Disclaimer: I do not own the anime, manga, novels, and most importantly the characters of K. K is officially owned by GoRa/GoHands.
Author's Note: Hi guys! I am SO sorry for the hiatus (about half a year)! My god, I can't begin to express how thankful I am for you readers still keeping tab on this fanfic! As I forewarned in my previous two chapters, I couldn't update for a long time because of volunteer work and SAT classes and even when the new school year began I still had very little free time to work on fanfics because I had to focus on my college applications. I can't believe I'm going to college in less than a year you guys! I'm so scared I won't get into my dream college in California (yeah I'm a Californian) but I've been hard at work on my essays, supplements, and apps. Half of the school year has recently ended but I'm still finishing up college apps, focusing on AP classes, and working on getting my drivers license so updates will still be slow. I'm sorry! Thank you for bearing with me all this time! As thanks for being such awesome and beautiful readers and also in early celebration of Christmas I made sure this chapter is super long (25 pages on Word Doc). Please enjoy, and again, THANK YOU. I love you guys.
K: Preserving the Blaze of Your Red
BY: TCOOKIES777
Chapter 9: Scavenger Hunt
Like a road crossed by light
Time flows into silence
Those who become lost on their short paths
Give way to rebirth once again
Your smile dissolved
The cloudiness within my heart
Tell me how many pieces are needed
To weave my dream into existence?
Distance without end
And the limitless depth
I caught Destiny in my hands
Grasping again and again
Losing again and again
And so by every chance we meet
"It's Daifukumochi."
"It's Dango."
"Daifukumochi."
"Dango."
"Dai. Fu. Ku. Mo. Chi."
"Dango."
"It's Daifukumochi!"
"…."
"…."
"…. Dango."
"Tsk! Let's look at the clue again," Fushimi tiredly grumbled as he pulled out the envelope that Munakata had handed to him. In red were the words, "Scavenger Hunt" labeling the slip. Inside the envelope was a scrap of paper with the sentence "I am a rosy red rice cake that is often paired with a cup of tea! Bite the right me to find the next clue!"
"Hm, well it's definitely a mochi sweet." The Blue clansman noted more to himself than the girl beside him.
"It's dango." Anna stated firmly. She was absolutely sure of it. "It often goes with green tea."
"And how do you know?" Fushimi questioned her. "Dango shops are very rare to find here."
He saw Anna blink thoughtfully for a moment before answering him quietly. "Totsuka brought the others and I along to a dango shop he had stumbled upon one day…. It was.. a long time ago…. But I know there's a place nearby."
Though he still believed the item they were searching for was Daifuku, Fushimi decided arguing with her was pointless. "Even if it were dango, in a city like this, I doubt there are any dango shops in this vicinity and—" He stopped when he noticed Anna way ahead of him heading around a corner. "Damn it—hey! Wait! Anna!"
He couldn't afford to lose sight of the brat! Not when his captain had personally assigned Fushimi to take care of her, and especially not when she was under the care of that red clan of idiots.
A small itch from where Fushimi had seared his tattoo tingled as he imagined the hot wrath that would be incurred upon him if Homura would find even a scratch on Anna. So Fushimi was extremely relieved when he turned the corner to discover the Strain waiting for him in front of a small shop, and he was slightly irritated to find that said shop turned out to be the dango shop he had earlier claimed was no where around.
As he walked past Anna to enter the shop, he couldn't help but relax when she didn't speak up about how she was right and he wrong. Of course, it was unlike her to brag anyways but, still, he couldn't shake off the feeling that she had… changed. Sure, Anna had always been mature—not to mention she often seemed to maintain the aura of that of a priestess for some reason. However, she seemed to be even more mature than before. Knowing it was her birthday and she was maturing into a young lady by the days, Fushimi guessed the reason for the mysterious change was… well, puberty. She was an adolescent girl after all. Even so—and Fushimi was uncertain if it the prescription of his glasses were to blame or not—Anna also looked different in terms of looks. He had last seen her about a month ago but surely a pubescent child doesn't just grow two inches in that short amount of time right?
"Must be a huge growth spurt…" He muttered aloud as Anna reached over the counter to ring the bell for the shopkeeper to come.
"Hm?" Anna glanced at him questioningly.
Fushimi clicked his tongue. "I said, 'this better be the right place'."
Whether Anna had caught him in the lie, it didn't matter because that was the perfect moment for the shopkeeper to come bustling in.
"Welcome!" The pudgy woman sang in a bubbly voice after wiping her flour-stained hands on an apron. "Anythin' I can help ya youngsters with?"
Fushimi, by instinct, took out his badge and presented it to the woman. "On behalf of Scepter 4, I require your cooperation…" He peered at the shopkeeper's name tag. "Takamura-san."
"Scepter 4? Never heard of 'em!" Takamura shook her head before stopping abruptly with a look of awe and adoration as she properly gazed upon the two. "Aw! Are ya two siblings?"
"What!" Fushimi groaned internally. "No—"
"Ah, I know! Ya must be playing a game with each other!" She continued to gush.
Well, she's not exactly wrong there, Fushimi thought. "No, this is strictly business—"
"What an adorable little sister ya have!" Takamura cooed, ignoring Fushimi's explanation. "As her older brother, ya must cherish her quite a lot, ain't I right?"
"Uh…" He shifted his feet uneasily.
"And where are ya parents? They must be lucky to have such beautiful children!"
"I don't have any." Anna simply said, to which Fushimi began to sweatdrop uncomfortably.
But the shopkeeper was very talkative and very relentless… or perhaps just oblivious and an airhead. "Oh, so your big brother here must take very good care of ya, huh? Such a nice big brother!" She went on to scrutinize their appearances critically. "Ya know ya both look like somethin' outta a fairytale. A lovely girl dressed like a princess and bein' accompanied by her knight in… err, fancy blue suits… with one of them sabers too—wow, that looks almost too real!"
"Ma'am", Fushimi's eyebrows were twitching into a frown as he did his best to hold back his irritation. "I'll have you know that this—"
Once again, he was interrupted but this time by Anna who had tugged on his sleeve and was now surreptitiously shaking her head to prevent him from saying any further. They did, after all, need the shopkeeper's cooperation.
Takamura giggled. "I dunno where ya got your cosplay outfit from mister—" Saruhiko's eye twitched. "–but that just shows how passionately immersed in this game ya are with the lil' missus here. Your love for her must be deeper than that blue cosplay outfit ya got on." Takamura sighed. "Ah, sibling love!"
At that, Anna and Fushimi simultaneously slid their eyes to stare at each other from the side in discomfort and uncertainty.
"Oh, where are my manners!" Takamura snapped to attention, blushing madly as she realized she'd been keeping them. "Dear me—I tend to ramble a lot when I find something cute. That's why I take care of this shop cause I find sweets to be so adorable looking and—oh, dear, I'm doing it again! Sorry, what can I get ya, sugars?"
Saruhiko cleared his throat and resumed his business as he had been strictly speaking earlier. "We are searching for any red dang—" He paused awkwardly and silence filled in shortly.
Anna spoke up, following her own instincts. "Strawberry dango, please."
