Chapter 155: Totsuka Tatara

When Tatara regained consciousness once more, although his mind was gradually clearing, his heart still carried a strange, hazy sense of unreality, as if he had lost all track of time.

It felt as though just a second ago, he had been holding his beloved vintage DV camera, climbing up to the rooftop of the bar on a charmingly breezy night on a whim, simply wanting to capture some night views, and the next second...

What had seemed to him like a thoroughly ordinary chance encounter had subsequently become the prelude to the Grim Messenger's symphony. A single explosive gunshot had stripped away all his vitality.

The blood within him flowed out from the gunshot wound, carrying away his life force in warm gushes. In his gradually blurring vision, that strange white-haired youth wore a twisted and ferocious look of malicious glee, the corner of his mouth lifting as he responded to Tatara's previously friendly greeting...

"I am the Seventh King, the Colorless King. Waiting for someone here."

"A nice night? Ah, indeed... it is a nice night!"

—With those words finished, another gunshot rang out. Tatara felt a searing pain erupt from the wound. Following that, accompanied by a rapidly fading consciousness and a profound exhaustion, at the very moment he was about to plunge into total darkness, the last thought that surfaced in his mind was not something slightly bizarre yet entirely fitting for his personality like, *"Ah, so this is how I'm going to die, huh..."* but rather...

*"Oh my, now... King is going to be angry."*

—A final, lingering thought belonging to him alone, woven from a complex tangle of helplessness, regret, reluctance to part, and indulgent fondness.

Tatara had never imagined back then that he would ever have a moment to regain consciousness.

He forced his eyes open with effort. What greeted his vision was a very ordinary and normal hotel room.

The soft tactile sensation beneath him and the angle from which he could take in the entire layout of the room told Tatara that he was currently lying on a large bed in the corner of the room. Although he still suffered from a mild, inevitable dizziness as an aftereffect of severe blood loss, the wound inflicted by the unidentified strange youth had already been securely and properly bandaged. As long as he did not forcefully move his body, there was no overly sharp pain...

Closing his eyes for a moment, Tatara curved the corners of his lips. In this strange hotel room, which clearly held no other presence besides his own, he silently, with a tiny motion, smiled with boundless sincere gratitude and appreciation—

No matter who had saved him, anyway... thank you.

Outside the bedroom that was temporarily serving as Tatara's "sickroom."

Kurama, Hades, and their companions, who had been aware of the flaxen-haired youth regaining consciousness from the very beginning, had not rashly pushed open the door to appear before him right away.

This was naturally not only out of consideration for someone who had just suffered an attack that, had Kurama not intervened to treat him, would have been nearly one hundred percent fatal, thus choosing to give him more time and space for solitude and to calm his emotions. To a greater extent, it stemmed from Kurama's desire to see what the truest reaction of this Red Clan officer named Totsuka Tatara would be when he found himself alone after escaping the jaws of death.

—After all, his understanding of Tatara came merely from an anime he had watched long, long ago. In that anime, the character Totsuka Tatara had died at the very beginning; although he appeared several times in the memories of his comrades in subsequent developments, that was far from enough to fully and comprehensively display the entirety of this person before the demon fox.

And, "Since we are seeking cooperation, it is naturally best to know oneself and the enemy."

—Stroking his chin, Kurama had made this judgment.

Thus came about the current scene: Tatara lying in the bedroom with his emotions churning, while in the living room outside, Kurama, Hades, Mokona, the Sleep and Death Gods, and Diarmuid were huddled together, using His Majesty the Underworld King's powerful small universe perception to conduct a one-sided... er... observation (?) of the youth.

As the expressions on Tatara's face in the projection shifted from surprise to confusion, recollection, fright, and finally to calm serenity, Kurama raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and "secretly" whispered to Hades:

"Did you notice? This person isn't much different from the 'Totsuka Tatara' in my understanding."

