Hello again everyone! It's still Wednesday, so I'm not late! No new reviews this time, but that's okay! Thanks to all 11 followers, 8 favorites and 456 readers!
Now this chapter. I LOVED and HATED writing this chapter at the same time, I distinctly remember that. Specifically, I hated it because there was such long and complicated dialogue (looking at you Awashima), but I absolutely loved getting to dive into both Shiro and Kuroh's thoughts, considering how pivotal this episode is, in my own opinion, in both the plot and the development of the Silver Trio. I hope I conveyed those thoughts well in writing this.
Enjoy!
The rain continued to pour down on them, but Kuroh and Shiro stood in the soccer stadium without a care, simply having their eyes on each other.
Just that gaze alone was enough to make Shiro blush, he knew that now, and yet he somehow found the courage to thank Kuroh, to tell him how much the older teen had come to mean to him in only a few short days and-
All of the lights in the stadium turned on one by one, forcing the ravenette and white haired boys to close their eyes against the sudden harsh light.
Once their eyes adjusted, Shiro lifted the umbrella shielding his eyes only for them to widen as he was faced with nine people all wearing the same blue military uniform, with swords at their hips.
"Attention, Kuroh Yatogami and your accomplice." The woman at the front proclaimed with a megaphone.
"What the-" Shiro started to ask, only for the woman to cut him off.
"Scepter 4 has you surrounded. Be warned: in accordance with article two of the Supernatural Exemption Act, we are taking you into custody!" The woman said before she took out her PDA and pressed a button on it, causing a hologram of said article (Shiro guessed) and what was probably the logo of Scepter 4 to appear.
"What's this? How'd they find us?" Shiro asked Kuroh before he turned to the woman. "I don't know what's going on, but can we talk?"
"We don't surrender." Kuroh stated, his voice loud and firm.
The woman said something quietly, probably into an ear piece, before she loudly ordered,
"Everyone, draw your swords!"
And one by one, the members of Scepter 4 called out their name followed by a 'ready' as they each drew their swords. The woman, it turned out, was named Awashima.
At the sight of nine, very real, swords wielded by obvious experts, Shiro gulped. Yes, Kuroh had taken on four insanely powerful men to save him when they met, but those were Red clansmen. Based on the color scheme the nine, and the other people surrounding the stadium that Shiro could see in his peripheral vision, wore, this was the Blue clan, and who knew how different of a style they fought in? Who knew if Kuroh could beat them if he refused to draw his sword on anyone, but the evil Colorless King?
Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Shiro swore he saw a flash of gold. Before the gold could do anything, however, he heard a familiar sound, a familiar 'meow', and the entire soccer stadium changed.
Suddenly, Shiro, Kuroh and all the members of Scepter 4 were in the middle of downtown Shizume City.
"Huh? What happened?" Shiro asked, confused as he turned every which way. Suddenly, Neko appeared in front of him and Kuroh. "Neko, there you are!"
Before Shiro could say any more in the relief that Neko was found, the pink haired cat-girl began to pull him further into the city, Kuroh right on their heels. Turning back for just the slightest minute, Shiro's eyes widened as he caught sight of many sunflower shaped daggers landing at the feet of the Blue clansmen.
He remembered those flowers.
They ran for a while, Neko leading the way, until they reached what appeared to be the end, if the two Scepter 4 members guarding it was any question (Shiro thought they had said they were Kamo and Domyoji) and then Kuroh went to the front, knocking both Blue clansmen to the ground with ease.
Before they could leave, however, a blast of blue suddenly streaked in front of them, carving into the concrete as it forced the three to stop, and Neko to turn back into a cat.
Turning, the two humans and one cat saw none other than Awashima wielding her sword and glaring at them.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this one. Man your posts." Awashima ordered her fallen clansmen, who agreed. She then turned to the surrounding area. "Come out, Rae Akiyama and Leoda Totsuka!"
In an instant, a fog that Shiro hadn't even noticed until now cleared and two women appeared, standing beside Shiro and Kuroh. Shiro's eyes widened as he recognized one of them.
"You sure are sharp, Lieutenant. I thought I'd given no clues as to where we were." The older, brunette woman, Rae commented as she crossed her arms, a brown staff resting on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Yatogami, we're on your side." The younger, forest haired woman, Leoda reassured the ravenette swordsman as she summoned a sunflower dagger and twirled it in her fingers.
The gold on the two of them, coming off of their skin instead of what they wore, made them look strong, powerful and must've told Kuroh they were telling the truth.
