Hey guys! I made sure this chapter was thrilling and extra long for you! I really hope you will like it! Let's see how our friends now face off the entire force of ARCHITECT!
ENJOY!
External POV : Ome
Fushimi blocked the elevators so no one could use them. The doctor strain broke a window and dug her claws into the building to slide down and get there faster. She broke glass again and got back inside, a few floors under where the Red's were. She tried seeing again, but her foresight was now completely useless. Which meant she couldn't be that far from the old man anymore. Ome raced down the dark hallways, encountering a busted door. She cursed under her breath knowing that it was the doing of the Green King, Nagare Hisui. It was too late for her to turn back. The only thing she could do now was stop Seigo Ootori from going any further. She manipulated the aura inside herself to enhance her sense of hearing and closed her eyes. His footsteps were resonating in a nearby hall and were getting closer. She opened her eyes and waited. As she waited, old memories came to haunt her. This man, this wounded man she'd met eight years ago. How did he end up here? And why was he helping the Green King? He suddenly appeared, just like Fushimi said, in a priest outfit and holding a huge gun. She stood in the middle of the hallway and faced him.
"Stop right there Seigo Ootori. I won't let you go any further." She didn't know if he could see her in the dark, but she would've recognized his tall figure and long hair anywhere. The old man had aged but his eyes still looked the same. He stopped when he heard her.
"I haven't heard this name in a while. It's been a long time Ome. You've grown into a fine young woman."
"And you've fallen very low, Ootori-sensei. Why are you with the Green Clan?"
"Fallen? I think not, dear child. I'm but a humble father that wants his child to have fun."
"By child, do you refer to the Green King?" She said. "He is childish. And his games hurt people. I didn't think you were the kind of person that would allow that. Since when are you alright with innocent people getting hurt by selfish actions?"
"Who are the innocent people Ome? You and the clansmen? No, the innocent are all of these people outside that are at the mercy of Kings and strains. They deserve a chance to protect themselves and to live peacefully without fearing the power of Kings."
"So that's why you want to release the power of the Slates? So that everyone can become a King? Have you even thought of the disaster that would cause? Imagine the effects of thousandth of millions of downfalls. That could destroy the world!"
"It's better to die than to live in fear of something you know you don't have the strength to fight."
"You're insane." She stated, looking into his eyes. There was a fierce determination burning in them. "I don't know what happened to you, but you're not the man you were, Seigo Ootori."
"Indeed. I'm no longer Seigo Ootori. My name is Tenkei Iwafune. And I serve Nagare Hisui. Now if you'll excuse me, I really should join him."
Ome summoned her aura and took out her claws. Even if they were small and mostly used to absorb aura, they were unbreakable and deadly if she hit the right spot. "Do you really think I'll let you pass so easily?"
He just smiled instead of replying and fog suddenly appeared again. He quickly disappeared from her sight. She ran towards where he was standing a second ago, but he'd vanished. The doctor strain enhanced her hearing since her sight was almost useless. She heard it just in time. The sound of his gun being charged just before firing. She dodged the bullet just in time and it went to make the pillar next to her explode.
"Two can play at this game, Iwafune." She muttered.
She concentrated her aura on her entire body and in only a couple seconds her body started to be unnoticeable to the sense of sight. If she couldn't find him, he could find her either. But they couldn't endlessly wander around in the fog looking for each other. Ome decided to walk straight until she reached a wall. Once she reached one, she turned her back to it and shouted.
"You must really have turned senile to follow a child into his pathetic and selfish games!"
As the girl had predicted, she heard the sound of the gun shot and jumped in time just to avoid it.
"Isn't that why you created your institute?" Replied the older strain's voice from somewhere in the smoke screen. "So that you could protect people from Strains? We have the same purpose Ome."
"No we don't. I don't plan on turning the world into a giant atomic bomb by giving everyone supernatural powers they don't understand or can control. Kings are not chosen randomly. You of all people should no that!"
Another bullet crashed into the wall, right next to her. "This power also destroys it's vassal! You want the entire world to go out like a big light? You're working for a madman who can't even anticipate the disaster ahead, and you're no better than him if you can't either!"
This time she climbed the wall above the smoke screen, and watched intently as the next shot got fired in the wall as well. But this time, she saw where it came from. 'Got you!' She put all her strength in her legs and kicked herself off the wall and above the smoke as swiftly and elegantly as a cat. She closed her eyes as well, only trusting her ears and instincts, and when she slammed into something, heard a grunt and knocked it down, she knew she'd been right. Ome pressed her knee on the man's torso, extended her free leg to block the wrist holding his gun to the ground and grabbed him around the neck with a clawed hand. With her free hand, she dug her claws into his shoulder more and blocked his aura flow with her own. That would've never worked if her aura hadn't been at top percent. The fog slowly dissipated. She reopened her eyes to see the old man stuck under her. She let herself be visible again.
