I do not own any of the characters of K. They belong to Gora/Gohands.
I apologize for any OOC-ness of the characters. It's just my take on how they might behave in the event of situations such as these arriving.I also apologize for any grammatical errors that I did not pick up on.
Summary: How the Red Clan copes with a growing Anna.
A/N: Happy Birthday nannerlovessnickers!
GROWING PAINS
by chickypeg
Chapter 37: Balls
Mikoto gave Anna a look that made her almost impulsively run back to Natsume's house and hide Lion-O. She was quite sure her plushie was going to pay for her friends' impeding onto their assignment.
"Eh...greetings Mikoto-san!" Kei told him with a brilliant smile.
"Why are you grinning like that, idiot?" Mikoto demanded of Totsuka who was sitting on the couch opposite of his.
Totsuka continued beaming at his King. "Isn't it adorable? Anna is always so comfortable with you,"
The small child had fallen asleep with her head resting quite comfortably on Mikoto's lap. Mikoto gave Totsuka an angry look, but his friend just continued smiling broadly at the sight of his rough and tough King, letting himself be used as a resting spot for a sweet, innocent child.
Stupid Kei's smile was reminiscent of his fallen comrade's making Mikoto grow agitated.
"What do you want?" he demanded. Mikoto did intend to speak roughly and his voice came out much more callously than he had meant it to be. Akemi cringed at his tone.
Anna reached out and took one of Mikoto's hands between her own.
"Mikoto," she voice his name.
He glanced at her. Her wide eyes looked up at him and she knew that he was remembering Totsuka. His emotions began to calm and some distant part of his mind recognized that it was because the thumbs of her hands were gently caressing the palm of his larger one, somehow soothing him.
He grunted in irritation and returned his attention to the other two in front of him.
"We saw Anna and you and we were just curious," Kei answered so honestly that Akemi wanted to hit him. Didn't the idiot know how to lie? Lying was crucial in order to get away from this beastly guy standing before them!
Akemi proceeded to kick him in the shin, forcing him to yelp out in pain. "Damn it you bitch! Why do you keep attacking me?!"
"Because you're an idiot!" she retorted.
"I am not an idiot!"
"You're the jerk who forgot his wallet home and made me pay! Jeez, Kei, I know you don't really think of me as any different than the rest of girls you harass in school but I really hadn't expected you to push it this far,"
Kei paused. "What do you mean?" he questioned with a very serious look coming on his face.
Akemi shot him an irritated glance with her ice blue eyes.
"What do you mean, what do I mean? I'm just like the rest of girls at school to you, but I would have appreciated you showed me some respect," she retorted.
"Is this because I made you pay the bill?"
"That among other things," she told him and shrugged.
It was then that Akemi realized that Kei was, for once, genuinely pissed off with her. His expression was like stone and his eyes didn't even move. He turned away from her.
"I don't mind that you're upset about the bill, but I would have paid you back when we got back to school. I'm just surprised...and hurt too that you think that I don't consider you my friend," Kei explained.
When Akemi's eyes widened in genuine shock, Kei scowled grabbed her into a headlock. "You blond haired brat! You don't need to look so surprised!" he snapped at her. He was clearly offended that she believed that he didn't think much of her.
He paused and looked over his shoulder. Anna and Mikoto had disappeared during his argument with Akemi.
He turned back to the girl in his arms.
She was smirking up at him. "You distracted me deliberately, didn't you?"
"It was either that or get into trouble with Anna's brother. It's better if we left them alone, don't you think?"
Kei sighed. That was true.
"They both looked so beautiful though," Akemi murmured as if to herself. She was not jealous of Anna's beauty, but she was a bit wistful, wishing that she was as pretty as that.
The wind gently blew her long curly hair around her. Kei frowned. He did take note that Anna looked so beautiful in her dress, like a perfectly crafted doll but didn't Akemi also take note of the fact that she was quite beautiful too?
Mikoto's grip on her wrist was hard and Anna was quite sure that she would have bruises on her hand tomorrow. He had dragged her away during Akemi and Kei's quarreling.
"Mikoto," Anna whimpered. He stopped at the sound of her voice and turned around to look at her.
He released her hand slowly and she brought it to her chest where she used her other hand to gently rub at it.
A slight wind blew and shifted her hair slightly, causing the long waves of it to lightly brush his shoulders as she stood before him.
Curious about her uniquely white hair, Mikoto gently took hold of a strand of it at the side of her face, and allowed his sense of touch to imprint in his mind the softness and thickness of it.
The doll-like face remained sleeping on his pillow, with its cheek lying comfortably on it. Mikoto, leaning on an arm with an unlit cigarette reached out and caught hold of a strand of her hair between his fingers. Idly, he fiddled with the hair before he tucked the strand of hair behind her ear with his large fingers.
His motions seemed to have disturbed her for her eyebrows narrowed slightly before relaxing again. Mikoto removed his cigarette from his mouth, lowered his head to hers and pressed his nose at her temple, gently rubbing it there. One of his arms went around her waist and drew her closer to his warmth to ensure that she returned to her restful nap.
Mikoto's hand moved upward to touch the top of her head.
Anna watched on silently as he lowered his head and nudged her cheek, before dragging his nose upward to touch her temple.
The scent of her there, this particular area made him want to just grip her tightly and keep nuzzling her until they both slept away.
He pushed her onto her back, so that he could have access to both her temples and the soft hair there.
