Hello again everyone! Sadly, this is not the circumstances I expected to find myself updating this fic again in, but I'm back for a little bit. First off, I hope all of you are doing well in this trying time and are staying as well as possible. Take care of yourselves, okay?

Now, this doesn't mean I'm back to my normal updating schedule, as arc 3 is not complete yet, but this is just to let you all know I'm okay, still here and what I have in store. Also to ask for a bit of advice, heh!

But before that, thanks to VanyaNoldo22 (You're so sweet and I'm glad you've enjoyed the ride so far!) for reviewing, all 21 followers, 17 favorites and 2,293 readers!

Not much else to say, but enjoy!

As it turns out, recovering from a gunshot wound to the back and recovering from a year long coma isn't that easy. Thankfully, Tatara was neither alone nor a normal human being, thus the process wasn't quite as painful as it could've been.

According to Haru, the bullet had managed to hit an upper motor neuron in his lumbar spine, leaving him with spastic paralysis from the waist down. It basically meant, as Tatara understood it, that he couldn't move his legs, but his sensory neurons still worked fine, meaning his legs would spasm from time to time. Thankfully, it also meant that the muscular atrophy he'd suffered from in his legs wouldn't be permanent. Between the physical therapists helping him through his exercises to correct the atrophy and his own sensory neurons causing his muscles to spasm, Haru believed he would one day recover, even if he would never be able to walk again.

Then, of course, there was the added bonus being a King gave him. Not that Tatara was healing faster or anything, but his new Gold Aura allowed the natural processes of his body to be…sped up a little.

And, on top of all of this, he was learning to be the Gold King as well.

Every day, Carina would come visit Tatara, alongside Leoda who rarely left his side until her grandmother forced her to, and would run him through the responsibilities of the Gold King…as well as figuring out any changes he planned on making.

The biggest change, of course, being that the Gold Clan, Timeless Palace, was going to shrink, a lot. From what Tatara had been told, Daikaku had told the Usagi to help Adolf as needed until he returned and then they were to quietly fade into the background in order to continue running Japan in secret. Tatara didn't mind it, in fact, he welcomed it. Shrinking the Gold Clan down to just those who bore the Mark of the Miracle meant he had less people to worry about ruling. Besides, the Usagi knew better than him.

Carina seemed fine with these changes, thankfully enough (if she had disagreed, she would have made it very clear. The Weissman family wore their heart on their sleeves, after all), and so the biggest worries on Tatara's mind were mostly about his own healing and Leoda.

Reassuring his wife that he was actually alive and not a spirit was a part of that, of course, but mostly Tatara had to worry about how she was adjusting to being mute after the attack on Mihashira Tower. After all, Leoda had been as expressive as any other member of her family who carried Weissman blood in her veins and now she had been limited to simply signing to explain just how she was feeling. It was a big change, to say the least.

And the few times when Leoda left Tatara by himself in the hospital? Those were taken up by the many members of HOMRA coming to him for sign language lessons, as the only available teachers they knew were Tatara, Kusanagi and Kuroh, and Kusanagi was too busy teaching Anna and Kristopher while Kuroh was focusing his efforts on teaching Neko, thus most of the HOMRA members fell to Tatara. He didn't mind, however, it was fun! But keeping it a secret from Leoda so she could be surprised? Not so fun, he was a terrible liar…but he was managing and it helped that most of the Marked knew sign language already (thanks to the stint back when Tatara had been learning and refused to speak in any other way, forcing their hand) and that meant Himori was available to teach Scepter 4 if they wished to learn too. Yata especially had wanted to learn, not wanting to be outdone by the Black Dog.

In the meantime, Kuroh and Neko had happily taken over the responsibility of watching over Kristopher and Ame during the day when the two, Kristopher more often than not, got tired of being cooped up in the bar or the hospital, which Tatara really appreciated. He was getting better at scolding his son when he complained, but Leoda had always been the one forced to be the harsher of the two of them and it's a lot harder when she can't speak.

