A/n: Warnings for this chapter: Depictions of violence, and very vague mentions of sexual situations.
The * in this story marks a part of the story I will be coming back too, I know a lot of people include it as just a part of the story but I find those scenes very difficult for me to write so I'm going to take my time then post it afterward, whether that be in a flashback or a separate bonus chapter I'm not sure yet. I just don't want to rush through it and make it terrible, especially since I'm really not used to writing those types of scenes. I hope you can understand!
I re-wrote this chapter twice before I was remotely satisfied with it, I hope it turned out okay. *-*
Cue the first part of arc 2.
Please enjoy!
0o0o0o0o
"So, are you gonna tell me what's going on?" Yata asked as he flipped over in the bed, head laying on the Red King's chest as he locked eyes with the older man. Mikoto looked down at him lazily, eyes still half lidded as he woke up from his afternoon nap.
"About what?" The redhead mumbled, a hand coming up to wipe the hair out of his eyes, the skateboarder frowned.
"What you and the Blue King talked about the other night," Misaki paused, "I know it's got to be bad news, you haven't mentioned it to Izumo and you've been acting a bit stressed for the last few days."
"Don't worry about it," Suoh replied with his usually set scowl, "it doesn't concern you."
"If it involves you then it does," the younger man insisted as he shifted his weight to alleviate the pain he felt radiate from the lesions on his back and side, his leg weakly twisted out from under his body.
"Everyone will be over tonight for dinner, Tatara is cooking." Mikoto stated in a matter of fact tone, eyes hardening a bit as if he didn't want to be pestered any longer by the subject.
"Don't change the topic," Yata whined, eyes rolling out of frustration but that did nothing but make the Red King's scowl grow harsher.
"Yata it doesn't involve you, you're on bed rest, period. You are not getting involved with this, nor do I plan to involve HOMRA." Misaki's eyes widened a bit at the new found information though he made no indication of pushing his buttons in regards to what the initial topic was.
"So you're going alone, aren't you?"
"Not alone, just not with you or anyone else here for that matter." Suoh practically spat the words out, not understanding why it was so hard to understand that he didn't want to risk losing anyone over something so ignorant as Jungle and their wannabe clansmen. Not that Yata or any of his clansmen knew what was going on yet. What he didn't understand was why there was this sense of distress coming from Yata, he had hoped he would have let it go. Trusting him enough to let him handle it on his own and ask for help should he need it. Which he didn't.
He'd need his own clansmen when the time came for an all out war with whomever dared defy him, whether that be the Green Clan or the Blues wasn't something he wasn't prepared to answer. He was more focused on the bigger picture.
"Mikoto-san...are you always going to be this stubborn?" Yata knew the answer to that question before it even crossed his mind, let alone his lips.
"Ah," the older man answered with a drawled out breath, not wanting to discuss the subject any further. "You worry about your health and let me deal with everything else."
"Why should I have to do that, though? You said you were going to start being more open about these things, why go back on that now?"
Mikoto felt his temper begin to slip, "because it's my job to keep you and everyone else safe, I can barely do that as things are, and involving you all where you are unneeded would only make that tougher. I need you and everyone else to lay low, I don't need you to help me. I'm a goddamn King, I know how to handle my own, don't suggest otherwise."
Yata looked hurt at this and it was then that a pool of regret spilled in Mikoto's stomach, making him feel sick because of what he had just said, but what scared him the most was how natural it felt to let his temper go like that. His Aura felt restless again.
"I'm going out," he grumbled, kicking his legs off the side of the bed as he ran his hands through his previously styled hair, it fell back into place with ease. Yata made no move towards him nor did he say anything as he hastily pulled his jacket over his shoulders and stormed out, the guilt he had started to feel threatened to spill out as he stalked to the staircase that led to the roof.
He took the stairs two at a time, like he usually did, until he was in the attic. From there he pushed open the heavy metal door that led to the rooftop he so often found himself on when he couldn't think straight. HOMRA was only four stories tall, but the levels seemed much higher than they were. Izumo had bought the rest of the building, turning the other floors into an apartment complex for himself and the Red King, both of which had their own floors, Mikoto's was shared with Anna.
The first floor was the main bar, the second was the rec room, Mikoto's room and Anna's, the third was Izumo's, the fourth was the attic and the roof, and even though it didn't seem like much, the high ceilings on every floor added a boost of height to the building. The view from the roof was actually not bad at all, it was closer to being an eight story building, or so Mikoto thought anyway. It was easy to see the city but it also provided a decent amount of privacy, something the Red King never took for granted.
It was cold out, not like it bothered him any, but the city was a lot more quiet than it was in the spring. The skies had begun to grow dark already, purple and blue hues crept their way over the horizon and the sun was nowhere to be seen, night time was the only time he really felt alive, able to think freely and be himself though he wasn't sure if he even knew who that was anymore. During the day he remained a quiet, lazy and intimidating King.
His Aura was screaming at him, begging for him to let go and cave into the overwhelming heat that seemed to radiate from every pore in his body. He hadn't even realized that he was encased in it, the red flowed around his skin like a very extension of his body until it completed a part of him that he hadn't even known he had been missing. It was scary how natural the flames felt to him, what was even scarier was how he had so easily lost his temper with the one person who had seemed to have an affect on his well being.
He hated apologies but he knew that Yata Misaki deserved one.
The Red King scowled at the night sky, fishing his cigarettes out of his pocket as he took one out of the pack and pressed it to his lips, he ignited the end of it with minimal effort. He forced himself to focus on the smoke drifting around him and less on the way he felt ready to snap. He made a mental note that telling his clansmen about every detail about his life was not always a good thing, he had become accustomed to the idea of sharing every thought and feeling with them over the last month but he was beginning to see the error in his ways.
