" Hey, Anna. "

The little girl looked up from the book that she was reading, her enormous ruby eyes looking directly at HOMRA's " animal trainer ", Tatara Totsuka as he came to stand in front of her. " Want to come shopping with Yata and me? " Tatara asked. " We were thinking about getting some food for tonight and some new clothes for you. "

" Make sure you do get her some clothes this time, " HOMRA's second in command pointed out as he placed a champagne flute back on the shelf after he had wiped it. " The last time you three took her shopping for clothes, you spent almost all your money on the video arcade, and only managed to buy her one dress! "

He was referring to the last time the boys took Anna to the mall, and Rikio Kamamoto ended up footing the expenses for Anna's new dress since, as Izumo Kusanagi had pointed out, the money they had went to playing games at the arcade; although Anna had joined in, it still struck him sore how she only ended up with one dress instead of the intended three because her " big brothers " had acted more like children.

Anna closed her book, and nodded, glancing at Mikoto Suoh, the Red King, as he slept before she slid off the couch, taking Tatara's hand.

" Okay, let's go! " Misaki Yata, the Red Clan's skateboarding, loudmouthed vanguard announced as he headed towards the door.

Izumo Kusanagi watched the trio until the door closed behind him, and sighed.

" She's still not talking. " Yo Chitose observed sadly.

" No, " Izumo confirmed woefully. " Poor kid. "

From his place on the couch, the Red King opened his eyes, but remained silent, letting the others talk.

Anna had been alright after she was rescued by a mermaid like Strain who had also protected her during the time that it took for the Red Clan to learn about her situation, and come to her rescue, but that wasn't the end of the drama. As if the trauma of losing her parents hadn't been bad enough for Anna, HOMRA learned that after they'd found and rescued Honami Kushina, the trauma of everything that had happened took its toll on her by making her forget the little girl, and that she was her niece; there was also a chance that if she regained her memory, she would end up hating and blaming her for everything that had happened since even before her abduction, she had already been under a lot of pressure to hand her over to the Gold Clan.

The fact that Honami had forgotten her, and was better off not remembering her was the final blow in all the tragedies that had struck Anna; as a result of losing her parents, being taken hostage, nearly tortured by the Gold Clan, and Honami forgetting her, Anna lost her voice, her heart shattered.

The Red Clan had, of course, taken the child under their wing, all of their members supporting her, and trying to help her get past the trauma that had robbed her of her speech.

And yet…

A gleeful chuckle broke the late afternoon silence in the corridor as malevolent eyes watched Amira Arashikage leaving the campus with Hikaru Okamihime, both girls intending to do some pre-weekend shopping since classes had already ended.

This will be fun, she thought, licking her lips in anticipation as she imagined the number of ways that she could have fund with them, especially the black haired girl who had killed her father.

I can't wait…

Amira and Hikaru couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed, chills running up their spines.

It was no surprise that Hikaru had been able to sense the danger since her wolf instincts were sharply tuned, but since Amira didn't have them, it was her fighter's sense that told her that nothing was as normal as it looked.

And it wasn't.

Glancing behind her, Amira caught sight of Otoya Takechi several yards behind her and Hikaru, her cian colored eyes bright with anticipation and sadistic glee.

So, Amira thought. I was right about you.

You are not who you make yourself out to be.

At school, Otoya Takechi was always acting playful and mischievous, but Amira had always suspected that she wasn't so. From the moment that she had seen the cian eyed girl with violet tinted black hair, Amira's guard had been up; looking at the girl had been like looking into the deep, dark depths of the ocean, and seeing the faint outline of a shark that was trying to get closer.

Maybe it was her instinct as the daughter of a man who had become the killer he never wanted to be in the last years of his life, or her mother's ever cautious nature that mad her suspicious, but either way, Amira Arashikage had always kept her distance from the seemingly playful classmate whom she knew was also a skilled assassin like her other classmates.

Or maybe it was her eyes. Those eyes had always reminded her of a black widow about to strike while camouflaged in the shadows of night as everyone lay sleeping.

