Chapter 1

I stood on the sidewalk in Shizume City facing a small bar. Looking up at the name above it, I gave a small smile at the building. Homra. My younger brother had been pestering me about coming here to visit for a while now. We usually talked on the phone every day, but he almost never shut up about the bar and people he was with. I was glad that he was happy here.

Walking up to the door, I pushed it open to see a very warm vibe type bar. I let the door swing closed as I walked further in, up to a man with dirty blonde hair that was behind a beautiful kept bar. I was slightly aware of the few young men sitting at the tables staring at me, but I didn't pay attention to them. It was still pretty early in the day, so I assumed these were some of the Red clansmen that were here.

The man behind the bar smiled at me, but I could see the curious look behind his sunglasses. "What can I get for you?" he asked politely.

"I'm actually looking for someone," I answered him with a smile. "I was wondering if you know Tatara Totsuka."

The man rose an eyebrow at that but nodded to one of the boys at the tables. One of them left up the stairs behind the bar. "May I ask the name of the young lady who is asking?"

I chuckled at that. "My name is Kana. And who might you be?"

"Izumo Kusanagi," he told me with a smile.

Suddenly, footsteps came thundering down the stairs, before two figures came to a stop near the bar. I didn't notice the second guy; my focus was solely on the young man in front of me. The familiar short light brown hair hanging in his brown eyes that were wide in shock at seeing me. The only new things was that he was taller than before and had an earring in his upper left ear.

I gave him a wide grin. "Hey T."

The moment I said his old nickname, it snapped him out of whatever shock he was in. The smile that I loved to see broke across his face and he launched himself at me. "Kana!"

I barely had enough time to catch myself on the floor so I wouldn't his my head. Even with my speed and reflexes, he still managed to catch me off guard. I laughed lightly at him as he crushed me in his grip. "I can't believe that you're here," he whispered into my shoulder.

I laughed a little again and patted his back with my free hand. "Well, you always did ask me to come and visit."

Tatara gave me one last squeeze before letting go and helping me off the floor. The smile that he wore was still stretched across he face. That smile always put me at ease when we were younger, and I could feel myself relax; the tension washing out of my body. Tatara wrapped one arm around my shoulders, as if to make sure that I was really there.

"Are you going to introduce us Tatara?" Kusanagi asked with a fond smile at the young man.

Tatara got even more excited about introducing me. "This is my sister Kana Totsuka."

"Sister?!" A few of the boys shouted in surprise.

I turned to look at Tatara with a playful pout. "You haven't mention me before?" Tatara's smile turned sheepish, and he chuckled nervously. I gave him a smirk, telling him that I was just playing with him. "I was taken in by the same people as him when I was eight," I explained. "But my grandparents found me when he went into middle school."

"I haven't seen her face to face since," Tatara continued. "But we talk at least once a week."

"So, she's who you were talking to all the time," the boy that came down with Tatara said. The boy was young, maybe in his late teens, and had mahogany colored hair under a dark beanie. His eyes were a hazel color and when he met my dark blue eyes, he blushed and looked away.

"You must be Misaki Yata," I commented, and he blushed more.

"So, you already know who we are then," Kusanagi stated with a smile.

I gave him an apologetic smile. "Yeah, Tatara here would talk non-stop about all of you."

"Kana!" Tatara exclaimed in embarrassment. I laughed at his pout and blushing face. He was always cute when he was embarrassed.

There was the sound of two footsteps coming down the stairs next to the bar and everyone turned to see two more people walk down. The first one was a man with wild, bright red hair and molten amber eyes. He was very tall and well built, but he looked tired to me. The other person was a young girl that looked to not even be ten yet. She had long white blond hair, deep red eyes, and wore an adorable black and red Lolita dress.

The young girl walked over to me and looked at me with curious eyes. I leaned over, putting my hands on my knees, and giving her a kind smile. "You must be Anna. You're even cuter than Tatara said."

Hearing a groan from above me, I glanced over my shoulder, and Tatara's face was a bright red. I smirked at his embarrassment. A small light voice brought my attention back to the little girl in front of me. "You're so bright!" she said in awe. "You're bright red. It's so pretty."

I smiled at her. Tatara had told me that Anna was colorblind but could see red. "Thank you Anna. I'm glad you like it."

As I straightened, Tatara wrapped his arm around my shoulders again. "Anna, King, this is my older sister, Kana."

The man with red hair, the Red King, Mikoto Suoh, raised an eyebrow curiously, but nodded his head in greeting. I nodded back and he moved past everyone to sit on the couch that was in the room. I smiled at his lazy attitude. However, his eyes were trying to understand me.

"So, can I get you a drink?" Kusanagi asked politely.

"A beer would be nice," I replied with a smile.

The bartender raised an eyebrow but complied with my request. I sat on one of the stools and Tatara sat to my left. To my surprise, Anna sat on the stool to my right, while still staring at me. Kusanagi placed the open beer in front of me. I gave him a smile as I took a drink.

