Disclaimer: K project is not mine…Can I ask K project for my X'mas gift?

Note: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Ugh…I'm trying so hard to update on Xmas, but it's not easy, being sick and all. Anyway, thank you for the reviews~ I really appreciate everyone who gives their time and effort to review. :D Thank you for the support~

Frozen is really a great movie! I keep playing the OST while writing this, hohoho~

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Thank you and sorry for making you do the dirty work, Munakata."

He strained his ears to listen to that faint trembling whisper. The man in his embrace, who was once standing strong and virtuous with his raging fire, was at the end of his life. Blue King was able to feel the other's fluttering pulse weakening through his blade in Suoh's heart, so light and brisk like the quivering wings of dying little bird. Despite his poor sight without his glasses, he could witness the last moment of withering Red King at such close distance. To his resentment, this man had peaceful and accomplished look in his face. How he wished to punch him and wiped such expression from his face instead of stabbing him with his sword. If he had punched him to death instead, he would be able to feel the throbbing pain in his hand. And with that pain, maybe he could forgive himself a little bit like he had been punished enough for killing his old friend, convenient lover, or whatever they used to have before Totsuka's death.

You don't know how much I want to hate you…

Reishi remained silent; he was not going to overlook any last seconds of the prideful Red King life; the ending the other party had chosen. His senses would record this whole occurrence into details; the vermillion burst color of blood in his hand, the biting cold of snowflakes falling on his cheeks, the deafening noise of winter breeze, and the fading warmth of Suoh's body. Thus, if red clansmen ever inquired him how their King died, he would be able to depict it for them, in honor of Suoh Mikoto. It was his duty to bear the memory, being the one who gave the ending to red-haired king on the tip of his blade. For once in his lifetime, he forgot to keep his emotion in check from showing in his face, but he would not be concerned. Until the last moment, he still could not understand; would not understand why the Red King was so determined to throw away his life for this revenge. This whole vengeance idea was beyond his logical mind. If he was on Suoh's shoes, Reishi was uncertain that he would pick this destructive path, while leaving the living clansmen behind without protection, especially Kushina Anna and Kushinagi Izumo. He would seek retribution, yes, but he would choose the path with fewer casualties. They were indeed too different.

"If you were sorry, you would not even make me do this, Suoh Mikoto," said Reishi, as piercing as freezing ice. This guy deserved it after all. However, the red haired man only coughed more blood and snickered at that remark, "You're right…Thanks, Munakata. Please take care of the rest."

With that, all he could see was red glow fading into the ash-colored sky while the pallid snow fluttered down. His mind screamed in solitary silence, but not a single voice escaped his lips.

Reishi stared at the stacks of white sheets in front of him, waiting to be stamped for his approval. His mind strayed somewhere else but his desk in his private office, rewinding his previous encounter with the self-admitted time-traveler strain several hours ago in the underground prison.

"What?" the Blue King looked bewildered, absolutely in incredulity. Not only such power was supposedly downright unfeasible, he had never heard such absurdity for a while now. It took him great effort in his fiber not to leave the man behind at that instant for speaking nonsense. But recent incidents indicated that he indeed might do something in the past that some changes occurred in current time. If such power truly existed, it would risk the society structure by manipulating the future into something new suited to the ability user. If this strain spoke the truth, he was required to ascertain that this man would never see the light anymore in outside world.

This strain must have known the risk of being imprisoned for life for this dialogue, and yet he decided to let himself be confined.

The Prussian-haired king contemplated, pondering hard for the possible benefit this strain would gain by offering him such deal. It would make no sense if abruptly a visitor offered him help in good will without getting anything return. Reishi glanced at Akizuki, searching for any hint of deceit in his eyes, but the azure orbs glinted clearly like an open book as if challenging him to seek inside his soul for lies.

"What do you intend to gain from this offer?" Reishi rubbed his aching temple; he was exhausted of trying to figure things out. Most of puzzle pieces were not laid in front of him yet; he could not unravel the mystery yet. "You must have understood that if you fail to make deal with me, I will have you arrested for the rest of your life, right?"

Akizuki closed his eyes with calm demeanor; he was not worried in the slightest at his threat. In contrary, Reishi was anxious. It seemed that at present, he was in front of a man who was prepared to last battle ground; as if nothing left for him to leave regret. This kind of people was his weakness. They were in irregularities faction that he always failed to understand. His best example would be Suoh Mikoto. He could never figure out how his mind worked, and Suoh tend to throw him off the balance with his irrational judgment, leaving him unable to anticipate the outcome. Afterward, that irresponsible king would just run off to let him deal with the consequences later on. Alone.

