenes, and outtakes.

That being said, we don't really have anything funny or smart to put in the author's note this time, so on with the reading.

Azami cast a glance at the hall they had entered from, where there were echoing voices and approaching footsteps, then around at all the destruction they had caused as well as the bodies. She reluctantly turned toward the boys accompanying her.

"Look, I'm no coward, but I think I'm up for dodging anymore opponents for right now." She pointed to another tunnel that led away from the mess. Even Yata nodded a silent agreement, and they made a quick exit.

There were quite a few outcroppings from the main path, a few caved in, definitely too many to take time to explore for other routes. They took the winding bends at full speed until they saw someone coming toward them from the other direction. That was it; they felt trapped and, without any sort of signal, they moved so that their backs were to each other for the next fight.

Yata's brain registered the soft color tones of the approaching being in contrast to the dark getup of the typical clansman at the same time as the person called, "Yata-san?"

"Haruna-san!" he identified her to the others.

In relief and exhaustion, she collapsed onto him in a hug. Yata's face promptly took on the lovely shade of a tomato, and he only stuttered in response. Azami and Fushimi stood in the background to enjoy the discomfort on his face until the boy started to look a little sick, at which point Emi noticed Fushimi's presence as well. Lucky for Yata because they didn't want him to throw up on the poor, already traumatized female.

"Fushimi-san, you came for me, too? How did you find me?"

Fushimi nodded in acknowledgement but didn't move closer, for fear she would latch on to him next. Instead he pushed her attention onto Azami with the reply, "She found you."

Taking advantage of her loosened grip, Yata stumbled back and continued the train of thought, "Ha-Hayashi f-followed you when y-you were k-kidnapped."

Azami took her hand in greeting and rushed through an introduction. "Hayashi, Azami, nice to meet you. Are you hurt?"

"No, not yet," Emi replied, risking a glance over her shoulder.

The Green Girl, too, spared a look behind her toward the advancing voices. "Good. We need to run so it stays that way."

She decided against continuing on the same trail since that was where Emi had come from, and she assumed that the older female would have taken the way out if there was one. Keeping a tight grasp on the other's hand, Azami made an executive decision and ducked into the nearest branch turning right. They ran for quite a distance until a wide crevice yawned open in front of them. Azami dug her heels into the stone and stepped sideways in front of Emi to stop her from tumbling into the depths.

Yata was not so graceful. He had been looking for their pursuers when Azami moved out of the way and almost ran headlong into the pit. Both the Green Girl and Fushimi grasped the back of his shirt, jerking him backward just in time.

The skater stared down into the shadows and then flailed himself away from the edge, at which point he felt safe enough to sneer, "Great choice, Hayashi. This is why you don't let girls be leaders."

"Shut up, Red. I could see you thinking about this same tunnel. Just be thankful your buddy and I saved your ass because you weren't smart enough to watch where you're going."

"I was looking for those ninja bastards chasing us! Now you've got us trapped!"

She rolled her eyes and studied the obstacle from all angles. Unafraid of the drop, she stepped right up to the deathtrap and looked up and down. After a moment she concluded, "I can jump it."

"Are you stupid?" Yata snapped. "Jump to where?"

"Look!" She tugged him forward again and stabbed a finger downward and across the way to an arched doorway type of opening with a small bit of floor in front of it.

"Even you can't jump that," the boy insisted.

"It's too far," Emi agreed. "You'd be committing suicide."

"It'll work," Azami assured them, though more to Yata as he understood her abilities better than the other two. "There used to be a spiral staircase here. You can see the stones still sticking out of the walls in places as they circle down. This was a huge hall lit by that chandelier above us. You can see the chain anchored by that doorway. I can climb along those stones far enough to jump over to the door. It'll be a drop, but I'll be fine and I can lower the chandelier for you guys to use."

"We don't have to go this way," Emi interjected.

"Yeah, if we hurry maybe we can make it back to the main hall," Yata agreed.

"And go back to where they were holding her? Besides we're too far in to get there before they do."

"Then we'll fight," he stated stubbornly.

"In this tiny space? We won't be able to outmaneuver them in here. I have a better chance at jumping."