His clansmen had been wrong in saying that talking to them about this sort of thing would help him, it only made him feel worse. He didn't miss the him of a month ago but he sure did miss the way that he kept to himself when it came to certain things, freely speaking had never really been Suoh Mikoto's style, he didn't know why he had begun to think differently. As soon as his cigarette was done he ground it under his heel, storming back in the direction of the metal door that led to bar HOMRA.
He descended the stairs as quickly as he had gone up them, not stopping until his feet hit the threshold of the main parlor. Izumo was cleaning glasses in his usual spot, a few customers scattered around the bar, some gazing into the new fish tanks they had had installed and others lounging in the new model booths they had brought in. Tatara was seated on the couch with Anna, who was intently listening to the cameraman speak about something Mikoto couldn't hear from across the room.
The Red King approached the bartender with a scowl deeply set on his face, "I want you to find out some information about Jungle, but don't get too deeply involved, I want to handle this personally."
"What? Why Jungle?" The blond whispered back in response, voice low so the customers wouldn't over hear their conversation.
"I'll explain that later, can you do it?"
"Funny you should mention that, I was actually asked to retrieve some information about them by someone else a few nights ago." Izumo countered as he carefully sat down the glass in his hands, "of course I can do it. I'm an informant, I'd be garbage if I couldn't."
"Munakata asked you, didn't he?"
"Yeah, he asked me not to say anything to you which I didn't agree too, by the way, we just haven't had a chance to talk." Kusanagi paused, lips twitching into a smirk, "you're looking for someone to pick a fight with, aren't you?"
"Ah."
"Well, there is a few Yakuza who have been trying to get information on our clan, one of my people said he knows where their base is located. Is that good enough for you? You look ready to kill someone," Izumo took the King's silence as his answer, he hastily pulled out his phone before writing down an address, handing the piece of paper to the younger man. "Have fun."
Mikoto left without a word, ignoring the prying stares he felt coming from Tatara and Anna. The Yakuza in question had been easy to find, the blond informant really never did let him down when it came to correct information. He approached the warehouse quietly enough, stopping only when he heard voices inside. Out of disgust his Aura flared, setting the metal gate that blocked his way to the building up in smoke, the men he had been after stared at him wide eyed, guns drawn and ready as if they would make some sort of difference.
"Who the hell are you?" A rather large man howled, his facial features were marred with scars, his left eye was also missing, Suoh noticed.
"Boss that's the guy, that's Suoh Mikoto." An underling squawked, hands shaking as he kept his pistol level with the Red King, though he paid it no mind.
"So you have business with me?" Mikoto asked with a scowl, sinking further into the warehouse and out of the street, out of sight of any passerby that happened to be in the area at the time. He heard the clicking of the guns, signaling they were ready for fire should he make another move, but he barely paid attention to it, instead he focused solely on the large man with the scars on his face, the obvious leader.
"Can't say we do at the time," the man chuckled darkly, "so why don't you just turn around and leave and we will try to over look this little intrusion."
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen," Suoh spat back, "I heard you've been asking around town about me, so here I am."
"Boss..." a few of the other men in the room said in unison but the ringleader ignored their terrified pleas.
"So what? We ask about a lot of people," the large man said as he took a step forward, "you got a problem with that?"
"Would you just shut up and fight me? That's what you want, right?" Mikoto smiled, a look extremely out of place given the situation but his adrenaline was finally flowing, his Aura practically screamed in delight.
"Fire," the leader said dryly, not realizing the irony in his command until it was too late. Flames licked the metal in his subordinates hands, melting the metal until the gunpowder exploded in their hands, surely taking off a few digits with it but the Red King found himself unable to care. He balled his hands into fists and charged into the fray blindly, dodging bullets with the help of the Red Aura. He was on the leader in a flash, his flame encased fist coming down hard on the man's nose before the action was repeated, sending the man flying into the air with minimal effort. The Red King followed up with a swift back heel kick, which left the man hurdling towards the concrete wall on the opposite side of the room in a split second.
Seeing him incapacitated sent him into an even more ravenous frenzy. He turned onto his underlings, blind with a rage that was not the fault of their own, but rather himself. With every punch and kick he threw he thought about the look of hurt that had flashed against his lover's face, and he fucking hated the way the images were burned into his memory. He was mad at himself, yes, he was a bit mad at the Yakuza for snooping around his business too but this was a rage that could not be tamed nor brought up by something as trivial as Japan's gangsters. He had done this to himself.
He didn't even bother to try and count how many people he took down, others arrived for backup and he swept the floor with them with minimal effort, finding the whole situation more enthralling than it should have been. He heard their screams and calls, Red Monster they called him, and he smiled even harder at the cries, yes, I am a monster.
Eventually the body count was too high for him to even count and though he did not kill anyone the amount of broken limbs and faces made the warehouse look like a massacre had taken place. He knew the Yakuza weren't going to call the police, and why would they? They technically owned the police but not even they could escape from the law entirely. If word got out about some of the things they did, things Izumo and Mikoto knew, then they would be in over their heads, not with just Japan but other nations as well.
They were too afraid to talk, and if they weren't before he showed up well...they were when he left.
He slunk down the streets of Shizume, making a mental note to zip up his jacket to hide his blood stained white tee shirt after a few people ran away from him, terrified looks on their faces. But Mikoto was so used to that that it didn't even bother. He was intimidating enough as it was, a little blood scattered around his clothes didn't help his case any. Before heading back to HOMRA he stopped at a corner store, not his usual choice, but another that was tucked away beside the train station.
