"Hahahahaha!" a maniacal voice screamed, as he slashed around with knife at the innocent people passing by. A deranged man with a strange glow in his eyes, he had already injured three people and was approaching a fourth, a young girl with a bonnet. Her leg had already been cut (not off, but just injured), and she had fallen to the ground in pain.
"Please, please! Someone! Help me! Get him away from me!"
"Time to die, little doll!"
The man lunged at the girl with his knife, only to suddenly get blasted clean and clear by a powerful torrent of red spectral flame.
"...you know, at least from what I feel, girls these days dont like to be called dolls" said the voice of another young girl. Only, unlike the other girl, she seemed far more composed, and three red marbles flew around in a circle above her hand. But that was just a normal thing for her, as she was Anna of Homra. "Besides, you should be thankful I am the one who decided to fight you".
"What the hell was that?! I didn't even say anything!" he shouted, and then suddenly disappeared. He re-appeared behind Anna, about to strike and... "Guh?!"
He was kicked to the side by Yata, who did not look happy in the slightest.
"I warned you".
"Shut up! Stop just jumping around the conversation you stupid brat!"
"Hey, shitface! No one talks to Anna like that!"
"Shut up you stupid moron!"
"...I dont even need my power to figure out what will happen now..."
Yata came and rushed forward, as the man had tried to attack Anna, insulted Anna, and insulted himself all within a minute. It was as if he had a death wish or something, and so Yata came to strike at him...only he disappeared again and re-appeared behind Anna. He seemed to have some sort of fixation. However, he was once again blasted away from Anna, this time with her own power, with incredible force.
"I cant believe some psycho came and decided to cause trouble now of all times".
"It probably is not a coincidence. We may not know who has the Slate, but we do know the new Colorless King snuck past everyone".
"So you think it was whoever became the new Colorless King that stole the Slate?"
"Not necessarily" she said, as she sent several flame projectiles at the crazy slasher. "I didn't want to mention this sooner, but the possibility exists that whoever led the attack and theft, and whoever actually stole the Slate, could be completely different people. In all the chaos, we never confirmed if they were all in one faction".
Anna was not sure who stole the Slate either, and she had already tried to use her powers to find out who. Of course, it did not help her own information was limited. That said, if one put away the distrust people could have towards Homra sometimes...or often...it was blatantly obvious they did not have the Slate.
In the first place, in what universe is Homra good at being the sneaky types?
No, I suppose if it was Kusanagi, he could have done it...
Maybe Homra was not entirely off the hook, but...at the very least, anyone who actually thought Anna or Yata were involved was an idiot or didn't know them well. Even Awashima likely did not believe truthfully they were involved, though that posed the question on why she seemed adamant to state it as such.
"Yata...tell me honestly, how likely do you think that the new Blue King could be involved in the theft?"
Although she expected an instant reply like "of course" or "Those damn blues", neither of the answers came from the Yata before her. Even if he looked essentially the same, having long past the period of major physical growth, although in truth barely anyone in Homra had shown much age since that day, his mental growth was clear.
"Honestly? I cant be sure of her. On one hand, she seems legitimate in her desire to help people, but...and dont tell Kusanagi I said this, but she tends to be prideful and arrogant. I heard she tried to stop Mikoto from escaping, even though she was ordered not to stop him at all, because she thought she could. Not to mention, there was the incident nine years ago..."
"Yes. I suppose that incident could put her in either light. But then, the Nanakamado Research Center was a stressful place..."
"Hey, Anna. Its okay. You dont need to think of that place anymore..."
"...thanks. For now, lets try to deal with all of the other issu..."
Suddenly, a powerful sniper bullet was fired from a rooftop, and came right at Anna's head. However, it instead impacted a red barrier and melted into nothing.
"What the hell?! Stay here Anna, I will go deal with that idiot!"
Yata immediately charged toward where the building the sniper in was, while Anna sighed.
"Well, I guess his mental growth is only somewhat better. Charging in as usual...wait, did he just tell me to stay here in perfect view of the sniper...I will have to talk to Kusanagi again..."
"Die!"
The slasher then came back to try and stab Anna, only to get blown away.
"Honestly though...why did all these Strains suddenly go berserk?"
"Well, Shiro? Mind explaining?" Sukuna asked as he balanced his scythe on his shoulders, watching as the now transformed King watched from a rooftop as Kuroh fought a strain with Super Strength. "You know something about the outburst of strain violence, right?"