"Wait, how will we know which is the right dango to bite?" Saruhiko asked Anna, remembering what the first clue was. I am a rosy red rice cake that is often paired with a cup of tea! Bite the right me to find the next clue!
Before Anna could respond, Takamura cut in once more. "Oh my golly! Are you that pair?"
"What pair?" Saruhiko frowned in confusion.
"You know…" Takamura looked both ways—despite that no one else was in the shop but them—and then leaned forward to whisper, "that pair…."
"Uh…." Saruhiko looked to Anna for help but she shrugged helplessly. Couldn't she use her marbles or something? "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Not too long ago, a strange, rowdy bunch stormed through here in a hurry." The shopkeeper explained. "At first they were terrifying, coming in looking to start a fight. But then their request was even stranger, I tell ya!"
"Their request?"
"They asked if I could prepare a special order for a certain girl that would be sure to come very soon. They said she would have the appearance of an albino princess; silky white hair and wine red eyes. They said a knight like you would likely accompany her and that supposedly it's her birthday! Oh, happy birthday, dear!"
"Thank you." Anna nodded.
Saruhiko's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Do you remember what they looked like?"
The pudgy shopkeeper frowned thoughtfully. "There was one short boy who was the loudest of 'em all. And a subtle man who was probably the most normal one of the group beside a handsome man who wore shades and talked like a darlin'! Oh, I should've given him my number—he complimented my sweets! Oh... and then there was the man with flamin' red hair. He was silent but… different from the rest—I can't put my finger on how so…."
"It's fine. That's good enough." Saruhiko sighed. He knew it; those damn idiots of Homra had set up this stupid scavenger hunt. What were they thinking—forcing Anna and him to play this game all of a sudden?
"Here, I know the exact thing I was told to give ya! Be right back…." Takamura slipped into the back room for a second before coming back out with a small plate and a tea cup occupying both her hands. "There ya are!"
"Thank you." Anna gratefully accepted the customized order. On the plate was a single piece of strawberry red dango.
"I recommend taking small and slow bites, young 'un." Takamura winked at her, to Anna's bewilderment. "Ya know, to savor the taste."
"Let's just get this over with." Saruhiko grabbed a table for them and signaled Anna to his side. "Eat."
"Small and slow bites…" Anna repeated to herself and then took a nibble at the treat. Saruhiko and her leaned in together to closely inspect the bitten dango but no clue had appeared, not that they knew what to expect anyways.
"Why are you eating like a rabbit?" Saruhiko grunted. "Bite it like you mean it!"
Again, Anna chewed at the dango carefully but this time with a larger bite. Halfway in, her lips brushed against something of a less sticky texture. She peeled back to see a sliver of paper poking out from the pink substance. Her small nimble fingers reached out and cautiously tugged the sticky note out, scanning its contents.
"Well now?" Saruhiko impatiently asked. Anna suspected he was still upset the woman had made many mistaken assumptions about him—particularly the one of his uniform being a cosplay outfit. "What does it say?"
Anna read aloud, "One day, Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' She asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response."
"Where do you want to go?" Saruhiko repeated. "I assume we need to answer that question and that the entire quote has to do with it somehow."
"I know already. I know where we must go." Anna immediately got up from her chair. Saruhiko saw the smallest sliver of an excited smile gracing her lips. "To the library."
"How do you know?" He asked, glancing at his PDA to check the time. It was 8:50 a.m. They had about 3 hours left and they didn't even know how many more clues they needed to find!
"That was a quote from Alice in Wonderland." Anna explained to him as they walked down the street. "Mikoto read it to me on our date."
"I… I see." Saruhiko hesitantly replied. He didn't know Anna that well but he also hadn't missed the downcast look in her eyes upon mentioning Mikoto and their date. For some strange reason, he was tempted to ask her if her date had not gone the way she had wanted it to go. Why else would she seem down in regards to her King?
"It hadn't exactly gone the way I would've wanted it to." Anna quietly said, almost as if she had read his mind. Well of course she was able to do that, Saruhiko thought, since that's exactly what she does. But she couldn't do it without her marbles… could she? He decided to say nothing, expecting her to continue on.
"Tatara's camera broke." Anna elaborated, just like Saruhiko was expecting her to do. "A day's worth of memories… destroyed just like that. But it was an accident, nothing to be done about it."
"Destroyed?" Saruhiko scoffed. "You're not making any sense. It was the camera that was destroyed, not the 'memories'—simple as that. Even now, you still remember what happened; our discussion right now is proof. The value of a material item storing 'memories' for you can't compare to what your mind and body remembers."
"Eh?" Anna slowed her pace down as she processed his words.
Her companion in blue sighed, rolling his eyes as if in boredom. "Can you taste the flavor of chocolate simply by looking at it in a photo? Perhaps, but your tongue's taste buds can provide an even more vivid experience if you think about the memory, even if you're not actually eating any chocolate. When you look at a photo of yourself at the beach, can you feel the wind pressing at your back? Or the sand between your toes? Maybe the salty air of the ocean? No, not by just looking at a photo but by recalling from experience… from memory."
"I also..." She tried her best to hold back the tears pricking her eyes as she sat beside her king who similarly wore a guilty expression like her. Tatara's camera lay broken on the table before them, pitifully taped to barely hold it together. It was her fault… "I also wanted to leave memories…."
Tatara's smile held in place but his golden gaze radiated impeccable understanding towards the young girl. He spoke softly, "Then, Anna, tell us about it."
Mikoto and Izumo peered at him from their respective corners.
"What happened today? What did you do? What did you see?" He leaned in closer and his smile brightened in reassurance for her. "Okay?"
Without knowing it, Anna no longer felt the sting of oncoming tears as Tatara's soothing words calmed her down. If she had to explain, she would say it was like feeling lost in a dark, pitch-black tunnel with no sense of direction…. But then at the end of that tunnel was a sharp ray of light peeking in, beckoning her to its warm embrace—guiding her.
Shortly after nodding in acknowledgement of Fushimi's counsel, Anna's lips tugged into a dainty smile as she sped up her pace with renewed vigor. "Saruhiko, you give great advice."
"Advice?" Fushimi snorted, quickly turning his face away from her direction. He noticed the traffic of people had become significantly heavier. "I wasn't counseling you or anything, don't get me wrong. Listen, you're just a kid; you don't understand much so I thought I'd teach you something those idi—uh, those guys wouldn't be able to teach you."
Several people passing by walked between the two former comrades, forcing a distance that was slowly increasing as more civilians crowded the streets.
No, I'm not a child anymore, Anna thought to herself while she struggled to catch up with the young man in blue. However, despite knowing so many things I shouldn't even know at my age, Saruhiko is right; there are still things out there that I don't understand.
Finally getting close enough, Ann instinctively raised her hand out towards the edge of his blue coat like she would always do so with Mikoto. At the last moment, she remembered this wasn't Mikoto but Fushimi so she stopped and discreetly pulled her hand back. "Mm… thank you, Saruhiko."
She swayed slightly on her feet when an older man in a hurry pushed past her.
"Tsk!" Shoving through the thick of the traffic, Fushimi suddenly grabbed her wrist and tucked her close to his side as he pulled her along. "Don't get lost or else I'll be blamed and punished. I also don't want that Lieutenant berating me for not finishing this stupid scavenger hunt on time…."
