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: Hey, ya'lls! I'm back! If you get confused as to why there seems to be two stories going on at the same time here, you'll find out what's really happening later. And as I said before, the song lyrics or poems I post down below the title are all clues for the ending.. that is, if you can interpret them accurately! Also, notice how I changed the fic's summary up a bit? Well, enjoy!

K: Preserving the Blaze of Your Red

BY: TCOOKIES777

Chapter 15: Blank Space

We can sail away tonight

On a sea of pure moonlight

We can navigate the stars

Bring us back home

In a place so far away

We'll be young that's how we'll stay

Every wish is a command

When we find ourselves in Never, Neverland

– Neverland by Zendaya

"I do not wish to fight you." The woman spoke softly. The ends of her blood red cloak flapped in response to an icy wind that rustled the two figures standing across from each other.

"Neither do I." A young man her age replied back. His entire form was clothed in a formal black suit with gloved hands that tightened around a scythe about the same height as him. With the smallest shift in movement, the blade of the deadly weapon gleamed a bright green.

"You know what I came for?" The female unclasped her scarlet cloak, letting it flutter to the snow covered ground.

The man brushed back his greyish purple hair with such casualty. "The Slate is going nowhere… as it has not for several years already. If you could not do it back then, then you would not be able to do it now."

"I was a child then." The woman muttered. "I am a King now."

"Do not make the same mistake your fellow Kings did." Her opponent warned her but his voice was gentle. She could practically hear him begging—begging her to give up, to join him—to go in without a fight. But she was of HOMRA. And she would burn to ashes rather than surrender.

"I will ask you one last time: do you stand against me?" She made sure her voice did not waver. That her voice was firm and loud. She could not afford to let any emotions slip through. There was too much at stake and she'd be damned if she made one more mistake.

"I stand with my clan—my brothers and sisters… my King." Swinging his scythe in a menacing demonstration of skills, the man pulled a foot back to step into a stance.

She pulled out blood red gloves from the breast pocket of her ruby waistcoat. The white blouse underneath was inappropriate for the winter weather but white hot fire coursed through the woman's veins like blood. As if to demonstrate the intensity of the power simmering within, she released a heavy breath, dispelling a stream of steam like a dragon blowing smoke. "You stand against a King."

"No…" The man shook his head. His mouth was set in a grim line of sadness. "I stand against someone I would have called 'a friend'."

"A friend?" The woman crouched into position. The heels of her boots crunched deeply into the depths of the snow. She raised a hand up, letting a river of blood run out of the slip of her glove from a cut she'd inflicted upon herself earlier. Before a single ruby drop could hit the snow, the red river began squirming under the will of her power as a Strain. For a second, it continued to squirm like a sentient being as she willed it to mold itself into a blade. Grasping her ruby sword, she swiped it to the side, flicking excess droplets of blood to burn into the snow. Broad wings of fire sprouted from her back and she looked like a princess of Hell. "Maybe in another life."

The blade of the man's scythe became engulfed in an emerald green as it arced across the sky. "Maybe in another time."

"I'm sorry, Sukuna."

"I know, Anna."

The two raced towards each other with lightning speed, neither of them intending to hold back for the other. Shades of red and green flickered across the snowy plain like Christmas lights. All the while, the snow continued falling down around them, mingling with ruby embers and emerald sparks.

"Is that really a good idea in her state?"

"I don't think keeping her cooped up in here is a good idea either. She needs some air."

The voices sounded muffled but just clear enough for Anna to comprehend. Although she was starting to regain consciousness, her body felt too heavy to move. She could barely even move her eyes.

"She's got plenty of air here."

"King," the voice sounded exasperated, "you know what I mean."

After hearing an acknowledging grunt from somewhere nearby, Anna finally managed to crack her eyes open. It was too bright for a moment and she had to squint as her eyes adjusted to the brightness of the afternoon light filtering through the garnet curtains of her windows.

"You're awake." Izumo smiled at her from the edge of her bed. "You may feel a bit groggy for a while but that's because of the sleep medicine you took."

Anna rubbed at her eyes in a daze before frowning in confusion. Sleep medicine? She didn't remember taking any…

"Yata came in earlier to give you pain reliever and sleep aids." Izumo said as if he read her thoughts.

True, her head did feel a bit heavy but she welcomed it, allowing it to muddle the clarity of her mind for as long as possible. As she rubbed away the last of her sleepiness, she turned to the man sitting in the chair next to the bed. He was slumped back with his long legs splayed to the sides and stretching to underneath the bed. Strong forearms rested on the armchairs with calloused hands hanging limply off. Although the expression on Mikoto's face was one of laziness, his eyes remained sharp and trained on the little girl before him.

"Mikoto." Anna noted. She couldn't hide the bit of surprise lacing her small voice.

He closed his eyes briefly—perhaps in relief—before opening them to lean forward and give her a warm pat on the head. "You asked me to stay with you."

Anna smiled shyly and closed her eyes, relishing the warmth of the gentle hand caressing her head. She could sit like this all day, gazing lovingly at the beautiful Aura her King shined with like a jewel.

Izumo cleared his throat for the attention of the two who seemed to have forgotten he was present. "So, are you feeling better now, Anna?"

She shifted slightly, feeling tireless with energy but at the same time exhausted with phantom aches. Something felt off about her body though and, on reflex, she stretched and flexed her limbs and muscles. Anna stilled.

"Izumo…" Anna didn't dare look under the covers. "Why does… my foot…?"

"Oh! No, don't worry!" Izumo said quickly. "We just had it wrapped after a while of icing and I guess that's why you can't feel it right now. The numbing should be gone within a few minutes."

"Oh." Anna's heartrate slowed down to a calmer pace. He was right; she could already feel the uncomfortable tingling sensation as the nerves of her foot began awakening. Somehow, the sensation felt familiar. She glanced at her hands and waved her fingers for good measure. They were fine.

"Um," Izumo stared at what she was doing before she dropped her hands back onto her lap, "so if you are feeling better then I brought you some food. You're hungry, aren't ya?" He gestured towards the tray of breakfast food he had promised her earlier before she'd retreated upstairs. The sight of Izumo's beloved omurice dish laced with tomato sauce elicited a growl from Anna's stomach.

She dropped a hand to her belly and her face reddened under the chuckles of Izumo as well as the soft smirk from Mikoto. The bartender reached over to bring the tray onto Anna's lap. He nodded in encouragement. "Go on. I promised you breakfast in bed after all."

Anna picked up the spork and speared out a piece of the golden dish. Her taste buds savored the delicious mix of spices the bartender used and she couldn't seem to get enough of it. For some reason, she felt like she hadn't eaten something as delicious as this in such a long time.

"Izumo, I'm finished with my food. Thank you." Anna said quietly as she slid her leftovers to the bartender. The food tasted strange in her mouth nowadays. The flavor was bland and not as tasty as it once was. She wasn't exactly sure if it was because her taste buds were acting up funnily or the ingredients were different this time.

The bartender continued to absently clean his glasses and plates as he stared at the empty couches sitting in the corner of the bar.

"Izumo?" Anna said once more. She looked at him for a few seconds before reaching over the counter as far as she could and lightly tugged on the edge of his sleeve. "Izumo—"

Suddenly, the crystal ware slipped through Kusanagi's slim fingers and shattered into pieces with a delicate crash. Through his tinted glasses, Anna saw the deadbeat bartender blink his brown eyes like he had just woken up. "Eh?"

"Izumo, I'm sorry; I made you drop the wineglass." Anna whispered. She knew how much he loved his bar where it might've been to the point of obsession even. And for him to not pay attention while he was polishing his 'valuables' was just so… un-Izumo.

He glanced down at the mess with a blank expression before waving his hand, pulling a small smile at Anna. "No, no, Anna, the fault is all mine. Sorry, I've just… been out of it lately. I'm still… … still…."

Anna watched him trail off with his words. "Izumo-san?"

He cleared his throat and bent down to clean up the broken glass. "Sorry, what were you saying before?"

