Disclaimer:I do not own the anime, manga, novels, and most importantly the characters of K. K is officially owned by GoRa/GoHands.
A/N: Yay! Summer vacay has started and since I'm now a high school graduate, I can relax completely and only worry about my fanfics! So, updates will be a lot faster for now and you won't have to wait like half a year for a chapter, hahaha. I want to thank you guys for being so supportive of this! I realize I began this fanfic in the middle of my freshman year of high school and now I'm heading to college... Damn, this story is taking longer than I thought.. No worries! We're halfway done! Now happy reading, my beautiful readers!
K: Preserving the Blaze of Your Red
BY: TCOOKIES777
Chapter 13: Present Day, Present Time
"You want me to what?" Maria Yubikiri screeched, spilling her cup of rose tea in the process. As the woman cursed at the scalding heat burning her thighs clad only in stockings, Anna calmly handed her a handkerchief.
"I want you to teach me to fight." Anna repeated, watching the older Strain hiss while dabbing her thighs dry. She didn't seem to mind showing off the silver nicks of scars peppered all over her otherwise supple legs. If anything, it seemed the assassin wore them proudly like battle scars that held a story—a secret—for every mark.
"Um, I'm assuming that since you're here asking me personally," the assassin spoke slowly as if she was still processing Anna's question, "then that could only mean your clansmen don't want to teach you themselves because they don't want you to fight so… so, they're not even aware of why you've come to me! Is that right?" Surprisingly, Maria wasn't looking at her with accusation but with amazement.
"I told them I had a dream of you." Anna picked up her tea cup and took a sip. When she'd announced it back in the bar, Chitose had almost fallen off his chair in response. The men had then demanded to know if she was coming after Chitose again but Anna had simply said she just saw her in a vision and that was that. It wasn't hard to convince them to take her to the assassin but it wasn't as easy to convince them that she needed time alone with the woman either. Even as she was speaking right now, Misaki was waiting impatiently—with his bat—outside on the porch for her. "A vision of some sort."
"Oh…." Maria nodded cautiously. She then shifted around uncomfortably on her seat before grabbing a hold of her now-empty teacup. "So, uh, in that dream of yours… I didn't die… did I?"
For a second, Anna flashed back to several years ago when she first met Tatara Totsuka and predicted his death. Ignoring the rush of guilt squeezing in her chest, Anna merely took a sip of her tea. "Are you going to teach me to fight or not?"
"No way!" Maria leaned away and stretched her arms across the couch's back. "Sorry, honey, but I am not looking to get myself in trouble with HOMRA."
"But I am HOMRA." Anna protested. Maria glanced at her with a tipped brow and Anna corrected herself. "Or part of it."
"Yeah, you do make a cute mascot." The woman replied dismissively. "I'm talking about your King and men. They look like the kind happy to burn me to a crisp if I so much as let you break a nail."
Not Tatara, Anna wanted to say but she remained silent because it was kind of true. Over the years, she'd noticed the murderous glares her boys had given any man who had so much as looked her over for more than a few seconds than necessary. The assassin was as sharp as her claws; Anna came here to see specifically Maria Yubikiri because she didn't know anybody else who would be willing to teach her. Mikoto and the rest would never let her do more than help and watch from the distance in safety. To be right in the fray alongside them was too absurd it seemed. But Anna had to do something. So she played her gambling card—which was her first time gambling by the way. Tipping her head sideways to feign the look of innocence, Anna asked, "Or maybe you just don't want to be in Yō Chitose's disfavor?"
Getting the response she had expected, Anna patiently watched as Maria jumped to her feet and began screeching more profanities that would make even Yata pale in comparison.
"Listen," Maria sharply pointed a finger at the young girl—and if it was any other person they normally would've flinched considering that finger could stab them right through, "that was a one-time thing only, okay?! It's called a 'one-night stand'. You'll learn what that means when you're older."
"…. So, will you teach me to fight?" Anna asked, clearly uninterested in mature matters such as Maria's.
"Sorry, but a no is a no, kid." Maria peered at her nails which were nicely buffed, polished, and manicured as if she didn't use them to shred for a living. "Besides, I doubt you need to know how to fight when you have your own harem of men to protect you, princess."
The tea in Anna's cup, which had gone cold just a while ago, had begun to steam with heat at the moment. It wasn't the entire sentence that bugged Anna. Okay, it was the entire sentence. And fine, it did more than just bug her—in fact, she could feel the spark of anger simmering deep inside. But she shoved the feeling away and locked it in behind one of the many doors she'd sealed off in her mind. After all, it was what she was good at. Keeping things under control.
What really fired up Anna was that Maria was underestimating her. It was just like every other person she met. They would spare a glance at her—not even thinking anything of the little girl in her corner sipping juice—before heading over to Mikoto and the guys to deal with whatever business that needed to be taken care of. Just like Shōhei when he first came to HOMRA in search of power; he'd been so surprised to find a kid—a little girl at that—settled in the midst of a gang. Just like the Colorless King when he….
Her teacup stopped bubbling.
Breathing in deeply, Anna decided to throw another gambling card.