—In other words, that Totsuka Tatara who appeared only a handful of times in the anime, exhibiting a wide range of interests and a gentle temper, yet possessing an incredible charm and approachability, unexpectedly stubborn and persistent in certain matters, looking utterly ordinary at a glance but proving strangely eye-catching upon closer acquaintance... that exact Totsuka Tatara was precisely the true appearance of this real, existing youth whom Kurama and the others had now encountered.

"This is getting a bit interesting."

The demon fox muttered softly.

One must know that although 2D and 3D existences are roughly similar on the whole, there are bound to be some minor differences of this or that sort.

Much like how many contemporary celebrity interviews, documentary autobiographies, and similar works involve a certain degree of embellishment and artistic exaggeration, the character presented through text and images, and the actual person existing in daily life, ultimately share the same origin yet differ to some extent.

In fact, even someone like Hades—who in the original Saint Seiya work was various kinds of ambitious schemer and incompetent coward (Hey!) who clearly sat upon supreme god-level divine power yet was easily defeated by a few mortals every time, but in reality was merely hiding behind the scenes manipulating a decoy while playing games with the original protagonists—such a situation could actually occur. This goes to show that sometimes relying on the cheat known as knowing the original work is not always entirely reliable.

Therefore, compared to that, Tatara's "consistency between appearance and reality" appeared all the more astonishing.

The demon fox was the first to stand up.

"If it's a person like this," he raised a hand to stroke his chin, "it wouldn't be entirely out of the question to be more candid with him about certain matters."

"At least, to prevent the King he values most from repeating... or rather, following the footsteps of the 'track of fate,' he would be quite willing to cooperate with our subsequent actions, wouldn't he?"

"That is not necessarily the case."

—Answering Kurama was Hypnos, who, after completely establishing his relationship with Hades, had also learned some details about Kurama's origins from His Majesty with Kurama's permission.

The golden-haired deity stood up right behind Kurama's movements, his slightly narrowed, brilliant golden eyes shimmering with fascinating, shallow ripples.

"Although it is a world where those said to be 'Kings' are all chosen by 'destiny' and are simultaneously those who govern 'destiny,' through our study of that separated spiritual body throughout the entire night yesterday, is it not difficult to find that the so-called 'fate' of this world is actually not entirely the same thing as the 'fate' we recognize?"

Pushing up the gold-rimmed glasses that had somehow perched on the bridge of his nose, the Sleep God academic aura was fully unleashed!

"Compared to the 'fate' in our understanding, this world's definition of 'fate' is much closer to a type of law."

"It chooses the King, favors the King, grants the King power and favor, and at the same time can be governed by the King—of course, within a limited certain range."

"Rather than calling it 'fate,' it is more appropriate to say this is simply a specific manifestation of this world's special energy laws. It is a thing of the same category as our 'small universe,' your 'Nen' and 'yoki' in Kurama's case, Sasuke and Naruto's 'chakra,' or Mokona's 'magic,' but with a different external manifestation."

"Against the backdrop of such a worldview, if you want to easily explain some of our goals to the person inside that room..."

"—It is simply not something that can be achieved by just being 'more candid with him.'"

"Either we use absolute force to forcefully suppress and 'persuade' the other party to submit, or... we explain everything completely and leave it to the other party's decision."

"We only have these two choices left of what we can do now."

"What do you think?"

"—Totsuka... Tatara?"

As the Sleep God's voice trailed off, everyone in the room turned their heads simultaneously to look at the bedroom door, which had been left with a tiny crack open (did you really dare guarantee you didn't know?) from which a sliver of white cloth was covertly exposed...

Behind the door, the flaxen-haired youth who had been called out smiled sheepishly. Without showing much awkwardness after his act of "eavesdropping" was exposed, he generously pushed the door open, steadied himself against the doorframe, and walked out carefully.

"Regarding this whole matter..."

"Could you explain it to me in more detail?"

As the youth spoke, he raised a hand to scratch his cheek as if he were quite troubled—

"Although, the first thing I should say after meeting you guys seems like it ought to be, 'Thank you for saving me'?"

