~Break Special~
Kage
The entire city felt the pressure of the night shift to the surge of power rushing between buildings on both sides. Even by where she watched next to Tatara from a safe distance, Anna could feel it too. The cool breeze rustled her fair silver strands around her face, tickling her youthful features despite her emotions refusing to flash a giggle. Through the crimson marble filtering her eye, she watched Mikoto and Reisi collide, sending jolts of power rushing into the black sky above.
"Mikoto…"
Next to Anna, Tatara laughed lightly, a sympathetic melody in his voice as he attempted to reassure her. "It's okay. That was just the kings saying hello to each other."
Her expression didn't mark her impatience as she lowered her marble and faced him, but her tone held an air of caution as she spoke. "Tatara, be serious."
A mild laugh escaped his lips to be scolded by such a young lady. When he considered his words, he supposed they did sound strange, but he didn't mind. "Sorry," he murmured sheepishly. "But I don't think it's something to worry about. Sure, King and Munakata-san are fighting, but I bet that they're actually communicating through their swords."
Anna slowly returned her unfiltered gaze to the scene that was unfolding before them. She looked up towards the heavens and humbly observed the glowing blades hanging above the quarrelling kings. "Oh…" was all she could muster. It seemed hard to consider the force shaking the ground beneath them as talking.
"Nei-chan talks about these types of things a lot," Tatara started soundly. "Like the way people interact. How they communicate."
Below, the street quaked beneath Mikoto's burning fist as he attempted to ward off the persistent Blue King to no avail. The power of his impact was monumental, but his teeth still milled into an entertained smirk as he leapt after his cunning counterpart.
"Sometimes, it's more than just the words you say. It's how you say them, or why, what it makes you feel when your eyes meet."
Neirah's beam was causing her jaw to ache as Gin parried her attacks, but when she finally captured him, there was unspoken gratitude in his eyes as his flushed expression locked on her forwardness. But outwardly thanking her for punishment might seem strange.
"There are so many important things to consider that sometimes, we miss the real meaning, and if we focus too much on the words, we miss the way they make us feel."
After catching his polearm between the curb and the street, Misaki whirled his fiery kick into Saruhiko's defences, causing sparks to fly. Even from high above the city, Anna could still hear Misaki's enraged curses filling the night, and the way Saruhiko dismissed them with a laugh.
Tatara couldn't help but humbly smile as he watched over their friends from safety. "That's why all we can do is wait while they say what's on their minds in the best way they know how. It might not look any different than fighting from where we're standing, but I can guarantee you that there is more to it than meets the eye."
Filled with concern, Anna gently shuffled in place with the need to stop the chaos. "What if someone gets hurt?"
Tatara's sighed as he watched the individual conflicts raise dust on the streets below. "But words can hurt too," he reminded her soundly. "When you're talking with someone, your words can become like a sword. That's why you have to be careful what you say. Otherwise, misunderstandings can happen."
By his side, Anna became quiet while she pondered. She didn't disagree that bullying was harmful. She never agreed with how some of her clanmates interacted, but what Anna was watching wasn't Misaki choking the life out of Saburōta over a petty grudge, or Masaomi beating Yō over the head for a pervy comment. What she witnessed was nothing short of war.
Sensing her unrest, Tatara gently reached out and rested his hand against her shoulder, causing Anna to jolt from her thoughts. "Don't worry, Anna-chan. It looks like everyone's having a great time tonight."
The delicate Strain still wasn't convinced. "But they're fighting."
"True," he admitted. "But doesn't it also look like they're dancing?" He retracted his palm and raised it in front of him to let fluttering wings climb from his hand into the night. "See? like this butterfly." Together, they watched it soar towards Mikoto's mighty sword and blend with the massive waves of flame eroding the majestic surface. "To most, a butterfly is a harmless creature, but I just made it out of a flame, which can burn and cause harm. Are our friends dancing or fighting? Are their hearts saying more than what we can hear them say with words? Nothing is as it seems." He turned his smile towards Anna with a playful wink. "It's all a matter of perspective, see?"
Entranced with the sight of Mikoto's blaze devouring the tender insect Tatara released, Anna's garnet irises began to glow with the reflection of surging flames. "Pretty…"
After diverting her eyes towards the battlefield, she reconsidered the smiling faces beneath and became somewhat accepting of Tatara's theory. Maybe they were fighting, but Anna had borne witness to some terrifying scenes of her friends punishing cruel people for terrible deeds. If they wanted to spill the blood of their enemies, they would. It made her consider that what they wanted wasn't nearly as absolute.
"There's so much red," she whispered. She watched the swelling auras bounce between the buildings, looking similar to fireflies at a distance, congregating around the mighty swords dangling above. "Some big and some small." When she adjusted her perspective, she could see the glowing dance of embers drifting on the wind. And it was beautiful.