"I've finished eating. Thank you for the meal…." She repeated once more, surprised that the bartender hadn't freaked out over the little accident like he usually would have done.

Izumo slowly dumped the broken glass into the trash and turned to take her plate. When he saw that she had only eaten half of her favorite omurice, a small wrinkle appeared between his brows.

"You didn't finish it? Anna, you know you have to eat more so that you can grow up strong and healthy just like the rest of the clansmen." He began chiding her softly as he wrapped her dinner and placed it in the fridge in case she decided to eat later. "Since you're a preteen, you need to start eating more with a healthy diet. If Mikoto were here, he—" He froze like a startled deer caught in the car's headlights. Anna stared blankly at him as he chuckled bitterly. "Ah, but he's… not here….. Silly me—idiot…."

"Izumo is not silly or an idiot." Anna reached over and gently touched his cheek. "Izumo is kind, caring, full of love, and makes delicious food. Izumo is Izumo; perfect."

"Perfect." Anna murmured aloud without thinking.

"What?"

"Hm?" She glanced at the brown-haired man sitting beside her.

Izumo looked at her quizzically. "You said 'perfect'?"

"Oh—um," Anna scrambled for an excuse, "omurice. You're omurice is perfect."

"Ah.. okay." He nodded doubtfully at her. He shrugged off his confusion to put on a more cheery smile. "So, if you're feeling better then how would you like to go out for a bit after eating? Chitose, Eric, and Dewa need to go on an errand really quickly. I think it'd be good for you to take a breather. The day is still early and the sun should be out at this time so it's a nice day and, well, you're a young girl living with a group of men so I thought that maybe you're beginning to feel a little crowded what with all the testosterone—"

Mikoto was beginning stare on blankly at his friend as the man rambled on.

"—so I think it's a good idea to step out for a breather—don'tcha think? I mean, if you're leg is still painful then, o'course, you don't need to go. But you won't be out for long 'cause it's a pretty simple errand—"

"I'll go."

"I mean, I worry for you and—eh?"

"She'd said she'll go so you can stop blabbering now, Izumo." Mikoto grunted.

"Okay!" The bartender suddenly stood up with excitement. He didn't even try to hide his relief. "I'll go tell the guys then. They'll be waiting for you downstairs. Ah, take care not to fall, all right?"

She nodded in reply. Again, Anna felt terrible that she was the cause for their worry. Perhaps it was best for her to just ignore anything that looked or felt out of place to her. She could sleep on the issue later tonight and then try to figure things out tomorrow. In the meantime, she decided it was a good idea to take a short joint out for some fresh air. After all, nothing good would come out of just sitting and pondering over things without break.

Once Mikoto and Izumo departed her room, she began rummaging through her drawers for simple but comfortable clothes. It seemed it was already December considering the air was a bit chilly. It wasn't necessarily cold enough for snow yet but she sensed the snow would come soon. Not wanting to keep the boys waiting for long, she hurriedly delved through the layers of clothes in her drawers. She decided on a thick suede dress with a turtleneck to keep her bare neck warm. The skirt flowed down to just above her knees. She was a bit surprised to find it short on her already. Could she have had a growth spurt recently?

When she did an experimental twirl before the mirror she caught sight of some frills below the skirt's top layer. For some reason, the layer of frills bothered her. Normally, she liked her dresses with frills though. Honami always told her that she looked absolutely adorable in them. So why did she feel different about it now?

Shaking her head to dispel the thought, she turned back to her drawer in search of a petticoat to keep her legs warm. One article of clothing caught her eye. An overwhelming compulsion took over her as she tugged out a hooded red shawl. It was laced with fuzzy black trim and had a large darker red bow keeping it closed by a red gem framed by gold material. Reaching a hand up, she fingered the gem curiously. It glinted between her fingers like a mystical jewel.

Stepping in front of the mirror, she draped the shawl around herself. As she leaned closer to the mirror, her image flickered. She blinked before rubbing her eyes. The sleep medicine must still be wearing off, she thought to herself.

But then her image wavered again. It distorted her appearance so subtly that it would have been difficult to notice any changes. But Anna's eyes widened as she saw the girl in the mirror sneer. Her eyes glowed a blood red color and Anna could practically feel the girl burn her stare onto her. She rubbed her eyes again, hoping that what she was seeing was just a trick of the light or a side effect of the medicine. But when she opened her eyes again the girl was still smirking at her.

She wore a similar style of clothes with Anna even; a ruby silk dress with a thick skirt flaring from the hips. The sleeves were off the shoulder but there wasn't a single frill in sight. Their clothing style was similar—but not exact. Her curtain of albino hair was cut off at the chin, accentuating her slightly more mature looks. When the girl tilted her head to the side, Anna caught a glimpse of a small red orb hanging off the girl's left ear. Her sharp eyes as well as her keen instinct told Anna that the earring was somehow made of blood.

"How pitiful." Other Anna purred, shocking Anna even more than she already was. She didn't think the image would actually talk.

"What…" Anna swallowed hard, trying to collect her thoughts quickly. "What are you?"

Other Anna rolled her eyes dramatically. She scoffed as if the answer was obvious. "I'm you, duh! Wow, how naïve. I thought you'd be different from the others, seeing as you're the Chosen One!"

Chosen One? Anna's eyes narrowed at the girl. "What do you mean I'm the Chosen One?"

"Huh! I thought all Annas were smart!" Other Anna huffed in irritation. "You were chosen by the Dresden Slate—what else did you think I meant by the Chosen One?!"

Her brows furrowed as Anna carefully processed the girl's words. This must have been another dream—a weird, twisted dream. Maybe she had eaten something bad for dinner the night before? And then she froze. She couldn't remember what she had for dinner yesterday.

All her instincts were screaming that this was no dream.

"All Annas?" Anna whispered, not bothering to hide her confusion any longer.

Other Anna leaned back and yawned with exaggeration. "Boy, this conversation is duller than I thought it would be! Listen, from Anna to—well, Anna—I just wanted to give you a little piece of advice for your quest to… fix time and whatnot. I guess you're trying to save Tatara and Mikoto so obviously I'm on your side!"

"Fix time?" Anna grasped her head as a sharp pain stabbed her temples. "I—I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Did you bonk your head somewhere?" Other Anna snickered in amusement. "Look, it's a long story and I don't have time to sit down and explain it to you. I just want you to know that you'll die if you keep it up like this."

"How do I know if I can trust you?"

"I just said that I'm YOU." Other Anna's beautiful face twisted into a casual sneer. "Are you fucking deaf or what? Hm, you don't seem to be the brightest Anna in the bunch—so I think I'll just take my leave then…"

"Wait!" Her hand flew up to the mirror to press against the cold surface in desperation. "I—I'm sorry. I'll listen to you properly. Please, tell me what should I do?"

"Oh, all right! Since you're giving me such a cute face of desperation!" Other Anna stifled her giggles with a manicured hand. She then leaned closer to the mirror's surface and, for a moment, Anna thought the girl would actually pop out of the mirror. But Other Anna didn't. Instead, she pressed her forehead against the surface, as if the mirror was an actual barrier separating the two. She whispered in a playful voice, "It's simple. Kill the cute boy who bumped into you."

Cute boy? Her mind scrambled to remember anyone she had bumped into. Was it one of her men? No, did those guys even count since they weren't even boys? And she didn't remember bumping into any guy. Did she even mean literally or figuratively? Anna shook her head slowly. "I—I don't understand. What boy—"

"Anna?" Anna turned away from the mirror at the sound of Izumo's voice calling out from below. "Are you ready yet?"

When Anna turned back to face the girl, she found Other Anna's image flickering in distortion once again. With a smirk on her face, Other Anna tapped a finger against her wrist in indication. "Tick, tock, Anna! The more time you waste then the quicker you'll burn…"

The girl disappeared and Anna ran up to it, pressing her palms against the reflective surface as if she could somehow pass through like it was a portal. But her reflection didn't move, only reflecting how confused and desperate she looked. Waiting a few seconds longer, she eventually backed away.

