-Oxford - Saturday: Part 5-

Tyler watched as General Kendi Brown stared down at him. He had at first thought this man would be a pushover, someone who was just political but without saying a word he had felt he had no choice but to send his own officer to deal with that Japanese child. 'Why is she even here?' He doubted it had anything to do with being in this man's care at the moment and that due to her family has gone back to the Palace why hadn't they taken her with them? 'Perhaps they are removing her from the family...' he felt a glimmer of hope for his nation before mentally shaking his head, 'No if that was the case they wouldn't have her still under protection, would they?' His eyes turned towards the room where Gayle King was with a boy, someone who had reported the missing street person, Susan with no known last name. He didn't like them being here, he wanted them to leave, he had given them enough time alone with the guy.

"If you would get down to what you want, Tyler." Brown's voice made it clear that he had no desire to deal with him.

Tyler suppressed the shudder that went down his spine. Tyler knew right then and there that to this man he had no worth, what he couldn't understand was why this man before him seemed to act like he was above him. Sure he might be part of the military, but it wasn't as if they were doing any real fighting in the world. It wasn't exactly peace but no one was stupid enough to mess with them at least not physically. "Yeah, well this is a dead end don't you think?"

Brown's eyes turned towards the window slightly, "The only thing this is doing is proving your negligence."

Tyler's eyes narrowed as he looked at the man before him, "Do tell." He personally didn't believe that this man before him would dare to insult him, in many ways wasn't they exactly the same? Men with power, men with influence, men who spent more time in the political world? 'Is he the bastard grandson to some noble maybe?' It wouldn't be uncommon for bastards to join the political world seeing as they could not use their titles without making their family look bad but even a bastard had more worth than some girl who only had an honorable title in the first place. 'Shouldn't he distaste that child more? We should be on the same side.'

Brown didn't bother to look at him but he noticed the look on his face, even if it was only in profile form. That man wasn't even taken anything they were talking about seriously. "That is something you should figure out for yourself. Is that all you wish to discuss?"

"No, that's not all I want to discuss!" he snapped. He couldn't believe that he was being so disrespected, a man who only served as a political soldier, in a nation that had no real wars with anyone. That was just how powerful they were as a nation, as an empire. They were the largest nation in the world. Yet all anyone saw was America as the leading force, because of how weak they had become, there foolish King had ended up siding with Japan, taken one of their women to be a Queen, the bloodline was tainted but that was fine as long as they didn't taint the bloodline any further, the Queen was a weak leader but that was simply because she was a woman. Her brother had been different, if only he had lived long enough to rule, to have an heir, then there would be no risk of more Japanese blood mingling into the royal family. 'No if only the Queen had married one of her father's siblings or even one of their children. Our nation will end up being ruined by the Japanese in the end. Our great history will become to an end.'

General Kendi Brown was shown to be listening but that was not truly the case, an unmoving force, that was who the man he was created to be, but that was also who he was as the Ankou, the cell phone in his hand, he didn't need to look at, a serious of messages that he could type without ever looking, while he could not read the messages that were fine, they had a system. They were all one body, one soul, they all served the Crown and the Crown cared about the girl and had made it clear that they were to keep her safe. Though who had come up with the order did not matter, the Crown gave the order and that order would be followed.

The words echoed in his mind 'Ankou hear me, the child Kyoko Mary-Leiko Takarada must be protected.' As the so-called head of the Ankou, it was his job to assure that the orders such as these be followed as needed.

I need eyes on Hana. - Ankou 3rd Eye

All he needed was there to be someone near that was not King. It wasn't uncommon, that their paths would cross and they weren't even stationed here normally, but with the Crown's orders, they had more people in this general area for that one reason. While he rather had kept it between him and King when it came to Kyoko there was nothing that King could do in her placement at the moment. Besides with the 3rd Eye added it was clearly coming from him and being sent to all the Ankou. So there was no reason for her to check her message and even if she did she would not respond. There was no way at this moment she could get eyes on Kyoko. Tyler was nothing more than an annoyance that he has Brown had to deal with. He could do his job as Brown and as the leader of the Ankou. One set of vibrations, only one had been needed in his location. He had just that he mentally sighed hoping that all would be well, that the feeling he had was nothing at all. It wasn't as if they didn't have someone with eyes on the Crown at all time, he might not be there but that again was not unnormal either. So all was that was important was that Kyoko was: Safe?

