Sun Shower

i just colored this old mixi that i drew during my vacation

@sunkinged

The soccer field Taiyou frequented wasn’t exactly on the way back to his apartment, but occasionally, including today, Akira was okay changing up his routine to stop by. Although their relationship was still fairly new at this point, the sense of camaraderie Akira felt with Taiyou ran deep. The bond he’d forged with the golden-haired kid had already carved such an immutable impression into his heart. Put simply, something about Taiyou resonated with Akira in such a way that he felt almost compelled to trust the boy with everything. Such feelings had been what had urged him to so readily join the gold clan, and so far he certainly had no regrets in that regard.

When they’d played themselves to the point of exhausting what meager funds they had left, they bid each other farewell and everyone went their separate ways. They didn’t have much money to begin with so the sun was still up, bearing down mercilessly overhead. It was perfect soccer playing weather. He couldn’t pass this chance up! And he had time to kill! Well, he should be getting back and doing his homework but he was fairly sure he could knock it out in a few hours. 

Taiyou headed straight to his normal haunt outside of the school island field, and that was the one located in the Shizume City Park. It was a huge grounds with a baseball field, skate park, and yup, you guessed it, a soccer field. Equipped with his soccer ball, Taiyou kicked the ball around, testing different runs or techniques. Even by himself soccer was still fun. He really couldn’t get enough of it. 

He wasn’t the least bit worn out given that his King status had the nice perk of prolonging his stamina but he still felt it was time for a break when one of his clansman called out to him. It was the older male he’d met a while back. They hadn’t known each other for long but Taiyou could instantly tell he was a good person. He was surprisingly intuitive and he felt that the older male was somewhat similar in that regard. “Oh!” Taiyou smiled wide, running up to the male and then stopped, frowning. “You’re older than me. It’s kind of weird if you address me that way. Just Taiyou is fine.”

@sunkinged​

A sigh left her lips, albeit silently. It wouldn’t be proper if she let it be heard by the one on the other end of the phone line, but the conversation at hand was the same tired spiel she’d heard countless times before. The day’s plan and schedule all laid out for her, reminding her that she needed to attend a lecture later, and that she needed to check on another shipment. 

Really, she’d wanted to take today as a day to relax, so she could have some time to herself but that didn’t seem to exist. Well, the lecture was important and she did enjoy her studies, but she’d just made her rounds yesterday. Surely she didn’t need to check on them every time.

“Yes, I understand,” she stated briskly. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to be going. There’s something I’d like to take care of beforehand. Yes. Goodbye.” Once she was finally free and the call had ended, she let out a much louder, more exhausted sigh. At the very least, she was going to get some time to herself today before class.

She noticed then that the path she’d been walking had brought her by a sports field, where it seemed some sort of game was going on. Or perhaps it was practice. She was familiar with it, vaguely, though she deemed it a bit confusing, since it seemed to have two names depending where in the world you were, and one even belonged to another sport entirely. Her phone buzzed again then, drawing her out of her thoughts as she grimaced. “Oh now what?”

Though in the moment her attention was drawn away from the game, she didn’t even get the chance to draw her phone before a warning shout sounded, and she was too late in turning to look, resulting in a stray ball careening into her face.

Taiyou did his best to keep his powers in check so that they could have a fair and honest session, but he ended up kicking the ball much, much harder than he intended. He wasn’t one for holding back and he made sure to give everything his all. It was a disrespect to the game if he didn’t. Even still.. he really didn’t need to send the ball careening into outer space. “Ah, there it goes..” his teammate held out a hand over their eyes to visor them from the blaring sun. 

Taiyou’s eyes widened when he noticed that the ball seemed to be making a pit stop before space however. Instead of heading to the moon it was aiming directly at a passing girl. Oh, no. A knot settled into the pit of his stomach and he lunged forward as if the act would help his shouts sound louder. “Hey!! Watch out!!” 