With that, he blinked, innocent and troubled.

The atmosphere in the room, which had not been particularly tense or stiff to begin with, completely relaxed with a "pop," like a punctured balloon, at his self-deprecating remark.

***

"Hmm hmm~ So to summarize, you are people from another world. In your world, the world where I reside was projected into a 2D work based on some parallel universe theory, and then by some twist of fate, you were forced to begin a journey traveling through projected worlds just like the one where I am. In order to find the way back to your own world as soon as possible, you must constantly take action to interfere with and change the 'fateful trajectories' of these worlds—which is to say, the 'plots' of those 2D works projected in your world?"

"The way you phrase it makes it sound quite impressive."

—Not long after Tatara walked out of the room, he was invited to sit together in the living room. Kurama quickly summarized the cause and effect in a way Tatara could understand. Hearing this summary from the youth's lips, Kurama couldn't help but wear an expression of "the student is teachable," nodding in appreciation while casting a seemingly casual, sidelong glance at Thanatos...

"As expected of Totsuka-kun, your understanding is very accurate."

"............"

Deeply feeling that although he hadn't been explicitly named, he had somehow become the negative example, the Grim Reaper silently gnashed his teeth.

If he wanted to compliment someone, he should just compliment them; why drag him into it? He just didn't like wasting energy on thinking, it wasn't that he couldn't actually figure it out!

Clearly usually deep and elegant, putting on an act not a whit inferior to Hypnos, and appearing from afar as a qualified, aloof divine figure, Thanatos was for some reason exceptionally prone to bristling whenever Kurama provoked him!

Hypnos, who had lost count of how many times he had advised him on this matter, was utterly helpless.

He could only repeatedly watch his younger brother jump up and down in agitation provoked by the Underworld Queen, gently and meticulously soothe him afterward, while secretly harboring a tiny, unknown little thought deep in his heart—a bristling Thanatos really is quite cute... cough!

The Sleep God, who had accidentally revealed a bit of a fanboy face (Hey!), instantly switched back to a stern expression.

Thanatos slanted a slightly suspicious look at him.

The Sleep God calmly returned an unfathomable look.

The Grim Reaper, who could be considered rather dense in certain aspects, was easily fooled as a result. He naturally turned his head back and continued to glare fiercely at Kurama...

"—Puff."

—The demon fox, who had watched this whole interaction from start to finish, let out a tiny snort of laughter.

And the very second he let out that snort of laughter, the demon fox clearly and distinctly sensed that someone had reacted in the exact same way as he did!

His Majesty the Underworld King was unimaginably dignified (and a closet pervert), so naturally that couldn't be something he would do.

Diarmuid wasn't quite familiar enough with the Sleep and Death Gods; besides, even if he were familiar with them, given his personality, he wouldn't react that way.

Mokona was held in Kurama's arms; although it had been giggling quietly just now, it clearly wasn't the one who had snorted in laughter right along with Kurama...

After such elimination, the only possible candidate...

The demon fox turned his head, his clear gaze landing on the flaxen-haired youth who wore a gentle smile—

Their gazes crossed in the air for a moment, and then...

Amidst Thanatos's exaggerated stare—as if he had just witnessed something intensely horrifying—the red-haired demon fox and the handsome youth in the white shirt smiled at each other—

"Speaking of which... it seems I haven't officially introduced myself yet, how very impolite of me. My name is Totsuka Tatara. Kurama-kun, you can call me Tatara. I'm very glad to meet you, please treat me well from now on."

"Mm, just call me Kurama~ I'm also very glad to meet you, Tatara."

As the two spoke, they simultaneously reached out their hands, firmly clasping each other across the air...

"It feels like something thoroughly ominous has just happened. Am I the only one who thinks so!"

Thanatos suddenly shivered violently, turning his head to look at his unflinching, sadistic-sadistic older brother as if desperate for verification.

