Disclaimer: Yeah, whatever. K Project will always belong to GoHands.
Note: Sorry for a late update…got too busy with real life that I hardly able to catch up with sleep and watch Noragami, lol. Anyhow, forgive me for errors, grammatically and vocabulary. I'm writing this bit by bit during little break time so it probably looks like rushed. This chapter is kind of the first climax, so it will be quite long. Please bear with me at reading it. It would make me happy if you love this chapter~
"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." - George Bernard Shaw
"How much would I have to compensate for this chance?"
The aquamarine orbs were fixed on the stormy blue ones. "I don't know. It might be your memories, or even your life." He said without blinking his eyes, "I never bring anyone with me before. I always go alone. For myself, there is this fixed price I have to pay every time I use this power. I think I will be able to tell the price for other party when the time comes, though."
Reishi shuddered at the thought of death involuntarily. It was not as if he worried much about losing his life, because in his daily work, he understood perfectly his status was always in thin boundary with death. It was not about him, but the ones he loved and cared. How about his family, his clansmen? Was he able to forsake them to such heartache just to save one king, who would not even think twice to take out his own life?
Who will not even think twice of leaving him behind heartlessly…
Ever since he was crowned as the Blue King out of the blue day, he had been prepared of what would be coming. Despite the tremendous power they possessed, the King could not put the end of their life without causing another Kagutsu Crater or another King to be stained by blood, if not by the natural cause, illness or accident. Only another King could kill the other King, and only by using the power of the King they could end the life of Sword of Damocles of other King. Despite of that, no King would love to have such role as an executioner, especially considering how they would destroy their own Sword of Damocles from the effort. Knowing that no one would take such a role willingly, ever since he took up the role as Captain of Scepter 4 and Blue King, he swore himself that he would take that abominable role if it was for greater good of innocent lives. There would be the day when he might have to stain his hands, but he could not be sure who would fall from the throne before him.
Nevertheless, the first time he landed his eyes on the golden ones, he knew that he would have such a long, taxing affiliation with the Red King. Suoh Mikoto was a brash man when motivated, while he could be the most apathetic man most of the day. He was like a bomb; once ignited, it would be like hell broke loose and it was only a matter of time. For a mind like Reishi, he could straightforwardly foresee the first king to fall from his grace. And he had prepared himself to end Suoh's life if necessary.
However, he did not foretell the possibility of him having a certain feeling toward the red-haired man. As the Captain of Scepter 4, the organization for handling mysterious cases and strains, he could not avoid not being acquainted to the leader of HOMRA. Reishi had steeled his heart, telling himself that that feeling was nothing more than distraction from his solitary life. He told himself repetitively that no fruit can grow from barren land of King's path. Yet his heart betrayed him so many times, to the point it failed to hear the warning of his logic mind that Suoh was a dangerous man to his heart. He should have steered clear of such a man while he still could. It would not be that difficult to kill a stranger if one day he had to put out that dazzling life out of duty. At least, it would be nothing worse than killing a criminal. He would still feel bitter, yes, but he would not feel like on that fated wintry day. But with every small glance, little smirk, slight brush of skin, his temperance crumbled like trickling icicle under the sun and his eyes would once again chase Suoh's figure.
"Then again, I ask you. For what do you bear such a risk on your shoulders alone?" Akisuki pointed his finger on the other party. "How precious is that life you're trying to save to endanger your own? Do you have enough resolve to throw everything away for your goal?"
Reishi gazed down solemnly, clenching his fist. His vigilant mind was more than ready to put an end to Suoh's life after years of convincing himself that he had a sworn duty as a King. Nevertheless, his heart was blown by the fact that the red king would choose death and follow his beloved subordinate/friend instead of spare him from the ultimate heartache. Suoh might have trusted him for having more than enough resolve to be his death harbinger, but it also meant that the red king did not care if he also dragged Reishi down with him to hell. Killing a King would take quite a toll on his Sword of Damocles, thus killing Suoh meant risking accelerated death upon himself too. Following that thinking, he should have despised Suoh to his core. But when he was alone in his quiet bedroom during night time, all he could find inside him was guilt and vulnerability. The same words kept replaying in his unoccupied mind. 'I bring this misery upon myself' or 'I have not done enough'. His heart which was warmed by Suoh's presence was shattered by guilt, until there was nothing left but fragments of memories in that island. Now he had gotten used to the iciness once again. The cold did not bother him as much as that moment he lost the crimson heat anymore. Maybe it was because his heart finally died and only his mind was left. He felt empty as days passed him by, but he did not bother. He was waiting for the day when he would be able to mention Suoh's name without leaving a sour taste on his tongue.
Nevertheless, his dying heart could not stop flickering and struggling to stay alive, to cherish what was left of Suoh. Every time he read HOMRA in his daily reports, that perpetual echo of pain reminded him all over again of his barely existing, useless heart, blaming him for not chasing Suoh hard enough. There would be no end to that constant pain. If he had to admit, he did take all this risk of rewinding time was not for greater good, or for saving Suoh's worthless life (since he was more than willing to throw it away and Reishi failed to save it). It was to satisfy his heart, putting his mind and heart into one harmony by trying every possibility within his capability to save that fool. If Suoh was still ill-fated to be dead despite him putting everything on stakes, so be it. There would be nothing more to regret, but his inevitable encounter with Suoh. It was selfish of him for risking everything for his sake, but for once he would like to see how things would end without his usual self-control.
"The Kings are always in solitude, while bearing the weight of the world on their backs. This is no different." He glanced up in tenacity. "It's not about the life that I intend to save, but how many casualties we may prevent." The Blue King paused for a moment, before he clarified his will. "I don't intend to die, but I understand the risk. This will be a confrontation against a king after all. We lost two Kings just to take out most troublesome one; therefore it will not be an easy feat to face him unaided."