"You loose, green clansman." She declared.
He sighed and simply grinned back. "My, my. You certainly have grown since the last time I saw you. Looks like it's my loss."
"You seem awfully calm for someone who just lost a major fight." Said Ome raising an eyebrow, suspicious of what he might be cooking up. "Your two J-rank have left the battlefield. And your King won't stand a chance against the Red, Blue and Silver Kings together."
"Of course I'm calm. I've completed my objective. My work here is complete."
"What?"
"I managed to get you away from your watchtower. And just so you know, Nagare should be the least of your worries right now."
The girl suddenly felt a wave of panic pinch her heart. She looked up to the ceiling and tried to use her foresight. She saw floor by floor until she reached the Slates room. Nagare Hisui was laying on the ground. He'd used up all of his power already. But Munakata and Suho's eyes were turned towards the big hole in the wall. A tall, slender looking man wearing black pants, black shoes, a white shirt and a dark grey coat on his shoulder was standing on the edge. He looked happy and dangerous at the same time. This man was Ryu Karasuno, the Purple King. What in the world was he doing there?
Before she could even think of acting, Ome felt a small sting in her hand. She reflexively took it back but it was too late. The small acupuncture needle had penetrated the skin and reached the blood vessels. Her head started feeling heavy and spinning. She didn't even have time to reach for it, Ome fell on her side, her muscles quickly abandoning her one by one. She was paralyzed but still conscious. The older strain stood back up and picked up his gun, before getting the dust off his clothes.
"You've really grown, kiddo. But you're still way too early to pick a fight with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really have to join Nagare. And don't worry, you should be able to move in about thirty minutes or so. Everything will be over by then."
"Why the... sudden act... of mercy?" Managed to let out the doctor with a chocked voice.
He smiled again. "Think of it as my way to say thank you for last time."
"Damn you..." Cursed Ome under her breath, as Iwafune was walking away.
Taiga's POV
"What's up Kitten? Long time no see."
Keiji had the same cocky smile showing his overconfidence. Akihiko was wearing his serious face as usual, and holding his short swords in each hand. As for Lana, she had ditched her fancy clothes and was now wearing slim dark pants with boots and a tank top matching it, as well as black gloves. Her face reflected determination and frustration as well. At her feet, the huge Rottweiler was waiting for the first order his owner would give him. The tattoo on my back started burning me.
"No, no, no, no! If you're here then..."
"The boss is up there having a little chat with your knew King. And I'm guessing he's gonna enjoy it." Replied the gun wielder. "Now that the Green King's out of juice, it's our turn to have a little fun. How about you show me how much you've learned in six months little cat?"
"Stop wasting time, Keiji!" Said Lana. "Let's just get this over with."
"Someone had lion for breakfast. Well then, milady. Won't you open the ball?"
Lana threw him a murderous glare before turning to us. "Tux." She said.
The big dog took a step forward and suddenly started growing to reach the size of a big lion. Black scales started appearing on it's head and back. A real armor. I'd seen the dog do this many times, but I'd never actually seen it in action. Lana waited for him to be fully changed before ordering. "Find Miyabi Ameno!" She ordered. "And bring her to me."
Before I could even wonder who in the world Miyabi Ameno was, the dog ran towards us at full speed, like his armor made him lighter. Yata let the aura surround him and tried to get in his way, but I tackled him to the ground to keep him from taking a direct hit. The dog jumped over the entire group with ease and raced down the hall to go to the next floor.
"Don't do that!" I told the crow. "He's strong enough to go through a two meter thick wall like it's water! What do you think he could do to your bones?"
He didn't waste time answering and we both stood back up. Keiji was still smirking like an idiot. "You two look so cute together. The boss is gonna love that." He turned to his fellow clansmen. "So which one do you want Aki?"
"I'll take the Reds. We have unfinished business."
"Then that makes the little cat mine, right? Sweet. That means you get the Blues, Lana. Try to make the boss proud."
The woman threw him a death glare. "If you hurt her, I will tear you apart." She threatened.
"Scary. Hear that, kitty-cat? You should consider coming back to us. Everyone in ARCHITECT loves you so much."
"Everyone, except you." I snapped back. 'Damn it. My voice is shaking too.'
His cocky smile turned to a sadistic smirk."Touché."
