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The King and His Clansman

Fushimi Saruhiko felt lighter when finally, finally, he broke the 'surface'. Hirasaka Douhan supported most of Saruhiko's weight, her power pulsing around them, pushing them both through concretes and walls. Saruhiko noted that the dust from their final battle had barely settled. Behind him, the gaping maw that used to be the main entrance to the Green Clan's main hideout was crumbled in on itself, in the middle of the largest intersection in Shizume City. Like some kind of fate's sense of irony. He could see Scepter 4's clansmen (his fellow clansmen) had started the cleanup. He could even hear Lieutenant Awashima giving orders in the distance. The squadron scrambling like ants. Sirens blared, with the usual heavy boots hitting the concrete in a rush. The air felt stiffer, in a way similar to pedestrians rushing through morning. Saruhiko didn't like crowds. But he appreciated this after a whole month of silent basement and the pitter-patter of the Green clansmen around him.

"This concluded our business." Hirasaka spoke, Saruhiko whirled to the person behind his reason for surviving, eyes narrowing. He was proven right when Munakata Reisi, approached them in all his glory, a serene smile on his infuriating calm facade. Though Saruhiko noted, something in his stance had loosened as if he'd let go of some tensions. The Captain wasn't too injured it seemed. There was some blood on his temple and a bruise on his cheeks, and his glasses were missing but Saruhiko couldn't spot any severe injuries without demanding his Captain to strip in public.

Munakata nodded. If Hirasaka was offended by the lack of acknowledgement, she didn't show it. Or she didn't care. Saruhiko clicked his tongue. "The payment has been forwarded to your account. Thank you for your service."

She seemed to take that as dismissal, and with a nod (and a small mischievous twinkle in Saruhiko's direction), Hirasaka glowed green and sunk through the concrete the way they came. Saruhiko leaned back, letting his weight be supported by his hands.

"Mission accomplished." He drawled. Something in his chest had loosened. He felt like he could fall asleep there and nothing would combust. But the wound in his thigh twinged and he couldn't repress a wince. Which the Captain caught. The smile didn't waver, but his eyes darkened.

"Well done." He smiled. Munakata's eyes softened and there was something resembling warmth in him. It made him look less otherworldly. More human. Saruhiko glanced away first, to hide his flaming face.

"Though, noticably you need a medic, Fushimi-kun." Munakata's voice was heavier with disapproval.

He shrugged. The blood loss wasn't so bad. Saruhiko only felt a bit dizzy. Saruhiko clicked his tongue when Munakata's gaze refused to leave him.

"...Did Lieutenant give you that?" Saruhiko asked instead. Munakata did not look surprised by the abrupt change of topic. He inclined his head and touched his cheek (it would be an ugly blue purple soon and very noticable in a few hours).

"Yes, she was quite angry with me."

Saruhiko nastily rooted for Awashima. He thanked her in his mind for punching the Captain in Saruhiko's place. The man had been making questionable actions lately. After Suoh Mikoto to be precise. And Saruhiko was petty enough to be precise.

"Oh that's going to sting." He mocked. "Lieutenant must've felt very relieved."

Awashima's worried eyes hadn't been easy to deal with. It made something in Saruhiko itch. It worsened whenever they spotted more cracks in their Captain's Damocles Sword to the point Saruhiko was sure he had ants living in his chest cavities. They would crawl everywhere and seemed like they went faster until Saruhiko could barely see the swaying tip of the his Captain's Damocles anymore.

Munakata didn't seem phased by what he said. Though he looked suddenly curious.

"Are you going to have a turn too, Fushimi-kun?" The 'you've earned it after all' was unsaid and irritated Saruhiko so much he hissed at Munakata.

The Captain looked surprised then.

"No. For someone so smart you are dense, sir." To hold himself from actually trying to punch his Captain as well, which would've aggravated his leg, which was annoying, Saruhiko tore his pants into strips, methodically sorting them. He began cleaning up what he could. Munakata was still silent, likely waiting for his reasons. Saruhiko felt his blood pressure go up.

"You are the King." He explained. "Scepter 4 needs you."

Munakata's smile turned wry at that.

"The slate was destroyed. I'm not sure I am a King anymore, Fushimi-kun." He knelt down in front of Saruhiko and took a strip of cloth. He too began wiping some debris out of his wound. Saruhiko let him only because he was still mulling over to punch him or not the moment he got into Saruhiko's reach.

"No." Saruhiko said in a tone of voice he used to talk to small children. Not that he encountered small children often. "Why do I have to spell it out for you?!" And if his voice got a bit sharper, Saruhiko didn't care.

"Why do you think everyone has been going up and down even without being paid?!" He was pretty sure he was yelling right then, judging by Munakata's slightly alarmed eyes. "Don't make shit choices just because suddenly you want to atone or something! You have clansmen behind you!"

"We're not stupid. We choose to follow you, Captain." Saruhiko bit out. His face felt like someone lit a bonfire inches from his face.

In normal circumstances, he would've been congratulating himself for catching the unflappable Munakata Reisi off guard. Because Munakata's face looked like someone had told him he put a wrong piece in a perfected puzzle. But this time he just felt like he had been dragging an iron ball for months and had just chucked it at his problems. Saruhiko didn't realize how much it was bothering him until he yelled it to Munakata's irritating face. Saruhiko clicked his tongue, wrenching the fabric from Munakata's slack hands and began to roughly scrub at some of the more stubborn debris. The sting distracted him from having to look at Munakata.

Before he could get rid of this one persistent chunk of rock, Munakata's hand covered his. Saruhiko snapped his head up, accidentally meeting the object of avoidance. Munakata was smiling again. This time, his eyes were clearer. Saruhiko was sure the dust from the ruins behind him suddenly cleared and the clouds moved just right so the evening sun shined on Munakata, like somekind of a hero, blessed with the Gods above in video games. But for once, the sight didn't bother him.

BUT, Saruhiko was still so done with his King.

As if sensing Saruhiko's thought process, Munakata's smile widened into a grin.

"Thank you Fushimi-kun. Your words were touching."

Munakata might as well pushed the bonfire closer to his face if the burning in his face was any indication.

"I'll punch your face later, Captain." He muttered.

Munakata laughed.

"We'll talk more later, Fushimi-kun."

×××
Fandom: K Project
Timeline: K: Rising of Kings
Note: I kinda focused on Munakata and Fushimi a bit (you can either interpret them as a romantic/platonic relationship). Also maybe a bit OOC (okay... A lot)

Tbh, I'm not very knowledgeable about the show. Yes, I have watched and read some the show/manga but no, I am still not very knowledgeable in it. I'm sorry if I made a mistake somewhere up there (also English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry for any incorrect grammar/spelling too) (and, the dialogue wasn't very accurate either).

Thank you for reading this ^v^