The questions and doubts weighing down on her heart only seemed to pile up more and more as the day grew on. She wanted to find the answers to these questions in order to relieve the dark worry that'd been twisting around in her gut ever since this morning. But, at the same time, her gut told her that she wouldn't like those answers.

"What boy?" Anna whispered to herself before making her way downstairs.

"Yō, I'm fine, really." Anna said as she struggled to push away the Takoyaki that Chitose was currently shoving in her face. "I'm not hungry."

"Ah, but eating something delicious tends to make one happy, right Masaomi?!" Chitose continued to struggle with Anna, trying to get her to bite the ball-shaped snack.

"Um, well, if she says she's not hungry then…" Dewa smiled wryly, unsure whether or not he should support his friend or obey the princess who looked uncomfortable. He didn't want to push her considering she was a quiet girl who kept to herself most of the time. But after what Izumo told them….

She's… she's not feeling herself lately." Izumo sighed as he spoke with the three men just outside the bar.

"Did she catch a cold?" Dewa asked.

The bartender shook his head. He rubbed the back of his neck as if he wasn't sure how to explain it. "Actually, I don't really know what's up. And… I think Anna is confused herself too."

"Puberty?" Eric spoke up from under his hood.

"Let's get her some chocolates then!" Chitose suggested excitedly. "I hear girls on their periods feel better with chocolate!"

"That's definitely not it!" The other men said in unison and Izumo reprimanded him for his foolishness with a light smack upside the head.

"Just a thought!" Chitose grumbled, rubbing the spot where his senior clansman had hit him. "She's almost at that age, after all!"

"Look, I just want you guys to take her out when you get the flowers for her birthday party tomorrow, okay? Let her get some fresh air." Izumo explained to the three men. "But don't be obvious about it or she'll see right through you and that will just worry her more… Oh, and make sure the flowers are roses!"

"You're being too obvious, dimwit." Anna heard Eric mutter to Chitose as they continued walking down the street. The men still hadn't told her what Izumo had asked them to get exactly but at this point she wasn't really interested anymore. Her mind was filled with everything that had happened this morning and what she had witnessed with the mirror.

The same question she had when she left her room had been nagging at her with every step she took. Several times she had fallen behind because she'd been so preoccupied wondering as to who this 'cute boy' was supposed to be. And… why did she have to kill him?

"… okay, Anna?"

"Hm?" She looked up to find Dewa staring down at her with a concerned look.

Once he got her attention, his lips turned up into a casual smile. "I said Yō has gone ahead of us to get something. He'll be back shortly. In the meantime, we'll wait for him here by the fountain. Are you cold?"

She shook her head as the three of them sat on the lip of the fountain. A statue of a baby boy with angel wings peed out a stream of crystal clear water where it spilled into a shimmering pool. Staring down at her reflection against the crisp water, she asked without glancing away, "Masaomi, what is Yō getting?"

It could have been her imagination but she could have sworn Dewa stiffened beside her. From the corner of her eye, she caught Dewa looking towards Eric who simply tipped a blonde brow and shrugged.

"Um," Dewa raised a hand to fix his maroon derby hat even though it was already perfectly in place, "he's just getting a.. token of appreciation for his favored girl."

"Maria?" Anna asked automatically without thinking. As soon as she spoke the woman's name, a weird sensation settled in her gut. She didn't know very much about that woman except for the fact that she was a Strain and had complicated feelings regarding Chitose. Even so, when Anna spoke her name, she noticed she had said it with such familiarity….

"Y—yeah!" Dewa answered her as she brushed the tips of her fingers across the cold water. Ripples formed on the water's surface, distorting her reflection. It reminded Anna of her mirror-self. Again, the question summoned itself in her mind. What boy?

She continued to stare at her reflection, taking the time to actually study her face in detail. For a ten year old, her face was unusually defined. There were still traces of her baby fat around her cheeks but her cheekbones and jawline were more prominent. Her wine red eyes had a sharper look to them though she noticed the dark circles beneath. She brushed a hand through the silky strands of her pale hair. The length was a bit longer than Anna was used to but she didn't really mind it. Leaning forward, she gazed deeply into the eyes of her reflection. If she peered just closely enough, she could make out HOMRA's insignia within the depths of her pupil.

Dewa's voice broke her out of her thoughts as she heard him greet a returning Chitose. He carried a large paper brown bag and a surge of curiosity spiked through Anna at the sight of the bag.

"So I guess we should head back, all right?" Chitose said once he reached them. He looked down to Anna with a small smile. "Unless you want to stay out for a bit longer?"

"I'm fine." Anna said quietly. She gestured to the paper brown bag Chitose held slightly away from her. "What did you get for Maria?"

"For Maria?" He looked confused for a brief moment and glanced to Eric who shrugged and then his friend Dewa who had his brows raised all the way up. To anyone else—even Anna—his expression was unreadable and even more so amusing. But Chitose was Dewa's close friend and knew what he was suggesting. "AH! Maria, yes! I—I got her… flo—flo—flo—florida orange juice!"

Behind her, Dewa silently face palmed and Eric subtly rolled his eyes. Anna stared blankly at him and continued to do so until his smile became strained. Finally, she let it slide, hopping off the fountain's ledge. "Okay then."

"Let's just get back to the bar." Dewa sighed. "It's getting cold."

It was already the middle of the afternoon when they began heading back. The streets by then were becoming crowded with busy people but they parted a path at the sight of the three men who were well known for being part of the infamous gang known as HOMRA. Some people still gave Anna strange looks as they passed by, as if they couldn't comprehend why a little lovely girl such as her would be hanging with a bunch of shady looking guys.

And then…

"Well, if it isn't Yō." A sultry voice caught Anna's attention.

"Maria," Chitose didn't bother to hide the surprise in his tone but he pulled a gentleman-like smile for the assassin anyways, "it's good to see you again!"

"And yet you were too busy to call me." The dark haired Strain sighed, waving at the other men in greeting. She glanced down at Anna and then smiled softly at her. "Well, hello! I don't believe we've met but…strangely, I feel like we have..?"

Anna shook her head, suppressing the sudden urge to frown. There was that weird feeling in her gut again.

"This is Anna." Chitose introduced the two girls with a gesture of his hand. "And I'm sure Anna knows about you already. She's—"

"A Strain." Maria finished for him. She continued grinning excitedly at Anna. When Maria reached for her hand to shake it, Anna remembered that her Strain power had something to do with her hands. Despite how lethal Maria's hands could be, Anna shook her hand in stride. "It's so nice to meet you. So what's your ability?"

"Maria!" Chitose said in exasperation.

The assassin placed her hands on her hips in defense. "Hey, it's not rude to ask if it's from Strain to Strain!"

"I can read minds, mentally sync with others, detect lies, locate people, extend my power through my marbles, and project my inner world onto reality." Anna answered in one breath, at the same time her expression remained blank.

Maria and the others stared at her dumbfounded for a moment.

"That's…" Maria spoke slowly as she processed Anna's answer. And then her face split into another enthusiastic grin, "so cool! Wow, you should be my partner in crime! We'd kick bad guys' butts on weekdays and then shop like royalty on weekends. But I guess you're already taken."

Anna nodded quietly and Maria sighed, still keeping up the easygoing smile on her beautiful face. "That's too bad. Well, I should get going then. Gotta kill someone by six and then prepare dinner by seven since my girlfriends are coming over."

"All right then. It truly was nice seeing you again, Maria." Chitose shifted a step closer to her, rubbing a hand through his brown locks casually. "I'll make sure to call you soon!"

"Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it!" Maria gave him a pointed look before turning back to Anna. She winked at her as she began walking away, "I'll see you around, sister!"

"Yō, why didn't you give… the orange juice?" Anna asked as they continued on their way.

"Huh?" Chitose blinked in confusion only to receive a sharp elbow to the ribs from Dewa.

