I'm welcoming myself back in a new fandom. Some of you may remember that time when I said something along the lines of never again - This is a testament to how well I was able to adhere to that philosophy after getting a taste of the K-Project fandom. I'm still a little nervous about my mark here because this is very unlike any fandom I've ever been apart of, but I'm really enjoying it, and I think that's half the battle. I hope that some of you can also take some enjoyment in the story I'm spinning and we can eventually enjoy it together.

Because I started at the very beginning and will progress chronologically, below is a list of the reading order for my stories. Each one will have a somewhat stand-alone plot, so you don't necessarily have to read them in order. It will make more sense if you do though because events may will be referenced in later volumes. In the end, this series will span from a time prior to the Side: Red short story to events to transpire shortly after K-Return of Kings. Ambitious, right? Welp, wish me luck!

-Main Rewrite-

(K)

Finding a Place

For all intents and purposes, this is an origin story. It introduces Tsukiyo Neirah and gives insight as to how her strongest relationships originated.

A World on Fire

This segment is the largest by far because it spans the gap between Neirah's origins up until the canon events of K: the First (approximately four years). It will touch base on happenings from some of the red-related prequels but mainly focus on the development of new and supporting relationships leading up to the main events of K: the First.

Burn with Me

Essentially, Burn with Me will follow the main K: the First storyline.

Out of Ashes

Possibly the most angsty of the series, Out of Ashes will focus on the events that separated the Red Clan shortly after Mikoto's death. It will touch on the gap between K: the First and Return of Kings. The culmination for this part will be the events to occur during the Missing Kings Movie.

A King's Pride

Focusing mainly on the canon events of Countdown/Return of Kings, A King's Pride touches on the reformation of HOMRA just before the destruction of the Dresden Slate.

Smoulder

A short dabble in the aftermath of the slate's destruction, leading to the loss of the supernatural powers that came with it.

-Side Stories-

(I) - A Future Up in Flames

It didn’t seem to matter how many times Izumo said it. Once Mikoto had made up his mind, there was no telling him otherwise. Tsukiyo Neirah was a red clansman now, and he was just going to have to learn how to deal with that.

(Developmental content between Neirah and Izumo leading up to their sibling-like relationship)

(N) - Hear me Roar

She was wind and fire unbound, and in due time, the city would bow to the mighty roar of HOMRA’s hunter – the Red Lion.

(Content addressing the development of Neirah’s clan reputation among criminals)

Neirah’s heart was beating excessively swift by the time her fingers reached for the door that she’d heard slam while she was still in the shower. She hadn’t meant to cause tension between her boys, but at the same time, she hadn’t expected to meet such absolute refusal. Before denying her, Masaomi hadn’t spared her suggestion a single thought. Over the last year, they’d grown closer than ever before. She was startled that Masaomi hadn’t taken even a moment to consider her modest proposal. Then, she supposed, she must have spent so long living with Tatara that she became desensitized to the implications of cohabitation.

Perhaps it was wrong of her to assume that everyone in their bizarre arrangement felt as impacted by their relationship as she did. For that reason, she tried not to be discouraged. Once Masaomi had his morning coffee, he might become more approachable, that was what she told herself as she quietly stepped into the room, gently pushing the door shut behind her. “Masaomi? Can we- eh?” She tipped her curiosity towards the painted slab that tried to keep her fingers attached, her toes adhering to the ground as she stepped. “The door is sticky?”

“Yeah…” Masaomi waited for Neirah to tilt her curiosity his way before his guilty glance shifted towards their slumbering Yō. “Watch your step around that place.”

Neirah was confused, at first, but also relieved to meet with Masaomi’s mild grin. It reassured her in her moment of uncertainty. “Back to bed already? Lazy boys,” she whispered lovingly. Masaomi didn’t answer her from where he sat upright against the headboard. He remained next to where Yō had flopped and hadn’t moved since. Instead of speaking, he raised his hand, curling his middle and index finger towards his palm to beckon her.

She clutched her silk robe tightly against her cleavage to keep the chill out as she slowly obeyed. “I heard raised voices,” she whispered. “And I’m sorry if you fought over the silly things I said.” Her warm smile faded to a guilty frown as she sat on the bed’s edge by Masaomi’s hips. “The last thing I wanted was to start a fight.”

Without acknowledging her modest confession, Masaomi leaned forward, reaching to her damp hair to feed his fingers between the wet curtain and her freshly rejuvenated skin. He dusted his thumb over the tattoo inked beneath her eye before touching her nape, drawing her into his calm kiss.