The strain scratched back of his head and sighed. "I don't understand why your mind is particularly set that the path of the King is a solitary one. No one can bear the loneliness. Have you ever heard the phrase that 'a rabbit can die from loneliness?'"
Reishi flinched at the words. He always told himself that the weight of the world was too heavy that even if he shared it with someone, it would sooner or later take a toll on that person physically and mentally. Sharing it with another king was just impossible because they had to keep the balance like contradicting magnetic polar. Negative and positive polar were never meant to meet each other, yet they pulled the other so strongly. Once the other influenced the opposed side, the balance might tip off and the order would break down. He certainly could not allow such things.
"Well, for one thing, a human will not die from loneliness."
For some reason, the strain looked far beyond him and sadness was apparent in his face. "We all cannot live alone, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise. Once you have tasted the luxury of having someone on your side, you just cannot return to that lonely path. But when you have to return, you just want to leave that road to the point of crossing the forbidden line."
The captain watched the strain in silent as if analyzing him. "I gather it is from personal experience?"
"I think you also feel the same since you understand it perfectly." Akizuki simply rewarded him with a bitter smile. "Don't you think that makes us both miserable people combined together?"
Reishi snorted in disgust. "I would prefer not to think myself as pathetic as you think of yourself."
Akizuki rolled his eyes and pushed his body off the pristine white bed with ease.
"Has anyone told you that you are such a difficult man?"
"Quite often."
The strain shrugged, "Figures."
"To activate the power, I have to think of the time I would like to return to." The strain lifted his point finger in the air suggestively, "the time will not be exactly the time I have in my mind, but more or less around that period."
"How inconvenient, as we will not be able to plan ahead of time." Reishi fixed his eyeglasses while sitting crossed legs in front of the prisoner with straight back.
"Next, once we rewind the time, based from previous experiences, I conclude that our current memories will be transferred to the past self. Therefore, you will be in past-self physical form, but you possess the knowledge of current self." Akizuki added explaining, "My physical form always reverts back in accordance to the period I have returned to, whenever I turn back the time, so perhaps that's the other rule to prevent contradiction." Reishi nodded absentmindedly in acknowledgement. This whole rewinding time was beyond his logic mind. Nevertheless, there was so much mythical existence that they still had not been able to figure out, for examples the source or the extent of Dresden Slate power, and the method it had crowned the Kings. It would be hardly startling if some strains possessed some atypical, unaccountable powers. Until today, there was not much to gather from recent researches regarding strains' power and Dresden Slate.
"Following the previous rule, it's obvious I cannot rewind the time to the period when I have not been born. Because I do not have a vessel to contain the memory...Furthermore, this power is not that grand to bend the time. I cannot rewind the time more than 5 years of my current age because the burden and the price will be too much to bear that I will die instantly in the process. Even if I have to rewind bit by bit, my limit will still be 5 years starting from current time."
Akizuki peeked up through the bangs of his pale hairs to observe the blue king. Reishi looked slightly dissatisfied at that news, but he quickly put on his expressionless mask. The strain smirked sardonically at Reishi, "What? Do you think I have not thought the option of preventing the disaster by erasing the birth of previous Colorless King?"
Reishi did not even blink at his reply. Akizuki might act innocent, but his mind and words were without doubt full of venom. He was not even certain if it was right thing to use this man. A man with wisdom was most formidable foe. By the end of this bargain, it might be him that was being used. His mind wavered with suspicion.
'Well, there is an old saying, keep your enemy closer…'
"Now then, is there anything else you want to ask?" The prisoner gave him a big grin for listening to his long explanation.
Reishi did not waste his time to interrogate, "I will not beat around the bush. What is in it for you by doing me a favor? You mention before that you will also have to pay certain price for using this power and from my observation, you are certainly not a charity type." His hand reached the hilt of his sword while his eyes never averted away from the strain even for a second. The strain simply tilted his head lopsidedly and grinned at the intimidating gesture.
"I think we will make a compatible team." Akizuki put up his hand in front of Reishi's face to silence him if the other man was going to retort back for his claim. "We have similar goal and similar motive for doing this. I have the power and wisdom, but I have nothing much to make more than a ripple in the water called fate. You have the status, authority and brain to make such ripples into a wave."
The Captain of Scepter 4 only gifted him with an empty stare at his flattery. Akizuki sighed and circled his arms around his folded legs in front of him. "I don't know if this can convince you or not and this will be a long story. But I can't think of other method to make you believe in me."
"Try me," Reishi gave him a cold stare, waiting patiently for his answer.
Akizuki inhaled deeply and remains solemn while gathering his thought. His eyes flared with suppressed rage when he finally answered, "My fate intertwined with his, so much tangled to the point of abhorrence."
Soft light of sunset reached his closed lids through the open window, giving him a silent wake-up call. The evening breeze swayed his strands of dark blue hair gently. Cracking open his violet eyes, Reishi spent a few minutes blinking his bleariness away. He could feel a dull, slowly growing headache behind his head. Sudden hit of nausea kicked in, that he tried to hold back the urge to vomit and stayed motionless for another minutes. He scanned the room weakly while lying down, trying to figure out where he had ended up. He knew the interiors perfectly; the traditional japanese furniture, the bamboo dividings, the straw mat, the orchid ornament, and most noticeable of all would be the familiar smell of fresh green tea lingering in the room. Without doubt, he was in his office room.
