Oh my God I did it! I actually did it! I thought I'd never finish this chapter!
Okay, this chapter talks about the Kingdom of Red manga a lot. I tried to strike a balance between not spoiling anything important for people who haven't read it, and not confusing the Hell out of everyone. Not sure how I did so if there's something that confuses you please leave a review or message me and I will fix it.
And a shoutout to Red Duchess for her review, glad you liked it!
Glad somebody liked it enough to review, viexon *hint HINT*
Yeah, I have nothing to say for myself about being gone for so long. Enjoy.
Chapter 2: The Red King
After that, it wouldn't be fair to say life passed by quietly but it certainly was quieter.
Three years passed. Suoh had a few more run-ins, a new teacher started at their school; Honami Kushina. She was beautiful and sweet and the only teacher Kusanagi had ever seen who could razzle Mikoto, Izumo graduated and took on more work at the bar, almost fully taking over for his uncle, so the three of them often hung out there, even when they really shouldn't, being minors, and Totsuka confronted the guys who had beat her up. Not necessarily in that order. Aside from that, nothing happened.
Each day passed more chaotic and wild and unsupernatural than the last.
Magic levitating sword? What magic levitating sword? No magic levitating swords here. No sir. None. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Nothing. Just quiet. So much quiet that if all three of them hadn't seen it; Izumo, Mikoto and Tatara would have wondered if they hadn't imagined the aforementioned magic levitating sword.
Then that quiet(er) shattered.
Over the last three years they'd developed something of a gang, a group of young punks who'd banded together to push other young punks away from their favourite stomping grounds. They called themselves 'HOMRA' after the bar where they hung out.
Like most young wannabe gangsters, they had people who didn't like them: other gangs, the foreign Yakuza making waves nearby, the Japanese Yakuza, Izumo's many exes… Yeah, they still got into many fights. Or the boys did. Running at the first sign of trouble was a skill Tatara cultivated with great care.
But one of the people who didn't like them was Mitsuha Kurayama.
Mitsuha Kurayama was a bigger part of their lives than even Mikoto, Izumo and Tatara knew. Called 'Earless Mitsuha' because he'd chopped off the top part of one ear (long story), he was a Strain with fire powers he'd awakened almost immediately after fighting Mikoto.
Some of his 'friends' had attacked Izumo right before he attacked Mikoto himself, leading to Izumo and Mikoto's friendship.
His father had been a member of Genji Kagutsu's 'Purgatory.'
He'd been behind the attack that put Tatara in the hospital right before Mikoto's Sword of Damocles had first shown itself, amongst other crimes.
And now, years later, he was working with other Strains and using the jungle app (along with the mysterious N.H who ran it) to avoid Scepter 4 while taking over Shizume's criminal underworld.
Not that any of those sentences would make sense to Izumo, Mikoto and Tatara if you'd said one aloud to them.
This put them at a distinct disadvantage when he started trying to kill them.
Then Suoh was attacked. And injured. Mikoto Suoh. The 'wild beast' of Shizume City. Was injured.
It wasn't a bad injury, but it was a solid one. Someone had really and truly gotten into a fight (even if it was just a small one) with Mikoto Suoh and come out of it better off.
Then Izumo's uncle died.
It turned out he'd had cancer for a while now. His nephew had never even known.
So with both her boys distracted, Tatara decided to do some detective work on her own.
Learning from a… uh… friend… definitely not one of the guys who had attacked her and put her in the hospital (and now felt kinda bad about it) that Mitsuha Kurayama might, possibly, maybe have a headquarters in a nearby building, she went over there to check it out. Since he was trying to kill her and her two best friends, Tatara thought it best to talk him out of it as soon as possible, if she could.
Her phone rang, it was Nagahama, a friend of theirs -or, more accurately, Izumo's- who was part of the sorta-maybe-kinda gang they had cobbled together. She answered with a cheerful 'hello! Totsuka speaking!' and the cheer stopped there as she heard odd sounds on the other end.
Sounds like strange thumping and glass breaking. The scuffling sounds were fast, Totsuka's heartbeat was even faster, "hello? What's going on?"