Still, they were getting by, little by little, and before Tatara knew it, the one year anniversary of his being shot had passed, along with Anna's twelfth birthday.

A tap on Tatara's shoulder snapped him out of his reminiscing and he adjusted his brand new wheel chair so he could face Leoda head on.

"What are you thinking about?" She signed, her expression soft and not a single bit of pain shown anywhere on it.

"Just thinking about everything that's happened since I woke up. Bit different from being a spirit, after all." Tatara grinned, reaching a hand out to gently cup Leoda's cheek. Admittedly, he'd became a bit touch starved since he woke up. Just a bit. "I have to say, I don't regret being back though…"

Just like she always did, even now after four years of marriage, she blushed just the lightest pink at his words.

"You're such a sap." Leoda signed, even as she smiled gently at him.

"Maybe, but I'm your sap, my primula sieboldii." Tatara grinned, allowing Leoda to roll her eyes fondly before he leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips.

She returned the kiss easily, grasping onto him as if she were afraid he'd slip through her fingers once more. But if Tatara had any say in the rest of his life, he'd make sure that never happened.

Even still, before either of them could get too lost, they pulled away and simply smiled. Honestly, looking at Leoda still made Tatara feel like a love sick teenager, even at twenty-three years old. He hoped she always made him feel this way.

"I love you." He whispered, oh so easily.

And Leoda simply smiled back at him before tracing the same characters on his shoulder, slipping her hand through the back of his shirt so her fingers touched his skin. Tatara fought a shiver as he pulled her close and buried his face in her collar bone.

Something deep inside him was tingling warningly, as if the next move against them wasn't that far off.

Kristopher happily skipped as he walked alongside Uncle Kuroh, who made sure he held his nephew's hand tightly, while Neko held Ame in her arms.

They were on their way to see Mommy and Daddy after a busy day spent exploring the school island, visiting Grandma while they were there, doing some shopping for Uncle Kuroh, Uncle Adi and Neko's home and even practicing their sign language!

Kristopher was proud to say he was getting very good, both Izzie and Uncle Kuroh said so and he couldn't wait to surprise Mommy!

"You think they have some good food at the hospital?" Neko asked Uncle Kuroh as she adjusted Ame carefully. Ame was six months old now and Mommy said she'd be able to eat real food soon. Kristopher and Neko were both excited to share all sorts of food with her! "Oooh, I wonder how their fish is!"

"Daddy doesn't like hospital food. He says it's yucky, like how Hiko says veggies are yucky!" Kristopher piped up.

"That's terrible, vegetables are very good for you. Perhaps I should have a word with your big brother…" Uncle Kuroh trailed off.

Uh oh…Hiko would probably be mad about that, he never liked it when Izzie and Saki got on him for his not liking veggies. Oopsie!

"Then we should get some food before we get there!" Neko insisted before turning to Uncle Kuroh. "Hey, Kuroh! What're we gonna eat?"

Before Uncle Kuroh could answer, a stuffed bird, like a green parrot, flew into the crook of Neko's elbow.

"Wow, a bird!" Neko cried, adjusting Ame so she could start playing with the stuffed animal. "Do you like birds, Ame? Me either, I'd rather eat it!" Then the Strain tried to do exactly that, but it didn't work. "Whoa, you can't eat it, whatever it is…"

"Hey!" Uncle Kuroh called after a boy who was biking away from them. His helmet looked really familiar…

Suddenly, the bird began to expand in Neko's hands.

"Look out!" Kristopher shouted, scared.

A second later, an explosion went off, releasing a large plume of smoke high above the street.

"How's that incident report from the other day coming?" Himori questioned Benzai.

"I'm putting it together now, but I dunno. Something's off." Benzai said thoughtfully.

Before, Himori could question him, the door opened and Domyouji, Kamo, Enomoto and Fuse all walked in, all in various stages of exhaustion.

The noise of them coming in was even enough to get Hidaka to sit up from where he had laid slumped against the table.