When the headache became tolerable, with a soft groan, Reishi lifted his body with his arms from the mat and fixed his eyeglasses. The head of Scepter 4 could hear the distant noise in the city. While he was gazing out of the window idly at the darkening sky, he sneezed when the chilling air started to get him. The foliage outside the buildings was reddish gold and some was withering, indicating the end of autumn and early winter. Reishi pulled his PDA out of his pocket uniform in hurry and watched the date mentioned in his mobile.
Three days before the date of Totsuka's death...
He could feel a twinge on his chest. Doubt started to creep into his mind. What if the Ashinaka Island incident was just in his head? If it was just a dream, it felt surreal. Or maybe him returning to the past was also part of his dream? He was in the middle of considering the possibility of him hallucinating before his PDA suddenly rang out in the room. The monitor said 'Unknown number'. Reishi considered a minute before picking up the phone.
"Oh? That's surprising. I thought you would take it harder. The first time I did it, I vomited non-stopped for a whole day, you know, to the point I barely able to pick myself up." The caller did not even announce his name; although it was not necessary for Reishi either as he could recognize the voice without difficulty. "Now that I have confirmed you have safely arrived, where should I meet you?" The strain put his hands inside his jeans pockets as he strolled around the city with a phone on his ear.
The blue king dusted off his uniform as he stood up and made his way to his office chair, while staying on the phone. His clansmen should have left home by this hour, although Fushimi might still stay behind to finish up his works on his desk. There should be no problem to slip in a strain inside for him at such hour.
'There is no going back now. No more time to regret.'
"Come to the Scepter 4 HQ. We will talk it here."
Mikoto was taking a walk in the middle of the day with his usual bored look while a little girl on red frilly dress, holding on his right hand. It was a bright noon when Anna suddenly peeked into his room and requested Mikoto to take a stroll with her without telling him the reason. She might have seen something with her perceptive sense, but Mikoto never asked the detail. If Anna considered it necessary to tell him, she would do so. In contrary, when she did not speak in further detail for her silence, she would not tell however she was pried on. The little girl almost never made any selfish request, so whenever she asked for something, he would not deny it.
They had been walking on the city and looking around at the familiar streets and people for two hours. The silver-haired girl seemed to enjoy herself. Maybe she was just being ecstatic as her birthday was just around the corner. Her happiness seemed to infect him that unknowingly a smile was on his lips.
They were in the middle of having a little break on a town bench under a tree when Anna suddenly startled him by tugging on sleeve of his jacket. "Mikoto..." Her crimson eyes found his golden ones, as if pleading. The older man gave her a questioning look before he finally understood what she was asking of him. Across the road, Scepter 4 was patrolling around the city. It was supposedly a normal view for him, for the blue clan to do their menial task, usually without their king. He rarely bothered when there were only Munakata's subordinates around because only Munakata was able to raise excitement in him as his equal. However, today was different. He wondered if that was the reason why Anna invited him out of the bar. Surrounded by his subordinates, a certain blue haired king stood regal in his daily uniform, giving instructions to his commanders.
Mikoto could feel his Aura leaped in excitement inside him, raging like awakened fire storm. His hands itched for an exhilarating fight against the blue king. He would have jumped to strike Reishi in that instant if not for Anna still tugging on his sleeve. For some reason, Anna looked solemn and shook her head, for once refusing him to go to his battle. Mikoto stared at her for a minute and sighed in defeat. He could understand what she wanted from him without exchanging words. The little strain probably asked him to keep his composure for once and talked in civil manner with the other king. He had missed his chance to pick a fight with Munakata anyway, since the other man had noticed his presence and dismissed his subordinates from their quick briefing.
"It's rare to see you in the city, Munakata. I almost think you never leave your office," said Mikoto with a sneer. As a response, Munakata gave him business-like smile, retorted back while fixing his glasses, "Good afternoon, Suoh Mikoto. Would there be a calamity in the near future for you to stop being lazy for once?" Despite his usual remark, the violet eyes showed the mixture of relief, joy and...longing? Mikoto was not sure about the latter, but there certainly was difference. Anna's face was expressionless, and she was standing still like a statue, as if anchoring him to that site to make him talk to the blue king.
However, what stayed between them was nothing more than awkward silence. None of them initiated a small talk. Usually they would banter and waged verbal war before it turned into physical. But today Munakata did not look like he would put up a good fight even if Mikoto started one. All he could see in those blue eyes was prolonged weariness and silent plea for a truce. He had never seen such exhausted Munakata, even if his underlings failed to see the hints because his Munakata was always excellent at hiding his vulnerability. Seeing the other king in such state made his previous enthusiasm fading. Now he could only feel concern for the other man. The only one time he witnessed the Blue King in such state was when he heard that one of his subordinates died protecting him and this time Munakata appeared much worse compared to back then. It made him wonder what he had lost this time.
To be honest, it made him sort of jealous. Of what, he did not know. After all, he did not know anything of Munakata's anxiety. That man only opened up a little after their occasional spontaneous sex session and Mikoto was not one to meddle with other's business. That was how their little affair went on. He was not one to put romance and business on same page, so was Munakata and the latter seemed content that way.
"Is something going to happen?" A little soft voice finally broke the silence.
Both men stared down at the little silver-haired girl. Her ruby eyes glittered in scrutiny. Reishi huffed a little bit and bowed down a little to answer her on the same eye level, "Nothing you have to worry about. This is just a regular investigation."
Anna was quiet while her eyes remained fixed on Reishi's, as if knowing that he was lying.