I summoned the purple aura all around my body. Even though I hated using it, I hadn't wasted time in these past months. Just like my combat practice, I'd worked on it everyday, learning to expand and widen the range of the purple fog that Ryu was still providing me with. Looks like now was as good a time as ever to see if my work paid off. Keiji pointed his gun towards us and fired six bullets in a row. I hit the floor that rose up and made a wall in front of us, stopping the bullets. I expanded the aura even more and made long spikes come out of my wall and heading directly for the three clansman. Akihiko and Keiji dodged every spike but at least it made them back off... except for Lana. She didn't budge a muscle as the spikes were heading directly towards her.
'Do something! Anything!' I internally begged. But I knew she wasn't going to. So I reflexively stopped the spikes a foot in before they could touch her. She looked at me straight in my eyes, with a mixture of frustration and anger in her stare.
"Don't take pity on your enemies, Yoru."
Purple fog suddenly surrounded her entire body. The aura then took the shape of multiple thick whips … no, more like tentacles. A total of four. My eyes widened in fear and astonishment. So that was why Ryu wanted her back...
"You... can make things out of nothing but the aura?"
She didn't answer and swung her arm in the air. Two of the tentacles crashed into my wall and destroyed it. The debris flew everywhere forcing some of us to get back. One hit me in the shoulder. Enough to make me bleed but not to cause anything serious. I was a bit too under the shock to even notice. She ran towards the Blue clan and with another movement of the arm, sent half of them flying against the wall. How could Lana have mastered a skill that required an unbelievable amount of concentration and aura? I shook my head. I had to focus on my visions to anticipate anymore dangerous moves. Akihiko threw himself on my fellow clansman, sending them flying like specks of dust.
"Taiga! Watch out!" Shouted Mr Kusanagi, who had just avoided Akihiko's slice.
I looked up. Keiji was standing on the edge of a window. "Already forgot about me, Kitten? How about a dance to celebrate our reunion?"
He jumped towards me. I jumped back again to avoid getting stepped on and brought my hand to my mouth while summoning the red aura. I inhaled deeply and breathed fire in his direction. He dodged it with a swift and elegant spin.
"Ooh, hot! Not bad kitten!" He flipped his gun in his hand before putting it back in it's holster. "How about a close up now?"
He ran towards me and I barely had time to raise my arm to block his punch (which nearly broke my forearm). He was fast. Much faster than the guys. The second I anticipated his movements, I had to dodge. There was no way I could find an opening. I avoided another kick with a back flip and tried to swing my leg in his ankle. But Keiji simply jumped and avoided me before sending his foot flying on the side of my head. I tumbled but didn't fall although my head was spinning like hell.
"You've improved a lot. I'm impressed Kitten. You can even dodge me now. But that's not going to do you any good if you're not going to attack."
This time he was too fast for me and grabbed me around the throat, cutting off my breath. He then tripped me, making me fall flat on my back without releasing my throat. I grabbed his arm to get him off me and of course, that didn't work. His grip was iron. I could still breath but barely.
"I take back what I said. Nothing's changed much. You still look pathetic down there, Kitten. And I still enjoy that slowly choking face of yours, completely at my mercy."
I looked to the side. The only ones still standing were Lieutenant Awashima and Mr Kusanagi fighting Lana. Or more like trying to find an opening as they dodged the purple tentacles. And Yata was the only other clansman still standing, fighting Akihiko as best he could. But I could tell, the swordsman still had the upper hand.
"Let go... off... me!" I ordered, summoning the red aura. His gloves started to smoke on his arm, but he didn't budge. "If you don't, I'll scorch your arm." I warned.
He raised an eyebrow, his smirk never disappearing. "Really ?" He leaned in closer until his forehead was practically touching mine. The aura was still slowly eating at his glove. Anyone else would be screaming their lungs out by now. He was acting like he wasn't feeling a thing. But I still caught a glimpse of sweat on his forehead. "Prove it." He dared, which startled me. "Prove you have that cruel vibe in you. Burn me until my flesh melts off my bones. Come on."
He was insane. The image of molten flesh disgusted me and I turned off the aura and loosened my grip on his arm. He straightened up and laughed hysterically. "I knew you couldn't do it." He took his gun out again with his free hand and pulled back the charger with his teeth. "And that's the big difference between you and me Kitten."
He pressed the gun on my left thigh and shot. The pain struck like nothing I've ever felt and I let out an intense scream. I felt my eyes water in pain. And that was all that was needed for Akihiko to get an opening. Yata, turned around, and the purple clansman didn't even give him time to scream and sliced his back open with his short sword. The red clansman grunted and fell on the ground, shaking in pain.