There was a beat of silence, and they all stared at the boy who was their self-proclaimed leader for the ultimate decision. Finally Emi prodded, "What should we do, Yata-san?"

"Better decide fast," Fushimi warned, his knives already in his hands.

Azami tried to meet the vanguard's eyes, which he was averting on purpose. "You know what I can do."

Then he sighed and gestured Emi away from the drop. "Give her some room."

Stepping close to the edge, Azami reached around the wall and felt for some of the exposed patches of mortar. Then she leaned out further and found the next spot. That one in hand, she swung outward and latched onto the first with her other hand while bracing her sneakers against he wall. Yata hurried to the hole once she disappeared and watched with a knot in his gut as the Green Clansman scooted herself along the pit with no safety net. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was more worried than when she had thrown herself out of an exploding building. This was much worse; he really didn't want to watch her fall to her death among those shadows where she would never be found. If she didn't hurry, though, they could be joining her down there.

Azami paused in her shimmying above a block protruding from the surface a short distance from her toes. Deeming it to be sound, she dropped onto it; it was scarcely wide enough for the two balls of her feet side-by-side. Pivoting carefully, she sized up the jump to another stone about the same size which was near a seam of the same kind that stuck out from the wall for several feet. Yata swallowed and tried to speak some encouragement.

"Don't take any stupid risks, Hayashi."

Azami glared at him out of the corner of her eye, not even turning her head for fear that it would throw off her balance. "Remind me to punch you in the face."

Post-It note in place, she took a couple breaths to psyche herself up, then leaped forward to the next block and hurtled herself onto the narrow path. Not taking time to be careful anymore, she ran along the rock, one foot in front of the other like a tightrope walker, building up speed as fast as the short space would allow. At the last second, she launched herself at an angle facing a portion of the wall that curved toward the doorway.

Yata counted the one, two, three steps she made, covering distance but looking to be barely touching the surface at all. On the last step, she pushed off and lunged toward the platform in a cat-like leap that wouldn't get the job done. She misjudged the distance. She's dead, he thought.

But then she leaned forward and stretched herself toward what was left of the floor, her body long, thin, and graceful over the endless black pit that reached up to swallow her whole. Then her hands connected with the floor, stopping her torso while her back end continued onward, pushing her into a roll that took the force of the rest of the landing.

Yata let out a breath he didn't remember holding. Behind him Emi gasped, "Thank goodness!"

"Any time now," Fushimi urged in a low voice and moved closer toward their new escape route.

Yata whispered, "Hurry up, Hayashi."

"Hey, Red, why don't you jump next?" she hissed in response as she unhitched the chain from its anchor and lowered it until it was level with them. A high-pitched grinding of metal on metal issued forth, threatening to burst their eardrums, though that was the least of their worries.

"If they didn't know where we were before, they do now," muttered Saruhiko.

Once it was tied again, Yata got on to test the stability. The ancient metal gave another scream of protest, but held fast even when he bounced lightly. Deciding that it was safe, he let Emi go first and stood on the edge while she moved further over so that the light fixture didn't tip her off.

Emi stared uncertainly down at the gap between her and the door for a moment. She did not have the abilities of this "Hayashi, Azami". She couldn't climb almost flat walls, and she definitely couldn't jump like that. She swallowed around her heart in her throat.

"Are you okay, Haruna-san?" Yata asked, trying his hardest not to get flustered. They were quickly running out of time.

"I'm not like her," Emi replied.

"None of us are, it's okay. That's why she used her annoying Spider-girl skills to get the chandelier for us."

"It's really far," Emi mumbled under her shaky breath.

"It's not as far as it looks, Haruna-san. It's only because you're up higher than me," Azami explained from the platform. "But that also means that you'll fly farther."

Another moment of hesitation. It seemed to last ten times longer than before even though it was the same amount. The angry Black Clansmen were drawing ever closer.

"Haruna-san," Azami called once more. "You are a strong woman. You just outran these guys; you can out-jump them, too. Take a deep breath." She paused to allow the action. "Now do that again right before you jump. Push off as hard as you can with your legs, swing your arms forward, and lean with them. I'm right here. I won't let you fall."