Reishi did not even bat an eye at the news. He had known the future that would occur on tomorrow night; all the details of Totsuka's death. Tomorrow night on full moon high in the clear sky, while carrying his newly purchased camera, Totsuka would climb up to the roof of this building where he would encounter the Colorless King. Reishi would like to think it as coincidental, that the Colorless King was just simply waiting for Silver King's ship to pass him by and Totsuka just incidentally met him during the wait. But the more he thought about it, the Colorless King must have planned it out. He must have calculated that the most naïve of HOMRA members would come on that tallest building in Shizume City to enjoy the night view of the city like usual and that building was on the route of Weismann's airship. He needed a sacrifice to inflict rage inside HOMRA, to make them blinded with vengeance and exhaust themselves with unnecessary wars, to weaken HOMRA. Totsuka Tatara was the best candidate. He was the weakest, friendliest member of HOMRA, while he was also close to every member of Red Clan, especially to Mikoto, Kusanagi and Anna. Following that plan, the Colorless King intended to push the murder charge on Weismann, creating inflict between Red King and Silver King. It was all to possess Suoh Mikoto and gained his power. If he got lucky, he could even take the first immortal King's power.
It would be low probability for him to be able to prevent Totsuka's encounter with Colorless King. Even if he could prevent the amber-colored head from entering the premise that night by force, there was high possibility that the Colorless King would still carry on his plan, and commit murder next time. If he failed to capture or kill Colorless King on this one chance, it would not matter whether he could save Totsuka or not. The evil king without doubt would play dirty to find another chance to kill and his ability would assist him well in carrying it out and Reishi could not possibly predict where and when he would attack since he could not read future. There was no way they could protect Totsuka 24/7 either against a King. It was the best to go offensive instead of defensive for this matter. Reishi would let Totsuka be the bait for Colorless King and he would interfere their meeting. The Colorless King would not have considered the third party perturbing him so early of his plan since he would think that no one knew about his status as a newly crowned wild king.
Anna looked like she was waiting for his truthful answer, but Reishi did not even give away a hint. The less HOMRA knew, the better. Instead he pulled back and stood straight so Anna would have to look up to see his face. The sunlight obscured her sight, so she could not see blue king's expression clearly. The Captain fluently lied, "As I said, nothing will happen. You don't have to worry about anything. Scepter 4 is only checking out the nearby premises on regular basis."
Mikoto watched Munakata wearily as he spoke with Anna. Something was completely off. He fought back the urge to make Munakata spill out whatever that secret which seemed to be quite important for him to guard. It ticked him off. He knew the other guy was a sly man, considering his achievement in politic in such short time and sometimes he admired that side of him. But he despised whenever Munakata used his manipulating skill on him, trying to mislead him for whatever reason to keep him in the dark. The Blue King always argued that it was all for HOMRA (he never said it was to protect him since he knew Suoh would not accept it), but he did not like being deceived. He wanted to punch the blue-haired king to remind him not to underestimate him; that he could protect his own clansmen and Munakata was being a busybody unnecessarily. But he could not involve Anna when she was in the middle of King's fight. Anna seemed understanding as well for Blue King's action, which she did not pursue for the answer anymore. If Anna thought that they should let Munakata be, he would respect her judgment this time. Mikoto clicked his tongue and turned on his heels irritated, leaving the other King alone before his patience completely dried out.
Anna bowed slightly in respect and trailed behind Suoh in hurry. Reishi did not move an inch as he stared at the backs which slowly blended and vanished among the pedestrians. He sighed quite loudly and just noticed that he had been holding on his breath for quite some time. Kushina Anna had a terrifying power as a strain. No wonder she was once chosen to be the artificial candidate of Blue King years ago. If she took out her red marbles before to read his thought, he would have no choice but to stop her with his Aura which would probably lead into a fight with Suoh and destroy the public facility again. He felt cornered whenever she gazed into his eyes as if she was plunging down into his soul and reading him like an open book. Such feeling made him vulnerable. Fixing his glasses, he chuckled ironically at him being afraid of a little girl.
Despite the awkward moment back then, he could not deny that he felt forgotten happiness bubbling inside him after meeting Suoh, alive and annoying like usual. After the death of Red King, he still remembered his indifference face and his voice in his regular nightmares. Nonetheless, Reishi started to forget his little smile or his rough touch on his skin as the time passed by. The only remaining memories were the mad King after the death of his loved one and the last moment of Suoh's life. They kept playing in his head like a broken record like a punishment for his failure. Dreamless nights were a luxury for him ever since Ashinaka's incident.
He had tried to forget Suoh altogether to move on, because it was futile to remember a dead person. However, since it was in his personality that he could never forgive his failure, he stopped attempting to forget because he knew it was impossible to do while he kept beating himself up over his disappointment. As an alternative, Reishi searched in his memories for happier ones with Suoh, but whenever he tried to recall them, they were hastily replaced by the time when Suoh rejected his stretched hand. After a year, his mind was numb from the nightmares and he only felt hollow on waking up after restless nights.
The Blue King was grateful for this one chance to remember again what kind of man Suoh was when he was still with his happy family and his Sword of Damocles was not in shambles. He could despise Suoh for being stubborn and insensitive when hurt, but he also loved to see Suoh's expression as he was surrounded by his clansmen.
If only the Colorless King did not destroy this tranquility…Back then he did not even give much appreciation for what they had.
A little smile appeared on his lips without him realizing and he also turned around and returned to HQ. There was no way he would waste this second chance. No more nights of lament, Reishi solemnly swore to himself.
