Shizume city – a place that never came to peace. Maintaining a high standard of living with great technologies, like robotic cleaners and convenient means of transportations, the city would attract all kinds of human beings. Day after day people were rushing all over the place, gathered in trains, underground tubes or at cross roads. Even though many of them crossed each other's paths multiple times, they never recognized the other person passing by. One could hide forever, unseen in the crowd. At night the city was dazzling, due to the bright lighting of advertisements, shops and street lights shining through the darkness. It was still as noisy as at daytime, because almost the same amount of people was hurrying through the flashing streets. Like day and night were having competitions, of who could be busier. Unseen, like a person in the crowd, other competitions and wars were raging in the core of the city. Criminals, drug dealers, violent gangs and Strains – creatures causing trouble wherever they went – were hiding in the darkness. The police was not always able to charge them and so the danger and violence spread through Shizume city. But even with the police's bound hands, it wasn't as easy for the thugs as one would expect, because someone else was keeping a watchful eye on them. People with abilities and powers, a normal human being could only dream of. Not many had seen them and those who had, spoke in fearful whisper of them.

Kings

Starting with the silver king seventy years ago, human beings with supernatural abilities popped up in history. The full extent of their powers was still unknown, but since the incident that had caused the Kagutsu crater, humanity had gotten a hint of what was walking amongst them. Some looked up to the kings and respected them, others called them monsters with disgusted and panic looks on their faces. In fact the so called "monsters" had a more human behavior, than most of the people calling them that. It wasn't an unknown trigger that caused the powers of the kings, differing them so much from the people around them. The Dresden Slate, a big stone brought to Japan after World War II, was the source of all that, apparently choosing people to become kings. Not much was known about the Slate and scientists were still researching on it. However, there was kind of a mighty aura surrounding the kings, but their chosen clansmen were down to earth as usual, so one should not be able to tell whether one was a subordinate to a king or not, if one hadn't shown the given abilities.

So, how on earth were they able to spot us? Totsuka Tatara thought, while grabbing the little girl next to him. Her red dress, with lots of ribbons and ruffles, was covered by a jacket and flapped due to the sudden unexpected movement, as he shifted her body behind him, standing protectively in front of her, while blocking her view of the strangers facing them.

Six threatening looking men were standing in front of them, in their hands knives and baseball bats, which were pointed lazily at the duo. Both of them were clansmen of the titular third king Suoh Mikoto and members of his clan Homra. The red clan was a bunch of violent and noisy hot heads, who observed the underground of Shizume city. Their implementation wasn't as professional as the enforcement of Scepter 4, the blue clan, but also effective. Well, if the criminals were fearing Homra after being beaten up once, that is. Brutal and without mercy Totsuka's fellow clansmen fought trying to blow off some steam and putting their overflowing powers to use. But some gangs weren't as smart as the usual, so they desired vengeance, tracking down weaker members of Homra. And that's how they always ended up cornering Totsuka. Unfortunately he was only gifted with low abilities concerning his powers. Usually he would just try to run away, but with Anna by his side that was impossible.

"Look at those mighty guys from Homra now!" one of the men said pointing a bat in Totsukas direction. "Not so strong and arrogant now, are you?"

Despite questioning the whole fairness of the situation, of six men teaming up against two - well one and a half – Totsuka started scanning his surroundings for something of use, or a way to escape even with Anna.

They had been visiting the park, when suddenly these men appeared all around them. A path was leading down from the city to a lake. It was the end of February and after a long winter staying inside away from the cold; finally spring was coming back to Japan. It was still freezing outside, but the flowers started to bloom and the sun broke through the clouds. It was a nice day so Totsuka had wanted to take Anna to the park to see the patches of red tulips and cherry trees. Accompanied by Yata they had headed off, but right now the raid captain of Homra was stuck in a store only a few minutes away.

How cruel. Totsuka thought. I have no way to contact him. Also, the bar is pretty close by.

Totsuka had noticed these men before they engaged and had headed back, but he and Anna didn't make it far. Now they were standing right next to a railing of the lake and both paths in front of them, one leading back to the city and Homra, the other following the water, were blocked.

Yata is being away for a while now. It's only a matter of a couple minutes until he returns. We just have to hold out, until he gets here.

