I AM SO SO SO SORRY!

I've actually been struggling to write for quite some time now. Everything is very hard for me and life had been...tedious. And that's me using nice words. So my inspiration to write has been quite pathetic. It took everything in me to write this and update.

To all those wonderful people who are still reading this, thank you. It means a lot. Especially since I know I'm not really good at regular updates. Please bear with me. v.v

Chapter 05 - Flames

"What was that!?" Mizuki's head turned to face the source of the explosion at the same time as Fushimi started running, pulling out his cellphone, following the red dot which blinked right at the epicenter of the park.

Kai!

Fuck, Munakata was going to kill him. Fushimi shoved aside the feeling of dread which was slowly consuming him on the inside in favor of keeping a cool head. Logical, you're the logical one. He reminded himself, pushing through the crown running in the opposite direction. The mass hysteria which surrounded him, people shoving each other, trying to make their way away from the burning Ferris wheel which was swaying where it stood, looking right on the verge of collapse.

"KAI!" looking around, standing at the exact spot where his tracker showed the child to be, he looked around, rubble surrounding him. A piece of melted plastic, still on fire fell right in front of him from above and he activated his shield around himself to keep himself safe. Spotting a few civilians trapped in the blazing inferno, he sent out a wave of blue aura, clearing out a path for them to run to safety.

No signs of the kid though.

Blue eyes scanned the surrounding once more. Just as he was about to head off in another direction, another explosion sounded off right near the stalls where he had been previously. Cursing under his breath, he once again looked at his cellphone and realized a small error on his part.

The mark was moving.

Fast.

Towards the exit.

The kid's safe...

Hoping against hope that Kai would manage to keep clam enough to call the Captain for help, Fushimi darted towards the source of the other explosion, using both colored auras to help anyone who he saw trapped. Everything around them was on flames, burning higher and higher.

Sensing a presence on his left, he turned sharply just barely avoiding a blade which cleaved the air in the space he had just occupied in two. pulling out two knives from his harness he let them sail without even thinking twice. A sharp noise of metal clashing against metal made him look up.

"Fushimi Saruhiko, third in command, Scepter 4." a cocky voice called out and he narrowed his eyes at the man who had almost ended his life. Short dark hair, smug green eyes and dressed in what Fushimi could only assume was supposed to be an intimidating manner, he was precariously balanced on top of a lamppost.

"What's it to you?" he asked sounding almost bored even though his eyes scanned the surrounding, trying to detect any other source of life in their immediate vicinity. Pulling out another set of knives from his sleeves, palming them in his hands, he mentally wondered if Kai had managed to reach safety. The cold metal felt reassuring against his heated skin and he let them sail once more, watching blankly as they were easily deflected by a katana that the man was carrying. The brunette laughed, teeth flashing almost charmingly.

"Don't you want to know who I am though~" The sing song voice gated on his nerves and Fushimi raised an eyebrow.

"I don't bother learning the names of road kill, thanks." He responded, letting more knives fly in the air. The man jumped down from where he had been perched and landed gracefully on his feet. Grinning ferally, he raised his hand and Fushimi watched in absolute shock as the red aura engulfed the arm, flames dancing up and down the whole length, licking the skin but not harming its user.

"You're part of HOMRA?" Try hard as he might, he couldn't keep the incredulity out of his voice before something else clicked. "No, no you're not. You're a strain." The grin on the other's face widened and Fushimi had a slip second's warning before he was assaulted by a huge wall of fire, engulfing him in a world of red and heat.

Blue aura immediately shot out of his body, responding involuntarily against its natural enemy. The small amount of time he was blinded by the flames was enough for the man though. Looking around, Fushimi couldn't detect him anywhere and felt his already bad mood drop exponentially. A small flutter of white caught his eyes and he reached out to grab hold of the paper drifting in the air. Staring the words on it, he cursed every God that ever existed.

Be careful of the ghosts.

"Fushimi kun!" Awashima Seri rushed onto the site of the attack and immediately felt her heart sigh in relief. He was alright. They were alright. The young boy who was clutching onto the hem of the other's jacket immediately released his hold in favor of rushing to the bespectacled man climbing out of the wan behind the woman.

"Uncle!" Munakata crouched down and smiled at his nephew. Kai's arms went around his neck and Munakata stood up, holding the child in his rms.

"Fushimi kun," he said pleasantly, "I'm glad you look fine if not, pardon my choice of words, a bit burnt out." Awashima's eyes went to the younger man who shrugged.

"Strain. He's the one who caused the explosions I guess."

Violet eyes flashed with keen interest as a hand came up to adjust his glasses on his face.

"You guess? You're not sure?" Fushimi shrugged again and for the first time since they arrived, Awashima realized he was slightly swaying where he stood, looking positively drained.