After they walked quite a distance away from Munakata, Anna extended her hand timidly and cautiously tugged on the end of Mikoto's black jacket sleeve. Mikoto slowed down his pace and glanced down at Anna for a while before he took out his right hand from his pocket and grabbed Anna's hand. The little strain blushed slightly with happiness radiating from her petite face. They were walking in comfortable silence in the sea of human with blaring sounds of car horns and people talking in the background before Anna suddenly commented, "He looks like a man going to a war…"
That stopped his feet from moving. Mikoto understood who she was mentioning about. He involuntarily turned around to find a certain blue-haired man, although it was impossible for him to see him at such distance. Anna whispered quietly, waiting patiently, "Do you want to look for him, Mikoto?" Her other pale hand reached out for her marbles hidden in her dress. If Mikoto wished for it, she would use her power to locate the Blue King. It would not be difficult to find him with his immense power and presence using her ability.
Mikoto remained still and the silver-haired strain simply waited. She was still young, and she wondered if that was why she could not comprehend why Mikoto would not go back to Blue King if he was concerned or why Mikoto would not keep walking on if he did not care.
"Fushimi, can you hear me?" Reishi put on a communication device to his ear, adjusting it so he could hear clearly the recipient's voice. Fushimi muttered defiantly something like, 'of course, you are in front of my face.' Seri gave the younger commander a glare and pinched his arm painfully as a warning for his insolence.
He did not reveal much about today's mission to his clansmen. He partially lied to them that he had received information from Gold King that the seventh King may appear on a building and they had to observe whether this new king was a wild card or not. To lower the casualty risk, the Captain only took Seri and Fushimi to observe the rooftop from distance while a group of three man would wait on a car on a bridge not far from the building. If the seventh King was to make his appearance, Reishi would go alone investigating since only a King could contain the other King. He could not risk his clansmen to be possessed by Colorless King as well by going with him.
"Sir, I still think it would be best if we accompany you. It will be dangerous if…" Seri started to repeat their argument all over again ever since he explained today's arrangement, but this time the Blue King put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly instead of trying to reason with her.
"Our opponent might be a King and if that is true, he could easily overpower you. As a King, we should be on same level, and my power would be enough to protect myself. We should lessen the risk however possible, right?" He gave her his best charming smile which always worked on her. "After all, I still have you watching my back."
Her face was grim. She knew she was not weak, being able to be second commander of Scepter 4. She understood that only a King could put up on same ground with the other King, since they were granted with power beyond human or strain could have. Nevertheless, she still felt frustrated for being helpless to assist her King. She would still feel worry. Her King was too kind; he often concerned about others more than himself. What if the new King was a bad guy who would take advantage over Munakata's benevolence and hurt him? Nonetheless, she replied him with a weak smile, seeing that she definitely could not change his mind. "Captain, please be careful."
Reishi nodded calmly and whirled around to observe the rooftop across the building he remained standby in the shadow. It was an hour before midnight. If he was not in a mission, he would spend time admiring the breathtaking night view. The stars glittered weakly in the night sky, paled by city lights which shone brightly to the distant horizon. The city was like a black pitch sea with glittering tiny lights reflected on its surface. The gentle wind blew through his skin and strands of his hair, giving him a pleasant chill. So this sight was the present which Totsuka had wished to pass to Kushina Anna, however he did not succeed. It was indeed a beautiful present worth for a precious someone.
Several meters behind him hidden by the white wall connected to rooftop exit door, Seri waited beside Fushimi with her binoculars anxiously. Fushimi clicked his tongue in annoyance and whispered to her rather rudely, "Nothing bad will happen. He is a King, remember? He is not stupid enough to get even a scratch by a newbie. So could you stop fidgeting? I can't concentrate." Seri grumbled indignantly but she did stop fidgeting.
Just when they stopped talking, suddenly the exit door on the rooftop across their current building was opened. Reishi held his breath for a while and gasped once he saw the familiar silver-haired boy from his hiding spot. He looked young, around seventeen with short silver hair end on his nape, glistening under the soft moonlight. Wearing a middle school uniform, he looked just like a normal student. However, without doubt, he was the ruthless Colorless King. No matter how he looked, a student strayed to the rooftop of a building in the middle of the night was suspicious. The young man checked out his watch and looked up at the night sky, as if observing or waiting for something. It was not difficult to Reishi to grasp what the other man was waiting for. He must be waiting for Himmelreich.
Fushimi whispered through the wireless ear piece, breaking his trance, "Captain? Should we capture him?"
Without leaving his eyes on the suspected Colorless King, Reishi ordered, "Remain standby. We will observe him for now." His heart started to drum fast with anticipation for intense battle within an hour. His adrenalin rushed through his body as he rested his left hand still on the tilt of his Tenrou as he waited for the moment to strike. Colorless King was a King who was able to create such tragedy and two Kings were sacrificed just to put out his life. He could not underestimate his opponent, let alone to lower his guard. Scepter 4 waited patiently and quietly, seizing the enemy from distance. Minutes felt like agonizing hours. The Colorless King leaned to the railing when he kept gazing up to the empty sky. Reishi was slightly surprised when he suddenly heard the opponent's humming voice. The voice drifted in the wind as he sang that Ode to Joy repeatedly.
"Captain?" A familiar voice with slight static sound in the background startled him. "A young man is going to a building across yours. I believe he is Totsuka Tatara from HOMRA. Should we reprimand him?"
Reishi closed his eyes for a moment after hearing Akiyama's report. So the time has come.
"No, let him be. No need to be alarmed."
Tatara excitedly climbed up the stairs to the rooftop, ignoring the pain of exhausted muscles on both of his legs, with his new camera in his embrace. He had been planning on giving this brilliant present to Anna for weeks. It would be great if he could show more and more beautiful scenes to Anna, who could not enjoy the beauty of color spectrums without her marbles. That little girl with sad past deserved to have much more beautiful memories in her life. For a start, he would show her the magnificent night view of this beloved city. For the upcoming birthdays, he would record more spectacular view the world had much to offer. Maybe the view of first sunlight on New Year would be perfect. If Anna wished for it, they should all go together and enjoyed the view with their own eyes like a family trip. He still had so much things to do, to show her how beautiful the world they were in.