" She's not the only one following us. "

Amira glanced at Hikaru as she spoke. The silver haired she-wolf had a grim look on her face, her deep violet eyes staring straight ahead. " Isuke Inukai is with her, and they've split up. "

Amira felt her lips lift in a cold smile. " Let's get to work. "

Both girls split up in wordless agreement, Amira going to the right, Hikaru to the left.

Scepter 4 finally had their answers, and now knew which direction to go.

Upon learning that the Black Class section of Ashinaka High School was filled with assassins of every order, and that after an almost twenty year hiatus, this particular year had not one but two targets to eliminate, the Blue Clan had been put on high alert. And it wasn't only because the Black Class was full of assassins, but also because one of them was a Strain like the two intended targets, and the daughter of Koshi Mizuchi.

Despite being only fifteen years old, the girl was the very epitome of evil, just like her father, although in a different aspect because she was very sadistic and bloodthirsty, taking great pleasure in the pain she inflicted on her victims from the moment that they fell into her trap until the last breath that they took. It was said that she always expressed severe disappointment whenever her victims succumbed to the torture she put them through because she wanted to keep them alive so she could inflict more pain on them.

The Blue Clan had seen the reports and pictures of each of her victims, the evidence shaking everyone to the core; in the photos it was quite obvious that the victims had died in unspeakable pain, their agony clear on their faces even in death, thus the title of the " 21st Century Jack the Ripper ".

Since one of the rules of the Black Class was that anyone who eliminated the two targets would get whatever they desired, she had decided to join because her main objective was to get serial killer insurance – the detective pursuing her to uncover her identity and arrest her would be eliminated, and she would be able to continue her killing spree with no hindrances whatsoever.

The implications of the situation would never be lost on Reisi Munakata, especially since one of the intended targets of the Black Class was the little mermaid who had risked her safety to save him from death; he also suspected that Saruhiko Fushimi, who was formerly one of Mikoto Suoh's clansman, was on edge since he'd learned that his long time friend, Hikaru Okamihime was among the targets of the Black Class. The young man had been quite tense since the reports came in, although he never said anything, but the tension was there. The other clansmen had noticed how tense the anti-social young man was, and were quite surprised when they had learned of his history with the silver haired she-wolf, considering that his only friend on record was Misaki Yata, HOMRA's loudmouthed vanguard who had declared him an a traitor and an enemy when he defected to Scepter 4. However, knowing that he would tell off anyone who tried to pry into his personal life, the other clansmen kept their distance.

The Blue King knew that Saruhiko Fushimi kept his personal life secret from others not only because he was someone who valued his privacy, but because he wanted to protect what he loved the most by keeping it away from others.

Munakata had done his own investigation into the young man's background prior to recruiting him, and learned about his parents being indifferent to him as a human being, and their child, with his father taking particular pleasure in terrorizing him. It didn't take a genius, or years of research to learn that his childhood had left its emotional scars on him, convincing him that the world was a selfish place where the only one he could ever rely on was himself, and his whole life only needed to revolve around those who cared for him – in his case, Misaki Yata and Hikaru Okamihime.

While the former had left his friend out in the cold, the young she wolf stayed by his side, quietly giving him her moral support, and being the quiet light that always broke the dark curtain surrounding him.

Munakata looked stoic, which was as clear an indication as any that he was tense, and with good reason.

While on the road, Scepter 4 had received the news that Otoya Mizuchi – who was using the alias Otoya Takechi – was one of the assassins of the Black Class, and had just been spotted among the streets of the Shibuya District, following a young girl with long black hair while her silver haired companion was being followed by a pink haired girl in a mini skirt; the latter had been identified as Isuke Inukai, an assassin's protégé.

Both girls were in danger.

The Blue King looked out the window as his vehicle raced made a sharp curve that nearly tilted it to the side, Amira Arashikage's lovely face in his mind's eye.

She had already struck him as a stubbornly independent young woman who, despite the dangers surrounding her, refused to be viewed as a damsel in distress, fighting tooth and nail against anyone who tried to cross her.

Still, she was in danger.

And this time, the Blue King would be the one to save her.