Anna didn't say any more but kept close to Fushimi. His arms awkwardly but firmly set around her shoulders to make sure she didn't fall behind.
Soon, a delicious warm smell tickled at her nose and she took a whiff of it, turning her head in the direction from where it was coming from. Her mouth watered a little at the sight of the vendor selling Takoyaki. "Saruhiko..?"
Fushimi glanced at her and then looked over to where she was staring at, freezing up. Cheh, he thought to himself, the kid's hungry—so what? Why should I have to spend my hard earned money for her sake? It's not like we're comrades anymore….
The sound of Anna's stomach growling reached his ears.
He huffed and reluctantly pulled out his wallet. "I think I'm feeling hungry…."
Anna's eyes lit up as they trekked over to the food vendor and Fushimi purchased two servings of takoyaki because apparently the man made a mistake and gave Fushimi two servings instead of the one Fushimi had only ordered for himself… or, at least, that's what Fushimi claimed when he handed Anna her food.
It felt like she hadn't been in the bookstore for what felt like forever but here she was once again. How many years had it been since…? Oh yes, at least two years. She never really read books that often when she was younger. However, her parents would often take the time to read her favorite bedtime stories to her during rare outings from the Institute. Now Anna realized she should have read more when she still had the chance… and when there was still time.
Leading Fushimi to the counter, she politely waited for the librarian to look up from the magazine he was reading and take notice of her. Half a minute passed before Fushimi loudly cleared his throat. The sound echoed obnoxiously throughout the large room.
The librarian simply pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose and then went on to flip a page.
"Excuse—" Fushimi started when the preoccupied elder still had not even spared a glance at them..
A "shh!" was sharply thrown at them by said librarian who still refused to look up.
"Excuse me, do you have any 'Alice in Wonderland' books available?" Anna bravely asked in a low whisper.
Grumbling, the librarian set his magazine down to glare across the counter at Fushimi and her.
"'Alice in Wonderland'? Why, of course I—oh!" The elder man adjusted the spectacles sitting on his nose to take a closer look at Anna, imitating the actions of the dango shopkeeper from earlier. "Small and doll-like…. Goodness! You must be her! The young missy they were telling me of! D-D-Don't worry, child, I've got exactly what you're looking for. J-Just a moment…"
He rustled through the reception drawers until finally pulling out a book titled, 'Alice in Wonderland' and written by Lewis C. Carroll. It wasn't very thick but at the same time it wasn't as thin as the one she had read with Mikoto years before. It was primarily colored pink with royal red letters labeling the novel. The cover was that of Alice falling through a dark tunnel that could only be known as the rabbit hole.
"Take it! It's yours!" The librarian hurriedly shoved the book into her hands as if it was contaminated.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to give us a clue?" Fushimi tersely demanded the older man.
"Clue? Me? No, nothing!" The librarian replied grumpily to the blue clansman. "See here, they only told me to tell you that you should know where to look once I give you the book."
"That's it?!" Fushimi exclaimed.
"That's all I know!" The man snapped at him. "What more do you want from me? And I demand payment!"
Anna heard Fushimi click his tongue extra loud and mutter "geez". That meant he was genuinely irritated. "Payment? For what? All you had to do was hand over a book. Was that task excessively difficult for you?"
"You dare mock me, boy?" The librarian growled, shaking the magazine in his hand at Fushimi. "I had a great amount of books damaged because of those scoundrels! Youngsters these days be trying to make flashy entrances. Not sure what they were smoking but it was strong and… strangely hot! I had to lower the temperature with them around… Several of my books got singed somehow when they came in. Don't know what magic tricks they were pulling but I ain't buyin' it!"
Anna heard the irked attitude in Fushimi's sigh as he pondered for a moment what to do. Of course, the incident had nothing to do with him but he doubted the cranky librarian would even care, seeing as he was more focused on the payment for the property damage. And this was only one of the many thousands of reasons why the red clan was just a bunch of buffoons to Fushimi. They were destructive idiots all for the sake of satiating their hunger for blood and fun.
"I… I understand…." Upon reaching a resolution, Fushimi gripped at his saber tightly and took in a shaky breath that almost went unnoticed by Anna's keen eyes. "You can, uh… put it on the tab of—um—Scepter Four…."
"Scepter Four?" The older man harrumphed. "I never heard of Scepter Four! Is that some gang of yours? Boy, I ain't foolin' around—this better not be some hocus pocus you're trying to pull on me! I may be old but I am not going senile!"
"Sir," The expression on Fushimi's face implied he had gone through this type of situation countless times. He reached within the breast pocket of his coat and flipped open a badge and continued to nudge up the glasses on his nose with a ring finger. "Scepter Four is a non-profit, police-based organization that strives to protect the welfare of our city's civilians. In this case, we're with the government. Therefore, I'll need you to cooperate with me here. This date—I MEAN, err… assignment—ahem—is of the utmost importance."
For a while, the librarian only responded by heavily scrutinizing the blue clansman. Then he slammed his magazine on the counter, startling the visitors nearby. "HA! AH HA HA! Dear me, are you smoking something too like that rowdy bunch from earlier? They smelled strongly of smoke and ashes… Really now, what exactly are youngsters on these days?! Bah, go play your games somewhere else, boy."
Anna shot a look at her companion from the corner of her eye, only to find that his face had darkened in mad fury. Though his facial expression had remained essentially the same, she could see past his mask of professionalism and know that he was really losing his patience. She tugged on the leg of his pants cloth to grab his attention. Fushimi looked down at her in annoyance before softening his gaze minutely. Once more, he reached within his coat to flick a small white card onto the reception desk. "Here, if you don't believe me, fine. But it won't hurt to call this number. The line will connect you to someone from Communications and… well, if you want to work out a deal for how much costs are owed for the property damage then I suggest you request to be directed to my Kin—my boss. He's a man who has a taste for negotiations."
"Is that right?" The librarian eyed the business card with newfound interest. He swiped it and shuffled back to his corner with the magazine. "You got what you need, now leave me alone."
"Come." Anna tugged Fushimi, starting towards the children's corner where Mikoto and her had read together on their date but then she paused and made a sharp turn for the desk area where school students would often occupy to study.
"Are you sure you know what to do?" Fushimi asked in a skeptical manner. He peered over Anna's shoulder as she flipped open the book.
"Just trust me." She answered while flipping through the pages in search of a certain page, her response stunning Fushimi. Trust her? Did he? He didn't know what to feel towards the young Strain. Sure, they were former comrades during his time as a Red but… were they really comrades when he hadn't actually belonged in the clan in the first place? He had practically been an outsider despite hanging out with them and bearing the same clan tattoo. Besides, Anna was just a kid. Trust her…. And yet he couldn't help but sense that he had always done so since the very beginning….
"Here." She called back his attention and pointed towards a paragraph. "This part looks familiar. The clue must be somewhere here. Will you… read it to me please?"
What? Read to her? Who did she take him as—that weak idiot, the bartender, the stupid monkey, the fat guy or… her King?! Fushimi refused to ridicule himself for the sake of a girl who wanted someone to read her a book. He clicked his tongue. "Can't you read it yourself?"
