Chapter 2

I've been in Shizume for a month and have been going to HOMRA every day. It's surprised me how much I enjoy hanging out with everyone. Yata has stopped stuttering completely around me, and Saruhiko was more comfortable around me. Izumo would have me try new cocktails for his customers. The other and I will joke around with each other as well.

I've taken an extreme liking to Anna. The little girl was just so sweet and adorable without even trying to. I taught the girl to braid her hair and a few other things that a girl should know. Sometimes the girl would fall asleep in my lap with a small smile on her face. There were many times that the two of us would go out shopping together.

Tatara has been extremely happy to see my having a good relationship with everyone. We've gotten closer as a result of all this. He knows not to tell that others of what I am or what I can do even though he thinks they would understand. However, even though he doesn't really show it, I can tell it's hard on him to keep the secret. It's even getting harder to keep my own from him.

Then there was Mikoto Suoh. I was having a hard time with him around. A few days after I came to Homra, the life mate bond showed itself, leading to the Red King. We were growing closer, and it was getting harder to stay away from him. He would lay his head in my lap while I would be reading when the others were out, and we would banter a few times. Mikoto has also taken to walking me to my apartment when I would leave at night.

Currently, it was mid-morning, and I was making my way to the bar. I was humming to myself before my senses flared. Pausing in my footsteps, I looked around to try and pinpoint the presence that I felt. There weren't many people out, so I was able to see a tall man wearing a dark brown, wide brimmed cowboy hat. The man was leaning against one of the buildings not far behind me and was staring at me.

His jet black, wavy hair fell down around his shoulders and over the right side of his face. I could see a black eye patch under his hair and his blue left eyes was staring intently at me. I glared and frowned at him, knowing who he it. Scoffing, I shook my head and kept walking. It annoyed me to no end that he was choosing to follow me around, instead of talking to me.

When I got to the bar, I took a deep breath before walking in, and put a smile on my face. The only ones that were in the bar where Izumo, Rikio, Yata, and Anna. Anna was sleeping on one of the couches, while Rikio and Yata were playing cards. They both waved in greeting, and I smiled at them. Izumo was behind the bar and nodded to me in greeting.

Sitting down at the bar, I allowed myself to relax. The bar always helped me to relax from any stress. I ran my hand along the smooth counter of the rose wood bar in front of me. "Hey Izumo," I said to get his attention. Izumo insisted a few weeks ago that I call him by his name, since we were the same age. "I've been meaning to ask you, where did you get this bar?"

Izumo got a proud smile and puffed out his chest. "I got it from an old pub in England," he said with a loving tone. "It cost me a fortune to get it here, but totally worth it."

I smiled at him, thinking my friends from England would love how he's maintained it. "Well, it's beautiful and you've done well at maintaining it."

"See, there are people who understand and appreciate hard work," Izumo boasted to the others. Rikio and Yata sweat dropped at his comment while I chuckled at him.

"So, where are Tatara and Mikoto?" I asked as casually as I could. Even though I knew that Mikoto was most likely still asleep upstairs, I still asked; the bond needing to know where he was.

Izumo smiled at me with a knowing look. "Tatara went out with Fushimi for some groceries and Mikoto is probably upstairs asleep again."

I chuckled quietly when he sighed the last bit. "Do you want me to wake him up? I'm sure he'll be hungry but won't wake up for it."

Izumo smiled gratefully at me. "That would be much appreciated."

I smiled and went to the stairs. As I went up, my hearing picked up the conversation down in the bar. "They seem to be getting really close, don't they?" that was Rikio.

"They seem to," Yata replied to him "They'd be good for each other. Mr. Mikoto has been more in control recently."

"Leave them be for now," Izumo commented. "Let them work it out for themselves."

I smiled sadly as I continued up the stairs. If everything were different, then maybe I would tell him. But I was running out of time, and I didn't want the rest of HOMRA to lose Mikoto just because I wanted to be selfish. Unlike me, Mikoto was human, and he could find someone else, one that wouldn't drag him or the others down.

'But he belongs to you!' the bond screamed at me.