"Maybe, though I cant be certain yet, but...it is related to the Slate most likely..."
"Can you just answer clearly for a change?"
"Sorry, its just my nature" Shiro told him with a smile. "But, the possibility exists that these people only just became Strains today".
"The pulse from the Dresden Slate...its the cause of all this, isn't it? Including us? Its hard to notice, since they are all adults, but I was right wasn't I, about the Slate?"
"Back on that I see..."
"You never answered me clearly, after all. Just, what about that damn thing makes you not want to answer clearly?"
At those words, Shiro just remained silent while humming a little, taking this all rather calmly and casually.
"Its because after ten years, you never asked the right question" said a voice that almost made Sukuna launch an all out attack behind him. BUt he had calmed and changed too a bit in the last ten years, enough to not attack Fushimi Saruhiko on sight the moment he appeared. "Well done, Silver King, you trained him well".
A bolt of green lightning suddenly went flying past Fushimi's head.
"You know, you dont always have to respond with sarcasm and looking down on them. Also, I am not the Silver King right now. Toru is".
"Yeah, right. I am not sure how you pulled that off, but there is only one eternal Silver King".
"What the hell are you doing here, traitor!"
"Now now Suku-chan, dont let him bother you like that".
Hearing those words, Sukuna seemed to calm down, though he was still clearly wary of the man and had his scythe ready.
"I am not wrong though. He is a traitor. Homra, Sceptor 4, Jungle. How many people will you betray?"
"Hey, I never officially betrayed Sceptor 4 you know...anyways, I just came here to talk this time. I have some questions myself you know".
At those words, a gust of wind hit Fushimi and nearly knocked him off the edge of the rooftop.
"Rather impressive, Silver King. I take it you know what I will ask? I would have asked Anna to look for it, but I suspect you have some method of blocking it".
"The answer is Germany, as you and the others very well know".
"Come on now. We both know that is only part of the story" Fushimi asked, a brightness in his eyes that contrasts his usual lazy and bored appearance. "Sukuna, allow me to ask the right questions. Where did the Slate come from? What is it made of? Who made it? And of course..."
Suddenly, Shiro's aura flared in a way that Sukuna had never seen before.
"Shiro, are you okay?! Hey, what the hell! Stop Fushimi!"
Sukuna brandished his scythe towards the man who seemed to have upset Shiro, and summoned his Sword of Damocles.
"What, didn't you want these answers as well, Green King? Dont you want to know where the sword that hangs over your head, that threatens your very life, came from? Don't you want to know who made the Slate? Or...if there are others like it around the world?"
Those words seemed to break Sukuna's focus. It was a concept that he had never thought of, and no one had ever even brought up.
"If one Dresden Slate can be made, why not another? After all, the famous Silver King is smart enough to think of better solutions, then doing a Damocles Down on the Slate. Unless of course, he wanted to hide some evidence that is".
"Fushimi, what the hell are you saying?!" Sukuna shouted, pushing through the shock in his mind and launching an attack on Fushimi. Fushimi then blocked the attack with a barrier, and used his sword to repel Sukuna himself. Sukuna however had anticipated this, and the moment Fushimi thought he had everything, a green lightning bolt struck him from behind and injured him.
"...the lightning bolt from before huh? Clever" Fushimi complimented, as he stood back up.
"Why dont you just admit it! You stole the Dresden Slate, didn't you!" Sukuna shouted, enraged at the person who upset Shiro like that.
"Wow. Still a child, but it seems you finally grew attached to someone. I guess you can act rational for five seconds after all. Or, did that incident shake you up more then I thought?"
Shiro finally turned around, and faced Fushimi.
"Did you steal the Slate?"
"You still have not answered any of my questions".
The tension seemed to raise for a moment, as the two looked at each other. Sukuna had never seen Shiro so serious before...
And then he tiled his head and smile, his expression relaxing if nothing was wrong. "Gotcha!"
This completely threw Fushimi off, and nearly made him fall over.
"You know, you might be the first in a long time to actually try and upset me. Most people didn't you know? Its rather interesting, but although a few tried to draw me out, I dont think anyone ever made it their objective to upset me in quite some time".
Fushimi could not help but show shock and surprise.
"What now, dont tell me that was all an act..."