He may have imagined it but it seemed Anna's usual pale skin flushed a light red at his rude question. Her small hands gripped the book slightly tighter. "T-The table had a march hare and… and… h-h-ha.. ha…. Ha…." Anna remembered she had great difficulty pronouncing this word so Mikoto had to read it to her. How had he pronounced it before? She couldn't remember exactly. It'd been years since then and though the memory was a happy one… it was just as fleeting.
"Geez, we'll get nowhere like this! Give me." Fushimi held his hand out for Anna to give him the book so he could find the clue himself.
Anna only angled her head up, her lips pouting just slightly as she stared up at him in a shy manner. "Won't you… teach me?"
"No." Fushimi shook his head, avoiding her begging eyes. "That's too much of a hassle. It'll be faster if I read it myself."
"I'm a fast learner." She insisted.
"No, we're on a tight schedule here. Now give me the book."
But Anna refused to yield so instead she wiped her face clean of any facial expression and tilted her head at an angle that made her look curious and innocent. "Is Saruhiko not a good enough teacher?"
She seemed to have struck a nerve there because the next thing Anna knew, Fushimi was roughly pulling her out of her chair and onto his lap. Her eyes widened in surprise but she didn't dare look back at him because she knew he would be angry if she did. It felt slightly awkward sitting on the lap of her aloof companion, given their history, but the position didn't feel exactly uncomfortable either. For the sake of Saruhiko's pride, Anna remained silent on the situation and vowed to keep her lips sealed on the matter.
Tsking, Fushimi leaned forward, over her head from behind her, to peer closely at the paragraph she had mentioned. With his index finger, he pointed at the words as he slowly read them aloud to her. "Look, this word here is "Hatter"…. In front of the house, under the tree there was a table where a March Hare and a Hatter were sitting. Once Alice reached the tea party and sat down, the March Hare asked, 'would you like wine?' However, there were only tea and snacks on top of the table. 'There is no wine.' 'Of course there is! You can find the best wine at Beauty Boutique.' "
"Beauty Boutique?" Anna asked in confusion. She didn't remember that in the story but somehow it did sound familiar to her.
"That doesn't make sense." Fushimi frowned and studied the unusual sentence. He rubbed his finger over the letters. "Ah, gotcha." He scratched at the corner of the line and peeled the extra layer of paper that had been stuck onto that one line. "It says: Go to Beauty Boutique."
"Beauty Boutique..?" Anna muttered, racking her brain in an attempt to remember where she had heard that name before. It sounded like a store name, specifically for accessories…. A faint memory came up and she gasped at the nostalgia. "I… I remember now… That was the store where I had gotten my first dress…."
"Hah?" Fushimi frowned in bewilderment as he tucked the book under his arm "Didn't you always wear dresses before? I mean, you're a girl so…."
She shook her head slowly, smiling fondly at the trivial memory. "I mean it was where I had received my first dress as a member of Homura."
It was shortly after Mikoto and the others had rescued her from Mizuchi… after Honami's memories were erased… and right after she had become one of them….
(A/N: TRANSLATIONS FROM TRASHBUNNY'S TUMBLR)
"What are we going to do about Anna's clothes for today?" Totsuka asked.
The blue clothes she had worn yesterday were in tatters from getting dirtied and singed by embers in the fuss. And anyway, if possible, she'd rather not wear them again.
"Wonder if she can't wear my shirt. If she put it on, it'd be like a one piece dress, wouldn't it?" Kusanagi suggested.
"Maybe… but wouldn't it be kinda indecent? Somehow." Totsuka said.
"…. maybe so."
As they were talking, Anna reappeared. Who knows how she managed to wake him up, but Mikoto was behind her. After coming out looking sleepy and in a bad mood, he scratched his head and collapsed into the living room's couch. Kusanagi smiled wryly and slowly poured some fresh coffee from the server to a cup. Today, they were planning on going to buy clothes for Anna.
After finishing breakfast, they managed to get together Anna's clothes for going out. When they asked her if she'd rather wear her messed up blue clothes from yesterday or Kusanagi's shirt, she ended up choosing the shirt. Totsuka gathered it up at the shoulder and pinned it with a safety-pin, then tied a cloth cord at the waist like a ribbon. The sleeves, which were too long, were also tied up at the shoulders with cord. The shoulders, full of pins and cords and other things, were hidden under a scarf so that it looked surprisingly like just clothes of that design and actually looked cute.
As they walked through the town, Anna held on to Mikoto's clothes, and was looking all around uneasily. Totsuka spoke to her from behind. "Head on in to any store and pick the one you like, okay?"
It was a street with various clothing stores, but Anna just walked by them all while looking troubled at them from outside.
"I guess it might just make it harder to say anything's fine." Totsuka tilted his head at Anna who shrunk back a little.
"Is there any kinda outfit you particularly like?" When Kusanagi asked, Anna's gaze still wavered in an unsure way.
"I guess she doesn't really fit the image of a normal kid. Maybe she'd look good in a frilly dress kind of thing after all?"
"But that's that Center chief's taste, isn't it?"
"Mm, I guess…"
As Totsuka and Kusanagi talked and twisted their necks, Anna looked up at them and spoke. "I liked the shape of those clothes… Honami also said they were cute."
Kusanagi felt guilty about making Anna bring up Honami, but she looked peaceful.
"Hurry up and choose." Suou glanced back at Anna and said that like this was a pain. He sounded bored already, even though they hadn't entered a single store yet. Anna didn't look scared at all by his bad mood, and if anything she seemed to calm down a little and looked around the area. Suddenly, her eyes stopped on a certain shop's window.
"Go on ahead without me." Fushimi said coolly as they arrived at the dress store showcasing its array of extremely feminine and frilly clothing; Beauty Boutique.
Anna whipped her head to Saruhiko's direction. "You're not coming in with me?"
"It's a girl's store." He said stiffly and went on to pull out his wallet. "You'll be fine on your own. My Captain said to treat you to whatever you want so you can go in and have your pick. Here's the money."
He shoved several folds of currency into the distressed child's hands. Anna glanced up at him uneasily, her lower lip sticking out subtly. "I was hoping you would come in with me and… help me choose a dress?"
"I'm a man." Fushimi responded curtly. "I don't pick dresses much less wear them."
"Saruhiko is a pretty boy though." Anna blinked her large doe-like eyes at him innocently. "I think you would look even prettier in a dress."
"HAH?!" Fushimi screeched out uncontrollably before forcefully reigning in his emotions. He tiredly rubbed his face though it remained blanched. "Y-you do know what you're saying, right? Anyways, I am not like your Suoh Mikoto."
Anna rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Mm, you're not pretty like Mikoto."
Strangely enough, Fushimi felt slightly irked at that.
"But you're pretty nonetheless." Anna's gaze did not waver, though she looked timid and her hands were gripping the folds of her dress. Ah, she's doing it again, Fushimi thought to himself as he took note of her fidgeting hands. She always does that when she's nervous… Seriously, what's wrong with this girl, Fushimi wondered. She's always fawning over that violent King of hers and now she's complimenting me? Anyways, I don't know what she sees in him just like I don't know what she sees in me. And she says I'm 'pretty' but… what is even her definition of 'pretty'? It was then that Fushimi noticed her cheeks flushed pink a little.