Knowing very well that it was do or die, Emi drew in another breath in preparation. There was a possibility she wouldn't succeed, but it was far more likely that, if they were caught again, they'd be killed without remorse. Besides that, she trusted that if this Hayashi person had gone through all of the trouble of tracking Emi down, she wouldn't just drop her. Following the younger girl's instructions to a T, she jumped forward with all her might.

For a moment, she was flying, weightless and free. Her arms were out, catching a wind, while it tugged gently at her clothes and hair. Then her feet hit solid ground, sending a painful jolt up her shins before Azami caught her around the waist, holding her safe, and Emi decided she also didn't mind being on land, too.

Yata grinned and then spun toward the last of them. "Saru, come on!"

"Go," Fushimi ordered.

"But—"

"Go," the taller male said again, more forcefully as he stepped up on the chandelier so his friend could get a running start.

Yata didn't waste anymore time, and he rushed forward with a little spurt of energy, running on the balls of his feet like Azami taught him. He was faster now, and it made the jump that much easier, even if the hard landing reminded him that he still needed to learn more.

He called advice back to Fushimi. "If you're fast, the chandelier doesn't tip much."

Even if he had looked as though he weren't paying attention, Fushimi had keyed in with at least a small portion of his brain to the instructions Azami had given Emi. He took off at the best run he could manage, the chain holding the light fixture jingling with each shift of his weight. He didn't know the trick to running light like Yata had learned. Still, he picked up sufficient speed and, feeding Azami's information back to himself, he managed to launch with enough force that his feet connected with the edge of the platform.

But as, old structures do when put under too much new force, a portion under his right foot crumbled, and he slipped backward. For an instant he felt himself fall to his death and saw everything go black, right before a familiar helping hand latched onto his wrist and pulled him back. Just like it always did. Fushimi brushed off Yata's assurance of "I've got ya", stepped to the wall, and sliced through the chain holding the chandelier all in one motion. The reapers and ninjas blocking the opposite opening stopped short in their chase, cursing toward their targets.

Azami snickered and shrugged at them. "Oops! Our bad." Then she smiled. "Nice one, Fushimi."

He briefly gave her a perplexed look. Wasn't it just a little bit ago that she scolded him angrily? Now already she gave such a familiar compliment. Not that he was unused to that type of rapidly changing attitude. As they moved along their merry way through the next maze, he attempted to shake off the awkward feeling he had and put forth his best effort to return the gesture of reconciliation. "Weren't you going to punch Misaki?"

Yata rounded on him. "What are you doing, Saruhiko? Don't remind her of that!"

The Green Girl contemplated this for a second and then decided, "Eh, I'll save it for later."

Totsuka hurried on ahead when the situation called for it. Enough Black Clansmen blocked their way that it could be potentially hazardous for him and the young girl to be present when Mikoto destroyed them all. His red would burst out in all directions, but that wouldn't harm his own people. It was the unpredictable, stray Reaper or Ninja that might catch them from behind while all eyes were forward.

That is why, after blowing a truck sized hole in the middle of their ranks, the Red King muttered authoritatively, "Get Anna some place safe."

Neither Totsuka nor Anna was afraid of the fire. Both were actually rather important to the success of this war, but maybe not this battle. The brunette saw clearly that their leader would not have to over exert himself in any way to defeat the underlings of their rival king. Anna too knew that there was no particular reason for them to stick around this time. Therefore, when Mikoto gave his order, she showed her acceptance by squeezing Totsuka's hand just a hair tighter, and neither hesitated to run ahead. For sure, even if they encountered danger, their king wouldn't be far behind.

The path they had chosen took them full circle. For his part, Totsuka started when Anna's attuned senses led them back to the entrance beneath the stage. "Oh, we're back where we started, are we?" His voice gave a false impression of naivety with the loud announcement that echoed off the high walls.

Even though they should have kept hidden if they wanted to stay safe, Anna continued to walk as if she had a purpose in mind. She glanced to the left and right, keeping a marble always to her eye to pinpoint that for which she searched. Carefree and fearless as he was, Totsuka followed her without question, sure that he'd manage somehow, no matter what happened.

As they came around the marble stage into the main hall, Anna answered Totsuka's proclamation in a subdued voice, "She's here."