"I was trying to practice a little. I have some experience helping with School Plays, but people say I am not very good at pretending to be angry. Was I convincing?"
At those words, Fushimi twitched a little, and Sukuna burst into laughter as he fell on his back.
"Wow! I am usually not to into this sort of stuff, but that look on that traitor's face! Brilliant! Just brilliant!"
"Tsk. I guess I will have to continue this later. I do have a job to do after all" Fushimi growled, and jumped off the top of the roof. Once he was gone, Sukuna got up and stopped laughing.
"You okay, Shiro?"
"Yeah. I was not expecting those questions so soon. Still, I think we got more intelligence out of him then he got out of us".
"I think we should add him to the suspect pool of who stole the Slate, and make him the main suspect".
"His interest in the Slate is concerning for sure, but its possible he came to ask me because he doesn't have it".
"I dont suppose you snuck it away when I wasn't looking...actually, dont tell me. Who knows if the Gold or Blue clan had someone like Anna".
"You really think I would steal the Slate before everyone else?"
"I think there is a reason you are not answering the question of my growth" he said, tapping his scythe. "But, after that day, I trust you Shiro. I still will keep asking, and looking on my own, but I wont betray everyone like Fushimi does. I am better then that".
"I see...still, you don't plan on leaving it as is do you?"
Sukuna had a mischevous smile appear on his face.
"Not a chance, that bastard is totally planning something. He might have come to accuse you of stealing the Slate, but...I think he is the one we should trust the least".
Shiro sighed casually as this was said.
"I suppose nothing I can say would change that, but lets focus on the current Strain attack".
"Sure. But, there is one thing you should give up trying to hide and just admit" Sukuna replied, passing along a smile full of mischief and friendship. "The re-awakening of the Slate absolutely caused all these people and things to go berserk".
Shiro figured as well, it was blatantly obvious this was the Slate's fault.
"...at least it means it is still in the city".
"...Munakata is your dad? Well, I will admit, I did not factor that into my plans".
"Glad to see I can still pull one over on the Colorless King. That said, would you mind terribly if you told me who you were?"
"Dad, what are you doing here?"
Munakata looked over at his son, and gave his usual smile.
"Why, to help instruct you on how to deal with this of course. When I saw the Sword of Damocles appear earlier, I just..."
Munakata narrowed his eyes in the usual dramatic way he did things.
"...knew you were chosen for greatness".
AHHHHK! Dad is being super creepy again!
Kouta completely percieved his dad's actions as extremely creepy and odd, and understood how he managed to creep out his mom enough to get a divorce. To the two of them, the way Munakata could act sometimes was really, really odd and creepy.
"How interesting though. THe way the Kings were chosen this time...I wonder if the Slate has its own consciousness. What do you think, Colorless King? Or, are you the brown king, with that dirt on your shoes?"
"...dad is talking about weird stuff again..."
"No, Kouta. This is extremely important. Perhaps I need to give you a personal study session later..."
The way his voice sounds when he says that...its so creepy!
"After all, I find it hard to believe that the Colorless King, after so long, would reveal himself so easily. So tell me, who are you really?"
"Why, I am the Colorless King..."
"...I dont believe you. There is way more to this. Why wear that cloak and hood? Why come and face the Orange King personally? You are not the real Colorless King, are you?"
Suddenly, the figure in the cloak began to chuckle...and the voice disruptor seemed to turn off. The figure took off the hood and mask, and the revelation was one that shocked even Munakata.
"What? Not happy to see me?" Mikoto Suoh asked as he smiled at Munakata. At the same time, a red flame appeared all around him.
Munakata also surrounded himself in a blue aura, to protect himself from the ferocious fire.
"...dead men should not walk..." Munakata said, finally unnerved a bit by something. After all, this had exceeded his expectations.
In the next second, Munakata charged right at him with his sabre drawn, not even having the time for a normal release. He unleashed several slashes, but all of them were blocked by Mikoto's red aura.
"You are weaker..."
"So are you..."
The two grinned at each other as they clashed, forcing Kouta to once again deem them both creepy in his mind.
Azi turned the corner once more as he ran through the building, and came across another girl getting attacked by the weird monster thing. He quickly created a blade and cut it in half before it could harm her, and then charged forward down the hall. He had done this quite a few times now, the school was far larger then he anticipated.