After a short inner debate, he clicked his tongue and grabbed her shoulder, nudging her towards the children's boutique store. "So are we going to go in or what? I'm freezing out here."
"I can… choose any dress I want?" Anna repeated in disbelief. Fushimi didn't look astonished but his shoulders did sag slightly in relief at the assistant-shopkeeper's generous offer.
"And no charges!" The young lady cheerily added in with a flashy grin. "You don't need to worry. It's already been prepaid."
"By who?" Fushimi asked with sneaking suspicion.
"Hmm… I only remember one of their names because he had to show me a form of identification as he paid… and he kind of made a big deal of it too." The assistant tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I believe his name was Yata Misaki. It's kind of a feminine name for a tough guy now that I think about it. Oh, and he was shorter compared to the other guys with him but, to be honest, I thought his tsundere personality was really adorable!"
"A-Adorable?" Fushimi held back from bursting out in maniacal laughter and instead thanked the lady and let her guide Anna into a dressing room as he found a seat to wait in.
"So, those men who paid for your dress beforehand… are they your relatives?" Tsuzuki, the assistant shopkeeper, inquired as Anna sifted through the massive wardrobe of clothes and accessories hanging for her.
"No." Anna replied quietly. She felt uncomfortable speaking with a stranger and even more because it was a woman and she rarely ever interacted with people of her gender much less the same age. The elderly woman who had taken Anna's measurements the first time she had entered the boutique many years ago was the only other female Anna had been contentedly comfortable with. Unfortunately, it seemed she no longer worked here.
"Are…." Tsuzuki paused and quickly peeked out from the curtain before turning back to Anna. Hesitantly, she whispered, "Are you in a gang? Were you forced into it—are they blackmailing you? Do you need help—should I call the cops?"
Anna could only give her a blank stare for a long moment. Then, with a small but amused smile lighting up her face, she shook her head. "No, it's the opposite. They saved me and I joined them. Also, they spoil me like a princess."
Tsuzuki frowned. "But they're not… your family?"
"They are my family." Anna said softly. A certain color caught her eye and her nimble fingers reached out to unhook the dress.
"Oh, hey, this one really suits you!" Tsuzuki said with sudden excitement and all conversation from before was suddenly forgotten. "Wow, this dress matches your eyes—like literally; it's a really gorgeous color of wine red!"
Besides the royal flushed color, it was also a frilly dress which, of course, was her favorite type given that Honami once said that it looked cute on her. But now that she was practically thirteen years old, to her, the excessive amount of frills seemed… odd. But she loved frills… didn't she?
"Let's try it on!" Tsuzuki squealed and began to help Anna dress into it.
It was a perfect fit. The skirt fell to just below her knees and it was thick enough to keep her limbs warm but light enough so she wouldn't be dragged down either. And the suede arm sleeves snugly covered her arms a fourth of the way down her hands. Thankfully, it was a turtle neck dress so the suede even covered her bare neck from the cold as well. Layered on the suede fitting was a slightly darker silk fabric that made up most of the dress part. Though the skirt portion was wrapped with frills, the edges of the turtleneck and the arm sleeves were decorated with delicate white lace.
"Kawaii!" Tsuzuki clasped her hands together, admiring the work through the mirror set up for Anna. "You look beautiful! Has anyone ever told you that you look like a real life doll?"
Staring at her reflection, Anna tilted her head slightly before nodding in reply.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Tsuzuki noticed Anna's subtle discomfort. "You don't like it? We can find another—"
"No, I do like it. It's just…." Anna hesitated. "There's too much frills…."
"The frills?" Tsuzuki appeared puzzled. "But those men from before told me that you like frilly dresses?"
"I do but… it's too much."
"Oh, I see! You're growing up and getting older so of course you wouldn't want something this childish." Tsuzuki concluded.
"Maybe." Anna mumbled while sticking her hands into her pockets to stop them from fidgeting. She really needed to get out of that habit whenever she felt uncomfortable. Her fingers reached in deeper into the folds, finding comfort in the warmth and silky feeling, when they brushed against something of a stiffer material. She immediately tugged out the strip of paper with furor. The messy handwriting in bright red ink read: Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Take the path of the twinkling stars to reach the dawning of Morningstar.
Anna folded the clue neatly and then carefully placed it in the pocket of the dress the Blues had issued her to wear. She then began unbuttoning her newer dress to put back on the one she had entered the store with.
"Don't worry, Anna! We can get it altercated—and that's free of charges too!" Tsuzuki winked at her in reassurance. "I understand that it's your birthday today. Happy birthday, little one!"
Anna nodded minutely. "Thank you."
As Tsuzuki was fixing the dress onto the hanger again, she chuckled. "My! Those guys said that you were quite a mature child for your age. They weren't lying!"
For some strange reason, Anna felt somewhat sad at that comment but she couldn't tell why.
Though several employees worked on adjusting the dress as fast as they could, it took over an hour for them to finish. Anna and Fushimi couldn't go out and complete the next task the clue had hinted at either because Anna had to stay to get her measurements done and make sure the adjustments being made could fit her and were to her liking. By the time they had exited the boutique—with Anna walking out in her new clothes—it was already 10:40 a.m.
"Of course this clue is difficult to comprehend. "I'm sure it was written by a monkey…" Fushimi sneered unhappily whilst holding a bag containing Anna's Scepter 4 clothes as well as the book Fushimi had to purchase from the library. He planned to trash the Scepter Four clothes in the nearest trash can since he knew Anna wouldn't want to keep them. "I think it's referring to jewelry."
"Saruhiko." Anna tugged on his sleeve. He peered down to her and followed the direction of where she was pointing at. To the right of the street, there were vendors set up displaying objects that sparkled under the bright morning sun. Fushimi flinched as the sharp glare from the merchandise flickered and radiated.
He smirked and started towards the vendors. "Bingo."
As Anna trailed after him she heard the young woman walking ahead of her in the same direction giggle aloud. The lady hugged the arm of the man walking beside her and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "I can't believe you're already trying to woo me with jewelry!"
The man looked down at his girlfriend with affection before going on to kiss the top of her head. "I know it's only our first date but when you love someone that doesn't really matter. What matters is neither our past nor what will become of us in the future—what matters is now. And I want you to remember this moment whenever you look at the ring I'm about to buy for you."
Anna observed the couple for while and then slid her gaze up to the young man pacing himself beside her. Fushimi caught her stare and responded by growling, "What?"
She hesitated and grabbed the skirt of her new dress but then remembered that she needed to break her habit. So instead she peeked back up at Fushimi, her cheeks reddening a bit. "Saruhiko… is this a date?"
"HAH?!" Fushimi stumbled slightly over his own two feet but managed to catch himself in time, saving him from the embarrassment that would've ensued. He tried to regain his composure by taking off his glasses to wipe them with precise casualness.
"You're taking me on a date, aren't you?" Anna asked shyly.
"What are those guys teaching you?" Fushimi squinted down at her as he was still cleaning his lenses. "We're not on a date."
