Here comes the next chapter. Sorry,it took me really long this time. Thank you HalocraZze, Lee Ami, JineteHielo, Indigo Scrawl, AmIValid, Gazingatmoons, Halley Vanaria and the four guest, who have reviewed on this story so far and also thank you to everyone who patiently waits for updates.
The bar was loud and lively as everyone gathered around the couch to listen to Shohei's and Bandou's report. It didn't take them long to return to the bar, even while carrying a girl. They had brought her upstairs to Anna's room. Homra's princess didn't sleep anyway and agreed to have an eye on Akari.
Kusanagi sighed, as he returned with the first aid kit. It was the second time he had to use it this week. Despite Shohei's reassurance they were covered with shallow cuts from the fight. The bartender raised an eyebrow at this. With the power given by their king, they should have been able to protect themselves from weapons. What did exactly happen?
"Did they say anything to you before the fight?" Totsuka asked, catching the kit the other man tossed over to him. He was sitting right next to Shohei on the couch and offered the boys the band aids.
"Not really. I didn't even see them coming. They attacked us in the open street from the back, those stupid cowards." Bandou folded his arms. "I had never seen these guys before, let alone done anything to them and they were talking about revenge, after they had hit us. We caught two and interrogated them, but we didn't get to know much. Their reasons were similiar to the ones from yesterday. They also said, we hurt important family members."
"It was weird.", Shohei added to his remarks. "Somehow I couldn't focus on the fight like usually. It was like they all moved faster than I could react. As if something had slowed down my mind and movements."
Bandou nodded in agreement. "It goes for me as well. That's why it was so hard to fight with them. Such a pain! They didn't even have special powers and still cornered us."
Kusanagi frowned at this. It was normal for them to beinvolved in fights, but most of the time they knew the enemy they were facing, because of some incident beforehand. But now they didn't even know why they were being attacked, or who the gangs were. The description of the fight also seemed strange. How could both of them have the same problems about the perception?
"Was there maybe one person out of the group who was acting special?" Totsuka voice was quieter than usual.
"Unless San-chan hasn't noticed anything, I would say no. But I was too busy fighting off the guys, who directly charged at us, than to pay any attention to the surroundings."
"There might have been someone, but I really can't tell." Bandou added. "Not all of them attacked. There were three or four people, who fled after their comrades had been defeated."
"Leaving their comrades behind? Such freaking cowards. And they wanted to challenge Homra? Don't make me laugh!" Yata, who had been unbelievable quiet until know, was back to his old self as it seemed.
"Did they block or protect someone?" Totsuka asked again, over the voice of Yata, as this one went on to praise the strength of their clan.
As Bandou shook his head, Shohei answered: "I'm sorry Totsuka-san. We weren't paying attention to it at that moment."
"That's fine. Even if you did, it would still be hard to figure out this situation we are in."
"Well that still doesn't explains, why they are targeting us." Kusanagi summarized the information "I would remember if family members had been involved in some incident. And if they are not reinforcements of the guys from yesterday, then their timing is just great. I need to contact my information brokers and further investigate on that matter."
The bar became noisy again, as they all wandered off in different directions. Totsuka went over to the bartender, who was still standing at the back of the couch, thinking about the received information.
"You are thinking about a Strain, aren't you?" Totsuka leaned on the couch next to the other man.
"Going by your questions, you do as well."
"It is the simplest explanation. I don't think that both of them can have perception problems at the same time, unless they have been drugged. But they really don't seem like it." The young man glanced over to the two, who still seemed exhausted, but other than that fine. "And they still managed to bring back Boshiya-san and find their way back here, so their perception must have been fine afterwards."
The girl, who had been lying on the street after having talked to another person. Despite telling them, that she was okay, she was brought back with a fever.
So irresponsible. And seemingly unreasonable for this matter. Very much like this guy. Kusanagi thought after shifting a look back to the man standing next to him.
"What do you think about it King?"
Mikoto had been leaning on the wall next to the couch, where Bandou and Shohei were sitting. Kusanagi had called him downstairs, after the boys had arrived.
The king, who hadn't bothered to speak up until now, shrugged.
"Those rats always get in our way don't they? Wouldn't surprise me, if it was one of them again. Those blue guys are not always doing a proper job in supervising them."
"If there is really a Strain involved, then it is becoming serious. But why wasn't there any yesterday? Are they two different groups after all?" The bartender took out a cigarette and lighted it. At the sight of his friend thinking about something grave, Totsuka chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's fine. It's fine. It will all work out somehow."
"How can you even say that, after what happened yesterday? I still wonder how you are able to move freely with your injuries."
A sad look hushed over Totsuka's face, before he looked at his friend startled. "That little beating was not the problem. And we got saved, so it still worked out in the end didn't it?"
"Yeah you're right." Kusanagi actually thought that the other wasn't right, but bit back his remarks. The young man was probably thinking about not being able to protect Anna. That idiot! There was nothing he could have done and no one was judging it as his fault. "Still, I have a job to do now. Mikoto, what are we supposed to do, when I get to know, who is behind all this?"
The king let his look wander through the room, watching each member, until he finally stopped at the two, who had gotten attacked that day.
"This is getting annoying and troublesome." He said, facing his friends again. "Just get rid of them as soon as possible."
Red.
That was the first thing she saw, when opening her eyes. Confused she blinked a few times to adjust her view after a long sleep, as it seemed.
