Hello again, everyone, I'm back! First off, thanks to Elisa55 (Thank you for the review!) for reviewing, all 6 followers, 4 favorites and 138 readers! This chapter is longer then the previous one, but still on the shorter side. But don't worry, plenty of long chapters are on the way!
I had a lot of fun with this chapter, no matter how difficult the first scene was to write, and I tried to incorporate all manner of stuff into this universe, blending the anime with the side materials (mostly Seven Stories stuff, which I can access), so I hope I did well. Side Blue proved me wrong on certain aspects, so let me know if the one scene referring to it is weird or not lining up with canon at all.
Okay, I think that's it for now. Enjoy!
As she eavesdropped on the conversation between Munakata and Awashima as they considered what they should do with both Mikoto and Tatara's case, Rae couldn't help but wince.
"Is any of this even humane?" She mumbled to herself as she began to make her way down to the cell where she knew Mikoto was being held. "Seriously, they even treat their own clansmen like pawns. What kind of King does that?"
Though Rae knew there were many good people in the Blue clan, her husband and son included, she still couldn't quite believe them all the time. Yes, they were essential to keeping order in Japan and were a close…reluctant ally of Rae's own King, but that didn't mean she always approved of their methods.
Then again, not all the clansmen did either, if Shinji wasn't considered an outlier. He had only retired on June 4th of this year, after all. And Rae couldn't blame him, would never blame him, for retiring right after that funeral.
She herself had been shaken, if she was truly being honest.
Rae shook her head as she flashed her ID at the clansmen on guard duty, which allowed her to be, reluctantly, allowed access.
The brunette woman was silent as she walked to the cell she was looking for and knocked on the door once she reached it.
"Knocking? That's not like you, Munakata." Mikoto said as he slowly turned around and sat up. His gold eyes widened as they landed on Rae.
"That's because I'm not Munakata." Rae smiled slightly. "May I come in, Red King Mikoto Suoh?"
"Sure, why not?" Mikoto shrugged.
Rae's smile softened as the bars around the door retracted and the door swung open. The woman stepped in and sat down on the ground, so she was looking up at the redhead across from her.
"What're you doing here, Rae?" Mikoto got straight to the point with a sigh.
"I'm with Scepter 4 on request of my King, the Gold King." Rae answered, her face entirely professional.
"You know that's not what I meant." Mikoto smirked the slightest bit as he sent her a look.
"I know, but I wanted to see you at least smirk if I couldn't make you smile." Rae smiled slightly as she tilted her head. Her smile fell as she looked away. "Though there isn't much to smile about these days, especially for you."
"I'd have thought you'd have it harder than me." Mikoto said.
"No. Tatara was my son-in-law, yes, but he was so much more to you and to HOMRA as well. I cannot even imagine the pain all of you must be feeling. Only Leoda's pain could compare in my opinion." Rae shook her head.
"Totsuka was your family just as he was my clansman. Your pain is justified." Mikoto disagreed.
"Let's agree to disagree, then." Rae allowed a small smile as she met the King's eyes before she bowed her head in thanks. "I wanted to thank you for taking Leoda in and watching over both her and Kristopher, as well as accepting my husband's presence in your clan. It means a lot to know my daughter and grandson are protected by both my husband and your clan."
"It's nothing. They're as much a part of my clan as Totsuka was." Mikoto stated. "They've been welcome for a while."
"Still…" Rae whispered as she clenched her fists, feeling tears form in her eyes. "I can't forget the way Leoda's voice broke when she called me that night from the hospital. I'm grateful you and Izumo were there, Mikoto."
She still remembered the memorial they hosted at the beach the day after. Still remembered the story of what happened exactly as it came from Kusanagi's lips the very night everything happened.
Still remembered the hopelessness in her own daughter's eyes.
"It's going to be fine." Mikoto suddenly said, causing Rae's head to shoot up, her tear filled gray eyes meeting the Red King's gold ones. "We'll find who did this and make them pay. The rest is up to fate."
"You know you're going to die…" Rae whispered in realization as her eyes darted over Mikoto. "You've accepted it. You simply want this one last act."
"Heh. Good eyes." Mikoto smirked.