"In that case…the two of you and Shiro, stay back." Kuroh ordered as he looked briefly at the two women before he took a fighting stance towards Awashima.
"Go ahead, draw your sword." Awashima taunted as she held her own sword aloft.
"Listen to me: this sword was never intended to kill the likes of you." Kuroh said.
"Then you can prepare to be slain by the likes of me!" Awashima cut him off and attacked without any further taunts.
Kuroh effortlessly dodged each attack she sent his way and Shiro felt breathless as he watched, Neko in his arms and Rae and Leoda standing at his shoulders, as if to protect him.
"Let's see you dodge this!" Awashima cried as her sword sliced the air, sending her aura flying towards Kuroh.
Kuroh, however, did not dodge the blow, but instead used his own aura to combat it, easily ceasing the attack. Awashima was obviously caught off guard and Kuroh moved to take the offensive-
The city suddenly started falling to pixels in areas.
Kuroh instantly froze as Neko cried and Shiro looked up in awe.
"What is that?" He gasped.
Floating in the middle of the city was a giant, blue sword. Something about that sword made Shiro's heart pound, but he couldn't define what.
"The Sword of Damocles." Kuroh answered. "It's announcing someone's arrival."
"Specifically, it's announcing a King's arrival, the King who that Sword hangs over." Rae explained.
"A symbol of power and a reminder of what shall come if the Sword were to fall." Leoda added.
The dark undertones of their voices proved the idea of a such a sword falling led to dire results. From the size alone, Shiro could only assume that.
And yet, the idea of such a weight bearing down on him was…familiar.
Slowly, the city began to pixalize even more as a man suddenly appeared, blue coming off of him even more than it had with Rae and Leoda. Recognizing the man, Kuroh jumped back.
"It's the Blue King, Reisi Munakata!" He said.
"Not surprising. He brought me here, after all." Rae said jokingly as the staff in her hands spun.
"Mom, this is not the time." Leoda stated, her narrowed eyes on the Blue King. "As of this moment, I do not trust that man with Yashiro."
"What?" Shiro asked, looking at the young woman. "You mean, you don't want me killed or arrested?"
"You aren't the man that attacked my husband…among other reasons, no I do not want to see you killed, Yashiro." Leoda shook her head. A small smile appeared on her face as she regarded the boy. "We'll talk some more later, alright? Don't worry about it too much."
They turned back to the King and lieutenant, who were talking to each other. Shiro could just pick out the name 'Fushimi' and watched as Leoda tensed the slightest bit. The name, whoever it belonged to, meant something to her.
As the Blue King turned his attention to the four people and cat in front of him, Neko jumped into Shiro's arms, Rae and Leoda stood in front of them as if they were a guard and Shiro knew Kuroh was glaring at Munakata, who simply smirked before he took a single step forward.
In a flash of blue that emanated outward from the King's foot, the entire city pixelated away and once again became a soccer field. Even Neko turned from a cat back into a human girl, landing bridal style in Shiro's arms.
As Munakata went on to explain that Neko was a Strain, Shiro let the pink haired girl down and allowed her to hide behind him as he glared at Munakata. If he could do nothing else, he'd protect Neko.
Of course, once the entire soccer field reappeared and the other clansmen of Scepter 4 stood beside their King, Shiro found his arms going up in surrender, Neko following his example.
"Hey, Kuroh, shouldn't we surrender?" Shiro asked. He knew Kuroh would hear the underlying question: is there any way for us to get out of here alive?
As if they too knew that was the real question Shiro asked, Rae and Leoda simply stood by, staff and dagger at the ready and yet they made no move to attack. He could see flashes of gold butterflies on their right wrists, circling up their arm past their sleeves.
"Here's what gonna happen. I'll hold off their leader. You four will have to find a way to escape." Kuroh instructed.
"Huh?" Shiro asked as Neko saluted in agreement.
Rae and Leoda shifted just the slightest bit as Kuroh reached out with his Colorless aura and threw the two Blue clansmen blocking the closest exit aside with ease.
"Get moving!" Kuroh ordered as he faced Munakata once again.
"But Kuroh-" Shiro started to argue. Before he could say any more, Neko was pulling his wrist as Rae flipped a pipe into the air that caused a smoke screen to cover the five as they made their way to the exit. Shiro swore he felt wind blowing behind him as they did so. It was probably Leoda's daggers flying through the air.
Even still, all Shiro could think about as he ran away, 'like a coward' a voice in his head whispered, was Kuroh, a simple clansmen of the former Colorless King, facing off against Munakata, the Blue King.