The clock on the side of the building told him it was nine at night, meaning he was missing the scheduled dinner he was supposed to be having with his clansmen but he couldn't bring himself to go back empty handed after what he had done. He clenched his fists, finally finding some solace now that the Red Aura that coursed throughout him had been quelled, but his skin pulled apart at the knuckles, causing a momentary flash of pain that would serve as a reminder of what got him into that situation in the first place.
He stalked down the isles, eyes vigorously scanning over the shelves though he truly didn't know what he was looking for. He wasn't the romantic type, he'd never been that way and had never had a reason too. One night stands weren't exactly romantic and for some reason people saw him as charismatic, if they could look past his imposing figure, and that had served as all the chemistry some of them needed. It was just his luck when a young woman approached him, a nervous smile on her lips as she folded her hands over her work apron, he forced himself to nod in her direction instead of scowl at her like he did to most people.
"Good evening, sir, are you finding everything all right?" Oddly enough her voice didn't falter, the nervousness that had twinkled in her eye vanished and she seemed rather...confident. Charisma, I'm telling you, he thought to himself with a small shake of his head.
"Actually, I'm not," he paused, looking around to make sure no one else would over hear his conversation. The last thing he wanted was to be recognized and have someone over hear what he was about to ask, "I kind of pissed of my significant other and I don't know what to get them to apologize. Any suggestions?"
"Well, how big of a mistake are we talking here? That will help narrow it down," the young woman said with a chuckle as she turned on her heel and waved for him to follow her, which he did after surveying his surroundings again.
"Well I yelled at him, not really meaning to and I guess what I said was pretty...hurtful." He hated how the words sounded coming out of his mouth, they made him realize how much of an ass he had been, though it had been entirely unintentional that was no proper excuse.There isn't one, he was just worried about me.
"So your boyfriend?" She asked as she looked back over her shoulders, a kind smile playing on her lips, the Red King nodded his head in confirmation. "Well, I'm the florist here, so this is kind of my area of expertise. Though I'm not sure what your man likes, does he like sentimental stuff?"
Mikoto fought the urge to gawk at her bluntness, he decided he liked the woman's abrasive yet somehow kind personality.
"He's pretty indifferent on it, I think," he said as he followed her to the flower counter in the back of the store, "I'm not really into this sort of thing, I just feel like he deserves something."
"Well if you hurt his feelings I'd say this would be a good way to get back on his good side, male or female, everyone appreciates the beauty in flowers and the thought of an apology gift." She said wistfully as he she pulled a red ornate vase out from behind the counter, "what's your price range?"
"I don't have one."
"Smart man," she laughed as she began to pull out handfuls of red and white roses from a few long tubs that were seated on the floor, she worked intently until the vase was practically overflowing with the thorny flowers, "you think that's enough to make up for what you said?"
"I'd hope so, how many is that?" Mikoto asked out of curiosity as he studied the meticulously placed arrangement, trying to figure out why he hadn't thought about something as cliché as flowers.
"There's 24," the woman replied as she reached for a card and some sort of holder that came with it, she then tied a black and white ribbon around the vase, before sticking the card holder into the center of the arrangement. "Can I get a name?"
"Ah, it's Yata Misaki," the woman chuckled as she wrote out the name on the paper, he could have sworn she said "that's a girl's name" under her breath, which slightly ticked him off but he let it slide under the circumstances. He automatically felt a pang of sympathy for his third in command, though that was short lived because the woman was handing him the vase as she escorted him to a cash register, ringing up the purchase in no time.
"You were good company so I gave you a small discount, your total is 7075 yen."
Mikoto mumbled a thank you as he fished his card out of his wallet, careful to avoid scraping his wounded knuckles against the rough exterior or his jeans in the process. After he paid and signed the receipt he thanked the girl again before turning on his heel and heading to the door, to his surprise she called after him.
"Make sure to hit a pillow or something next time, punching walls isn't good for your hands," she said with a smirk as if she understood the situation, the Red King nodded his head before stalking out of the building, finding the whole situation rather...off putting for some reason. With a bit of reluctance he continued towards the bar he now called home, hoping 24 roses and some odd number of Yakuza in the hospital would be enough to satisfy both himself and Yata.
0o0o0o0o
"This is Aya, you're never going to believe who just came into the store." The young woman mumbled into her phone as she switched the Open sign over to Closed, there was a pause on the other end of the line before the man spoke.
"Who would that be, Aya-chan?"
"Suoh Mikoto, the Red King, I've also got a bit of information that came straight from the horses mouth. Who knows how fun it could be to mess with him, knowing this." A twisted smile rose on her features.
"What do you want, Aya-chan?"
"20,000 Jungle points, now. I'll be a U-Rank if I accumulate that many, I could be even more useful," she laughed to herself, her form of blackmail had gotten her this far and she'd be damned if she didn't use it until she achieved her ultimate goal, being the strongest member of Jungle, save for the mysterious man who led them.
"Fine, check your account," the man was growing irritated, tired of her tactics though he couldn't fault her for it, he would have done the same thing had he been in her shoes. Once she opened the app and verified that the points had transferred, confirming her new ranking, she spoke again.
"The Red King has himself a lover now, that's got to be something we could use against him, right?"
The man on the other end of the line laughed, a sound so bitter and sickly sweet that it made her smile grow even wider.
"Perfect, who is it? Don't tell me it's the Blue King, that would be even more trouble for us."
