Hello again everyone! First off, thanks to all 6 followers, 4 favorites and 68 readers! It means a lot to me!
Second off, this chapter is...short. Extremely short. But at the same time, most of this episode is Neko and Shiro running from Kuroh, which doesn't give me a whole lot to work with. So, with scenes that play out exactly like the anime shows them, I've cut out all dialogue and focused on the characters' thoughts instead. It's pretty fun exploring how they all think, not gonna lie. Of course, Shiro is easier then, say, Mikoto.
Anyways, that's it for now, so enjoy this small chapter!
As Shiro stared at the boy holding him, Kuroh Yatogami, he could feel his mind racing, trying to find a way out of this situation instead of the boy that wanted to kill him, no matter how attractive said katana wielding boy was.
He didn't want to die, he couldn't! Not only was he innocent, but his parents, his sisters…
An idea suddenly hit Shiro as he asked for a final request and was allowed down to perform it. As the half-truth left his lips, Shiro prepared the fireworks in his bag and subtly glanced around, seeing everything he needed to pull this off.
Now, for the finishing touch…
The white haired boy pressed the note to Kuroh's chest, counting on him looking at it.
Sure enough, the black haired boy did so and demanded an explanation. Shiro simply winked at him, umbrella over his shoulder and fireworks in his hand, before he turned and dropped the fireworks.
Faster than the speed of light, in Shiro's humble opinion, he climbed into the dog costume lying behind him and slumped on the ground, leaving his now closed umbrella beside him.
Seconds later, he heard Kuroh grunt and smash the door as he left.
Well, that's one death threat avoided. Shiro thought as he sat up and joked with his cat.
He had a feeling this normal day was about to become an extremely dangerous one.
Leoda leaned against the side of the van HOMRA was using as their base of operations while they set up the bounty notices.
Shinji sat in the passenger seat of the van while Kusanagi sat in the driver's seat before he made his way to the back. On top of the van was Anna and Kristopher, who were staring at a map of Shizume City as Anna's marbles spun on it while inside the van was Akagi, Eric and Chitose, who were preparing for the bounty notices to be sent out.
"Did you put up the bounty notices?" Kusanagi asked the three in the back of the van.
"I'm sending them out." Akagi confirmed as he tapped the correct keys on his keyboard. "Right now."
Not long after, the phones began to ring as Chitose, Eric and Akagi began to answer them.
"Hey Anna. Having any luck?" Kusanagi questioned as he climbed up on the ladder's first rung, so he could see the girl and boy on top of the van.
Slowly, the four marbles came together in a specific area.
"He's around that area." Anna stated.
Kusanagi hummed a thanks as he climbed down the ladder, lit a new cigarette, circled the area on his PDA and sent it off to the rest of HOMRA that weren't in the van.
"Your powers are really cool, Anna!" Kristopher grinned at the girl brightly, causing her to smile at him in a shy thanks.
Leoda pushed herself off the side of the van and checked the marbles before she knocked on the passenger window, getting Shinji's attention as he left the van.
"Kristopher, stay with Izzie and everyone, okay? Grandpa and I will be right back." Leoda smiled gently.
"Okay, Mommy!" Kristopher nodded happily as he leaned into Anna's side while the girl wrapped an around the boy in return.
"Be careful, alright?" Kusanagi called in warning as father and daughter walked away.
"Don't worry, Kusanagi. I've got her." Shinji grinned as he waved goodbye to the Red clansmen before he turned back to his daughter, his face serious. "Are you sure about this?"
"I need to get a good look at him, to see if Grandmother's correct after all." Leoda stated before she allowed a small smile to slip through. "Besides, didn't you want to see what kind of weapon Kuroh Yatogami wields?"
"Heh, you know me too well." Shinji smirked before he sent her a warning look. "Just promise you'll be careful."
"I promise." Leoda smiled slightly, her fingers playing with the sweet peas in her hair.
Kusanagi sighed as he watched the father and daughter walk away. He knew they needed to have Leoda look at the suspect, and it'd be preferable if Shinji could look at the Black Dog at the same time, but with Leoda's condition…he didn't want her pushing herself too far.
"Izzie!" Kristopher cried as he looked over the van's edge.
"Yeah, Kris? What is it?" Kusanagi asked curiously.
"This is for you!" The two year old boy exclaimed as he pushed a flower into HOMRA's second-in-command's hands.
"A bluebell?" Kusanagi questioned as he stared at the delicate blue flower he held.
"Yep! It means 'gratitude'!" Kristopher nodded proudly.
"Heh, thanks, kid." Kusanagi chuckled. "You got a flower for everyone then?" Kristopher quickly looked to the side before he turned back to Kusanagi with a grin.
"Don't sweat it! Of course, I do! I've even got one for when big brother Hiko visits!" He proclaimed happily.