If there was one thing Shiro had learned from Kuroh is that while all clansmen differ in strength, a King was a whole other level.
As Kuroh fought against Munakata, he knew he would likely not survive this.
He knew that he would likely not fulfill Master Ichigen's final request if he continued this.
He knew that holding back the way he was, not using either his Colorless aura nor Kotowari, would not allow him to live.
And yet…none of those things were what he focused on as he fought the Blue King with everything he had.
No…the only thing he thought was this:
I have to buy as much time as possible so Akiyama and Totsuka can get Shiro and Neko to safety.
Even as Munakata mocked him, trying to make him draw Kotowari, Kuroh refused to obey. He only needed to buy enough time, to distract Munakata enough that the Gold clansmen could safely bring Shiro and Neko out, possibly even discover the truth that Kuroh could not.
If nothing else, his mission would still be fulfilled. But that wasn't what mattered. Not right now.
Even as Munakata pinned him to the ground, Kuroh thought of nothing else, but Shiro and Neko.
"Now then, let's get to the subject at hand. Shall we?" Munakata said, the glare of his glasses hiding his eyes from Kuroh.
As they reached a crossroads, Neko stopped running and began to listen, Rae and Leoda obviously deferring to her senses.
Shiro, however, turned back the way they came.
"This way!" Neko said, starting to run before she noticed Shiro wasn't moving. "Shiro, we have to hurry!"
But Shiro…didn't want to leave Kuroh, didn't want to run away like a coward.
Kuroh was important to him, as a friend and maybe as something more, Shiro himself didn't know. All he knew was that he couldn't leave him behind.
"I was hoping you'd get that look on your face." Rae smirked, drawing Shiro's attention to her. The brunette woman's eyes had a gold sheen as they darted all over Shiro, who felt as if they saw everything he wanted to hide.
"What's the plan, Yashiro?" Leoda asked. "We don't have much time to decide."
Shiro's own eyes darted around quickly, thinking up a plan. It was almost as if he could see the probability equations as he tried to figure out what the probability of this plan working would be.
But that would be ridiculous, obviously.
Still, in what felt like several minutes, but was actually only seconds, Shiro had a plan.
As the rain fell, Munakata began to speak.
"I applaud your self-sacrifice. Let me ask you something. That young man you've been helping, is he the master you serve now, the successor to the late Colorless King? The Seventh and weakest King?" The Blue King questioned.
Turning his head, Kuroh glared at the man who held him down, as if he were nothing more than a dog to be tamed. Master Ichigen was not the weakest King, not to Kuroh. And if Shiro truly is Master Ichigen's successor, then Kuroh had no doubts that he would not be the weakest King either.
"He is not a powerful presence by himself alone, but in the current situation, he is the wild card that could end up tipping the balance of power in the remaining Kings. In other words, he is the one person in this whole mix that I need to handle carefully." Munakata continued, bending down as he did so to place a hand on Kuroh's head, his voice right in the ravenette's ear. "That young man is the new Colorless King who will replace Ichigen Miwa. I'm right about that, aren't I?"
Kuroh remained silent, causing Munakata to straighten and pull his head up painfully.
"You would do well to answer me." He stated, all with a smile on his face.
Kuroh decided that he did not like this King at all.
"Master Ichigen sent me to evaluate that young man." Kuroh finally said.
"Very interesting, so what is your verdict?" Munakata asked.
Kuroh did not answer. Instead, he freed himself from the Blue King's grasp and once again tried in vain to buy more time. All he got in return was a hit in the chest with the sword still in its scabbard that Munakata held.
"I won't let anyone touch him until I make that final decision." Kuroh grunted as he was forced to his knees by the pain.
"I understand, but I'm afraid that might have been the boy's plan from the start." Munakata said before he pointed his sword at Kuroh's throat.
The scabbard never left the sword, as if Munakata found Kuroh an unworthy opponent to fight with such a blade. Kuroh didn't blame him, he was a mere clansmen, an empty vessel for his King, after all.
"He doesn't have to take the side of good or evil." Munakata continued. "And as long as he maintains that ambiguous position, he can keep the Black Dog, Kuroh Yatogami, as his bodyguard. He could not ask for a more powerful pawn. Using the powers of that young, female Strain, deceiving you and the other people around him would be a simple matter. We could be the fools. All of us could be nothing more than puppets in that young man's scheme. Wouldn't you agree, Kuroh?"
As he finished speaking, the Blue King placed his hand on Kuroh's head and leaned in close to his face again.
Something about the way he grouped himself and Kuroh together and the way he said Kuroh's first name rubbed the ravenette the wrong way.
