Hello, dear readers! A year has passed without a new chapter and I feel terrible... I had a lot to do (university, exchange programme, new stories, personal things, etc.) and also what stopped me from updating was the feeling of not giving enough while writing... BUT I have finally finished the chap (after rewriting and rewriting and oh... more rewriting). ^.^
I also can't thank you, my dear readers, enough for supporting me and the story!
I also know that some might not read the notes above, so without further ado... I present you a new chapter! *sparkles fly*
Telepathy
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3rd pov
The Silver King sighs as he sees a green parrot at the top of the bridge, gathering the attention of his own clansman and the members of the Infinity who had been looking at the direction where the flash of purple sword had occurred.
"Seems like the Green King, Hisui Nagare, has graced us with his presence..." the white headed male frowns at the bird. It lets out a loud call, before gliding down and resting at the railing.
"Greetings, Silver King. Sorry for not meeting you personally, but I'm sure you won't mind me speaking through my clansman..." The parrot then tilts its green head. "I am the Fifth King Hisui Nagare, the Green King... I have been waiting for so long this moment." Shiro moves his weight from one leg to other, appearing careless, but the look in his eyes told the other story of alertness.
"So you have finally managed to lure me out.... It is as you wanted?"
"Yes. This verifies that you aren't the bystander that you once were. It is a quite strategic success and more... another King has joined the game, a King that many did not know to exist... sadly, I was one of them... but this surprise will make it more fun." Then the parrot proceeds to fly away.
"Well, at least he shows his presence in some way..." The King throws a small smile at the present persons. "Let's go and catch up with the others." They turn and head quickly towards the location, the members of Infinity wearing eager looks.
After rushing and slight jogging, they finally catch a glimpse of a purple haired slim woman cradling two crying strains. Akira is silently wiping tears from her rose coloured cheeks and Neko is prancing around the four, her bell ringing softly with every move.
The members who arrived later stop suddenly as if not believing their eyes. The purple headed woman looks up with her sharp mismatched eyes and a small smile is painted onto her soft light pink lips on her pale face.
"Hello, my dear friends..." That is all what takes for the frozen members to move again and a certain redhead dashes forward and literally bounces onto her, but Hideki manages to catch Ryou in mid flight and ground him.
"It is alright. He must have missed me..." Calm voice of the Eighth King washes over them all and weirdly, it makes Takashi snap. He clenches his hands into fists and his body shakes violently with his outburst.
"Must have missed you!? Are you serious right now!? We fucking mourned and cried, because we thought you died! We had to wake up every morning with a thought that you aren't with us anymore.... that we don't have you guiding us... And now you come, without a single scratch, and you only say that!?" He hisses with wavering voice, thick with emotion, and all the attention is now turned towards him. Some wearing masks of surprise and shock, some agreement and some sadness. Kuroh steps closer to the male, but a look from the First King stops him.
Takashi looks down as he feels tears blurring his sight. While the others had grieved and cried, he had stayed strong for the others... but now, as he sees her standing in front of him, his carefully placed and built dam cracks and the emotions break free. He lets himself mourn for the time lost without their leader.
A hand is placed onto his shoulder, making him look up. Umeko stands before him with what to others looks like an emotionless expression, but he can read from her differently coloured eyes how sorry and heartbroken she is. Sorry for not being there. Heartbroken for leaving her family feel the burden of grief.
"I know that it must have been hard. I felt great sadness and anguish for leaving like that. I should have never left you, but it had to be done. A sacrifice. Still, I didn't leave you alone..." The Purple King's soothing voice tells the emotional boy, who manages gather himself.
Ryou, who stands with Hideki and the Silver clansmen groans quietly towards the Silver King, nudging the other's ribs, earning an owlish look from the First King. "If she goes all mushy shit like 'I was in your heart' right now, then you owe me five bucks." The First King looks weirdly at the redhead, who is waiting for the other King to finish her sentence.
"I was here.." she places her ivory hand on Takashi's chest, right above where his heart beats. The heart-warming atmosphere is broken by a wildly hollering vermillion haired male. They all sweat drop as they watch him poke and call Shiro 'loser'.
After they manage to control and silence the purple clansman, it was accomplished by a heavy hit to the head by Akira, they quickly assess the whole situation of JUNGLE rising and the unfortunate passing of the Gold King.
"The JUNGLE has grown stronger and stronger, with new clan members joining its ranks everyday. They have been targeting each clan, poking and prodding as if waiting for one to snap. To them, it is a game with many levels and the ultimate end is unknown right now. One of their goals was to lure me out and they succeeded. The King also told that the entrance to the light by you had him surprised, but also 'makes the game more fun' as he said." The Silver King states and the Purple King hums in thought.
"I bet he didn't count in a chance of another King emerging." Her eyes flash and Shiro is reminded of the days he first saw her. She pays no attention to the soft smile she gets. "If it is as we think, then we must do something... I have a feeling that this 'unknown' has something to do with the Slate. The Gold is gone, who is or will protect and control it..." Umeko murmurs and suddenly, yet elegantly turns and heads towards the direction of their base. Her clansmen follow with confused faces and shrug at the Silver clan and their wildly blinking King.