Of course, when every Red clansmen flinched the slightest bit at the words he used, as well as the tinge of sadness that entered Kusanagi and Anna's eyes at the mention of their adopted son/brother respectively, Kristopher noticed and quickly began to pass out flowers he seemed to pull out of nowhere, explaining the meaning to each one as he gave them away. He kept one close to his heart, however, waiting for his mother and grandfather's return.
When they reached the area Anna's marbles had landed at, Leoda was not surprised to find Yata attacking Yatogami.
"What should we do?" She whispered to Shinji.
"We need to locate the suspect, so you can confront him." Shinji stated, trying to locate said suspect while Yata was busy yelling at Yatogami.
"Heeeeyy! Kuroh Yatogami!" A voice suddenly cried, drawing the attention of everyone in the vicinity.
"Found him." Leoda stated as she ran to an alley beside the building the suspect was on, so she could subtly reach him, her father on her heels.
"I'll keep an eye on Yatogami and Yata." Shinji said as a gold aura began to surround Leoda.
"Thanks, Dad." Leoda smiled before she jumped along the side of the buildings she stood between, following the sound of the suspect's voice as he yelled, obviously goading Yata and Yatogami into a fight. She wasn't sure if this boy had a subtle bone in his body, to be perfectly honest.
But at the same time, Yata could be goaded into a fight that easily, so she wasn't surprised at all when the Red and Colorless clansmen fell for such an obvious ploy. Not in the least.
Shiro ducked away as soon as both the redhead and Kuroh were distracted, intent on escaping.
"Well, you're smarter than you look." A sudden voice said.
Shiro cried out as he whipped around only to see a dark green haired woman staring at him with gray eyes. On edge, he raised his umbrella as if it were a weapon.
"You really think that umbrella's gonna do you any good?" The woman questioned as she approached Shiro, the gold color coming off her skin fading. "Look, I'm not here to fight you, I just want to ask you something."
"What…?" Shiro asked, on edge.
"Did you kill Tatara Totsuka?" The woman demanded, her eyes taking on a gold sheen.
"No, of course not! I'm innocent, I swear!" Shiro exclaimed, he was practically begging. He really didn't need another person attempting to kill him. Besides…there was something about this woman, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Hmm…so she was right…" The woman mumbled, as if to herself, snapping Shiro out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Shiro questioned. He hadn't even realized he'd lowered his umbrella, the only thing separating him from this woman.
"Nothing." The woman shook her head before she turned away. "Get out of here before either Yatogami or Yata come up here."
"Yata?" Shiro repeated.
"The redhead, he's Misaki Yata. Now go, before I have to do something." The woman stated. Gold began to flow from her skin before a sunflower formed in her right hand, the end as sharp as a knife.
"Right." Shiro gulped before he put his costume back on and began to escape. Pausing, he turned back to her. "Can…I ask your name? Mine's Yashiro Isana, but you can call me Shiro."
"Leoda Totsuka." The woman, Leoda, answered before she glared at him. "Now, go, Yashiro!"
With that, Shiro fled. Just seconds later, Kuroh reached the roof, only to find a sunflower being thrown at him as a dagger would be, forcing him to deflect it before a line of blue aura blocked him from the rest of the roof.
When the blue aura cleared, the roof was barren.
And in the alley below, a Blue father and Gold daughter traded the information they had gathered from the two encounters they had.
Mrs. Saisho smiled as she observed her students' hard work in preparing for the festival. This was one of the things she took pride in at her school, their dedication and hard work.
Of course, she noticed right away when Kukuri was talking to a boy she knew wasn't a student of hers, which meant she was on edge and carefully observing this boy.
She recognized the sword at his hip and the glow that surrounded him before Kukuri had approached him.
That can only be one person.
If only for confirmation, she took out her PDA and made a phone call.
Sure enough, her guess was correct.
And now there's a third party to worry over…
Of course, when she later found Shiro following a strange girl and being chased by this exact same boy, she couldn't help the laugh that slipped past her lips. She could only hope that if this boy was determined to fulfill his late master's wishes, then he would give this decision the time and deliberation it deserved before he acted hastily.
Of course, if she trusted in the fact that her intervention wasn't required with these three, then she didn't need to report anything about it. She'd simply let destiny run it's course, whatever it had in store for those three.
And deeper in the city, unseen by all but one, a man watched these events unfold.
And he hoped, more than anything, that this time, the words he believed in his whole life, his mantra in times of darkness, would be true.
And as a mother reunited with her youngest son not too far from the man, he watched as she struggled to hold back her tears as her son presented her with a peach flower and a smile that was all too familiar.
And there we are!
Also, just to explain a bit, Kuroh is referred to as 'Yatogami' in the scene before Leoda confronts Shiro due to that scene being in Leoda's POV, so she keeps Kuroh at a distance that Shiro does not.
I can't think of anything else to say...more hints were sprinkled in here, let's see if anyone can guess and I'll see you all next week! Bye!