"You have a point. He constantly laughs like some kind of fool and everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie." Kuroh conceded. After all, there was no falsehood in Munakata's words there. "But that's just the kind of guy he is."
And yet…and yet…
"Then I guess you have to ask yourself: is that the kind of guy worth risking your life over?" Munakata proposed.
Instantly, every memory Kuroh had of Shiro came to the forefront of his mind.
The boy scared and blushing in his arms as Kuroh rescued him from the Red clansmen.
The boy lying to his face and smirking as he escaped Kuroh's grasp.
The boy running from Kuroh all around his school campus, in turns scared and determined.
The boy vowing to prove his innocence in the murder of Tatara Totsuka, his amber eyes bright and begging Kuroh to believe him.
The boy proclaiming Kuroh as his wife, not just once but twice in a matter of minutes, not even wincing as Kuroh threatened his tongue in turn.
The boy grasping his hand tightly, his eyes lost as he slowly came to the realization that he was not who he thought he was.
The boy blushing and crying as Kuroh called him 'Shiro' for the first time and gave him the resolve to see this incident through, to discover the truth behind himself and Tatara Totsuka's death.
Kuroh was helpless against the smile that formed on his face, conveying his thoughts to Munakata openly.
Yes, Shiro was the kind of guy worth risking his life over and Kuroh would never regret doing this, not for the rest of his life, he was certain. Even if Shiro did turn out to be the evil Colorless King…protecting the boy he was at this moment was worth giving up his life, Kuroh had no doubt of that.
Suddenly, the lights in the soccer stadium all shut off. Turning, Kuroh's eyes widened as they landed on a glowing Shiro.
"So, what brings you back to us? Did you forget something?" Munakata mockingly asked.
"Get out of here, you fool!" Kuroh cried only to be hit in the head with Munakata's sword and land on the wet soccer field.
"Well now, I thought about it and just didn't feel I could go and leave my friend behind." Shiro admitted.
Kuroh felt his heart warm at the admission, even as he cursed Shiro to every hell he knew of for coming back here.
"Selfless. So you came back here to share your fate together. That is a noble gesture on your part." Munakata complimented before his voice became flat. "But ultimately meaningless."
"Actually, as I think you'll see, it's not all that meaningless." Shiro denied.
"Oh?" Munakata hummed.
"I just want to say to Kuroh, sorry. I've been lying to you all this time." Shiro said as he clapped his hands together in apology. "It's time to tell the truth. This is who I really am."
At that, Shiro brought his hands apart and a white light formed between them before it rose to float above Shiro's head.
Everyone in the stadium stared at it in awe. It almost…looked like the Sword of Damocles. That's probably what it was.
And yet, it did not look like the Sword of Damocles that the Colorless King had. It looked like another King's entirely, but…why?
"Kuroh…Kuroh, can you hear me?"
Suddenly, Shiro's voice rang in Kuroh's mind…and he understood. He listened carefully to what Shiro said and then…it happened.
A blast of silver light, almost like an aura, shot out towards Munakata. In response, the Blue King unleashed his own aura.
The light from Shiro didn't back down for even a moment.
Using the moment of distraction, Kuroh got out from under Munakata and punched him directly in the face.
As Munakata's glasses went flying off, Kuroh felt a hand grasp his wrist and pulled him down one of the corridors. In his peripheral vision, he identified the hand belonging to Totsuka. Akiyama was most likely with Shiro and Neko, protecting them as they created this illusion together.
With Totsuka at his side, Kuroh made his way down the corridor to the alley Shiro, Neko and Akiyama were waiting for them easily, Kuroh's Colorless aura throwing the Blue clansmen back and Totsuka's flower like daggers trapping them against the walls.
As soon as they were safely in the alley, Kuroh collapsed against the wall, using Kotowari as support.
"Kuroh! Are you okay?" Shiro asked, concerned.
"My injuries are not serious. I'll be fine in a couple of minutes." Kuroh reassured.
Taking that as an okay, Shiro turned to the two Gold clansmen.
"Thank you for your help." He smiled.
"It's no problem. We couldn't let you get caught." Leoda smiled slightly.
"Huh?" Shiro gasped, confused.
"What my daughter means is that we know you're innocent, so we couldn't stand by and let Scepter 4 arrest you." Rae elaborated. "And for the record, there's no need to be formal with us: just Rae and Leoda will do fine."
"Still, thank you. It means a lot and you helped us save Kuroh." Shiro smiled as he bowed his head in thanks. He then turned to Neko to thank her as well.