"Hard day, huh, Domyouji?" Hidaka smiled sleepily at his teammate.

"Yeah, I'm completely wiped out, Hidaka." Domyouji smiled. Himori had to admit, he did look ready to collapse at any moment.

Hell, Himori himself felt like that, as if he were stretching himself too thin between working, visiting Tatara, checking on Leoda and the kids (who were currently missing with Kuroh and Neko, making things worse) and teaching his fellow Special Police Force members sign language so they could communicate with his sister properly. Even still…

"Domyouji, come on. Let me get this straight, you've been sent out two days in a row?" Himori said aloud. It was concerning considering just how much work all of them put in. "Oomph, that is rough."

"Yeah, it's the same for you and Benzai, right Akiyama?" Kamo asked as he collapsed in a chair himself, though he still managed to look dignified as he did so, unlike Hidaka who had simply flopped into his own chair earlier.

"Three days for me. And today is Akiyama's fourth day. We just got back here and barely had enough time to shower and change." Benzai answered and Himori bowed his head, knowing there would be at least a few incredulous and pity filled looks.

After all, his brother-in-law was still recovering from a coma, his sister was adjusting to being mute, he was basically fourth-in-command of Scepter 4 and he still continued working for four days straight. Honestly, Himori was surprised Benzai or his parents or his aunt, uncle and cousin or his grandparents hadn't dragged him home to rest yet. Probably cause they were all as stretched thin as he was…

"The reports just keep coming, there's no time to rest at all." Himori sighed before he looked up and got back to business. "Enomoto, Fuse, are there any leads on Kuroh Yatogami yet? Have you discovered anything about where he went after the explosion?" Have you found my nephew and niece? was unspoken, but heard loud and clear. Even if nobody else was worried, and it was in fact better if Kristopher and Ame were hidden somewhere with the Black Dog and Cat Strain, Himori still wanted to be sure they were all safe.

"No, not a thing. Fuse pressured that informant they brought in really hard, but we ended up with nothing useful." Enomoto explained, apologies hidden in his voice.

"This is only a hunch, but I have a suspicion that he must've gone into hiding with that female partner of his, along with your nephew and niece." Fuse added.

"I wouldn't be surprised. After all, the Green Clan did go out of their way to target him in particular." Himori stated. Never mind the fact that they've been hunting the Marked for years too. He thought, but kept to himself. He knew how at risk he was, had known for years, being an important and openly seen member of Scepter 4. If word got to JUNGLE that he was a member of the Marked by blood, never mind Benzai being one thanks to him, they would most certainly do everything they could to hunt him.

It had been the warning they had all been given when everything had gone down at Ashinaka High School during the evacuation: the Marked must be hidden now more than ever, because if the full power of the Mark came into play…oooh, boy would that be bad, especially if JUNGLE had access to them. (Don't think about Gretel, don't think about Gretel…)

"The truth is with how spread thin we are with all the trouble happening everywhere, I don't know how we'll keep up." Domyouji sighed.

"Goto…what do you think the Green Clan is thinking about right now?" Hidaka asked.

"Well, honestly, I have no idea." Goto answered.

"Are you guys stupid or what?" Fushimi snapped then from where he sat on his laptop. "Aside from their leaders, the Green Clan foot soldiers aren't thinking anything."

"Huh? What do you mean, Mr. Fushimi?" Benzai questioned.

"Tsk." Fushimi clicked his tongue before he turned his laptop around and pushed it towards Hidaka.

"Oh, thanks so much." Hidaka said before he looked at the screen. "Let's see here…this reads 'I finally made it to N Rank status. I'm gonna keep on earning points and the more that I have, the more power I get.' Mr. Fushimi, what is this?"

"'Your mission: to keep on bullying the Black Dog and keep on toying with the Blues as well.'" Goto read.

"It's the underground website for users from JUNGLE, the Green Clan." Fushimi explained. "To their sick minds, all of this is nothing, but a game."

