Screech

Yata skated into the top room of the Gold Clan's Tower, the room where the Dresden Slates were kept to find that Anna was trapped in some bird cage above the Slates. Kusanagi-san was not far behind Yata and he wasted no time in rushing towards Anna. Yata heard a giggle come from behind him and turned to see a lean young man with a very feminine bearing and a child looking at him as if her were some plaything.

"Let Anna go!" Yata growled turning towards them, ready to fight if need be. The lean man chuckled and nodded to the kid. The boy grinned, rushing towards Yata, scythe at the ready. Yata looked around and found only a broom he took it, turning it into a functioning bow staff and flipped over the little boy, twisting around and lunging at him with the staff and his aura, but the by dodged easily and countered with a swing from his scythe. Yata narrowly dodged it but managed to land back onto his skateboard, sliding away a little.

A dagger flew from the left, right toward the boy but he dodged as if it were nothing. Fushimi-kun came out of the shadows, tsked, and pushed his glasses up his nose as his signature scowl graced his face.

The boy only grinned and stood his ground once more, "The more the merrier, or in this case the more the more points I get!" He lunged at Yata once more and Yata dodged, but he felt the scythe slash his right upper arm and blood gushed, just like the time Fushimi-kun hit him with the dagger last year.

Yata's aura flared with power, not just his but the new red king's power. He roared and lunged towards the boy, getting hit after hit in but he failed to notice the scythe swing around, he would have been cleaved in two had it not been for the sudden surge of aura that blew the kid clean off his feat.

"YATA!" Anna yelled, for it was her aura that knocked the boy with the scythe away. Anna's aura raged outward and a new sword appeared in the sky, the third red king was born: Anna Kushina.

Kusanagi enveloped Anna in his warm embrace, calming the young king. The green king, happy with the results of that day, used his aura to send out one large mass attack towards the red clan. Anna defended them with a great display of power but it was too raw, too fresh for the young girl and she collapsed, unable to defend against the next attack. Thankfully Munakata did it for her. The red clan had a new king, and the Dresden Slates were safe for that day. But there was a certain redhead missing from the aftermath.

Yata Misaki went missing with the most recent attack and the red clan was beyond worried for their vanguard. Yata misaki was unconscious and currently thrown over a gray haired man's shoulder, the gray king who was in league with the green clan. He was thrown into a dark room and his arms were tight behind his back, his legs were tied together at the ankle. He groaned and opened his eyes, he was aware of two things: the first was that his right arm hurt, the second was that he didn't know where he was but he was trapped. He heard a giggle come from a doorway to his right and there stood the lean young man from the green clan and a boy who liked like a kid who just got his favorite candy from the store.

"What do you want?" Yata spat looking at the two apprehensively. They grinned and appeared in front of him in a flash.

"My name is Yukari, and I'm going to hurt you because I want to hear your beautiful screams." The tall young man said, running the edge of a knife along Yata's chin, drawing just a little bit of blood. The little boy grew impatient and pushed Yukari out of the way.

"and I'm your destroyer, Sukuna." The boy said, jabbing the blunt end of his scythe into Yata, causing him to wheeze.

Yata spat at them, earning another jab to his stomach. He felt his sweater ripped from his body and cold air hit his torso. He saw Yukari nod faintly at Sukuna and he felt the crack of a whip make contact with his bare back.

He gritted his teeth, and his eyes widened but no sound escaped.

"aww, he didn't scream. More Sukuna, I want to hear him scream, see him writhe in pain and watch his blood drip down that glistening skin." Yukari grinned manically and Sukuna copied his grin lashing out at Yata with the whip again. Yata pressed his lips together but after ten more lashes, his self-control slipped and he elicited a short scream. Sukuna seemed reinvigorated by this sound and brought the whip down faster and harder, repeating the motion over and over.

Each lash caused a scream slightly louder and longer than the last, and by the fifthteenth, Yata's back was bleeding profusely and he was having trouble breathing. He barely felt the caress of Yukari's hands on his chin. The lashes had stopped, and he looked up into the eyes of beauty obsessed man. Yata spat blood in his face, but the man simply wiped it off with his finger, and tasted it. Yata shuddered at the display, causing the man to grin.

He heard a thunk behind him and then the sound of a blade being drawn out of its sheath.

"Here Yukari, your turn." The boy said, handing the pan a small knife. Yukari smiled, and turned to Yata.

"You're a crow, yes? Let's make you screech like one." He grinned, and brought the knife to Yata's stomach, beginning to carve something into his abdomen. He screeched, just as Yukari wanted, and he felt his Aura flare around him. Yukari jumped back, frowning.

"I thought you gave him an Aura dampener?" He asked the boy.

"I did, it must have worn off. Do you want me to go get another one?" Sukuna asked, looking up at his companion.

"No. I'm done with him. Let's make a popsicle of him." Yukari said, throwing the knife to the side. Sukuna shrugged and pulled out a key from his pocket. Yukari hit Yata on the head, effectively dazing him as he was transported out of that room and into somewhere, far, far worse.

It was cold. So very, very cold. Yata huddled into himself, but he slowly lost heat, and slipped into unconsciousness.

Yata woke later to shouts and red aura flying from side to side. He saw the door open and a figure come in. He felt himself be picked up and cradled by a familiar scent. His family had come.

Kusanagi looked down at the shivering, bloody mess in his arms that was Yata and sighed, hefting the young man in his arms, leaving the base with the red clan on his heels; they had gotten what they came for.

They journeyed quickly back to the bar and Kusangi wasted no time in carrying Yata upstairs and into their surprisingly thorough infirmary. He patched him up and left him to rest before walking downstairs to tell the rest of the clan.

"Yata will recover. It will take time, but he should make a full recovery." Kusunagi said, taking his place behind the bar. The rest of HOMRA cheered, happy to hear that their vanguard would be alright. Anna smiled at her clan, and moved up the stairs into the room where Yata rested. She sat beside him, and gently ran her small hands through his hair.

He would be alright.

Yata groaned as he came to. He cracked his eyes open and saw the familiar wood ceiling of one of the upstairs rooms in the bar. He looked to his right and saw Anna sleeping peacefully in a chair, holding his hand. He smiled, happy to be home.

She stirred, feeling his hand move, and woke up.

"Yata." She said, noticing that he was awake. "How are you feeling?" She asked, looking at the boy. He shrugged, then hissed, even that small movement seemed to cause him pain. Anna sighed, feeling guilty.

"Hey, it's okay. I'll get better." Yata said, squeezing her hand.

"But it's my fault you were taken. I wasn't strong enough to protect you." She looked at him with those big red eyes, and sometimes he forgot just how young she really was.

"You don't need to be. It's my job to protect you, and I did; and if given the same choice: I would do it all again, if it meant saving you. I won't lose another King." Yata said, looking at the little girl.

"Well, then I hope you'll never have to." Anna said, a new resolve in her voice. Yata smiled.

"There's that spirit." He said, looking at his King.

Behind the door, Kusunagi took a drag of his cigarette. They would be fine, Mikoto. They would be fine.