I shook my head to free those thoughts. I opened the door to one of the upstairs lounges that Mikoto usually took naps in, and I found said redhead laying on one of the couches. He had one of his arms over his eyes and his chest moved with his steady breathing. I closed the door quietly behind me and just stood there to admire him. The way he styled his hair, made me want to run my fingers through it, and when he was near me, his body heat always made me feel safe. If things were different, I wouldn't hesitate so much to make him mine. I could already tell that I had feelings for him, and it wasn't just the bond.

Noticing his breathing change, I started to walk over to sit on the arm of the couch near his legs. He moved his arm to look at me with his amber eyes. "Hey, I greeted him with a smile. "I didn't have to kick you to wake you up this time."

Mikoto just smirked at me and sat up on the couch. A few weeks ago, no one was able to wake Mikoto up, until I literally kicked him of the couch. We sat there in silence for a bit, just enjoying each other's company, until Mikoto broke it. "Tatara asked me to let you join HOMRA."

My smile dropped when he said that. "Tatara asked me to join as well," I informed him, looking down at the wooden floor. I knew that Mikoto was staring at me. "I want to—I really do—and I adore everyone in HOMRA, but I can't. Personal reasons and all that."

"Hmm." Was the only reply that I got.

Suddenly, the door opened and Saruhiko entered with Anna, who ran straight to me and hugged my waist. I smelled the fear coming from Anna and I wrapped my arms around her shoulders in comfort. Both Mikoto and I looked to Saruhiko, asking silently for an explanation. Saruhiko rubbed the back of his head and looked concerned.

"A guy approached us," the spectacled teen explained. "He wanted to talk with you, Kana, and Tatara invited him into the bar. Anna got scared after seeing him and came up here with me, but she won't say why."

I felt Anna shiver in my grasp, and I looked down at the small girl as my grip on her tightened. "Anna, sweetheart, why are you so scared?"

Anna pulled back slightly in my grasp to look up at me with fearful crimson eyes. "I couldn't read him," she said in a small voice. "My marbles couldn't read him. That's never happened before."

My blue eyes widened in disbelief. Anna's strain ability allowed her to read the minds of others when she looks through her marbles, and she can also track anyone through them. I shot my head to Mikoto as he stood up.

"Both of you stay here," he ordered in his deep voice. "Fushimi let's go."

"Hey!" I protested. "I'm not a part of your clan! You can't order me around!"

Mikoto ignored me and Saruhiko gave me an apologetic look as followed his King. I carefully moved Anna and went after Mikoto, only to have him close the door behind him. I had just reached the door when I heard the click of the lock, and I banged on the door.

"Mikoto!" I tried again. The guy's footsteps faded down the hall and I sighed, leaning my forehead on the door. "Royal Asshole!"

"Kana," the soft voice of Anna called to me. I looked over at her and she was holding her hands in front of her chest. "The man has an eyepatch. Is he here for you?"

My eyes softened at her. With Anna's ability, she found out about my situation not long ago, and I told her about the others that might come to see me soon. Her and Tatara were the only ones that knew about it; however, Anna knew the full extent that led me here. I walked up to her and bent down so I could look into her eyes. "I think he's here to check on me," I told her. "He's never been one for loose ends."

Suddenly, we hear Yata's voice shouting down in the bar. I sighed knowing none of them would have any problems with a fight. I walked back over to the door and hovered my hand over the lock. I channeled my power to unlock the door. Once it was open, I turned to Anna and offered her my hand.

She ran up and started to walk towards the stairs. The shouts kept getting louder and it wasn't just Yata; now Rikio and even Saruhiko were arguing. When we walked into the bar area, the heat that was coming off of them was stifling. Mikoto was standing directly in front of the man with an eye patch. Mikoto had his hands at his sides with a deep glare in place, and the other man had his hands in the side pockets of his brown western duster.

Yata, Saruhiko, and Rikio were standing in a semi-circle on one side of the room, around the guy: glares all in place. Izumo was standing behind the bar with a glare and the rag in his hand starting to smoke. Tatara was even glaring at the man with a frown. I sighed quietly, only the gods know what he said to set them off. For the others, it would be easy, but Saruhiko, Izumo, and Tatara were the levelheaded ones; it took a lot to piss them off.

"Alright, that's enough out of all of you," I spoke in a commanding tone. "Yagari, get your hand off the guy."