"Now…" his voice sounded like it was coming from far away. "I… I'm under attack now."
Blood hammered in Totsuka's ears and she barely heard Nagahama's words, something about Kurayama's gang deciding today would be a good day to 'cleanse' HOMRA.
Somehow, she didn't think they meant a little spring cleaning at the bar.
"Get out of there and call for reinforcements!" Tatara almost yelled. They had friends who would side with them in a fight but really, they needed to call Mikoto.
No, she needed to call Mikoto. Nagahama needed to run.
He shouted, in fear or pain, Totsuka didn't know, and then there was another crashing sound.
The line went dead.
Tatara's blood ran cold. "Hello?!"
Soft laughter from behind her.
Totsuka whipped around to see a young man with pale hair, a black jacket and a spiked collar standing behind her.
He gave her a charming smile and if she hadn't been scared before she would have been then.
She had seen this man before.
Totsuka knew that. She knew it.
But I've never seen him before in my life? She thought, bewildered. But her people-sense had never led her astray before and it was insisting that she had seen this man before.
"You are Tatara Totsuka, right?" He asked, smiling cheerfully.
It was never good when they knew your name.
That being said, she knew who he was too, the right ear studded with piercings and missing its top part was a dead giveaway. "That ear… you're Mitsuha Kurayama."
A second ago he was in the middle of the street, blocking traffic. Now he was in front of her. His hand touched the top of her head. "Correct answer! Well done!"
Totsuka took a steadying breath. This was bad but she'd been in bad situations before.
She'd survived them, she'd survive this.
Maybe she would end up dying before her natural time.
But not here. Not now.
She was going to see Mikoto again.
Huh. Tatara gave herself a mental shake. Yeah, she liked Mikoto. A lot. Like a lot. And she liked being around him. A lot. But why was she thinking about him and not the very real danger she was in?!
Another mental shake, something to consider when she wasn't in very real danger. But right now...
"Something smells burnt," she mumbled aloud, distracted.
"That's me, I was burning a little," explained Kurayama, as though it was the most normal thing in the world.
When Totsuka gave him a bewildered look he smiled again, "I'm going to become a King now."
King… Of all the words he could have said…
Totsuka followed Kurayama to his apartment rather than kicking up a fuss and potentially getting innocent bystanders hurt. Though she was massively confused, he explained a few things to her.
A friend of Kurayama's was fighting Suoh right now. A friend who apparently had supernatural powers. Supernatural powers. Okay. This was what they were doing now.
People with supernatural powers who didn't get those powers from a King (he didn't elaborate here) were called Strains. The friend of Kurayama's, Touya Tsurumi, was a Strain, just like Kurayama. Tsurumi was the reason for Totsuka's deja vu. They'd come into the bar to leave Mikoto a note and Tsurumi could alter people's perceptions, making them not realise he was nearby or blurring their memories of seeing him and others. Totsuka remembered the two customers coming in, she remembered them asking about Mikoto, she remembered showing Izumo the note they'd left You'll pay for what you did last time -Misuha Kurayama. She hadn't remembered what they'd looked like at the time and even now, knowing Kurayama had been one of the guys she'd spoken to, her memory couldn't place him at the scene.
The 'King' Kurayama was planning on becoming was not the King of Strains or King of the Yakuza but the 'Red King.' Totsuka had heard the urban legend of the Red King before, who hadn't? A man who was the incarnation of fire and who had caused the giant crater that killed so many all those years ago.
To become the 'Red King', Kurayama planned to 'purge' all the gangs and Yakuza who wouldn't side with him, along with the police and the 'Blues.' Whoever they were. Probably not important.
What was important was that one of the people he vowed to kill was Mikoto.
Her head spun trying to take in all this information at once.
"King," she whispered.
"Who you callin' King?" Asked Kurayama almost cheerfully. "You know what this means, right? There cannot be two Kings. It's necessary to crush each other to decide who is the true one."
"I don't think so," admitted Totsuka. From day 1 the only word that seemed to suit Mikoto was 'King.' He was someone special. Someone good. "You're not like him. There's something wrong with you." There was no competition.
