Chapter 4

Over the next few days, I investigated the level E's without any real break. A few of my former classmates came to help, including Takuma Ichijo, Hanabusa Aido, and Akatsuki Kain. The Hunter Association sent over Zero Kiryu to help on their part, and Yuki Kuran came with him to help out as well. But I knew that everyone was nervous about me, and that Yuki came to watch over me and stop me if I crossed the line.

The past few days I stayed away from the Homra bar. Tatara hasn't called or come to see me, so I gave him his space. I started to feel less happy and colder the longer I stayed away. I could tell the others were noticing it and were getting worried about me. However, I wasn't really up for trying to care. I hated that I had to do all this to Tatara, but I also knew that it was necessary.

Currently, I was looking over the human deaths in the city with Takuma. We were trying to see if there was a pattern to the ones that were caused by the Level E's. Zero and Yuki were running down a lead at the docks, while Hanabusa and Akatsuki ran down another one. I sighed for the millionth time that night and rubbed my eyes.

"Are you okay Kana?" Takuma asked in concern. "Maybe you should take a break? I haven't seen you sleep in the past wo days."

"I'll be alright Takuma," I reassured him, but it sounded empty even to me. "It's just that I feel like I'm missing something, but it's staring me straight in the face."

"Then take a break," Takuma insisted. "Some rest might help you see what you're missing."

I gave him a look as I took a drink of the donated blood that I had, and before I could answer Zero and Yuki walked into the apartment. "How'd it go?" I asked without looking at them.

"We didn't find anything," Zero reported. "It was a dead end. Seems whoever was behind this is really good at covering their tracks. What about the others?"

"We haven't heard anything from them," Takuma answered as I let out a groan. "They should have checked in by now."

I leaned back on the couch. "Knowing those two, they're probably seeing Kira at the hospital."

The three of them chuckled at that thought as my phone went off. I looked at the caller ID and my eyes narrowed. "Anna?" I whispered confused as I accepted the call. "Hello?"

"Kana?" Anna's soft voice came through the phone. She sounded scared. "There are two men here and are trying to start a fight."

"That's not unusual Anna," I tried to reason with her. "There are a lot of people that are going to try to pick a fight with HOMRA."

"But they said that they're doing this for you," Anna argued quickly.

My eyes widened at that information. "Anna, go behind the bar and stay there until I get there, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed as we hung up. I got up and grabbed my jacket along with my guns and Artemis.

"What's goin on?" Yuki asked worried.

"Those two idiots are trying to pick a fight with HOMRA," I growled as I left. All three of them followed without complaint.

We ran across the rooftops to get to the bar faster. When we got there, we found Hanabusa and Akatsuki in the empty street across from a whole lot of very angry Red clansmen. Yata was at the front of the pack, engulfed in red flames as he scowled at the two vampires across from him. Yata lunged towards them and the two of them kept dodging him with taunting smirks on their faces. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose in aggravation.

"Those stupid sons of bitches," Zero muttered in annoyance.

"What do we do?" Takuma asked with a scowl at the cousins.

"We get between them," I ordered, taking out my Artemis and extending it. The others got their weapons out as well. "I'll handle HOMRA."

They nodded and we jumped down just as Yata lunged again. I blocked him with my Artemis while the others stood on either side of me. Yata's eyes widened as he saw me, and his flames disappeared almost immediately. He lowered his weapon and gave me a worried look.

"Kana," he whispered, still surprised that I was here.

"Hey Yata," I greeted with a slight smile. "Sorry about these two. They can be a little hot headed, so to speak."

"So, that's what you've had to deal with," Izumo commented as he walked over behind Yata. He had an easy going smile with a lit cigarette between his lips. I had told him about my friends in school having similar personalities as those in HOMRA, so it became a joke between the two of us being babysitters. I smiled back at him and shrugged my shoulders.

"What are you doing Kana?!" Hanabusa yelled, walking closer to me. "These guys—"

"These guys are protected at my own request Hanabusa," I cut him off with a scolding tone. I glared at him over my left shoulder. "You know better than to pick a fight and taunt them. Now, shut up."

"They said that they were doing this for you," Mikoto's voice sounded in the silent street. I noticed that he was walking to stand next to Izumo, and my heart pounded with each step. "What did that mean?"

I glared once more at Hanabusa, warning him not to say anything, before looking back at Mikoto. Shrugging my shoulders, I put my left hand on my hip. "How should I know? I'm not a mind reader."

"You're getting worse," a soft voice spoke, We all looked to see Anna, who was looking at me through one of her marbles, with Tatara standing behind her. "You haven't been sleeping either."

"And it wouldn't be happening if it wasn't for you!" Hanabusa yelled as he tried to move forward and pointed at Tatara. I held out my right arm to stop him and shook my head when he looked at me. Hanabusa's eyes started to glow a deep red as his anger rose. "Why are you still defending him?! You are already low on time and you're running yourself out even more!"

"He's right you know," Zero commented offhanded.

"Zero," I warned with a growl, glaring at him out of the corner of my eyes.

"I'm not keeping quiet anymore Kana," he continued. "We've all been worried about you, and you don't seem concerned with yourself at all."

"Why aren't you upset at him for this?" Hanabusa growled at me, his eyes still red, and the temperature dropped around him.

"Because I don't blame him for being upset with me," I stated plainly. I looked to Hanabusa on my right as his eyes widened and faded to his normal light blue. "He has every right to be upset that this is happening now. You would act the same if it were one of your sisters Hanabusa."