Slowly, Mikoto drew back his face. He knew she would get tired if he continued.
Slowly Mikoto removed his hand from her hair and she realized that her red ribbon was in his hand. That hand lowered to her arm and slowly, his calloused hand soothed downward until it came to stop at the back of her hand.
He lifted it up, the ribbon entwined between his fingers that leaned against hers, and the wind causing the long ends to wrap around Anna's hand.
He observed the red marks left about her wrist caused by his tight hold. Her skin was so white, and so pale that it was easy for it to get bruised. As much as he disliked seeing marks on her skin, such as when he pinched her cheek, he also found himself somehow...fascinated but how it marked.
The two ends of the ribbon hand fallen over her palm as Mikoto lifted her hand again. He lowered his head to her wrist and pressed a soft kiss against the red marks, while Anna remained stunned by the sweet gesture.
"You're tied me," he said softly her.
His life, his very sanity seemed to have become dependent on this little human of his who indulged in his warmth and quieted his riotous heart.
She looked at him, confused.
When she blinked at him, he explained, "You're my clansman. You belong with me. No one else,"
'Not even Kei' was his unspoken words that Anna understood.
She was his princess.
She nodded and Mikoto let go of her hand, but kept her ribbon in his. He proceeded to retie it into her hair.
Of course his bows were not as perfect as hers, but then he never wore ribbons.
"Anna," Mikoto said her name when he was finished.
She looked up at him. He lowered his head and lay his forehead against hers. His golden eyes looked deeply into her own ones.
His hands went to her waist and cupped her sides here.
"Anna," he repeated her name so that his warm breath fanned her face.
"Yes, Mikoto?" she whispered softly.
The atmosphere around them was so soothing and so quiet, save for the rustling of the leaves caused by the wind. Hardly a soul was around and even if there was, that person was minding their own business.
Anna's soft hair was brushing Mikoto's cheeks and his own red hair was pressed against her forehead, making her realize that he texture of his hair hadn't changed from his twenty six year old self for it was soft despite the different style.
Mikoto let out a soft sigh and drew back his head. Then, he lowered his head again and moved it to the side of her head where his hot breath touched her ear.
"Don't ever wear this dress again," he ordered abruptly, shocking her.
"I don't have a grudge against him! I just like following after him to watch everything he does because I'm a sick, psychotic person!" Chie snapped as she whipped her binoculars in the direction of Iwao-sensei again. Fushimi wondered if Chie even realized what she had said to him, or that she was showing a completely different face to him than the one she showed in school; school-girl Chie was strict, disciplined and adhered to the rules. This Chie was pissed off, bad tempered and looked like she would punch his lights out if she got a chance.
Well, school-girl Chie seemed to want to do that, but this Chie looked like she actually would do it.
She let out a frustrated noise. "Thanks to you I've lost him!" she snapped and moved to stalk past him.
However, he caught her arm as she walked, forcing her to come to a stop and look at him.
The wind was coming up more strongly, whipping their hair effectively.
"Who do you want justice for, Chie-san?" Saruhiko questioned.
Chie glowered at him. "The world," she spat and pulled her arm away, walking away from Fushimi to go in search of the potentially perverted teacher.
Saruhiko snorted as he watched her go with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Or the world that matters to you, Chie-san," he murmured to himself.
Anna attempted to step back from Mikoto as she sensed his temper flare at her. However, his hands at her waist gripped her easily.
He was still very strong.
"If you ever wear that dress again, I will take it off myself, and put you in something else instead," he threatened.
Anna was stunned by his words. It seemed that his bad tempered younger self was speaking out and the rationale of his twenty six year old self was being ignored.
Or at least that was what she assumed.
"I don't understand," she told him, wide-eyed.
One of his hands, large as it was for a fourteen year old, slid to the front of her stomach. His entire palm seemed to fit on its surface area as it moved upward slowly. She could feel the heat of his hand through her clothing and Anna knew for sure that Mikoto was angry about something.
His hand stopped just under the bodice of her dress and formed into a fist. Then it lifted off from her before two fingers reached out and pulled the top of the bodice upward as if trying to cover up more of the expanse of her upper body that was revealed.
Anna's cheeks reddened. "What are you doing?" she gasped in surprised.
Blankly, Mikoto answered, "You're showing off too much,"
"I am not!" she denied and pushed his hand away.
However, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her hard against him so that her body fit against the long, lean length of his. It was quite a difference with his smaller stature for she felt as though she could feel every ridge of muscle and bone of his body against her. With his older self, she barely made it past his elbow without heels.
Although he did not display a lot of anger, the tightness with which he held her and the red glow of his eyes indicated his mood and he pressed his mouth against her temple as he whispered harshly, "You're outgrowing that dress too quickly and it's fitting too tightly on you. Don't ever wear it or I will strip you out of it myself. Understand?"
Anna, stunned by his temper and his words nodded.
"Good girl," he praised her and kissed her cheek before releasing her. Mikoto turned to go but paused when it seemed that Anna was not moving. He shot her a meaningful look over his shoulder, snapping her out of her stunned daze.
She hesitantly took hold of his hand again and allowed him to lead her to the designated area where Natsume would meet them. However rough he might be at times, Anna knew he wouldn't deliberately hurt her. He was still her King; her Mikoto with the prettiest red and she would remain his princess forever.