"No, it's not the Blue King," she rolled her eyes, "it's a man that goes by Yata Misaki, I checked the app and apparently he's the leader of their Vanguard, it shouldn't be too hard to lure him out."
"Good work, Aya-chan. You earned those points, I'm impressed."
"So, is everything good for tonight?"
"Affirmative, the Blues won't even know what him them and we will have all the intel we need, the leader will be pleased with the way things are progressing."
The woman chuckled under her breath, "things are about to get interesting, ne, Yukari-san?"
"They are, Aya-chan, that they are."
0o0o0o0
By the time Mikoto got back to the bar everyone was finished eating, or so it seemed through the window he was looking through anyway. Yata was seated at the bar, a frown pulling on his lips as he pushed food around at a plate that in his lap, his eyes occasionally flitted over to the clock on the wall, as if he was waiting for Suoh to return.They're gonna give me so much shit for this, the Red King thought to himself as he unzipped his coat with his free hand before opening the bar door.
The chime of the door broke the conversations going on apart, leaving nothing but silence in their wake as he stalked into the bar, right hand clutching the vase of roses he had brought back. He seethed at his clansmen when they shot him funny glances before he locked eyes with Yata, who looked equal parts shocked and sad, his eyes widened a bit in surprise as Mikoto came to stand before him, offering up the vase of roses, "here."
"For me?" Misaki blabbed, running his hand along the ornate vase as he watched his boyfriend nod his head slowly. After he removed the plate from his lap and set it behind him on the bar he took the flowers from him with a smile, eyes glancing over the arrangement and the card that had his name and a simple I'm sorrywritten on the top border. "They're beautiful, thank you so much."
"You're not mad at me anymore?" Mikoto asked with a hopeful glance, hoping he wouldn't have to vocalize his remorse for the way he had lost his temper; but the look Misaki was giving him was a no nonsense one, his eyes practically screamed I forgive you but you better apologize to me anyway. Yata set the flowers aside.
"I'm sorry," the Third King whispered, letting go of his pride in order to make amends with the one person he felt he could spend an eternity by. He'd be damned if he let that go over something so petty, though he knew Yata would never leave him over something so trivial.
"It's okay, all is forgiven," Misaki grinned, "they really are beautiful. I can't believe you bought me flowers."
"It was an awkward experience," Mikoto admitted with a sigh, "but you deserved something for putting up with me."
"Putting up with the person you love is what you're supposed to do," the younger man whispered as he reached down to take the King's hand, which made him freeze in his place. "I just have one question, why are you covered in blood?"
"Yakuza," he replied in short, allowing his boyfriend to draw his hand closer to his face in order to inspect it.
"Feeling better now, Mikoto?" Izumo asked from behind the bar as he reached for his glass that had god knows what in it.
"Ah."
"Good, get yourself cleaned up then come back downstairs. We're all gonna watch a movie tonight if you're interested," Kusanagi said with a small wave, "take Yata-chan with you."
"Trying to get rid of me?" The skateboarder feigned offense, "I can take a hint. C'mon Mikoto-san."
The Red King slung the younger man's arms around his neck before scooping him up in his arms, ignoring the whistles and hoots he received because of it, Yata reached down and grabbed the vase before the pair headed upstairs to their bedroom. Once they were over the threshold Yata demanded to be put down so he could sit the flowers on his night table, and with reluctance the older man complied, watching the skateboarder limp across the room so he could put the flower vase down.
"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?"
"I want to take a bath," Mikoto stated as he slid his jacket off of his arms, noting he'd need to wash it before he wore it again. Blood wasn't a fashion accessory, after all.
"I'll run you one," Misaki replied with a smile as he slowly made his way into the bathroom that was at the far end of the room, within a few moments Suoh heard the water click on. He stripped himself of his bloodied shirt and his necklace before taking the rings off of his fingers and laying them out on the dresser. Afterward he retrieved a pair of dark sweat pants and a dark gray v-neck of his as well as a fresh pair of boxers. By the time Yata was back he was sitting on the bed with his new clothes in his hands, the old ones were crumpled on the floor so he could grab them and throw them in the washing machine, minus his white shirt which would just have to find it's way to the trash.
"U-uhm it's almost ready," Misaki blushed, eyes averted from the half naked figure of the older man in the room, which slightly brightened Mikoto's brooding mood.
"Will you take a bath with me?" He mumbled without thinking, causing him to curse his own brain when Yata nearly fainted from the blood rush that flowed to his cheeks.
"W-what?"
"I don't mean it like that, you're hurt and I'm not gonna push myself on you," he started as he stood up, his clothes clutched under his stinging right hand, "I just want you to join me."
"B-but I don't know...uhm..." Yata stammered hastily as he leaned on the wall for added support, the gaze he held with Mikoto fell.
"Out with it."
"I just...it's gonna be tempting and I don't want you to think I don't want you too because I do but you're right and I'm really still hurt and you're hurt now and I'm rambling, aren't I?"
Suoh chuckled but nodded his head anyway, walking over to where the young man was leaning by the bathroom door. "You don't have to come if you don't think you can handle it but if you want too then you can. I just want to be close to you right now."
"I want to," Misaki whispered almost nervously, but this was all the King needed to hear. He gently escorted the younger man into the bathroom before closing the door, helping him out of his shirt like he had been doing for the last week and a half though this time it felt more sensual. He cursed his rotten luck. By the time he had helped a now very weak Yata out of the majority of his clothes he stopped the water in the massive bathtub before removing his boxers from his hips without a care in the world.