Kurayama looked surprised by her words, or maybe just her stupidity in saying them to his face, but shrugged it off, "it doesn't matter what you say, I will not change my mind. At this moment my men are going after Mikoto, Tsurumi will take care of him, it doesn't matter if I kill him myself." He smiled at her, "do you want to take bets on who will win?"
Totsuka didn't smile back, "of course it will be King that wins. Do you honestly think there's even a chance he'll lose?"
Her words had an effect, she saw him almost flinch. This guy was planning to kill Mikoto and become the Red King and even he didn't think it was possible.
Well she'd give him points for trying anyway, at least.
They 'chatted' for a bit longer and then Totsuka left. He just let her, like this was a social call between friends and not a technical kidnapping by a man who wanted one of her closest friends to kill his closest friend so he could kill Totsuka's friend.
Whew.
She reached the lobby and went outside. She took all of two damn steps and who did she bump into but, "King!"
The fury blazing in Mikoto's eyes was visible from a mile away but died the second he saw her, "oh, you're okay." Her heart stopped when she got a good look at him. His calm tone made Tatara lightheaded, her entire body felt hot. Was she about to pass out? Was this what fainting felt like?! "But you aren't!" She almost shouted.
It was true, Suoh's white shirt was splattered with blood, centered at a wound on his left pectoral -his heart! They were aiming for his heart! Tatara thought, horrified- and spreading outwards.
Mikoto gave the wound a dismissive look, "it's fine." Yeah, she'd be the judge of that.
"Let me see," she moved closer and tugged down the collar of his white shirt.
It was a stab wound, Tatara was no expert but it looked bigger than your average knife wound. It didn't seem too serious but it was still bleeding and, again, Tatara was no expert.
Unexpectedly, Mikoto reached out with his unbloodied hand and cupped her cheek.
She looked up, heartbeat quickening and when their eyes met and held her heartbeat went from 'quick' right back to 'passing out imminent' all over again. Her hand fisted in his bloodied shirt.
Mikoto rubbed his thumb over her cheekbone and if Tatara had thought her heart was beating fast before…
Parting her lips she went to ask him… ask him what? She honestly wasn't sure.. When she distinctly heard someone behind her ask 'is that guy bleeding?!'
Yes, yes he was, and she was just standing there. She broke eye-contact and Mikoto dropped his hand. Disproportionately disappointed, Tatara went back to examining him.
Knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do that would make Mikoto go to the hospital and get the wound properly looked at, Totsuka just ripped two strips off the bottom of her own shirt. That wasn't as easy as books always made it sound but she'd done this before and could manage. She folded one up and pressed it against the wound while she used the other strip to bind it in place. Then she and Suoh called it a day and went back to HOMRA.
Kusanagi looked like he was about to have a stroke, "what-is with-why you-look like that," he got out, almost convulsing on the spot as he stared at Mikoto's bloodied shirt.
Tatara sympathised.
He ushered them inside and they swapped stories while Izumo stitched Mikoto up. Mikoto told them about the guy who had attacked him and Izumo told them that Kurayama had killed the leader of the foreign Yakuza and attacked other members of HOMRA. Tatara didn't tell them people with superpowers were called Strains and the urban legend of the Red King had popped up again.
The remaining members of HOMRA had all fled and Mikoto had a weird smile on his face.
Kusanagi looked as uneasy as Totsuka felt, Mikoto left. Izumo ran after him. Totsuka heard them arguing before her blond friend came back, looking furious. Mikoto did not return. There was a metaphor about him reaching the point of no return in there somewhere, Tatara thought.
They spoke for a few minutes and she indulged Izumo while he thought up alternatives to Mikoto fighting a guy with superpowers and their lives changing forever. They knew it would happen.
But it really was just that; Tatara indulging Izumo. Mikoto was going to fight the guy with superpowers sooner or later and Tatara wasn't going to run away. Her path was already set.
She headed out after Mikoto.
When Totsuka was a little girl she'd met a man down by the river.
They'd chatted about plants for a while but before he left the man said something Totsuka had carried with her for the rest of her life. "One day you will meet your King."