His first thought, of course, was Emi. She was most on his mind, and he would have been overjoyed to see her right there, right then. He remembered, though, that the child was following distant, invisible trails of aura. What Anna saw was a sudden magnification of black power—or something of the sort; no one really knew what Anna's visions were like. He, and many others, often forgot that one of the current seven kings was a female. The Black King, Sefina Nyree, that was who Anna had located.

Rather than take the information as a warning and conceal himself until Mikoto caught up, Totsuka spoke his surprise as they walked, "We followed her all the way down there just to chase her back up. Slippery one, isn't she?"

"Like a snake," a foreigner commented from above them.

Embarrassed, Totsuka faced her, scratching his head, "Well, I was actually thinking of a goldfish, but a snake works. They aren't easy to catch either."

The woman paused in her descent of the red carpeted stairs, letting show a somewhat insulted look on her face. Skin that was unscathed by either time or hardship, as smooth and glowing as a powdered foundation—though she wore none—was unsightly to tarnish with a frown. She did not allow his innocently offensive words to dim her confidence.

Recommencing her march, the woman continued down the stairs in heels, deliberately placing each step so that it accentuated her "assets": namely her chest and hips, both of which were cleverly highlighted by her choice of wardrobe. Totsuka found himself jumping back to reality when she spoke next—from far closer than he remembered her being.

"Well, if it isn't Homra's weakling, the vassal to the third and Red King, Totsuka, Tatara?" By that point, her procession had led her to the side of the young man she addressed. Laying a hand on his shoulder, she drew around to the back of him and whispered in his ear, "How are you, Lad? Feeling better?"

Totsuka was a tamer of wild animals. He stood face to face with the lion that was the Red King and fed him by hand without so much as flinching. He similarly did not whither in fear the first time they encountered the new Blue King, cunning and subtle like a tiger. Nearly defenseless, he affronted the powerful man with the courage to state harmlessly that they intended to disregard his orders in all circumstances. The vassal even spoke forwardly with one of the Gold King's highest officials on a former occasion. That person who willingly accepted Mikoto's flame engulfed hand with a grin stared in confusion from the words of the Black King.

He thought maybe it would take him a little while to see where she was coming from, to understand the meaning behind her inquiry as to his wellbeing. This woman had been the true source of all the misery he felt. What could possibly be her motives for showing concern? Until he knew, he was determined to act like himself so as not to let on to his suspicions.

"Better?" He repeated with a lighthearted laugh. "Yeah, a bit better. It's still getting to me, though.

Sefina hardly listened to his response, and he took note of that also as she knelt down to look at the girl beside him. "And you must be the famous Kushina, Anna, strain of the Red Clan. From the stories, I thought you would be smaller, but they certainly don't underestimate your art-like beauty."

Unlike many others, Anna was neither impressed nor intimidated. The compliment didn't make her blush like it would other girls. Sefina was the enemy, and her mind stayed easily focused on the mood of the tension between their clans. In her view, the handsome woman was a dark gray, surrounded by shakes even more somber. To her, even the gorgeous, feminine shape was nothing more than a bearer of evil. Therefore, she looked the Black King in the eye without a hint of emotion.

She continued shamelessly, "When you grow older, come see me. There will be a day that you will regret being the only lady in your clan."

Anna thought maybe she would turn to Emi or Azami if that day did come. Even the heartless woman from Scepter 4 seemed like a better idea than this Black King. She didn't share her thoughts, speaking instead to Tatara.

"What she says to you will be a lie."

In response, the brunette made an amazed sound. "You didn't even use your powers, did you?"

"She doesn't deserve it," Anna replied shortly, another blow at the king's confidence.

"Well, it's clear, isn't it?" Anna's indifference strengthened his resolve and focus, so that he would not be led astray by the Black King's seductions. "I suppose, then, it won't do me any good to just straight out ask her where Emi is, will it?"

Somehow Totsuka's true disappointment could be heard in his tone for once. Maybe it just didn't make sense to hide it from the strain who could tell if he was lying even when he covered it with the most heartfelt smile. She was touched by his worry and sadness, so much so that she felt moved to discover Emi's whereabouts even though she had just said that this woman wasn't worthy of experiencing her powers.