He didn't understand why Yata looked away, as if what he was about to see would be embarrassing, he was his boyfriend after all. As far as he was concerned every ounce of his being breathed for the younger man, he didn't see why that would be hard to understand nor look at but he figured it was because Yata didn't have experience with this. It wasn't like he was going to pull anything, despite how much he wanted too.
"Yata, you can keep those on if you want," he deadpanned as he watched the younger man turn around when he had finally submerged himself in the hot bath water. It stung his fresh wounds but took away the griminess he felt cling to his skin, a shower probably would've been the better option but he felt too tired to stand after all he had done that night.
"No, that would be stupid. I'm coming in," Yata mumbled as he slowly peeled the remainder of his clothes off, eyes refusing to rise and meet the Red King's, that were studying every inch and imperfection he could see, each thing that made up the man that was Yata Misaki. Every perfect imperfection seared into his memory like his life was flashing before his eyes, he had never felt so compelled to understand the crazy emotion that was love. Whatever it was, it fogged his head.
"Come here," Mikoto called out as he offered the younger man a hand, which he took though he didn't look up, not even when Mikoto lowered him-on the opposite side of the tub just to be cautious- did he make eye contact with his King. "You don't have to look away like that."
"I know it's just...I'm awkward I know," Yata threw his head back against the cool exterior of the tub, "it's just intimidating."
"Intimidating?" Suoh asked, raising an eyebrow at the suggestion as he rubbed at his knuckles to help clean them.
"Yeah, seeing you not dressed...I guess..." Yata sounded genuinely disheartened.
"Don't be like that, c'mon," Mikoto teased as he stretched out his aching legs, they brushed past Misaki's which in turn made the younger man jump.
"You try bathing with a guy who's twice as good looking as you could ever hope to be then tell me that," Misaki whined, throwing a hand over his eyes to shield them from whatever he was trying to avoid seeing.
"What the hell are you talking about?" The redhead inquired as he leaned his head on his elbow, "you trying to say you don't feel attractive enough?"
"Kinda, maybe, I don't know."
"Stop saying that kind of stuff, I think you're perfect the way you are," Suoh promised with a deep sigh, "if I didn't then we wouldn't be together in the first place."
"You're right, I'm being childish," Misaki laughed before peeling his hand away from his eyes, finally staring back at the other man after he did so. The Red King felt his blood rush a completely opposite direction from his face when the younger man looked him over through the water, he just hoped to god that wasn't noticeable.
It was quiet for a few moments, most of which were full of stolen glances at one another as they washed their skin, it was the younger man that eventually broke the silence.
"Mikoto," Yata began as he shifted on his side of the tub, "you like being reckless, right?"
"For the most part."
"W-wanna do something a bit...r-reckless?"
Mikoto paled in understanding.
"No, not when you're injured Yata, period. I'm not making that a bad memory for us."
"It won't be, and we don't even...h-have to go...you know...all the way, o-okay? I just...fuck...this is too difficult. How do you have that much self control?" The skateboarder scowled, crossing his arms across his chest as he relaxed back into the water.
"I don't, this is trying and you're not making it any better."
"Then let go," Misaki teased with a chuckle, "y-you're not gonna hurt me, I trust you."
"Everyone's downstairs."
"We'll be...q-quiet."
"Are you seriously coming onto me this strongly right now? What happened to Mr. I blush at the slightest thing?" Mikoto deadpanned with a raise of his eyebrow, feeling his self control slip further and further with every comment that was made. It's a fucking miracle we aren't in bed already. Yata's blush was horrendous at the moment but there was something in his eyes that ensnared the Red King's attention, it wasn't even a look of want, but more so one of pure need. He bit his lip.
"I'm...are you sure?" Mikoto leaned forward a bit, hands quickly grabbing a bar of soap so he could wash his chest to rid it of any possible blood that was dried on, when he was finished he caught Misaki's eyes, staring at him though he made no indication that he had come up with the an answer until he began to lean forward too.
"I've never been more sure," he promised, though there was a brief look that crossed his eyes that looked a bit like fear, it made Suoh reconsider everything.
"You trust me, right?"
"Absolutely."
"With everything?"
"Even my life."
"Then trust me when I say this," he murmured as he continued to lean forward until his lips grazed past Yata's ear, "I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise."
That was all the confirmation Yata needed, before he could even think he turned his head and attached his lips to Mikoto's. Their mouths moved in sync as Suoh carefully, yet effortlessly, scooped him up from the bath and walked him out of the bathroom towards their bed, their contact didn't even falter. Suoh only broke the kiss when he gently laid Misaki back on their bed, his hands trailed up and down the younger man's arm reassuringly as the smaller man leaned into his touch, he smiled when their eyes locked.
"I love you, Misaki."
"I love you too, Mikoto."
Suoh easily kept his promise.*
00o0o0o0
When Mikoto and a now half asleep, but extremely content, Yata joined up with the rest of their clan it became abundantly apparent that they had succeeded in keeping quiet. Something the Red King was proud of whilst Misaki only hid his head in his chest, face burning red as it had been since they had left their bed. The Red King felt like he was on cloud nine. He sat down beside Izumo, Tatara and Anna were on his other side as he drug his boyfriend into his lap, settling into the couch as they and the rest of HOMRA watched whatever movie Shouhei had selected for the evening.
"Someone's tired," Izumo whispered to him at one point, pointing at the sleeping face of Yata, who was curled up onto the King's chest, his head buried in the crook of his shoulder. "Try to take it easy on him."
