How life can change so easily and when it does it's a bugger to try to figure it out. Koyuki told Yuzu about what she had caught Mikoto doing and she agreed that he was in the wrong and Koyuki had the right to ignore him like she had been doing. Even though her best friend was always around now that she had a break from school, Koyuki still felt lonely. She had spent almost all day every day with or near Mikoto since she had started at the bar and had always admired him but now that she had a reason to be mad at him, she realized just how lonely she really was. Sure she could talk to the other guys, Anna and Kusanagi but being around them would always bring up the memories that she had of Mikoto because everyone was a part of HOMRA and HOMRA was lead by the Red King Mikoto Suoh.
Koyuki was very good at pretending that someone doesn't exist and could be especially stubborn when she felt like it but it came with a price that was hurting her as well. Every time she had seen him she would pull the old 'ignoring' card but when she was alone she would tear down the wall of anger that she had built up and would break down and cry.
Mikoto seemed to have given up on her easily. He tried calling her a few times that first day but never received an answer. He knew that she had witnessed Mariko kissing him since she left a box of her tea cakes behind on the ground and he knew that she was purposefully avoiding him this whole time. The glares that had been given to him by Koyuki confirmed the obvious thought that she was mad at him. He wasn't good at making up. He just wasn't good at relationships at all. They needed a lot of work which is something he had never been interested in until he met Koyuki. The truth is he was hurt in a way. If she had seen him the way he told Mariko to get lost then maybe she would have heard him out at least. It made him regret ever hooking up with Mariko in the first place even more if that was even possible. Mikoto still would withdraw himself from everyone including Anna to be alone. He wanted to be able to make it up and work things out but he didn't know how to do it. The fact that she was ignoring him, especially when they were in the same room, irritated him to almost no end. As if he didn't already feel like burning everything down.
Everyone sat awkwardly at HOMRA bar in silence the air thick with tension making it hard to breathe for everyone. Mikoto sat at one end of the room on the couch he had claimed and Koyuki at the other side at one of the tables. They faced one another occasionally catching a glimpse of the other when no one was looking. Everyone else spread out in the bar area at various tables and couches with Kusanagi in his usual spot behind the counter. Anna chose to sit with Mikoto simply because she has known him longer but Koyuki didn't hold that against her. It was so quiet that you could almost hear everyone's breathing.
"I can't take it anymore." Yata abruptly shouted as he stood up from his seat. Everyone looked over to him. "Something happened between you two and now we're all suffering." He pointed at Mikoto and Koyuki. "I don't know what the hell is going on but it's driving all of us crazy. We all knew something like this was bound to happen but Kusanagi had to tell us to support the two of ya now look at us. You two are behaving like children now go and work it out." Everyone but Kusanagi, Tatara and Anna nodded their heads in anger. Mikoto snorted ignoring all of his so called 'friends' which Koyuki was disgusted by. How could he laugh at the idea at making up? Yata, Kosuke, Eric, Dewa, Chitose, Shouhei, Kamamoto and Bandou all got up and dragged both Mikoto and Koyuki into the back room where Kusanagi kept all of his extra stock and closed the door behind them and kept it shut. Their grip was tight on Koyuki and she tried to force herself away from everyone to avoid the confrontation but there was too many of them. She swore her revenge on all of them someday. After they were thrown inside the stock, room Mikoto stood facing the door clenching his teeth.
"Now don't come out of there until you two make up." Kamamoto shouted. All the guys could be heard cheering in the background like this was some kind of steel cage match.
"And if ya don't, I'll take my shot at Koyuki." Chitose said making cat noises from behind the door. Mikoto frowned and turned to Koyuki who was standing away from him facing the small window that radiated beams of light from the outside. She took a seat on a box of alcohol and waited. Mikoto did the same, as far away from her as possible, which was right beside the door. They spent a good ten minutes in silence. Koyuki blankly stared down at the ground and Mikoto sat with his back against the wall so he was facing her. He realized that they were gonna be in here for a while so he took out a cigarette and ignited the end with his aura. Koyuki didn't have to look at him to know what he was doing because the smell of the cigarette smoke made it obvious. The guys on the other side had their ears pressed to the door waiting for an exchange of conversation. Both of them were being stubborn.
Things were getting difficult. Time had passed and Koyuki was starting to get the urge to use the washroom. Had she known that she would have been locked up she would have refused the coolers that Kusanagi offered her. She didn't normally drink but she needed something to ease the pain a bit. She turned her head to see what Mikoto was doing and frowned with disgust when seeing him with his eyes closed and the back of his head pressed against the wall. This was getting her nowhere. Koyuki got up and walked over to the door and quietly tried to open it but it wouldn't open.