"But it is a date." Anna insisted.
Fushimi slid on his glasses. "And what makes you say that?"
"Because Mr. Blue King said so." Anna reasoned.
Munakata rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, if the thought of doing the Scavenger Hunt as a mission displeases you that much then you can simply consider it an activity for a date."
Anna blinked. A date?
Fushimi, who was extremely agitated by now, opened his mouth to object.
"It's almost 8 am; you have about four hours. Off you go then!" Munakata waved them off, his face beaming with a closed-lip grin. "Good luck and have fun, Miss Anna. Today, you are a princess, and so I grant you Saruhiko Fushimi to serve as your knight and treat you for this day."
Fushimi's frown deepened at the remembrance of this morning. "That man just does things as he pleases. Even I don't know what goes on in that head of his."
"But you still look up to him." Anna noted.
"Tch! Who says I do?!" Fushimi snapped at her. He paused and threw a glare in her direction. "And don't stray from the topic."
"Topic?"
"Of this not being a date." His bothered expression actually amused Anna.
"Ah, well," She clasped her hands behind her back, her blush reddening slightly but uncontrollably, "then it's because I'm going out with someone I love and he's treating me."
"L-Love?!" Fushimi sputtered. This damn girl really knew how to make him lose his composure!
"Mm!" Anna walked slightly ahead of him so she wouldn't have to meet his critical stare. "Just like how I love Mikoto, Izumo, Tatara, Rikio, Misaki, Shohei, Fuji—"
"I got it! I got it!" Fushimi interrupted. "Geez, you sure do love a lot of guys… Though, 'love' is a bit of a strong word…. See here, kid; I am not going to be a part of your harem of men fawning over you."
"A harem?" Anna's eyes widened in curiosity and she turned her head back to look at him briefly. "What is that?"
"U-um…." Fushimi sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. Was conversing with Anna this exhausting? He had thought she was a silent girl who only ever spoke when the situation really called for it. "A harem is…. A-Actually you don't need to know. You're already too mature for your age as it is."
"Oh, okay…." Anna still remained curious as to what a 'harem' was. "So does a date have to be a harem? Because I went on a date with Mikoto and—"
"Why does that disturb me every time I hear you say that?" Fushimi muttered. "Ugh, listen. This is not a date, all right? You and I are just a guy and a girl hanging out. And I'm not treating you; I just… I have an urge to… to buy and... do things that are… coincidentally for you…."
"So then what is a date?" She asked him.
"Well," Fushimi began, "when two people who love each other go out and... have fun…"
"And they treat each other to nice things?"
He frowned. "... Yes…."
"So…" Anna tilted her head to the side as she peered at him. "then we are on a date."
Fushimi clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Ok, fine! Yes, we are on a date! Are you happy now?"
She paused; even though Fushimi had treated her to whatever she had asked him for, he hadn't received anything from her. Looking around, she noticed a tree they were walking by had a flower bed of reddish-pink Cyclamen. She trotted over to the bed quickly and plucked a single flower from it before returning to the befuddled Blue and handing the Cyclamen to him. "Only if Saruhiko is too. Here, I haven't treated you to anything."
Fushimi was slow and tentative in taking the colorful flower but he accepted it anyways, harrumphing all the while. He sincerely hoped he didn't look as ridiculous holding a flower as he believed he did. If that monkey were here he'd never hear the end of it.
"Now it's a date." Anna nodded once in confirmation.
"Tsk! Ah, whatever—do what you want!" He growled. His voice was laced with irritation but Anna noticed he didn't loosen his grip on the flower either.
"…. I'm on a date with Saruhiko." Anna whispered.
Fushimi, hearing her, cocked a brow. "Whom are you talking to?"
"To my heart's camera." Anna simply said.
"Eh?" Fushimi was still confused. He sighed and shook his head. "Geez, what nonsense is that man filling your head with?"
She blinked at Fushimi as if he was the one saying unusual things. "It's not nonsense. I want to capture this memory of today."
"And what makes today so special?" The blue clansman snorted. "Because you're being pampered like a princess?"
"No." Anna's face lit up slightly. "It's because I'm with Saruhiko of course. That's what makes right now so precious to me."
"O-oh…." Fushimi was uncertain of how to respond to that. So she's still an innocent child deep down after all, he silently thought. "Is that so…"
And then all further conversation ceased at that point as the area became more crowded with Christmas shoppers and Fushimi and Anna had to work together to navigate through the crowd.
"Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Take the path of the twinkling stars to reach the dawning of Morningstar." Anna recited the clue.
"To reach the dawning of Morningstar?" Fushimi growled after fifteen precious minutes had passed by with them inspecting the many vendors and finding nothing. "That doesn't even make sense. The Morningstar is obviously a star found in the daytime—how can we find the right jewelry with that kind of clue?!"
Even Anna was perturbed as much as her companion was. She rubbed her chin, peering at a table of bracelets. "When it's dawn, the sky looks red. To narrow it down, maybe we need to find something red."
"I guess." Fushimi moodily rubbed the back of his neck. "But jewelry comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors. It's going to take time to inspect every red piece of jewelry we see and time is something we can't afford, you know."
"I know!" Anna said sharply before freezing up. Fushimi couldn't help but stop and stare down at her with widened eyes. Anna had never reacted like this before—it was so out of character. She's usually apathetic and reserved, Fushimi silently thought and then wondered again if puberty really was the case.
"Morningstar is a really bright body if it can be seen even during the day." Fushimi tried to continue on casually, pretending that nothing out of the ordinary—specifically regarding Anna—had occurred. "Meaning the piece must be extremely shiny that it stands out amongst others."
"Shiny and red." Anna spoke in a nonchalant manner, though her face proved she was still distracted.
"Maybe it's a ring since those sparkle a lot." Fushimi suggested, heading over towards the only vendor showcasing rings and necklaces. "A garnet ring perhaps."
'Pendant…" Anna muttered, remembering that the Eric in her timeline had searched for a pendant for her. After Tatara's death, there never seemed to be a right time for her to wear it. Besides, it reminded her too much of the day of when everyone was supposed to be happy and smiling… not grieving and having to bury a friend…
She peered at the rings secured under the glass case but sensed nothing special in them. Her critical gaze scanned over the necklaces mixed in display with the rings before flickering back to the necklaces once more. One necklace had caught her eye; a locket with a red gem the size of her pinky tip set in the center. It wasn't as sparkly at first glance but Anna was colorblind, recognizing only red from the spectrum of colors. The gem set in the locket may not have been the largest rock compared to all the other jewelry but in Anna's eyes it was the brightest red piece out of all the other red jewelry.
"This one." She tapped her finger on the glass in indication. "This is the one."
"Are you absolutely positive?" Fushimi asked. He didn't want to waste any time making mistakes since they were behind schedule… not that there was even a proper schedule to follow. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Why did this clue have to be the most difficult?
"It's the brightest red here." Anna explained.
He squinted at the necklace she was still pointing at through the case glass. "Doesn't look that way to me."
She cast him a pointed look as if he had missed something obvious. For a second, Fushimi didn't know what but then it dawned on him; because of her color blindness she could only recognize shades of red so of course she knew which gem was the brightest red.