"You son of a bitch..." He let out. Akihiko ignored his comment and brutally stepped on his back.
"YA-ta..." My shout was interrupted halfway when Keiji tightened his grip on my throat.
"Eyes up here, Kiteen. We're not done talking."
But then a purple tentacle encircled his neck and he was brutally pulled off me and slammed into the window's glass, cracking it in the process. Mr Kusanagi and the lieutenant were on the ground unconscious, and Lana was now throwing a death glare at the gun holder.
"I warned you..." She growled.
"What's the matter Lana?" Replied Keiji, smiling and completely ignoring his situation. "I didn't do anything wrong."
Lana clenched her teeth and I saw that she made a move to tighten the aura around his neck but then, Akihiko extended his arm to place his blade under her throat.
"Let him go, Lana." He warned as calm as ever. "We've completed our objective. Fighting amongst ourselves is useless. I won't say it again."
The woman growled and the tentacle around Keiji's neck disappeared. He rubbed his throat and picked up his gun. "That was close. Thanks bro."
Akihiko brought his two blades together and summoned the purple aura. The two weapons fused and formed a normal looking katana. The older twin kicked Yata so he would end up on his back and raised his blade in the air.
"No mistakes this time." He said.
But as he was about to pierced his chest, Yata grabbed the blade with his barehand and stopped it right before it could touch his chest. His hand was bleeding but he ignored the pain. He gave Akihiko the most hateful look I'd ever seen. "You're right. No mistakes this time!"
His entire body caught fire and the weapon in his hand started melting. "You think I've just been sitting my ass doin' nothing for the past six months? Think again bastard!"
Before the sword wielder could pull back, Yata threw his legs in the air, breakdance style, balancing himself on his arms and then, swung his foot in Akihiko stomach, boosted by the red aura. The purple clansman was thrown into the wall. But he didn't fall down. I looked around for anything Yata could use as a weapon, and found some sort of iron bar. I touched it with the purple aura, and made some sort of retractable staff out of it.
"Yata!" I shouted throwing it to him. He easily caught it.
Keiji fired another five bullets, but the crow deflected them by spinning the staff in his hand. I forced myself to stand up and ignore the pain in my leg. Lucky the bullet had gone straight through and there was no major bleeding. 'Come on, one more time.' I encouraged myself. I inhaled my aura again, and directed my flame towards Lana and Keiji. The gun wielder jumped back far away and the woman made a shield around herself, but she jumped back again because of the heat. Yata joined my side.
"Nice one." He said, placing himself in front of me.
The three members of ARCHITECT weren't anywhere near incapacitated and barely injured. Lana made her tentacles appear again. Keiji charged his gun again and Akihiko finished reforming his short katanas. Both Yata and I were wounded.
"Yoru, you can't win against us." Tried Lana one more time. "Just come back with us. I won't hurt him, I promise."
I frowned. "Even if I can take your word for it, there's no guarantee for these two. Or Ryu." I summoned my red aura. "This is my color."
"Looks like there's no reasoning with the red clan, guys." Said Keiji. "So where do you want the next bullet kitten?"
"Stop it Keiji." Ordered Akihiko.
"I'm just kidding, bro. I already might die for the first one and I'd like to live."
Lana closed her eyes for a second. "I'm sorry, Yoru."
The tentacles dashed towards us but a slash of blue aura cut them off, keeping them from touching us. The lieutenant was back on her feet. "Don't scream victory yet, ARCHITECT!"
Mr Kusanagi grunted, before grinning and stood up as well. "Well said Seiri." The two number two of HOMRA and SCEPTER 4, placed themselves in front of us, sword and lighter out.
"You two!" Said the Lieutenant addressing us, but without ever taking her eyes off the purple clansmen. "Go to the Slates room and inform our kings of what has happened here! Then assist them in however way you can! We're counting on you!"
"But Lieutenant..." I begun.
"Don't worry Taiga. There's strong but we're not helpless either." Said the bartender lighting a cigaret. He picked up Yata's skateboard from the floor and tossed it at the crow.
"Mr Kusanagi..." I really didn't like the idea.
"Yata! Go!" Ordered Mr Kusanagi.
The clansman hopped on his skateboard, grabbed me around the waist and with the power of the red aura kicked the ground. We raced through the hallway, leaving our fellow clansmen behind.
External POV
"Listen well, Izumo Kusanagi." Said SCEPTER 4's lieutenant. "Our objective is to protect our wounded and keep them busy here. Do not attempt any rash moves."
"Whatever you say, Lieutenant." Replied the bartender with a smile. "Oh, and Seiri? If this goes well, what do you say we go on a date?"