"So, what brings you to Shizume City?" Kusanagi asked casually. Although the question was casual, I could hear the protectiveness in his voice.

"I wanted to visit Tatara," I answered honestly. "I finally got time off of work and he was always pestering me to visit, so I decided to come."

"So, you only now decide to come?" a condescending voice asked. I turned to look at one of the tables. He had black hair with bangs that fell in his eyes. His blue eyes were behind black rimmed glasses and he looked to be the same age as Yata. "You don't see him for years and you just now get time off to see him."

"Saruhiko!" Yata admonished.

"It's not a terrible thing that she's here," Kusanagi continued, with a slight serious tone. "She's here now, and that's what counts."

"Tch." Saruhiko clicked his tongue and looked away. The look in his blue eyes was defensive but concerned. I tilted my head a little bit as I looked at him. He reminded me a lot of Zero when we were in school; always blunt and never hiding his distain.

"Sorry about him," Kusanagi apologized, making me look at him. "He can be kinda harsh."

"It's okay," I reassured him with a smile. Everyone looked at me in surprise and confusion. "He's just looking out for his clan and wanting to keep them safe from anyone who might be a threat. Although, that's what you were trying to do with your question. Fushimi was just being blunter about it."

Everyone looked at me in shock and surprise. I looked towards Saruhiko smile and a small nod of reassurance. His eyes just widened before looking away with a small blush.

"Good to know that you haven't lost your touch," Tatara commented with a large smile and a small laugh. "You always could read people."

I giggled before taking another drink and Kusanagi gave me an apologetic smile. "I understand your hesitation," I told them. "I really did just come to spend time with my brother. My work always kept me busy, so it was hard to get time away." I didn't miss the look that Tatara gave me, and I just gave him a look that told him not to say anything.

"How do you know about the clans?" one of the guys asked. The guy had blonde hair and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. He was wearing a white track suit with the HOMRA insignia on it.

I chuckled at the question and pointed to Tatara, who blushed in response. "Tatara can have a big mouth sometimes."

Everyone chuckled at my comment and Tatara's whine, but for some reason my hearing zoned in on a deep chuckle that came from the King on the couch. I had to fight to keep from looking over at him, and focused on Tatara, as he put his head in his arms on the bar in front of him.

"Why do you have to embarrass me like this?" he whined into his arms.

"That's what sisters do baby boy," I chuckled at him, reaching over, and ruffling his hair.

Tatara raised his head and gave me a closed eye smile. I gave him a soft smile in return while still ruffling his hair. I used to do this to him when we were kids in order to calm him down, and I would call him baby boy because of how I saw him. I was so focused on Tatara that I missed the soft smiles of everyone in the room.

I let go of his hair and took another drink of my beer. "So, which hobby have you gotten into now?"

Tatara's eyes lit up and he started to talk animatedly about his most recent hobby. I spent the rest of the day catching up with Tatara and swapping stories with the others. Yata, as the skateboarder like to be called, could talk to me now with only a small blush and only stuttered a few times. Saruhiko ever opened up a little to me but was still annoyed that I was there.

It wasn't until Anna, who was giggling at a blushing Yata, stopped, and yawned, that I realized how late it was. "I think that I should get going," I spoke up.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Kusanagi asked concerned.

I smiled at him. "A friend of mine owns a building nearby and is letting me stay there."

"I'll walk you," Tatara declared, standing up.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Kusanagi put in with a concerned look. "We've made a lot of enemies lately and you can't fight."

I turned to Tatara with a hard stare in my dark blue eyes. "Tatara, you told me that you could keep up," I scolded in a low tone.

Tatara's eyes widened as I almost never used that tone with him. He looked down and shuffled his feet a little bit. "I didn't want to worry you," he said in a quiet voice. "I found a family here and I didn't want you to take me away from them."

I watched him carefully. He had told me about how everyone here was strong and how they would watch each other's backs. The whole time that I had been here, they all joked, laughed, and teased each other like a big family. Tatara and I weren't related by blood, and yet we were family. I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache coming. I needed blood, and soon.

Looking towards Mikoto, who was watching the exchange with a neutral expression, I gave a hard stare. "Do you protect him?" I questioned. "He doesn't get hurt?"

Mikoto kept up the neutral expression, but his eyes were calculation. "He only gets hurt when he doesn't listen," he answered evenly. "But he stays behind most of the time."

"Hmm." I turned my gaze back to Tatara, who was still staring at the floor. He looked nervous for my reaction. I sighed and ran hand through my pitch black hair. "I'm not going to take you away from the Red Clan."

Tatara's head snapped up to look at me with a wide smile. "Really? I—"

"Let me finish," I told him, cutting him off. Tatara snapped his mouth closed and nodded. "I'm not gonna take you away because when you consider someone family, you don't let them go. But I don't want you to get hurt, so I want you to swear that you will listen when they tell you to stay back. Do you understand?"

Tatara nodded his head seriously. "I swear that I will listen."