The embrace was slow and deep, not because he wanted it, but because he knew that she would enjoy it. When she and Yō tussled, that was how Yō apologized for raising his voice or hurting her feelings. It was the way they’d communicated clearly between bodies, expressing feelings that were more profound than words could ever express. Masaomi didn’t speak the language, but he could understand bits and pieces. For that reason, as his heart ached to the sound of her nervous regret, he apologized in the most substantial way possible.

As soon as he slipped away, he sighed bleakly and drew their brows together. “I hate kissing,” he admitted flatly. “I hate that you close your eyes. I hate how wet Chitose’s mouth is. All of it. All of this. It’s gross…” At first, she didn’t seem comforted by what he was saying, so he made sure his touch remained gentle against her nape as he caressed her satin roots. “So, I always thought that it was enough just to tolerate it. I guess I just expected you to understand that I wouldn’t stick around for these things if it didn’t mean something to me all this time.”

When her expression warmed with a faint smile, his lips curved to match. “I always wanted this to last,” he admitted in a dull whisper. “If not between all of us, then at least you and him.” He raised his fingers and combed them against her scalp as she closed her eyes and just revelled in his tenderness. “You two are something special when you’re together, but I was so afraid something bad was gonna happen. He’d break your heart, or you’d break his arm. That’s why I wanted to be there…”

After his eyes sank, that was when Neirah reached for his face, releasing her robe to sag in the center as she touched her hands to his cheeks. “You’re lying.”

Masaomi’s desolate gaze slowly slid into his peripherals, where Yō continued to nap off his unexpected experiences that morning. “Yeah,” he admitted bleakly. “It doesn’t matter why I wanted to be here, though. There’s just… so much noise getting in the way. I don’t know what we are or what we’re doing.”

“Why do we have to know?” Neirah interrupted softly. “I didn’t ask you if we could live together to inspire some sort of existential crisis.”

“It’s just how I work,” Masaomi muttered dryly. “I need to understand things. There has to be a reason why or why bother? Because it feels good just isn’t a satisfying enough answer for me.”

“Does it feel good?” she cooed softly.

Masaomi closed his eyes, trying to pull away from her embrace by turning his head as his teeth milled. “That’s the problem. I don’t know,” he muttered. “It doesn’t feel bad.”

“Then what’s wrong with feeling ‘not bad’ a little more regularly?”

“You don’t understand,” he whispered. “Neirah, couples move in together when they’re satisfied in a romantic relationship.”

“But we’re not a couple.”

He wasn’t quite sure why that naïve admittance made his stomach roil.

“We’re a trio.”

Masaomi was left looking exhausted as he pulled free of her hands to rub at his knotted brow. “You can’t… say that so casually.”

“Are you not satisfied?” she insisted.

That part hurt a little. Could he not be satisfied without someone else suffering?

With a saddened hum, Neirah gently laid her fingertips against Masaomi’s hunched shoulders and gave them a firm rub. “Maybe we’re not your idea of romantic, then, so if you want to describe us as anything, we’re just three friends.”

“Inseparable,” he muttered weakly. “Three inseparable friends.”

“That makes a difference, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah… it does,” Masaomi admitted humbly. “And I suppose it wouldn’t be strange for inseparable friends to live together, but most of my childhood I was overlooked by my friends, my family. Now this…” He straightened moderately and tried to steady the nervous tone of his voice as it divulged previously withheld secrets. “It gets overwhelming sometimes, and I just feel like I need space to figure myself out.”

Neirah cocked her head to one side with a small tut. “And you don’t think we’d respect that? We could go out for dinner or take a walk.”

Then, Masaomi turned the brunt of his focus on a slumbering Yō. “I don’t want to end up like him,” he admitted frankly. “So desperate for it that I lose all sense of decency. When I’m with you two, I always feel like I’m under pressure just to keep up. You make me want something that I have no interest in because you make it look so appealing. I want to belong. I want to have a place between you.” Despite Yō encouraging him to talk more about what he wanted than what he didn’t, he couldn’t help but shudder with the cold chill in the room when his expression contorted with grief. “I don’t want to be left behind.”

“You fool…” She whispered her concern tenderly against his crown as she reached for him in a kind embrace, holding him against her chest. “I already promised you that would never happen.”