It was too late as the black and white ball connected to the female’s face. With all the force he had mustered into that shot there was no way she wouldn’t be in for a world of hurt. If she was still standing after that he’d commend her fortitude, but for now his priority lay in immediately rushing to her side. His teammates followed suit but kept their distance as soon as Taiyou made it to the girl’s side. 

Narihisago’s guess, while formed from information he had gathered from talking to Taiyou, was still just that: a guess. And he hadn’t entirely expected to be right. So when Taiyou confirmed his suspicions, Narihisago wasn’t sure how to process it. He was so young, still. Was he going to be okay managing an entire clan? He still had his youth to live out, and would this responsibility force him to cut those years short? Narihisago’s racing thoughts were themselves cut short by the young king’s display of power, galaxies and planets forming and swirling about.

The sight was breathtaking, and Narihisago watched as the small celestial bodies were manipulated by Taiyou. He wondered what the extent of the Gold King’s power was, but judging from Taiyou’s demeanor in the alley and how he spoke about it, he could safely assume it was much, much stronger than this show Taiyou was putting on for him now.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Narihisago responded, waving a hand dismissively. “I don’t want a fight. I wouldn’t want you to fight either. As for why I approached you, you could say I was concerned about you.” He paused for a moment to consider his words. “You seemed to be around my daughter’s age, and I wouldn’t be very pleased if Scepter 4 had been bothering her,” he elaborated. “Nothing more.”

As Narihisago spoke, Taiyou shifted on his seat and planted both feet on Saturn’s rings, his expression serious for once. “I see... So it’s like that, huh..” Taiyou let out a heavy exhale as if he had been holding it in for a long time and then smiled. He knew he could take care of himself but he still didn’t want conflict of any kind and something told him he could believe the stranger’s words. He was relieved that there wouldn’t be a fight.

“Your daughter is lucky to have a nice dad.” His smile softened and he lapsed into silence momentarily before speaking again. “I think.. Scepter 4 isn’t bad.. They’re just doing their job.. But it’s bothersome, you know? I didn’t ask to be a King..” Sure, the powers were fun to play with every once in a while but that was something Scepter 4 had drilled into him. His powers were not a toy. He also knew the responsibilities that came with it the moment the rabbits showed up. It all felt too big for him - no, overwhelming.

“But I’m grateful.. If I hadn’t become a King I might not have been able to play soccer anymore.” He placed a hand on his chest over his heart and thought about all the times in the past where he had overexerted himself and would become a crumpled heap on the floor, too pained to do anymore activity and then promptly carted off back to his hospital room. This power had fortified his weak, sickly body.

While Anna knew quiet days didn’t last quite too long, specially at the bar Homra, she wasn’t exactly expecting the silence to be broken with literal glass from one of the windows. Hearing what sounded like a ball bounce onto the wood floor shortly after the glass shattered, she turned around on the barstool to see what even had happened.

Blinking at the kickball on the floor and the window, she was confused where a kids toy like that would even come from since the park was a good bit away from this area. The answer to that though appeared in the form of a boy walking into the bar.

“….Were you the one who broke the window?” Anna questioned a bit curiously, cause while it was definitively possible a friend of his could’ve been the culprit by accident, it was still confusing why a group of kids were even playing out side this area. “It’s probably good Izumo is out today if so, he gets furious even if just the table is scuffed”

“Ah!?” At the sound of a soft, female voice, Taiyou nearly jumped a foot in the air and spun around, his hands now clutching the ball tighter as he searched the room for the source. Seated upon one of the stools in front of the bar was a young girl who looked similar in age to him. He must have been preoccupied with his thoughts to have overlooked her upon entering the bar since there’s no way he wouldn’t have noticed that snow white hair.