Seri came to a stop in front of her apartment when she saw a familiar man leaning against her door. Dark haired with pretty features for a man made her King quite handsome. His long arms were folded and one leg was lifted, pressed against the door as he waited for her arrival.
Upon sight of her, he gave a little smile, which looked more like a smirk.
Seri's mind went blank for a moment as she fought hard to think of what to say to the man. She had deliberately avoided him for a few days after that strange, intimate incident and he clearly knew she was keeping away from him.
"Awashima-kun. I can't remember the last time I went without seeing your face for so long," Munakata told her.
Although there was no condemnation in his voice meant to offend her, Seri replied with cool politeness, "I apologize if my presence wearies you, sir,"
If Reisi Munakata was surprised by her words, or irked in anyway by it, he did not show it. He merely adjusted his glasses as he moved back to allow Seri to open her door.
He stood behind her as she searched her purse for her keys.
"You're upset with me," he stated.
"I'm not upset with you, sir," she replied as she hastily pulled out her keys. She didn't think she was, but her voiced seemed to be revealing some level of vexation with him.
She wanted to be away from him right now. She needed to figure herself out, and her feelings for Reisi Munakata and Izumo Kusanagi.
She slid the key into the lock on the doorknob.
However, before she could shove open the door and make a quick escape, Reisi's large hand covered her slender, feminine one that was on the doorknob.
She was reminded of that day when he had been there, using that very hand to massage her shoulders. She could still feel his callouses from his sword-fights, and the strength of his hands and the way they pressed and rubbed sensuously into her skin.
"Awashima-kun," he said her name simply and the anger she had unwittingly been holding against her king drained out of her.
It seemed he realized for her withdrew his hand.
Seri turned around slowly and leaned against the door. She looked up at her King. He was giving her a frown as he folded his arms again, eying her with dissatisfaction.
Reisi was wearing on a white shirt with a pin striped tie and black slacks. He was quite neat and clean cut looking. It was something Seri always admired about him; even in the worst fights he emerged looking as though he just stepped out of his apartment to get ready for work.
The only time he had been a bit disheveled had been due to the fight with the red King about a year and half ago.
It had been agony for her, waiting for this man she respected so much to return for she had known that he could have wound up in a grave from that incident.
"You're not very disciplined today, are you?" he commented, not in a critical tone, but in one with gentle concern.
"I've been feeling a bit under the weather," she fibbed.
Reisi gave her a look that showed that he knew she was lying. After a long moment of having dark eyes seemingly penetrate her soul, Reisi suggested to her, "Have a drink with me, Awashima-kun,"
"A drink?" she repeated.
He nodded and held out his hand to her. "Fushimi is already in my apartment. He's agreed to drink with you and I as long as he not forced to drink anything red bean paste-based. He claims to have developed an allergy against it,"
Reisi's words suggested to Seri that he must have planned for the three of them to be together that evening, whether for a more social reason or a work-related one, it was probably really because Reisi was trying to get things back on proper footing in his work relationship with her.
That was one of the reasons why she respected and liked Reisi so much; he tried when he felt it necessary.
"I don't like it," Anna told Mikoto flatly.
She was wearing a red dress with an incredibly bulky skirt with a shapeless bodice and a shade of red that even Anna hated.
"It serves the purpose," Mikoto said with a shrug. Since they had passed some shops along the way, Mikoto had decided that they should take a detour since there were some dress stores along the way and Mikoto seemed incredibly peeved by her outfit. They wound up in this store and he stopped by a rack of ratty, ugly dresses and had pulled out the first red one he saw without really observing it.
She knew her dress was getting a bit small because she was growing but she was quite sure it could last a couple weeks more and that Mikoto didn't need to get so upset about it. She wondered why he had even become upset only just now. After all, he hadn't said anything much earlier.
As Anna shut the dressing room's door with Mikoto standing like a guard outside of it, making the shopkeepers think she was some high class rich girl, Mikoto thought back on how he come to suddenly warn her about her dress:
Well, he wouldn't admit it, but his mind was very slow in some areas like this.
So slow that he didn't even realize when it was processing something.
Hadn't it taken days for him to realize Anna was very pretty from the viewpoint of a fourteen year old?
Well, his mind had been processing something about the dress that was linked to Anna's prettiness. He had been thinking that she looked very nice in it and that she looked older.
Older Anna meant more curvy Anna.
More curvy Anna meant more guys looking at Anna.
More guys looking at Anna due to an already more-curvy-than-necessary-Anna Kushina translated into Mikoto's mind that he himself needed to have a good look at her dress.
So all the while he had been indulging in that pretty hair of hers after they had left Akemi and Kei, he had also come to the conclusion from the tightness of her dress at her waist, and the lowness of it at the bodice (it was actually very decent but in Mikoto's mind, anything lower than high-necked was too low), too much of her overdeveloped curves were showing and therefore more perverts were eying her.
Mikoto could not have that.
He would dress her like an old lady if he had to in order to protect her from freaks.
And prying eyes.
And idiots like Kei Junichi.
The brat still grated Mikoto's nerves because he sensed that the boy liked Anna quite a lot and if for a moment he was able to sweep Anna away with his charm, Mikoto would loose her forever because their relationship could never go back to being what it was if she belonged to another male.
It took the remembrance of Natsume's assurance of his position in her heart to calm him a bit: '…Mikoto, you stand above all others. And that isn't going to change. Ever'.