"The Florida orange juice." Eric reminded him with a soft smirk.

"Oh!" Chitose chuckled uncomfortably. "I guess I forgot! I was so happy to see her again that I just forgot to give her it."

"Do you want to go back?" Anna suggested, blinking up at him innocently. "She's not far."

"No!" Chitose said quickly. He caught himself and calmly shook his head. "No, it's okay! Izumo is probably expecting us to be back by now."

"Not to mention it's getting a bit too cold." Dewa blew his breath into his hands. He was right. They could already see vague puffs of steam every time they opened their mouth to say something.

Anna shivered in response to his comment and she slipped her hands into her pockets for warmth. She paused once her fingers grazed upon something smooth and hard in the confines of her dress pockets. When she pulled out her hand, she found herself holding her red marbles. Anna didn't remember slipping the marbles into her pockets though…

The five blood red orbs sat on her palm, glinting mysteriously under the light of the day. To anyone else, the marbles would simply look just like any other glass marble. But in Anna's eyes, they were like little pinpoints of light, containing a concentrated power within each orb. Her power—her will. One of them looked distinctly larger than the others and Anna found that a bit strange but thought nothing more of it.

So busy studying her marbles, she didn't see the person whose nose was glued to the game console he held up to his face. They crashed into each other, resulting in a cries of 'oof!' and 'hey!'. She had instinctively closed her hands and grasped her marbles tightly once she felt the body slam into her. Ignoring the pain of her scraped skin, she glanced up at whom she had bumped into.

A boy her age squinted at Anna with his light green eyes. Clicking his tongue, he rubbed a hand through pale greyish-purple hair which was clipped at the sides. He would've been good-looking if not for the disapproving frown marring his features. Anna remained still on the ground, clutching her marbles tightly. She could sense something from him.

Picking up his console, he stood up to brush off the dirt from his dark shorts and went on to fix the lapels of the black vest he wore on top of a white sleeved shirt. "Watch where you're going." He muttered, continuing to glare at her.

She dipped her head in apology but didn't take her eyes off his. "I'm sorry."

He clicked his tongue again in irritation, flicking his eyes up and down her form to take in the appearance of the person who dared to crash into him. With a huff, he pulled his verdant eyes away from hers to inspect his console. The screen was cracked and flickering with a frozen screen of two figures in the middle of beating each other up. His eyes widened in horror. "My game! It's—"

"Sukuna." A tall, violet haired man clad in black walked up to them. "I turn my back around and you're gone. You're no longer a kid, you know? Do I need to hold your hand?"

"Yukari, my game!" The boy stamped his foot down angrily. He pointed a finger down at Anna who had yet to get off the ground. "She broke my game!"

The violet haired man finally turned his attention to Anna and she studied him back in response. She could see he was a beautiful man—definitely narcissistic. There was also something special about him just like the boy. She was still determining whether the vibes they gave off were bad or good. Anna's fingers itched to pick up a marble and peer into him—she wanted to see what was it that made this man and the boy stand out from the others. She doubted it was just their good looks. Meanwhile, the man—'Yukari', the boy had called him—narrowed his sharp brown eyes as he drank in her appearance. And then his eyes widened as if in shock.

"You!" Yukari said slowly, almost accusingly. And then his expression fell back into a suave smile. He reached a gloved hand up to flick back his violet-blue hair. "You are beautiful like me!"

Sukuna rolled his eyes in annoyance. He released a heavy sigh and strode past Anna. "Let's just go, Yukari. Nagare's probably waiting for us and I'm hungry!"

"Yes, yes," Yukari chuckled after the boy, turning away to follow him. He gave Anna one last critical look before walking off, saying, "A nourishing meal is a necessity to keep one's beauty strong and youthful!"

Anna released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding the entire time. She clambered onto her two feet, dusting off the back of her skirt with a free hand. Then she turned her attention to her fist she'd kept closed during the whole ordeal. Her heart stopped when she opened her hand to find four marbles sitting in her palm.

Panic kicked her in the gut and she frantically looked around to see where the marble might have fallen. It's just a marble, she told herself, I could always make more. But her body seemed to be acting on its own and she couldn't stop swiveling her head back and forth in an attempt to find the marble as fast as possible. Panic and desperation mixing in her gut grew with each precious second that ticked by.

What if someone kicked it somewhere?

What if that boy I bumped into kicked it out of spite when I wasn't looking?

What if… it's broken?

She shook her head harder to dispel the thought. Something told her that it wasn't broken… and something else told her that it couldn't afford to be broken either.

"Anna!" She heard Dewa yell over from somewhere nearby. She didn't bother glancing their way; she knew they were coming her way anyways. "Geez, we thought we'd lost you!"

Something glinted to her far right and she turned to see her beautiful blood red marble shining powerfully under the day's light. It was still in one piece. But it was sitting in the middle of the road.

It tittered back and forth with its round shape as vehicles zoomed by it. One car sped past and the motion pushed it closer to another lane.

No, she thought to herself. Her feet were already moving before she could think anything else. Cars honked loudly as she scampered across the busy road to reach the marble that called out to her. She vaguely heard her name being shouted—this time out of fear—but most sounds she heard came through muffled as adrenaline pumped through her veins. Her eyes remained trained on the lonesome marble lying precariously on the road, even as cars swerved and screeched their brakes on.

She finally got close enough to the marble, reaching a hand out to nab it when the roar of an engine too close to her stole her attention.

Everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion as Anna turned her head to look on at the truck just a few feet from her. The driver was still motioning to hit the brakes but there wasn't enough time. Anna was helpless to do anything; a split second was not enough time for her to move away. It was just enough time to kill her though.

And in that split second, a film of images began rushing into her head, playing like one of Tatara's classic film videos. They flashed in her mind so fast that spikes of pain needled their way into her temples.

"Izumo, I'm sorry; I made you drop the wineglass." Anna whispered. She knew how much he loved his bar where it might've been to the point of obsession even. And for him to not pay attention while he was polishing his 'valuables' was just so… un-Izumo.

He glanced down at the mess with a blank expression before waving his hand, pulling a small smile at Anna. "No, no, Anna, the fault is all mine. Sorry, I've just… been out of it lately. I'm still… … still…."

Anna watched him trail off with his words. "Izumo-san?"

He cleared his throat and bent down to clean up the broken glass. "Sorry, what were you saying before?"

"I've finished eating. Thank you for the meal…." She repeated once more, surprised that the bartender hadn't freaked out over the little accident like he usually would have done.

Izumo slowly dumped the broken glass into the trash and turned to take her plate. When he saw that she had only eaten half of her favorite omurice, a small wrinkle appeared between his brows.

"You didn't finish it? Anna, you know you have to eat more so that you can grow up strong and healthy just like the rest of the clansmen." He began chiding her softly as he wrapped her dinner and placed it in the fridge in case she decided to eat later. "Since you're a preteen, you need to start eating more with a healthy diet. If Mikoto were here, he—"

He froze like a startled deer caught in the car's headlights. Anna stared blankly at him as he chuckled bitterly. "Ah, but he's… not here….. Silly me—idiot…."

"Izumo is not silly or an idiot." Anna reached over and gently touched his cheek. "Izumo is kind, caring, full of love, and makes delicious food. Izumo is Izumo; perfect."

"I know what I want." She whispered.

The Slate acknowledged her statement and said quietly, "What is your wish, child?"

She closed her eyes and slowly took a deep breath. "Tell me, Slate," She muttered, "what is the cost that I must pay for my wish?"

"You are wise, little girl." It replied back. "However, I cannot announce the cost right now. I need time to determine it later. But the time will come for me to collect the payment. And you must prepare yourself for when it does. You will know when…."

"… Okay." Her dark eyes that could see so much finally opened and she gazed at the slate waiting before her. "Then this is what I want: I wish to go back in time. Go back to before Tatara died."