"You don't… believe me?" Anna asked quietly. But the two of them both knew that the real question she had asked was: do you not trust me?
Fushimi didn't respond. Instead, he sighed and turned in the direction of the vendor who was several feet away down the long table of merchandise, already occupied with many customers looking to do their Christmas shopping early. He glanced back at Anna to tell her, "Wait for me here and don't move. I'm going to purchase the necklace from the vendor." And then strode away, leaving the little girl by her lonesome.
Having nothing else to do, Anna went back to admiring the pretty red gems locked in the glass case. However, she couldn't help but contemplate about the guys…. Tatara, her heart squeezed at the thought of him, I wonder if he really did survive… What if he's—no, if something happened to him then Mikoto and the others would have immediately come back for me. He's still alive, Anna told herself. It's not too late!
She laid her hand on top of the cool glass case. But I still haven't figured out how to defeat the Colorless King. What can I do? I'm only a young Strain who has yet to learn to control her powers and there's nobody to teach me…. Izumo, Mikoto, Tatara and everyone else would never approve of me learning to fight, Anna bit her lip. But what about that one female assassin who had chased after Chitose before? Maria Yubiki? Even so, if Anna asked for the assassin to teach her how to fight, she was pretty sure the woman would refuse her request. A thirteen—eleven—year old kid her age fighting? Maria would think Anna was only playing with fire and would thus accidentally burn herself. But maybe if she asked Maria to teach her how to defend herself…. Perhaps that was enough to defeat the Colorless King?
Anna snapped out of her thoughts abruptly when a cold hand brushed against hers atop of the case. That was also when she felt the person, to whom the hand belonged to, slightly press up from behind Anna. Goosebumps immediately raised on her arm as Anna struggled to stay calm. Izumo had warned her of older people who held strange interests in kids her age and that they would try to lure her in their grasps.
She kept her eyes on the array of necklaces arranged before her, not wanting to turn around to see who it was encroaching on her personal space. Oh, how she wished she had her marbles with her! The person's hand didn't budge from beside hers but Anna noticed that although it definitely was that of a male's, it was almost as slim and delicate looking as Anna's.
"They're pretty, aren't they?" He hummed mischievously from behind her ear, sending shivers running down her spine. His slightly deep voice confirmed Anna's suspicion that the person was a male teenager. "So pretty…."
She stayed silent, remembering that Izumo had always told Anna to never speak with strangers. Hurry Fushimi, she silently begged hard.
"I'm colorblind, you know." The mysterious teenager murmured and Anna was glad he couldn't see the shock that ran through her face. Also, she wasn't sure but Anna thought she had vaguely sensed the slightest touch of… sadness in his voice. "Through my eyes, the entire world is completely black and white."
Though her heart was palpitating, Anna couldn't help but sympathize with this young man. She understood what it was like to have to live in such a dreary looking world while everyone else could see it so full of life and beauty.
"Nobody understands how boring—no, how lifeless it is to live in such a colorless world." He muttered bitterly before sighing as if in exhaustion. "Perhaps that's why I'm so fascinated in colors despite not being able to see them."
She silently agreed, for she herself held great interest in Mikoto's beautiful warm red.
"Perhaps that's also why I envy them!" He growled in a sudden burst of anger. She could feel the waves of tension and fury rolling off of him and it made her hunch over the case in slight fear. Anna flinched as the young man behind her began raising his voice. "I just want to be like them! I've always wanted to be accepted—be recognized! But I can't! I will always be different from them! I am forever cursed to be colorless!"
At the last sentence, Anna's eyes widened and her entire body froze in either fear or anger, she could no longer tell at this point. No, it couldn't be… Her head slowly turned to see the face of the boy behind her. She didn't want to look though. She didn't want to see his face. The face of the killer. The face of the boy who killed Tatara.
Their eyes made contact with each other once again. His dark amber eyes boring a hole through her very being. Snow white hair that was almost the same shade as his sickly pale skin. But it was the soft smile and amiable look in his face that surprised Anna the most.
"You…." She breathed. The close proximity between their two bodies was now uncomfortably stifling. Her back pressed painfully against the hard edge of the glass case as she tried to put as much space between her and the enemy.
But the Colorless King silently leaned down until their foreheads were almost touching each other. Their gaze didn't break but instead held stronger than ever. Why isn't he attacking me, Anna pondered as a thousand other thoughts ran in her head. I shouldn't be staring at him or else he'll steal my body. But… why do I sense something different in him? He's like a completely different person from before.
"Please…." The King whispered so softly that Anna almost didn't hear him. Please? Please what?
But before the King could reveal any further, his gentle expression, suddenly and without warning, twisted into a dark sneer. He grabbed a hold of Anna's shoulders, gripping them painfully, and snarled into her ear. "Please keep trying to save your precious loved ones. Your pathetic attempts entertain me. Every try you make only makes me crave so much more for your body. So innocent and almost so ripe… Once I am in you, I want to bathe in the blood of your beloved King and his men."
Anna's legs trembled and she thought she couldn't breathe. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she struggled to swallow down the bile stuck in her throat. "I… I…."
An arm with blue sleeves shot out and grabbed the sadistic boy's wrist, holding him away from Anna as her suited savior stepped in between the two. "Don't. Touch her."
The boy managed to pull himself out from Fushimi's tight grip and smiled tightly at him, rubbing his sore wrist. "Ah, sorry, sorry! I thought she was lost so I was going to… help her, of course!"
Anna found her voice to speak up. "I was not—"
"She wasn't lost." Fushimi said with a dark look on his face. Despite the casual stance he had taken between Anna and the King, his arm was noticeably resting on the handle of his saber. "I'm taking care of her."
"Oh, is that so?" The boy's sneer returned and Fushimi was not one to miss it. "How do I know you're not a suspicious man after little girls? You don't exactly look the part of an older brother."
"Because we're—I mean, she's my…." Fushimi sighed in frustration. "Look, as I said, I'm taking care of her, all right?"
"We're on a date." Anna confidently said aloud. Her cheeks were reddening again but this time in anger. Anger? She couldn't remember the last time she had been so angry besides that time at the lake when she had almost drowned. Only the Colorless King had managed to get such an extreme reaction out of her. "We're on a date… so please leave us alone."
Fushimi clicked his tongue but didn't say anything.
The boy stared at her from behind Fushimi before narrowing his eyes as if in scheme. "… I see…. So then I take it you care for this man?"
Something told Anna that she had just made a huge mistake somehow. Her instincts screamed at her to not reveal any more than she already had. She hesitantly answered the King. "No… I don't…."
Fushimi's scowl deepened just the slightest at her response. "Cheh! Whatever, I don't care about this girl either. She's just a thorn at my side."
The King tilted his head to the side as if in mockery. "But you just said that you're taking care of her."
"Well, I…." Fushimi rubbed his neck as he struggled to find the right words for the troublesome sly teen. "Tsk! It's not like that!"
"It's not like what?" The boy smirked tauntingly. "Ah, perhaps you truly are a lecher after little girls."
That must have hit a nerve for Fushimi because Anna noticed a vein throb faintly in his forehead. His sword made a sharp clink sound as he shifted restlessly in response to the King's taunt. "You… are you trying to pick a fight with me?"