"But…if Tatara…" Rae trailed off.
"No matter what happens, I won't regret my actions. I'll get this bastard and die happy." Mikoto stated. "That's what it means to be a King, right? Protecting the people who matter most."
"That's what Tatara always believed." Rae allowed a smile. "And it won't be forever, we will all meet again."
"That's right." Mikoto nodded in agreement, though she knew the words were for her own benefit. She doubted someone like Mikoto would believe in reincarnation.
It was strange…she was much older than him, and yet he was reassuring her as if she was his daughter. Rae found herself chuckling at the situation as she got on her knees and hugged Mikoto.
"If this is the last time I can ever speak to you like this, then I want to thank you for everything, Mikoto." She whispered. "You are an amazing man and a good King. Nobody can ever say otherwise."
"Whatever you say." Mikoto chuckled lowly as Rae slowly released him, offered one last sad smile and began to leave. At the cell door, however, she paused and looked back.
"Has Saruhiko come to see you yet?" She asked softly.
"Nah, the Blues keep him too busy for a visit, even to his old man." Mikoto shrugged.
"But he's-" Rae started to say.
"I know." Mikoto grunted as his eyes darted down to his left wrist, catching sight of the slightest hint of yellow under the silver bracelets he wore.
Rae, on the other hand, was looking down, her left hand clutching her right wrist before she looked up and met Mikoto's eyes.
"I'll make sure he's watched over, that he's not in even worse condition." She promised. "I won't leave him."
"Thanks." Mikoto smiled the slightest bit before he laid down. "You better get going."
"Right…" Rae sighed before she sadly left the cell and the Red King within.
As Fushimi stood over his shoulder and examined his work, Himori couldn't bring himself to do anything other than report his work.
Seeing the video had hurt, but discrediting it as he was felt as if he was discrediting Tatara and he dearly wished he didn't have to do this.
It's just a part of my job, it's simply to keep the entire population from hunting the suspect down. Himori repeated to himself.
Of course, as soon as Fushimi left, Benzai was on Himori right away.
"Himori, if this is too difficult for you, I'm sure the Captain, Lieutenant and Mr. Fushimi will all understand." Benzai-Yujiro-stated.
"Thank you, Yujiro, but I'm fine. I can handle this." Himori gave him a tight-lipped smile. They could only ever speak like this if they were alone and though he treasured those moments, this one was still too weighed down by grief for him.
"He was like a real brother to you, wasn't he?" Yujiro asked quietly, meeting Himori's gaze head on.
"Yeah…he was…" Himori admitted as he looked away. "I've known Tatara since he was six and I was nine. He was Leoda's best friend before anything else, he respected her. And he trusted my family as much as he trusted her, he'd always give us a call if he was sick or hurt. When…when they started dating…"
Himori's voice began to choke off as his left hand squeezed his right wrist, Yujiro's eyes noticing the movement and his own right hand reaching for his left one.
"It was like a puzzle piece sliding into place, you know?" Himori chuckled. "It's…hard to explain."
"I know what you meant." Yujiro smiled slightly as he laid his left hand on Himori's right wrist.
Himori barely noticed the catch in his breath as he met Yujiro's gentle brown eyes.
"I can't imagine the pain you're in, let alone the pain your sister and nephew must be in, especially with Leoda's condition…but you don't have to worry. We'll apprehend the suspect and get justice for Totsuka. I can promise you that." Yujiro swore. For a moment, Himori wondered how cloying his grief was around him, through Yujiro's eyes.
"Thanks, Yujiro." Himori smiled, sliding his hand up so Yujiro's hand fell into his own and he squeezed it slightly, one Yujiro returned with a gentle smile. "We'd better get back to work before Mr. Fushimi and the Lieutenant return, though."
"Of course." Yujiro-Benzai-chuckled slightly as he stood up and returned to his own work station, seemingly reassured about Himori's emotional state.
After all, with that exchange, peace had settled over Himori for the first time in a while.
Shinji stirred the straw in his glass of water as he waited for Kusanagi to hang up his PDA while Anna, Kristopher and Leoda sat on the couch as Anna attempted to locate the suspect once again.
Finally, Kusanagi hung up with a sigh.