Putting on his usual irresponsible smile, Totsuka raised his hands and calmly waved at them.

"So I believe you had trouble with our boys?" he said with a calm voice. "Is it really worth it causing another ruckus? Why can we not just put everything at rest?"

"Don't talk to me in that delighted manner! Are you looking down on us?" Another man took a step forward, only to let Totsuka retreat even further. There just had to be a way to let Anna get out of the situation unharmed. Usually Kusanagi would warn them, if they had to expect trouble from other gangs, but Homra didn't get involved in any big incidents for a while. Or was it really just about a fight the boys had started?

"Tatara?"

Looking down to Anna, who was grabbing his coat from behind, Totsuka secretly took out his PDA and unlocked it behind his back. Fortunately it was already in silence mode. These guys were so hot tempered, that they could attack any moment from now. Having reinforcement sent from Homra would solve the problem. If they could last out until then…

Hoping to have hit the right buttons on the screen of his PDA to select the recently called number, Totsuka put the device in the back pocket of his trousers. Hopefully he was really calling Kusanagi and hopefully the owner of the bar was picking up his phone.

"That thought would never occur to me." The young said, relieved no one noticed his slight move. Still smiling, he pulled Anna even closer to himself with one hand, while scratching the back of his head absently with the other.

"Of course it wouldn't, No. 3 of Homra, Totsuka Tatara the weakling. How can someone as useless as you are, be in such a high position?"

"Yeah I wonder. But you can't really ask me about that, since I'm not good at judging myself. I'm just the kind of guy, who enjoys going to a lake in a park to show a little girl the pretty flowers."

"Well that's pretty fortunate for us, right?" The first guy said, while the others shouted in agreement. "With those bastards away, we can take our revenge. Just think about their faces, if something happens to their little princess."

The grip on Totsuka's coat hardened. He could feel the little girl shiver at his side. Regretfully the young man closed his eyes.

I'm sorry Anna. I cannot guarantee for your safety. But at least I can try to protect you.

Suddenly one of the men charged forward, aiming his knife at Totsuka. The young man dodged the attack easily and picked Anna up. The other fellows started attacking, but Totsuka, who had waited for an opening in the row and was skilled in avoiding getting hit by weapons, due to a lot of practice in previous encounters, rushed forward. It was a desperate attempt. Alone, Totsuka might had been able to outrun them, but running while carrying a child was a whole different matter. He didn't make it far until his attackers caught up with him. A baseball bat hit his back and he was thrown to the ground, while protectively curling up around Anna, to not harm her. A sharp pain spread all over his shoulders and for a short period of time his entire body went numb. A cough escaped his throat, as the air was pressed out of his lungs. But there was no time to take a breath. Jumping up from the ground, Totsuka picked Anna up and dragged her along, only to bump into of their pursuers. Strong hands grabbed him by his arms, while another man pulled the girl away from him. Struggling and punching the man she put up a glorious fight, for a girl only half the size of his.

It can't be helped. I can't wait for the guys any longer.

Summoning the little power he contained in his body to one of his hands, Totsuka let a red flame appear there. Like a bird flying gracefully in a rising spiral through the air, the flame flew from his hand and parted into six smaller ones, before each heading into a different direction. The hands holding him down, let go of him as the man in the back shouted out in surprise. To direct the six flames Totsuka turned around to face all of his attackers, before navigating the flames directly to their faces. In just a split of a second small red lights, looking like tiny fiery stars, raced through the air, making them seem like flashes of fire. Some of the men would move, others would just stare at the engaging projectile, fascinated by the swirling red firefly. Not all of the flames hit their target, but at least three of their attackers broke down, cursing and screaming, while frantically covering their burned faces with their hands. Unfortunately the guy holding back Anna avoided the attack and was still blocking her from Totsuka.

Gathering the last bit of energy he had got left in his body, Totsuka directed the six flames to the last three attackers. Feeling the power leave his body, he trembled a bit but forced himself to stand up straight. If he was going to break down now, everything would have been for nothing. Though, he didn't know, how he was supposed to escape now, with his sweating body screaming for rest and his breathing going heavy.

