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: Only about 6 or so chapters until I am finally done with this project! Hehe, get it? Project? Ok, bad pun. But I can't say I'm not excited to end this fanfic considering I've been working on it for 3+ years...
K: Preserving the Blaze of Your Red
BY: TCOOKIES777
Chapter 18: I Was Here
Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your eyes
And when they open, the sun will rise
Here it's safe and here it's warm
Here the daises guard you from every harm
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
Here is the place where I love you
(Deep in the Meadow Lullaby from The Hunger Games)
"What a fool you were to think you could take back the Dresden Slate from right under my nose." The Red King snickered at the JUNGLE clansman gasping from under her boot. She dug her heel deeper against his jugular. "Do you think I am blind? Do you not know who I am?"
"Anna, that's enough…" An older man—her longtime clansman and trusted vanguard—muttered from behind her. He knew it was helpless though.
"I am the Third King! The Red King!" She sneered but there was no anger nor cruelty—not even malice—in her twisted expression. Tucking a strand of her chin-length albino hair behind an ear, she swung her ruby blood sword high into the air. "My name is Anna Kushina and I rule the Slates!"
She brought her flaming sword down, swinging it with a blaze of triumph.
A swirl of embers and ashes trailed up to the sky, joining the dark cloud that had formed from the many piles of burned bodies strewn around the top floor of the tower. The crisp air was polluted with the stench of smoke carrying the ashes of the deceased. As the dark ashes drifted up, flecks of white rained down from the winter sky.
"Was that really necessary, Anna?" The man stared at her from behind his shaggy coppery bangs.
"No blood, no bone, no ash. Isn't that right, Misaki?" She smiled tightly at him as she walked to the middle of the room to stand upon the very center of the Dresden Slate. "Contact Saru. Have him run another scan of the tower. If there are any more JUNGLE bugs remaining, lockdown the sector and send some clansmen to get rid of them. Once they are done, have Dōmyōji send me a report of the total body count and any damage the structure sustained."
"Will you not continue the fight alongside your men?" Yata asked quietly.
She shrugged. "The Blues are not my men. I simply lead them because the First and Fourth Kings are gone and so the duty, as the Third King, has fallen to me to command the Blue clan until a new Blue King is coronated."
"I mean our clansmen." He struggled to control his tone. "The men of HOMRA. It has always been a sort of… tradition for the Red King to fight beside his or her people…. Don't you remember when Mikoto—"
"No." Anna stretched her hand out to the side, allowing the blood of her sword to slip back into the cut on her wrist. "I cannot risk pushing my Weismann level too far."
"These JUNGLE guys are just lower clansmen—small fry!" Yata protested, shifting a foot on his beat up skateboard restlessly. He couldn't stop his voice from rising out of impatience and frustration. "What did you do yesterday that pushed your Weismann level?! You locked yourself in this room for the entire day!"
"I've been…" A slow, unreadable smile curled on her beautiful face as she gazed down at the slab of stone, "attending to some personal matters."
She failed to notice how her closest friend tightened his grip on his metal rod. Nor did she catch how his eyes narrowed in suspicion, flicking back and forth between her and the mystical artifact she stood upon. She absently waved a hand at him in dismissal. "Now go. And make sure to not allow anyone to come up here. I need some time to sync with the Slate and cannot be disturbed."
The vanguard gritted his teeth but then bowed his head obediently. "As my King commands."
Something was burning her hand. Normally, as a red clansman who carried an unnatural flame within her body, she couldn't be so easily affected by high temperatures. And yet, whatever she was holding was burning hotter the longer she held on. But Anna couldn't let go. She was still trapped in the empty darkness of her sleep. And she did not know the way out.
Awaken.
The voice demanded in Anna's mind. It was not hers. At least, she didn't think so. The voice was smooth as silk but somehow it grated unwelcomingly against her mind's defenses. It sounded so solid that she could almost see who the speaker was.
Awaken.
The woman whispered again in Anna's consciousness. Her voice caressed the dark planes of Anna's mind but it left Anna feeling uncomfortable, as if her mind was being held uncomfortably in someone's grasp.
Awaken.
The woman sounded more insistent—losing a bit of the gentleness from earlier. Anna sensed a commanding tone underlying the woman's monotonous voice. It sounded unfriendly—almost threatening. And Anna did not like that one bit.
Just as Anna opened her mouth to smartly respond back, the source of heat in her hand flared to the point it was painful.