“... Yeah, it was me..” Taiyou hung his head, thinking that the girl would scold him or immediately go tell someone. The scolding never came but he did flinch at the mention of who he assumed was the bar master and confirmed that they’d be angry. “Right..?” He sighed, smiling bitterly. “I’ll apologize to the owner properly and pay for the damages. Do you mind if I wait here until they get back..?”

Now that he thought of it.. This was a bar, right? But now there were two young children in there without any adults. And what was with this girl? She appeared to know the owner so was she related in some way? The more he stared at her the more he felt a strange pull towards her. He couldn’t explain why but she felt different from others. The feeling felt familiar but different. Whatever it was it made him curious about her.

Narihisago’s common sense told him that following someone through an alley wasn’t exactly something smart to do, but it posed more of a threat to this kid than it did to him. To him, this meant that either the teenager was reckless, or incredibly confident that Narihisago wouldn’t or couldn’t hurt him. Given his ragged appearance, he assumed the teenager acted with the latter in mind.

“Ah.” Narihisago had let his manners slip from his mind entirely. It’d been a very long time since he’d needed to introduce himself to anyone. “Thank you for cooperating, Taiyou-kun.” Cooperating being a loose term; it felt more like Taiyou was playing with him by this point. “Apologies for not introducing myself sooner.”

“I’m Narihisago Akihito. Yes, I am a detective,” he explained before pausing and frowning. “Or I used to be.” He shook his head a little bit, trying not to focus on the cause of his dismissal from the force. “And yes. I am a strain.” He didn’t see any need to hide it from Taiyou, since the youth was a strain himself.

They exited the alleyway, and Narihisago hummed as he thought. “As for why they’re monitoring you so closely…” He considered what he knew so far: Scepter 4 kept much closer tabs on Taiyou than they did on your typical strain, the people at Scepter 4 had a lot in their subconscious about Taiyou, and Taiyou had the utmost confidence that Narihisago wouldn’t hurt him, or at the very least that he could handle himself if Narihisago tried anything. So he was either an incredibly powerful strain, or….

“Are you a king, maybe?”

“You got it right in one go! Nice going!” He did promise him a reward. Taiyou wasn’t sure if a display of his power would be sufficient but his friends really seemed to enjoy it and he really liked it too. The scenery around them changed in an instant. Instead of a blue sky and a bright sun shining through trees, their surroundings were replaced by a starry sky. Streams of pink and purple light formed nebulas in the distance. Taiyou’s soccer ball floated into the air and changed form to resemble a mini sun without the blinding brightness and heat. 

“Don’t worry. It’s not enough to activate my sanctum so they won’t come. Oh, don’t worry about anyone else. If I don’t want them too no one can see or hear us.” His smile softened as he raised his hand under the miniature sun, sphere like shapes multiplying behind it until they formed miniature versions of the rest of the planets. The miniature solar system floated there for a moment then began lazily floating towards Narihisago and rotated around him as if he were now the sun.

“I’m the new Gold King. My predecessor, Daikoku Kokujoji, was a really big deal, I guess. When they found out I was the new Gold King they really freaked out on me. But honestly I’m not really interested in any of it.” The teen chuckles a bit at this and raises his hand, flicking out a finger and an unseen force plucks Saturn away from Narihisago and towards him. He makes the planet a bit larger and sits on it, hugging one knee as one of his feet rests on the rings.

Clearly, this kid was expecting some other question, judging by the quick and fleeting look of hope in his eyes. Narihisago nearly missed it, and he felt a little bad for ruining whatever had jumped into his mind.

Narihisago listened to the teenager’s answer and gave a short laugh. He could definitely relate to finding them annoying, that’s for sure. “No, that’s alright. You could say that I’m… acquainted with them in a similar way. I’d rather not deal with them right now, either.” Though Narihisago had no doubt that there was a blue clansman nearby regardless, just to ensure that he didn’t cause trouble.