"You guys, I have to go to the bathroom." Koyuki knocked.
"Not until you two make up." Shouhei called right behind the door. Were they seriously still blocking it?
"This isn't funny." Koyuki complained. Mikoto opened a single eye and looked up to her before closing it with a victorious smirk. He knew that he was not in the position to be mad at her or making her suffer anymore but he found her stubbornness very irritating. He did not like to be ignored by her so he was throwing back what he was getting bringing out his competitive side. Eventually Koyuki gave up and took her seat back on the box facing away from the Red King. Sooner or later one of them was going to say something and by the way things were going it looks like it would have to be her. Koyuki pinched her legs together to ease the pain then she looked back to Mikoto who was smiling with his eyes closed. "What are you smiling at?" She tried to taunt but her feminine voice just wasn't that intimidating. Mikoto's eyes slowly opened still smiling with his cigarette hanging from his lips.
"You're so cute when you're mad." He cockily responded. Koyuki blushed and turned back around with her eyebrows still knitted together. "How long are you going to be like that?"
"As long as I have to be."
"Well I guess we're gonna be stuck in here for a long time." Mikoto finished.
Another long while passed in silence with the two hardly even moving. It wasn't until Koyuki heard some deep breathing that she turned around to find him nodding off against the wall. This enraged her. How could he be so insensitive at a time like this when he was the one who needed to put things back together? He looked really tired almost as bad as when he had lost all that sleep due to nightmares that he had been dreaming. Koyuki once again got up and tried to open the door. Really? She thought. They must have had the door blocked because she could hear them down the hall. Mikoto's eyes struggled to open and looked up at her who was standing beside him right next to his spot by the door but then she went back to her seat. He had to admit she was stubborn but so was he.
"Why are you being like this?" Koyuki asked quietly embracing herself.
"Hm?" He opened his eyes.
"Why are you ignoring me when you're the one who screwed up?" She elaborated.
"Cause you're so fun to play with." He smirked.
"Dammit Mikoto, I'm not a toy." She yelled. "I'm not someone you can take advantage of then screw around behind my back. I have feelings, feelings that get hurt." She could say that again. "I don't know what went on in your past 'cause you never talk about it but if it comes back to you and you're still reliving it then you got a problem." Mikoto snapped.
"I got a problem? I was not the one that who started things last week. In fact, I never wanted to see that woman again. That was a part of life that I never want to relive but thanks to her showing up I now have to go through it all over again and the way you're acting is not helping." Fear and heat pooled through her body as it was pressed against the wall with his forearm holding her up by the throat. "I told her to get lost and stay away from me and the bar last week after she came at me. You don't know what went on back then and you sure as hell don't know how much I have come to regret it to this very day so don't you blame everything on me, princess." He shouted. Koyuki stared into his eyes now red with his aura. There was either pure anger or pure hurt in them. She was petrified for her life so much so that her eyes began to water. Never before had she seen him this angry this close to her right in her face. It was so overwhelming. She could feel his aura burning inside of him like a wild fire the way he had his one hand beside her and his forearm across her neck pinning her against the wall however both her feet were fully on the ground. In his rage he gave off an intense heat that would best be described as the fires of hell.
She felt so small and helpless.
Mikoto noticed the fear in her eyes that he had caused and pulled away not able to make eye contact with her. He took a moment to run a hand through his hair then he made his way over to the door and exploded his way through taking out all of the barricades. His anger beginning to boil over, he knew he had to leave the place. When he walked through to the front of the bar to leave everyone stood up.
"Hey how did it go?" A few of them asked but Mikoto just passed all of them ignoring them with his eyes still red on his heated scowl. His fiery aura flapped behind him as he walked. They had never seen him this angry before. Once he exited through the front door everyone looked at one another and instantly knew that things got worse. Shouhei was the first one to rush over to Koyuki and soon everyone else followed.
"What happened?" Kosuke asked. Everyone watched Koyuki utterly shaken on the ground with her hands on the back of her neck. Her limbs were still attached but by the way she was sobbing there gave everyone the image that she was broken to pieces. Nobody had expected this. They thought that if they spoke then things would get better but it always gets dirtier before you finish cleaning.