"If you teach me to fight then I will reveal what happens to you in my dream."
Anna had never been into gambling considering she was too young. The closest she'd ever come to gambling was a card game involving crackers and strawberry gumballs she remembered she'd once played with Yata, Dewa, and a few of the other guys. She'd won, of course. And they'd given her all the candy as a prize, but she'd let them comfort themselves with losing to a child by sharing the candy amongst them all.
So she wasn't a gambler.
But now that Anna thought about it, she'd been gambling with fate the moment she let Tatara walk away from her after she'd told him of his imminent death.
The silence stretched on until it started to become painful for Anna. She wasn't used to it. Not when she lived in a bar that was always filled with noise and life. Even after Mikoto's death and the clan's disbandment, when it was just her and Izumo, she could never get used to the silence. With Izumo moping around in his bar, it felt more like she was living in an abandoned castle. And the silence just reminded her too much of the aftermath at the school island. Once the screams of students died down as they were evacuated, and the screech of metal faded as opposing clansmen were pulled back, and the explosive blows from the two Kings stopped creating tremors and laps of waves in the water, Anna developed a fear of silence. Because that was when she realized her beloved King had fallen. That was when her world had lost color and beauty. It'd become like a silent film with its dull, lifeless colors, ending in tragedy.
Anna was just about ready to give up. Maybe she made a mistake in coming here after all. Her fingers crept into her pockets, already searching for a marble to break and restart the cycle.
But then the assassin's lips curled up into a smirk and, with a certain glint in her sharp eyes, she purred, "Then it's a promise."
"It's coming again!" Maria shouted in warning.
But it was too late. Anna was too late. Her small hands were clammy with sweat and her upper body muscles were screaming in protest with every movement she made. She tried to ignore the sensation of stitches pulling at the skin on her back but pain was beginning to prick up her spine again.
The ball flew by her.
Pmff!
"You missed!" Maria groaned, and then added with a growl, "Again!"
Anna wasn't sure if she meant 'again' as in 'you missed again' or as in 'do it again' but she had a feeling the older Strain meant both. She tugged the bat and pulled it back around in preparation for the next hit.
"You got this…." She heard Maria mutter under her breath as they waited for the machine to reload the next ball. "Come on!"
The ball shot out and Anna swung.
Pmff!
Miss!
"Oh, come on, kid!" Maria rolled her eyes impatiently as she clung hard to the fence keeping her out of the batting lane. "Haven't you ever done this with your clansmen before? As I recall, the day I found Chitose was the day you guys were playing ball."
Anna nodded in response, remembering batting against Yata who played as pitcher at the time. She didn't mind Mikoto dropping a helmet on her, nor Izumo showing the proper form and technique for playing. What she did mind, however, was how Yata had slowed down his throw for her despite the power swings he had used against the other guys and even King himself. It bothered her to this day but it wasn't what was keeping her from hitting the ball right now. It was something else… but she couldn't put a finger on it.
"Next one is coming." Maria called out.
Anna swung again. She missed that one too. Sixty-seven times now. She'd become frustrated long before Maria had.
"Can't you use your power of foresight or something?" Maria suggested. "You're a Strain. Use what you got to your advantage."
That's exactly what Anna was doing. It wasn't a matter of 'seeing' the ball. Anna could 'see' it when the machine was about to spit it at her and she knew where it would fly to exactly, even if the slightest breeze would alter the spin's trajectory. But every time she saw the ball shoot out the mouth, the sight of it would transform into a bullet firing out of the pistol's barrel and fly straight towards—
Pmff! The sound of the fence rattling from the ball's impact shook Anna out of her thoughts. She set the bat's head against the dirt and turned to Maria who was still watching her from the side. "Why are we here?"
The woman tugged out a pack of cigarettes from her light-colored jacket. "Training."
"Training for what?" Pmff!
"You tell me." Maria flicked her lighter and took a drag from the stick after lighting it.
Anna cocked her head. "You said you'd teach me to fight."
"And I am." A stream of smoke flowed out from between the woman's lips. Pmff!
"How so?"
The older Strain took a longer haul from the cigarette and released the smoke with a heavy sigh. "I'm training you to hone your senses and instincts." Pmff!
"But I'm a Strain. I have foresight." Anna objected. "Like you said, remember?"
"You're dull." Maria pointed out as she flicked her hand holding the cig, letting ash drift down in the process. "And you don't know how to control your powers. Don't think I didn't notice." Pmff!
"I… I know how to control my powers." Anna whispered but as she spoke those words, uncertainty trickled against her skin like sweat. It was true, back in her timeline, she hadn't used her powers in the sad two years since Mikoto had died.
"Prove it. If you can hit the next shot then I'll believe you and we'll get straight to the kung-fu fighting." Maria smirked and she looked like a trickster cat at the moment and Anna was the mouse being toyed with. Pmff! "But if you miss, then you gotta tell me what you're fighting against."
Although Anna's face remained impassive, her grip on the bat tightened painfully. "Then… it's a promise."
Maria's smirk grew in response.
