Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews! Sorry it's taken so long to update. Long story short, I officially finished finals (made the Dean's list!) and am now home for Christmas, so hopefully updates will come a bit more frequently now! For those of you who follow my tumblr, you would have read how I had some difficulty getting home during Winter Storm Draco (Malfoy), which only added to the delay, along with general holiday chaos, and heading to the north woods for a week where wifi is practically unheard of. Thanks for being so patient! Please leave your thoughts in the reviews or feel free to PM me! I hope it turned out well, since I'm still grieving from the last episode of [K]…Wishing you all a happy new year!

Chapter 13: Choices

The streets were quiet tonight; most of the stores had already closed up for the evening, making it quite easy to hear the soft sound of footsteps and the baseball bat clanging against the pavement every few feet.

Since the incident between the Niaka and Dewa, HOMRA had been on high alert, patrolling the streets every night in pairs for any sign of the gang. Despite their clansman's wounds already beginning to heal, the mere sight of him wincing as he walked down the stairs or the bruises that had not quite faded from his cheeks still set many of the members on edge. Rin seemed to take it the hardest, although Izumo hadn't noticed any liquor missing from his cabinets as of late. She was the first to leave the bar – even before Yata – and was the last to return home from patrol. Misaki often heard her heavy footsteps climbing the stairs long after the other members had returned home.

Which was why he had chosen to pair up with her for patrol tonight, although neither of them had spoken much since HOMRA's front doors had swung shut behind them.

He was about to open his mouth to say something – anything, really - when Rin suddenly stopped short, her gaze locked on something on the parallel street at the end of the alley to their right. She squinted for a moment, trying to focus, then glanced back at Misaki. The redhead frowned for a moment and opened his mouth once more, a question on the tip of his tongue, but Rin brought a finger to her lips to silence him. He caught sight of the sharp gleam in her eyes and the way the corner of her mouth curved upward as she stared down the dark alley.

"Tachiban-"

"Niaka." She cut him off swiftly, not even sparing him a glance. "I recognize this one."

Misaki gritted his teeth, rage already beginning to pump through his veins at the thought of getting one of those Niaka punks within three feet of his bat. There would be no holding back, not this time.

Rin took a step closer, cocking her head as she observed the scene at the end of the alley. Misaki was just barely able to catch sight of a car and two men from where he stood. After a moment, she turned back to look at him.

"It's our lucky night, Yata-san. C'mon, we can follow them if we hurry." Reaching behind her, she tugged the dark green hood of her utility jacket over her head, casting her face into shadow before ducking swiftly into the alleyway and disappearing into the darkness.

The redhead untucked his skateboard from under his armpit, letting it fall to the ground with a clatter. Just as he placed a foot on the board, a familiar dark chuckle caught his attention, and Misaki spun on his heel to locate the source.

"Saru…" He growled, baring his teeth. His hair stood on end as his eyes scanned the street behind him. Misaki was vaguely aware of Rin's disappearing figure as she continued towards their first target, oblivious to the looming confrontation behind her.

Another chuckle sounded to his left - much closer this time – and Misaki jerked around with a glare. The blue-haired man in front of him gazed unflinchingly back, a twisted smirk on his face.

"Ah, Misaki, are you out here to keep a leash on HOMRA's newest-" He paused for a moment, glancing over at Rin's retreating back and giving a small snort of amusement. "- clansman?"

At this, Misaki's hands balled into fists. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Saruhiko's eyes hardened and he turned sharply back to face the redhead. "Did you really think SCEPTER 4 wasn't going to keep an eye on the Red Clan after your last little stunt?" He practically spit out the last word, his eyes narrowed at the small girl off a short distance away.

"The fuck are you talking about, Monkey?"

Misaki's words seemed to snap Saruhiko back to reality, reeling in his temper and replacing it with a lazy smirk. His glasses flashed in the sunlight as he recited in a bored voice, "The Fourth and Blue King, Munakata Reisi, Captain of SCEPTER 4, would like to declare to HOMRA's vanguard words of caution and notify them that any more incidents such as those down by the wharf would be unwise and dealt with severely by SCEPTER 4 agents due to articles eighty-four and-"

Misaki called over, interrupting the taller man's declaration, "Oi, Saru, are you threatening me?"

Saruhiko pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, smirking at his former comrade. "The Blue King knows that building didn't simply catch fire. Keep your new pet in line, Misaki."

"Don't," The redhead growled in a deadly voice, pointing his bat at him. "Call me that. And Tachibana's not a 'pet'."

Misaki watched as Saru's eyes slid back to the alleyway, Rin's utility jacket just barely visible. Sparks danced around her feet, as if flint rocks were struck underneath, igniting each footstep.

"If you can't keep her in line, Misaki, SCEPTER 4 will step in."

The shorter teen wasn't concerned with the sabre at his opponent's hip. His sharp eyes had caught sight of the sharp daggers that glinted at Saruhiko's wrist, and how Saru's eyes had slid back to him, a manic gleam flashing in their depths.