A canopy with red curtains was hanging from the ceiling above her. For a moment she was thinking about a place where she could have seen such a thing before, but nothing came to her mind. Going by the ground, she was obviously lying on a bed, but…
Where exactly am I?
Akari turned her head to the side, only to jerk back startled. Unfortunately she had already been lying right on the edge of the bed, so that her reaction just took the last ground under her back away. With a muffle accompanied by a shout of surprise, the girl landed on the floor. Yelping in pain, she rubbed her head and wondered what she had just seen. Maybe it was just her imagination, but she thought she saw Anna sitting next to her staring, the face of the girl much too close to Akari's, with something, that seemed like a red marble, held in front of her eye.
But that would mean?
Slowly she rose up, only high enough to peek over the edge of the bed. No mistake, the girl was really sitting there. The red marble was still in front of her eye, but the stoic expression on her face had changed to what seemed to be a smirk now. She didn't say a word to Akari about the surprised reaction, the embarrassing fall from the bed, or even why the girl was lying in this room in the first place.
Akari's eyes widened as the realization hit her and paralyzed she dropped back on the floor, hitting her head a second time.
Great. That would mean she was back at Homra. AGAIN.
This was getting ridiculous now. She was visiting this bar way too often during the last two days. Somehow she felt like a boomerang, always being pulled back to the same place, no matter how much distance she wanted to put between herself and the bar.
Sighing she covered her eyes with her hand. How did she end up here again? Recalling the last moments she could remember, a person appeared in her mind and she shot up again. Glancing over to Anna, she scrubbed her head and gave her a shy smile. The little girl had put the marble away and was now looking at her rather interested. It was much nicer in fact, than the fixed gaze from before.
"Sorry I-"
She stopped. What did that person want from her back in the street? Akari wasn't looking at Anna anymore, rather drifting off to what had happened before. 'Kill Homra', 'Kill their King'- that's what he had told her. And those images!
No! No no no no no no no! Please don't let this be true!
With shaking hands she took out her PDA. There were two missed calls, both from Yuri as usual. She hit the recall button and sank back to the ground, slowly this time.
Calm down. It's most likely not true. It was just your imagination.
Was that right, then she was really terrified of her imagination by now. She concentrated on breathing slowly as her whole body was trembling. The phone at the other end rang and rang.
Come on. Pick up already! Pick up, pick up, pick up!
She didn't realize that she was holding her breath, until – finally – the wanted person really picked up the phone.
"Hi! What's going on?" Yuri's voice rang out of the speaker.
"What the hell took you so long?" Akari yelled back, followed by a sigh of relief as she got up again. If Yuri was fine, then Kyoku was probably fine as well.
"Geez, what is up with you? No need to scream at me through the phone. Give me a warning next time, then I can through it away, before you start. What's the matter? Did you want to hear my lovely voice so much, that you got impatient?"
You wish. Akari thought, but bit back the comment. No time for fights, since she still couldn't be sure about Kyoku.
"Where are you right now?"
"Thanks for ignoring me. However, I'm on my way back home from the hospital. I had a rather long chat with Takahiro and just said Goodbye to your brother."
Akari's body relaxed right the second after. So both of them were not hurt. Thank Godness!
"How did he look?"
Her friend sighed on the other end. Why was she being annoyed?
"Really, now you are even starting to ask the same questions. You two got some serious communication problems."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Eh nothing. Nothing at all. That was just me talking nonsense. He was looking healthier than last time. Stop worrying. Well then, if you have nothing else to talk about, I have stuff to take care of. See you around."
"Wait Yuri!" But the beeping was already coming out of the speaker. Frowning and confused she looked down at the PDA. Her friend had really just hung up on her!
"It's alright now." The high voice of the child sounded right next to her ear. The girl's eyes widened, as she turned her head and stared Anna directly in the face. She didn't even notice the little one coming closer! It terrified her a little. Anna had her head slightly turned to the side, eyeing her features as if to make some sense out of Akari. Her voice had been quiet and monotone, but Akari thought she had heard a hint of interest in it.
The little girl crawled to the edge of the bed and let her eyes wander over the ground only to turn them back to the female in front of her. Spoken female had just face palmed and shaken her head.
Of course Anna was amused. First dropping off the bed, then coming up and down multiple times must have been entertaining to watch.
I probably looked like I was doing some really bad workout. She thought with a nervous grin.
"Sorry for the talk I was just having, but I was kind of-"
"An emergency." Anna ended her sentence, head still turned to the side. Since when was this girl paying so much attention to her?
Even though anyone could have concluded the same as Anna, after hearing the conversation, Akari couldn't help but feel uncomfortable around her. There was something about the girl that seemed really off. And it was not due to her strange behavior. Whenever Anna was watching her, Akari felt like she was completely seen through. She remembered how the girl had tried to calm her down in the van, right at the moment, when she had been at the brink of a mental break down.
-It's alright now- It hadn't been a question. How did she know?
Creepy.
Akari didn't want to feel that way, but deep down she was terrified of the other girl. It bucked her, after all there was just a cute innocent child sitting in front of her.
As if a switch was suddenly being pulled, something in the features of her host changed. The glimmer which had made the eyes of the girl livelier disappeared and she returned to her monotone façade. Suddenly uninterested Anna turned away.
"The others are downstairs." She said and her voice seemed colder than ever before. "Tatara left some medication for you." She added and signed over to a desk next to the bed. With this she jumped off the bed, opened the door and left Akari alone in the room. All by herself, the student felt like she had made a heavy mistake and broken something.