I looked back up towards Tatara to see tears in his eyes and a saddened look in those normally warm brown eyes. Letting out a sigh, I collapsed my Artemis and put it away in my jacket before turning around to begin to walk away. "Come on. Let's go."

"Wait Kana!" Tatara called, his footsteps thundering towards me before stopping suddenly. Stopping, I glanced over my shoulder to see Zero and Takuma blocking his path. "I'm so sorry Kana!" he exclaimed. "I don't want you wearing yourself out because of me! I just want you to live!"

Before I could respond, I gasped as a pain burned in my throat. My hand flew to my throat as I tried to hold myself back. 'Damn it! Not now! Not in front of them!'

"Kana," Yuki's voice called to me. I looked over to where she stood next to me with my eyes glowing bright red and my fangs bared. "I'm sorry," she apologized before I felt a pain on the back of my head and my world went dark.

*Everyone's POV*

Akatsuki caught Kana's unconscious form as she fell from Yuki knocking her out. He sighed as he picked her up in his arms. Kana had always been someone he looked up to and someone who would tell him the truth when he needed. He didn't want her in pain because of him and Hanabusa. He then had to use his powers to block the stream of flames that were shot his way.

Mikoto stood there with a look of rage and covered in flames. "What did you do that for?" he growled.

"I had to stop her before she attacked," Yuki told him calmly, before giving them a friendly smile. "We haven't been formally introduced. My name is Yuki Kuran, a pureblood vampire. Akatsuki Kain and Hanabusa Aido are the ones who picked a fight with you."

"Why are you bothering Yuki?" Hanabusa snapped at her. "It's not like we'll see them again."

"Because it's good manners Hanabusa," Takuma scolded then turned a friendly smile to the Red Clan. "My name is Takuma Ichijo. I am a member of the Senate of the Vampire Community." At everyone's nervous looks, he gave them a soft smile. "Do not worry. Kana speaks very highly of all of you. If she trusts you, then I do as well."

Everyone then turned to Zero. "I'm Zero Kiryu. I'm from the Hunters Association and Yuki's life mate."

"What did you mean by attack?" Saruhiko chimed in. Saruhiko was worried about the dark haired woman that he had come to respect. They would often talk about a lot of the technology that was coming out for games and programming. She had wormed her way into the hearts of the Red Clan and, even if she was dangerous, Saruhiko didn't want to see her harmed.

"Sometimes those who become Level E's can't control themselves," Takuma explained calmly. "Kana has been working non-stop for the past few days and is now put around humans, her instincts took over."

Mikoto's flames disappeared as he stared at the unconscious woman. The fact that another man was holding her, though, pissed him off. He wasn't sure when it happened, but she had become important to him. He was more in control of his powers with her around; now more than ever. Mikoto wanted to help her, but he didn't know how.

"Is there anything we can do to help her?" Anna asked. She was worried for the woman that she looked up to. Kana had helped her so much and made her feel loved. Anna didn't want her to leave.

The vampires all shared a look and hesitated to answer. "Please," Izumo insisted. "She may not be a clansmen, but she's still important to us. We just want to help her." Izumo looked at her like a little sister, despite being the same age. She wasn't afraid to help him out with the boys but knows when to let him handle it.

The only lead we have is a prophecy that her mother gave before she died," Zero told them truthfully. "But we don't know what it means."

"What are you even talking about?" Yata demanded. Everyone was talking in circles, and Yata didn't like it. He just wanted to help Kana. He might still blush and stutter around her sometimes, but she was funny and not afraid to get in someone's face. She also helped Mikoto stay calm and more in control. He wanted her to stay with them.

"Every pureblood has their own ability," Yuki explained. "Kana's mother had visions of the future. Before she died, she told Kana that only the flame that protects can save her. Kana's been looking for years but hasn't found anything."

'The flame that protects?' Tatara thought. 'Could it be?'

"We should get her back," Akatsuki spoke up. "She needs to rest."

Takuma nodded to him before turning back to the Red Clan. "It was nice to meet you, despite the circumstances," he said politely, bowing to them. "I will let you know when she wakes up."

With that said, the vampires quickly left back to Kana's apartment. Akatsuki went to put Kana in her bed after Yuki put her weapons away. When he came back into the room, he looked to Takuma, ready to be scolded.

"What the hell were you two thinking?" Takuma scolded the cousins, trying really hard to keep his anger in check. "She could have attacked them and then she would have blamed herself."

Hanabusa sat down on one of the couches and put his head in his hands. "I just wanted them to see how much they hurt her," he defended weakly. Kana had been the one who could always see through his mask and bullshit. But he never wanted to cause her problems.

"Regardless, we need to take shifts watching her," Yuki cut in. "Once she wakes, we need to have her lay off the investigation until she recovers. I'll take the first shift."

The others nodded and Yuki went to Kana's bedroom to watch her with Zero following her. Yuki took a seat in a chair next to Kana's bed and looked at her with tears in her eyes. Zero stood next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You did what you had to Yuki," he told her. "She would be pissed if you controlled her instead."

Yuki chuckled a little. "Yeah, she would be. But I worry about her Zero. I worry about what she has planned." She stopped to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Do you think that the Red King could be the one to save? Like Yagari said?"

Zero looked down at the black haired woman in the bed with a worried look. Kana and he had been in the same boat when they were in school and became close friends. "It's for sure through. I'll come back to relieve you in a few hours." With that he left the room and left the apartment.