She jolted awake, gasping for much needed air as if she had been holding her breath while sleeping. The heat in Anna's hand continued to scorch her and she automatically tossed it to the end of her bed. She stared both accusingly and in shock at the marble that was special from the other four—the promise marble. Then she glanced down at her hand for inspection, only to blink at the flawless skin of her palm. There was not a single mark nor hint of a burn on her hand despite the painful fire just earlier.
A flickering light caught her attention and she turned to glare suspiciously at the marble again. It flashed a bright light, bathing her room in a soft red like stained glass shining through. The light seemed to beckon to Anna like a beacon, calling for her touch. Cautiously, she reached forward and picked it up—quietly sighing in relief at the cool touch of the marble. As soon as she held it up to her eye, the marble became warmer and the light flashed with such brightness that it had Anna closing her eyes at the intensity. When she cracked open her eyes finally, she found herself staring at the Other Anna once again.
"So," Other Anna rested her chin on a hand, "did you kill him?"
"W—who?" Anna was still trying to accept the fact that this mirror image of her had returned.
Other Anna rolled her eyes. "Sukuna. The cute boy who bumped into you? I told you to kill him, remember? Or did you hit your head again?"
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.
"N—no…" Anna swallowed. She thought it was ridiculous but Anna couldn't help feeling… scared of this woman who looked just like her.
"No what?" The woman's voice sharpened slightly.
"No, I didn't hit my head again," Anna spoke in a hoarse voice, "and, no, I—"
"—didn't kill him." Other Anna said in a clipped tone. Was it Anna's imagination or had the woman's ruby eyes darkened slightly? The marble flashed dangerously hot again for just a split second. "You didn't obey—listen to me. Even though I said I was trying to help you."
Anna swallowed hard. "The boy did nothing wrong."
"Sukuna did nothing wrong—yet." Other Anna said strictly. "In the future, you won't be able to say that again."
"What.. what do you mean?"
"In the future, either he kills you…" Anna smirked, "or you kill him."
An ice cold chill ran down her spine and it took all of Anna's will to not shiver before this reflection of her. When she opened her mouth to protest, she was proud her voice did not falter. "But why?! I—I would never… and he's just a boy! Killing someone… that's too much!"
Other Anna tilted her head to the side and narrowed her red gaze as if in deep concentration. Her image flickered so fast that Anna almost didn't catch it. But the woman spoke again before Anna could think more on it. "Do you remember what the Slate told you about the Time Loop concept?"
"By revealing your secret to an individual from a timeline separate from yours, you have fixed a time paradox… that is, you. You have made yourself known as a contradiction. Now, whichever timeline you jump into, its forces will try to eradicate you. You, who does not belong. You, who defies the forces of time and logic. You, who no longer…."
Anna shook her head. "I don't understand."
"Think of it like a virus entering the body. A human's white blood cells attack it to eliminate the threat the foreigner poses."
"So I'm… the virus?" Anna frowned.
"That is correct." The slate pulsed brightly in confirmation. "Do you understand now?"
"Then what will happen to me now?" Anna whispered. "Since I…. I couldn't change the future."
The stone remained wordless for a short while, as if in thought. "Your recklessness has called for action. As a paradox, you must survive the Time Loop that has consequently befallen your existence."
"Time Loop?" Such unfamiliar terms only concerned Anna even further.
"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... or until your existence is erased."
Her almost drowning at the park… Was it a coincidence the Colorless King just happened to be there at that moment?
Maria's work following her that time she tried to get the assassin's help from that timeline…
And then when she bumped into Sukuna and her marble rolled onto the street…
Could she call any of these moments a coincidence? Every time she jumped into a new timeline, she always seemed to run into some sort of trouble no matter where she went or who she was with.
"You can't return home anymore to your original timeline." Other Anna said without expression. "And since you don't belong to any of the other timelines you've been jumping into, Time has been trying to correct itself by getting rid of you. It twists the probability of events to its will—not enough to make any dangerous, drastic changes to events but enough to put you at risk. Basically, you staying in a timeline you don't belong in will only make things worse—both for yourself and the people around you. And, well, you don't belong anywhere anymore, so…."
The revelation hit Anna in the gut, leaving her slightly breathless as she reeled from the shock of the truth and the pain it brought. She wanted to toss the marble away—smash it to pieces against the wall. She wanted to deny the woman's words. She wanted to forget what the Slate had said—forget everything that happened to her today—forget about a future she could not bear to think would come true someday. A sob from the little girl locked within Anna echoed through her mind and she tightened the thorns and chains on the door. Anna's voice shook out in a small whisper. "I'm… a danger to everyone?"