Mikoto did actually believe that but it didn't mean he liked Kei around Anna.
His lion-like behavior considered Anna his territory and Kei, despite probably being a minuscule threat to what was his, was still a threat and he did not like him for that simple reason and he only tolerated the guy for Anna's sake.
And his instincts still told him that something wasn't right with the guy.
However, he did sense that Kei was not a bad a guy and as insincere as Mikoto did believe that he was in terms of his personality, he also had to admit that the guy really did act like that simply because he wanted to be among people and enjoy time with them.
Grudgingly, Mikoto admitted to himself that he could actually ease up on Kei.
And pridefully, he knew that Kei had nothing on him when it came to Anna so his heart decided to not despise or fret so much anymore over the boy.
Unless he got all 'touchy and feely' with Anna. No, no Mikoto would have none of that.
"Mikoto," came Anna's voice.
She was wearing on another red and white dress, just like the one they had gone on their date on, only this one was a little more loose; perhaps a size larger.
"Why are you wearing that?" he demanded.
Anna strode out of the room with her older dress in one hand. "I like this," she responded and walked in the direction of the cashier. Mikoto followed closely behind.
"I don't like it,"
Anna stopped and turned around. She looked up at him indignantly. "Well, I like it," she retorted, clearly not impressed with his attitude.
Mikoto narrowed his eyes. "You like it?" he repeated with deadly softness.
However, Anna's eyes were spitting fire at him even if the rest of her face did not show it.
"You're upset that I've grown a pair," she said as she spun around and made her way through the clothing aisles to pay for the dress.
Mikoto caught her arm in a firm grip.
"You've grown a pair of what? Balls?" he demanded, his fourteen year old self not hesitant at about using crude language with her.
Anna knew what 'growing a pair of balls' meant because the guys at Homra used it enough in her presence.
"You should have grown a pair of balls and told the chick you loved her, Bando-san!" Yata snapped his comrade.
"I was in kindergarten! How was I to know what to do?" Bando retorted.
Yata, despite his smaller stature, grabbed Bando by the collar and shook him. "Kindergarten isn't an excuse to let your balls shrivel up and die, dumbass!"
Anna, overhearing the two while enjoying her huge plate omurice, asked Tatara while still eating, "What kind of balls are they talking about?"
Tatara, beside her, chuckled. "It's just a way men communicate with each other and tell each other to be a little braver,"
Anna thought about a time when she had used that expression herself:
"Yata-chan is so nervous around girls," Izumo commented when the young man nervously bid the last female customer goodbye.
"He needs to grow a pair of balls," Anna agreed.
Izumo was shocked at her words. As was Mikoto, sitting beside her with a drink in his hand. The two watched her in stunned silence. Yata had overheard her as well and his mouth had dropped open in shock. Chitose, sitting in a nearby table, burst out in laughter with Shohei who was drinking with him.
"Shut the hell up you two!" Yata shouted when he regained his senses.
"But she's right!" Chitose exclaimed.
"F*** you!" Yata snapped and flipped him his middle finger. "Where the heck did Anna learn that kind of language?!" he wanted to know and quite ignorant of the fact that he had just cursed her presence. Izumo whacked him on the head for that.
"Yes, who taught you that?" Izumo asked and wondered if she even knew what she was saying. Clearly she did for she used the expression appropriately. Someone obviously had to have taught it to her.
Anna lay down the glass of red juice she was drinking. "That's what Misaki said to Bando once,"
That seemed to make Chitose and Shohei laugh even louder, understanding the irony of the fact that she had used that expression on him for a similar incident to the one he had used it on for Bando.
Izumo smiled evilly. "Is that so? And how do you know what it means?"
Anna tilted her head to the side. "Tatara told me,"
"Did he explain what balls were?"
"He just said it was men's language," Anna answered.
Tatara had come into the bar sporting his movie camera while Anna and the others watched as Izumo caught hold of Yata's head, squeezing it. "Really, Yata-chan, how many times have I told you not to use such language in the presence of a young lady?"
Yata squirmed in his hold. "How come Tatara's not getting punished?!"
"Because I didn't say anything wrong," Tatara responded but still got whacked on the head by Mikoto.
"Ouch! what was that for?!"
Mikoto gave him a look that suggested that he probably should have lied and said something else to Anna.
"Don't ever say that again," Mikoto instructed her. Anna didn't question why. She just accepted her King's order.
Anna turned to Mikoto again and pushed his arm away. The 'pair' she was talking about wasn't the 'balls' men referred to. She only learned that those 'balls' referred to a particular part of the male anatomy and it had been Kei who had explained it to her when he had been commenting about a particularly cowardly guy before. Anna understood only then why Mikoto hadn't want her to say things like that.
"Breasts, Mikoto," she corrected her King.
Mikoto's cheeks went scarlet red for he actually recalled that embarrassing talk he had had with her. It was something he had tried to shelve in his mind and had almost succeeded at doing.
Until she brought it up again.
"Boobs," she continued, making Mikoto feel like choking on his own spit because that was what he had felt like doing during the time he had tried to have that talk with her.
"There are strange people out there Anna," he warned her after he struggled to find his voice that seemed to want to die away at her subtle reminder of that incident.
"I understand that," she admitted. "but Mikoto is being unreasonable."
"I am not being unreasonable," he denied as they resumed walking to the cashier. They joined the long line, neither caring that their attractiveness had called the attention of the surrounding people, both male and female.