All of the men in the room turned to look at Anna and me. The man, Yagari, took his hands out of his pockets, but the heat in the room remained. It only increased when Yata went to protest. "But he was insulting you! We're not just gonna let that slide!"

"She's not a part of your clan," Yagari's deep even voice countered. "You have no say to defend her."

Yata growled in response.

"Enough!" I yelled and turned a glare to Yagari. "Yagari, just shut up for now." I then looked to Yata. "Yagari has always been confrontational. He'll say things to get you to attack first, but he doesn't always mean it. You're angry, which is what he wants, so cool it."

The heat began to recede from the room, but the tension was still there. Yagari continued to stare at me, as though trying to see if I was as stable as I looked. He then reached into the inside of his jacket and threw me something. Catching it, I saw it was my work PDA. I snapped my head up with a glare.

"I'm on vacation Yagari," I told him. "I left this behind for a reason."

"Well, I need you for this one," he said plainly, and turned to walk to the door. "I'll wait outside."

Before I could protest, the door closed behind him. I growled quietly to myself and pinched the bridge of my nose. I could feel Mikoto's burning stare on me, but I tried to ignore it. "Annoying bastard," I grumbled.

"Who was that guy?" Izumo asked curiously, but still clearly annoyed.

I blew out a deep breath to calm my anger and opened the orders on my PDA while I answered. "His name is Toga Yagari. He's my uncle and one of the bosses for my work."

"Your uncle?" Tatara repeated in confusion. "I've never heard you talk about him before."

I put the PDA in the pocket of my black leather jacket after scanning the orders. "He's my father's younger brother and we don't have the best relationship. Surprisingly though, he's one of the three that I can actually stand to work with. I'll see you tomorrow. He's not gonna wait forever."

"You said that you were on vacation, so why listen to him?" Saruhiko asked, crossing his arms. "And what kind of work requires a gun?"

"Well, like I said, he's one of my bosses, so he can call me back whenever he feels like it," I answered with a shrug. "As for the second question, that is a long story that I'm not sure you would believe. However, if I don't go now, Yagari will be even more unbearable then he usually is. Tatara, can you explain it?"

Tatara looked at me with shock and concern. "Are you sure Kana? I know that no one is really allowed to know."

I smiled at him and nodded. "I'm sure. I fully trust them, so it's not an issue." I then patted Anna's head with a smile and walked towards the doors with a wave over my shoulder; still feeling Mikoto's stare on my back. "See you guys later."

I walked out the door and over to where Yagari was leaning against a sleek black truck. "Was all that really necessary? What exactly did you say to them?" I questioned him as I got into the passenger seat.

Yagari got it and started driving towards the location for the job. "All I said was that I was surprised you would hang around a place like that," he told me in a bored tone. "Although, I might have commented on you being in rough times."

"Honestly, Yagari, getting them riled up on purpose, but you actually noticed," I said sarcastically. "I'm surprised that you actually cared enough to pay attention."

Those that knew me, knew that I don't like to hang around humans very much. But that was only due to having bad experiences with other humans in the past.

"They're different," I defended in a quiet voice, after a few moment of silence. "I don't feel like I need to change or hide my personality around them. It's not because of Tatara anymore, but I consider them family."

"I figured that," Yagari commented, not looking at me. "You wouldn't have requested for their protection otherwise."

"You know that if the Senate finds out that I'm here, they could be used against me," I told him harshly. "Or they could be harmed after I'm gone."

I was looking out of the window in sadness, and I missed Yagari looking at me with a thoughtful and worried expression. "Well, the request has been granted," he stated, and I looked to him in surprise. "They won't be touched by anyone."

I smiled slightly at him and sighed in relief. "Thank you."

We drove in silence until we got to our destination: the docks. The orders were that there was a nest of Level E's that had made one of the storage houses their home. So far, they kept a low profile, which is highly unusual. But all the same, they needed to be taken care of. As we stopped in front of the correct storage house, Yagari turned to look at me. He was holding his anti-vampire gun at his side.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I scoffed and took out my Bloody Rose gun from where I kept it strapped to my lower back. "When am I not?" I countered, flipping the safety off.