"Hmpf! Do your job perfectly and I will consider it."
"Now I'm motivated." Muttered Izumo, before turning on his lighter. "Let's get to it!"
Taiga's POV
I didn't think it was possible to go this fast with a skateboard, but the aura did wonders. "Do you think they'll be alright?" I asked the crow.
He grinned back. "'Course they will! They're both number twos! Leave it to them!"
I wondered if he really believed that or was trying to convince himself in the process. But I shook the doubts out of my head. I needed to focus on the task they'd given us, and for that I had no choice but to trust them. Ryu was in that room we were heading to. At least Mr Mikoto, Mr Munakata and Yashiro were there too. I hoped. Now that I thought about it, where did Tux went? And who was Miyabi Ameno?
"What the hell?"
Yata's voice brought me back to reality. I looked up as he slowed down. The end of the hallway, where the door was suppose to be was filled with white smoke. "The strain Ome talked about must be here..."
"We have to get in that room." Said Yata, he tightened his grip on me. "Don't let go."
Yata kicked the ground and we moved forward into the smoke. Aside from the walls we could still discern a bit, everything else was impossible to see. I was pretty sure we'd entered the Slate room but we couldn't hear anything either. Was no one else here? That's when I heard a gun shot. Both of us were sent flying in different direction. I landed heavily on the ground, but quickly stood up, cursing the pain in my leg.
"Yata! Are you alright? Yata!"
No one answered. I couldn't see anything. How was I suppose to navigate in this fog? "Yata? Mr Mikoto? Mr Munakata? Yashiro?" I called out one by one, but no one answered. Suddenly the ground under me started shaking, so much that I fell on my knees. It was like... it was breaking. Being ripped off the ground. Then I heard an explosion above my head and giant debris from the ceiling fell to the ground.
"What in the world..."
The ground started shaking even more and it suddenly felt like it was being lifted into the air. Moving wasn't an option because I couldn't see clearly. But then the smoke started dissipating. I also felt more wind. Then I could make out a shadow next to me. A very tall and slim one. Then, when the smoke was completely vanished, I realized that I was standing two meters away from the Purple King. I froze before looking down. What I was standing on was nothing more than the Slates. I looked up again. There was a helicopter carrying them, and the wires to attach it to the vehicle were wires made out of purple aura. Ryu was looking down from the Slates, at the room with a busted ceiling. The smoke was still thick in there, but I discerned sources of blue and red aura. Our Kings. On the Slates with us, was also a man in a priest outfit carrying the unconscious body of the Green King. Ryu didn't seem to have noticed me and I didn't dare move to warn him of my presence. He brought a PDA to his ear.
"Lana, hurry up and get up here. We're leaving." He ordered. The wind suddenly blew strongly and I let out a sound of surprise. The purple King and the man in the priest outfit turned to me with surprised looks. I froze when he looked at me.
"Yoru?"
I stood up and started backing up quickly. "WATCH OUT!"
I didn't notice the end of the Slates and stepped into the air. I almost fell but he grabbed my arm before I could fall to my death. Which I think I would've preferred to being this close to him. He pulled me closer, never letting go of my arm. He smiled and hugged me tightly.
"I've missed you."
Before I could react, something stung me in the neck, and darkness captured my consciousness.
External POV
The purple King picked up the unconscious girl, bridal style before turning to the Strain. "Was that really necessary, Mr Iwa? You ruined my reunion with my Yoru."
"I thought it would save you some trouble, Purple King. These needles are really quite useful." Replied the man in the priest outfit before looking down at the Tower again. "Oh?, It seems that your clansmen have finally decided to join us."
Indeed, a platform made with purple aura was floating towards the helicopter and the Slates hanging from it. The three ARCHITECT members seemed bruised but nothing serious.
"Who knew those two still had that much power?" Said Keiji, stepping on the Slates. "Hey boss. Oh, you've got her."
Lana walked over to her King and looked at the unconscious girl. "Is she alright?"
"Don't worry Lana." Replied the King with a smile. "She's only asleep. My poor Yoru. It must have been quite a shock."
"Are we leaving now, Purple King?" Asked Yukari via radio.
"Soon." He set the girl on the ground and with the scarf around his neck, bandaged her bleeding leg. She flinched in pain. "Did you shoot her Keiji?"
"Yeah, sorry about that boss..."
His older brother hit him behind the head. The King looked at the twins with a focused yet somehow dangerous look. "I'll deal with you later."
He picked up the girl again and turned to Lana. "The silver clan has captured Tux. Trade her for him and then join us at base."