“I thought that’s what I wanted, at first,” he quietly confessed. “I wanted you to find a nice guy to settle in with… Maybe two or three so you had a spare when Chitose and I hunted them down and made them disappear.” Masaomi wished he could sound angrier, more dangerous than he did as he admitted everything that had been weighing him down. “But even then, there were still times that I never wanted you to leave me…” With bared teeth, he choked on the sentiment as he buried his devastated scowl against her damp bosom. “I hate being alone.”

“Masa-kun…”

It only hurt more when she whispered the gentle coo against the top of his head like a mother holding a child. “When did you start calling me that?” he pleaded. “When did I let this go so far that there was no turning back?”

“Sometimes not knowing is okay, too,” she reassured him fondly. “But if it will help you, I’ll try to find the answers.”

“I’ve got a couple more things for you to figure out, too, while you’re offering,” he muttered meekly against her skin. “I’d kill to know what unsatisfying experience was responsible for breaking me.”

Neirah’s grip on the cynical man tightened. “You’re not broken,” she whispered. “Neither am I, neither is Yō.” When she heard Masaomi grumble to the feeling of the mattress shifting, a gentle song filled her sultry whisper as she continued her petting. “Mmn, maybe Yō is a little broken.”

“You guys are being jerks again…”

It was likely because Masaomi’s face hid that his satisfied smile shifted so instantaneously to the sound of Yō’s edgy rumble against his ear. “I think he’s more than a little broken.”

Yō offered the pair an unenthusiastic snort as he fondled Neirah’s sopping locks. “Whatever,” he grumbled. “Unlike you two, it doesn’t bother me if I’m fucked.”

“I never would have guessed,” Neirah purred.

“Definitely more than a little gay,” Masaomi muffled spiritedly.

“Oi, when’d you get so optimistic anyways?” Yō sassed impishly. “You always used to say how cursed you were and how everything was unfortunate.”

“Everything I touched fell to misfortune,” she firmly corrected.

“So, you’re the one who broke me,” he pestered. “Seems pretty arrogant of you to tease me for it when it’s all your fault.”

“Excuse you,” she pouted over the sound of Yō’s devious snickers. “There is nothing unfortunate about what we’ve become.” When she realized that Masaomi didn’t want to come out from hiding just yet, she sighed softly and raised her hand to the back of Yō’s head. She massaged his tousled waves affectionately for a moment before pulling him close and dusting a shallow kiss on his rosy lips. They felt dry against her embrace, and the way he shifted against her pressure cautioned her that he was sensitive to her touch. That part made her nervous when joined with the look of guilt on Masaomi’s face like he was responsible. “Whatever the case may be, let’s just forget I said anything,” she whispered. “I don’t want you boys fighting anymore.”

A frisky growl sounded in Yō’s throat to feel stimulated so sweetly. “Is that what you think we were doin’ in here?”

“No, don’t forget,” Masaomi interrupted upon straightening. He sat straight and brought his two, spirited lovers into his sights, considering their devotion as they brightened the dull room around him. It didn’t matter how cold and rainy it was outside, no matter where they were, or at what time of year, he always felt a warmth somewhere deep inside that reminded him that it was okay to trust them. It was okay to love them. “I want to talk about it.”

“Living together?” Neirah prompted nervously. “Really?”

“Really,” he hesitantly whispered. “First of all, before you even think about it, someone’s gotta come up with a way to tell Kusanagi-san, because I can’t take the anxiety of them figuring us out anymore.”

“That one’s easy. He already knows.”

Yō looked at Neirah vacantly with a single snort. Then he turned to face where all colour had drained from Masaomi’s face. “Priceless.”

“What the hell do you mean he already knows?!” Masaomi raged.

Neirah cocked a brow at him wryly. “Honestly? It’s been over a year, and you didn’t expect Onii-chan to figure us out?”

“B-but… I was so careful!”

“I wasn’t,” Yō jeered mischievously.

“How are you still alive!?” Masaomi raged.

“Anything else?” Neirah’s azure eyes were bright like stars as she smiled hopefully at him. “Tat-chan and Onii-san know about our get-togethers. Otherwise, Tat-chan would worry too much about me not coming home for tea and senbei.”

Masaomi’s heart was racing, and he was having a hard time determining whether it was with fear or relief. He was glad that they wouldn’t face serious repercussions. But at the same time, was there really anything holding them back? The thought made him nervous. He was running out of excuses.

“And second, I want to know what this… what all of this means to you two,” Masaomi whispered meekly. “When it started, it was to fill in the blanks when Chitose got himself rejected. There was always the chance that one day, he’d get lucky.”