His last thought on Suoh refreshed his fury. Akizuki was taken slightly back at the turning cold amethyst eyes on his. The captive sensed bitter resentment leaking out from blue aura. He did not understand why the blue king was suddenly furious when he learned that Akizuki had yielded to his fate. It might be related to the previous Red King, but it was just his speculation.

"I think you have been prepared of what is coming. I suggest you start thinking how you will spend your lifetime in strain facility for the rest of your life. I have to remind you that you are not able to use your ability here to flee, so enjoy." Reishi whirled around and strode out the white chamber without second glance. Akizuki looked torn between calling the captain of Scepter 4 back or letting him be for a while. When he still tried to decide, the blue king had been long gone out the door. Fushimi gave the captive a short glance of suspicion before he trailed behind Reishi.

Akizuki sat slumped and resigned his fate in the hands of Scepter 4. Meanwhile, he pulled out the golden pocket watch, stared at it wistfully and mumbled to himself, "I will make things right this time…for you."

A week had passed without any major incident for Scepter 4. One would guess that Shizume City was at last buzzing but peaceful with the recent death of three kings. Dresden Slate had not enthroned any new king since last year; which Reishi was thankful for. He had not moved on and he still needed time to forget. He was certain that he was not the only one who appreciated the given time. Majority of red clansmen still assembled together even after the death of their king, reminiscing the memories of their departing family. Honoring their previous king, the HOMRA was still active in fighting mafias who dared to disrupt the harmony of their beloved city, although in smaller scale battles compared to before. Most of the time Scepter 4 was no longer necessary to be deployed to the field to put HOMRA on leash. Reishi often confided in Awashima and Fushimi to handle the case, taking into account that there was no King involved in the matter that required his contribution. Moreover, there was high risk that if HOMRA saw his face, he might awaken the sleeping wrath of surviving red clan for murdering Suoh Mikoto.

However, without the king's power shared among them, apparently HOMRA started losing their grounds against thriving mafias. Recent reports worried him. There were minor casualties in previous brawls. Awashima had complained to him that Fushimi inflicted further damage to public facilities in blind anger to avenge wounded Yata Misaki on last assignment. Even if HOMRA used to be Scepter 4 old arch enemy, Suoh's last request of him was to at least make sure the safety of every member of HOMRA. They were also the citizens of Shizume City, so he had no opposition and would absolutely see his last wish granted. But it did not mean that such wish was easily fulfilled. For one thing, HOMRA was too prideful to allow them to be protected, especially by the ones who were involved directly in death of Red King. Reishi still had not figured out how to address this external affair with HOMRA.

Fushimi was in the middle of editing Enomoto's failing daily report when he saw Seri walking through the hallway in rush, making way to captain office. Her subordinates were quick to make path for her along the HQ hallway while wondering what could possibly be the reason for her urgency. Intrigued, he left his desk and trailed behind Seri up to the front door of Blue King's office, snooping quietly.

Seri knocked on the mahogany door rather loudly and let herself in abruptly when she heard 'come in' from inside. After closing the door behind her, she made a brief salute gesture and spoke in clear voice. "Emergency report, Captain. The local police have just reported an explosion in the underground train station," said Seri, trying to appear composed despite the situation, "there are twenty three people wounded reported and more people are trapped inside the station, some of them might be from…HOMRA." She was uneasy. After hearing the news, she had been sending text messages to Izumo, but there was no reply and he had not even contacted her back. What if he was injured? She could only pray that he was on his usual bar at that moment and his name was not among the victim list.

Reishi sighed in frustration and leaned back on his seat, pushing his eyeglasses up to the bridge of his nose. He promised Mikoto that he would ensure the safety of his family, but until this second, he failed to keep that single promise. Ex-red clan members rejected him, and he was not going to have diplomatic discussion with HOMRA anytime soon. He could enforce the law to HOMRA to shelter them from unnecessary struggle, but that would mean taking the freedom away from them and he was certain Mikoto did not ask him to protect them by putting them in custody.

'If only you were still here to protect your family, I would not have to worry like this…'

Putting his chin on his folding fingers, Reishi called in a loud voice, "Come in, Fushimi-kun." Seri's eyes widened in surprise and whirled around to stare at the silent door. She was positive that she did not hear a knock, so Fushimi must be following her before. And eavesdropping!

It was a second away before the door made a shrieking sound and Fushimi appeared behind it, looking annoyed. He clicked his tongue like usual at his captain, to Seri's irritation. Fushimi was talented and extremely capable, but his poor behavior and impudence toward Captain were not tolerated. The head of Scepter 4 paid no heed to such audacity, and continued on. "As you may hear behind that door, Fushimi-kun," said Reishi cynically, "I inquire you both to assess the incident, to contain the casualty to minimum damage and make full report to me today." Seri nodded in acknowledgement while Fushimi looked apathetic, although Reishi knew better that his look was nothing but a façade of his anxiety.