"… As you wish." The Slate responded softly. Suddenly, it started to glow a bright and radiant mixture of colors of the color spectrum. "However, there is one rule that you must follow, no matter what. Whatever you do, child, do not tell anyone that you are from the future. If you do, then there will be dire consequences."

Violent chills and vibrations shook Anna's small body like a rag doll. She hugged her arms and looked around wildly for a moment before calming down and glancing back at the mysterious rock beneath her. "I want to ask something first. Why… why me?"

The Dresden Slate underneath her feet started to fade away. Before it vanished from her sight completely, she heard it whisper quietly in the recesses of her mind. "Because if it's you… then it's possible…."

Leaning on the rail before her was a young man with snow white hair way brighter than her pale strands. His lean figure proved to her that he was only still a teenager and not a grown man.

She felt her hands pull something up to her chest and Anna realized that it was a camera. In fact, it looked very familiar to her. She knew she'd seen it countless times before.

"December seventh, 11:45 p.m." She felt her mouth talking. But what came out wasn't her soft voice. It was the voice of a man. And she knew it too. It was a voice that had comforted her whenever she had nightmares, or when she couldn't speak up for herself. It was the beautiful voice of someone she loved so dearly.

"Hey, it's a nice night out." Tatara continued speaking nonchalantly. Anna tried to move the legs that didn't belong to her but it was like she was stuck in his body watching everything through his eyes. "I came here to take pictures of the nighttime view, but what are you doing here?"

By this time, the boy had stopped humming. She thought that it was already creepy before, but now the dead silence only made things even worse. Warning bells signaled off in her consciousness as she felt a cold chill that didn't come from the weather run down her spine. He leaned away from the railing.

"I'm Tatara Totsuka." The corners of her mouth—no, Tatara's mouth—pull up in a welcoming smile for the mysterious man. "What's your name?"

Run away,she thought. Tatara, no, you have to get away from him! Run, Tatara run! He's going to kill—

Bang.

Dropping the precious camera, she collapsed onto the floor. As she curled up into a fetal position, she realized that she was in her own body this time. She had seemingly replaced Tatara who was no longer in sight. The boy smiled maniacally with a crazed look in his dark amber eyes as he continued to point the gun at Anna. "I am the seventh king, the Colorless King!"

She could hear her small heart pounding against her chest almost painfully. Anna wondered if the boy could hear it too. Or was he too busy smirking in all of his glory and success?

"A nice night you say?" From the corner of her eyes, he waved his hands in the air dramatically as if he was acting in an opera, addressing to an imaginary audience. She heard the snow white haired boy laugh darkly. "Indeed it is…."

"Actually, th-there's one more thing I must tell you, Tatara-san. One more secret…."

"Eh?" Tatara blinked in surprise. "Does it have to do with your 'growth spurt'? Does it have to do with your Strain powers? A-are you taking some kind of medicine? Oh my, is it a drug-"

Anna touched a finger to his lips to shush him. "No, not exactly... I can't promise that it's not something crazy though..."

Could she tell him? She wasn't sure what the consequences would be, considering that the Slate had never revealed to her the details. But everyone made risks to be where they are. If she didn't take any risks then how would she be able to change history? She had to tell someone—and not just anyone. Besides, maybe Tatara still remembered what she had once told him five years ago. She was about eight years old when Honami and her had paid a visit to Homra's bar. That was also the day she would meet her future family.

What about Mikoto? Hm, no, not him; there's no telling what he would do. King was too unpredictable.

Izumo? Ah, he might think she was still dreaming. And, for sure, he wouldn't hide such critical information from Mikoto either.

Out of everyone else, Anna knew that she could entrust this huge secret to Tatara the most. After all, Tatara was the most understanding in the clan. It was one of the many reasons why he was such a likeable person that seemed to attract people to him everywhere he went.

"Tatara-san, you're not going to believe it but…." She took a deep breath and made a motion for the man to come in closer. Her breath tickled his ear as she whispered into it, "I am Anna from the future."

Suddenly, an electric sensation ran down Anna's body and she jolted her eyes open, wary of the familiar disturbance she was feeling. She wildly looked around in search of the source. Pinpointing it in the direction of the lake nearby, she froze as she met the cold eyes of the boy. A psychotic grin started to stretch across his face.

It was him.

The one she saw in her nightmare.

The person who had murdered Tatara the night before her birthday.

Snow white hair just like hers but brighter… and the face of a killer.

The Colorless King.

"That boy…." She whispered hoarsely to no one in particular. Tatara stopped singing and everyone turned to look at her.

"Anna?" Izumo asked almost unsurely. Her eyes were as wide as saucers but what stunned him the most was the determined look in her face; he had never seen it before.

Mikoto, sensing her uneasiness, peered at her from the corner of his eye. "What's wrong?"

Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably but it wasn't from fear. There was this raw energy surging throughout her but Anna didn't know what it was. She stood up on trembling legs but held her ground, never taking her eyes off the young man directly across from her. "He's the one…."

"Ah?"

Before anyone could understand what was happening, Anna broke into a mad dash with speed they had never seen her use before. She didn't spare a glance back. She wouldn't dare.

"Anna?!"

She couldn't control it. She couldn't stop. Not now! Not now when that person was standing right in front of her! Not now when she was running out of time to save Tatara and Mikoto. Not now while the future of Homra—the future of her family—rested in her hands.

And with her hands, she will..!

Anna remained motionless as the crazed king whispered his plans straight into her ear as if they were close buddies swapping secrets. "Until only your King is left… He'll be at his most vulnerable once he realizes he is all alone. And after he's given up hope… after I've eaten his delicious aura… I'll take my time torturing him right before his death. And it will all happen by your hands."

Sorry, Anna… I won't be able to show you that lovely red anymore….

"…. …. …."

Irritated at the lack of a reaction, the cunning fox peered up at the girl's face which was obscured since she was hanging her head down.

"What, nothing to say?"

"You… must be a fool." Anna tilted her head up, shocking the silver wisp with her blank expression. But it was her wine red eyes that really threw the deranged entity off guard. They were burning so bright with determination it was almost as if a fire was reflected within them. For the first time in his entire life, jumping from one body to another, the fox king shrunk back with great unease.

"Eh? Wh-what?"

As the red rage pounded against Anna's chest, she could feel the power of flames coursing through her veins. They ached to escape and decimate everything around her and, for once in all of her five years as a clansman, Anna struggled to control her Aura. She clenched her hands and went on to glare at the king with great enmity as she raised her voice. "I said, you must be a fool if you think I'm going to let you stand by and hurt my most important people! Use me? I can almost laugh!"

The Colorless King squirmed in agitation. "W-what?! You… you impudent child! You think you have the power to change fate?!"

"Watch me." Anna spoke with cold cut confidence. "Because that's what I came here to do."

The King was silent for a moment before cracking up in hysterical laughter. "Oh, I'm watching you all right! But are you watching me?!"

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."

"Agh!" Tatara's cry caught Anna's attention and she glanced up to see a blade sticking from his shoulder where red bloomed on the sleeve. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of Tatara's injured form. Again, the vision of Tatara lying in his pool of blood stained her sight and that was all she saw.

Anna shut her eyes and, letting out all of her emotions, her power was unleashed. "STOP!"

…. …. …. ….

Utter silence.

She was reluctant to open her eyes—scared of what laid before her—but the absence of sound stretched on, making her feel extremely uncomfortable and even more worried. Slowly, Anna peered through the hands she splayed across her eyes, only to find a sight more horrifying than she expected.

"What have I done?" Anna whispered to no one in particular. With her mouth slightly open, breath vapors were released into the air. They floated skywards in puffs and, besides her, they were the only things moving.

To her right, Yata was still in midair on his skateboard as Fushimi, smirking, was prepping to block the force with one of his throwing knives. Izumo was behind Seri who was facing off with a tired looking Mikoto; he seemed like he was going to grab Seri's arms and restrain her, knowing she was no match for his King and not wanting her to get hurt.

In front of Anna laid Kamamoto on the ground with his shades off. Chitose was in the middle of covering him from the twins who had their swords raised to strike in sync.