Pmff! Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she turned to the machine and concentrated. The scenery before her seemed to sharpen to every infinitesimal detail. She focused onto the machine, and anticipated the ball. It fired out and, with a sharp intake of breath, she swung the bat.
The ball flew.
It hit the fence.
She'd missed.
"Well, I'm listening," Maria purred. The machine made a sound as it was suddenly shut down.
The bat clattered to the ground when Anna dropped it and rested against the fence. Maria turned around and leaned against the same spot. Anna listened to Maria take several drags from her stick before she finally opened her mouth. "When I was little… I had my family stolen from me… and with them, my dreams and childhood. I was put in an institution called The Center. It was disguised as a hospital to treat those… wrong in the head." Anna grasped her chest as the phantom pain assaulted her with the memories conjured as she recalled the dark time from years ago. "He tried to fix me. My parents didn't know… but they suspected something was wrong… and when they tried to protect me…. It was covered up as an accident but I… I figured out the truth later.
Some time ago, I dreamt of someone I love… dying. He was killed. He was killed doing something for my sake. I knew it would happen but I—I didn't do anything to stop it." Anna swallowed once. Then twice. Hard.
"I will… never forget the face of the man who killed him." Though, now that she thought about it, the Colorless King could take on any identity. He could have more than one face….
This time it was Maria who remained silent for some time. When she spoke, it was casual but firm. "All right, get up."
Anna stood to her feet obediently.
Maria dropped her wasted stick on the ground and grinded it with the heel of her boot. "Get ready to batter up 'cause you're gonna hit it this time."
Adjusting her helmet, Anna frowned. "How do you know?"
"Because you're going to fight." Maria answered. "With your own two hands, you're going to fight against fate. I want you to hit with everything you've got—don't let anything hold you back. Hit for yourself and for the one you're fighting for. Fight for not just him but for the both of you. You know what you're doing wrong? You're not using your powers right. You're 'seeing' the ball when it comes to you but then you close your eyes—you make yourself stop 'seeing'—when the time comes to hit it—when it's time to act. Hit it this time. See what happens when you hit it with no restraint. You will not flinch. You will not look away. You will not do nothing. You will act. You will fight."
The machine whirred with excitement as it was suddenly started up again for another round. When Anna picked up the bat it felt like lead in her hands but when she squeezed it hard with determination, it suddenly felt lighter, almost weightless. She felt a power simmering in her veins and it didn't feel anything like her Strain abilities but she was grateful for it nonetheless. Suddenly, it wasn't just her sight that was keen as she focused once again; all her senses seemed to sharpen. She didn't have time to question the strange sensation further because the next thing she knew the ball was spinning towards her. In her eyes again, she saw it as a bullet that would take the life of Tatara again. Steeling herself, Anna shifted her arms to let the bat swing with the momentum, giving just the right amount of strength needed to meet the ball in time. She swung with the goal of protecting her family. She would not let that flame burn out.
She felt a power surge throughout her body and everything felt like it was moving too slowly in her eyes. From behind, she heard a sharp intake of breath and Maria muttering, "Wha—"
CRACK!
She broke through the dark illusion—broke free of the nightmare that'd been haunting her.
The ball bounced off the bat and soared across the field, disappearing behind the trees over the wall. Anna dropped the bat in amazement and the two of them stayed quiet for a few more seconds, still shocked at the accomplishment.
"That…" Maria finally spoke in a hushed voice, "that would've been a homerun if you were playing for real."
The machine was already reloading another ball but Maria took out a controller and flipped a switch to shut down the machine. Anna was still panting when she asked, "I hit it?"
Maria chuckled and then the chuckle became a chorus of full-blown laughter, though Anna didn't understand what the older Strain found so amusing. "Well, of cou—"
Riiiiiiing! Riiiiiiiing! The bells of a phone chiming cut off Maria and she composed herself with a business-like demeanor as she pulled out the device. "Yes?"
Anna waited as the assassin professionally conversed with the person on the other end. A few seconds ticked by before Maria relaxed back into a casual mood.
"Yes, she's safe." Maria rolled her eyes, shooting Anna a glance in the process. "We're just… you know, having some girl time. Oh yes, she's having a wonderful time." Maria winked at her. Then she changed her voice to something sultry as her eyes developed a mischievous glint in them. "I'm having a wonderful time too, thanks for asking—but I'd be having much more fun if you were here with me… I could be teaching you so many things right now, like how to swing in the right places. Hard."
Maria was no longer looking anywhere close to Anna. If anything, it seemed she even forgot Anna was here with her to begin with. Yet, Anna continued to wait patiently.
A pause, then a laugh. And then her face became a little more serious again, "Oh really? Well you better hurry up then…. Uh-huh. Yep. Yes. Yes, all right. Yeah, yeah, I will. Yes, I promise! But I expect dinner to be on you next time…. Ha! Who said it was a date? …. Promise?"
Annd had looked away because it seemed right to give Maria privacy to talk with whoever was on the line with her but she decided to take just a peek through her bangs. She caught a glimpse of the deadly assassin smiling. It was the kind of smile that crinkled your eyes and showed your inner beauty and made you want to smile back. It was a smile that showed how much you cared about that person.