Anna stepped forward to Fushimi's side but grasped the back of his suit tightly. "Stop it. Leave Saruhiko alone."
She was proud that she had conveyed her voice loudly and that it didn't shake under the critical stare of the Colorless King who went on to raise a brow at her. "Hm? I thought you don't care for him? So why accompany a man you do not care for?"
Anna bit her lip as she mentally scrambled for an answer that would not reveal that she truly did care for Saruhiko lest the King take advantage of that too. She would not put another loved one in danger. "Because… um…."
Fushimi stepped in for her once more. "Hey, do you have any business with this girl?" He stared at the boy hard from behind his lenses. There's something off about this guy, he thought to himself. "Because if you do then you should take it to her Ki—her guardian. But if not then I suggest you leave her alone. For both your sakes."
The killer folded his arms across his chest as he grinned in amusement. "My, how protective! It's almost like a knight guarding his princess from the evil wizard."
"Uh…." The unusual comment bemused Fushimi who hid his what-the-hell expression with a frown.
The King raised his hands up harmlessly, bouncing playfully on the balls of his feet. "Sorry, I'm an incurable romantic when it comes to things I… enjoy. Well, I guess I'll leave you two now." He swiveled on his heels and started off before pausing and turning his head to the side slightly. His lips curled into a derogatory smile. "Oh, and Anna? Enjoy your… date… while you still can."
"I never—" Anna stopped herself. I never told you my name. She only nodded brusquely. "Mm."
"Lolicon." Fushimi muttered under his breath as he and Anna watched the boy disappeared with ease into the crowd of shoppers.
"…."
Shortly after, Fushimi led Anna to a bench to rest at and they didn't speak for several minutes. Precious time ticked by but Fushimi felt they both needed the break.
"Hey, are you all right?" Finally speaking up, he glanced down at the young girl.
Anna shrugged half-heartedly. "I'm okay."
He snorted at her neutrality. "Yeah, and you weren't lost too."
"Because I wasn't lost." Anna defended herself, slightly irked at his accusation. He did, after all, tell her to wait right there for him and to not move. She had done exactly as told.
Fushimi rolled his eyes. "And you also—"
"I was not stuck that time either." Anna mechanically said.
Fushimi was silent for a long moment before sighing deeply. He angled his head to gaze at Anna and when she refused to meet his eyes, he grasped her chin firmly and turned it so she would look at him properly. He stared hard at her, contemplating her wine red eyes for several uncomfortable breaths and then went on to frown down at her. "…. Anna, when you were with that man you were clenching the folds of your dress so tightly I thought you were going to rip the cloth. I saw you; you were terrified…. Why?"
Now it was Anna's turn to be quiet. It was slightly unnerving for Fushimi and her to be looking so closely into each other's eyes and though she did feel vulnerable for some reason, it wasn't necessarily discomforting either. But she hoped Fushimi couldn't see the thoughts racing throughout her mind. Thoughts of that boy gleefully shooting Tatara; thoughts of Mikoto finally avenging Tatara; thoughts of Munakata stabbing Mikoto; thoughts of so much violence and bloodshed; thoughts of everyone separating and leaving her….
So she took a breath and steeled herself, mumbling, "I'm sorry, Saruhiko. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."
Fushimi's eyes widened slightly and then he released her, pressing his back against the cold metal of the bench. "Heh, I thought you said you don't care about me?"
Anna peered at him from under her lashes. "I… lied."
"Oh…." Fushimi looked genuinely surprised and Anna made sure to capture the uncommon expression since it was the first time she had seen him like that. "…. I didn't know you do that sort of thing."
"I do now." She replied quietly, shutting her eyes tightly so that a lone tear squeezed out from the corner. "Because the truth is, I'm not the doll everyone sees me as. I do have feelings… I'm just scared to express them. So, yes, I'm not as calm and pure as everyone believes—I have a lot of things I'm scared of. Getting lost is one of them too, and so is being left alone…. But the one thing that scares me the most is… losing something precious to me…."
For a while, Fushimi didn't say anything. They just watched the flow of civilians walking by as they continued their Christmas shopping. Anna remained as still and silent as a statue beside him. It wasn't until ten minutes later that Fushimi made a move to take something out from the depths of his pocket.
Anna was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the locket Fushimi had hung around her neck until he said, "For you. Take good care of it."
Her small hands reached up to grasp the locket, fingering the red stone set in the center before opening it. A folded scrap of paper fell onto her lap but it was the photo set within the locket that stole her breath away. It must have been a recent photo they took… Mikoto was sitting on a bar stool with everyone surrounding him. Tatara who was smiling warmly had his arm hooked around a grinning Yata. Kamamoto was in the midst of eating chips as Bandou, Shouhei, and Dewa held their hats against their chests courteously. Izumo was standing behind the counter polishing a wineglass and maintaining a strained smile for the camera and Anna guessed it was because Fujishima was pressing a snow white rabbit with beady red eyes against Eric's face.
Fushimi sneaked a look at Anna when he heard her laughing quietly. Before he could see what could have made her laugh, she had closed the locket and was already unfolding the note.
"Keep us close to your heart." Anna read the clue aloud. "Because home is where the heart is."
"This must be the last one." Fushimi let out a breath and checked his PDA for the time. "Less than fifteen minutes before noon. I guess we both know where to go but we literally gotta run for it now."
Anna nodded in agreement and they both stood up from the bench. Fushimi turned his back to Anna but held out his hand towards her. "Here."
She stared at his outreached hand in confusion and then glanced up at him but he kept his back turned on her so she couldn't see Fushimi's face. "…. Saruhiko?"
"You won't lose me if we do this, right?" He mumbled and Anna could see the tips of his ear reddening just a little. He clicked his tongue impatiently. "Hurry up! Don't leave me hanging!"
Hesitating no longer, Anna happily grabbed onto his hand, subtly smiling as they began running off towards their next destination. His hand was rough from holding his saber many times and it was cold from the winter weather… but it enveloped Anna's hand in warmth nonetheless.
Almost fifteen minutes later….
"Saruhiko?" Anna asked as they stepped before HOMRA, finally reaching their last destination: home.
"What now?" Fushimi panted in exhaustion.
Anna squeezed his hand slightly and went on to smile up at him. "Thank you."
She then let go and pushed through the doors of her beloved home. The door's customer bells rung at her presence.
"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANNA!"
Merry Christmas Eve guys and a happy New Year!
Special thanks to funni neko, Madamoiselle Snowflake, and snowbunny for the encouraging reviews and for being impeccably patient. Especially YOU, funni neko; your recent review(s) have reminded me that there are many readers/followers out there patiently waiting for me to update and that I have their full support. Damn it, why must my followers be such beautiful and awesome people?! Apologies if this sounds repetitive and/or exaggerated but seriously none of you have any idea how grateful I am for all of your support :)
There's at most 15 more chapters until this fanfic is done. And the reason for why this is rated M will soon be revealed. And as I've said before, it's got nothing to do with romance, ahaha though I do have my shippings ;)
THANK YOU FOR READING! STAY TUNED FOR MORE.