She hadn't understood those words at six and she hadn't totally understood them at sixteen either.
At seventeen, the pieces were beginning to come together.
The Red King, Genji Kagutsu hadn't been born able to control fire, as Totsuka found out.
He was chosen.
Chosen by what, she wasn't totally sure, but she'd been warned. She. Was. Warned. If something had chosen Kagutsu as the Red King, the next King could be chosen the same way.
Mikoto Suoh was chosen as the Third and Red King.
The minute he caught fire and that sword -the magic levitating one- appeared over his head, Izumo and Tatara who were watching him knew. No more test runs. This was the real deal.
And when he offered them his hands, neither of them hesitated.
He let Kurayama live. Or rather, Kusanagi let Kurayama live after talking Mikoto out of killing him and kicking his ass personally. Even with a fraction of Mikoto's power, Izumo was more than a match for the teen Strain. Totsuka had been right, there was no comparison.
Tatara hugged herself to Mikoto as they walked away and instead of his usual sigh, he put an arm around her shoulders. She felt warm inside, it matched the warmth on her shoulder that, when she got a good look at it, turned out to be a tattoo in the shape of a flame.
They'd barely gotten halfway down the street when a figure appeared in front of them wearing long olive-green robes and a golden mask that covered the top part of her face and head. The mask had rabbbit ears.
What fresh Hell...?
The masked woman, a member of the Usagi, the elite of the Second and Gold Clan: Timeless Place explained everything to them. The Seven Kings, their Clans, the Kagutsu Crater. Everything.
A month passed.
They signed the paperwork making Kusanagi's bar the official territory of the Red Clan.
Mistsuha Kurayama was murdered. Tatara never found out who actually did it, but word on the street said it was in revenge for his killing the Yakuza's boss.
The Gold Clan captured Touya Tsurumi and the rest of the Strains that had gathered under the two of them left the city.
And Tatara spent so much time with Mikoto they were practically joined at the hip. Whether it was threatening to put laxatives in his food if he didn't let her cut his hair or creating butterflies to distract him from the catastrophic amount of power he was barely keeping in check, she was by his side.
Mikoto, who had been sleeping completely calmly a second ago, jolted awake, gasping. Tatara, curled up on the couch next to him reading a recipe book, glanced up. "King?"
He stared at her for a second before sighing, running a hand through the hair she'd cut and gelled back. This wasn't one of his usual Jesus-Christ-what-is-she-doing sighs, he actually seemed relieved.
"Mikoto?" She pressed.
Without looking up, he reached out and pulled her close, "just… stay with me a minute."
Now pressed up against his chest, Tatara could feel the frantic beating of his heart. Hers hurt for him. Even she had no idea what he saw when he closed his eyes.
"Anything you want." She promised.
She wasn't expecting a response but Mikoto said, "dangerous thing to say to a guy like me."
"Oh? Why is that?" She asked.
"Because I might take you seriously."
Tatara put her hand on his chest, over his heart, and breathed slowly and deeply. "That's fine." People, Mikoto included, had been telling her to stay away from Mikoto since the beginning. If she was going to listen, she would have done it by now. She wasn't.
As she'd hoped, Mikoto's breathing began to slow to match hers. He put his arm around her and she rested her head on his chest. "I'm not going anywhere."
Kusanagi found them like that an hour later, curled up on the couch together. Totsuka's hand was still over Mikoto's heart. One of his arms was still around her, holding her close. His other hand was over hers, resting on his chest.
Izumo put the groceries down quietly so he wouldn't wake them, "seriously guys, this is gettin' ridiculous," he said, but his tone was warm rather than exasperated.
He left to put the groceries away and Mikoto and Tatara slept on.
Safe.
Together.
There ya go dudes and dudettes. Hope that wasn't too confusing or disjointed. A very unromantic chapter but as much as I want to write about them cuddling for 5 chapters, Mikoto becoming the Red King was kind of important so I wrote about that instead. More romance ahead though.
I've nearly got chapter 4 of Izumo & Seri's story done so hopefully you should get that soon before I lose interest in K Project again and disappear for another six months.
Anyway, hope you liked it guys. Bye!