"Overprotective then,"
Mikoto growled at her, somewhere above her head. "I let you come whenever we're out doing dangerous stuff, don't I?"
"That's different,"
"It's not," he retorted. He had the recollection of allowing her to be a witness to some of the underground world's darkest criminals-as long as she remained at his side.
"King, is it alright to take Anna with us?" Tatara questioned as he pulled a warm jacket around the small child.
"She wants to come along, doesn't she?" Mikoto pointed out as he walked toward the door of the bar.
Tatara, as trusting as he was of the King, wasn't quite sure he agreed with his actions.
Izumo passed them and paused to pull up Anna's hood. She looked up at him and blinked her wide grey eyes, making Izumo almost go 'Aww...' because she was so cute. He couldn't help but pat her head the way he would a puppy or a kitten.
"Anna's alright with this," Izumo stated. She nodded and hurried over to Mikoto's side, taking hold of the sleeve of his black jacket.
Mikoto glanced down at her while she looked up at him. It seemed that some silent understanding passed between them.
Although he never said anything, Mikoto always made sure she was at his side while they made their way to their destination. He would ensure that she did not see the bloodiest fights and if it got too violent, he would have her taken away by another strong member of Homra, once he was certain that she would be safe enough.
It seemed that Mikoto wanted to protect Anna even when he was not around from any freaks out there. She realized this and decided it would be best to ignore him because he would just remain adamant about his behavior.
"Tsk. Teenagers," Mikoto muttered behind her. Anna held back a sigh, and decided that this might not be a good time to remind him that he currently was one too.
Meanwhile, Mikoto figured that okay, so he was being unreasonable...and overprotective. Mikoto admitted that much-although he wouldn't tell her that.
In fact, Anna was surprised that when they reached the top of the line, Mikoto pulled out a credit card and handed it to the cashier. It seemed that he had relented somehow.
It didn't mean that he was apologizing for being suffocating with her since Mikoto was not really one to say he was sorry because although he might admit his behavior was overbearing, he would not believe in anyway that he was wrong for acting like that but would still compromise on some level with her.
"Mikoto, you didn't have to," she said shyly as they walked out of the shop with her carrying her older dress in a bag given to her from the store as, for the sake of pleasing Mikoto, she wore on the new dress.
He shrugged. "The last dress was our gift to you. It wouldn't be fair if you bought the same one again yourself,"
Neither realized that people in the shop were admiring the two, thinking it was sweet of the boyfriend to get his young girlfriend's dress for her and how attractive the pair looked.
"How is it?" Munakata asked the pair sitting before him. They were drinking the tea he had made.
A special type which he claimed had a 'special ingredient' in it.
"It's good," Fushimi admitted.
Munakata seemed to have really considered her for he had had a special container of red bean paste which he used to custom make her tea for her. After all, Fushimi could not have any of the red sweet stuff because of his 'allergy'.
"Sir, your special ingredient wouldn't happen to be...whisky, would it?" Seri questioned.
Munakata nodded after taking a drink of his own tea. "Yes, if mixed right, it can actually be medicinal,"
It tasted really good and Seri figured that it wouldn't hurt to have a little more.
"I've been waiting a while for you both. What happened?" Natsume questioned when Anna and Mikoto came up to her car, parked quietly at the side of the road.
"Her friends probably blew our cover," Mikoto told her and explained what had happened when they climbed into the car.
"Well, it's good that you stopped following him completely so that he wouldn't get suspicious," Natsume commented.
Mikoto nodded. He and Anna were in the backseat, Natsume in the front.
Anna was unusually quiet. Well, she was always quiet but it was like there was this extra silence about her.
Mikoto noted that there was a drop of sweat sliding down her forehead.
"You alright?" he questioned with a frown. She shook her head.
"I feel nauseous," she answered.
Natsume, with her eyes still on the road gave a little frown.
"Mikoto, could you please lend Anna your lap until we get home?"
He nodded and immediately Anna lay her head on his hard thigh, with her cheek against the dark blue material of his denims.
Her long, long white hair spilled over his legs and all around him and he was almost concerned that he would get tangled up in the alabaster mass.
However, he was more concerned about Anna's health. He didn't like hearing that she was nauseous, especially after she had been eating so well these days.
She was drunk. She didn't show it, but Seri was drunk.
So was Fushimi. He had passed out on the grown, muttering something about 'Misaki' and 'stupid girls'.
Reisi was making another round of spiked tea.
"Sir...did you do this deliberately?" she questioned slowly and inwardly praised herself for not slurring her words. She was still had some of her proper mind to not want Reisi to realize that she was not sober.
Reisi seemed normal. At least she thought so.
"How could I have done it deliberately if you kept drinking more at your own choice?" Reisi pointed out reasonably, not realizing that he hadn't even asked what she was referring to.
His voice had a slight slur, indicating that he was more drunk than he was letting on and was therefore not in a normal frame of mind.
"Because you offered me more and it would have been rude to decline," Seri retorted.
Reisi chuckled. "Ah, perhaps that is true but you could have left at any time,"
Seri tsked.
She tsked in the presence of her king.
That indicated displeasure of some sort.
Displeasure was not something one showed to the Blue King, Munakata Reisi.
"Something wrong, Awashima?" he asked her.
She managed to lift her tea cup as elegantly as Japanese culture allowed for, "You're a strange man, sir,"
"Oh? Stranger than your friend from the Red Clan?" Reisi asked with a polite smile.