He was about to reach the rooftop after a long, excruciating flights of stair and when his hand reached out for the doorknob of exit door, he could hear a humming voice coming from outdoor. The song was melancholic but beautiful to his ears. This present could not be better. He should ask the singer to let him recording his singing while taking the picture of the city lights. Anna would love this!
Excited, Tatara stepped out the door and turned on his camera, preparing to record video. Being friendly, he started to greet the stranger while recording.
"Hey, it's a nice night out." He started innocently, "I came out here to take pictures of the night time view. What are you doing out here?" He thought that it was terribly impolite to ask someone's name without telling his, so he did. But the other man simply laughed without even turning around to look at him. The golden head wondered what he had done that the latter would make fun of him. Before he could even finish his question asking for the student's name, that boy whirled around and there was a loud bang sound breaking the silence.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself sprawling on the floor and the camera had fallen from his hand not far from where he had slipped. Tatara snapped out from shock and remembered that there was a gunshot and that stranger attempted to kill him. From such close range, he should have been wounded somewhere and bled, but somehow he could not feel any pain.
As he looked up to see what had happened, blue color filled his view. "Munakata…no, Blue King?" All he could see was the back of Reishi's uniform in front of him.
Reishi sighed in relief as he made in time to jump across in the air using his power to make platforms to the rooftop where Colorless King were and sliced through the bullet with his beloved Tenrou before it could hit Totsuka. He stood tall in front of Totsuka, and how he wished he could take a picture of Colorless King's current expression; dumbfounded like a fool. Revenge was so sweet; he was more than pleased to be able to erase that laughing face from Colorless King's face.
"What…?! How could this…!?" The young student stuttered in shock. He thought he was all alone in this place, and there would be no one coming up here except for him and Tatara at such hour. And now, not only he failed to kill the red clan member to provoke HOMRA, there was a witness for his felony and for worse, he was none but the Blue King. Isana had assumed that none of the kings should have known the identity of new Colorless King since he had never introduced himself. Then there was no logical explanation how the Blue King had known his plan in advance. His presence was also anything but coincidence. He would have no reason to come to the rooftop of a random building fully prepared for battle, if he did not intend to intercept him. Furthermore, the regal man in front of him was in his battle stance with determination flaring in his eyes and a hint of hatred. There was no doubt that the Blue King intended to arrest him with everything he got. Yashiro was completely confused at the sudden turn of event. Did the blue king possess the power of divination?
He started to sweat profusely and laughed weakly as he stepped back reluctantly. Fear started to creep on his heart. His plan to be the sole and strongest King of all was still on early stage. He had not even started anything much! If he got caught here, not only his dream was destroyed, he probably would not have a future. He might be jailed for the rest of his life. What a joke of life it would be.
His heart ran wild. How could he, who was still a chick as a King, defeat a mature one? Moreover, the Blue King was still in his prime condition. He could see clearly that in term of power or experience, he was much inferior. Luckily, the other King should have not known his awesome ability to possess and he was quite good at tricking people. There was still a chance for him to even eat the Blue Aura.
He should at first possess Totsuka Tatara so the Blue King would hesitate to harm him and then he would torture the arrogant man to weaken him. When the latter could not put up much fight, he would then devour the Blue King and become more powerful! That should work well. At that thought, his tremble ceased slightly and he smirked maliciously at the men in front of him.
Reishi frowned at the ruthless king and easily figured out what the other would do when he was in a bind. Without looking back at Totsuka, he pushed the brown-haired man back lightly with his back and said in cold tone, "Totsuka Tatara, close your eyes, and don't open them until I order you. Hide somewhere." It would be good if he could cover Totsuka until the other man made his escape through the exit door. But to escape, he would have to open his eyes, and thus there was a high risk for Yashiro possessing Totsuka Tatara. The younger man tilted his head in confusion but he obeyed instantly and closed his eyes tightly as he scurried back to the corner of the rooftop slowly as far as he could.
Once again, Colorless King was flabbergasted. Not only the Blue King had known his entire plan for tonight, he also seemed to understand how his power worked. His palms started sweating as well, and his hand trembled hard. He had a difficult time to grip his gun properly.
"There is no way this is happening!" The silver-haired boy yelled in frustration as he raised his gun straight at Reishi. "Who are you?!" The Blue King did not budge from his spot in between Colorless King and Totsuka Tatara. How could he win a war when he had known nothing about his enemy while the opponent had the knowledge about him, including his strategy and his ability?
He could not investigate much beforehand about Scepter 4 because too much information was classified and the Blue King himself rarely made his appearance in public unless necessary. It was difficult to plan his move when he did not even have a glimpse what kind of man the Blue King, in contrary to predictable Red King. He intended to force him out and make him reveal the true extent of blue power after the death of Totsuka, because without doubt Scepter 4 would dispatch their King whenever the Red King was on rampage along with his clan. It would also work if Red and Blue Clan fought and weakened each other so he could eat both of the Auras.
However, he began feeling uncertain if he could see that future. For now, he should make his escape. But even making it into reality seemed to be quite difficult. His survival instinct started to kick in and his eyes quickly averted to the exit door and ran toward it. Reishi did not waste his time to hunt down the Colorless King and attacked straight at Yashiro before he could even get close to the exit door. The next second, his blade made a loud clanging sound as it struck the steel gun which Yashiro used as his shield to block the slash. Yashiro attempted to resist as Reishi pushed down his blade against the gun closer to his head. The Colorless King swiftly swung his left leg to make the older king lose his balance, but Reishi gracefully evaded it by stepping back without losing his stance.