“Oh please,” Yō growled. “You know that was never really a-”

After reaching out to cover Yō’s mouth with her small palm, Neirah’s smile broadened despite the strained nerves that caused her toes to curl. “But you want us to be faithful. Is that right?”

He felt ridiculous. Masaomi couldn’t help but compare their circumstance to a proper relationship despite there being no way that something so strange could be considered normal. Unfortunately, his approach to the topic made him seem pouty. “I just don’t want to move in with you two freaks only to have someone else show up one day and think just anyone can join.”

Neirah’s eyes bubbled with tears when she watched Yō drop his arm around Masaomi’s neck. He admitted to considering her offer, and the sentiment was overwhelming. He seemed edgy and aggravated, but he truly was considering a future between them.

Yō’s sinister beam was crooked as he crowded Masaomi’s scowling frame, leaning in to bite the edge of his ear as he sassed his host. “Fine by me, but you gotta ask me out properly.”

“Get over yourself,” Masaomi snarled.

“No, he’s right,” Neirah muffled in a drowned tone filled with soppy emotion. “Masa-kun, you were saying you were confused about what we were or what we were doing. So, Yō is right.” Then, after shifting on the edge of the bed, she turned to face the startled man squarely. She took his hand between both of hers, teardrops reaching her smile as she drew his fingers to her lips. “Would you be my boyfriend?”

H-hah?!

Neirah’s heart melted when she raised her eyes to his horror, watching shades of crimson highlight his skin in ways she’d never seen before. “I promise that so long as you agree, you’ll never be alone.”

After cocking a brow slyly, Yō captured Masaomi’s other hand with one of his and raised Masaomi’s boiling knuckles past his shoulder to his lips. “And I promise that I’ll only put Nei-chan’s ass prints on the wall.”

“Charming,” Neirah crooned.

Yō closed one eye as he gently kissed Masaomi’s hand reminiscent of how Neirah had, leaving their flustered lover to try and sort out his feelings over their devotion. “Plus, what Neirah said,” he murmured kindly. “You shouldn’t have to be alone.” And for good measure, the mischief melted from his hopeful expression, and he touched the trembling knuckles to his lips for a long embrace. “Please, Masa?”

He didn’t know why the sudden mawkish swell of comfort felt so unfamiliar, the tenderness foreign to him even though he’d noted its presence many times before. Suddenly, he felt ridiculous for making them come right out and say it. Neirah was right. They didn’t need labels. There was no reason why things had to change, why they had to feel like anything other than what they indeed were.

They were three inseparable friends who had fallen in love.

After jerking his paw away, Masaomi locked his jaw and covered one side of his face. “B-bastard,” he stammered out weakly.

A concerned Neirah reached out and gently wiped his tears away with her baggy robe sleeve. “Please don’t cry,” she whispered. “Would it make you feel better if I let you watch Yō make love to me?”

“I think he’d like that,” Yō instigated roguishly. “Yeah, he’d love it for-”

Suddenly, Neirah and Yō yelped in perfect harmony when Masaomi reached out and palmed both of their heads, drawing them in to bump with his own. “I have more,” he rushed fretfully. “I refuse to clean up after the two of you. Friday night is date night, and we get to take turns deciding what to do. Not every morning has to begin with orgasms. I want to shower alone at least once a day. And if I say I need space-” He closed his eyes, knotting his fingers against two sets of satin roots as he clung to their patient understanding. “… just ignore me,” he whimpered. “This is what I need, I think.” He opened teary eyes and smiled. “It’s what makes me happy.”

Neirah was just as choked as she slowly tipped her head back, dusting his bangs aside to place a whisper-soft kiss on his brow. It was adorable that he needed to be sure of their status, their future. Maybe that particular direction was a nice reprieve to keep them grounded while she and Yō frolicked about aimlessly as if every day were a fantasy. “I told you that this is love, too,” she susurrated lovingly. “And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

A relaxed groan rattled in Yō’s chest as he rested his eyes with a soft smile. “So, whose place are we keeping?”

All hesitation had drained from Masaomi’s face before he spoke. “Mine, obviously.”

And Yō seemed affronted. “But I have so many good memories in mine.”

“I think that’s why we’re not keeping yours,” Neirah crooned. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll make plenty of new memories right here.”

“You guys are jerks,” he scowled bleakly. After reaching out and pouncing on Neirah’s giggling frame, he dragged her beneath him and pinned her to the bed to suffer his wrathful kisses. “But you’re my jerks.” His smile broadened as Neirah squirmed beneath the kisses he dusted over her pulse. “Okay, then. Let’s start right now while Masa takes his one shower alone for the day.”