"Please tell me it's not that obvious," the Third King mumbled under his breath, hoping no one else in the room had picked up on what they had tried to hide from them.
"It's not, I just know that look you get, I've known you the longest, this isn't the first time I've seen that look on you." Kusanagi lightly chuckled as he leaned back into the couch and glanced over at his best friend. "But you look really happy, you think you found what you were looking for?"
"Ah," Mikoto grumbled quietly, hands tracing patterns into the small tee shirt Yata was wearing.
"Good, I'm happy for you," Izumo sighed as he turned his attention back to the movie, it was then that Mikoto came to a small realization, one he was quick to vocalize.
"I don't care if you date Seri Awashima."
The bartender practically gawked at him.
"What?"
"I said, I don't care if you date Seri Awashima," he repeated with a click of his tongue, "just keep her out of HOMRA's business."
"You're sure?"
"Ah."
"Wow, I don't really know what to say," Izumo reached up to scratch the back of his neck, "just...thanks."
"Ah."
"I never asked her out because I knew you didn't approve," the blond whispered as he averted his friend's attention back to himself, "your approval was kind of important to me. I didn't want you thinking I valued my own wants over HOMRA's."
The Red King frowned, suddenly coming to the realization that he had been the one to block his friend's way to happiness all of this time. He tried to imagine what it would be like if the roles were reversed and found the frown on his face morphing into a scowl at the mere suggestion. "I'm sorry it took me this long. You deserve to be happy."
"No, don't apologize. I never thought this day would come so I'm a bit flabbergasted," Izumo admitted with a content sigh, "now if only the Blue King would feel the same way."
"I'll talk to him."
"Are you serious?" The disbelief in the blond's voice was practically unbelievable.
"Ah."
"Mikoto, you really are the best King a guy could ask for." The pair exchanged a knowing look before returning their attention back towards the moving pictures on the projector screen, though it was apparent neither of them were really paying that much attention.
0o0o0o0
Halfway through the horror film Suoh's phone alerted him to a new email, something he initially ignored but found himself checking out of curiosity as he broke his attention away from the haunted house movie and his eyes raked over his phone screen. It was a message from Munakata, odd, but there was a file that was attached to it as well. One that simply read, "JUNGLE".
The note written before the email was even more vague.
Suoh,
Before we begin the process of gathering intel on the enemy, here is a file of everything I could find on Jungle's website that made mentions of HOMRA. Some are rather disturbing, but I figured you'd want to know about these things. Also, maybe it could help you get into the fighting spirit. We will talk soon, please take care of yourself and send my get well wishes along to Yata, I do hope he makes a speedy recovery.
Until next time,
Reisi Munakata
Captain, Scepter4
The Red King frowned as he clicked download on the file, waiting impatiently for the large digital .pdf to open. When it did he got to work, reading each and every single post, story, and mission that the people in Jungle had said about him and his clansmen. Munakata had been right, some of these made his skin crawl.
"Everyone, we're having a small meeting when this is over," Mikoto spoke up as he continued to read through the new missions that had been posted, there were a few questions directed his way about what was going on but he chose to ignore them for now, finding himself unable to tear his eyes away from the screen that was in his hands.
0o0o0o0
The meeting with HOMRA had went over a lot worse than Mikoto had thought it would. After reading the file and seeing screen shots of what exactly the Green Clan was saying about the Red Clan the members of HOMRA were beyond pissed off. Not that he could exactly blame them.
The taunts were ignorant, Mikoto thought, mainly just a few punks spreading rumors that he had been the one to kill the Colorless King and that his Sword of Damocles was on the brink of collapse now, which was quite opposite from the truth.
The others were a lot more invasive to their privacy, some users disclosed his clansman's routine schedules and posted possible missions that they would act out if and when they could catch them out of bar HOMRA but what Mikoto found odd was the fact they wanted him to be present before they pulled anything. It almost made him want to show up unexpectedly at one of these so called missions just so he could crash their party. He hated to break it to these kids, but he wasn't some normal man that could be taken down by flashy toys and bullets. Guess they'll figure that out the hard way, he had thought when he initially saw them.
Three missions in particular pissed him off, one was a plan to attack himself and Anna if they were ever in the Green Clan's territory, the other was the same except it included Tatara, but the last one he read made his skin crawl. 4,000 Points to Kill the Wounded Yata Misaki, and 100,000 Points for the Red King's Head, it had read. Attacking people when they were already weak was something that bothered the Third King, who liked a fair fight, it was cowardly and showed no ounce of pride but he didn't know what else he had expected. It wasn't like Jungle was known for their honor, they were more known for their vastness.
HOMRA had a hard time understanding that he didn't want their help, even Izumo gave him shit for it but he found himself unable to budge on the subject. He didn't want to have anymore of his clansmen injured nor did he want pointless causalities, he figured Munakata expected this and wondered why his own clan didn't. He issued the order to only use their Auras should they come in a life or death situation, affective until the end of December which was still 16 days away.
His Weismann level was down to 45, according to the Blues who had checked his reading on the night of Anna's birthday, which was something he was yet to bring up to anyone.
Considering it usually was a 60 when it was stagnate this was seen as tremendous progress though it paled in comparison to Munakata's 20. He still had a ways to go until he was in the safe zone between a 15 and 35 but he was becoming more and more stable with every day he rested. They projected it to be down to 30 by the end of the month at the rate he was going. His highest activation level was a 75, still high but much better than the 85 he pegged at in small skirmishes and the 90 he reached during the height of a particularly grueling fight he had had with the Blues a year ago.