And Himori had to push his anger down, far, far down. These were the people who had been threatening his family for years, attempting to hunt them down for their power and their Sight, and it had never been anything more than a game.

Yujiro laid his hand on Himori's shoulder and he breathed in his partner's steadiness, calming down by his presence alone.

Then he got back to work.

Anna was having a good dream…she knew she was, cause she remembered being in Bar HOMRA and she could vaguely hear everyone around her.

It was nice…having everyone together again, even if Tatara was still in the hospital and Kristopher and Ame had gone into hiding with Kuroh and Neko. It was still more of Anna's family being around than she had had in the past year and she treasured it, treasured the Red within her that brought it back.

She felt a blanket settle over her shoulders, Yo no doubt, and she knew Misaki was asking him about the run-in he and Masaomi had with Scepter 4 the other day. She could hear Kosuke and Eric talking about the Blue Clan as well.

They had been stretched really far lately…Anna hoped everyone was alright.

But then…Shohei asked Saburota about a video he was watching and everyone else seemed to watch it too.

Then everything got really quiet…and Anna woke up, dread curling in her stomach.

Leoda smiled quietly as she watched Tatara wheel around his room, getting used to his wheelchair, when something flickered in the corner of her eye. Turning, her eyes widened when she saw just what the big TV screen in the intersection read.

HOMRA is over…

Without thinking, Leoda grabbed her PDA and threw it towards Tatara, drawing his attention to the screen too.

The end of HOMRA! The screen read, showing a rainbow background behind their symbol as the words flashed over it. Then, it changed…and Leoda felt her blood freeze.

The screen showed a rooftop with a pixelated Tatara on it, only for a pixelated Colorless King to come out and shoot him.

The screen read: THE WEAKEST CLANSMAN REALLY WAS THE WEAKEST!

Then the screen shifted to Mikoto's Sword of Damocles falling on a pixelated version of him, only for a pixelated Munakata to stab him just in time.

THE FOOLISH KING DIED FOOLISHLY (LOL)

Then the two pixelated 'corpses' fell to the ground under a spotlight and more words appeared.

KING IS DEAD. HOMRA IS END.

HOMRA IS NOW DONE.

GAME OVER.

Leoda felt like she couldn't breathe, yet also as if her very blood had turned to the fire that supported her flowers as easily as water. She was furious, beyond furious, for the disrespect shown to her husband and to her King.

She couldn't even imagine how the rest of HOMRA felt…or Tatara himself.

At the thought, Leoda turned to look at Tatara. What she found was an expression he rarely, if ever, wore.

He was furious, his eyes glowing both red and gold with his fury and his aura, both Gold and Red, flew around his skin like he was ready to burst into flames himself.

"I need to make some calls." Tatara stated, his voice not cheerful or easy going in the slightest.

But Leoda didn't do anything besides nod, handing over Tatara's cell phone so he could make the necessary calls.

Timeless Palace would not be taking this standing down.

Now, Hilda considered herself a fast runner, she had loved gym when in school and she'd been trained by her mother herself in all matter of fighting techniques.

Even still, she was not surprised in the least when she got to the source of the video and found both Yata and Fushimi there ahead of her.

"Monkey, what did you just say to me?!" Yata demanded.

"Oh…honestly, can you really say that I'm wrong? I'm happy to say it again, it's stupid." Fushimi sighed.

"Honestly, I get here less than probably five minutes after you guys and you're already fighting? Geez, what happened when you left me alone in school?" Hilda sighed as she stepped in between them.

"Don't get in the middle of this, Hilda. And you, take it back." Yata demanded, glaring at both the Gold Clansman and the Blue.

"Stop being such a fool, Misaki." Fushimi chuckled.

"Take it back, that was your dad!" Yata demanded, growing angrier.

"Mikoto Suoh is dead. Just face the truth, he's gone!" Fushimi egged Yata on.

"Monkey! Take it back or else!" Yata shouted as he used his aura to launch himself into the air and then let a stream of it continue as he landed on the ground before he shot up and collided with Fushimi's unsheathed sword.