"Well, things have gotten a lot more complicated now that the Black Dog has joined the other side, this is gonna be a bitch of a fight. Not to mention we're running out of time." Kusanagi thought aloud.
Anna, Kristopher and Leoda looked up as Shinji sent Kusanagi a sympathetic look. Sensing the four gazes, the bartender turned and sheepishly smiled at them.
Before Shinji could say anything, however, Yata and Rikio came charging in. When they dented the bar, Shinji moved far away from the explosion.
"Are Saki and Riki in trouble?" Kristopher asked.
"Yes, because they didn't listen to Izzie." Leoda nodded. "Again."
"Even after he scolded them about this a week ago." Shinji added, remembering the incident that was barely prevented after Tatara's own memorial.
Anna simply sighed in exasperation as Kusanagi's rant finished only for Yata and Rikio to start yelling at each other about their fight.
"They're like children, I swear." Leoda sighed.
"Then maybe you and Tatara should adopt them." Shinji teased.
"Nah, then we'd have to adopt all of HOMRA, and you know Uncle won't like that." Leoda chuckled. "Besides, they're more like Izumo's kids then ours. Only two kids are ours as well as Izumo and Mikoto's."
"Hiko and Anna!" Kristopher cried as he grabbed his older sister's hand.
"That's right, Kristopher." Anna smiled slightly as they all fell quiet to listen to Kusanagi's explanation once he forced Yata and Rikio to apologize to his bar…again.
Once they were satisfied with their explanation, Yata and Rikio returned to hunting down the suspect, Yashiro if Shinji remembered correctly.
"You're a liar." Anna stated once they were gone.
"Come on, Anna. Cut me some slack." Kusanagi said. "It wasn't all a lie, there was some truth in there."
"Besides, it's better if they don't know the extent of damage to Suoh's Sword. When you know something like that, it's feels like you're simply waiting for the inevitable at any time." Shinji sighed as he returned to the bar.
"That's right, you were a part of the Blues when Jin Habari was King, Akiyama." Kusanagi said.
"Yeah. I was fourth-in-command, just under Goki Zenjo and Gen Shiotsu." Shinji nodded. "The three of us were the closest with Jin. When we noticed the state of his Sword of Damocles during the incident, we were prepared to do what must be done…even if we never saw it coming. The responsibility fell to Goki, but Gen and I were just as watchful and willing to act if he was not near."
"Sounds worrying." Kusanagi commented.
"It was awful, just the thought of killing Jin was almost too much, but we were all prepared." Shinji smiled bitterly. "It was Jin's wish, after all. He didn't want any extra casualties that could be prevented or to upset the other Swords, especially after he failed with Kagutsu."
"Right…the burden of killing a King fell to Zenjo, right?" Kusanagi asked.
"Yes, and then he left Scepter 4, so it was just Gen and I in charge." Shinji nodded.
"And you returned when Mr. Munakata became the Blue King for Mr. Zenjo." Leoda added as she played with Anna's hair while Kristopher looked as if he was listening.
"That's right. Goki returned to judge Munakata and I came as Goki's backup. But…after what happened with Takeru…" Shinji trailed off, fingering his green bandana until Kusanagi covered his hand with his left hand, the tattooed bracelet of gold butterflies on it catching the light.
"You did what you could and served Scepter 4 for years, there's no shame in leaving to honor a fellow clansman." Kusanagi reassured.
"Thank you, Kusanagi." Shinji smiled.
"Daddy says it's great to see our family getting along so well!" Kristopher piped up suddenly, his light gray eyes sparkling.
"Tatara always looks to the bright side." Anna chuckled as she continued to watch her marbles.
"Well, he's not wrong. Gold, Blue and Red all getting along like a family. It's a miracle to any outsider." Shinji chuckled.
"Yeah, that's true." Leoda agreed, her voice choked up. When she finished braiding Anna's hair, she looked down to the couch cushion only to see a hydrangea sitting there.
"'Apologies, gratitude'…I had hoped to not see this flower again, within less than a week too…" Leoda whispered softly. In response, she felt a soft brush against her cheek.
As Daikaku Kokujoji hung up on the Prime Minister of Japan, he spoke without turning around.