Well done you idiot. She thought and with a heavy sigh she started rubbing her temples. Her head still hurt but fortunately the unpleasant symptoms of the fever were gone. Akari looked up to the desk. A glass of water stood next to an antipyretic, with a note attached to it.
- Kusanagi had some of this left. Hope it will help your fever. We are downstairs in case you need something. –
Akari couldn't help but smile. That was quite sweet actually.
"Fujishima, could you clean up the place over there, please?"
The tall and gently guy with the spiky hair just nodded once, took the broom and walked off to the other side of the bar. Fujishima Kosuke was a not very talkative man, but very kind-hearted.
Almost too kind. Yata thought after watching the man. With his habit of always picking up stray animals, he had turned the bar into a pet shelter multiple times. Bless god all of them got picked up sooner or later, but until then they were just a pain. Yata remembered the last Golden Retriever with quite some irritation.
Yatagarasu, having a broom in his hand as well, spun and hurried through the room. It was late afternoon by now and the bar was expecting customers as soon as the sun went down. It was the usual short cleaning they did beforehand. The task wasn't actually that much fun, but Yata liked the thought of all of them working together, supporting each other and being a team. Those feelings became much more intense, when he was in a fight of course. There he was able to represent his clan, show their enemies what Homra was capable of and make Mikoto-san proud.
But those afternoons of working together had their own little charm and made Homra to his family and place he loved.
Swiping the floor, Yata passed by the seating area. Kusanagi, who supervised the cleaning, had just finished a phone talk. He dropped the PDA next to him on the couch, took his shades of, while leaning back and rubbed his eyes.
"Kusanagi-san, what's the matter?" he asked curiously. Seemed like the news of the information suppliers weren't satisfying.
"I got nothing." He answered loud enough to be heard by not only Yata, but their king being close by at the counter and Totsuka, who just passed by with a pan – whatever he was planning to cook; Yata didn't want to know – as well.
"Nothing?" Yata repeated, now crossing his hands on top of the broom stick and resting his head on them.
"But gangs like that must have caused some commotion in the underground. There must be a known reason, why they hate us so much. And if they have Strains with them, they should certainly be known." Totsuka frowned and stopped next to Yata.
"I thought the same. But there is no information, whatsoever about some special hatred or organized grouping against us. Not even a single word."
"Why do we even bother?" Yata suddenly asked. "Maybe they acted on their own and maybe not. I don't care. If they keep coming at us, we're just going to crush them. We are much stronger than those cowards."
"That might be the case for small gangs Yata-chan, but if they continue teaming up and bringing even Strains along I can't let you guys wander around alone anymore." Kusanagi sighed. Maybe there was still hope, that those had been the only two cases.
"But we have Mikoto-san on our side. Even Strains are nothing, when they are up against him."
"You don't want Mikoto guarding each and every one of our members do you, Yata-chan? Besides, he will get pissed, if you give him too many jobs and destroy half of Shizume city in the process."
"I can still hear you." The king shouted without turning away from the counter. All three people hesitated, before Totsuka patted Yata on the shoulder and laughed.
"Anyway Yata. As you have heard, sending King isn't the best idea."
"B-But Totsuka-san!" Yata exclaimed, looking nervously from his comrade to his king and back again. Mikoto-san had most definatly heard it. Nevertheless Totsuka was smiling brightly, that bastard.
"So King, what would you do?" he called over.
Suoh turned around and walked over to the couch as well.
Totsuka-san, is done for. That was Yata's only thought. However before their king could make another move Anna appeared beside him and gripped his sleeve. As Suoh looked down to her he frowned. There was something different about the way her eyes looked and how she wouldn't let go of him. He sat down on the couch, Anna climbing on it right behind him. Completely silent she hugged his arm. Suoh stared at her for a few seconds, unsure what to conclude from this behavior. True, Anna usually wouldn't leave his side, but she had never been this clingy before.
"Is something the matter?" he asked calmly, but the child only shook its head.
"It's alright, if I can see Mikoto's pretty red. Everything is good, if I can see it."
Kusanagi watched her confused and looked back to Suoh, who seemed like he understood. The connection Anna had created between them years ago was still working.
"Did Boshiya-san wake up?"
The little girl turned to him and nodded.
"She woke up a moment ago."
Yata peered over to the staircase. That meant she was about to come downstairs. His hands became sweaty and his ears started to heat up as he grew more and more nervous. He was being okay with Anna, but older girls still made him feel uncomfortable.
"So King, what would you want to do?" Totsuka repeated his question, with the same bright smile as he did before. Yata never knew, if Totsuka's behavior influenced their king the same way it did with everyone else. At least Mikoto-san hadn't killed that guy until now.
"Yata is right. Don't worry about it now. If there is no information about the, then wait until something happens again. If they cause another ruckus someone will notice and we are going to be prepared beforehand. And maybe even those guys show up and do their job, when Strains are involved."
"I heard Scepter 4 have their hands full these days. Since the new blue king showed up, the clan was reorganized and became stronger than before." Totsuka explained, still remembering the Scepter 4 they had met back then at the Nanakamado Research facility.
Yata wasn't listening anymore. Whenever someone mentioned the Blues, he started thinking of 'that guy' and it pissed him off. That stupid monkey, who had betrayed them, should now take care of their problems? He never wanted to see that guy again and felt like throwing up, just by the thought of meeting him. If Scepter 4 got involved Saruhiko would look down on Homra even more. Like hell Yata would let that happen! Homra would destroy those Strains in a blink of an eye. The blues and that stupid monkey should mind their own business.