"Gentlemen, I think we only fanned the flame." Kusanagi spoke. Anna stood there at the front of the crowd watching the broken girl on the floor until Tatara pushed his way through the crowd. He walked over to her and bent down to her on the ground and did the only thing that he could at the time, he embraced her. Koyuki felt so embarrassed with everyone standing there and watching her but she wasn't capable of doing anything else then bawl. Everyone else scattered not knowing what to do or how to help the situation and went back to the front of the bar leaving Anna and Kusanagi standing in the doorway. There was a large burn mark on the wall overtop of where she was laying, right where Mikoto had Koyuki pinned.
"There, there, it'll all work out." Tatara said in a dulled happy-go-lucky manor. Kusanagi jumped in to help Koyuki sit up.
Invisible flames from his aura followed him as he walked through the back ways of the streets so he can avoid people at all costs. Mikoto walked until he was by himself surrounded by buildings in the industrial part of the city and there he let loose all of his rage in the dark of the night. He couldn't shake the image of her face out of his head. Koyuki looked so afraid and to think he caused it. It will be forever etched into his brain. His Sword of Damocles appeared overhead as he released his aura burning everything around him, overthrowing construction vehicles and demolishing buildings. Releasing his rage, he only found himself getting angrier and angrier as he constantly swore in his head. As long as she was in his head he would never forgive himself. Just like that his nightmares were coming true, gradually losing control of his aura taking out everything in his path.
After alleviate some of his anger, Mikoto stopped and looked around at all of the damage he had caused. He had easily taken out an entire block of industrial buildings and thought little of it. His chest felt heavy as he huffed from exhaustion with beads of sweat forming on his face. When he stood upright he looked up at his Sword of Damocles. It seems that new cracks have started to form gradually making its way to the center where the jewel rested. If the cracks made it all the way to the jewel then it was all over. The sword would fall from the sky and that would be the end of everything for him.
"Your powers are growing unstable, Suoh." A voice called. Mikoto turned around finding a man with swept dark blue hair and frameless glasses walk towards him. He was dressed in the full uniform of Scepter 4 including the saber at his left side.
"What do you want?"
"Now is that any way to greet an old friend?" The Blue King asked. Mikoto said nothing and returned to sulking. "While sitting in my office I couldn't help but notice your Sword of Damocles whenever you take action. Lately each time you summon it you seem to leave around a trail of destruction that I have to clean up. I'm sure the Gold King also doesn't appreciate you taking out his form of business."
"Do you have something to say or are you here to scold me for my actions?" Mikoto objected. Munakata was intrigued how after time Mikoto still had not changed. Even as the years have passed and the two both have become kings, they still hold on to a piece of themselves from the past.
"All I'm saying is that you're beginning to become unstable. You're using too much of your power. If you don't want it to consume you, try staying under the radar for a while and don't let things bother you so much." Mikoto frowned. What did he know about the situation he was in? If he had known that this was not a matter of his clan taking on others but a result of his personal failures then he would not be suggesting to 'stop letting it bother him'.
"Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep that in mind." The Red King answered sarcastically.
"Come now I know that you don't truly mean that." The Blue King started. "Don't try to appease me. I realize that you have only recently become unstable so I understand that this can be easily reversed but as the Blue King and leader of Scepter 4 I have to remind you of your kingly duties. We wouldn't want another Kagutsu incident on our hands now would we?" Munakata suggested. Mikoto cringed at that thought. At this rate with his nightmares and Koyuki refusing to speak to him it is more than a possibility that it will happen. He didn't want to just give up and leave Koyuki behind. He wanted to make things up to her and make her happy again but how could she if she refused to talk to him. After the way that he yelled at her earlier there was no way he could ever look in her eyes again without remembering how much he had hurt her. As long as her eyes reflected him there wasn't going to be any forgiveness.
"Somehow I think this isn't going to be reversible." Mikoto said in his low voice. As Munakata stared at him he could sense that there was a deeper meaning behind his words. Even for him, Mikoto can be hard to read sometimes but that was one of the things that Munakata liked. He liked to piece together the puzzle of one's reasons or actions. It gave him a sense of satisfaction when he can see the overall picture.
"Don't let one little mistake draw you away from what you hold dear. No matter how much you think that something is irreparable, it can be rather easy to put the pieces back together once you know how it broke." Munakata insisted talking to him as a friend rather than a king. "I must be on my way. You take care now, Suoh." Munakata said before departing. Mikoto watched the Blue King leave the scene then looked to the ground then looked up to his Sword of Damocles floating above him.