"You can come out, Kazuma." He stated.
And, sure enough, a man wearing a black kimono with the symbol of Timeless Palace emblazoned on the back stepped out of the shadows. The man was in his early eighties with shoulder length white hair that was in a ponytail and he had wise hazel eyes.
"My apologies, Your Excellency. Would you like to be alone?" The man, Kazuma, asked as he bowed in respect to his King.
"No, speak freely, my friend." Daikaku waved his hand uncaringly as Kazuma straightened.
"Do you not mean 'my brother', Daikaku?" Kazuma smiled as he laid his right hand on his left wrist.
"You and I both know that that isn't legally true." Daikaku chuckled as he copied his clansman's motion.
"It is true in all but technicality." Kazuma smirked before his face became serious. "Is the situation with Tatara's case grown dire?"
"The Blue King requested he be allowed to use 'royal blue' for this investigation." Daikaku sighed, rubbing his fingers over the bridge of his nose.
"I see…and the Prime Minister is presumably unhappy?" Kazuma guessed.
"Whether he is happy or not is no concern of mine. My only concern is keeping this country running smoothly." Daikaku shook his head.
"And finding out who possibly murdered your great nephew-in-law." Kazuma added.
"You mean your grandson-in-law." Daikaku chuckled.
"That's true." Kazuma shrugged. "Do you think all of this is necessary?"
"Observing both the Blue Clan and the Red Clan as well as the suspect in question? Entirely. And I have a feeling Weissman is at the center of all of this, especially if your wife's suspicions are correct." Daikaku nodded.
"And I have no doubt that they are." Kazuma nodded as he turned to stare at the blue sky, eyes searching for a familiar blimp. "Do you think he'll finally descend?"
"I believe he has no choice in this matter. He is the First King, the Silver King. It is time he acts like it." Daikaku stated.
"Of course. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go assign the Usagi to their posts." Kazuma bowed before he straightened and smirked. "A general, or lieutenant's, job is never done, correct sir?"
"Correct." The Gold King chuckled as he waved his general away.
As Fushimi made his way back to Scepter 4, he couldn't hide the scowl on his face.
He missed him again! At this rate, he may actually stop paying attention to Fushimi and that can't happen, not any more than Fushimi acknowledging the Red King, his bartender, his stopper and his stopper's wife as he used to only up to two years ago.
Don't think about that. Fushimi ordered to himself, even as his collarbone began to itch and his right wrist began to tingle.
Self-consciously, he adjusted the wrist band that covered his right wrist, not willing to see, let alone let others see, that telling tattoo. It'd only link him to the Red King and the other three Fushimi refused to acknowledge, wouldn't let himself acknowledge.
He didn't belong there anyway, what was the point in holding on to the past?
As Kuroh finished his explanation of everything that was going on, Shiro was honestly surprised on how easily he could accept it all.
It's like I-
His thoughts were cut off, however, as he began to argue for his very life, began to try to convince Kuroh to give him a chance to prove his innocence. Shiro knew he didn't kill the young man, this Tatara Totsuka, whose death caused a phantom pain in Shiro's own heart.
And as Kuroh finally agreed and suddenly started acting in a kinda creepy, yet cute dorky way over his tape recorder of his late master's voice, Shiro found himself relaxing as a red blush stained his cheeks.
He had a chance to make his case, to prove he was innocent.
A chance was all he needed.
And as he began to talk to Kuroh and Neko with less tension in the air, even if Kuroh still referred to him as 'Yashiro Isana' who does that?, Shiro felt himself unconsciously rubbing at his right arm whenever his eyes fell on Kuroh.
As if…he was hoping for something. What that was, he didn't know.
And there we are! So many hints for a couple plot lines are hidden in here, I wonder if you guys caught them? In other news, writing Mikoto is a PAIN IN THE BUTT, I COULD NOT DO THAT SCENE FOR THE LONGEST TIME! I don't know how some people manage to write him all the time, I could barely get past one scene!
Oh, yeah, before I forget, every character that gets a POV/narration has something in common with each other. It's probably gonna be really obvious soon, but I want to see if you guys catch it.
Okay, that's it, see you next week, bye!