"I'm leaving." Yata called out finally. The vanguard threw the broom over to the wall, grabbed his skate board and rushed out of the bar. He would find Homra's enemies and he would crush them.
"He was fired up. Do you really want to let him go like that?" Totsuka raised an eyebrow after Yata had suddenly left.
"Let him be." The king answered.
"Yata-chan always becomes like this, if someone mentions the blue clan." Kusanagi added. "He is probably searching for information himself. And I just told him, I didn't want him to wander around alone. Kamamoto - " The bartender called over to the chubby man, who stood by the door, through which the vanguard just passed. "Would you be so kind to follow him? Please try to stay out of trouble."
"Sure Kusanagi-san!" The other answered. He followed Yatagarasu most of the time anyway, so it wasn't much of a bother.
"Boshiya-san! Are you feeling better?" Totsuka had spotted the teenager coming down the stairs right after Kamamoto had left the bar. She didn't look as pale as before, when Shohei and Bandou had brought her in.
She let her eyes wander around the room and shivered as she spotted the couch and the people on it.
"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you. Again." She said urgently, while bowing at the end of the stair case.
Kusanagis eyes widened in surprise and even Suoh raised his eyebrows. Neither of them had expected that as her first reaction.
"You are apologizing way too much, kid." The king told her, bored as usual.
"King is right. You are much too considered. If you had told us right away you weren't feeling well, someone would have taken you home –"
"I apologies for that too!"
If she bows any deeper, her head is going to hit the floor. Kusanagi reckoned, shaking his head. Apologizing wasn't the point and there was no need to anyway. But she probably wouldn't accept that, even if they told her a hundred times.
"With that, we are even then." The bartender hid his smile and tried to look serious. If she felt uncomfortable, if people did nice things for her, then maybe this would work.
Akari raised her head and looked at him startled.
"Even?" it took her a second, but then she got what he was referring to.
"You saved Anna for us and we saved you from this guy, you met back then. Even indeed."
The girl looked puzzled, but at least the tension had left her body, Kusanagi noticed with a smile. This way she probably didn't feel like she owed them a favor.
"Well then. Why don't you sit down and tell us what happened back there?" He scooped over on the couch and sighed to the free seat next to him.
With Totsuka's help they got her to sit down and talk. During her report Kusanagi started lighting a cigarette. As she told them about the voice in her head and that she had received orders from it, even Suoh started frowning. They all looked rather confused at the end, as Akari had expected.
"Look!" She stood up, as if to prove a point. "I know it seems ridiculous, but I felt like there was someone trying to control my mind." Her gaze went to the floor and stayed there out of embarrassment. Why was she telling them, this stuff? After all she had probably just been hallucinating. But it had felt so real, so threatening. And they had wanted to know.
"It felt like someone was trying to force his will onto me, but before he could, I lost consciousness. And I saw my friends and family injured." She balled her hands into fists. She was shaking now, even though both of them were safe. "Why would I see something like this? I know they are alright, but still I'm scared to death."
"Controlling your mind? Did he try to force you to do something?" Kusanagi sat opposite her, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
Kill Homra! Kill their king! The words echoed in her mind.
Why would someone force her to do a suicide attempt? Going against Suoh was crazy.
"He did. But I tried not to listen."
An awkward silence fell, so the next words of the bartender seemed even tenser.
"It had something to do with the clan, hadn't it?"
Akari looked up. He had his left hand close to his mouth to suck on his cigarette. She couldn't make out his features well, only seeing half of his face, but his gaze was deadly serious, as if he already knew the answer, despite of what she was going to tell him.
She didn't even try lying to him and her hesitation was answer enough.
"That's it. This is definitely going too far. You have been involved enough with us already. Please go home and keep your distance from this place from now on."
"Wait – What?" Perplexed Akari jumped up, but Kusanagi wasn't listening to her anymore.
"One of the boys will take you home. We don't want you passing out on the street again. And after that, you will stay away from us. You have probably been seen with us too many times." With this he exhaled some smoke and leaned back in his seat, as if the matter was finished.
"But what if he comes back? What if he really attacks my friends and family? You can't just shut me out like that and let me deal with the rest!"
"Who said you need to deal with the rest?" Totsuka asked, raising his eyebrows at her. "We are going to take care of it. You won't have to worry. Since it's our fault that you got involved in the first place, we are taking up the case. It's fine. It'll all work out somehow."
"But – "Why was she even arguing? She could just walk out of this place and never look at these people again. It was probably the wisest decision. She had just spent two days with them and look where she had ended up. It was dangerous being around this people. But Akari felt unsafe, if she would just leave without any information concerning the case. After all, she still wasn't sure if those images were just her mind playing tricks on her, or if someone had really been stalking her and her environment.
That was when she noticed it.
"Wait?" Confused she narrowed her gaze to look at the bartender "Why do you react so serious to it?" It was one thing that Akari was worried about what she had seen and felt, since it was actually her experiencing it. But why would those guys believe her just like that and even investigate further?
"We will not involve you any more in this. This is none of your concern and I ask you again to leave." Kusanagi's voice was cold, different than Akari had ever experienced it before.
They knew something. They knew something and were hiding it from her. Why else wouldn't they answer her question? So it had to be something grave.
Why did you end up in this situation?