Seri immediately set down her cup.
"I'm quite sure he couldn't have made you tea as good as this despite being such a great bartender,"
Seri knew he was heckling her in some way. Even with her drunkenness, she understood that much-and got very offended.
"He would have made it better," she stated coldly.
Reisi froze at her words.
He narrowed his eyes at her, quite displeased and Seri noted he had a dull red flush on his high cheekbones.
"Your bartender would have?" he repeated softly and darkly.
"He would have," Seri affirmed unapologetically.
Anna lay down on her back in the bed of her bedroom. To her dismay, her cycle had come and had come rather unexpectedly. Thankfully, it was an hour after they had arrived home that she had begun to feel bad cramps.
Mikoto had been sleeping like a lazy lion while she had been running through some of the activities of her club with Natsume when she had suddenly felt that familiar, terrible pain of her lower stomach. Natsume had hurried her off to the Medical Faculty of Seneca.
She was not in the kind of pain as she had been in the previous months and they were therefore more keen on keeping her off the morphine as much as possible because of how easily she could become addicted to it.
They therefore prescribed weaker medications for her.
However, she was still bleeding heavily, and still hurting, but they still allowed her to go to Natsume's household because Natsume could personally monitor her.
It was dark and Anna was currently lying on her back on her bed, hugging Lion-O in one arm as she gazed up at the ceiling in the darkened room. It had been a long day that had started off really interestingly and she had truly enjoyed it, even when Akemi and Kei had been spying on them, even when she had Mikoto had had their disagreements in the store.
Even when Mikoto threatened her about her clothes.
Then this just had to happen.
Sometimes she really hated being a girl.
The door to her room opened softly and the light from the outside hallway revealed two figures.
It was Natsume and Mikoto.
Natsume was wearing a long sleeved, ankle length pink robe. Mikoto, however, was actually wearing on pajamas which consisted of thick, black bottoms and a long sleeved gray top. Normally Mikoto would trade in his daytime jeans for a softer pair of pants to sleep in but would keep his customary t-shirts on because he was never really one to care for what he wore to bed.
Anna realized that he probably got the pajamas from Natsume and they had come from some closet she had full of Ryosuke's old things. Mikoto just wore them on for the sake of wearing them.
"Natsume-san? Mikoto?" she murmured.
She did not sit up. She felt that shifting her position might aggravate her stomach and cause her to hurt more.
"It seems your King was dead sleeping while you went to the hospital and back. He wants to see you,"
Anna nodded and watched as Mikoto entered the room and walked around her bed to come to her left side. She could see his lovely red in his chest area and hair. It comforted her.
He sat beside her while Natsume also entered and switched on the lamp on her nightstand, flooding the room with a dim light.
"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.
She shook her head.
She wasn't feeling well at all. She was still in pain despite the painkillers she had been administered and even she was not too keen on taking morphine again.
"Mikoto, perhaps you could help her," Natsume said.
Two pairs of eyes were on the older woman. She smiled gently.
"Place your hand on her lower stomach, a little lower than just under her navel,"
Mikoto obeyed and rested his hand there, on the soft material of her nightdress.
"Now release some of your power, not too much though. Anna, if it gets too hot, tell him," Natsume instructed.
Anna nodded and closed her eyes, relishing the feel of the warmth invading her twisting insides and she let out a sigh of relief for it the warmth soothed her cramped insides, easing her pain away.
"Better?" Mikoto questioned.
She turned her head to look up at him. With a tiny smile, she nodded.
Natsume watched in surprise as Mikoto shifted until he was lying beside Anna. Even though he had turned off his aura, his hand remained on her stomach and unwittingly, his thumb was lightly stroking it, as if unconsciously, he was soothing her.
Natsume wasn't particularly one to feel comfortable about teenagers sleeping together, and maybe she could have a talk with Anna about it later on but she knew now was not the time. There was a relieved and contented expression on Anna's face that Natsume had never seen Anna show during her cycles and therefore, she quietly left the room after switching of the lamp, knowing that it was safe.
Mikoto was still the King after all.
At some point in time, Seri had fallen asleep. She stirred when she felt the shifting of her clothing and the sound of her necklaces moving. Her eyebrows scrunched up in annoyance for she did not want to open her eyes.
However, she was slowly becoming aware of a pounding headache that refused to let her keep her eyes closed. She slowly opened them and the same time, heard a door being shut.
Seri sat up. She could barely recall what happened last night, only that she had had too much spiked tea to drink and she, her King and Fushimi had all gotten drunk on it.
Seri heard someone release a loud breath beside her and she realized that Reisi Munakata was lying beside her, dressed in the same clothes as earlier, on the cold, bare ground.
She had drifted off beside him. She looked around and realized that Fushimi wasn't there. He must have been the one who left through the door.
And adjusted her clothing.
Seri frowned at that.
What the hell had happened?!
She stood up and searched around for her purse. In it, she checked the time.
It was 2:30 am. She had been in Reisi's apartment for at least five and a half hours and she had no idea how long she had fallen asleep for.
She wanted to leave right away, but she felt bad about leaving Reisi dead sleeping on the ground. She didn't want to wake him either because she had some vague recollection of arguing with him and she didn't know how he would react to her, especially if he was still drunk.
She hesitated but made her way to his bedroom. Since his apartment was just like hers, she knew that it was the first door to the right of the living room.