"Don't worry, we'll make it!" Maria shifted on her feet, almost with giddiness. "Yeah, see you, Chitose."
It was Yō who'd been on the other line? Well, it shouldn't have been so surprising to Anna. She could see right through her fellow Strain. But she also knew Chitose very well and she knew that while he could love with a passion if his heartstrings were played the right tune, he wasn't ready to be serious and tie himself down as of now. Chitose, like Mikoto's wild fire, had a flame that flickered and blew over whichever direction it wanted, whenever. But, maybe.… "You could burn bright with him too…."
"Hm?" Maria slipped her phone back into her pocket. "What's that?"
"Are we done?" Anna asked causally.
"With this? Yes. With training? No." Maria raised her arms up to stretch and the action reminded her of a certain Strain with feline features and abilities. "We're just getting started. Give me that bat and we'll head out."
Anna picked up the bat and handed it over to the woman who looked at it thoughtfully for a second before peering at her. "What you did back there…when—when you hit the ball… that wasn't your power as a Strain, was it?"
Anna only tipped her head to side in confusion. Biting her lip, Maria frowned and then shrugged. "Never mind. Go on inside and change out of that uniform. I'll put back the equipment here. I want you to buy yourself a drink and meet me in the lobby."
Maria shoved some money into her hands and let the young girl scoot off before turning her attention back to the bat again. She rotated it to a certain angle to examine the deep dent on the metal more closely. It hadn't been there on the bat when she gave it to Anna to use, and it hadn't been there the first sixty-seven times Anna had missed. It had been dented when Anna hit the ball…. "She's a Strain with psychic abilities so she couldn't have... Unless…."
"And what is the lesson in eating… grilled chicken?" Anna asked as she stared at the meat hanging on her stick.
"Lesson number two: you must always have your yakitori with sauce. And don't let anything bother you while eating." Maria replied as she dipped the chicken in a pale yellow substance before taking a mouthful of the meal. "Now eat. You're all skin and bones. If you're just that, you won't be as beautiful when you're older. Aren't those men feeding you?"
"They are." Anna began nibbling at the food. It was just that she hadn't had an appetite since Mikoto had died in her timeline. Ever since King's death, Izumo had always cooked her favorite dishes in an attempt to keep her eating but when you ate with no company beside you except for the one who was just as miserable as you, it was impossible to eat with pleasure.
"So…" Maria drawled out. "Which guy do you have your eye on?"
"Huh?" Anna's chicken was halfway to her mouth when she looked up at her fellow Strain.
"Who do you have an interest in?" Maria casually rubbed her chicken onto the glob of sauce sitting on the side of her plate. "I'm willing to bet it's that short guy. What's his name? Something to do with 'crow' I think. He seems to be the one closest to your age."
"Oh, that's easy." Anna continued. "Mikoto is my favorite. He's the most interesting."
Maria made a strangled gasping sound and coughed a few times before gasping out, "What?! That old dude? How is he interesting? He always has a bored look on his face!"
Anna smiled shyly, her cheeks heating up just a bit. "He's very pretty."
"P-Pretty?" Maria repeated in disbelief. Anna nodded vigorously without sparing a glance at the woman. Maria stared at her for a moment longer before slowly going back to her food, her face still set in confusion.
"You have an interest in Chitose?" Anna didn't need to guess.
"Not really." Maria picked at her food but wasn't eating it now.
It was now Anna's turn to stare at Maria with blank disbelief. She muttered, "liar", before turning back to her plate.
"I'm not lying to you!" Maria sputtered.
But Anna only shook her head. "Not to me. To yourself."
Maria stiffened and then dropped her stick back onto her plate. With her elbows on the table, she clasped her hands in front of her face and went on to stare at the abandoned chicken with a slight crinkle between her brows.
"Lesson number two," Anna murmured, "don't let anything bother you while eating."
A few seconds passed before Maria cracked a grin. "So the student becomes the master, eh? All right, then read me."
Now Anna stiffened. "…. What?"
Maria pulled back and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I want you to read me. You know what I mean. I'm giving you my permission to look through all my secrets. Aren't I polite?"
"Why?" Anna set down her food, watching the older Strain critically now.
"Because Yō-kun taught me there's nothing to be ashamed about when you're a Strain… or when you kill for a living..." Maria said with a small, thoughtful smile on her face. "I have nothing to hide."
"Is that the only reason?" Anna asked, and Maria bit her lip in consideration.
"So you can tell me what my heart wants." Maria replied softly, as if the two were swapping secrets. Her eyes softened and the smirk dropped from her face as she whispered, "Please. I need to know so that… what happened then, won't happen again."
Anna had been lying when she said she'd dreamt of Maria Yubikiri. However, maybe this way she really could 'see' for Maria and thus fulfill her end of the bargain she'd made with the woman earlier.
"All right." Anna eventually answered. Slowly, she took out a marble—being very careful with it this time so as to not break it and accidentally reset the cycle again. "Are you ready for this?"