Three vibrations. His eyes narrowed, 'Unknown?' His head turned towards the door, Tyler was nowhere near being done it seemed 'Of all the times to be stuck as Brown.' Allowing Brown to slip into him once more he sighed as if he was dealing with a child, he had to take care of this quickly and he didn't have time to waste on him this baboon of a human being. "Then get on with it. What else do you need to say?" His thumb trailed across the digital keys: Find her now.

"What else?" The man before him huffed his hand throwing upwards, "It just seems to me that you are all on a rat chase on my department and I want to know why."

"I think it's pretty clear that you have a rat in your department, based on all the information in those very files. It is also clear you have no desire to do your job. You are too worried about your titles to show any honor or respect for this office. Let alone the British Empire. Now get out of my way." He said moving pass towards him. He dialed King's number lifting the phone to ear, it connected before the first ring ever went through, "We are leaving. Leave the said hanging up his call.

Reino's eyes trailed after the little grudge, he still hadn't come up with a name to call it unless 'Pet' was a name but it really hated being called that to the point he already lost three phones and most of all he was sure that didn't have a barrier up around the room, the damn thing would of had left dents, cracks and maybe even holes. Sighing heavily he had to admit that it was not what he expected from a Grudge or more correctly, it had some of the characteristics found with souls who have become grudges if you didn't take into account that he had no idea how many Kyoko could summon if that's what she was doing, the fact that Kyoko was indeed alive, or the fact they clearly had other emotions besides those twisted with whatever had turned them into a grudge in the first place.

Hate was the key to turning a soul into a grudge, but that hate had to be filled with so much anger, frustration and perhaps even annoyance, that was why grudges were able to draw upon those emotions. Like a normal grudge, this little one seemed to have its own sort of energy and ability to use that to cause issues for the living. However, it also had the ability to be affectionate, more than once he had found the little grudge trying to comfort him when he was lost in his own thoughts almost as if it was pulling him back towards reality. It was completely in love with Tomi which he couldn't understand at all, 'Not unless Kyoko is in love with him...' as he watched it move back and forth he sighed heavily.

Part of him doubted it was as simple as that if only based on the reaction it had when they were together. The way it seemed to even like Shizuru, not in the same way compared to Tomi or him but it was there. Actually the more he thought about it, the little grudge seemed to have a fondness for all of them, but in different levels. 'It's just not normal. Then again that girl does seem to have a part of Tomi's soul inside of her skull, how the hell is that even possible?' Which brought him right back around to the one question that always popped up in his mind when he laid there on his best trying to understand something he never once seen, "What exactly are you?"

That was the one question that he always ended up back on. The little grudge looked at him placing a finger towards its lips as if telling him it was a secret. He closed his eyes, "Brat" he muttered towards the little grudge before he felt a shiver run through his spin and his eyes opened the little grudge was falling towards the ground. Jumping from the bed he caught her before looking at her carefully. 'Something's wrong...' his eyes turned towards the window of his hotel room before he pulled the little grudge towards him. "What happened to her..." his eyes looked down the little thing that as his finger touched the side of its face hoping for some reaction, it was almost as if it died. 'No... it can't be' but that was the issue with dealing with the supernatural things like this. They didn't breath, they had no real sign of life at all to them.

Tomi stared at a few images that he had gathered, it seemed Kuon was still in the city, most of all he looked like himself. If he didn't take into account the fact that everything about the way he was carrying himself was a lie. 'Acting, so close to your true looks why?' It was already a pretty known fact that he stalked the man, not that anyone knew exactly who he why he was stalking Kuon Hizuri only that people knew that this young man was his. The whole reason he even had these images at all was that one of his friends had noticed he looked a lot like Kuon and thought he might enjoy a new toy. He didn't bother to correct him, but what he found most interesting was the fact that he was with Kyoko, true she looked much older, closer to eighteen but it was her without a doubt.

Before he could focus much more on why his eyes shot toward the window of his hotel room. The sudden pain in his skull told him something was wrong, but he was far to train to let it distracted him all that mattered was something was seriously wrong. 'Kyoko...' his eyes narrowed as he picked up his phone and dialed Kuon.

A/N: Hana for the Ankou has a different meaning, in this case, they are using it from the language Maori which means to shine, glow, or radiate. Fun fact, t they refer to Leiko as Aster [which is also a type of flower] but using it from the Greek origin Greek meaning for star.