Sefina, who had arrogantly looked a clairvoyant in the eye, finished the demonstration of dominance right before her thoughts would have become one with Anna's. All of the clans were aware of Homra's child—her appearance, her methods, as well as her dangerous strength. No one would actually risk falling victim. They easily saw through Sefina's guise of confidence, meeting the girl's gaze for a short while, but who returned to her feet as soon as Anna threatened to look more closely.

The Black King was taller than Totsuka, and she flaunted every centimeter of advantage that her heels gave her. Standing far too close for comfort, she placed her palm against Totsuka's chest where his heart should be and made a show of compassion.

"You really do have a special connection with that girl," she began sweetly. Then, as a cloud of black swirled into existence around her fingers, she continued menacingly, "To dare come here after her without any powers."

Missing a breath, Totsuka hurriedly took a step back. It was true that he really was not equipped with the kind of strength to challenge a king. He didn't successfully put space between them because the king grabbed the lapel of his shirt, forcing him so close to her that their bodies were touching.

"Y-you," the young man faltered momentarily for words but once more found his resolve in the way Anna tightly clutched his hand. "You didn't hurt her, did you?"

From that close, the atmosphere between them was stuffy, so much that he could feel the heat of her sigh as it landed on his cheek. "I never hurt either of you. Even you, Tatara, only suffer from your own weakness. You'd have done better to leave well enough alone, and things would have worked out."

Hearing the words that he so often spoke come out of her mouth tasted like swallowing a bitter poison. Forming a wry smile, he asked, "Is that really what you expected us to do? The Red Clan, sit and wait when you've taken someone important to us?"

A deep sound boomed through the hollow room, interrupting their interactions. "Oi." A monster of red, something like a flare of light on the darkest night, shoved off the wall from which he had casually observed them. Deciding it had gone too far to be fair leaving Totsuka on his own, the redhead crushed his cigarette with his boot. "If you wanna fight, pick someone who actually can."

His first step toward the three shot flames scattering across the floor. He left a series of melted footprints in his wake as a steam rose around him, mixing with the wisps of fire that licked at his skin, lifting off his arms and shoulders into the air. Ready to resolve the conflict in his own way, he wasted no time in closing the distance between them. Patience had more than long since worn out.

Upon hearing the baritone voice, the opposing king immediately loosed her grip on the delicate boy, gesture just destabilizing enough to send him stumbling to the ground. "Mikoto," she greeted, welcoming him all to familiarly with arms wide open. Her lips were curved upward in a smile that appeared sincere, laced all throughout with a plum tainted venom of wickedness.

She gave no warning. As soon as they were within striking distance of one another, she wrapped her hands around his jaw, weaving darkness and fingers into his brilliant hair, around his ears, and across his face. Her mouth locked with his as if he hadn't been seething a raging inferno at all. An equally exuded mist surrounded her, protecting her in an envelope of fire-smothering cloud. It couldn't overtake his, obviously, and harmlessly evaporated into the air with a slow hissing noise for the duration of their kiss.

It didn't put him in a good mood, per se. A weaker person would have been left in a daze, wondering how exactly they had been caught and felt the love of a woman who was probably frequently sought after. A more gullible person would have gotten carried away with the deep passion of it. Opening his eyes, Mikoto just let out a deep breath and pushed her at least an arm's length away. She hadn't intoxicated him like she had intended, but he had calmed, as if the black aura's deadening power had a relaxing effect that took the edge off the turmoil of his red.

Still, there was a frown etched angrily onto his beautiful face. He looked her over once with a glance that seemed to say, On another day, and then turned his attention to Totsuka. "Hey, get Anna."

The younger boy had picked himself off the floor, in shock with a silent, "King," hanging from his lips, but the command kicked him into action. Grabbing the girl by the hand, he ran up the stairs to watch from the stage. It was close enough to see the action and far enough to probably not get caught by out-of-control attacks. As soon as they were out of danger's path, Mikoto unrestrained the demon he kept chained within. The whole room filled with a red so bold it made Anna gasp.

Ta-dah! Wonder will we finish these battles next chapter? Stay tuned to find out.