The Voice of You and Me

14

        Time quickly passed after that day. The three of you were now around the ages of 16 or 17. And you were able to get your own place as well as a small job. Saruhiko would visit often if you weren't at the bar or at his apartment which led you to notice that he was more clingy than he used to be. You didn't mind this at all though. Today happened to be different as you sat on one of the bar stools next to him while Homra discussed about a few issues that were now in motion. Recently, a new Blue King had appeared known as Reisi Munakata and he broke apart the old Scepter 4 then created a new one. This led to many of the old Scepter 4 members being casted out and treated as Strains. Some of them were twins known as Minato Hayato and Minato Akito. Homra met them before during an incident with Anna around the time when Saruhiko and Yata first joined the Red Clan. Now, the twins were wanted by Scepter 4 for not allowing themselves to be monitored and for hurting new Scepter 4 members.

"On top of refusing to be monitored, you have injured non combatants of Scepter 4. If caught you'll be thrown into prison without a doubt. So you ran. Is that what happened?" Kusanagi asked Akito. Currently, the twins were placed in the Homra bar, but were badly injured once red clansmen found them. Hayato was actually unconscious at the moment leaving Akito to look after him.

"We will never acknowledge Munakata Reisi as the leader of Scepter 4. After all these years, this king appeared out of nowhere, shoved those who had sustained Scepter 4 into sinecure, and treated those who stepped down like some wild Strains out there. What he did was nothing but profaning Habari Jin and Scepter 4!" Akito replied while tightly gripping his pants.

"Now, now. Calm down. This bar is the Red King's domain so Scepter 4 can't do anything to you guys as long as you are here." Kusanagi commented. Yata jumped up at this.

"But that incident regarding Anna -- " he started, but was swiftly cut off.

"Yea, I know. But it's a request from someone difficult for me to turn down....." Kusanagi explained while looking up at the ceiling in thought. To your surprise, you watched as Anna stepped off the stool next to yours then walked over to Akito while holding a marble up to her eye. Everyone remained quiet as she only stared at him for a moment before speaking.

"I think......It's alright to let them stay. It's true that they have nowhere to go. You too, can stop worrying. No one here wants to hurt your other half so take a little rest....okay?" she said to him causing Akito to release a breath he was holding before glancing at his brother.

".......I hope you would let us stay until Hayato recovers." he replied. Silence filled the room before Yata took a few steps forward.

"Well, these guys seemed to have been through a lot. If Anna says it's alright, we'll let bygones be bygones. Besides, I think they're right. Those who simply turn and serve the next king aren't trustworthy. These two only have one king in their lifetime, and that's the previous Blue King. For us Homra, the only King is Mr. Mikoto! That makes us comrades sharing the same belief!" Yata said while popping his knuckles. You heard something snap and turned to see Saruhiko breaking matches in half. He continued to do so as you watched before lightly placing a hand on his forearm. Saruhiko stopped in his tracks then glanced at you. Giving him a warm smile, you asked, "Are you having fun there?" He quietly scoffed then placed your hand back in your lap before continuing to break matches. You laughed then returned back to listening to the conversation at hand.

"Now, now, Yata. We're not looking for a fight. In fact, I'm going to the Blue's place to talk this over. Anyways, I'll put my effort into asking them to treat these boys amicably." Kusanagi said catching you by surprise. Some of the other members were surprised too.