The man in front of him saw the projectiles coming and was prepared to jump out of the way, however it was close to impossible for him to predict which turn the two flames would take. Eluding two flames took far more effort, than before. Despite dodging the first, he was hit by the second at his temple and cried out in pain.

Totsuka keeping an eye on the other two members of the gang, whom he hadn't paid much attention to before, tried to take them down too, but his concentration was running out. Two of the six projectiles just faded in the air. Still, they kept their distance, somehow intimidated by his sudden actions. Even though he was a member of Homra, they hadn't expected him to put up such a fight.

The man at Anna's side had let go of her and was now kneeling down. Nevertheless as she started approaching Totsuka, the man looked up for just a second and with a rapid move, grabbed her dress and pulled her back. He didn't notice that he had used too much force, until it was already too late. Totsuka seeing the girl being shoved back with great speed rushed forward, aimed his last few flames at the kneeling man to get past him and stretched out his hand. Right behind Anna was a railing of the lake, usually high enough so no one would accidently trip and fall into the water. The man pulling her back, let go of her dress and for a moment she just flew in the air. Her feet touched the rail for a split second before gravity pulled her down and she fell. Trying to grab the fluttering cloth of the pretty red dress – the color Anna loved so much – Totsuka leaped towards Anna, his fingertips touching a ribbon of her dress just for a moment. He could see the scared look in her eyes, as she also stretched out her hands, like trying to pull him in for a hug, when actually fearing for her life.

Then nasty hands firmly pulled him back. The cloth under his fingers moved out of his reach, as the girl silently fell and hit the ice cold water.

The bell at the entrance rang as a new customer entered the bar. Having a smile on his face Kusanagi Izumo put a just polished glass back on the counter and turned around to face the person coming in.

"Welcome.", he said with a friendly voice, trying to create a pleasant atmosphere. The bar wasn't normally crowded with customers, so he was doing his best to satisfy the ones who entered it.

Seeing a fat blond guy in white jacket and trousers standing in front of him, let his smile immediately drop. The man was wearing sunglasses and a heavy golden chain was hanging down from his neck, resting on the giant belly of his. Even though the guy usually was kind and clumsy, one couldn't prevent to feel nervous, due to his massive appearance. If you didn't know him personally, that was. Luckily Kusanagi wasn't that kind of a person, so that he could indicate the just made mistake by the man to him, without any irritation.

"Oi Kamamoto! I told you to come in through the back door, didn't I? It's hard enough that less people come into my bar, because you guys happen to hang out here."

Instead of lashing out or defending himself Kamamoto Rikio scratched the back of his head, while giving Kusanagi an apologizing look.

"Ah sorry, Kusanagi-san! I guess it's just some kind of a habit. I'm quite attached to the Homra sign at the front door and whenever I see it, I'm tempted to come in."

Somehow understanding and at the same time not understanding at all, what Kamamoto was trying to say, Kusanagi just confusedly shook his head.

"Well, at least just try for ones to take the back door. I don't want to intimidate my future customers because you guys enter so commonly or fight outside on my door step."

"Sure, sure." Kamamoto replied. Then taking a look around the empty room, he asked "Where is everyone today?"

Kusanagi shrugged calmly in a way that seemed really uninterested, but knowing him Kamamoto saw the slight concern in his eyes.

"Totsuka took Yata-chan and Anna-chan outside two hours ago. They should return soon. The boys didn't show up today, until now. As for Mikoto," Kusanagi slightly shifted a worried gaze to the stairs leading to the first floor. "He hasn't left his room since yesterday morning."

"Is he alright?" Kamamoto asked sharing a knowing look with the bartender.

"I hope so. He's more silent and unfriendlier than usual, locking himself up and hiding in his room. But he does that a lot nowadays. If it continues for too long I'll let Totsuka take care of it."

Even though Totsuka was useless in combat, he had a very important rule in Homra, calming the other clansmen – and even Mikoto – down. Despite being irresponsible as hell, this was one of the chores the guy was really good at. Looking down at the old camera lying next to him on the counter, Kusanagi couldn't help but smile.

However sudden noise from the back door disturbed his thoughts.

Good bye my peaceful day. The kids have arrived.