Tatara flinched to consider the red that Anna was capable of seeing. She had spoken of it before to him when he started to record videos of their time together, but he'd never gotten the chance to ask her about the way she viewed their friends. "That's right," he murmured. "You can see things like that, can't you?" He turned to watch the same view through a plainer filter as she slowly nodded her head. He could only imagine what their comrades might have looked like to the Strain when she watched them dart around the city burning so brightly.
"So, Anna-chan, who has the biggest red?" When he turned over his shoulder to face her lingering silence, he laughed at how awkward the child looked staring back at him lifelessly when he knew what she really felt was impatience. "Oh, right! I mean, other than King."
Anna considered the battles beneath for a moment, searching for Izumo first. Then, she compared the soothing flicker of his red with the wild of Misaki's. She seemed to linger on her contemplation before finally announcing her verdict. "Onē-san."
E-eh? Tatara's breathing hitched as he turned to face her directly, his heart missing a beat as he devoted his focus to Anna's words. "Nei-chan? Really?"
Anna gave a gentle nod as she continued to watch Neirah's reunion with Gin unfold. Outwardly, the woman looked happy, but what Anna saw lay much more in-depth than words could explain. It made her wonder if that was what Tatara meant by communicating beyond words. It seemed like there was no logical way to understand why the discrepancy haunted her big sister's steps. "Onē-san's red is closest to Mikoto's," she quietly educated. "It's angry."
Concern flashed across Tatara's face as he stumbled uneasily to the announcement. "Angry?" He'd never heard Anna describe Mikoto's red as such. It was always pretty or lovely. To have Neirah's red compared to Mikoto's, and then listen to her while she described it as such was unnerving.
Another slow nod rattled Anna's head. "It's confused."
When he bowed his head, Tatara carefully considered Anna's words. Izumo had spoken about Neirah's stability before, but Tatara never wanted to see it for what it truly was. Everyone had their story, and some of them started sadly, but that didn't mean that the ending needed to be tragic. That was why Mikoto took her hand after they struggled with her ex-employer. He gave her the power to rewrite her story. But Tatara could understand Anna's concern. Neirah didn't know what she wanted out of life because she was still getting used to living. Furthermore, he didn't know what to say to comfort the fretful Strain.
"Nei-chan is like… King's shadow."
Anna quietly returned her eyes to Tatara with a glimmer of curiosity.
His tone was low and sombre as he continued. "It's like… when he took her hand that night, some of his red became hers. If that's true, maybe we all inherited just enough of King's power that we could keep it managed, and that's why some of us have more."
All while Mikoto battled to cage the beast sharing its poison.
"That's why… someone like me probably has a small red, but he could pass on so much more to people like Kusanagi-san and Nei-chan so that he doesn't have to keep it all inside." His tone lowered further as he considered the chastening thought. "That's how I know King needs us. If he had to manage all that power on his own, it would be really tiring." Even with their help, it still seemed difficult to contain, from what Tatara observed. "I think we help lessen that burden, somehow, and… remind him why it's worth fighting."
Anna's silence didn't comfort him, and he figured it was probably for the best that she didn't speak. He knew his red probably wasn't impressive, so to hear her confirm his suspicion wasn't necessary. Every little bit helped, and there was nothing that said a small red couldn't be of use to their king.
"That's how I know that she'll be okay. Even if her red is angry, it will protect her. I never have to worry about whether or not she'll make it home because she's King's hunter, and if she were ever in danger, his red would keep her safe. It's what protects all of us." Tatara quietly considered his theory. He wasn't sure if Mikoto had that sort of control over the disbursement of powers, but then again, if he did, he would never tell. It was a pretty thought if nothing else. It helped support the fact that they were all somehow connected through their king and his powers. It made him feel closer to their family.
"A king needs a shadow to remind him how brightly he burns…" His words were barely a whisper on his lips over the wind, but a small smile tugged at his sad expression, and he watched Neirah's glowing eyes shine with delight as she put the run on Gin. "That's why he needs her. She is the shadow of a king, and she'll be there for as long as he burns."
Anna slowly turned away, watching the same carefree sight as she contemplated his sentiment. "The shadow… of a king," she parroted.
Tatara remembered it like it was yesterday, but it was April 25th, 2008. It was cold and rainy as they stood between the buildings across the street from the bar that they call home. The surging flames reflected off of his glassy eyes as Mikoto's palm captured Neirah's so tightly that the tendons in the back of his hand raised. That night, Tatara heard the words speak beyond what could ever verbally communicate between kindred spirits.
Burn with me.
And as Neirah remained perfectly calm, her hair whispering wildly around her shoulders while she inhaled the chest-expanding breath of the life he returned to her, he heard her whisper:
I promise.