"Call a meeting with the other Kings... Together, we can have more opportunities and chances..." The Silver King jumps slightly as the voice intrudes his mind, but he quickly composes himself.
"Why do I have a feeling that you won't be there?" He questions her in his head after feeling that her presence is still there. A small, mysterious smile is thrown over her shoulder. So small, that he almost misses it.
"I have some research to do..."Then the smile disappears as quick as it came.
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The small room is filled with power as the three Kings are gathered there, around a small coffee table. The Red King is sitting, bored expression covering his face, with Anna next to him, Yata and Kusanagi standing behind them. Anna is spinning her red marbles in her hand before once in a while bringing it towards her face to look through it. The Blue King looks like he expected something like this to happen, yet his eyes scan the room as if he disagrees on something. Awashima and Fushimi formally flank his back, the male eyeing the vanguard of the other clan with annoyance.
"Third King Mikoto Suoh, the Red King and Fourth King Munakata Reisi, the Blue King and I, First King Adolf K. Weismann, the Silver King aka Yashiro Isana. Three prominent Kings in one place. Should I call this a Round Table Conference?" Shiro tries to lighten the tension of power in the air, but this gets a different reaction.
"You mean this coffee table? It's not even round! It's a rectangle!" Yata spits. His power crackles inside him at his irritation. He hates being in the same room with the traitor, he narrows his burning gaze at the former clansman, his ex friend.
"We're already packed like sardines in here! Stop whining! You'll suffocate us all!" Saruhiko earns a growl from Yata.
"Screw you! You're the one to talk! You and those damn Blues covering the area!" Fushimi adjusts his glasses.
"The last thin we need is that you punks cause a situation like a year ago." Unknowingly, the Red and Blue King have flashes of the way the purple sparks of the Eighth King's destroyed sword floated around like snow.
"We're here to keep things in order." Saruhiko smirks at the enraged auburn male. His eyes holding a glint of 'come at me, if you dare'. Awashima and Kusanagi exchange glances.
"What!?" A hand grasps firmly his white sweater, holding him in place as he tries to lunge forward.
"Yata, this is a gathering of VIPs. Let's tone it down a bit." The bartender reminds the boy as Seri turns sharply towards her subordinate.
"You too, Fushimi... stop provoking him." Fushimi sniffs a 'sorry' as Yata only nods. A humming at the door breaks the silence as Kukuri comes into the room.
"Excuse me...Please, have some tea..." She happily smiles, earning grateful look from Shiro and an eager one from Neko.
"Thank you, Kukuri. I'm sorry for making you do all the work.." The white haired male tells the girl who slightly blushes.
"You welcome... and no problem... It seems like now, that you're back, Neko and Kuroh won't leave your side." She comments as she takes in the closeness of the three.
"It's not like that... This is a formal meeting of different sides.." Kuroh quickly coughs, trying to maintain or save the formal atmosphere, but it's useless as Neko clings to Shiro and starts rubbing herself all over the white haired male.
"That's right! We're never leaving his side!" A throat clearing stops the chaos. Munakata's violet eyes flash behind his glasses as he look at the two.
"Shal we begin our round table - or should I say - coffee table conference, Silver King?" His deep voice resonates in the small room.
"Oh, pardon me." Shiro bows slightly. Kukuri, still standing there, lets out nervous laugh as she takes in the figures in the room. They all look so stern and dangerous, she thinks.
"And may I ask, why is not the Purple King here? Even if they are new to the title, they should be here or were they not invited?" A smirk from Mikoto stops the Blue King from asking more. "What is it, that you find so funny?" The Red King lazily turns his amber eyes towards the questioner.
"And you call yourself smart... yet you managed to prove yourself stupid..." Munakata's yaw clenches at the open insult. "The Purple King is still in power... That woman..." A flash of smugness is thrown at the shocked Fourth King. His brain conjures up images of the purple haired elegant female, making him feel slightly dizzy from the speed of them.
"I see..." He finally manages. "But still, why isn't the Purple King here?" The First King turns towards the window an watches the passing clouds.
"If I knew, I would tell..." He turns towards the two Kings again. "But I know her thoughts and sides about it all. She and Infinity-"
"So this is where the Tea Party is happening, ey?" A vermillion haired male chuckles as he jumps into the room from the balcony. His electric green eyes flash to the shocked faces of few and then to Weismann with a playful grin and deep bow. "You called, oh great First King?" A choke from Kuroh is heard as he chokes on a lungful of air. This disrespect!
"Stop it, Ryou." A cold and commanding voice comes from the balcony as another Infinity clansman steps into the view. Akira straightens her skirt a little, before turning to adjust the strap of her rifle, only to remember she left it behind. Another two soft thuds come from the balcony as Hideki and Takashi join.
"My name is Takashi Ichi and I am here in behalf of our King, the Purple King Umeko Murasaki, the Eighth King, leader of Infinity. She apologises for not coming here herself, but a certain thing... "His rusty orange to black eyes meet Shiro's amber ones in a meaningful gaze. "... kept her from joining..."