Lana made a surprised face. She knew how much Yoru meant to Ryu and how desperate he was to get her back. So why was he doing this? As he passed Yoru to Lana, the french woman questioned.
"But, Master Ryu, she..."
He smiled sweetly at her. "Now is not the right time. Not yet." He stroke Taiga's cheek gently, before leaning forward and planting a kiss on her forehead. "Soon, my Yoru. I promise." He whispered to the sleeping girl, as his only female clansman stared at him, confused.
Ome's floor, external POV
The poison was wearing off, just like Ootori...no, Iwafune had said. The doctor strain slowly moved, putting her weight on her arms. Then she tried standing, which she very slowly managed to. Her head was still spinning, but she forbade herself from passing out again by making her aura circulate in her body to give her more strength. She still leaned against the walls to help herself walk. Suddenly, a voice came out of her pocket.
"Shiro to Ome. Do you read me?"
She took Anna's marble out of her pocket. "I read you."
"They got the Slates and it seems SCEPTER 4's radars can't follow it. Can you try with your foresight?"
"On it. Which direction were they heading?"
"East." Replied the Blue King's voice instead of Shiro.
The doctor Strain ran until she found an window on the eastern side. She focused all her aura on her eyes and pushed her foresight as far as she could. "I may not be able to see the helicopter with Iwafune's power, but I can at lest track where the smoke screen itself." She muttered to herself.
She finally spotted the abnormal smoke screen moving. "Got you."
That's when she felt the blade pierce her body from behind.
Foot of the Mihashira Tower, SCEPTER 4 vehicles, external POV
"Make sure the wounded are all taken care of. Get those monitors working again, we need DATA." Ordered Lieutenant Awashima to the blue clansmen on the ground.
Fushimi looked around. The reds that were still operational helped evacuate the wounded. In a cage inside one of the trucks, the strain dog that had attacked the silver clan was growling, very unhappy to be restrained by an aura absorbing cage. That monster had been enough to keep the silver clansman plus the Silver King occupied while the Purple King was kicking the red and blue king's butts. The mission had been a total fiasco. All because they didn't anticipate the fact that the Purple King was going to show up. Ome was the only one who'd brought up the subject of their possible alliance. He'd questioned it but hadn't said anything. He sighed again, knowing that he had no choice but to proceed to plan B. He looked up to the sky, it'd started snowing lightly. He looked around again, as if searching for someone. But no one in particular caught his interest. That's until he caught the shape of someone walking from the corner of the building towards them. Domyoji who was there unsheathed his sword.
"It's Lana Blanchet!"
A few more clansmen got their hands on their swords, ready to attack. "Wait." Ordered Fushimi.
When Lana completely stepped into the light completely, everyone saw that in her arms she was carrying the unconscious red female clansmen. The woman looked at him with a serious, yet sad face.
"I'll trade her for Tux." She said.
"Shouldn't you be handing her over to your King?"
"I am following my King's orders."
What the hell was she talking about? Ryu Karasuno had his hands on her and suddenly gives her back? What was the bastard up to? Saruhiko put away the throwing knives he had taken out and walked over to the vehicle with the dog's cage. He opened the lock and let the animal out. The big Rottweiler growled at the blue clansmen, but when his master whistled for him, he immediately ran to join her. She ordered him to sit and stay still before walking towards Fushimi, who did the same. Fushimi picked up the passed out girl and gave a death glare to Lana who immediately jumped back. She walked backwards a couple steps.
"Take care of her." She told him. "She was shot in the left leg and her shoulder is wounded as well."
All she got for an answer was a click of the tongue. The woman then turned around and started running away, followed by the strain dog. She quickly disappeared in the night.
"Mr Fushimi, shouldn't we follow her?" Asked Domyoji.
"Don't be stupid. She managed to take down fifteen of us all by herself. That woman's a monster. Not to mention the dog. Take care of the rest here, I have to go find the Captain."
"Yes, sir."
Fushimi took the girl inside a truck and laid her on the bench inside. She let out a heavy breaths and had an expression of pain on her face. The blue clansman clenched his teeth. It looked like Ryu Karasuno wasn't done playing with her mind. He saw the scarf tied around her leg. For some reason it disgusted him. He observed her once more. Knocked out, vulnerable... She was probably frozen on the spot when she saw him again. "Tch. Nothing's changed." He knew it was best if he got her to a medic now, but he also knew a certain someone was going to make a huge fuss for nothing if he didn't see her.
He made his way to the west side of the building where he knew the uninjured red clansmen were gathering. As he approached the small group, he heard Misaki's annoying voice.
"What do you mean, she's not there?" He shouted to Bando.