Yata just got his metal rod out and pushed himself off a TV screen to bring the two of them together when Hilda acted.

Creating two katanas easily enough, Hilda squeezed between the two at the last moment, stopping their weapons from locking.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Hilda?!" Yata cried.

"Stay out of this!" Fushimi ordered.

"No way in hell!" Hilda snapped, glaring at both of them and not moving no matter how much force each applied. She was completely unphased by both of their strength. "We've got business to deal with and it doesn't involve you two getting into another grudge match! I've been on the sidelines with this for the past two years and I'm sick of it!"

"This is none of your business!" Fushimi snapped.

"Yeah, exactly!" Yata agreed.

"Don't care~" Hilda sang, smiling a shark toothed smile, causing both of her best friends to snarl at her and each other at the same time.

"Yata! That's enough now!" Kusanagi called then, interrupting the three.

"Fushimi! Stand down!" Awashima ordered.

"Hilda! Get out of the middle!" Carina instructed.

"Always interfering…" Fushimi grumbled.

"Monkey, you had a narrow escape." Yata snapped.

"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Hilda sighed.

With that said, Yata jumped back towards the Reds, Fushimi jumped back towards the Blues and Hilda jumped back towards the Golds.

And that was how the three clans found themselves facing each other, Anna supported by Kusanagi and Yata, Tatara supported by Carina and Kazuma and Munakata supported by Awashima and Fushimi.

"Well, well, well. All of you seem quite upset." Munakata smiled, addressing both clans before him. "Aren't you, HOMRA, Timeless Palace?"

"That's an understatement." Hilda rolled her eyes, earning a nudge in the side from her mother.

"You're damn right we are!" Yata cried. "Mr. Mikoto and Mr. Totsuka were both slandered! And we're gonna make whoever the hell did it pay!"

"I have to agree, though I wouldn't say it like that." Kazuma agreed. "Slander of a family member, let alone our now King, is not something we will stand idly by over."

"Izumo Kusanagi and Carina Saisho, we would like you to back down. We will deal with the Green Clan by ourselves." Awashima requested as politely as possible.

"I'm afraid we can't do that, Seri Awashima." Carina stated. "I stand by my husband's words and by my King's side. We won't allow them to slander us, we won't hide from them."

"Lieutenant Awashima, I'm sorry. But Yata's right. The idiots responsible have to learn the hard way that messing with any of us means they'll get burned. And I mean that literally." Kusanagi stated as he flicked open his lighter. "That's the only way HOMRA will be satisfied."

"Well, if you must insist on putting it that way, then we have been taken for fools as well." Munakata mused. "After all, choosing this location is no coincidence, wouldn't you agree?"

"They're here." Anna suddenly stated, her voice only loud enough for the clans around her to hear.

"Don't watch from behind the scenes. Show yourselves." Munakata said louder.

And then, several masked people stepped out above them. They must've thought themselves pretty superior considering they made a point of being above the clans they called out.

"The bait was so obvious, and still you took it." One jeered.

Hilda narrowed her eyes, looking between the ranks to try and find a weakness, when Leoda gently grasped her arm and pushed it down, shaking her head.

The Green Clansmen were mumbling something, but what they were saying, Hilda couldn't hear. Their phones were pointing at person after person, even Hilda herself at one point, before moving on again.

"So anyway, listen, we got nothing against you guys, but we have no choice. We've gotta get those points." One said. "So die for us, will ya?"

Then all sorts of stuffed parrots were thrown at the three clans. They landed on the ground and then exploded, causing a thick wave of smoke to fill the building, to the Green Clansmen's delight.

But they wouldn't be laughing long.

After a second, all the smoke dissipated, rendered useless by not one, not two, but three Kings' auras, all combined to form the strongest barrier that could be formed, outside of the Silver King's own body, and shining almost white as the colors mixed.

And the Green Clansmen looked down to see the three unharmed clans smirking up at them.

"What's going on?!"

"Why aren't they dead?!"