"Not only that," Other Anna added casually, "but your actions have left open multiple timelines a mess. Did you think that just by breaking a marble and restarting in a new timeline, the previous line would clean itself up after you just like that? No, you've left so many loose ends in your wake. And that's not all. In every single timeline you escaped from, Tatara and Mikoto still die. HOMRA is still disbanded. And you're still all alone. Your fire has left a trail of decimation and death. Ironic isn't it? You try to fix things—to save people—but, in reality, you've only made things worse, I'd say."
"I'm… a danger to them all." Anna could only murmur. In her quest to save her kingdom, she had killed Tatara and Mikoto over and over again because of her own mistakes and selfishness. It should've been outrageous to hear about there being several of the same people though from different timelines. Yet the truth weighed heavily in Anna's mind like an iceberg, leaving her numb and lost. She didn't know what to think. All she could feel was the guilt stabbing her heart and worming its way in like a knife. Several Tataras and Mikotos—probably other innocent people like Maria too—had died because of her carelessness and mistakes. How could she think she could run away from her problems without any consequences—consequences her own family had to pay with their lives?
Anna thought she was so naïve to think she could write a story full of happiness for her family.
"There is nothing you can do to save them, believe me." Other Anna said in a low voice. Although her gaze was no longer focused on Anna, the woman looked serious for once. "But there is one thing you can do."
"What?" Anna whispered hesitantly, scared of the answer the woman held in store.
"Revenge." Other Anna said softly, flicking her burning red eyes to Anna. "Become stronger—strong enough to take vengeance on all those who have stolen away the family you could never have. Become the King you were meant to be."
Revenge? The thought twisted uncomfortably in her mind but it latched onto Anna's consciousness and did not let go. Revenge. Mikoto sought it for the sake of Tatara and it brought nothing more but death to himself and others. No, she would not seek revenge. She wasn't that kind of person. She was not Mikoto. Mikoto had been vulnerable and saw no alternative. But she could see. She saw more. And that's what made her stronger.
"You think you are strong." Other Anna spoke quietly, staring at her critically as if she could read her mind. Could she? Could one Anna read another Anna's mind? The idea had Anna deciding to keep a lid on her thoughts just in case. "You think that because you are the clan princess of HOMRA that you are almighty and powerful—that all you need to do is trust in the power of bonds and love." Chuckling, Other Anna shook her head. The blood orb hanging from her ear swung mockingly. "You have no idea how wrong you are. If you think the bonds and love are enough to save a beloved then why did Tatara die? Why do you keep failing? It is because you are weak. You are broken deep down and you know it. Why do you try to hide it—that little girl within you? Embrace her. Because it's true; you really are nothing more than a little girl, broken and lost…. But I'll tell you a secret: being broken can make you stronger, hate gives you purpose, and sympathy can only hold you back."
"Is that what you did?" Anna asked bravely.
"Yes." The woman's voice hardened in answer and her eyes darkened once more. "And I survived."
"But… are you happy?"
Other Anna stiffened abruptly, caught off guard with the question. The moment passed just as soon and she schooled her features back into a strict neutrality. "I'm alive."
Not satisfied with her reflection's dodging answer, Anna was about to repeat her question again when a small fissure suddenly split down the marble, distorting the appearance of Other Anna. Something was wrong…
Tatara.
The woman simply blinked before a sly smile slowly curled on her plump lips. "Happy birthday, Anna." The woman said just before her image winked out.
"Do you think I am a cruel ruler, Misaki?" The young woman asked, panting heavily atop of the Dresden Slate. Her whole body trembled and shuddered from the immense energy she had spent. The large rose gold Sword of Damocles hanging in the sky shimmered away. Without a doubt, her Weismann level had been dangerously pushed to the limit once again.
"Are you sure I'm the right person to be asked that question?" Her vanguard stood before his King who had yet to pick herself off the polished marble floor. Bringing himself down on one knee to meet her at eye level, he smiled sadly. "You know I'm not exactly the most intelligent amongst the men here."
"But you" Gulping in deep breaths, she paused to return a small smile as well, "are definitely the most trustworthy."
For a while, Yata only stared at her with wistful dark eyes. Then, without an answer yet, he sighed and picked her up into his arms. With her head cradled against his solid chest, Anna continued gazing up expectantly at her second-in-command as he strode them out of The Room of the Slate. He was still silent when the elevator took them several levels down until they reached her private quarters where she could rest.