Upon opening it, she entered a room that still had a light on, revealing pristine neatness: a simple futon on the ground, a dresser to the left and a wardrobe at the right.
Seri grabbed up the futon and took it to the living room where Reisi was still sleeping on the ground.
She covered as quickly and quietly as she could before she hurried out of the apartment and to her own which was only two doors away.
Mikoto was lying on his side beside Anna while she remained flat on her back. However, her head was turned so that it buried against Mikoto's neck, right under her chin. It was a cool night and she was grateful for his warmth.
"Are you alright now?" he questioned.
She nodded while his hand gently rubbed her stomach, right under her navel. Anna was wondering if he was aware of what he was doing. Whether he was or wasn't, she was feeling very soothed by him.
"I'm sorry..." she murmured.
Mikoto stiffened before he lifted his head and looked down at her with a deep frown. "Why?"
"It must be bothersome," she replied.
Mikoto sighed and lay his head down on the pillow again. "It's not,"
Anna accepted that. If she was being a bother, he would tell for he was a person of brutal, blatant honesty to the point of where he could be considered stupid for it.
She lay her head beside his again and tucked it comfortably under his chin. She knew that she might have to get up a few times in the night to get changed and hoped that she wouldn't disturb him too much when she did.
"Is it always this bad?" Mikoto asked her. He was normally not a man to be concerned about 'women issues' but because this involved Anna's welfare, he was curious.
"It's usually worse," she replied.
She sensed a shift in his mood. He was probably feeling a bit sorry for her. She didn't blame him.
When she was in pain she normally felt sorry for herself too.
"How do you manage in school?"
"Sometimes I miss two days in one week," she answered. "but I try not to miss too many classes. Even if I feel a bit weak."
"I see," Mikoto murmured.
Mikoto had to admit to himself that Anna was truly a strong person, perhaps stronger than even him. Not in the sense of physical power, but emotionally and mentally. She bore more physical and emotional pain from infancy due to her power as a strain and now that she was older, she was still bearing a great deal of pain. It was not nice what she had to go through, but she was bearing it and even if she was a generally a quiet person, she still was sweet and kind in her own way and not hateful toward the world for what she had to go through.
Mikoto knew that she was an amazing person, and secretly, he admired her, and even if she didn't know it, his older self took a great deal of pride in her when he received reports from Natsume on her progress in school. The only person who had an idea of how pleased he was Izumo because Izumo knew him well enough to be able to sense his moods.
"Mikoto?" Anna murmured his name.
"Mm?" he grunted, half asleep.
Anna hadn't realized he was already drifting and she felt sorry for bothering him again, but she had already caught his attention, so she continued, "How do you know Natsume?"
Mikoto took a moment to reply. Sleepily, he asked her, "Didn't you ever ask her?"
Mikoto felt her warm breath on his neck as she answered, "No,"
She had never really thought to ask because when she had first come to Seneca, she had been an emotional wreck who hid herself behind a doll-like mask. Her rest of time in Seneca was always so busy with club activities and then her cycle would drain her for close to two week so she had never really settled down and spoken to Natsume about it.
"Yuki Natsume knew my parents," Mikoto responded.
Anna tilted her head upward and watched Mikoto with slightly widened eyes. She blinked. "Mikoto had parents?"
Mikoto gave her an annoyed look and lifted his hand from her stomach to pinch her cheek. "How else do you think I came into the world, you brat?"
He released her cheek quickly, remembering that she was already feeling unwell.
"I just never really pictured Mikoto with parents," Anna answered. In fact, when she had first met him, she had seen into his soul using her glass marbles and although she did not know every detail of his life, she did not in any way sense that he had any influence from a mother or father.
Mikoto shrugged. "My parents died and my grandfather raised me,"
Anna, recalling what she knew about Mikoto from her power, felt that yes, that fit in perfectly and made sense. She also felt compassionate toward him about it. From what she knew, his grandfather hadn't exactly been a loving person. He had been respectable, but not loving at all.
"Natsume came to Shizume City looking for me when I was a kid because of my parents. She and her husband had known them well,"
"Really?" Anna whispered.
"Yeah,"
"Mikoto?"
"Mm?" He was falling asleep again.
"Didn't you ever want to see your parents again?"
She felt a movement from him that might have been a shrug. "My mother probably," he replied. It seemed he didn't care very much to think about his father.
"Mikoto," she started again
"Anna," Mikoto cut in.
She stopped. He sighed and lifted his head. He gave her a quick kiss where he had pinched her cheek.
"You're tired," he told her gruffly. It was true. Dark circles had gathered under her eyes and she needed to sleep, and so did he.
Anna nodded. It was perhaps best to really go into dreamland now, and at least she knew that Mikoto would be beside her throughout the night. As she drifted off, she vaguely felt Lion-O being taken from her and shoved somewhere else.
When Anna slept, her breathing pattern remained at a constant pace. When she woke up, as she was doing now, her breath would completely still before she opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was a large hand slightly fisted into sheet in front of her face. A silver ring lay on its index finger. She was spooned against a wonderfully warm familiar body. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes again, soothed by the presence and warmth of the man whose arms she was sleeping in.
Seri stood in front of her bathroom mirror, stunned at the sight of herself: her hair was loose and badly disheveled. Her shirt was another disarray, and the two strands of beaded pearl necklaces she wore on was in such a bad tangle that she was quite sure that she could have been choked to death by them. It taken her a long time to unloosen them.