"Damnit! What the hell is with this school?! Its like some sort of illusion or maze!"
Azi once again turned another corner, and saw someone else about to be crushed by a monster. He once again tore through it, but after that, he stopped.
"...wait a second. There is something wrong here. These hallways...they are all identical..."
"Awww, and I was having so much fun watching you run around, Azi-chan".
Suddenly, the girl disappeared, and instead he heard a voice come from behind him. He had heard this voice only once or twice before, it was a voice he knew all too well.
"Now tell me, don't you think its about time you stopped pretending to be a King and just surrender to us?"
Azi turned his head around, and came face to face with someone who should be dead. Who had to be dead. Who could not be alive.
Nagare Hisui stood there, without any wheelchair, with a look in his eyes that sent shivers down Azi's spine.
"No...way..."
"Good, you understand. You lack the ability to be a King, after all. A level 1 character cannot fight level 100 bosses".
Hearing those words, a combination of fear and panic overcame Azi, but Azi still raised his sword and kept up his guard.
"I...I...I am not alone! I dont know who you are, but taking that face wont intimidate me!"
"Oh, do you mean the current Blue King? I am afraid she is a bit...pre-occupied, with a sempai of hers who can show her what a real Blue King is like. Now tell me, do you honestly think you can stand against the one who was once your King?"
"Ahhhg!" Seri Awashima shouted as she was repelled by another swordsman, one of superior quality and skill then her own. The former Blue King, Jin Habari.
"Come on now, are you telling me that you are really a King? If you want to be a leader of the Blue Clan, you will have to work harder then that".
Fushimi continued to walk down the road calmly, towards his next objective, when he finally stopped.
"Sukuna-chan, shouldn't you be playing somewhere else? With your new master maybe?"
Sukuna stepped out of a nearby alley, scythe in hand.
"If you are trying to piss me off, dont bother. Your face does that just fine".
"Maybe...but, didn't your master say to leave me be?"
"No. My friend suggested to focus on the current issues. At least, that is how I remember it. And I figure one of two things, either you stole the slate, and are causing all this trouble, or you have intel on who did, but for some reason are not sharing it. So, I might as well beat the truth out of you".
At those words, Fushimi called upon Red, Blue, and Green Auras from him all at the same time as he drew his sword.
"Really now? You think you can fight me?"
In response, Sukuna called upon the green aura, and the Sword of Damocles appeared over his head.
"Yeah, I do. Now, how about you fight me for real?"
Fushimi looked at the sword, and then at Sukuna.
"So you still have it then? Good to know".
"What?"
"Oh, I guess you dont know yet. For some reason, Nagare Hisui has appeared in front of the new Purple King, your former clansman, and has engaged him in combat".
Those words caused Sukuna to lose his composure a bit.
"What?! But he died!"
"Indeed. Makes you wonder, is this the doing of the Slate, or the supposed Colorless King? Or maybe, the Orange Clan?"
"Shut up! What the hell do you know?!"
"Oh come now, is this really where you want to be? Your King is waiting for you to appear. Or, are you letting what happened nine years ago to get to you?"
"SHUT UP!" Sukuna yelled, coming at Fushimi with full force. Fushimi drew his sword, and along with a barrier repelled the attack. Sukuna tried to make use of his speed and his strength as a King to his advantage, but Fushimi kept composed and used Blue Aura to defend, Green Aura to manipulate, and then Red Aura to attack. The combination of these three factors resulted in Sukuna getting pushed back.
"You are still way too young to beat me, Sukuna-chan".
"Damnit...you damned traitor!"
"Just smart. YOu cant beat me when you are so sloppy".
And with those words, Fushimi jumped up and ran off into the city, not providing any answers to Sukuna. Or at least, that was what he thought. Sukuna took out his cell phone, and called Shiro.
"Hey, I had to endure a lot, but I placed the tracker as requested. Anyways, it seems like something is going on over..." Sukuna started to say, as he looked over towards where the other kings were...and saw huge flashes of light, and several Swords of Damocles.
"...I will call you back later. That damned Fushimi, he knew this would distract me!"
AN: All the distrust! All the drama! Its wonderful! And now, we have Fushimi heavily involved, and dead people fighting! Will Munakata manage to finish the fight before his son views him with dead eyes and lots of concern over his mental state? Guess we will have to keep reading to find out!