"I do not believe there is such a thing as a cruel ruler." Yata finally replied when he laid her weakened body down onto the silk ruby sheets of her bed. "Because I don't believe there's such a thing as a fair ruler either. A ruler does what they must for the sake of their kingdom. I think you're either a great ruler… or not."
"Then would you say I am a great ruler?" Anna asked as he brushed away sweaty albino bangs and gently dabbed at the cold sweat that drenched her beautiful face. "I have accomplished so many things. I've unified the Red and Blue clans, taken over the late Gold King's duty, defeated the Grey King, subdued the threat of JUNGLE, and even avenged Tatara. I… I am a great ruler, yes?"
As Yata finished tending to his exhausted King, he paused thoughtfully for a second before pulling out a PDA. "There were a few JUNGLE clansmen remaining in the tower, as you suspected, but they've already been taken care of. They're being kept in the seventh sector and the Minato twins are in the middle of interrogating them for Hisui Nagare's whereabouts. Considering they're only lower clansmen, it's doubtful that they'd know where their Green King is. And the total body count for today numbers forty-seven—only JUNGLE clansmen. Their numbers are dwindling. Levels One and Two have sustained twenty-two percent structural damage but, according to Saru's calculations, the costs shouldn't take much from our budget."
Anna's expression had stayed neutral when he abruptly changed the topic of their conversation. She studied him for a few seconds longer before hiding her face in the depths of a plush pillow. "Have Saru keep an eye on the skies. Tell him to watch for any activities—specifically for any aerial ship patterns. I don't know how the Silver King has been keeping under our radar for this long but he can't hide from me forever."
"Yes, my King." Yata said quietly. Brushing a hand through his shaggy coppery bangs, he turned on his heel to execute the command given to him.
His footsteps echoed loudly on the midnight marbled floor as he walked across the large expanse of his King's resting quarters. The room was gorgeous and very peaceful to relax in. It was absolutely befitting of a king with the intricate gold designs swirled all over the dark paneled walls. An entire wall of floor-length glass displayed a breathtaking view of Shizume City. Bright lights of the bustling town twinkled during the day and night. When the Red King and her men moved into Mihashira Tower to watch over the Slate, Anna decided to not remodel anything. After all, this was not her home to begin with. This was Daikaku Kokujōji's Timeless Palace.
"You are a great ruler, Anna," Yata finally answered her earlier question once he reached the threshold of the door. He glanced behind only to find her lying on the bed with her back to him. "But you are a sad King."
"Totsuka died." Mikoto quietly said from the burnished armchair he sat in. He was still dressed for the day—sporting his typical white v-neck and dark blue jeans held up by a brown belt with a chain attached. The silver ring on his finger glinted as his fingers dug into the screen of his phone, threatening to crack the glass.
Anna was already dashing towards him as his Aura began spiking dangerously. A blaze of fire erupted from him once Anna wrapped her small arms around his large but frail form. "Mikoto!" He stilled in her arms but, eventually, he fell apart in her embrace and his raging inferno of hellfire simmered back down to nothing. After the beauty calmed the beast with the caress of a whisper, they continued holding onto each other like that for the rest of the night—well into the dawn of her birthday.
Several days later, she and the entire clan stood silently around the white coffin of their fallen friend. It was night time so the breeze of the sea was quite chilly and it rustled through them like the icy fingers of Death. The dark waters glittered under the filtering light of the silvery moon. The scene was absolutely beautiful and serene—if not morbid and filled with a crackling tension hidden by the beauty of it all. Although the sea breeze was frigid, none of them felt the cold thanks to the fury of the fire burning angrily within each and every one of them.
The roses—Izumo had ordered another bunch once Chitose had told him of what happened with the other bouquet—that were supposed to be given to her for her birthday were instead being given to Tatara. Anna was the last to lay her rose down on the cold coffin of her beloved friend. She tried to swallow down the guilt choking her as the ruby petals pressed down against the stark whiteness of the bed of death. Again, she blamed herself for what happened—for how she treated him. She wondered what Tatara had been thinking in his final moments. Izumo had explained that he'd been out on a rooftop filming the nighttime view to capture the overall beauty of the Candle app. Tatara had left, saying that he wanted to show it to Anna for her birthday and that he hoped it would mend whatever rift had ripped between them. He'd said he looked forward to making Anna smile again. Like always, he had done it for her. Always for her.