"Why do you ask?" Maria snorted. "Is it painful?"
"No." Or, at least Anna didn't think so. She'd never been on the receiving end so she couldn't describe what it was like exactly. She only knew that the person felt weird, somehow. "You're just going to feel a little… discomfort."
Maria chuckled humorlessly. "Well, that's reassuring. Just get on with it, doctor."
Taking a deep breath, Anna went on to hold the blood marble up to her eye. "Look here," She commanded.
Maria flicked her gaze to Anna and their eyes connected through the crystal ball. The assassin breathed sharply and held a blank expression as Anna delved into her mind.
Swimming through darkness, Anna headed towards the colorful tendrils of thoughts and memories ahead of her. She flinched at the abrupt thunderous noise of a pistol firing off once. It had sounded uncomfortably close to her so she paused at where she was. It fired a second time, and the jarring sound had her reeling back for a moment to the point where she was almost thrown back out. After the second shot, Anna waited a couple more seconds, bracing her consciousness for another round but none came again. She pressed forward, moving through the murky darkness of Maria Yubikiri's subconscious until she finally reached the network of memories and thoughts.
There were flashes of gunfire—Maria's memories of her previous missions—and other adult things Anna didn't need to see. She sifted through the memories and thoughts as if she were looking through files in search of a certain document. While sorting through them, she caught visions of a rugged but slightly handsome young man with dark hair and smoldering eyes that gazed upon Anna—no, Maria Yubikiri—with adoration and love. They'd met almost a year ago at some park. He'd been playing Frisbee with his dog and the disc had flown towards her. She had caught the disc on reflexes and instincts but accidentally destroyed it in the process. With an apology, she'd promised to buy him a new one and the next week they'd started hanging out together the same time and day at the park. At first it didn't seem to be on purpose but the man kept accidentally tossing his Frisbee conveniently farther than necessary and conveniently in her direction and she kept catching for him, careful not to destroy the toy though. So they kept meeting again, and again, and again. It wasn't much longer before they fell in love. An assassin who killed for a living and a young man who told her he'd cried when he found out his dog had cancer. What were the odds of the two loving each other?
Swiping the memories aside to press further into the woman's box of secrets, Anna then found herself looking through a pair of binoculars as Maria Yubikiri, the assassin, scoped out her targets. She was only there to take note of their schedule so she could plan her attack afterwards though. Later that day, she and the man were walking along a path at the park which was near empty since it was only the last rays of the sun peeking over the field. The two lovers had been discussing moving in with each other when a stranger approached them with a broad knife. The attacker, someone working for her target, had charged at Maria with the intent to kill her when Maria swiped at the weapon, ripping the metal and rubber to shreds like paper, and then finished the man off without a thought but one for her own survival. When she'd finished, she turned to her love only to find him staring at her as if she were a monster. His dark eyes, once alight with a hot passion for her, were cold and filled with both fear and disgust. 'Monster' he had called Maria with those same lips that had kissed her with unbridled desire and heat, that had given her happiness, and that had whispered sweet love into her ear. Had they all been sweet nothings? Didn't he promise her his love?
He didn't meet her at the park in their usual spot the next day—nor the days that followed.
Anna pushed herself through the darker, blurred visions filled with darkness and screaming and tugged herself to the light that peeked out from the black folds. She saw Chitose but decided to push even farther, and farther, and farther, until she begun to hear the cries of a miracle being brought into the new world… and that was all Anna needed to see.
Closing her eyes, Anna set down the marble, breaking the connection. Maria released a breath she'd been withholding the entire time and then looked uncertainly but also expectantly towards the young girl. "Well?"
"Well…." Anna tucked her marble safely away and then looked Maria in the eye. "He'll be a tough nut to crack but… he's worth it."
Maria grinned again, and then they continued with their lunch.
"I really don't understand how you train." Anna muttered as she stared into the eyes of a sleepy Shiba Inu. They were at the animal shelter going through kernels of depressed, hyperactive, or lonely animals.
"This isn't how I train." Maria said. "This is how you are training. The training I'm giving you is based on what I've assessed from you as both an individual and a Strain. What is her personality? How clever is she? What are her powers? What can she use those powers for? Those are the kinds of things I need to take into consideration when I decide our next training arena. Now, can you guess why I brought us here specifically?"
Well, that was easy. Anna blinked at the quiet dog and the dog blinked back. "You want me to test my empathy powers here."
"Bingo!" Maria winked. "I know you're not really much of a dog-whisperer—much less accommodated with animals at all—"
"I am." Anna cut in. "Kōsuke always brought in animals and he'd let me play with them, though Izumo never approved. It's not that Izumo hates animals; he just likes his bar's wellbeing more than theirs. One time Kōsuke and I found a horse Strain and Mikoto named him Basashi and—"
Anna caught herself. Something about speaking of a happy memory made her feel cheerful but even more sad at the same time. Instinctively, she reached for the locket Saru had given her in the first cycle, courtesy of her fellow clansmen, only to find the precious gift gone. Maybe when she restarted the cycle for the second time, it had melted from existence as she had to start anew. Perhaps that explained why she was also in her old clothes, again, though fitted to her near-thirteen year old body. But why did she still carry the injuries she'd sustained on her back at the park? More questions with no answers. Anna opened her mouth, trying to keep her voice steady and dull as usual. "I'll tell you how they're feeling, if that's what you want me to do."