She really just wanted to leave and forget the whole incident. But what if that guy would one day stand on her doorstep, or even worse, come to the hospital to look at her brother? She wouldn't even know how to react then. Despite, who could make sure, Homra was keeping its word and would deal with it?
"No." Determined she straightened up and tried to look undaunted. "I can't just leave and live as if this had never happened. Who will promise me, that I will never see this guy again? I want information and if you won't tell me, then I will have to investigate on my own."
Kusanagi held her stare and just shrugged.
"Is that supposed to be a threat? You have nothing to do with us."
Yes it is none of your concern. But you guys also carried me back here, even though I had already left the bar and that tells me, that you do care about people.
"I have a right to know, don't I? And if he already made contact with me, who tells me, that it won't happen a second time? I want to get to know as much as I can before that happens. True, I can go home and hope that I'm never going to see him again, but who will guarantee me that? And going by your secret talking you don't want me involved, because he could be dangerous, am I right?"
Panicking, she covered her mouth with her hands, as the words forced their way out. She had raised her voice without noticing and ended up almost yelling at them. Yelling at the entire Homra clan and its king. Since when did she become so brave? And incredibly stupid?
To her surprise the king was smiling and chuckled a bit. Kusanagi noticed it, rolled his eyes and exhaled smoke from his cigarette. His offensive attitude towards her was erased.
"Mikoto, this is not going to go well." He said, without looking to Suoh but instead he watched the thin smoke rising towards the ceiling.
"Of course it isn't. But with this kind of attitude, she is not going to back away, if you tell her so. Let her burn her fangs, if she doesn't listen." Suoh shifted his gaze over to Anna, before he looked back to Akari and asked: "What is it exactly you want kid?"
She needed a moment to react and put her thoughts in order, before she answered. "I want to know, who this guy is and why he came to me. And what this whole situation is about."
"The more you know, the more you will get yourself and the people around you into danger. You still have the chance to just leave. Don't get involved and don't get seen with us! Also, we haven't even the situation figured out. I'm warning you." Kusanagi was still trying to persuade her, but Akari wasn't listening. The bartender noticed and sighed.
"I believe the man you met was probably a Strain, who has the ability to manipulate the minds of others. I have heard of those kinds, but have never met them before. They are dangerous and can manipulate you. I can't say if he is connected to the last attacks, but there is always the possibility. He has probably seen you with us and was trying to turn you into a puppet."
If that was the case, then he is connected to the others. Kusanagi thought for himself. Puppets were controlled by their master and didn't have their own free will. Groups were attacking them and suddenly a random Strain appeared. That seemed like more than just a coincidence.
Akari swallowed hard. It was good to know, but that the clan didn't have any idea either worried her. She knew what a Strain was and what they were capable of. At least she could be prepared on what was coming.
"What am I supposed to do now?" The question was quiet and chary, so much different from the angry tone from before.
"You? Go home as told and stay out of trouble. If someone turns up, or you receive a hint you can still try to contact us, but otherwise stay away from here."
But I want to investigate too. I know it's dangerous, but I will become crazy, anticipating something to happen. I want to help you.
Akari wasn't so foolish to talk out loud.
"Fine I'll leave then. Thank you for your kindness." She said instead clearly unsatisfied and headed for the door, a big guy with spiky hair following her. He was probably the one making sure, that she actually got home this time. When she reached the doorstep Totsuka's voice called out to her one last time.
"If you really want, you can try to help us with the search. But remember it's not always safe to stay with the strong."
Anna didn't even flinch as Kusanagi's fist went down on Totsuka's head. The troublesome girl had just left and with her all the emotions that had been concentrated in the centre of the room. Anna didn't like the worries and uncomfortable feelings, so in a way she was happy this person had left.
In more than one way.
One would say, she should get used to the feelings people had around her and that her behavior was seen strange in most eyes, but most of the boys in the bar knew her too long already. They all got used to her behavior and no one thought of her as strange or creepy anymore. That's why Anna had been kind of hurt, due to the reaction of the girl and had fled to Mikoto. His red was warm and when Anna was near it, she would forget all her pain and worries.
"The whole time I was trying to send her away and in the final moment you call her back? Are you out of your mind?" Kusanagi was outraged, balling his fist. Anna was almost expecting him to hit Totsuka again, but the man took a deep breath and put a concerned look on.
"She may not seem like it, but this one is brave and reckless under the shell and will certainly get herself into trouble." The little girl looked at Suoh, as the king spoke up. She herself had thought and felt the same and even though she was relieved that the girl had left, she was feeling unsure on what might happen to her in the future.
"See! King is right. Don't you feel uneasy, thinking that she will start investigating on her own?" Totsuka raised his hands to wave him off and to perhaps avert another hit.
"So instead of letting her wander around alone, you think it would be saver, if she came back?" The bartender frowned, as he put thought into it. "That way she could act as bait and the boys could still watch over her. If someone approaches her, we would know. But we are putting her in danger, if she stays with us. Have you really thought this far?"
Totsuka's smile was as wry as ever.
"Don't overestimate me, please. You are the strategist, Kusanagi-san."
With all the might it had, Yata's foot hit the trash bin outside of the arcade. He hadn't put power in the kick, so the bin only flew a few meters without catching fire. However, because of this, his foot took also damage, but Yata only shrugged as the sharp pain spread from the tips of his toes to the lower parts of his legs. He had wanted to get rid of his anger, but his frustration and disappointment only increased instead. He and Kamamoto had spent the entire day interrogating Yata's special contacts and going after groups and people they had hinted to, but in the end it had all been for nothing. True Yata had reached the same conclusion as Kusanagi, but he had the feeling he would achieve more if he actually met the contacts and talked to them. It was way harder to lie to someone who was sitting opposite you, than to someone being on the phone and a threat worked even better, when one could see the body language.