A guttural moan stole Neirah’s airway as Yō playfully nuzzled his way beneath her robe, exposing her naked bust to the chill of the brightening apartment. Once her skin revealed, he placed a particularly long kiss against the tribal scrawl on her right heaving breast. “I can’t believe my first boyfriend is two people,” she sang.

Masaomi’s sullen tone remained flat as his vacant stare pierced the distorted horizon. “I can’t believe I’m in a homoerotic polyamorous relationship.”

Neirah reached out to him, tugging lightly on his pinky to try and encourage him to celebrate with his lovers. “A-ah… About not labelling ourselves.”

“Mn, that’s hot,” Yō mischievously susurrated.

“You’re not helping,” Neirah rebuked scathingly.

“No, it’s fine…” Masaomi turned and leaned over Neirah, horizontally angled when he dusted her bangs from clinging to her brow so he could kiss the sakura-scented skin below. “You two get each other out of your system. I really need a shower.”

As he pulled away, Neirah reached above her head, whimpering lightly as her grabby fingers beckoned his return. When he obeyed, she drew him into an awkward upside-down kiss through her smile. It was shallow and neat, just like Masaomi enjoyed, and when they parted ways, her loving smile broadened. “I love you.”

Her smile remained gentle, even as Masaomi was staggered by her sweet tut.

A playful snort brightened Yō’s expression as he cocked a brow sardonically towards his flustered mate. “Heh, love you, Masa,” he teased.

As expected, Masaomi’s expression hardened when Yō tried to make a joke of Neirah’s genuine feelings, but the unexpected came in the form of Masaomi reaching for the back of Yō’s head. After raking his friend forward, he placed a hard and impulsive peck on the startled man’s lips. When he pulled away, he flashed him a menacing smirk. “Love you too.”

The blissful giggle to sing from Neirah beneath Yō only caused his face to ignite a deeper shade as he watched Masaomi step over the mess they’d made in the entryway.

“Lookie~ You’re blushing, Yō,” she hummed lovingly.

He bowed his head, giving it a feisty shake to keep her restrictive fingers from clutching either side. “Don’t get cute,” he growled possessively. “I’m gonna be Masa’s number one girl.”

Curiously, Neirah cocked her head to one side. “Eh? But you’re a boy?”

He reminded her that as he ground his arousal against her flat, satin-covered belly with a hungry groan. His lips covered hers wholly, their tongues flirting as indulgently as he loved. “We finally got ‘im…” he murmured proudly between kisses.

Her eyes sparkled as she cupped Yō’s face and dotingly pecked at his rosy expression. “I told you we just had to be patient.”

“Yeah… was definitely not patient,” Yō instigated lowly.

Suddenly, Neirah’s expression hardened, and the playful kisses came to an abrupt halt. “Yō… What did you do?”

“He just needed a little nudge, is all.”

“I swear on King-sama’s flame if you scare him off-”

“Relax,” he interrupted through a tender kiss. “He’s not goin’ anywhere, ‘cause without him, we’d be homeless. He just doesn’t have it in him to give up on us without a fight.”

“Homeless…” Neirah’s smile grew tender as she reached up and pushed his wavy bangs from his brow. “We would, wouldn’t we?”

After lowering his kisses to her neck, Yō raised his breathless whisper to her right lobe. “Do you love me too?”

“Yes,” admitted proudly. “I love you too.”

(S) Don't Call Me Baby

Ever since Saburōta could remember, Neirah was there. As far as he was concerned, his life began the day he met her and followed her to HOMRA, where he’d been ever since. But as much as he wanted to ignore his past, it seemed like loving her wasn’t an option until he’d accepted it.

(Notes on the feelings inspired by Neirah and Saburōta’s first encounter)

-Specials-

Red Love

Valentine's Day Special

Once Upon a Time in Nagasaki

Summer Special

In the End

Song-Piece in Progress

-Shorts-

((Our Red))

Hi! My name is...

A Lion's Pride

Blank at First Sight

Square Root of a Strange Love

Howl at the Moonless Sky

Still Warm

Bourbon and Boys

Thunder Roars Too

Off-Key

-Alternate Universe-

Cold Blooded

Caution: Dark and erotic with no reference to many major plot details during the intended timeline.

May contain graphic depictions of violence and mature subject matter.

Red and Blue clan only w/ many inferred pairings. Graphic depictions of romance omitted.