Sliding her eyes to the side, she gazed at Maria who was also watching her back. "But this is the animal shelter. Of course they're sad and scared. They're either lost or abandoned." Anna didn't mention how she'd gone on joints to the shelter countless times with Kōsuke to drop off various animals there.
"Do you dislike being here?" Maria asked, studying Anna closely. "Yō-kun told me a bit about you before, when I'd asked him what a young girl like you was doing with a bunch of men who inspired trouble all around them."
Deciding not to answer her question, Anna turned back to the Shiba Inu and peered into its eyes, the windows to one's soul. She studied his steady gaze and waited awhile until she caught a fleeting glint of something guarded. "This one… just doesn't care anymore. He's fine with whatever just as long as he's off the streets. The streets scare him."
She walked on.
The next was a chocolate brown Labrador panting heavily against the bars of the cage. "He's really lonely. He yearns for company but his excitement scares people off."
A small grey terrier barked madly at her approach. "She was the runt of the litter when she was born. She's been bullied a lot by bigger dogs and has been hardened by street terrors."
Anna continued with each animal within its respective kernel. For some, she flinched at the trauma they had to go through, and for others, she sympathized with their losses.
At the last cage, she reached an old golden retriever with an ear half gone. Anna paused slightly at this one. There was a quiet air about him that felt serene, almost ancient. When Anna looked into his warm eyes, she could have sworn he was looking right back at her likewise. "There is… a light in him. I—I'm not sure what it is but I think he's holding onto… hope." A hope for what though?
The sound of boots clunking snapped Anna out of it and she backed away from the cage. Maria laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Lesson number three, Anna Kushina: Where there is darkness, there is always light. There cannot be one without the other."
Anna nodded. But then the assassin's hands dug into her shoulders, tight but not enough to hurt—yet. Maria looked her dead in the eye with a grim face. "But never forget: often the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows."
Without waiting for any sign of acknowledgement, Maria turned and began walking out. Anna started after her but not without taking one final glance back at the weathered dog, still staring right into her.
"So where to now?" Anna asked.
It took Maria a second before she finally answered, "to a playground I used to frequent often as a child…."
Anna nodded solemnly from her shotgun seat in the car. The small sun peeking through the cloudy winter sky was neither high up nor very low. It was cutting a bit too late into the noon than Anna would've liked, and she couldn't deny the warning bells tingling in the back of her mind to pick up the pace. Every minute spent was essential before the 11:45 p.m. mark. And truth be told, Anna didn't feel anywhere close to being powerful enough to defeat the Colorless—
"I don't want you to panic but…" Maria spoke calmly as she drove her rouge convertible through the streets of Shizume City, "my work is following us."
"For the past ten minutes." Anna commented coolly. "I know."
"Huh." Maria smirked, angling the review mirror to a better position. "Should have known you would. Mind if I take a quick detour?"
"To do what?" Anna asked.
The assassin glanced over at Anna before breaking into a sly grin. "To bring our secret admirers on a date." The car was abruptly thrown forward as Maria slammed the gas pedal to push through the speedometer at a dangerous speed. The tires squealed at the sudden pitch in speed, burning marks on the pavement as Maria weaved out of traffic and onto an emptier road for the sake of the citizens' safety.
"Don't worry, I've done this before!" Maria was still grinning wickedly. As they flew through the highway, still in the middle of a hot pursuit, the wind whipped at their hair, giving Maria a crazed but glorified appearance in Anna's perspective. The younger Strain remained calmly seated all the while, with her hands neatly clasped on her lap and her face without expression even as the sound of a bullet rocketed through the air. She was, after all, used to being pursued, similar to her fellow Strain. There was that time when Prince—Tanaka Youji—had chased after her on Basashi—Arion—to try and make her his princess…. But now wasn't the time to reminisce.
P-taff! Anna didn't flinch even as a hole shattered into her side view mirror.
"Guns again?" Rolling her eyes, Maria took out a special-looking pair of dark shades from the glove box to shield her eyes from the whiplash of the wind. "How boring."
Another bullet sounded off.
"That's two." Maria counted. "When will they ever learn?"
Anna shrugged in disinterest before perking up in her seat. Pressing against the seatbelt, she peered at the edge of the horizon where the sky met the gray blur of the road. "There's… construction work ahead. The road splits and continues on the right but the left side is a dead end."
"Is that so?" Keeping her eye on the rearview mirror, Maria smirked before spinning the wheel on the right side to sharply swerve the car likewise. "Well, lucky for me, that's my kind of happy ending. Tell me when they've shot six more times."
Anna frowned in confusion but didn't say anything. Maria kept the car at a steady speed, keeping just barely ahead of their pursuers.
P-taff!
One, Anna counted silently.
P-taff!
Something from the back of the car shattered. Two.