"Sorry man, but there was no one left on the Slates's Chamber, other than Mr Mikoto and the Blue King."
"But she has to be there! There's no way... There's no way that bastard took her again!"
"Calm down, Yata. We don't know that."
"But Mr Kusanagi!"
That was about all the shouting the blue clansman could take. "Do you ever shut up Misaki?" He asked as he got close enough.
"What d'you say Monkey? … TAIGA!"
All the present clansman approached and Mr Kusanagi took her off Fushimi's arms. "She's fine. She just got shot in the leg and knocked out." The bartender looked at Fushimi. "Where did you find her?"
"Crazy purple clan chick brought her back and traded her for the strain dog." He explained in a single sentence.
Shohei frowned. "Meaning the Purple King got his hands on her at some point."
Yata clenched his fists and teeth. "Damn it."
Fushimi sighed again. "We put up with this joke of an alliance and agree to play buddy buddy under the wise guidance of the Silver King and this is where it leads us. Talk about bullshit."
All the red clansmen turned to him, surprised and frowned. "Quit talking shit, will ya!" Said Yata. "Everyone did their best."
"And our best efforts led to this fiasco? Pathetic, really."
"You're one to talk when all you did was play with a keyboard!" Retorted Yata. "Besides none of this would've happened if your King wasn't so pig headed and listened to Ome! He's the one who fought the Purple King! If he'd beaten him, we would've won!"
"You're absolutely right."
That reply made Yata froze for a second. Fushimi started walking away. "What a looser."
"Hey! That's your King you're talking about. At least try to defend him."
Fushimi stopped in his track. This was a good time to begin. After all, he'd made his decision already. He turned around and smirked at his former best friend. "Things are about to get interesting from now on. Try to keep up if you can."
And with that he walked away, leaving the red clansmen dumbfounded.
"Saruhiko?" Questioned Yata, to no one in particular. He was about to call out to him but the bartender stopped him.
"Let him be Yata. He's as sour as we are about this defeat. Besides, we have more important things to take care of." He said looking at the girl in his arms. "Let's find a medic to take care of her."
"Right."
The uninjured HOMRA members stayed near the ambulance where Taiga was getting treated and waited. Yata hadn't taken his eyes off the doors and Mr Kusanagi was lighting his fourth cigaret. They looked up when a familiar slow stride was heard. The Red King approached. For once he didn't have a cigaret in his mouth. He looked like he was about to break something.
"Hey, Mikoto." Saluted Mr Kusanagi, offering him his pack. "I take it it didn't go too well up there."
The King took one and only growled instead of explaining himself. He didn't need to. Everyone could tell that he didn't even get to fight the Purple King. He had confronted the strain. He didn't have any trouble melting his bullets and avoiding his shots, but he couldn't allow himself to scorch the place when he didn't know where Munakata was. And that seriously pissed him off.
"How is she?" He asked.
"Fine, just knocked out. One of the twins shot her in the leg."
They all went quiet is until they saw Anna ran towards them at full speed. The little girl looked completely panicked. "Mikoto! Izumo!" She called out.
She crashed into her King's leg and grabbed on to his coat as she tried to catch her breath. Mikoto placed a hand on her head. "What's wrong?" He asked calmly.
"It's … Ome."
"Easy Anna." Said Mr Kusanagi, crouching next to her. "Catch your breath first."
They waited a minute for the young strain to calm down. "Ome was attacked. Someone stabbed her in the back. She's not waking up."
"What?"
"Her color is fading." A small sob escaped the little girl's mouth. "It might disappear."
"She's dying?!" Asked Kosuke.
Anna nodded. That's when they heard the door of the ambulance open. The legging of her left leg had been ripped and she had a medical band wrapped around her thigh. She was wearing her sweatshirt so they couldn't see the one around her shoulder. She'd heard part of their conversation and was looking at them with a worried look. "Who's dying?"
Taiga's POV
I ran as fast as I could through the streets of Shizume, under a black sky and an absent moon. The mission had been a total fiasco. JUNGLE stole the Slates. The Green King has allied himself with Ryu. Lana had the insane power of her King. Mr Munakata practically abandoned the battlefield and left Shiro to deal with everything. Ome was in the hospital on the brink of death. All of that was enough. It was already too much. Enough to make one of our allies give up on the situation. We couldn't take another blow. Not like this. I wouldn't let it. I ran around as fast as I could. My breath was fast and my lungs were burning, but I didn't stop. My leg was killing me but I did my best to ignore it. All I knew was in what direction he had left. 'Come on, where are you?' I finally caught sight of him in a small park. He was holding his PDA in his hand. I could tell by the green light.