Three people entered the bar. One of them ran towards the counter and stopped right before it, decreasing his speed by pressing his hands against it. He was wearing a red jacket over a white shirt. His brown hair was covered by a baseball cap having the letters of Homra 'H.M.R.' printed on it.

"Shohei – kun I told you guys to stop running around."

Annoyed Kusanagi shook his head. Geez does no one ever listen to him? Akagi Shohei opened his mouth to speak up, but was interrupted by a male person behind him, also wearing a baseball cap. However, his face and his dark hair were mostly hidden under the pulled up hood of his sweat shirt and behind dark sunglasses, covering his eyes.

"Kusanagi – san. We picked up information, that there is a gang searching for Homra members being alone in the streets. I guess they want to start a fight with us."

Shohei, looking somewhat disappointed, that his friend Bandou Saburatora interrupted him, turned around and glared.

"Hey you two. Stop your childish pranks! This is a serious matter." Chitose Yo, the third person, who had entered the bar with them shouted. Kusanagi frowned at the sudden statement.

"Do you know who they are?" he asked them finally.

"That's what we wanted to know from you."

"Didn't Yata pick a fight at the arcade yesterday?" he asked, while giving Kamamoto a questioning look.

"Well, it was actually the other way around this time." The questioned man replied. "I know it's uncommon for Yata to not pick a fight, but this time the other guy somewhat attacked him. He couldn't stand a chance against Yata of course, but it was strange, because it seemed like, he wanted Yata to defend himself. Like he wanted to be beaten up. Do you think that he did it on purpose, so that his friends would avenge him?"

"Why going through so much trouble? Why starting a fight with us anyway? What are they hoping to achieve from it?" Shohei questioned, having calmed down now.

"We have not enough information about this right now. I'll need to further investigate. For now," Kusanagi took out his PDA and signaled the others to do the same. "contact the others and tell them to watch out and be careful on their way through the city! Let's hope that this is just some kind of a prank and no one is going to get hurt."

As if someone else had heard his words, Kusanagi's PDA started ringing right that moment. Looking at the screen, he recognized the familiar letters and frowned. Totsukas timing was really great sometimes. Pressing the green button on the screen, Kusanagi put the PDA to his ear.

"Totsuka, I also just wanted to call you. What is it?"

No one replied at the other end. Just a silent rustle and grate was being heard, as if the microphone of the phone was rubbed against cloth.

That idiot! Did he forget to lock his PDA again? The bartender thought, rolling his eyes.

"That thought would never occur to me." Surprised of this sudden statement Kusanagi looked at his phone. Was this guy able to read his mind? But his voice seemed somehow muted and more distant.

"Oi, Totsuka do you hear me?"

"Of course it wouldn't, No. 3 of Homra, Totsuka Tatara the weakling. How can someone as useless as you are, be in such a high position?"

Hearing such an unfamiliar voice speak so impolite to Totsuka, let Kusanagi freeze. Nobody who knew Totsuka would insult him in such a way. Unless, they were up to no good. Thinking about the just delivered information, the barkeeper turned pale. His eyes widened, as he silently continued to listen to the conversation.

Where the hell is Yata?

"Yeah I wonder. But you can't really ask me about that, since I'm not good at judging myself. I'm just the kind of guy, who enjoys going to a lake in a park to show a little girl the pretty flowers."

"Well that's pretty fortunate for us, right? With those bastards away, we can take our revenge. Just think about their faces if something happens to their little princess."

"Kusanagi – san? What is going on?" Shohei asked, looking anxious at his change of expressions. He had never seen the bartender being so worried. Not about the bar or any member of the clan. Despite his look, Kusanagi's voice was smooth, when he put the PDA back at the counter.

"Hurry to the Shizume East Park. Right at the waterside Totsuka and Anna are cornered by a few guys. I don't know, what happened to Yata, but it seems like they are on their own." He shifted his gaze back to the device in front of him, as he continued explaining. "It didn't sound good and looking at the case at hand, the gang we just talked about might have found the easiest prey they could get."

Hello there! So here is the first chapter of my upcoming story :) English is not my mother tongue, so i apologize for some possible mistakes. Please correct me if you find some. I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter, because there is a lot more to come.