"Shiiiiiiiit!" Yata screamed loud in anger, while pedestrians stopped to look at him irritated and startled. Some even crossed the road to get out of his way, but Yata didn't care what they believed of him. At least his path was always free to walk then.
"Yata-san. Please calm down. You don't want to get kicked out again, do you?"
Yata gritted his teeth. As much as he just wanted to destroy something right now, he also loved the arcade and a ban for the next month, would only add to his disappointments of the day.
"Let's go back." He said, picking up his skateboard in defeat. Why didn't anyone approach him today? Why was everyone else attacked except for him? Were they all too scared of his power?
Carrying his skateboard under his arm, the vanguard flung his hands in his pockets. He heard the hurried steps of Kamamoto from behind, as the fatty tried to catch up, to walk beside Yata.
"At least we can assure Kusanagi, there is really no one who knows what's going on." That was Kamamoto trying to make Yata feel better. Yata knew what he was doing, but he didn't want to be cheered up, right now. For the first time in his life he felt useless. Even his power couldn't help him this time. The mystery of why they were being attacked caused him a headache and he just wanted to beat up their enemies and hope they would leave Homra at peace. How could he protect his friends, if he was never there, when they needed his help? He wasn't able to walk along every member. Maybe even now some of his friends were fighting, while he was dragging his feet in annoyance. If he was being attacked, at least Yata wouldn't feel as useless as now.
"Yata-san, can you hear that?" Kamamoto had stopped, his head turning in all possibly direction, as he was probably trying to locate the source of the noise, he believed he had detected. Yata held his breath and concentrated on his hearing, but with all the sound made by the traffic, he didn't even know what he was supposed to pay attention to.
"What do you mean? I don't hear anything special."
"There is a woman shouting." Kamamoto replied with a tense, but also absent voice, as he finally decided on a direction, where the sound was coming from. Without another word he started running in the exact other direction, in which Yata was heading.
"Oi Kamamoto! Wait! Where are you going? I didn't hear anything." Yata shouted irritated, but nevertheless raced after him. It always surprised Yata, how fast a guy with Kamamoto's weigh could run. He was almost faster than Yata himself. The vanguard dropped his skateboard and speeded up, after he had jumped on it. Following his friend, Yata looked at the other people around them. None of them seemed as alarmed as Kamamoto and most of them were even heading in the other direction. What did this man hear?
Two streets away, Kamamoto stopped at a corner and turned is head. Frowning and confused he looked around.
"I have lost her, but she has to be close. We have to keep looking." As if he was haunted, he looked in all directions, searching for someone. Yata also started looking, but there was almost nobody coming this way.
Weird he thought, while going down the road and looking into every side street coming up. Shizume city was normally crowded and loud, but right now Yata couldn't spot any car coming down this road and the far too few people he could spot seemed to be leaving the place.
Then he could hear it: A muffled voice of a woman, trying to get attention, only a few meters away from him.
What he saw around the next corner let his eyes widen. Two big men were standing in front of a building, from which they had obviously dragged out the woman. One of them stood behind her, one hand on her head, grabbing her hair and pulling her around with it, the other covering her mouth and nose, trying to silent her shouts for help. The other man stood in front of her and walked towards her with a knife in his hand. The woman was struggling and fighting, trying to kick the man in front of her and scratching the arm of the other behind her, who continued to pull her back. She tripped and fell backwards, giving away a loud of pain, as she lost the ground under her feet and was only held up by the man pulling her hair. The woman was the first one to notice Yata and even from far away, he could see the pleading look for help on her face. The next second the man in front of her kicked her in the stomach, while the one behind raised his eyes and spotted the vanguard.
"Kamamoto, over here." Yata shouted loud, while running towards the trio, who all turned around to him.
"Saving a damsel in distress, how noble of you, Misaki~"A condescending voice, full of scorn and mockery, answered in Yata's anger and with it his power aroused, as he thought of that disgusting monkey. Still the boys face turned a bright red color, before he jumped on his skateboard and lifted himself up in the air. His fist hit the first one in the face and Yata could feel something breaking under it, before the man could even lift his knife. The injured jumped back, still his knife in his hand, while the other threw the woman to the side and waved his fist in Yata's direction. That moment Yata let his power free and with an explosion, a wave of red aura emerged from him. By the time Yatagarasu hit the ground again, both men had broken down and were now leaning on the walls opposite each other. Those times, when he combined his skateboard and the red aura, he was as fast as if he could fly and he truly felt like a crow. Putting one hand on his hip, Yata looked down the street, as Kamamoto came into view.
"You are slow. It's already over-"
The punch came out of nowhere, strong and brutal, letting his ears ring. Yata had watched the enemies on the ground, that's why he didn't understand in an instant. As he finally hit the wall, he knew he had made a mistake.
"Yata-san." The vanguard could hear Kamamoto's voice, but his friend was still too far away to join the fight. Before Yatagarasu could get up again, the third man, who had stepped out of the entrance of the building to punch him, fled the scene along with his two accomplices. When Yata found his skateboard, they were gone and Kamamoto was with him.
"Thank god!" The woman called out in relieve, as she rushed over to the entrance and threw herself in. Confused her two saviors exchanged a look, but as they walked over to the door, they saw her almost lying on the floor, while she pressed two children against her. The boy and the girl couldn't be older than five and watched Yata's every move intensively. .