"SARU!" I called out.
He turned around and quickly put his phone away. "Oh, it's you." He said as I tried to catch my breath. "I don't know why you bothered coming here."
"What are you trying to do?!" I shouted. "Bailing on us like that, at this time? Really?"
"I'm not into being a pawn for the Silver King. I don't serve selfish cowards either."
"And because of one little argument with your King you want to leave? His pride took a big hit for the first time, but he's going to take action again. He's just as stubborn as Mr Mikoto!"
"Yeah, well I'm not going to wait for him to snap out of it. Besides, that was personal." His eyes were full of anger as he said that. He turned around and started walking away, but I grabbed his wrist with both of my hands and stopped him.
"WE NEED YOU!"
He turned around and for once looked genuinely surprised. "JUNGLE stole the Slates! Ryu's back! Half of our clans are in bad shape! Ome's struggling between life and death as we speak! We can't take another blow Saru, not now! We're completely vulnerable! We need you!"
He frowned at me again and took his hand back. "What you need is a hacker that can keep up with your plans. I'm sure you don't need my help to find that."
"NO!" I yelled. "It's you we need Saru. You're one of us! We've been fighting the same fight since it began. All the clans, we have a bond. And if we want to fight Ryu and the Green King, we need to do it together! You can't cut us off!"
"Watch me." He replied with a bored voice. He started walking away again.
"If not for yourself then please, do it for Ome! I'm asking as a favor."
The blue clansman stopped and suddenly turned around to grab me by my shirt and forcefully made be back up until my back hit a tree a little too violently. "Ow." He then brought his face a couple inches away from mine.
"Do it for Ome? That would imply we have some sort of connexion with each other."
"But you do! You're our friend, Saru!"
"Tch. If you believe that, then you're an idiot."
"If you're not, then why did you come save me back when Ryu kidnapped me? Why did you even bother planting a tracker on me and using yourself as bait so that Yata and I could run away? You're not making any sense!"
"I just did my job as a SCEPTER 4 member. The only relation we ever had was the one concerning the job, and in case you didn't notice, I spent the past six months arresting you. Now, I quit."
I couldn't believe my ears. Saruhiko was one to say mean things all the time and never admit he was wrong, but this... This was way over the top. "Saru...I can understand why you want to quit. But there's no way in hell you're going to make me believe that there's no connexion between us."
"Oh? Then why don't you prove it?"
"Prove it?! It's obvious! How can I prove it?"
"Kiss me."
"What?"
"You heard me. Go on." He said, as a smirk appeared on his face. He leaned in closer. "You're the one that asked how you could prove it. And don't flatter yourself, it doesn't mean anything to me."
That was it. I punched him in the face to get him off of me, making his glasses fall in the process. "Stop playing around! I'm serious."
"Hmpf." Saruhiko picked up his glasses and put them back on. "So am I. I think you've got bigger problems to worry about than trying to convince me to come back. I'm done playing this game. Follow me again and I'll knock you out."
He let go off me and started walking away again. "Saruhiko!" I called out one more time, but he ignored me and kept walking away. Why the hell was everything so wrong? I clenched my teeth and a tear of frustration escaped my eye. I waited for Saru to disappear from my sight, to erase it and turn around slowly to start walking back to the bar where everyone had probably gone back by now, but I took three steps before stopping. A few meters in front of me, Yata was standing there, holding his skateboard in one hand, and wearing a serious expression.
"Yata? What are you doing here?"
"I followed you. What were you two talking about?" He asked.
I looked down. "He's leaving SCEPTER 4. For good."
I saw him clench his fists and teeth. I had enough tension for one day. "Let's go back." I said as I started walking. I was about to pass him but he suddenly grabbed my arm with a strong grip. I flinched in surprise and a little because of the pain.
"Yata?" I asked a little worried.
He suddenly looked like he was struggling with an intense pain. He looked at my leg, but it looked like he was forcing himself to. "I'm … sorry." He let out.
"Huh?"
He leaned his head on my shoulder, still wearing that same expression. "I'm sorry, Taiga."
'I couldn't protect you' was what he meant. Normally, it would have annoyed me and I would've told him that I wasn't his responsibility. But I was not in the mood to get angry. I placed a hand on his head. "I'm sorry too."
His cellwatch rang, warning us that it was midnight. I looked up at the falling snow. "Worst Christmas Eve ever..." I said, as I felt all of my frustration coming out in the form of tears.
"Yeah, no shit." He replied.
Hope you liked it even though it ends on a sad note :'(. Next chapter, we'll see how things go now that the Green and Purple Kings got their hands on the Slates. Until next time guys!
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