Without thinking, Misaki swung his bat down, capturing Saru's attention immediately. The blue-haired teen dodged the blow and the bat struck the pavement with a metallic clang. Misaki wasted no time swinging his bat once more, this time connecting solidly with Saru's outstretched forearm. However, Misaki wasn't fast enough to dodge the sharp jab at his shoulder blade, sending him stumbling backwards over his heels.

Saruhiko let out a chuckle, knowing his taunts would only rile the redhead more. "Misaki, you've gone soft on us all."

He danced away from another one of Misaki's attacks, chuckling at Misaki's snarl of fury. Deep down, it pleased him that he could still claim Misaki's attention, confident that his companion had been pushed from Misaki's mind.

However, Saru had underestimated the commotion they were causing, which alerted the two men at the end of the alley as well as the blonde teen who had been lurking mostly out of sight. Unfortunately, all surprise was lost now, and flames quickly licked up the sides of Rin's legs. She dashed to the edge of the alley, hell-bent on pinning at least one of them down.

At the sound of a loud, old engine roaring to life, as well as Rin harsly calling his name, Misaki spared a glance down the alley and managed to glimpse the two men piling into car as quickly as they could. His gaze slid to the right, catching sight of Rin's face which was twisted with indecision as she glanced back and forth between the two ends of the alley, debating her choices of whether to abandon her comrade and follow the Niaka members or to lose their target's trail, their only lead towards finding their newest location, and turn back to help. She stared for a moment longer at the disappearing taillights of the car, her body poised and ready to speed off after it, but then bit her cheek and looked back down the opposite end of the alley, locking on him.

Misaki must have paused a minute too long. He watched as Rin's eyes widened, distantly amazed that he could see them shining brightly despite the dim lighting, while another voice snarled in his ear.

"Why do you always look away? Look at me, Misaki!"

He didn't even have time to turn back before his vision went black.

Misaki awoke to something soft tickling his nose. His face felt warm, and he inhaled the scent of something distinctly floral. As he cracked his eyes open he realized he was curled against the nape of Rin's neck, half buried underneath her long blonde hair. A loose strand tickled him once more, and his nose twitched from discomfort.

Startled, he jerked backwards only to cling to her once more as his head spun and he came to the realization that his feet were no longer on solid ground.

"Gah- geez Misaki-san, would you stop squirming-"

She half-turned, glancing at him from the corner of her eye, and he could see a small frown of annoyance crease her forehead. Misaki pulled back slightly, not enough to tip either of them over, and his face began to burn. Rin's arms were tucked snugly underneath his thighs – too close for Misaki's comfort – and she had his arms draped over her shoulders and around her neck as she carried him home.

Misaki wanted to die of embarrassment. God knows how many people saw him being carried back through town by a girl. Digging the heel of his palms into her shoulder blades, he pushed away from her. "Ugh, put me- damnit Tachibana, let go of me!"

He squirmed, trying to get loose from her grip, but her fingers only dug into him, holding him tighter. Without warning, Misaki felt her arm twist out from under him and an elbow quickly jab into his ribcage, causing him to let out a grunt of surprise.

"Will you quit it?" She snapped angrily before hoisting him higher on her hips. "You might have a concussion. I tried to get you to walk for a second, but you passed out as soon as I got you upright." If it weren't for his proximity, Misaki wasn't sure he would have caught the last bit of her grumbling. "It's not like I'm enjoying this or anything…"

Glancing around at their surroundings, it looked as though they were only a few blocks from HOMRA. Misaki blinked rapidly for a few seconds just to make sure he was seeing things straight. He was grateful for the setting sun, finding the pounding in his head lessened the darker it got.

Although, truthfully, it still felt like he had hit a semi-truck head on.

Clenching his teeth to swallow down the pain, he bit out, "…the hell happened?"

Shifting him slightly in her arms, Rin grunted. "That blue-coated bastard managed to catch you off guard." She shifted him once more, and Misaki could feel the heat from her fingers through the fabric of his shorts. "You hit the corner of a wall and were out cold." Rin paused for a moment to catch her breath, but pushed on before Misaki could utter some excuse. "We'll have Kusanagi-san check out your head once we get back."

It was true. Those few seconds of trying to clamber off of her had made his head pound and his vision swim. Unconsciously, he rested his chest against her back once more, trying to keep the dizziness at bay.

As he pressed his cheek against her shoulder, he felt her turn to peek at him.

"Ah, Misaki-san," She let out small sigh, but it came out as a soft chuckle. "You really have such a short temper. You know it's not good when I'm the level-headed one of the group."

He lifted his head, a retort on the tip of his tongue, when the setting sunrays shifted, illuminating Rin's face, and his words died in his throat.