The young student threw an upward punch using his available hand but before it connected to Reishi's jaw, he pushed back the smaller man using sheer force, making Yashiro stumbling back. Yashiro was furious as he could see only defeat that he started to lose his head. He was having a hard time to even defend himself while his opponent did not even break a sweat. His breathing was labor as panic which now fully controlled him drained his stamina out much faster. Even a child could see how this fight would end. He gritted his teeth and seethed angrily.
"Surrender yourself, Colorless King." The Blue King began talking, and fixed his glasses with his left hand. "If you do, I will make sure your punishment for murder attempt will be lighter."
"No!" He shouted as he shot his gun at Reishi's head twice as he made way to the exit door. The latter chased him down and simply lifted his left hand to raise a transparent blue wall in front of him to defend himself against the bullets and thrust his sword to Yashiro's left leg. The Colorless King yelped in pain and without waiting, Reishi kicked hard the student on the stomach away from the door. Yashiro was thrown to the edge of the rooftop and his back hit the railing hard. He coughed a little blood at the impact and wheezed slightly. Yashiro tumbled weakly as he tried to stand up with a hand covering his bleeding wound while the other hand which held the gun used the railing to support his weight. He screamed in dread when his eyes watched the sight of crimson color streaming down profusely from his left leg.
The young lad glared at him before tears started to swell in his eyes, screaming like a threatened animal, "Liar! You will put me in jail for the rest of my life, won't you?! You bastard!" He sniffed and wailed even harder. However, there was no sympathy in Reishi's eyes. He only stared down with bored look and waited for the enemy to make his move. He had seen more than enough what the other man could do and what kind of man he truly was. If Yashiro thought that the Blue King would pity him and lower his guard over such false tears, he was utterly mistaken. He would not waste compassion on such a trickster.
Reishi exhaled in relief. Now he only had to detain this abominable existence and peace would return again to Shizume City. Considering how wounded the other man was, and how he could not put up much fight against him, it would not be quite difficult to immobilize him. Even if Yashiro tried to possess him, he was too weak to devour Reishi's consciousness. In such pathetic state, he could repel Yashiro's possession ability, although it would give the young man a chance to escape. But with the blood loss and wounded leg, he would not make it far. Scepter 4 could easily disable and catch him. He threatened with the tip of his sword just an inch away from Yashiro's porcelain neck, "Give it up. Or else you are more than welcomed to jump from this height if you dare."
Seri sighed as her heart finally calmed down. She was alarmed when she heard the gunshot, although her inner heart told her to trust her captain. Their King was quite powerful; his power was told to have the highest defense among all Kings. For that reason, his sapphire barrier could deflect against Red King's firestorm equally. Due to its vast defense attribute, the Blue Aura did not have much variety skill for attack, but captain's fighting skill with sword was peerless and compensated well for Blue Aura's lack of offensive attribute. She could hear Fushimi's sigh faintly and smiled at him. Fushimi might be rude and tactless toward Captain, but he was still concerned about his King even though he pretended he did not. Fushimi did not pay attention to Seri, as his eyes fixed on the target through the scope of his rifle. His assistance might not be needed, but until his captain's return, he would stay vigilant. There were so many questions swirling in his head though as he listened to Munakata's conversation on the across rooftop through the ear piece. How could he be so sure that the other guy was the Colorless King? How did he know that student will shot Totsuka? Why did he ask Totsuka to close his eyes? His eyes widen in surprise as he saw a figure moving behind his captain.
"Don't you think that's enough, Munakata-san? I think he feels guilty already." Tatara tapped Reishi's tense shoulder cautiously. He could not bear listening to that painful cry and ignore it, even if that boy almost killed him. Most of HOMRA's members were around this student's age. Ignoring this man felt like he was overlooking his friends' cry and his heart felt wistful.
Reishi whirled around his head in shock. He had told him to stay still until he was done with this ruthless king, but Totsuka had disobeyed it. Yashiro smirked, thanking whatever deity for such opportunity. He did not waste any second of it and his eyes were on Totsuka's. In a blink of eye, his spirit claimed Totsuka's body.
Yashiro's body went limp on the floor while Totsuka's body shook hard. It was not hard for Reishi to understand the current situation. Now the Colorless King had turned the table. Instinctively the Blue King attempted to pin down the amber-haired man with his own body. However, the latter swiftly moved aside and grabbed for Yashiro's gun. When Reishi turned around his head, a gun was cocked on Totsuka's head side and the member of red clan was on the edge of railing. The situation had turned into the worst scenario.
"HAHAHA! What a fool! However, if he is not being stupid, I will have no chance to overturn this situation." Totsuka laughed madly in a low voice, which was obviously not his. He sniggered for a minute before he calmed down and exclaimed. "Now it's my turn. Let me possess you or I will kill this man."
Seri nearly screamed before she stopped herself by covering her mouth with her hands. Fushimi gawked at sudden turn of event and his finger on rifle trigger trembled. Was that boy who was possibly a Colorless King saying that he was able to possess other people? Moreover, did he just now take possession of Totsuka and try to take over his captain too? Should he pull the trigger and shoot Totsuka for his King? Or should he wait to see if Captain could overpower him once again? He decided that the safety of Blue King and Shizume City was much more important than a member of HOMRA who was pretty much acceptable in his book and he was about to pull the trigger when Seri's hand lowered his rifle. She whispered angrily at him, "What are you doing?! You might hit Captain!" Fushimi clicked his tongue at her and angrily snapped in low voice, "Are you waiting until that man takes seize over Captain? Do you have any idea what will happen if he manages to take over Captain's body?!" Seri looked quite distressed before she lifted her hand silently and gave him a hesitant nod. Fushimi gave her a short glance before he refocused his aligning device to his target.
