Disclaimer: All characters belong to GoRa/GoHands and not by me. Cover pic also not owned by me, found it on the nets. OTL

Spoilers: Entire first season. The ending gave me too many feels and spawned this.

xxxxxx

No Blood

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Gray. It is all gray.

The old TV screen crackles with the news. Reconstruction of Ashinaka high school has long been completed. The destruction HOMRA and Scepter 4 left behind on that fateful day is now covered with pristine pavement and cold, unfeeling metal.

All gray. All of it.

Izumo Kusanagi absentmindedly wipes a clean champagne flute with a rag. His gaze drifts over to the silent adolescent sitting by herself in a corner, barely making a dent on the leather booth seat.

Anna Kushina sits elegantly like a doll. Her back straight and her lithe, slender frame enveloped in black lace and ruffles.

She no longer wears red.

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

Their king's death affected them all. Members of HOMBRA grieved, despaired, and then eventually left. Their numbers dwindled, till only a handful remained. There is no more king. No more burning auras to power their bodies.

But Mikoto's passing affected Anna the most.

At first, she wouldn't cry. She sank deeper into her shell, and talked to no one. Stared at her unmoving blood-colored marbles until the sun went down.

Everyone was worried. It was the fourth month when her emotionless voice rang through the dingy bar, silencing the dull argument Yata and Kamamoto were engaged in.

"I found him."

"Who, Anna?" Kusangi was the first to recover.

She did not bother answering him. Anna gathered her three marbles, tucked them into her pocket, and jumped off of her barstool to head out the door. The remaining members of HOMRA shared a look, and immediately followed. She led them through the busy streets of Shizume. Past the shadowy alleys and the smoking manholes.

They ended up in a sunlight residential area. The gang looked very out of place amidst the white-washed walls and well-manicured plants.

Anna took out a marble. Walked right up to the front gate and stared through the red crystal ball.

"He's here," she murmured. She looked up at Kusangi with solemnity. "The new Red King."

There was a collective intake of breath. Yata whooped. Bando and Akagi barraged her with questions. Only Kusangi remained motionless, his gaze trained on the middle-class residential building in front of them.

Anna's lip trembled. Her eyes tightened with the barest amount of movement.

Kusangi answered the question for her. "He isn't the same is he? This is a reborn King and his power hasn't even awakened."

She shook her head sadly. The marble went back into her pocket, to clink miserably with its companions.

"So? We just have to grab the guy and go. He can awaken whenever. As long as he's with us!" Yata objected. "HOMRA will return back to what it was!"

Just then, the front door opened. The group watched silently as a boy, no more than ten years old, burst out with a toy airplane in his hand. His mouth made imitation sounds of gunshots and engines as he ran around the front yard with the airplane, oblivious of the dumbstruck audience right outside the gate.

"That's... him?" Kamamoto whispered. Everyone could hear the disappointment in those words.

A chuckle came from the tall, blonde man in the group. "Well, well, he always wanted a normal life. Looks like he got his wish," Kusangi smiled. He patted Anna on the head.

"Good work."

Her crimson eyes followed the boy. There was a faint, red glow about him. But it was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the beautiful red flame of Mikoto.

He was really gone. Her king. Dead.

She felt it that snowy day on the beach. She saw for herself the dance of red fireflies in the night sky.

But now the evidence is in front of her and there was no more denying it.

The tears came. For the first time in her life, Anna acted her age and let out a keening wail. The group of delinquents gathered around her, and tried to offer comfort in an awkward, clumsy way. Kusangi finally gathered her small, fragile frame in his arms, and carried her back to their bar as she cried herself to sleep.

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

The news reporter's sudden announcement interrupts the bartender's reminiscing.

"It's been five years since the emergence of a Sword of Damocles. But earlier this morning, there has been a reported sighting caught on tape..." The screen switches over to what looks to be an amateur home video of the cityscape. Kusangi watches grimly as a pillar of light appears, shimmers, and unravels to reveal an unfamiliar shape.

A completely black sword.

"Scepter 4 has not released an official announcement regarding the incident. Speculations are running wild on the nets, and while there has been no violence reported, it seems that the few years of peace in Shizume City have enjoyed might come to an end-"

Kusangi abruptly turns it off. He sets down the remote on the immaculately polished bar counter.

"The Black King graces us with his presence," he murmurs. He directs his next sentence to the sole other occupant of the room.

"Anna. Perhaps it is time?"

The marbles roll in a clockwork motion, making a rhythmic note against the wooden table. The circles grow tighter, and tighter. Until the three meet together in a harmonious plink.

"Yes." No longer a child and resplendent in her pale, colorless glamour, she rises to her feet. Her black dress rustles heavily, but she walks with quiet strength and determination.

"The Red King awaits."

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

The ringing of the phones will not stop. Even when Reisi Munakata is secluded in his private office, he can still hear the endless clamoring of the telephone. The news of a possible appearance of the Black King has mobilized the entire Scepter 4. For hours now, their office has been barraged with endless inquiries and the prying media.

"Sir," a stern, but feminine voice speaks up behind him. "No reported sighting so far. We are now spreading our patrol area to cover Sector D, F, and E."

"Very well." His violet gaze opens momentarily to regard his lieutenant, and then closes again. When Seri Awashima does not budge from the front of his desk, he says, "Is there something the matter?"

She hesitates only for a fraction of a second. But no one can hide anything from the Blue King and Seri doesn't even want to. "Sir. Why are we issuing a Level: Prussian Blue? Nothing serious has happened."

"Yet. Awashima. Nothing has happened yet," he corrects her. "But the appearance of the Black King is never a good thing."

"How so?"

"While Gold and Silver compliments each other, the other colors exist to balance each other out. The Colorless one, the Seventh King, exist as the irrational wildcard. The one who can upset the balance because he has no color, has no purpose. But just as equally disturbing is the Black King. Who absorbs color in order to maintain his own parasitic existence."

She straightens noticeably. "Do you mean- are you saying that the Black King...?"

"Yes," Munakata grimly answers, "He is coming to take our powers."

Notes:

- Idon'tknowwhatI'mdoingIshouldbeupdatingother stories! Hello K fandom. I might have fallen and I can't get up. lol

- Hopefully this will be short and painless. Planning for 3 chaps at the most. Prepare for Anna and mucho angst...

- There's a lot of mumbo jumbo and pure speculations on my part. Don't need to take me seriously. hehe