But what bothered her was the fact that she hadn't undone any of the buttons of her clothing, and why had Fushimi been messing around with it?
Although she did admit to herself that she had a thing for men with glasses, she and Fushimi were in no way attracted to each other and he wouldn't try anything perverted on her when drunk.
Right?
It was then that Seri figured she should take a shower. So she unbuttoned the rest of her shirt and as soon as she revealed her collar bone, she stopped.
She was stunned at what she saw in the mirror in front of her.
A red mark. An almost perfectly circular red mar to her skin that she only just realized was throbbing almost pleasurably.
This was a bite mark.
Seri Awashima had gone to her King's apartment and had drunk spiked tea with him and one of their subordinates to the point of where they had gotten so drunk that she could hardly remember anything and when she woke up, it was only because someone had been messing around with her clothing and her King was sleeping beside her.
And now there was a hickey on her neck.
What the hell had happened?!
"Fushimi," Seri growled. She was going to get answers from him even if she had wring his neck.
A/N: I'm not sure when next I will be updating because I have an important exam coming up next week, so if I don't update this weekend, it might be late sometime next week when I do.
I always got the impression from K that the female characters have a kind of...obsession with their Kings...
Seri has a hickey o.O
I wonder what happened? And who gave it to her?
**I don't know if heat actually helps with cramps. I just made that assumption from an ad I once saw.
**********VERY IMPORTANT: I might end the story after I wrap up things with Iwao. However, I WILL do a sequel to the story, basically continuing it because the rating may have to change from 'T' to 'M' for future chapters. I mightn't write stuff with lemons etc...but I would feel safer posting my work under an 'M' rating in case I change my mind.
Thank you all for the lovely reviews on the last chapter, they meant so much to me and they really motivated me for this one:
Mizuouji: Yes, I read the chapter! It made me laugh a lot. Thanks so much to you and the rest of the team from Aqua Scans for all your hard work. I also got a smile on my face thanks to you! I'm also looking forward to the next chapter to get a little more insight into Fushimi and Yata's relationship. It looks really interesting.
xNightDreamerx: Hey your mom must be pretty cool if you're comfortable enough to fangirl around her! Thanks for your wonderful review, I truly appreciate it :)
LindyLinn: Did you check out the manga? Hope you did, it's really great ^_^
Mienchan-ish: Your prayers must be working 'cause I'm much better now! Thanks :)
Indochine: I'll write more stuff with Chie and Iwao soon :) Hm...I'm worried about how you feel about the parts with Seri/Reisi in this chapter. Don't worry I'll write in some Seri/Izumo soon. Well, Akemi really did get his attention away from the pair even though she was quite curious about the two as well :)
Arius the Heretic: Aww...I'm sorry I had you worried...and sorry to hear about all those projects an finals. Don't worry, I feel your pain :( Well, yeah Mikoto does have to get back to his proper state eventually :( Hope you liked this chapter a lot too, and thanks for your lovely review :)
Bre Renee: I always do because you're been reviewing since like the first chapter of this story! Just letting me know your thoughts on the chapter really is important to me because it lets me know you're enjoying it and I truly appreciate that. I wouldn't mind seeing the Jack the Giant Slayer, but what I'm looking forward to is the Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp. I just hope it isn't the Western version of Pirates of the Caribbean. Lol. I'm glad you really liked what was going on the chapter and Mikoto's outfit is pretty cool. I guess those guys from Gora have a really awesome sense of style. Well, they have a really good sense of how to make attractive character because no one in K can be described as ugly...except one or two bad guys maybe.
kuronekousako: No I won't make you wait a thousand years! Even if we lived that long I wouldn't make you wait so long ;) You'll know later on what becomes of the two :)
nannerlovessnickers: Well I'm not sure if you read this chapter for your birthday or not but I hope you liked this one too. I have watched some of the anime for Kaichou-wa Maid sama, mainly because it was so funny. OMG, that and Skip Beat just had me rolling with laughter. Thanks for those nice words about the chapter :) By the way, I hope you enjoy your birthday to the fullest and may God bless you with many more birthdays to come!
princessforeveralone: I'm much better now and thank you for those really, really nice words about the story. That truly means a lot to me, so thank you so much :)
D: I'm much better now! Although I should be staying away ice-cream because it makes my tonsils swell...but I mean it's ice-cream! Who can resist? You're right about Chie and Emi being there for a purpose of bringing some growth to Yata and Fushimi :) Lol, Kei and Akemi truly are stalkers :)
Some Reviewer: You might be right, because the story does seem to be heading that direction. OR there could be some misunderstanding because Iwao was not convicted for the sexual assault charges laid against him. Hm...Anyway, you really like Chie so much? Thank you for that because I know most people aren't welcoming to OCs, especially because I know a lot of the K fans ship Yata and Fushimi together. I'm not a fan of yaoi or shonen-ai but I do like the idea of 'bromance'. Thanks for your wonderful review!
Nobody Special: My Special Reviewer! *HUGS* You really complimented me with wonderful words that are truly motivational and they make me so happy :) Aww...you're welcome! I look forward to hearing from you again :)
Thank you, all of you who also followed and favorite this story. It means a lot to me, so thank you.
Let me know your thoughts on this chapter.
God bless.
PS: I promise more Seri/Izumo stuff for those looking forward to it :)