To say that the Blue King was disappointed was an understatement. He couldn't wrap the idea around his dark blue haired head, that a woman he... acknowledges isn't attending. Or what he rather meant was that he couldn't stand the way that the First King seemed to know the purple headed King better. He adjust his glasses, the angle of light making them gleam, as he clears his head from the thoughts of the Eighth King Umeko Murasaki. A small smirk is on his lips as he stores the name into the depths of his mind. Now he knew her full name.
"Very well... So let's begin!" After a soft frown is wiped from Shiro's face, he smiles at the two Kings. He knew that she wouldn't be coming, but the thought of her being in trouble left an unpleasant feeling behind. Yet he knew that Umeko is strong, after witnessing her mind powers himself and he couldn't think of how powerful her aura could be when fully unleashed for combat.
"Thank you for coming on such sort notice." The white haired King says and Mikoto sighs while closing his eyes.
"You have helped us in some ways... or more your clansmen, even if they were in trouble, so it's a small step to repay you." Mikoto grunts. "Same goes to the Infinity." He may be prideful, but he knows when a person helps you, you should pay them back some how. Reisi sniffs at it and crosses his arms.
"If it is so, then after all the Blue Clan has done for the Red, then where is our repayment? You also owe us as well." The Blue King turns his head away lake he was offered something unpleasant. Seri sighs at the motion, feeling embarrassed by their leaders action, making Izumo chuckle. Kuroh coughs and Munakata remembers where he is. "Let's leave that behind us now."
"So what is the reason for this gathering?" The Fourth questions.
"I think some of you have understood the purpose..." Shiro states with stern face.
"What to do with the Green Clan..." Takashi reveals and the First King nods.
"You're right. Also something else needs to be discussed." Yashiro takes a deep breath, preparing himself. " The Second King Daikaku Kokujoji, the Gold King has passed away." Gasps echo in the room with surprised noises.
"I see." Reisi states says simply. "The Dresden Slate with its power to affect the Japan, no, the entire world and now the strongest king, the pillar of keeping it under control, is gone?" The female Blue shifts in her place.
"Is that why the Green Clan has become so active?" Shiro nods towards her.
"With the Lieut-Gold King gone, he has nothing to fear. He has no reason to supress his powers anymore." He explains.
"But we heard that he was looking for you as well. Is it because of fear?" Kusanagi steps into the conversation.
"I don't pose a direct threat to them like the Gold King did. They are after me because of my knowledge about slate. And my power is eternal, unlike theirs of manipulation of others."
"Are you saying that they can't think what your next move is, because you're more of a wild card to them?" The Red clansman gets an answering 'yes' and how the Second King held him in secret because of it.
"You want the remaining Kings to work together?" Mikoto cracks his neck and Akira shivers in disgust for a moment. She never liked the sound.
"Yes, especially now that the Gold King is no longer with us...The Purple King has already given her approval." Takashi adds and looks towards the sky outside.
"What do you say?"
"I have no objection. It is the Blue Clan, Scepter 4's duty to maintain the order." Awashima and Fushimi gasp and step forward.
"Are you sure, Sir!?"
"Ms. Awashima, for long we have worn ourselves out with countering the Green Clan. Having powerful allies would be worth it, even if there is a little friction between us." The blonde woman exchanges glances with the former Red.
"Reisi." The deep voice makes the Blue King open his eyes. "I know that the air you breathe with me is toxic for you and that the last time we met... things could have ended. Now a new chance to prove my worth as a King, but as the time changed... I feel like I should have done like you asked." A surprised expression is mirrored on everyone's faces. "But as I'm still the Red King," he turns towards Yashiro Isana, " the Red Clan will fight with alongside with the Blue, Silver and Purple Clan."
"An alliance between four clans..." Izumo smirks as he winks at Seri, who blushes madly.
"Yeah! So we're going to beat those Greens up?" Yata exclaims loudly and Hideki steps away in time to avoid the male's flying fist of happiness and eagerness.
Soon new orders were given and everyone went to prepare. The Blue King, Red King and Silver King stayed behind.
"So you'll be the new guard dog for the slate, huh?" Mikoto shot a teasing look to the Blue King.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"No. It would be too much trouble for me..."
"How much do you know about the slate?" Shiro asks with frown. He hoped that the King is not underestimating the powerful thing.
"Well, I am not on your level, First King, but I still have a grasp of knowledge of it."
"Do you intend to become the second Daikaku Kokujoji?" The Silver King asks with stern face while Suoh rises an unimpressed eyebrow. The answer is not given. "If you don't mind, then let me help-"
"You expect me to rely on someone who ran away once?" Shiro visibly is shaken up by that. "With Green Clan, your help is more than welcomed." The Blue King smirks. "Now, excuse me..." He struts out of the room and Mikoto shakes his head.
"He still is that arrogant ass with a stick up his behind..." He lights a sigarette as he is about to step out too. "You know where to find me." Then he is gone.
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I hope you liked it and I'll try to update soon! ^.^'
I don't own K Project (but it would be awesome, if I did :D )
~ S_Luna_