The third man was taking care of the kids, whatever they were planning to do with them. He figured and couldn't help, but to smile relieved watching the cute scene in front of him. That was when he noticed, that something came raining down from above. A yellow flake passed by his eyes before it hit the ground. When Yata came closer, he didn't believe his eyes. A potato chip. Frowning he looked up to the roof, but didn't spot anything.
"Kamamoto, you take care of this." Yata didn't want to talk to the woman anyway. He took the emergency staircase at the side of the building, leading to the rooftop.
"Gotcha! But where are you going?"
"I need to check something out." Yata replied half way up.
What the hell? He thought when he reached the flat roof. A stone balustrade was built around the edge, high enough to sit on it. Right above, where the incident had happened, on the edge of the rooftop stood a cup of coffee with a bag of potato chips. When Yata looked down to Kamamoto, he picked up the cup. From this spot one could watch the scene best. With disgust he noticed that the cup was still warm. It had been entertaining for someone to watch them.
Back in her apartment, Akari started walking in circles. After the guy called Fujishima had dropped her off at a bus, which would take her almost directly to her home, she had stayed the ride alone. It wasn't much of a difference, since Fujishima didn't seem very talkative. He had actually planned to take the ride with her, but she persuaded him otherwise. She just hoped he made it back save.
It was annoying to worry about everyone and everything around her. She expected the Strain behind every corner on her way home and also in her apartment, even though she knew it was very unlikely. But there was a huge difference between reasoning and fear and the last one wouldn't disappear, despite her brain telling her that she was indeed save.
What about Kyoku? And Yuri?
When the doorbell rang the girl jumped up in panic, only to scold herself right the next second.
It could be anyone. You cannot be scared for the rest of your life!
If it was out of provocation or to prove herself, that she was worrying for nothing, Akari couldn't tell later on, but she opened the door without any hesitation, in spite of the possible enemy outside.
The cheerful face at the other side of the doorframe was more than enough, to let her forget her worries in an instant. Instead she became very tired and fought the urge to just shut the door.
At least I don't have to worry about her anymore.
"Hello!" Out of breath and with two plastic bags in her hands, Yuri smiled at her with an uncommon shiny temper. Most of the time she would curse her friend for the stairs to the third floor, on which Akari's apartment was located. The elevator was still broken and Akari figured it would take years until the caretaker would decide to fix it.
She raised an eyebrow at her friend in disbelieve and sighed annoyed.
"What do you want here?" This happy aura made Akari suspicious and she had the hope, if she put just enough moodiness in her voice, Yuri would turn around and leave.
Of course that wasn't the case. It never was.
"Nice to see you, too. I need someone to fight over the food with, otherwise I will get fat." She raised the two bags to emphasize the just said. A smell of Chinese food flooded Akari's home and let her mouth water. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch and the hunger now in the evening was huge.
"Fair enough." She gave her friend a nod, which meant 'well played' and got out of the way to let Yuri in. Akari lived alone in her home. Her father had taken most of the money away with him, when he had left four years ago and she had lived from the savings of her mother since then. After her money had started to run out, especially with Kyoku's frequent visits to the hospital, she and her brother had to move out of the house of their childhood. Now she was living in her own apartment, Yuri's parents had chosen for her. The Kurasawa's were some of the richest people in Shizume city and since Akari and Kyoku had been like siblings to their daughter, they were helping her out with the rent. The girl didn't want their help at first, she got paid at her job after all, but in some way Yuri's parents were just like their daughter. They wouldn't leave Akari alone. Even today she was having doubts and feelings of guilt, because of the money they bestowed her, but Yuri always waved her off.
The apartment contained two tiny bedrooms, a small living room with a kitchen attached to the back wall and a small bathroom. A couch was in the middle of the living room with a small table in front of it. That was the place Yuri was heading to, after she had dropped off her shoes and pushed the food onto Akari, and with a jump she landed on it. Stretching out she covered all the seats and folded her arms under her head, as if it was her home.
"You look so grumpy today. Did something happen, while I was away?"
Yuri gave her friend, who was still standing at the door with suddenly two Chinese plastic bags in her hands, a completely innocent and clueless look. Akari who had gained an unexpected, but very obvious responsibility for the food, gave her one of her usual deadly glares, before closing the door.
"Oh, and hurry up with the food, will you?" Next second a grunt was being heard, as Akari let the bags drop on Yuri's face.
"Fast enough?" She asked her friend with an evil smile. Not for the first time Akari figured, that Yuri's parents had got her the apartment so someone could babysit their daughter and look out for her during the school days.
I have always been her babysitter, and she has been mine.
"Rude! If you are not nicer to me, I'll eat everything alone." Sitting up, Yuri grabbed the bags like they were some kind of treasure.
"Just you try!" Akari answered from the back, snatched her food away from her friend and jumped on the couch as well.
"So Yuri," the girl started after they had unpacked the food and got the chopsticks out. "tell me, why are you really here."
"Just checking out how you're doing. You seemed sullen and down the entire day, so I wanted to know, if there was a reason for it."
Akari tried to look as normal and relaxed, as possibly to not imply anything special had happened. It was hard though. With those brown eyes, that knew her too well, staring at her, she felt her defenses crumble.
"No, not really. Just tired I guess." She stopped, when Yuri started laughing with her mouth full and almost choked on it.