"It's a good thing my job covers my insurance for all this!" Maria shouted.
P-taff! P-taff!
Anna's side view mirror had now been completely blown off. Three—four. She turned to Maria."We're nearing the split!"
"Get down!" The assassin ordered, grasping the back of Anna's head and pushing it all the way to her lap. P-taff! A bullet hole in the windshield cracked down the window with a web design.
"Five!" Anna warned her.
"Ooh, here we go." Maria grinned wolfishly. Slowly, she placed a hand on the shift stick and although her arm muscles were evidently tensed, her hand was completely lax, keeping a loose grip on the stick handle. "Did I ever tell you of that time I went to Tokyo and a friend of mine there taught me a cool car trick?"
Anna shook her head at the rhetorical question.
"No? Well, allow me to demonstrate what he taught me." Maria glanced once more into the review mirror with a calculating look in her eyes. "Hold on tight and—whatever you do—don't blink."
Anna tightly gripped the strap of her seatbelt with both hands. She had to raise her voice since the wind at high speeds carried away most of the volume "Why?!"
"Because" The assassin tensed her grip on the steering wheel, "this is—"
P-taff!
"Six!"
"—DRIFTING!" Maria yelled aloud with a giggle and a whoop at the end as she pulled the shift stick with lightning speed while spinning the wheel to a crazy degree. The scenery swept aside in a blur as the car viciously twisted around in a semi-circle. Gritting her teeth, Anna leaned against her door to balance herself as the car pressed leftwards. She didn't know what to think when Maria leaned out, reaching towards the car they were circling around—dangerously close to them. There was this horrible scream of metal giving out and the pop of a tire bursting as Maria shredded through the front and side of their pursuers' car while they made their way around. Without looking, Maria let go of the wheel with her free hand and pulled the shift stick, spun the wheel hard, then pulled the stick again before returning to her seat properly. She slowed the car down considerably, putting a huge distance between them and their pursuers up ahead. The scent of burning rubber permeated the air. Maria nodded her head to the car now running swerving violently before them. "Enjoy the show but make sure to keep your head down lest you want a bullet in your head."
Not a second after she spoke did the car ahead explode as it crashed into the cement block forking the road in two. Anna could faintly hear the zing of bullets accompany the flames that shot out of the wreckage so she ducked even further just in case.
"That was quite the workout, wasn't—" Maria's chuckle faded as she leaned forward, slowly taking off her shades, to peer more closely at the flames swallowing the car. "No, something's not right."
Sensing alarm in Maria's tone, Anna sat up in her seat and looked through the flames with her special sight. The shadow of a figure bloomed from the burning fire. Panic began to set in Anna's bones once she recognized what was wrong. "Maria! We need to go! They have a psychic Strain—"
"I know." Maria spoke grimly, already shifting gears. "He threw up a shield to protect himself…"
"He's stronger than me." Anna couldn't stop the horror from creeping into her words as she voiced out their realization. She knew he was stronger than her because she couldn't read his mind at all.
Their car maneuvered around to streak to the opposite direction of their new opponent.
"Can he control mi—" Maria started but then her eyes became glassy and she let go of the steering wheel. The car swerved violently from the loss of control.
"Maria!" Anna grabbed the wheel to steady the car before they could crash.
"Die, Anna Kushina." A dull, lifeless voice slipped out from the possessed Assassin.
"I am going to enjoy using your body." Unbound mirth was evident on the Colorless King's wispy expression and Anna felt her body grow angrily hotter in reaction. "Imagine the faces of your king and his men when they come to think you've deceived them. I'll kill them all! Nice and slow… I'm going to love it."
Remembering the fox-face's threat, Anna felt like her heart had leaped to her throat as fear seeped into her pores. She spared a sharp glance to her possessed friend and shook the woman's shoulder while keeping her other hand on the wheel. "Maria! Snap out of it."
"Die, Anna Kushina. Die, Anna Kushina. Die, Anna Kushina." Maria muttered, repeating the threat like a mantra.
Not good, Anna thought quickly, this is getting too dangerous. If I die here, would the cycle restart? Or do I really need to break a marble? However, something told Anna that if she died now, she would never be able to come back again. Is this what the Slate was talking about? That all the forces in the universe were trying to rid her—
Maria let out a burst of crazed laughter and twisted her head around to give a deranged smile. "DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE!"
Kicking at Maria's leg to let up on the gas pedal, Anna held her breath as the car slowed down to a stop. One danger was over, but the real danger…. Anna turned to meet the solemn emerald gaze of the male Strain standing amongst the burning wreckage.
"Let. Her. Go." Anna said through gritted teeth.
The ashen-haired boy, who looked a few years older than her, tilted his head in question. "Why?", he spoke through Maria.
Anna didn't have time for this! She was always squeezed for time! And no matter how hard she tried—no matter how fast she was—it was never enough! She was always too late! The longer she spent staring at the boy, the more she grew angry. She could practically feel the seconds ticking by carelessly like the sweat that was beginning to drip down her brow despite the cool weather. Something hot burned at her core and it didn't take Anna long to realize it was the same rage that ignited within her back at the lake when she first saw the Colorless King in the form of a teenage boy. Her hands started to tremble so she squeezed them into fists to stop. Though, it didn't really help that her fiery anger was making it difficult for her to breathe properly.