"I didn't actually see him cause any one of the explosions with my own eyes." He muttered. "The press was here moments ago and I covered it up as an electronical disaster. But yes, back to that strain, he was-"

"I expect a full report on my desk tomorrow afternoon Fushimi kun." Munakata cut him off, still smiling pleasantly. For now, you should head off to the doctor to get yourself checked and then go to bed. You look like you're about to fall unconscious again any given moment." The younger scowled darkly and Awashima shot him a disproving glare. Munakata tipped his head and then set his nephew down.

"Awashima kun."

"Yes Captain?"

"Keep an eye on this stubborn child." Eyes glittered mischievously, "And keep an eye on Kai as well." Her lips twitched and she glanced in the direction of her subordinate who was glaring at the Captain's retreating back as if mentally sending a rain of knives down pouring onto him. Reaching out, she set an arm on the other's shoulder.

"Come along Fushimi kun." Her tone was clipped and business like but the man seemed to relax under her touch none the less.

"And what happened to the mission you guys were-"

"There will be time to discuss everything on the way to the infirmary Fushimi kun." She said, firmly leading both him and Kai away from the entrance of the amusement park. Or what was left of it anyways. Fushimi made a small sound of discontent but that was the only form of resistance she encountered. Making their way to the car, she held the door open for both of them to get in before climbing in the front, sitting next to one of the members of the clan who was in charge of driving.

"Akiyama san, back to headquarters if you please." The shorter man gave her a quick nod before pulling out of the driveway. Awashima watched as the young man in the back seat slumped a bit, looking positively drained. Kai on the other hand, looked feverish, eyes wide and shining with excitement. Every five seconds or so, he would glance at his phone and type out something, a huge smile plastered on his face. Catching Fushimi's eyes, she received a roll of eyes.

"Did you two have fun?" Was it just her imagination or did both of them freeze a bit at that comment. Before she could comment on it however, Kai threw himself at Fushimi.

"Yes, we had lots of fun. We went and ate a lot of sweets and Saruhiko let me ride anything I wanted."

"Didn't he get on with you?"

"Motion sickness." Fushimi mumbled out. The two youngest in the van made eye contact and for a minute Awashima was sure there was something the two were keeping for all of them. Shoving it in the back of her mind, she sighed.

"Well its good you two-" The rest of her words were drowned in the sound of a huge explosion to their immediate right threw the van off course. Holding onto the seat tightly, she waited for Akiyama to swerve the van sharply, and pull it to a stop. In the back seat, Fushimi immediately told Kai to stay with him. Clambering out, they all looked at the man standing in front of the burning inferno that had moments ago been a building.

"Homra?" Akiyama questioned, pulling out his cellphone to call in back up. Fushimi shook his head, eyes narrowed and his hand holding his knives again. Awashima put herself between him and the strain who was smirking. The raven haired man gave her a sharp tongue click.

"No, it's a strain again."

"Same one who attacked the amusement park?"

"Yes."

"I see." Awashima said before raising her voice, addressing the opposing party. "You have placed a direct attack against three officers of Scepter 4 – including an underage civilian. Surrender yourself or you will be cut down." The man lazily sent back a fireball back as a response. Awashima nodded.

"Men! Prepare to engage in battle!" She called out, drawing out her sword. "Awashima, ready!" Next to her, Akiyama also drew out his saber and Fushimi readied himself in front of the child he was clearly supposed to protect. Before either Awashima or Akiyama could land a blow however, the man grinned and sent a huge burst of aura in their direction. Momentarily distracted, they closed their eyes from the heat even though they were protected by the blue aura surrounding them. The second was all it took for the strain to disappear.

"He…vanished?" Akiyama's voice was full of incredulity, not sure why the strain they were attacked by had just backed off. Awashima sent a puzzled look to the destruction around them. In the distance, they could the sounds of sirens going off and incoming firefighters.

"Something's not right." Fushimi mumbled out, putting away his knives and clicking his tongue. Glancing back at the kid he sighed in relief to see Kai hiding behind a large dumpster, phone grasped tightly in his hand.

"Ah Captain will have to talk this one out of trauma." Akiyama said, squatting down to pat Kai's head, who immediately latched onto him. Awashima nodded, looking up in time to see the rest of the squad cars arrive. Waving to Fushimi, she left Akiyama and Fushimi alone to go talk to some subordinated but not before leaving strict instructions that under no circumstances was Fushimi to be allowed to work without getting checked by the infirmary. Akiyama bowed low and smiled at Fushimi.

"Shall we go then?"

"So what do you think?" A figure watching from the rooftop approached the woman standing behind him, smirking. "Grand enough for you, babe?"

Brown narrowed eyes watched as the blue coats ran around below as they ran around in a dissray.

"It'll do for now."

JUNGLE NOTICE BOARD

Congratulation!

You are now G-rank!

RedAvenger – G RANK – 654937 JUNGLE points

BlackBird – G RANK – 765843 JUNGLE points

Quests completed:

Distract the security patrol at the amusement park! – 2000 JUNGLE points.

Plant birds in marked places! (¾ complete) – 3000 JUNGLE points.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT US!

WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT CONQUEST!

Well well well. I surprised myself.