-The Red King-

The hub of this country, Nanakamado.

A town with a balance between great buildings lined up and green planted in a way that was planned. A gang surrounded by red light walked through it. It was the third king, Suou Mikoto’s red clan- Homura.

Leading at the front was a man like a lion.

Commuters in suits looked at them in a startled way and parted for them. But as they got closer to their destination, they stopped seeing those commuters. For Nanakamado to be so empty in broad daylight was rare… or really, it was an unnatural situation. Surely it was already known that Suou was bringing his clansmen to the Center. This was set up by the other side.

The golden clan who considered itself the administrators couldn’t involve the society that had nothing to do with things like ‘kings’ or "the slate’. 

Suou and company stopped in front of a sterile white building. Inside a gate with a sign on it saying Nanakamado Scientific Research Center, some blue clansmen could be seen standing as though to protect the building behind them. Va.s.sals who clothed themselves in blue uniforms, carried sabers, and had lost their king.

A barrier was put up around the building. Energy shining blue was woven into a wall like barbed wire. Across from the Center was a hospital with many civilians. Rather than to prevent Homura’s entry, the barrier was probably more for the sake of protecting the hospital from the aftereffects of what would come if a fight started. 

In response to the sight of Suou and company who had stopped in front of the gates, the blue clansmen protecting the front visibly tensed.

“S, stop!” From among the blue clansmen, one person spoke up. But, they were obviously wavering, and so was their voice. Homura had already completely stopped before being told. In front of the king and his army, which they were not able to stand against, it seemed as though they were completely nervous. Suou went "hmph’ and stepped into the Center.

“From here on is the golden clan’s territory! Red king! This is against the agreement!” The blue from before desperately raised their voice, but it seemed to just go over Suou’s head as he continued on in.

Without even looking at the hospital’s entrance, he went towards the courtyard. Going by how there wasn’t nearly enough people over there, the other side hadn’t thought much of the possibility of Suou and company attacking head on from the hospital side either.

They would barge directly into the hub of the Center- the research side.

The hospital side was mostly full of people being treated for being injured by those with abilities, or those with some kind of ailment (and if that ailment was unusual, they would research it at the same time). Those who had been harmed by Anna’s powers last night were probably also being treated here. They would have their scars cleanly healed, and if necessary the "Rabbits’ would blur those memories. In addition, in the case that the Strains taken by the center had families, it would also become camouflage. Up until now, Honami should have also seen Anna at the hospital side when she came to visit.

Right now, they had no business with that "front side’.

Suou and company walked towards the "back side’.

The border between the "front’ and the "back’. As they entered the yard, the blue clansmen were lined up.

At the very front of that were those blue twins. Yata clicked his tongue, dropped his skateboard to the ground, stepped on it, and as though to soothe his desire to fight that might explode any second he lightly knocked his bat against his own shoulders. Even in front of the red king, the twins didn’t lose move their white expressions.

“Red king, and his clansmen. This is your final warning.” Said one of the twins, black haired Minato Hayato.

“Even though you are a king, it won’t be forgiven for you to enter another clan’s territory without prior procedures  We request your departure.” Said the other twin, brown haired Minato Akito.

In response to the twin’s blunt warning, Suou glanced at them, then opened his mouth in an annoyed way.

“…We’re here to pick up one of us.”

“Are you talking about Kushina Anna?” Said Hayato. Suou didn’t answer, but that silence alone was enough of an answer. Hayato continued.

“She is a Strain who couldn’t control her own powers and harmed many people. This center has responsibility to take care of her and educate her.”

“You said she is one of yours, but Kushina Anna should not be a red clansman. It is not your place to do anything.” While raising their voices, the twin’s still spoke flatly. Yata was just a bit impressed. Even though they were creeps he wanted to beat up right away, he’d give them points just for how they didn’t shrink away in front of Suou despite being grunts.

“Mikoto-san, can I?” Forcing down his impatient feelings, Yata looked up at Suou. The corners of Suou’s mouth turned up very slightly. With that one faint, yet fearless smile, the flames within Yata’s body swelled.

“Yeah.”

In response to Suou’s short approval, Yata glared at the twins with an aggressive, gleaming smile. His bat heated up, and was surrounded by flames.

“Let’s stop with the formalities and get this going!” At Yata’s words, filled with impatient heat, the twins snorted. Beside Yata, Fushimi drew his knives intended for melee combat. The twins put their hands to their saber sheathes at the same time. Their thin eyes watched Homura, and they raised their voices together.

“All members, draw your swords!”

The blue clansmen behind the twins drew their swords at once. The sound of metal against sheathe resounded through the courtyard. 

Suou raised a low voice.

“Burn it up.”

In response to that, the first one to raise his fist towards the sky was Yata. Only a hair’s breadth later, the rest of the reds did the same.

“No blood! No bone! No ash!”

Homura’s voices were together as one. Using that as a signal to begin the battle, Yata kicked the ground. His skateboard flew. Higher, higher. The board’s wheels were surrounded by red light, the power he had received from Suou which was proof of Homura, and those flames left deep marks. The mark of Homura drawn on the bottom of the board shone with the sun behind it over the blue clansmens’ heads.