He had nearly lost it that day, just a bit more power and he would've been a goner. A score of 96 or higher was the start of a Damocles Down, a 100 was certain death, the Red King shivered at the thought.
It was late in the night when everyone left, Izumo went downstairs to begin cleaning up dishes from their dinner with the help Tatara. Meanwhile, Mikoto took Anna to bed and climbed into his own next to Misaki, who he had took into their room before the meeting had begun. He had just laid down and made himself comfortable when he heard a sharp buzzing sound come from his nightstand, his phone screen lit up the dark room and the vibrations shook the wood table so loudly he was shocked the man next to him didn't stir. It came up as Scepter 4 Headquarters but Mikoto automatically knew who it was.
"Munakata, it's not like you to be up this late at night," Suoh answered in greeting as he shifted his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up so he faced the window on the other side of his room.
"Suoh this is urgent, I hate to ask but are you available at this time? Also, did you get my email?" Reisi's voice was thick, obviously laden with sleep but there was a dark tone in his voice, it sounded grim and was certainly not something the Red King had heard since their visit to Ashinaka High School. He could picture the Blue King now, sitting at his desk with his hands clasped on top of the wood, his head resting on them as he spoke via speaker phone, it was almost too easy for the Third King to imagine.
"What's going on? It's three thirty in the morning, and yeah, I got it." Mikoto grumbled, scratching at the healed wound on his side that did nothing more than itch at this point.
"I know it's late but there has been a development," Mikoto could practically envision the younger man's look of distress as the words came out of his mouth. "Jungle has launched a cyber attack on Scepter 4, Fushimi-kun is working hard to stop this and our systems for our communications have been recovered but I'm afraid a lot of important information has been compromised."
"I thought your equipment was state of the art, how did they manage to hack into it?"And why does this concern me?The Red King wanted to ask but he bit his tongue to stop himself, behind him he felt Yata stir.
"Mikoto?"
The older man turned around and showed him his phone, which made the half asleep man nod his head a little bit as he sat up, rubbing his eyes before he crawled over to his King. He wrapped his arms around his neck and leaned his head between his shoulders, an action that made Suoh want to sink back into the bed and curl up with the younger man so he could finally sleep but the man on the other end of the phone apparently had other ideas.
"It is, that's what's so disturbing about this whole scenario. Our codes change every ten seconds so it's technically impossible for someone to hack into our system."
"So you're saying that someone hacked into your system within ten seconds?"
"Precisely. It's a chilling thought," Munakata sighed on the other end of the line, "the reason I called is because I don't need your help precisely, but I need you to bring one of your clansmen over here to help us get our system running again."
"And who would that be? My guys never mess around with computers," Mikoto felt the urge to scratch his head at that but instead he settled for placing a hand over Yata's that were still wrapped around his neck affectionately.
"Yata Misaki, did you not know that he and Fushimi-kun once hacked into Jungle's database back in their earlier years?" Mikoto felt his breath hitch in his throat, "Fushimi says he taught Yata the other half of their pass codes and he claims he doesn't remember them as they were, but says that Yata might still have the codes written down somewhere."
"So are you trying to regain control of your system or hack into Jungle?" Suoh grumbled, if Misaki heard any of their conversation he made no indication of it.
"I don't think you understand the situation, Suoh. We don't have a system at the moment, we have to hack into Jungle to take it back, God only knows how long that can take." There was brief pause on the other line, "I am prepared to offer you and Yata accommodations and anything else I can to make you both feel comfortable here, I know it is not an ideal situation but you did agree to help me."
"I know," Mikoto hissed, a frown growing on his lips, "let me talk to him and I'll text you what he says. Your phone is still working, right?"
"Yes, my personal phone is not connected to our network so it is fine. From here we might need to be a bit discreet, so if you are coming to our headquarters just send me a message saying yes, if there is a problem send a no and I will give you a call."
"I see."
"Bye Suoh."
"Bye Munakata," the Red King exhaled deeply as he hung up the phone. The last thing he wanted was to go to the heart of Scepter 4 at three thirty in the morning, he wanted to cuddle the shit out of Yata and go to bed, but as he had said previously, it was always something between Scepter 4 and HOMRA. "We need to go to Scepter 4's Headquarters."
"What? Why? And we? I thought you wanted me to stay in bed after all of that..." Misaki sounded beyond offended at the suggestion and honestly, Mikoto couldn't blame him.
"I do want you to stay in bed, hell, I want to stay in bed too but it's urgent. Apparently Jungle has hacked their system and Saruhiko said he can't remember the codes you two used to hack into Jungle some odd years ago. Do you remember those?"
"Yeah, they're at my apartment in his old notebook...shit, I don't want to work with the Monkey, please don't make me go." Yata whined, burying his face farther into the older man's back.
"I'm not going to make you go, if you want I can go get the codes and take them over there." Mikoto sighed as he dropped his hand from his boyfriend's, he stuffed it into the pocket of his black sweatpants with a scowl.
"Ugh, no, if I don't go I'll be ashamed of myself. I'll go but only on one condition," Yata began as he leaned up, his head falling on Mikoto's shoulders as he pressed his lips to the King's skin, kissing away the tension he felt rising in his exhausted body.
"What's that?"
"You have to stay beside me at all times, I don't want to be alone with Saru."
"I don't plan on leaving you alone with him, trust me." The Red King hissed, remembering how irritated he had become thanks to the conversation he had had with his former clansmen.
"Don't want anyone spending that much time with me? Mikoto-san, are you jealous?"