Both of his commanders were about to leave the office when Reishi added on, "and try not to destroy the city more than it is, Fushimi-kun." Fushimi threw him a disdainful glance with another click of tongue before closing the door. The blue king would not stop his third-in-command from picking a fight with the unauthorized mafia, as long as he did not cause inconvenience to public service and made him held responsible by the Gold King. Fushimi was a difficult child after all.

He rested his head on his desk, feeling at loss. The whole situation was like he had to finish his puzzle while a piece was gone. It would never be completed and forever be flawed, yet the puzzle must be solved. The missing piece would the Suoh Mikoto. Without him, he would never be able to guarantee the safety of HOMRA, yet he had to.

'Your people are just like you. Refusing any extended hand, even if they were in brink of annihilation. None of you even realize the feeling of people who worry for you.'

Reishi smiled bitterly at the thought. The time for him to worry about certain red-haired king was long overdue. Now he should at least spare Awashima and Fushimi from those terrible feelings called guilt and concern. Guilt for not being able to do anything for their important persons; concern for the safety of those who would not even bother to worry about their own wellbeing. It was his duty to make arrangement to maintain peace, even for HOMRA.

But how should he accomplish it?

The smoke rose up high to the sky that Fushimi was able to locate the source of fire soon. Shrilling sound of sirens was loud and maddening to his ears, as deafening as the drumming beats of his pulse. It was just a week ago when he found Misaki stumbling with help from Bandou to keep him steady with bleeding right leg from gunshot on the battle ground between HOMRA and a group of mafia. His ex-best friend, who was always lively, looked pale from the blood loss. Fushimi hated that weak look; he wanted the usual Misaki, who always scorned him and bickered with him, exchanging blows with him with the mixture color of blue and red swirling in the air between them before the death of Suoh Mikoto. Before he knew it, he found himself in the middle of crumbling city with a bloody and torn HOMRA's enemy in his fist and surrounded by unconscious battered bodies of the whole group of mafia. Furthermore, he was on verge of killing the criminal in blind rage, if it was not for Blue King to intercept him by forming a transparent blue barrier between his knives and the criminal's neck.

Captain only gave him a look of concern, before he started to take over to handle the situation. After the mission, he was reprimanded from field work and the head of Scepter 4 pushed most of office works to him to keep Fushimi busy, including Seri's reports to his annoyance. Beyond that, Reishi said nothing about his behavior. Nevertheless, he knew the Gold King had summoned the Blue King, demanding his accountability over the incident. It irked him because he felt guilty but his captain did not even hold him responsible. Fushimi despised be indebted.

The black haired third-in-commander of Scepter 4 clicked his tongue in impatience as the car van rode out to the incident site. He glanced at Seri who kept staring at her mobile phone with a worried look. Guess Kusanagi still has not responded…

When they finally arrived, Seri began her professional work by confirming their authority to local police and taking over the task of securing the bombing site. The underground train station actually fared much better than buildings involved in last week incident based on Fushimi's quick assessment on the situation. However, the collapsing station was no longer safe, and he had to make sure there was no citizen trapped inside. The structure was currently quite fragile. The ex-train station appeared as if it would crumble down even with an extra weight of a foot. It would be quite a work, but blue clansmen power was quite effective in erecting barrier to help with the evacuation in hazardous place. Fushimi squint his eyes to observe the inside of messy underground tunnel from above when Seri approached him. "They have evacuated most of citizens. Quite casualty we have." The female commander mumbled on, "Though the emergency response team is currently in the middle of evacuating two possible survivors. According to the witnesses, two people from HOMRA were around when the explosion occurred. From their description, I think they are Yatagarasu and Kamamoto."

In the blink of eye, Fushimi had run as fast as his legs could carry him.

For God's sake, he was wounded, yet he could not stay out of trouble for a week!

How Misaki had survived until now was a mystery to him.

"Shit, we are trapped," Misaki grumbled as he tried to move away some boulders obstructing the tunnel. The bigger man with sunglasses tried to catch his breath after the hard labor and wheezed, "Yata-san, let's just wait for rescue team to pick us up from the roof of the tunnel. The exit is totally blocked." The red-haired boy was annoyed. He did not like waiting for a rescue like a damsel in distress. But looking at their current predicament, it seemed there was really no other way out but from the top. A ray of sunlight broke through the hole on the tunnel rooftop, but it seemed their location was far-off from the outside. They would be able to do something, like making a larger hole on the roof if they still had their previous power to send SOS. But past was in the past, their time of glory was gone along with their King.