The young girl slowly turned around to find the same result behind her; nobody was moving.

Everyone... everything is frozen!

"Did I… did I do this?" She took in a shaky breath. "Did I… stop Time?"

No! She couldn't have! Her powers were of empathy…. But she didn't sense the power of another Strain either…. Even if it'd been someone else, she would've been affected by them too and suffer the same fate as her comrades. Besides, stopping Time is impossible…. But then again, she did leap back about a year….

Collapsing onto her knees, Anna hugged her legs to herself and pulled Mikoto's coat closer around her body. "Just what… am I?"

She waited… and waited… and waited. And still, nobody moved.

If I don't know how to control my own powers then how can I fix this?! What if… what if everyone remains like this forever? And then I'll be by myself again… alone and helpless to do anything….

No! Anna shook her head furiously and then slapped her cheeks with her palms. No, I've got to do something! I can't keep sitting around, crying over every problem I cause! I want to be just like Mikoto, Izumo, Tatara, and everyone else someday! Strong and proud to face come what may.

Anna wiped away the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. And then she focused on the blood she had drawn from herself earlier. Using her power, it rose up and formed into a crystal marble slightly larger and distinctively harder than the other six kept in her pocket. I swear on this marble—no, on my own blood—that I will protect my family… and save their future no matter the costs!

Rising on her legs, she traipsed towards her King, stopping right between him and the Blue lieutenant.

"Mikoto…" Anna whispered his name softly. She reached over and gently laid her hand on his own. "Mikoto, it's all right now. You don't have to suffer by yourself any more. I will take your pain… and bear it myself. Don't worry, I know how. You say you're worried about hurting others… but, in truth, you're actually hurting yourself."

She leaned forward and pressed her cheek to the back of Mikoto's hand, imagining him patting her head with hidden kindness and love just like he always did. "I'm going to save you, Mikoto… you, Tatara, Izumo… I'm going to save everyone. Because I love you."

"I'll take the floor." Fushimi informed Anna after he had pulled on a black crew neck shirt. He grabbed some pillows and an extra blanket, tossed it on the floor beside his bed, and laid down, facing away from the Strain.

"Do you want your shirt back now?" Anna asked. Just the thought of not being able to smell the lemon scented soap anymore saddened Anna a bit. It had quite a calming effect on her.

"If you're just going to borrow another shirt of mine then, no, just hold onto it a little longer..." He said, still wearing the grumpy expression he had been maintaining all day.

Anna blinked. She felt kind of ashamed to be taking over Saruhiko's space. For the rest of the day, Saruhiko had taken care of her without saying anything; he bought her dinner, accompanied her everywhere, let her borrow his clothes, and practically watched over her like a personal bodyguard. Though, they hadn't really spoken much after what had happened in the medical lab. But now she felt like she was encroaching on his space. She had this large bed all to herself while its owner was resting on the cold floor. That was just wrong.

"…. Saruhiko?"

He grunted in acknowledgement without turning to look at her.

"I'll sleep on the floor." She whispered to him. "This is your bed. You use it."

"It's fine."

"But… aren't you cold?"

"I'm fine."

See? Saruhiko is the stubborn one here…. Anna furrowed her brows, thinking deeply. Whenever I'm cold, Izumo would always put an extra blanket on me. "But, Saruhiko, I'm kind of cold…."

Sighing, he finally twisted around to peer at her from over his shoulder. "I don't have any more blankets… but you can use the one I have here, I guess."

She frowned. "But then Saruhiko will be cold!"

"I'll be fine." He stood up, dragging his blanket to Anna.

Oh no, what should I do? Now Anna was starting to feel even worse. Hm, whenever I'm cold and there's no blanket I… I always go to Mikoto's side! "Saruhiko, let's cuddle?"

"EH?!" He stepped back abruptly upon hearing her idea. "I-I don't cuddle!"

"But then we'll both be cold." Anna reasoned with him. Isn't cuddling a common thing to do? She cuddled with Kamamoto, Tatara, Mikoto and Izumo quite often.

"I said it's fine, didn't I?" Fushimi growled impatiently. He was seriously not the type for cuddling! Especially since it was a little girl whom he had absolutely no relations—no, even if he had a sister, he'd still wouldn't do it! If it was the last thing he did! But, he had to admit, it was pretty cold on the floor….

Anna allowed her lips to tremble as she stared at Fushimi, though, she had to be mindful of the intensity of her stare lest her powers activate, especially since Fushimi didn't have his glasses on.

"Urgh…." His eye twitched before he gave in, climbing atop the bed. Anna scooted over as close as she could to the wall, knowing he wanted to be distant from her as far as possible without falling off. "I want to make this clear; we are not cuddling. We are simply sharing the bed together, got it?"

She gave a content nod and then he turned on his side to face away from her once again. But then she realized the bed wasn't really as big as she believed it was; there was only five inches of space between them even though she was pressing herself against the wall.

Oh well, she thought, at least this way I can feel Saruhiko's warmth even if it's not Mikoto's. Yes, even though Fushimi had defected from HOMRA, his red Aura still continued to beat faintly in close resonance with Anna's.

"Hey…." He started in a hushed voice. She strained to stay awake so she could hear him."Does… does it still hurt? Do you need to redress your wound?"

Yawning, Anna angled her head to stare at Fushimi's back as he lay on his side away from her. "I'm good."

"Oh." He cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not like I'm worried or anything. I just don't want to have any blood stains on my sheets… they're really hard to clean out, you know. So, I better not wake up to any of that, you hear?"

"…."

"Anna…?"

Receiving no response, Fushimi peeked over his shoulder only to find that the little girl was already deeply asleep. And he laid there in bed, repeating in his mind over and over, 'I'm not worried about her' until he eventually dozed off as well.

"How do you know if you were born a King, chosen by the Slate?"

"It's essentially a dormant power, called a 'Sanctum', which rests within you until it is time to awaken." Munakata answered her. "It's unclear when, exactly, it awakens—the situation varies. But, of course, it will always awaken at some point after a King dies and it is that person's turn to take over."

Anna's palms were starting to feel sweaty for some reason. Why am I so nervous all of a sudden? "So how do you know if you have a Sanctum?"

"You just do." Munakata's standard smile then drooped a bit. "Even for me, it's hard to describe exactly but I guess you can say it's just a natural feeling…. Think of it like this: your heart is an organ that continuously pumps blood to keep it flowing throughout your body. Without the heart, you will die of course. Even so, we don't really pay much attention to our heart. It's just there in the cavity of your chest, and it's probably the last thing we think of when it comes to taking care of your bodies. People are aware of their limbs, brain, primal needs, etc. but the heart is most likely the least thought of even though it is vital. Do you know why? It's because it feels just as natural as breathing to the point where we become unconscious of it. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"I do." Anna gave a sharp nod.

"So unless the situation calls for it, we continue to remain unaware." Resting his elbows on the desk, Munakata leaned forward. "Because one's Sanctum is not a part of the Slate but a part of yourself."

"Does the Slate decide when to awaken your Sanctum?"

"No," Munakata's eyes drifted shut. "Just as long as a King is needed, the one who bears a Sanctum will be the one to awaken it on his or her own. That's why new Kings don't just pop up the day after one has just died."

"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.' "

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 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.

"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."

"I'm thinking of how I love everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone." Anna said with emphasis. "I'm thinking of how life is really precious because you never know when something precious to you… is taken away."

Fushimi peered at her from the corner of his eye. That's right, he thought to himself, this girl has already lost her parents and essentially even her aunt. "That so…."

"But" She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess that's what makes life precious after all."

Closing his eyes, Fushimi let out a breath. "It is what it is."

"And that's why you need to stay with your loved ones." Anna tilted her head to peer at Fushimi. "The people you care about—and the people who care about you… being with them is what makes one happy the most. We may argue and fight… and sometimes we hurt each other… but in the end, we're there for each other when we need a hand to pull us up when we fall down. Because that's—"

"—what life is." Fushimi opened one eye to peek at her. "Right?"