Yata dove right into the center of the blue clan’s lines as though to cut into it. The one who met him was one of the twins, Minato Hayato. Hayato’s blade stopped Yata’s board. Yata had expected that. He fearless turned up the corner of his mouth, twisted around in the air, and looked quickly across the blue guys.

From what Yata could tell, the ones who could /do it/ among these blue guys were just the twins. If that was the case, then it was his job to take on these guys. 

As though to get used to the feeling of his bat, Yata waved it once, then swung it. Red power moved from his hand to the bat and shined. Hayato dodged the swung bat and Yata blocked the power swung by Hayato with his bat. Behind him, Yata felt a different murderous intent. Since this was the third time, he didn’t panic even slightly. He didn’t so much as turn around, and just yelled.

“Saruhiko!”

From behind, he could hear the sound of metal connecting, along with someone clicking their tongue. Fushimi stopped the other twin, Akito’s saber with his knife. With an annoyed look on his face, Fushimi clicked his tongue again and slid his knife along his opponent’s blade. The red and blue auras mixed and caused great friction as they repelled each other. Fushimi backed up from the force and hit Yata’s back. At that point, he clicked his tongue a third time.

“…Don’t order me around, Misaki.”

“I keep telling you not to use my given name! I’m not ordering you, I just called my companion, right?" 

Fushimi repeated "companion’ in a whisper. Yata didn’t pay attention, left his back to Fushimi, and while concentrating on Hayato in front of him he spoke in Kamamoto’s direction.

"We’re taking these guys on!” Kamamoto immediately picked up on Yata’s meaning.

“Charge in! We’ll make a way!” Saying that as he ran, Kamamoto performed a lariat on two blue clansmen at once with both arms. The blues who took it head on went flying. Responding to Kamamoto’s voice with a shout, the other Homura members followed. They focused on one point, in order to make a hole in the middle of the blue clansmen lined up to protect the Center. 

Yata dodged Hayato’s sharply lowered blade, hit with his bat, moved through the air lightly on his board, and tried to lead Hayato away from the blue lines. At the same time, Fushimi also led Akito away from the lines… though it may have been more like the twins refused to let more than a specific amount of s.p.a.ce be created between them. 

“Minato brothers! Don’t let the formation crumble!” An older blue clansman who was fighting a member of Homura called out an order as though half crying for help, but the the twins paid no attention. Their eyes, underneath the cold surface, glittered with a light filled with heat. They drew murderous intent up and had eyes like innocently cruel children who were crushing ants while swinging their swords and pursuing Yata and Fushimi’s movements. 

Yata’s board danced, and he swung his bat down from mid air with all his might to be blocked by Hayato. Lowering his waist and bending back a bit painfully, he sent it flying off to the side. Even during the moment he was being pressed by Yata, Hayato’s eyes were sparkling. 

“Yata, right?” Asked Hayato.

“Yeah! Homura’s Yata- known as Yatagarasu!" 

Clang! Went Yata’s bat and Hayato’s sword as they connected loudly. At nearly the exact same moment, Homura’s members broke the blue formation at the middle. It was in the midst of a confused melee, but in that s.p.a.ce, there was a path from the courtyard to the research building. 

Suou, who had been standing around in a bored way with his hands stuck in his pockets until then, moved. He took one step forward  That alone made the feelings of all those present waver.

Homura felt excitement that their own king had begun to move, and pride that they were protecting the path he would walk. The blue clansmen felt fear towards the movements of an enemy they could not defeat, and panic that they would not be able to complete their responsibilities. Without paying any attention at all to either waver, Suou continued on leisurely. Kusanagi and Totsuka followed after him.

"R, reform the ranks! Protect the middle!”

“Don’t allow those thieves in!”

“Shut it!”

“We won’t let you get in Mikoto-san’s way!”

The yells from the blues and reds mixed, and the messy situation deepened. Within that, the twins facing Yata and Fushimi were not moved nor did they show any panic. They paid no attention to the red king who had begun to act, and were entranced only with the fight in front of them.

After countless strikes, the Minato brothers who had ended up facing Yata and Fushimi separately jumped away and landed in a position where they were right next to each other.

“…Is it okay for you guys to not do your jobs?” Yata said with a frown as he stood with one foot on his skateboard and with the right hand holding his bat lowered. Fushimi had a fairly large knife in his right hand, a throwing knife in his left, and he stood next to Yata.

Scepter 4’s job should be to prevent Homura from entering the Center. But these twins didn’t seem to be showing any interest in that responsibility.

“To cut the enemy in front of our eyes.”

“That’s our job.”

The twins split their lines between them. 

These two, who were probably the ones with the most power in this place, should normally have been handing out orders- or at least following an experienced leader’s orders from the front, and fight to hold back Homura defensively. And yet, these twins weren’t seeing anything but the fight in front of them. 

Fine then. Yata went "hmph’.

“Alright, let’s do this!”

“Don’t let the blood rush to your head.”

At the same time that Fushimi rained on Yata’s announcement, the sound of the Center’s entrance being destroyed resounded.