"Vile and disgusting. We won't tolerate these anarchists." Munakata said, pushing his glasses up. "Our lockup is not what you'd call…comfortable. I hope you're prepared for that."

"You said that HOMRA is dead, didn't you? I guess you didn't know." Kusanagi smirked. "We've just recently gotten a brand new King. A strong King, who rivals even Mikoto Suoh." As Kusanagi spoke, Anna stepped out from behind him, strong and firm.

"You laughed at the life Mikoto lived." Anna stated, no forgiveness in her usually kind eyes. Her Red Aura burst to brilliant life then, surrounding her like a protective flame. "I won't forgive you."

"You mentioned Tatara Totsuka was a weak clansman who died as well, yes?" Carina remarked with a smirk of her own. "Well, it seems you really are uninformed, for we have crowned a new King as well. One who defies everything fate throws at him."

As she spoke, Leoda pushed Tatara's wheelchair forward so he was in the line of sight of the Green Clansmen, something he wasn't before. And he smiled.

"Hello there, I hope you all had a nice day." Tatara greeted, before his eyes and smile both turned cold. "I was fine with you mocking me…but don't ever think you can do the same to my King and get away with it." Then his Gold Aura, tinged with Mikoto's burning Red, erupted on his skin, dancing like flames and stars.

And above the building, the Blue, Red and Gold Swords of Damocles floated in the sky, an alliance nobody ever saw coming.

"Very well, then. Shall we begin now?" Munakata smirked. "We will triumph because our cause is just."

"Men, draw your swords!" Awashima ordered.

"Right!" The Blues cried before they did so.

"Akiyama, ready!"

"Benzai, ready!"

"Kamo, ready!"

"Domyouji, ready!"

"Enomoto, ready!"

"Fuse, ready!"

"Goto, ready!"

"Hidaka, ready!"

"Fushimi, ready!"

"Awashima, ready!"

"Munakata, ready!"

And the Blue Aura burst from the all, ready to fight.

"It's time for us too." Kusanagi remarked.

"Kh! Those Blues can't take all the glory!" Yata spat.

"No blood! No bone! No ash!" All of HOMRA yelled together.

"Is everyone prepared then?" Kazuma asked, turning to his own family.

"Hell yeah!" Hilda grinned, spinning her sword across her arm easily.

"We've been ready for quite some time now." Tsuki smirked, slipping her leather gloves on to protect her hands, as the only auraless person here.

"I already have their weak points spotted." Rae winked as she snapped open her staff.

"This is gonna be an interesting first." Shinji mused, unsheathing Inferno.

"Remember, no killing. Scepter 4 obviously has quite the terrible plans for them." Haru called out in reminder as projections of scalpels appeared in his hands.

"Leoda?" Tatara looked at his wife. Leoda simply smiled and raised her hands, signing quickly as Tatara translated. "'I can't forgive them, so let's make them pay.'"

With that said, Leoda raised her hand and summoned a sunflower dagger in one hand and a rose dagger in the other, their ends as sharp as any knife Hilda had ever wielded herself.

"Now that we are in agreement…let's show these clans just why we stay out of conflicts." Carina grinned as her butterfly chain appeared in her hands.

"Do not let the Red or Gold Clan outshine us!" Awashima ordered.

"Just leave this one to me!" Yata grinned.

The Green Clansmen decided the best way to fight the Kings was unending gun fire, shooting Munakata and Tatara endlessly, but the bullets were always destroyed as soon as they came in contact with the auras.

Tatara simply smiled before he allowed a dagger made of gold flames to materialize in his hand and easily threw it at the floor the JUNGLE members were on, snapping his fingers so the flames briefly erupted, giving the rest of the clansmen surrounding him an opening.

This fight was going to be extremely easy, if Hilda did say so herself as she leapt up to the floor the Greens were on and began to cut through them like butter, her family, friends and the rest of the Red and Blue clans not far behind her.