Seeing they had no other choice but to wait for help, Misaki threw himself on the cleared ground and used his arms as his pillow. "Man, what a coward. Those stupid criminals turn tail and bomb the whole place once they are cornered. And they act so high and mighty before just because Mikoto-san is not here to stop them."

Rikio only gave a sad, understanding smile and sat beside him. "Yeah, we all miss him." Misaki turned his head to face Rikio for a moment and his mood went into melancholic. They lied there in comfortable silence until they could hear continuous rumble and see gleaming dust falling from the crack on the rooftop right above them. Misaki was quick on his feet to move away from their relaxing place to avoid getting crushed by the falling rock from the top. Rikio as bigger one, scrambled away in panic when the boulders started to fall near him, and he escaped by hairline for his life.

The red-haired man stared up and almost yelled with joy when he saw a shadow of person from crack which was much larger compared to before. His happiness did not last long until he saw the face of his savior.

"Oiii…Misaki, still alive?" Fushimi poked his head, peering through the hole with a sneer smile like a cunning feline. "Guess you are really like a cockroach. I wonder if anything can kill you."

"Damn, why are you here, monkey?!" He raised his fist up to challenge the traitor of HOMRA. Just looking at Fushimi's face made him mad, especially his uniform. Scepter 4 stole away his ex-best friend, turned him into a freak, and just recently that accursed organization murdered their King and put gloomy atmosphere in his friend and family. He simply could not forgive Scepter 4 for taking away everything, and this grudge probably would not fade with time. He knew that the death of Red King was inevitable, and it was not right to push the blame on Scepter 4 which only tried to clean up the mess, but right now he needed someone else to blame until he could forget the pain of loss and get in term with it.

Fushimi clicked his tongue and scoffed, "so uncute. Maybe I should just leave you here to rot."

"I don't need the damn blue dogs to save me!"

"…or maybe I'll just kill you here."

"Yata-san, let's not fight right now…"

Misaki whirled around and grabbed Rikio's collar shirt on his fist, "No, we don't need our enemy to save us!" Before he realized it, Fushimi already jumped into the wrecked train inside the tunnel and leaped on the steady boulders to make his way inside gracefully. He dusted off his blue uniform when he stood behind Misaki.

The red-haired vanguard turned around in surprise and reflexively, he threw a kick aimed at Fushimi's face. The latter easily countered the sudden attack with his hand, looking unfazed. "As much as I want to punch you right here, this place is not safe and too cramped. I don't want to write casualty report too since they are troublesome, so don't make my work difficult."

"You…!"

"Fushimi, do you find them?" a second shadow appeared from the hole and a fine woman revealed herself. Her tied, golden hair shone under the sunlight, making a halo around her head.

Fushimi fixed his glasses and looked up to report, "Yeah, and they are kicking like insects."

Seri sighed at his sarcasm and gave appointed look to the third-in-commander. "Don't start a fight, okay? I will call the rescue team to come here." With that, the blonde vanished from the sight and only indistinctive static noise could be heard.

Misaki glared at the dark-blue haired man and the latter did the same. Rikio sighed, hoping that the beautiful lady would return soon and save him from these living ticking bombs. He walked backward to keep some distance between those two before his heel hit something and that thing bounced and flung into the railway. When he looked around and figured out what he was just stumbled upon, he ran toward both male to push them away and screamed flustered, "GRENADE!"

"How can this happen?" Reishi slightly raised his voice, barely keeping his self-control in check. His hand which holding a piece of puzzle halted in the air trembled slightly.

Awashima lowered her head in shame, "I apologize, Captain. It was my responsibility." She could not lift her eyes to look at the head of Scepter 4. After she went away to ask the rescue team to come using her radio transceiver, another small scale explosion could be heard not far from Fushimi's location. She rushed back in panic, how could she not order Fushimi to investigate first if there was no other wild bomb nearby? It must have been a leftover explosive thrown by the mafias before. The crack was so large like a crater compared to before. The boulders and wires fell on top of the trains inside, the rocks still crumbled down. The dusty fog flooded the whole tunnel. When she arrived at the edge of the crater, she yelled out of her lung. "FUSHIMI!"

The seconds passed like hours before the dust slowly cleared away. Her heart beat fast like she had run for hours. "Fushimi! Can you hear me?!"

Another panic shout resonated with hers, calling the same name. Seri recognized that voice instantly; it seemed Yatagarasu was alright.