Nodding, Anna touched the locket hanging around her neck. It was warm, heating up her cold hands to battle the winter air. Something wet touched her cheek and she angled her head to glimpse up at the pitch black sky which was decorated with tiny flecks of white raining down upon them. "It's… snowing." She breathed, holding out a hand to feel the soft snow land in her palm and melt.

Together in silence, they viewed the ephemeral white shower for a long while, simply appreciating the cold beauty. "I'm thinking…" Fushimi quietly murmured after several minutes of staring at the falling snow, "of a time when I… had someone I could count on. There was someone who always had my back but… shit went down somehow and we fucked up."

Anna stayed quiet, letting her old comrade speak his mind since it was such a rare thing for him to do considering he was reserved like her and didn't express his thoughts often. In a way, the two of them were very similar in that sense.

"When I was younger…" He glared at the wall before them, speaking bitterly, "I had many opportunities given to me and I turned a lot of them down—I grew to be a cynical man with a—I guess one would say—twisted sense of justice." He glanced at her. "You think so too don't you?"

Anna didn't understand what he meant by 'cynical' but she did understand what he was trying to tell her. She slowly reached for his coat and tugged on his arm sleeve. "You will always have another chance."

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" He sneered. "All of the chances I've received—I've always turned them down. I think by now I've already run out of my fair share of extra chances."

"Lemons." Anna mumbled.

Puzzled with her out-of-the-blue response, Fushimi frowned down at her. "Lemons?"

She nodded. "Tatara once told me when we were making lemonade last summer that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade." She met Fushimi's eyes and smiled shyly at him. "Don't worry, Saru. I'll share my lemonade with you."

"Tatara," She pleaded with him. Time was running out and every second ticking by was lost just like the blood draining from him by the droplets. "Tatara, what happened? Who shot you?"

He reached up, his arm trembling with the effort, and stroked her cheek lovingly. "But you… you already know… don't you?"

She couldn't think straight. Her brains were scrambled like the eggs Tatara often cooked for her in the morning. Blinking several times did nothing to help recover her from shock. "What..?" Her own voice sounded strange to her. It was as if someone had stuffed cotton in her ears.

Tatara's mask of pain broke to express understanding. "I know… I know you're not… not from around here… are you?"

His comment stunned Anna and it was only for that split second that she actually felt alive and not dead like she had been feeling the moment her eyes had laid upon his fallen form. "That day… Before Misaki interrupted us…. You did hear me!"

"You're… from the f-future… aren't you?" The corner of his lips tilted as far as he could with what little strength he had left. "You're different…. Now… now I remember…. You once… pr-predicted my…d-d-death…. Why am I… remembering th-this… now?"

"Sorry…." All the emotions raging within her broke lose right then and there. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pain in them to go away. He could not see her. Not like this. But the falter in her voice as she spoke betrayed her as she squeaked out tightly, "Sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, Tatara! I am… so sorry!"

Don't die. Don't die. Don't die. Please, you can't leave us! You can't leave me. How could you do that to me? How could you leave me alone? Leave Mikoto alone? If you die again, everyone will leave and then I… won't have a home to go back to.

"Anna." Tatara's chest fell up and down rapidly as his ragged breathing suddenly came faster. "Anna, listen to me…. Promise me… Promise me you won't… th-that you won't save me…. Please, don't save me."

She briefly had to process what he had just said because she couldn't believe it. Don't save him? What? Then… what did I come here for? Why did I leap back in time? Why did I abandon Izumo in my timeline? For what reason did I come back?

"I just don't want…" He began coughing, choking on his own blood and saliva as his body was evidently shutting down on him. Anna held back the sobs building up in her throat and instead chose to grab at his spasming hand and squeeze like she was hanging on to dear life—his life. "Don't want you to… get hurt… for my sake…."

Don't let go of him, she told herself. Whatever you do, do not let go of his hand. I won't, she promised herself. I won't let him go!

"If I am to die… then let it be…. Let me be… It's just the way… the way life is." He brushed his thumb lightly across her knuckle. "Please, Anna…. Don't save me."

"Time Loop?"

"An occurrence in which you must relive the same period of time over and over again until the forces of time succeed in correcting the paradox—until your existence disappears. In other words, you must repeatedly live the short span of time ranging between the preparations for your birthday and until whenever you wish to restart the cycle."

"Restart the cycle?" The precocious girl struggled to keep up with the time-space logic the mystic slab of stone was firing at her.

"How many of your blood marbles do you possess on your person?"

Slowly—almost in hesitance—Anna slipped her hand into her dress pocket and fingered the crystals individually to count them. She paused at the feeling of the one distinctively larger marble she'd created back at the park. "Six."

Six? Didn't she originally have seven before?

"Indeed. You originally began with seven mediums." The Dresden Slate whispered in answer to her question as if it had read her mind. "But you used one of the seven just earlier to restart. Do you remember? Thus, you only have six more to reset the time cycle. Six more chances to fix the timeline before the timeline fixes you."

Swallowing hard, Anna clenched her marbles so tightly the warm crystals dug into her palm. "And what happens if I run out of those six marbles to use?"

The Slate remained silent once more before finally it whispered in the recesses of her mind, "Then you will forever be caught in the Time Loop with no more means of a way out."

She'd have to relive the same period of days over and over… until her existence was eradicated? "Why didn't you warn me of this Time Loop before?"

"By doing so, I would have made a difference in your fate."

"How so?" Anna demanded.

"With this knowledge beforehand, you would've restrained yourself in your quest to change events. The probability of you succeeding would have decreased consequently."

"I failed anyways!" She snapped at the stone.

"And now, we shall see. For how long can you hold out under that kind of torture—witnessing your loved ones depart before your eyes repeatedly—before you eventually lose yourself?"

"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 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," Anna continued,g "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."

The sound of boots clunking snapped Anna out of it and she backed away from the animal 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."

"…. 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."

"I… I remember." The boy whispered hoarsely. "My name is Akihito…. And I was a Bright Prince with no kingdom… only a cage."

Before they entered the abandoned building, Maria grabbed Anna's shoulder one last time. "Listen, from girl to girl, I just wanna let you know that when it all comes down to it… I'll protect you, okay?"

Anna hesitated, wringing the folds of her dress. "Why? Why would you do so much for me?" She wanted to say the reason was because of Chitose but Anna could already see the truth in the woman's eyes before the assassin could speak it aloud.

Maria smiled like it was obvious. "Because we're friends!"

But… I used you, Anna thought guiltily. I'm using you for my own gains—don't you see? Instead, she said, "I… I don't have many friends who are girls… or like me for that matter."

Maria snorted. "Well, I can't imagine you would since that family of troublemakers would just scare any normal girl away." Then she winked down at her. "But besides that we aren't normal girls, we girlfriends gotta watch each other's' backs, right?"

Anna blushed, though, this time it was because she was happy. In that moment, she was happy she chose to turn to Maria for help. This time… this time, I'll save Tatara for sure! I know it.

"I'll protect you." Maria assured Anna once more. "I promise."

"A promise is a heavy thing to hold onto." Anna reminded her.

Maria grinned. "That's why you don't break it."

"Not another step or I blow your fuckin' brains out, then that little girl, and then this bitch here." The King pointed to himself—Maria's body.

"Okay! Tatara froze. "Okay, just… do what you want—just, please, don't hurt my friends."

"Tatara..." Anna whimpered, but she didn't make a move—lest she encourage the fox to live up to his threat.

"It's okay, Anna-chan, everything's going to be all right." He said quietly. But they both knew his words were meaningless in this situation.

Beginning to panic by now, she started to reach for the power within her. But she didn't feel it. She couldn't sense the power she had used as a King, like earlier with Akihito. Why? Why was it that when she needed it now, more than ever, nothing was happening?