"What was that? Are they monsters…?" A Green Clansman huffed as he stopped in an alley to rest, only to look up and spot Kuroh, Neko, Kristopher and Ame. "You four?!"

"Yeah, and we'd really like to have a word with you." Kuroh smirked.

"Hee hee! And don't think you can get past us!" Neko grinned.

"Yeah! You're gonna talk!" Kristopher agreed.

"Hey! Don't underestimate me! I'm an N Rank in JUNGLE!" The Green Clansman cried. "I don't just work with explosives, I have powers too!"

Kuroh charged then and without even fully unsheathing Kotowari, he was able to hit the Green with the hilt hard enough to send him flying back.

"Alright. I'll ask and you'll answer." The Silver Clansman stated, hearing his 'nephew' gasp 'coool' behind him. "Is your King the one who gave the order to carry out this assault? Or was it one of your top clansmen, like Yukari Mishakuji? What are your King's intentions? And lastly, do you know anything at all about Yashiro Isana?"

As Kuroh asked his questions, the Green Clansman pathetically started to crawl away. Kristopher, however, stopped him, using a whip made of fire to wrap around the Green's leg and hold him back, all without burning him. Kuroh was quite proud of the boy's control, for how short a time he'd had his fire to begin with.

"Dammit!" The trapped and cornered Green hissed as he took out his PDA and pointed it at Kuroh. "Eat this!" But all that happened was a holographic parrot flew out and began to say how he had failed his mission and lost all his JUNGLE points and powers, causing his mask to vanish and reveal a regular citizen. "What? No way! And after I worked so hard to earn those points! Dammit! Come on! I'm an N Rank! An N Rank who was just about to meet with the King himself! How could this happen?! How!?"

As the boy continued to whine, Kuroh turned back and took Kristopher's hand, as he had released his fire long ago, and pulled him back towards Neko and Ame.

"You're done with him? Already?" Neko questioned as she adjusted the six month old baby.

"That guy is merely another expendable pawn." Kuroh explained. "I highly doubt he knows anything." Neko nodded eagerly in agreement.

"Does that mean no one does? Can't we find anyone who knows where Shiro is now?" Neko asked, the slightest bit of doubt in her voice.

"Are you worried?" Kuroh asked with a smile. Neko shook her head with a smile of her own.

"He's our Shiro after all!"

"And my Uncle Adi! I know you'll find him!" Kristopher enthused happily.

"I know that we'll see him again. We just have to keep searching harder! That's all!" Neko agreed.

"Then let's go see Mommy!" Kristopher happily cried. "She and everyone else will be done fighting soon, so let's go see them all!"

"Ah!" Ame babbled, clapping her hands in agreement.

"Very well." Kuroh nodded, smiling as he let his nephew lead the way.

And several weeks ago, the boy known as Yashiro Isana and Adolf K. Weissman smiled as he vowed to continue moving forward, no matter what.

And with his brother-in-law watching, he turned and fell off the blimp, descending from the sky once again.

This is the second time I'm descending from the sky. But it's different from last time when I was hurled down. This time, I'm descending of my own free will.

And now, the wheels of fate, wheels I have defied before, begin to spin once more, bringing together all four clans, all related by the same family and the same Mark in even the smallest of ways, in order to combat the Green King. It was just another chapter in our story, and yet, I knew this one would be the biggest and most important one of them all.

And there we are!

Now, that advice I was asking for? Who should be Hikari/Gretel's rival in this arc, like how Sukuna is Fushimi and Yata's rival while Yukari is Kuroh's rival? Options are mostly my OCs that have been named here, such as Hilda or Leoda (I'm leaning towards Hilda, but I'm not too sure). Let me know what you think!

Anyways, this chapter. In case it wasn't obvious, Hilda's got some backstory with Fushimi and Yata, which will be explored in the K7S: LSW adaption (also debating whether all six movies will be one story or not). I also hope Tatara is staying in character, it's hard keeping him true to character when he's in such a new role.

Again, I hope everyone is doing well and please take care of yourselves! I'll see you all as soon as I can! Bye!