Stop it, Anna told herself. You can't let your feelings come out! If my… if my emotions get out of control… I may hurt Maria too. I—I need to control myself! Taking in deep breaths, she began the process of trapping her emotions into a bottle.
Suddenly, the boy's face split into an amused grin. A teasing voice echoed in her head without warning, "Well, isn't this a surprise. What's a little girl like you holding such a huge title?"
"What are you talking about?" Anna mentally bit back at the boy while making sure the doors in her mind were not left open for any secrets or information to be discovered. She sensed a soft brush against her mental defenses—almost like a caress—and felt a little smug at how she'd manage to keep even just a small step ahead of this experienced Strain. Oh, he was definitely more powerful and experienced than Anna. But what she lacked compared to him, she made up for it in finesse and wits.
"You mean you don't know?" She saw genuine surprise flicker across his face but then heard him sneer in their mental conversation, "That bitch beside you is the only target they gave me. But if I kill you, I'm sure I'll receive a huge bonus. And not just that… I wonder if they'll grant me the title, 'Kingslayer'? Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
Anna froze in response. Losing control for just a brief moment of shock, a sharp pain speared through her temples as a psychic force slammed against her weakened barriers. Wincing in pain, Anna touched a hand to her forehead but grunted as she reinforced her defenses in an effort to fend off his attack. But as she built the mental blocks, she couldn't help but consider his words… Kingslayer?
Anna gasped and almost lost control again as the revelation finally clicked.
The two energy sources at the lake by the park…
"Well, I am sorry to tell you this but a very recent report has informed us that there was a massive release of power here in this exact area." Seri spoke with justification as Anna's men glared defensively at the woman. "It was enough to be considered harmful and so we were sent here to investigate."
What Munakata Reisi said back then when she had questioned him about the nature of Kings….
"Because I sensed two different types of energy at that time. And they came from two Kings. One, very similar to Suoh Mikoto's—but not exactly his—as the Red King, whilst the other… well, I'm not even sure. The other power was unfamiliar to me but at the same time it wasn't. I could only confirm that it was the energy of a King." The Blue King breathed slightly with a deadly seriousness set in his eyes.
That time, when the Colorless King was about to possess her but he fled when something burned him….
"Oh, I'm watching you all right! But are you watching me?!" The Colorless King sneered. Then he threw himself at her full-body and he seemed to be shrinking in size as he sped towards her face in preparation to possess her. Too quick for Anna to react in time, she could only widen her eyes in astonishment.
Suddenly, the fox came to an abrupt halt right before making contact with her eye. He shuddered uncontrollably and hissed out a curse as something seemed to burn him.
He stared at her as his body began fading in and out. "So, you say you're going to stop me? Then remember this, you fatuous strain:only a king can stop another king."
Maria's question to her earlier at the batting range….
Anna picked up the bat and handed it over to Maria who looked at it thoughtfully for a second before peering at her. "What you did back there…when—when you hit the ball… that wasn't your power as a Strain, was it?"
And then the Slate's final words to her….
"When I slipped you into the time stream's flow backwards, you accumulated an amount of residue on your being. With the awakening of your powers, you managed to use the residue left on you to some degree. Though, for now, you're without any residue. My own Kingly aura is partly the cause of such a phenomenon as well."
"Then those two energy releases back at the park. They were both of a King's Weismann levels." Anna spoke slowly. She had several suspicions and all but one of them she was afraid to ask. "Were one of the two energy levels yours?"
"Yes, technically speaking. It was you making use of the time residue remaining on your existence when you awakened your powers."
"Then…." Anna swallowed hard. "Then whose Weismann did the second energy source belong to?"
The Slate stayed quiet for a while before it finally said, "You already know the answer to that, Anna Kushina. But to guide you, I will say this: The second energy source did indeed come from a King."
"Who?!" Anna raised her voice as she noticed the Slate quickly begin to fade with each pulse.
The answer is closer than you think.
"…. I'm… a King?" Anna said aloud.
"Not just a King…." The boy tilted his head upwards. Hesitating, Anna followed his gaze and 'saw' the faint outline of a huge structure hovering directly above her head. She didn't need her marbles to see or know what it was. It was a brassy but straight and narrow structure with a scaly design, like a dragon, stemming from the hilt and entwining all around. A colorful Aura pulsed from the crystal jewel set within the pommel. The Sword of Damocles. "You are the Red King…." The two of them looked back at each other simultaneously and then the boy grinned. "And I'm going to kill you."
SO. Who has seen K: Missing Kings, now that it's out on DVD? Now, I did say before that I was going to incorporate some elements from it into this fanfic (Anna's wings from the previous chapter is one example, and her SoD in this chapter is another one so far) BUT I'm not going to make any references to any scenes from the movie.
THANK YOU ALL FOR READING AND HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!
STAY TUNED FOR MORE K: Preserving the Blaze of Your Red