The golden-haired deity reached out upon hearing this, patting Thanatos's arm soothingly.

"It's just your imagination."

He said gently.

"............"

—Thanatos suddenly had a strong urge to smash a handful of Hirasaka volcanic ash right into his face!

Could you try giving an even more perfunctory answer!

Turning a blind eye to Thanatos's overactive (2) reaction stemming from his feral instincts being a bit too accurate, not far away, Kurama and Tatara were...

"So, Tatara, are you willing to assist us? To change the track of fate of this world."

—After a brief period of telepathic resonance (?), Kurama cut straight to the ultimate theme of this conversation.

Tatara lowered his gaze and pondered for a long time.

"Before that, could you tell me—in that 'track of fate' known to you, what is the final ending of King... the Red King, Suou Mikoto?"

Ultimately, he raised his head to meet Kurama's gaze. Although he looked calm, the ripples at the bottom of his pupils were swaying more violently than ever as he asked this.

Kurama smiled and locked gazes with him for a moment.

"I thought... the answer is something you already know very well, Tatara?"

—Deliberately slowing his pace, he gave a gentle reply.

***

A few minutes earlier.

Followed closely behind by Izumo, dragging Anna along, the Red King—accompanied by his entire household (?)—finally managed to reunite with all of his clan members under the occasional directions of his strategist.

After obtaining the ballistic test results for the two bullets that had shot Tatara from the visibly agitated Yata Misaki, along with the inferred possible supplier's name for the firearms that fired those bullets, the red-haired man casually lit a cigarette, held it in his mouth, and took a deep, heavy drag.

Not a single one of the restless Red Clan members stepped forward to urge him to make a quick decision.

They stood there quietly, forming a circle around their King, quietly awaiting the King's command.

Until the very last bit of the cigarette turned to ash, fluttering down into the air...

The red-haired man let out a low, regretful hum.

Lifting his eyes to survey the circle of Red Clan members staring intently at him, he moved his lips, just about to issue an order...

The terminal in his pocket, casually tossed there earlier due to Izumo's nagging, suddenly began to ring with an untimely beep-beep-beep.

The man pulled it out of his pocket with mild impatience.

He had originally intended to hang up directly, but the moment his finger touched the screen, it somehow slipped, connecting the call instead.

And so, on a whim, he raised the terminal to his ear...

"Hello?"

"Hello, hello~ King?"

—Unexpectedly, the call that instantly came through from the other end of the line caused him to freeze in place on the spot...

"Tata... ra?"

Author's note:

La la~ Both Tota-nyan and the demon fox are the types who look pure and kind on the outside but are actually quite black-bellied and fond of dark humor on the inside. So becoming good little buddies who hit it off at first sight (?) is not an impossible thing at all ●▽●

It's just a pity for Thanatos... My Lord Death, I don't know whether to call your sharp (animalistic) intuition fortunate or unfortunate... [Silently sheds a tear of sympathy 233

And then! I've finally reunited Suou-goro and Tota-nyan! Come on and praise me! Hurry and say, "Yowaka-chan, you really are a great birth-mother, I love you most, muah!" [Proudly puffs out chest!

Ahma, just imagining that little expression Suou-goro might have the second he hears Tota-nyan call him King through the receiver... Ahhhhh I want to write it so badly, but there's not enough time, I can only stop here and continue tomorrow, pounding the ground, ying!

So! Please, dear readers who have been asking about the CP all along, be sure to pay attention! The K section has decided on the Suou x Tatara CP, so loyal fans of the Dual Kings should avoid it! Although actually I won't describe things in too much depth (due to constraints on length, after all), seeing as everyone is a loyal single-pairing supporter, I feel it's better to steer clear to avoid any discomfort. Once we finish this arc, we'll see each other in the next world =3=

Finally, before going to sleep, thank you to Ling-qin for throwing a landmine, and Huanhuanlele-qin for throwing two landmines! Hug you guys and kiss! Then rolling away to sleep, good night everyone mua~