She swallowed back a sob threatening to escape from her once the coffin lit up in a bright swirl of fire. The flames licked angrily against the pitch black sky. Not a single star was in sight—as if no blessing was given for this sendoff. Anna was starting to lose count of how many times she had to bid goodbye to a loved one. Another Tatara she had lost to the clutches of Fate. Not even Time itself was enough to fight back against the path Fate had paved for them.
"NO BLOOD! NO BONE! NO ASH!" The men shouted in unison. Only Mikoto and her remained silent, both wallowing in their own hell. They continued chanting their mantra of death as the red inferno engulfed the coffin.
It didn't take very long for the ivory casket—the bed in which Tatara would eternally sleep in—had eventually become a pile of black ashes. Their fire had been colored with a range of emotions—especially grief and rage. The tempestuous amalgam had burned down the funerary, leaving not a single trace of their beloved comrade. Somehow, the farewell felt incomplete to Anna. There was something important missing—something that nagged in the back of her mind like a faint memory she couldn't remember properly.
A soft breeze passed by and it carried away a mixture of the sea as well as a cloud of ashes.
A parade of butterflies, she realized.
"A butterfly is the symbol of rebirth and transcendence." Tatara smiled as the golden butterfly flitted across his hands, leaving a trail of sparkling embers.
"Rebirth and transcendence?" Anna echoed, her eyes following the flaming butterfly dancing between them.
"It conveys the choice to transcend, meaning you are ready to let go of something or someone." The light of the butterfly flying about casted a mischievous look in Tatara's amber eyes. His voice remained even but on the edge of teasing as he explained to Anna the meaning of the butterfly. "For rebirth, well, it means exactly that—a new cycle of life after death."
"So reincarnation is real?" Anna asked. Tatara noted the interest in her monotonous tone and even caught a glimpse of excitement glimmering in her wine-red eyes.
He smiled wryly in response. "If you believe in it."
Anna peered at him with her head tipped to the side in thought. "Do you…?"
Tatara didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he continued studying the flaming butterfly he held in his hands. The butterfly was a specialty of his—something he was proud of and loved entertaining Anna with whenever she was down. While the other men were of strength and power, Tatara was of finesse and gentleness. When he finally answered, his voice had quieted down with a degree of seriousness as he spoke. "If I died, I would want to be reincarnated. But not so I can relive my old life. I mean, it'd be nice to start myself a new story, you know? Another story full of happiness."
The parade of butterflies danced past the men and it caught them off guard, including Mikoto himself. It was Tatara's signature symbol—and only Tatara's. Nobody else had the patience or finesse like the man himself to create something so beautifully crafted. The fire they possessed was meant for destruction and victory. It was not meant to create a work of art. Several of the men such as Yata, Fujishima, Bandō and Shōhei began to break down at the sight of the tribute. Their cries mixed in with the sound of crackling embers to produce a symphony of tragedy as Anna's butterflies trailed up into the black sky. The crowd of golden butterflies danced around the cloud of ashes swirling about, creating a sparkling shower of warm light and glittering black diamonds. While the men were distracted by the tribute to send off their late friend, Anna slipped away from them.
"Did you think that just by breaking a marble and restarting in a new timeline, the previous line would clean itself up after you just like that? No, you've left so many loose ends in your wake. And that's not all. In every single timeline you escaped from, Tatara and Mikoto still die. HOMRA is still disbanded. And you're still all alone. Your flame has left a trail of decimation and death. Ironic isn't it? You try to fix things—to save people—but, in reality, you've only made things worse, I'd say."
Other Anna's words echoed in her head as she stared down critically at the red marble she held in her hand. The orb simmered with her power and intentions, glinting mysteriously under the light of her butterfly parade. These marbles were made with the purpose to give her the chance to save Tatara and Mikoto. They were not for her. They were for them. Even so, uncertainty and doubt continued to weigh down heavily in her mind. Perhaps Other Anna was right—perhaps it was pointless. The power of the Red King was a fire for ultimate decimation. It was not a power to protect. It was a power to destroy. That was the one thing Tatara was wrong about.
Anna did not have the power to save her family.
But she had the power to avenge them.
What mattered is if she had the will to do it.
She crushed the marble in her hand, knowing that—no—she did not.
Next chapter... Chapter 19: A Parade of Butterflies
I'm going to be taking a break from updating to focus on school. Next update will likely be mid-May. Good luck on finals guys!
Please leave a review because it may give me better ideas for the future chapters I have planned out! I can't remember who but one of my reviewers offered an idea and it made me catch a plot hole I would have left in my story if they hadn't mentioned that idea. Anywho, thanks everyone! YOU'RE ALL BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.