“I was just wondering why they’d be so concerned with someone your age,” he explained. He didn’t see fit to add that his curiosity was because he was a little worried about the kid being tangled up in Scepter 4, nor did he think he should reveal he only knew about it because he sifted through some of their memories. “Seems like a waste of resources considering how many of them have been approaching you. What’s your name?”

“Haha, right?” Taiyou grinned, leaning his head to the side. He dropped his hands to his side then kicked the ball up into the air, grabbing it with his hands and tucking it snugly under his arm. “Mm.. I could tell you. But not here. Let’s go this way.” With his free hand, Taiyou pointed to an alley on his left. “There’s a park through there.”

He gave the older male a smug smile then stepped first into the alley, trusting that the man would follow him. It was big enough for two to pass through with plenty of room to spare though it appeared much darker than where they were on the street. With the buildings stretched so high towards the sky it was no wonder that they’d blocked out the light from the sun. “Isn’t it customary to state your name first before asking others?” He gave the other a playful smile but decided to answer anyway.

“Amemiya Taiyou. Just Taiyou is fine. Are you a detective or something? Maybe a strain?” The teen looked straight ahead as he walked, pleased to see the familiar green of trees and grass in the distance. “I figure if you’re asking a lot of questions you’d be a detective right? And Scepter 4 only bothers themselves with strains. I guess you could be a kidnapper too.” He wasn’t at all phased if that last part was the case.

Narihisago wasn’t exactly prepared for the kid’s response. Then again, he didn’t have a read on how he was going to act at all, since the information he was able to glean from the minds of the blue clansmen didn’t exactly give him enough to work with. Plus, he had to admit his approach was a little blunt. He wasn’t exactly used to conversation anymore.

“I didn’t intend to fuss at you,” Narihisago responded. He remembered that he should probably make a little more clear that he didn’t intend to be unfriendly in any capacity. He gave a small smile, hoping to appear less… as he usually did. In addition to his usual tired and unapproachable appearance, the young teen didn’t know him, and being a dad himself, Narihisago had no doubt that his status as a stranger didn’t aid his credibility. That was the most important thing any parent taught their kid.

“You looked like you were having fun, so I apologize for interrupting. I’ll try not to take too much of your time.” Plus, the orange-haired youth seemed irritated with him as it was, so Narihisago figured he should just get to the point. “Do you know anyone at Scepter 4?” 

The smile from the stranger served to make the young male less tense, but none the less wary. “Oh.” Taiyou blinked. What would a stranger want with him if not to tell him off for kicking a ball around? Unless..?! Maybe he was a talent scout?!

Taiyou’s face lit up like the sun but then darkened, flinching at the mention of Scepter 4. Was he one of them..? He wasn’t dressed in blue. “Why.. do you want to know..?” With the soccer ball still under foot, Taiyou rolled the ball around without letting it go. 

@sunkinged

Being constantly monitored was something Narihisago had come to live with. When he was in prison, he was closely watched by the guards. Now that he was released with certain conditions, he knew was being watched by someone in Scepter 4.

But Narihisago watched, as well. There wasn’t much else for him to do, outside of thinking, which he did way too much of as it is. He didn’t entirely trust Scepter 4, and he brushed shoulders with some of the clansmen in order to subtly get information.

Which is why when he noticed a young kid with bright hair in the streets, he had noticed them. He remembered them from other peoples’ memories, flashes of their face, some words here and there. He still wasn’t sure why, but he knew this kid had been questioned by Scepter 4. This kid couldn’t have been any older than his daughter was… and maybe that’s what spurred Narihisago’s curiosity the most. What would Scepter 4 need from a kid?

Even now on his way home from school he was simply kicking the ball up and down in the air with his knees each time he took a step. It was certainly making the walk slower and gaining him unsavory side eyed glances from passerby’s but there was no way he’d let the ball out of his control. Perhaps that’s the reason why the older man called out to him, blocking Taiyou’s path and causing him to drop the ball. He gently stamped his shoe down on top of the ball to keep it from rolling away and regarded the man in front of him.