"You're right! I stole that woman's body because I sensed she had some sort of power. But when I entered her, I realized she's just a Strain, so I couldn't absorb her power. But that girl you have right there," The Colorless King roamed his eyes all over Anna's body, and she shivered in response when he met her eyes, "I sense there's something special about her. I see a bright light within, and I'm drawn to it."

"I'll do anything, just please don't hurt her." Tatara insisted, still putting himself between the evil king and Anna. That's when Anna noticed Tatara with a hand behind his back signaling to her. He was indicating to the PDA he had in the back pocket of his jeans.

He wants me to call for help, Anna realized.

"No, Tatara, don't do it!" Anna said. She took that moment to step closer to him and lay her hand against the back pocket, trying to look as natural—though she didn't need to try much to appear panicked—as possible.

"I see you possess a certain light within yourself as well." As the king spoke, Anna tried to be discreet in pulling out the PDA. "Though it's nowhere near as bright as that girl's. And yet, that's how I know you two are clansmen, isn't that right?"

"Yes." Tatara answered truthfully, because lying to a King was useless.

"Oh, this is just too good to be true!" The King cackled in Maria's voice. "I know! I'll use you two to get me closer to your king! It'll be so much easier to absorb his power that way."

She was a princess fallen in disgrace.

"Please don't do this." Anna whispered.

"Don't worry," The King chuckled as he tore through the last of her stockings, "I won't kill you. I'll still have some use for your body after this. You should be honored to be the one to kill a King."

And then he was touching her down there. With Tatara's hands. And she wanted to throw up. Because, no matter how badly she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to hate those hands that were rubbing and poking where no one else has ever touched before.

Those hands that bandaged her cuts whenever she got hurt.

Those hands that strummed the guitar when he played his beautiful song.

Those hands that combed her hair some mornings.

Those hands that were always so warm and gentle… and cruelly defiling her right now.

She couldn't do anything about it.

But she could cry.

And so she did.

"I don't want you crying." The King said angrily. In Tatara's voice. Tatara's soft and beautiful voice that sang to her. "I want you moaning!"

Anna gasped when her last barrier of clothing protecting her was slipped off her legs. And then she shrieked when something slim and slightly long was pushed into her. That's when she started thrashing around, no longer caring about the rest of the stitches tearing on her back. "NO! IT HURTS! STOP IT, IT HURTS!"

"Anna…."

In a few seconds, her vision finally cleared enough for her to make out Maria standing before her, crying with the gun still pointed to her head.

Realizing she wouldn't have enough momentum from her position to break the marble, Anna went on to shove it in her mouth, readying herself in case Maria attacked her again.

"Anna, I promised I'd protect you no matter what, didn't I?" Maria smiled wryly, her hand still trembled with exertion to keep the King contained for as long as possible.

Anna knew what her dear friend was going to do next. And Anna knew she was powerless to stop her. But she did not want to bear witness to it.

"You know I never break my promises."

Anna crunched down on the marble and let the flames swallow her as she closed her eyes to reset the cycle.

But she still felt something warm splatter on her face, and her ears were still painfully ringing with the sound of the gun going off.

"I wonder what could have caused these markings…" Tatara muttered as he eyed the injury and Anna shivered at the uncomfortable sensation of Tatara's warm breath tickling her skin. She didn't know why but she wanted him—this man—her dear friend—as far away from her as possible. Although she was impatient, she tried to be discrete while she slowly tugged away her leg fraction by fraction to put some distance between her and Tatara.

Trapped in a dark cloud of emotions festering within the recesses of her mind, she almost didn't feel the steady, warm weight beside her shift closer to her just the slightest. She wouldn't have noticed the change had the couch seat not press in under the new movement. Anna also would not have noticed had she not felt that same steady warmth graze his strong arm against hers just barely. Her eyelids fluttered as she relished the comfort and strength her king offered to her without question.

But then she felt the pads of Tatara's slim fingers brush against the markings. Just that light touch alone was enough to alight her injury with pain as if she literally felt sharp nails embed deep into her skin and slowly claw down. Without warning, something within Anna snapped. She shut her eyes closed only to see dark, static-like images flash within her head. There was a man—her friend—Tatara—and his kind face was distorted into something evil. Her ears were ringing, drowning out all voices but a girl's voice. A girl was screaming bloody murder somewhere.

It took Anna a moment to realize it was her.

Somehow, she managed to stop screaming, though her teeth were clenched tightly together and she still had her eyes shut. It was silent—so dead silent that the air was practically choking with the absence of the usual noise. Once Anna finally brought herself to open her eyes, she found them widening in horror at the sight of her pale bare foot stuck out and pressed up against Tatara's face.

A monster.

She was a monster—a danger to her loved ones. She needed to be kept locked in and have the key thrown away.

For a second, she managed to maintain her mask. But then one more tear slowly streaked down the side of her face and landed onto Vera's cheek. After that, the tears only poured out faster, frustrating Anna even more over her loss of control.

"Don't… give up…" A faint voice whispered across the expanse of her room. Anna's head shot up in response to the sudden words… but nobody was there.

"I must be going crazy.." She muttered to herself. "Maybe… maybe I do belong in the Institution…."

"No." The voice came back again. It was still faint but hearing it a second time confirmed Anna's suspicions. "Hope…."

"Who's there?!" Anna whispered sharply. Her head swiveled side to side in search of the mysterious voice that seemed to come from nowhere. Suddenly, she felt a strange warmth emanate from the depths of her pockets. She cautiously reached in and pulled out a fistful of her marbles. There were five of them but one was distinctly larger than the others. Frowning, she picked up the larger marble for a closer inspection. I don't remember making this one? Why is it different from the others?

As she peered into the depths of the marble, she saw her reflection within shift slightly. Anna blinked, not exactly sure of what she just saw. The reflection flickered as if there was a bad connection. The image was grainy but it was enough for Anna to see the distorted image of a young woman who somehow seemed very familiar. Most of the figure's face was obscured under the large hood of a blood red cloak. But from what Anna could see, the woman had high cheekbones to accompany a perfectly sculptured face. Her hair was the same albino color as Anna's but thicker with volume and longer in length to where Anna could not see past the boundaries of the fuzzy image. Her lips were small but rosy red and plump with a natural mature youth.

Anna had to admit that this mysterious woman was beautiful and she yearned to see the eyes hidden under the hood.

"—have to—" The woman spoke but her words were just as distorted as her appearance.

"Who… who are you?" Anna quietly asked.

"Remember." The woman simply said. "—have to remember."

"What?!" Anna whispered harder. "What must I remember?!"

"Running—time. Going—hope." The woman's voice came through like static. The image flickered and wavered with instability. "Remember… time."

She remembered.

Long chapter huh? The longest so far! Though I did cheat a little, hehe. So I'm ashamed to admit I've been spending most of my free time at frat parties than actually taking the time to draft my chapters but I'm better now and have diligently wrote out most of chapters 17, 18, AND 19! So expect a quicker update! I have to warn you that Chapter 17 will have a large M-RATED scene. However, it is essential for the plot so I'm sorry if you can't handle it.. though this fanfic is M-rated after all. Anyways, thanks for reading!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS

All'roundCowGirl: You are absolutely most welcome! I'm happy you found the update amazing! I was worried it wasn't as good as the others. Thanks for reviewing!

Kiddiluna: Haha, I'm glad you liked the scene with Anna and Misaki! I thought the story needed a bit off fluff every now and then. You're right, Misaki blushes so easily but I think it's a cute trait of his. So tsundere!

godess bubbles: Did I update soon enough? I hope I did :) Also, I had Anna remember as fast as possible just for you since you've been such an awesome follower/reviewer!

Wicken25: RIGHT? I actually considered having Mikoto catch them but it would've made things more complicated and the situation was complicated enough for me to type out, haaha! I don't think he would've known what to do if he saw Tatara doing that to Anna. I'd imagine he'd get dangerously pissed and grab Tatara and ask him "what do you think you're doing?!" and then shit would just go down. But it definitely would've been interesting to see something like that play out! Interesting idea!