ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ: ǫᴜᴇᴇɴs | ᴍɪsᴀᴋɪ ʏᴀᴛᴀ

2

The lethal ray's once again blinded me. In all fairness, I shouldn't complain, I never fully closed the blinds because there's something about waking up to natural light that's better than darkness. Checking the time on my phone, the joy of realising it was a Friday woke me up. I didn't work Fridays to Sundays so, strangely enough, I practically leaped out of bed, into the shower and then threw on a t-shirt and athletic shorts. Happily dancing towards the kitchen, past Hibiki's Love Chamber, I prepared a bowl of cereal and checked my phone. Apparently, overnight, some drama went down between the Red and Blue Clan yet again. Going by the witness photos, it was King against King. The same old shenanigans.

10am rolled around and I let myself out the apartment again, letting one of Hibiki's 'clients' in again. Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy, but he's just an absolute womanizer! Ladies love the white, soft locks and that charming smile. And I knew they were crazy for him, I could hear it. Anyway, I cruised around as usual on my Heelys because they're for absolute units like myself. Though, this time, I wasn't stopped by a crowd, it was by a guy with a vintage film camera. I stopped as he pointed the device towards me.

"Here we have a skater babe, almost like our Yata." He said, smiling. I chuckled and rolled my eyes.

"Flattered. Can I help you?" I asked, stepping closer to him, his camera never left my presence.

"You must be y/n? Izumo told me about you last night." I folded my arms and out my weight onto one hip, cocking a brow.

"Yeah, and really? What did he say?" I jested. He started walking, so I pursued, catching up to hear the answer.

"That you're good company and welcome anytime, he told us to keep an eye out. Anna had good feelings about you~" he turned his camera off and held it by his side, I glanced up at him. He had that typical pretty boy look, long blond hair over his glittery eyes "Oh how rude of me! I'm Tatara Totsuka, but you can call me Tatara! Pleasure to meet you, y/n."

"Pleasure's mine, Tatara. Oh and, who is this Anna? Is she the little girl with Homra?" I hated that I knew so much so I had to let off little. I really didn't fancy being accused of anything.

"Ah you know your stuff, eh? Yeah, she's our Strain. Heart of the family." We eventually ended up outside the Homra Bar, but without question, we both casually entered like we'd been long time friends.

"Welcome to Homra," Izumo greeted "Morning, y/n."

"Tatara, you seem more like the heart of Homra," I smiled at Izumo and nodded as a 'good morning'. I sat at the bar, Tatara next to me while I recognised Chitose and another bloke, who I assume was Shohei going by description given previously. I gave them a wave and continued with Tatara.

He pulled his camera out again and started filming again, "So y/n, tell us about your friends and family? What do you do for fun?"

I pondered for a bit, deciding what to reveal and not, what was more damaging, "Well, I'm a lifeguard at the sports centre, I live with my two friends, Hibiki and Ema and uh, yeah. I just skate around and piss around with some frenemies, really."

"Interesting, what are you're friends like? Are they part of any clans?" Shohei asked, I didn't notice all eyes were on me.

"Ema's quite distant, have to admit. She's a bit irritating with her negativity and poor outlook on things but she's good deep down, she has a heart. And Hibiki's a Vagician-" Chitose and Rikio burst into laughter, Tatara pulling a smile and Izumo lightly chuckling "So I try to get out as much as I can."

"Well, you're welcome here to hang with us, I'm sure Anna would appreciate a friend and Yata could use the opportunity, he sucks with girls, damn." Shohei smiled, giving me a thumbs up. You'd never think that a violent clan could be so warming, but I guess that's what keeps them together. They have a burning passion for family, something no other clan could have. A constant burning flame wherever they go, and each person has their own flame. The warmth of the company was different to me.
Little footsteps came patting down the stairs. The lolita dress of red and black twirled as Anna waddled over.

She pulled out her red marble and placed it in front of her eye, "Red. I see red." Was all she said.

"Okay..?" I questioned, looking at her confused.

"Are you a part of Homra, y/n?" She had such an innocent face, but I knew she had great power and knowledge behind it. It was probably why she was so precious. I shook my head. "Join us, please. You have a burning red. Mikoto will like you."

I took no hesitation to reply. "I'll think about it." The conversation was interrupted when Yata grumped into the bar again, murmuring until his eyes met mine. He then blushed and headed straight for the sofas, purely to avoid a conversation he sucked at.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Tatara asked him, pointing the camera at his face, to which he pulled his beanie over.

"Bastards beating up women again, who do they think they are?" Was what he ranted. We all just giggled at him, it was cute how respectful he was of women, to be honest.

That night, I said my goodbyes to Homra and took the usual walk home. Enjoying the pretty lights and the calm of it all. Oh, the smell of gasoline, bitter yet satisfying. I kept making my way towards my complex, but my footsteps gained an echo. I didn't look around, just kept walking. I stopped dead and turned lazily.

"What do you want, Saru?" I spat.

"Well that's a bit bitter, I came to warn you." His voice had such a snake to it, matched his personality. I really couldn't be bothered for him to kill the vibe.

"Warn me? You wouldn't, you must be ill." I turned and walked away, the breeze caressing my locks. He only seemed to follow me further, so once again I stopped to face him. He was a lot closer than I thought, how contagious.

"You're getting caught up in something that doesn't concern you, y/n. Don't get involved with us, and even if you do, Scepter 4 would benefit from you." I had no idea if he was convincing me or warning me but either way, he was a snake.

"I got involved when you and your clan of cretins took everything from people with what reason? A theory? What shame you brought to Scepter 4!
You took lives and hope from people, and it's insane how people now trust your clan after all the shit they've done. I hate you. Leave me alone." I spat venom at him. I was prepared for anything, adrenaline in my veins like heroin and this burning inside of me. He did nothing but chuckle and smirk at me. How infuriating.

"You've never been one to keep your cool, have you? What happened was in the past, we've redeemed ourselves now." The audacity. I turned away and continued to pace myself back home, sticking my middle finger in the air followed by a:

"Redeem my ass! Fuck you, monkey. Go die!" And after that, the world went back to burning in chaos around me.