I nodded to him. "Good, but I have to agree with Kusanagi. It's too dangerous for you to walk back by yourself at night."

"I'll walk you," Mikoto spoke up suddenly from the couch. He stood up from the couch as everyone looked at him in surprise. As he walked to the door, I stood up and gave Tatara a tight hug.

"I'll come by tomorrow," I told him. "I love you baby boy."

Tatara gave me a tight squeeze. "I love you too big sis."

I pulled away with a smile and waved to the other goodbye, following Mikoto out of the bar. We walked in silence for a minute, and Mikoto lit up a cigarette.

"Do you mind if I bum a smoke off you?" I asked.

The redhead shrugged before handing me one and then produced a flame from his finger to light it. I nodded in thanks and lit it, blowing out he smoke. We kept walking in silence for a little while longer and we were given strange looks by those who were passing. I was used to being given looks by others, so I didn't really mind. We reached my friend's building, and I stomped out the cigarette on the ground.

"Thank you for walking me," I said, turning to him. "Although, you didn't need to. I can handle myself."

Mikoto shrugged and put out his cigarette. "Couldn't let Tatara come."

I smiled at him. "I'm glad that Tatara has you and the others," I told him, and he rose an eyebrow at me. "You care about them and that's what they need."

Amber eyes stared at me with a strange calculating gaze. I stared back at him evenly and took that time to observe him. His body language was relaxed, but I knew that he could call out his flames when he wanted without moving. Despite his lazy attitude, he looked to be in quite decent shape and showed that he still does a decent amount of fighting. His eyes were still calculating, as if he were trying to figure me out.

"Have a good night Mikoto," I told him, walking up to the building.

"I trust Tatara," the redhead's deep voice spoke up. His voice made me stop and look at him with a raised eyebrow. "If he doesn't think that you will cause harm to us, then I believe him. But know that if you do—"

"I'll stop you right there," I snapped at him, cutting him off and walked to stand in front of him. I'm normally a very patient and happy person, but if you insult my family or friends, my temper is nothing to mess with. "I would never cause intentional harm to my brother. Don't you fucking dare insinuate that I would ever do something like that! Anyone who hurts my brother with me in this city will not survive to the next day."

Amber eyes flashed for a second. "So, you would kill for Tatara?"

I narrowed my green eyes at him. "If it ensures his safety, without hesitation. That goes for all of HOMRA as well."

Mikoto's eyebrows rose, and his eyes widened in shock; the first time that I had seen any emotion on his face. "Why would you do that?"

The anger left my body and a kind smile made it's way to my lips. "Because Tatara thinks of you as his family. Then all of HOMRA is my family as well."

Mikoto stared at me evenly for a moment before he slowly gave me a smirk. "He rubs off on everyone it seems."

I grinned back and giggled a little. "That he does."

We stared at each other for a moment and in that moment, my body moved on it's own. Being a good six inches shorter that him, I leaned up on my tip toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. I lingered there for a moment before moving away. Mikoto had a surprised look on his face, with his eyes wide, and I only gave him a smile.

"Goodnight Mikoto," I whispered to him. Turning around, I headed into my friend's building before he could say anything. After I closed the door behind me, I leaned against the door and smiled to myself. I sighed and walked up to my floor; the smile never leaving my face.

"You look happy," a male voice spoke when I reached my floor.

Looking up, I found my friend, Sousuke Arashi, standing outside his door smiling at me. Sousuke had short, brick brown hair that was always spikey and his bangs hung in his different colored eyes. His left eye was a deep green while his right was a lime green. Sousuke was a Phoenix, and his eyes had a teasing look in them.

I shook my head at him. "I was able to see my brother again Sousuke. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

Sousuke chuckled at me. "Yeah, I can see that. But that smile seems different."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I denied quickly.

"It's no use lying Kana," a female voice said in a heavy accent, as a woman walked out of the door next to Sousuke. She was short with an olive skin tone. He long, light violet hair fell down around her waist, not in it's usual high pigtails. Dark orange eyes sparkled at me with mischief.

"No on can lie to you Azalea," I chuckled at her.

Azalea Evilian was a human gypsy from Transylvania and was Sousuke's life mate. She came to live with him a few years ago after Sousuke went with me to Transylvania. Despite not being able to hear heart beats, she could always tell whenever someone was lying.

"You have the same smile that I did when I met Sousuke," she told me with a sly smile.

I gave her a skeptical look. "You knew about this," I accused with a dry tone. Azalea only smiled and shrugged at me. "You know that I can't have a life mate now. It's unfair for them."

The mated pair both looked at me sadly and I just shook my head at them. Unlocking my door, I called back to them. "Goodnight you two."

I closed the door and hung my jacket up. After kicking off my shoes and putting my weapons away, I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Dropping in a few blood tablets, I watched the water slowly turn into blood before I took a drink. After draining the glass, I went to my bedroom and changed into some sleeping clothes. Snuggling into the blankets, I soon fell asleep, dreaming of a certain redhead.