Misaki soon cracked open his eyes and grumbled in pain; a loud ringing filled his ears. A chill run through his back when he saw blood in his hand. However, his pain was not severe enough to possibly indicate a wound on himself, so his eyes scanned through the area, to see whose blood was in his hand. Kamamoto peeled himself off the floor without trouble and coughed. The only one left would be…And there he was, in the middle of pool of his blood behind him.

"Saru! Oi, stupid monkey! Wake up!" Misaki yelled out, holding back a sniffle while shaking Fushimi's body. His arch enemy lied unconscious in his arms with blood running from the back of his head and nose. His eyeglasses cracked and some glass shards scraped his face. When the bomb blew, Fushimi swiftly embraced Misaki with his left arm, with Kamamoto on the red vanguard's back and pulled out his sword with his other hand. He formed barrier in front of them in immediate response and effectively intercept the blast, but the impact of the outburst hurled him away along with the HOMRA's members. His back hit the wall hard first and his body became a cushion for both Misaki and Kamamoto as they collided.

Awashima gasped in terror, as she witnessed at the ragged body of her subordinate.

"Yatagarasu! Don't move him! Stay still and I'll call for help!" Seri did not even care when her emotion was shown on her voice. She nearly yelled over the radio transmitter for medical team to come in fast. I have failed…What have I done?

Misaki went into shock, red filled his view and everything he could see was vermillion color. His hand flinched when it touched Fushimi's cold cheek as if he was electrocuted. Tears brimming in his amber eyes, but he paid no heed in showing weakness. He hugged his best friend, hoping to share his warmth with the cold man in his arm. "Oi, Saru…don't die yet…not like this…!"

He thought Rikio had put a hand on his shoulder to console him, but his mind went blank, and he could not remember much afterward.

It took nearly three hours for him to convince his second-in-commander that she was doing a great job in handling the mission and what happened to Fushimi was not her fault. It was purely accident and probably inevitable. Fushimi was also a law enforcer, thus he should have understood the risk of such position. At least, the doctor said that his youngest commander had stabilized and he would be able to be discharged approximately by the end of next week. If anyone to blame, it would be Reishi's fault. If he also went to the site, he might be able to spare Awashima and Fushimi from hurt, physically and psychologically. Even if his presence might escalate the tension between Red Clan and Scepter 4, as long as he could keep everyone safe…

The Blue King closed his eyes and leaned back on his chair. Despite this enormous power granted by Dresden Slate, he was still powerless. After the loss of Suoh Mikoto, he realized how much the Red King contributed in keeping peace in Shizume City. Suoh always seemed to give him more trouble than his worth, but apparently he did his duty as a King in the shadow while Reishi basked in the light. He wondered when everything started to go awry. Everything seemed going fine when Red King was alive, when Totsuka was alive, except for his relationship with Suoh.

When Totsuka was alive…

He was not one to regret or turn back; he always moved forward, no matter how harsh the future was. But Reishi was at his limit. He could not protect the fragile HOMRA. When he was busy trying to put Red Clan in safety without taking away their freedom, his own clansmen were harmed. What was the point of him to take the role as a King, if he could not even do his duty properly? Walking alone in the solitary path of a King, he started to lose his way and the balance was completely off.

Why should he doubt? After all, an easy way out has been offered to him. While it might be a folly for him to turn back the time, this chance was also his best opportunity to get back what he had lost.

When Totsuka was alive…

That thought filled his mind, swirling like a snowstorm. Without realizing, his feet had led him to the prison door of a certain strain inside the facility. Aquamarine orbs greeted him behind the glass, with a sympathetic smile. He could read the expression on Reishi's face like an open book.

"Tell me, Blue King. How far would you like to go? How much can you give up for it?"

Reishi hesitated for a moment, before he entered the prison and stood still in front of Akizuki. His violet eyes hardened with resolve. He had decided.

To be continued...

Okay, I'm tired now. I try my best to finish this chapter before Christmas is over, but fanfiction just won't let me login! So yeah, please have a late X'mas gift, hope you would like it :D As promised, this chapter is quite long and so are the next ones. So please be patient for an update and maybe support me with some reviews, lol~ I think this chapter is more for SaruMi fans instead of MikoRei. Well, Mikoto is currently out of the picture, so…just look forward for MikoRei, it will be there anytime soon!

Cupsuke: I really hope this chapter can further pique your interest in reading more update! :D Thank you for your support~

kiku: Thank you, Kiku! Hope you will enjoy this chapter as well.

AkiFushi: Sorry to disappoint you, there will be a female OC in the future, but she has no key role so…you don't have to worry about her XD Hope you will love this chapter as well.