"I'm always surprised, how much you two are alike when you try to hide something." Her friend exclaimed, while standing up to get a glass of water.
"What do you mean?" Akari was quite confused.
The squint Yuri gave her over the edge of her glass was strange and let Akari feel uneasy.
"You and your brother even use the same excuses, when someone tries to get information out of you. That's how I know, that there is a reason for your behavior. Also, most of the time I notice it, if you try to lie to me."
"To hell with you." Akari mumbled loud enough so Yuri could hear it.
"You were also panic-struck on the phone. What was that about?"
"I was just –" She folded her hands in her lap, so Yuri didn't see them shaking. Even though it was peaceful now, Akari was still expecting some kind of encounter with this Strain. She just wanted to protect the people dear to her. But despite the bartender warning her many times she didn't want to feel so helpless. Totsuka's words gave her the opportunity to help Homra and investigate further. She would know when her friends were in danger and maybe the clan would even support her. But getting involved could also just make it all worse. Everything was just so damn complicated and on top of all Yuri wanted to get answers from her.
Akari was thinking about what to say, that's why she noticed the punch coming for her too late.
"Oww." She moaned, rubbing her right forearm, where Yuri's fist had hit her. It had been a very, very light punch for Yuri's standards, who was specialized in martial arts. She was pretty good in all kinds of sports she started. Nevertheless Akari figured a bruise would stay behind.
"That is your punishment, because you can't tell me. Look you don't have to explain to me, what has happened; it isn't my concern after all. I'm not your mother, but I know I can be annoying sometimes. I just want to make sure everything is still okay and that you are doing fine. Fortunately you are not doing dangerous stuff like other teenagers. If you don't want to tell me, then I will stop asking about it right now."
You are exactly like a mother.
"I just – " Akari hesitated and thought of how to phrase it. "I have to make a decision and I don't know if I'm making the right choice. I could leave everything as it is right now, or I could risk something. But that could change everything for good and maybe not for the better. But leaving it as it is now would make me crazy."
That was a very light way to put it and Yuri would never figure out the real content behind those few words herself.
"Sometimes it is better to risk something in life. Change is needed; otherwise we won't evolve and learn. And if it doesn't go as expected, I promise you, there will always be someone to support you in the end." Her friend crooked her head and gave her a knowing smile. Yuri had quite likely no idea, what Akari was talking about; nevertheless the girl felt an overwhelming relief, that she was supporting her decision as well. It was not right, since Yuri would have reacted totally different, if she actually knew what was going on, but it didn't matter to the girl right now.
"Soooo." She called out, trying to get away from her disturbing topic. "What about the guy you told me about? Did he contact you again? Are you two going on a date?" Now it was her question time and she liked it as much as her friend.
"Haven't heard of him and I'm not sad about it to be honest. Maybe he isn't the right one after all."
"Have you tried calling him?" Most of the time Yuri would leave the problem be until it was dealt with by the other party.
"Of course I have. Once. If he really means it, he will call me back."
They continued talking about college, books and series throughout the evening. It was nice for Akari to talk about the normal life and not the worrisome stuff. She had enough to fear during daytime already.
As Yuri stood up to leave an hour later, she let her eyes wander through the room.
"You really need to clean up. If Kyoku sees this he will lock himself in over there and wait for a week, until it's save to come out." She pointed at one of the bedrooms, right next to the door.
"I was thinking about cleaning up next weekend. It won't take long anymore, until he comes back."
It was true the apartment got out of hand, while the clean freak was being in the hospital. It needed some cleaning, otherwise he would get a heart attack. Still Akari had to smile, as she imagined his reaction to it. She couldn't even remember, when she was scolded by him for cleaning the last time. To be lectured by someone younger, who needed to look up to you while talking, was just too adorable.
Yuri noticed how she had lighted up the mood and gave her friend a little smile.
"Just get out already. You have been here long enough." Akari shouted after her, when Yuri took a bow and walked out. With a smile and a better feeling than earlier this evening, Akari waved her off and closed the door.
Kusanagi's eyes narrowed as he tried to put the information in order. The cases were not in the slightest connected this time.
After Yata and Kamamoto had interrogated the attacked woman, they had come back to the bar, right away. It was already the next day now, but the story didn't leave Kusanagi alone. The husband of the woman left half a year ago and joined a gang. Now these strangers appeared and tried to hurt her and her children. It seemed like some trouble between the gangs, but there was something bugging the bartender about this case. And it was not just, that someone seemed to have enjoyed watching them. Yata had almost destroyed the table in front of him, as he had reported, what he had seen on the rooftop. He was fired up more than ever and wanted to protect this family. It seemed to disgust him how cruel humans could be.
"What are you planning to do?" Totsuka asked, sitting at the counter, which Kusanagi was working behind.
"I really don't know. I thought of sending someone to watch the woman's home for a little, but I need the boys to investigate our case as well."
"Yata seems keen about it."
"But he is not the right person to observe someone. He gets bored too easily."
Sudden noise at the door interrupted them. The bartender's eyes widened as he recognized the person, who visited his bar way to often the last days.
"I want to take the offer and help you investigate." Said the girl right after she stepped in and faced Kusanagi. Her gaze was serious and he had the feeling that he couldn't convince her to just leave anymore. Her voice wasn't even shaking, when she said those words.
And there comes even more trouble. Kusanagi thought and shook his head in defeat.
Totsuka, you idiot.
The one responsible for all this just looked at him and gave him his usual wry smile.