At this proximity he could clearly see the dark circles beneath her eyes, although they had been expertly concealed by her makeup, making them impossible to see from a distance. The corners of her mouth were tugged downward into a frown and her eyes were distant. Misaki had the strangest feeling that her train of thought was not present with them there in the fading sunlight. However, it was neither of these things that caught his attention. While the skyscrapers now blocked the sunlight that had illuminated her face, in that split second he had noticed the slight swelling of her jaw and the blood that pooled beneath the skin there. She looked as if she had been caught on the wrong end of a right-hook.

His eyes drifted from her jaw line back up to the rest of her face, and he swallowed down any sharp remarks he had been ready to make. He knew the fight hadn't been over the moment he had gone down, and Saruhiko wouldn't have let him out of his sight without a fight.

"What about Niaka?" He mumbled into her hair, his heart sinking as he already knew the answer.

"Eh, we'll get 'em next time." Her tone was casual, but she was unable to hide the tightening of her jaw, and Misaki could feel her fingers spasm for a split second around his legs.

As she huffed up the last hill towards the bar – already the rich red wood of the front entrance was becoming visible – Misaki lowered his eyes.

'Damn, monkey,' He mentally growled. It wasn't just that they had lost the trail of the gang who had beat up one of their members - and he was fairly certain they would not be so lucky to stumble across them the next time - he could practically feel the weight of Rin's disappointment pouring off of her. She had more than one bone to pick with Niaka.

And yet she said nothing about it.

"Tachibana-san," He started, faltering for a moment. "Eh, whatever happened between Niaka and your, er, sister?"

Misaki could feel her back go stiff at his question, and her words were ice cold. "Do you feel like discussing you and Saruhiko much, Misaki?"

He hated how her voice perfectly imitated Saru's singsong-y tone. It creeped him out. Not wishing to piss her off any further, Misaki hunched over in silence, guilt creeping over him like an unwelcome shadow. It wasn't until he felt his head bounce and connect solidly with her shoulder that he realized her temper had ebbed away once more.

"Stop frowning so much, Yata-san," She said as shrugged so his head bounced once more, grinning at him over her shoulder. "It adds ten pounds."

As the front steps to HOMRA loomed in front of them, Rin let Misaki slip from her grasp and gently placed him on the ground. He remained on his feet, although he swayed like a reed in the wind, and Rin looped one of his arms around her neck. While the dizziness had somewhat subsided, his balance was still shaky and he was grateful for something to hold on to.

"Easy, Yata," She murmured, and Misaki glanced up at the lack of honorific but made no comment. Rin gave the door a good hard yank, nearly knocking them both backwards.

For a few seconds the bar was silent. Then, voices rose as chairs scraped back, their concerned occupants hurrying from their seats. Izumo's was heard above the rest. "Yata-san, Tachibana-san, what happened?"

Rin's eyes flicked to Misaki for a second. "SCEPTER 4 agents intercepted us. Yata took a blow for me."

Well if that wasn't the stretched truth then Misaki didn't know what was, but when he looked back at her, as Chitose and Shouhei unhooked his arm from around her neck, he sent her a look of gratitude.

"Kusanagi-san," She called. "Check his head, will you? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he has a concussion."

Their second in command nodded his head once, following the three boys in front of him as they moved Yata to a chair near the bar. As the members crowded around their commander, Rin collapsed onto the couch, tilting her head to lean against the back of the sofa, and closed her eyes. Exhaustion slowly began to creep into her bones. Misaki had been no easy load, and her arms shook from the effort of carrying him back twenty-six blocks, not that she would ever tell him.

A shadow fell across her, darkening the area behind her closed lids, but she did not open her eyes until she felt someone's firm grasp on her chin. With a slight gasp of surprise, her eyes snapped open and locked with a familiar amber gaze. Mikoto held the tip of her chin gently between his thumb and forefinger as he frowned down at her. Not even taking notice of her surprised expression, he turned her head towards the side until the bruise on her jaw was exposed.

After a few seconds, Rin's shock wore off and she brushed off his hand irritably from her face, cross and embarrassed that she couldn't go a few minutes without him noticing her slight injuries.

If Mikoto had been annoyed by how casually she smacked him away, he showed no sign of it. However, the frown on his face remained as he glanced back at where the rest of HOMRA was crowded around the bar.

"Why," His voice rumbled low, sending shivers down her spine. "Is it always you?"

Dropping her gaze, Rin muttered, "'S nothing…"

"You should ice it," He said after a moment, eyes closed as he lit up a cigarette. "I don't want you hurt."

Rin snapped irritably, "Just because I'm one of the girls doesn't mean you have to take care of me. Nobody would bat an eye if Shouhei or Yata walked in with a simple bruise." Bitterness and humiliation laced her last few words.

Mikoto let out a 'tch' as he turned his back and walked away, running a hand through his crimson hair and exhaling a trail of smoke. Just when she thought she might as well have shoved her foot a little farther down her big mouth, his deep voice carried back to her.

"Wasn't exactly what I meant…"