When Neko proved confused on what Shiro was talking about, he elaborated and then allowed Kuroh to finish explaining what exactly a Strain like Neko could do.
And when it came up that she could alter memories…it felt as if a puzzle piece Shiro had been missing for quite a while slipped into place. Now he had the full picture, the truth behind why he believed himself to be Yashiro Isana when so many things didn't add up.
"Oh, I see…it's all finally coming together." Shiro said sheepishly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "That explains everything."
"And that's the other reason we came to your rescue tonight." Rae spoke up.
"What?" Shiro asked, once again confused.
"You saw it, didn't you? The Mark of the Miracle on our arms." Leoda said as she held up her right arm. Sure enough, there were the gold butterflies, twisting up to her shoulder. Rae did the same action, showing an identical mark.
"You're related to Mrs. Saisho!" Shiro gasped.
"Specifically, they are related to her by blood." Kuroh said. "The Mark reflects the standing of the person by the arm. The right arm means they are blood relation, whether a sibling, child or grandchild."
At the mention of a sibling, Shiro felt as if his own right arm had an itch on it. But at the same time, he didn't feel anything at all.
"That's right. The woman you know as Mrs. Saisho is my mother and Leoda's grandmother." Rae nodded. "Along with that, there is also the matter of our eyes."
"Eyes?" Shiro repeated.
"Yes. Every member of the family that bears the Mark is also given a sight that no one else in the world shall have, whether they are related by blood or marriage." Leoda nodded. "For example, I can see the aura of everyone in the world, whether they are a clansmen or a regular human."
"And it's because of Leoda's eyes, as well as my mother's, that we were able to ascertain your identity, Yashiro. Or rather, we were able to figure out who you used to be." Rae smiled.
"You…knew me. All of you knew me and that's why all of you refuse to call me 'Shiro'!" Shiro gasped as he pieced it together.
"Very good." Rae nodded as she tipped the deerstalker that suddenly appeared on her head. "We knew you before this mess and are used to calling you something else. Therefore, we cannot call you 'Shiro', because to us it wouldn't feel right."
"Can you tell me who I am?" Shiro almost begged.
"Sorry…we're not allowed to." Leoda shook her head. "Grandmother believes this is something you must solve for yourself, something you must experience."
"I see…" Shiro nodded before he turned to Neko and asked her to return his memories.
Kuroh reminded him that if it turned out he was the evil King, he would be killed right away. Of course, then he said he'd be open to discussing it.
But…Shiro didn't like the idea of putting things off anymore, of running away anymore. It felt like all he had been doing for a long time was running, running from something he didn't want to face, from a responsibility he didn't want to have. And he knew he couldn't continue to live like this, not anymore. All that had gotten him was living a stagnant life, somehow he just knew it.
And…he didn't want that anymore. He wanted to move forward, to be responsible for his actions, and to stay with Kuroh and Neko and whoever he knew in the past who still cared for him as Rae and Leoda obviously did.
As Shiro voiced his thoughts, he swore he saw a look of pride in Rae's eyes.
And so, Neko returned what memories she could. As the final memory he had before he met Neko by falling through the gym roof, the final memory he had before he became Yashiro Isana, came to him, he felt a mix of emotions.
Fear of the unknown, of what would happen when this man grinning evilly at him kicked him off the blimp was most prominent.
And yet, he also felt as if the man he saw wasn't right, like something about him should be different. Like something about him was so entirely wrong.
After his exclamation of confusion and subsequent explanation of the memory, the three non-Gold clansmen were met with a smirk from Rae.
"You know…if you give Scepter 4 a valid reason, I think I can sneak you onto a helicopter up to that blimp where that man is." She offered.
Shiro decided then and there that he liked this brunette woman with her cunning mind and superior eyesight.
And though he was disappointed to separate with both her and Leoda, Shiro knew they would meet again and he looked forward to that day.
And there we are! Now you all know why I am CONSTANTLY referencing the eyes of everyone important to this Mark of the Miracle family, because they all see something important with it. If some of them aren't obvious (excluding Akiyama, who's Sight I will not show until MK just cause it worked out that way), let me know and I'm happy to clarify everyone who's I've shown so far (being Rae, Shinji, Leoda, Kristopher, Benzai, Tatara...I think that's it, excluding Mrs. Saisho, Shiro and any character who's Sight has not been referenced yet).
Fair warning to everyone, next week's chapter is gonna be the shortest chapter yet. So be prepared for that and I'm sorry ahead of time.
In any case, leave a review to let me know what you thought. Bye for now!