Reishi's mind was in a storm. If he allowed such a man possess his body, only Heaven knew what kind of calamity he would bring. In contrary, if he killed Totsuka by his sword, he only repeated the future he had known once again, except for this time, Suoh would hate him to his guts and exerted all his fire to kill Blue King. Even if he managed to kill Totsuka, he would simply escape to Yashiro's body unless he killed that one too. Either way, nothing good came out of it. Was there really no other way to change the future? Was Suoh's death truly inevitable event? From distant, he could see Fushimi aiming for Totsuka. How could he let his commander's hand stained by blood of such a king? He could not let him be the target of Suoh Mikoto's misdirected wrath either.
The Colorless King in Totsuka's body lowered his body to look at Reishi's face mockingly. "Come on, I don't have all day. Give me your Aura!"
The Blue King closed his eyes in regret and sheathed his sword slowly. Being possessed, Totsuka laughed merrily while still planted mouth of the gun on his head. "Finally you are mine!" The fox spirit was about to channel his spirit to the Blue King when Reishi lunged forward and pulled Totsuka over the railing along with him in his embrace. He could hear the distant scream of his female commander, but he paid no heed to it. Reishi simply smiled as they fell down together from the top of the building, whispering to Totsuka's ear. "If you have to take me, I will prefer to take you to hell with me."
The Colorless King was too scared to death that he started to attack brashly. Panic reflected on Totsuka's eyes and he suddenly emptied his gun on Reishi's chest and stomach at close distance. The Blue King was not able to bring forth his barrier in time at the sudden assault. His grip on Totsuka loosened accidentally and the younger man fell below him. He coughed blood with closed eyes but still unperturbedly suggested, "If you don't want to die, leave that body this instance."
In a blink of eye, the fox spirit took flight back to Yashiro's body in hurry. Reishi warily opened his eyes and saw that they were not far from the ground. He called forth his barriers to act as platforms to cushion their fall but they instantly vanished as he coughed a lot of blood because of the wounds on his chest. The Blue King tried to grab Totsuka, who was unconscious, ignoring the excruciating pain on his wounds but he was beyond his reach. He tried to summon his last energy to recreate those platforms but they only managed to cushion their bodies for a while before those barriers once again disappeared as the darkness completely filled his consciousness. Instinctively protective, Reishi held the other man in his arms before he completely slipped out of his consciousness, using his body to cushion the fall as they continued to fall from just about the third floor of the building.
From the rooftop, Yashiro quickly woke up and looked down to the building ground. Both of the bodies were on the ground motionless in the middle of red pool. He was furious. Tomorrow, HOMRA would find out about the death of Totsuka, and the death of Captain of Scepter 4 who was the perpetrator. With this, the HOMRA would not be enraged, but they would only grieve since they could not have their revenge with Blue King being deceased. This meant that he could not create conflict between Red King and Silver King, let alone Red King and Blue King.
When he was about to pull his hairs in frustration, something caught his interest in the corner of his eyes. He stared at Totsuka's video camera from distant. Yes, he should leave a message that he was the mastermind of this incident. When HOMRA got the message, they would hunt down the boy called Yashiro Isana. If this went on according to his plan, he could still create war between Red Clan and Silver King. He limped as he made way to take the camera, but before he could even get close, a bullet hit his left arm. Yashiro was stunned for a moment before he cried out in pain. Tears streamed down from his eyes and he groaned in annoyance. He turned his head to find the sniper's location and he could see the glint of steel from across rooftop. However, before he could identify the hit man clearly, another bullet had scraped his leg. Without wasting his time, he made his escape to the exit.
"Tsk…he ran away." Fushimi grumbled as he put aside the rifle and grabbed for his sword. Awashima had rushed down the stairs, while calling for emergency aid before him to see if they still could save their King. Looking at the situation, he was almost convinced that there was no way for even a Blue King to survive. But a little part of him could not stop wishing that there was still a hope. However, in contrary to Awashima's action, he preferred to stay there and kill that mastermind to revenge his captain than foolishly hoped that his King was still alive and let the murderer slipping away. That King was like a rat though, he was fast at running away. Even if that man was wounded, once he got out of the building and blended in with people in the city, he could easily possess other people and make his escape. Considering the distance between these buildings, he could not make it in time to capture the supposedly Colorless King.
Fushimi stopped his track in the middle of stairs and punched the nearest wall hard until his hand bled. He did not understand why, but he felt so much anguish that it was crushing him from inside.
The road was loud with the wailing sound of ambulance serene and all of the Scepter 4 members were inside the police yellow line with grief-stricken face. On the side of building ground, there was a pool of blood. Many pedestrians stopped on their track, wondering if someone had just committed suicide. Among those passing strangers, a pair of aquamarine observed the commotion from distance and a tear rolled down his cheek.
"Is this not another tragedy, Blue King? I wonder if you are satisfied…"
Okaaayyy, and that's the end of this chapter. The longest chapter I have ever written as a fanfic author. It would make me burst tears of happiness to get some reviews. XD Thank you for everyone who has clicked the 'story favorite' button~
AkiFushi: Hope you also like this chapter~ 3 Thank you for your comment, it gives me a better idea for the story hohoho~
Jasdevi: I-I guess this chapter could not be considered as saving Totsuka? But I hope you still like it anyhow XD
Guest: Yeah, the story would be pretty long, around 10-11 chapters. I hope you will stay around for long and enjoy this fic. :D