"Not jealous, over protective maybe, but not jealous." He put too much emphasis on the last word, making him sound a whole lot more bitter than he really was which also did little to help his case, but he supposed Yata didn't even understand his anger towards his ex-clansmen in the first place. The leader of the Vanguard chuckled.
"I have one condition as well," the Third King mused as he turned to look at the younger man, who raised an eyebrow at the comment. "You're not walking around, I'll carry you and ask Munakata to have a wheelchair ready when we get there. Your wounds looked terrible today."
"A wheelchair?" Yata groaned, "I'm not entirely helpless, I can walk just fine."
"Yata."
"Fine, but I'm not gonna be happy about it."
"You don't have to be happy about it, but that's an order." Mikoto grumbled as he relaxed back into his lover's firm hold, "we better get going."
"Yeah," Misaki whispered in response, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you about anyway. Can we talk about it in the car?"
"Ah," the Red King answered, though he felt a burning curiosity grow in his stomach.
Patience was a virtue but it was also one he didn't possess.
0o0o0o0
With the codes in hand, the two of them quickly made their way back into Izumo's Lexus, which they got from the bartender after offering up a brief explanation along with a plan for him, Tatara and Anna to come by in the morning. Yata climbed into the passengers seat with a sigh, one that sounded out exhausted and pained at the same time, though the look on his face told a completely different story. He looked...nervous.
"What did you want to tell me?" The Red King asked as he lit a cigarette, pulling the car out of the parking spot it was in as he started the short journey to Scepter4's headquarters, he didn't understand why but the air in the car grew thick.
"I'm just gonna come out and say it," Yata announced as he laid back further in the car's seat, the notebook in his hands clutched firmly to his chest. "Saruhiko and I used to be together."
"I had a feeling," Mikoto commented, not understanding why that was such a big deal. He hadn't realized it at first but after he saw the photos of the two at Yata's apartment he had put two and two together just like anyone else would have. "It's not a big deal."
"No, not anymore, but he's...well..."
"He hates me, right?" Suoh inquired as he headed into the heart of Tokyo, "I couldn't care less."
"Correction, he thinks you stole me from him. He's always been so possessive over things, that's why I was in such a funk earlier in the week. When I woke up after the incident at Ashinaka High School we argued about you and us, in short."
"He'll move on in time, Yata, it's not your job to make everyone else happy. It's your job to make you happy," the Red King declared as he brought the car to a halt at a stoplight, he turned and glanced over at the younger man. "Do what makes you happy, like Tatara says, It'll all work out in the end.
"You're right," Misaki smiled as he glanced out of the passenger side window, "I'm happier now than I've ever been."
"Then that's all that matters, Fushimi will get over it."
"Kinda like Munakata and you, ne?"
The Red King practically slammed on the breaks at the abruptness of that statement. "What makes you think that?"
"It's so obvious, he adores you, though I hate to break it to him but your eyes tell a story opposite of his."
"It was a fling, nothing serious," the Third King commented, "I've never had a relationship before."
"I believe you, and I wouldn't care if you had been in a relationship with him, what's in the past is there for a reason." Yata yawned, stretching out his aching limbs the best he could in the car, "I think I need to ask them to change my medicine, these pills suck."
"Still feeling completely out of it?"
"Yeah, it's been even worse at night lately and I can't stand it."
"Well, we will get it sorted out," the Red King promised as he turned into the gated area that was Scepter4's base, he explained himself to the guard at the post, who reluctantly opened the thick metal doors after receiving confirmation that he was allowed to enter the premises. Mikoto followed the lines on the strip of road until he reached a small private parking lot, one he presumed was used for only the core members of Scepter4. "Ready?"
"As ready as I'm ever going to be," Yata sighed as he watched the older man shut the car off, "do I really have to use a wheelchair?"
"Ah."
"But Mikoto-san," he whined, drawing his name out as long as he could before the Red King was at the passenger side door, scooping him out of the seat without so much as a word. Yata made a mental note that puppy dog eyes only worked in certain occasions, much to his dismay. Though, to his relief, a wheelchair had been placed outside of the front of the building, meaning he didn't have to be carried bridal style by his King through the halls of enemy territory, that sounded like a nightmare waiting to happen.
Scepter4's headquarters reminded the Red King a lot of a hospital. Clean white and blue floors, a grand staircase on each side of the entry way, fountains, and the smell of cleanliness hung in the air, it made him turn his nose up in disgust. Reisi Munakata was waiting for him in the front foyer between the two staircases, he strode down the last set and it took Mikoto every ounce of self control he had not to laugh at the man who looked more like real royalty than a supernatural being.
"Suoh, Yata, it's good to see you, thank you for coming over here so quickly."
The Red King nodded his head in greeting, much like Yata did, choosing to remain silent rather than say something that might just set the strange Blue King off.
"Are you ready to get down to work?"
"As ready as we're gonna be," Mikoto grunted as he shook his head a bit to relieve himself of the exhaustion he felt edge into the cracks of his mind, Yata looked a little worse for wear, too.
"Coffee?" Munakata suggested as he led the duo to an elevator on the far side of the room, pushing the button for the third floor as he clasped his hands in front of his uniform. Both the Red King and Yata smirked.
"We'll take all you've got."
"Of course," Reisi paused as he readjusted his glasses, "we have a long night ahead of us, after all."
Though it needn't be said, the words made the Red King scowl, the thought of no sleep finally catching up to him. He glanced down at Yata, who was staring up at him with an unreadable yet slightly exasperated look and he swore he was going to make a vow to start turning his phone on do not disturb before he laid down for sleep each night. Mikoto sighed.
"I should have stayed in bed."