A Pack Of Feathers Chapter 1 (Revised)

A New Moon

'Tonight is calm…finally.'

It had been a long day for the man known as Minato Sahashi. He had messy raven black hair that was spiky in all directions which was about three inches all around and had steel eyes, almost reflective. He was quite tall, maybe 6'8, and wore a white shirt that contrasted nicely with his black jeans and a black leather fur jacket with a built in gray hood.

He had gone from school to the mechanic's shop to drop off his bike for some repairs and a tune-up. The classes he took at Shinto University didn't give him too much difficulty, but they could end much earlier than they did. Tonight felt quite calm to the young man so he decided to take a little stroll through the park.

'I've stayed away from the wilderness too long. A run would do my spirit well.'

He took a huge, deep breath and exhaled. The cold night air made his own breath visible to him. Minato longed for the wilderness, but he had to control himself. You see, Minato had another side to him, a side that most people would consider quite feral. This feral side of Minato more than often threatened to take control of his being and run amok. He had made excellent progress in reining himself in, but everyone has their triggers, Minato included.

A unique scent entered the air, breaking Minato's train of thought.

'What is this? This natural scent of spring air with of hint of mint?'

Curiosity overcoming his mind, Minato walked down the path to the main opening of the park, determined to locate the alluring fragrance. He saw a woman curled up on one of the benches. Minato stopped his tracks as the scent reached its peak of potency.

'This scent…it's coming from her.'

He walked over to her cautiously. She looked like she was in her early 20's. She had pale brown hair, silver blue eyes and a weird symbol on her forehead.

'That symbol…what does it mean?'

He then took notice to her attire. She only wore a white dress shirt with a bloody lab coat. To his relief, the blood did not belong to her. It belonged to a male. This feral side of Minato also enhanced his 5 senses greatly. He could smell certain emotions; happiness, confusion, confidence, anger, sadness, depression...fear.

The last emotion came from this woman in waves. He made his way to her and fell to a knee in front of her. The woman, sensing company, slowly looked up at her newest acquaintance. She wore no emotion of her face, but anyone could the pain in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Minato asked with a warm, welcoming smile. "I can tell that the blood isn't yours, but you look lost."

The girl blushed slightly looking at Minato. The reason for her blush was he had a handsome face and was staring at her intently like he was seeing thought her, trying to understand her.

'Does he... care for me?' For the moment, she allowed herself to have a small glimmer of hope. Unfortunately, she quashed this hope as memories started to resurface. She looked away. 'No…that can't be. I…'

"I... I'm useless. I have no purpose. No one wants me. I will never have an Ashikabi."

She rested her head on her knees, waiting for him to leave like all the rest. To her surprise, Minato reached out his right hand and stroked the top of her head. She looked up into the man's eyes and saw smoldering anger in them, yet she could feel that he directed none of that anger towards her. He gently moved his hand to her cheek, which felt cold, making her blush to deepen.

"I don't know what an Ashikabi is, but if he or she were to turn someone as beautiful as you away, then they must be the biggest idiot on the face of this earth. As for being useless, you look very capable to me. Someone has been filling your head with nonsense."

Minato made a note in his head to find whoever told her these things and kill them slowly. The blood on the coat probably belonged to the one at fault so he made sure to archive the scent for later use. The girl, on the other hand, blushed even deeper at his statement and leaned into his hand, feeling at ease.

'He really cares? He wants me?'

The girl then noticed a wild rush of warmth to her heart.

'What is this feeling? What's happening to me? Is this...am I reacting? No... I can't… it's impossible for me. But…just maybe…'

As her thoughts bounced off of the walls in her head, she hoped that this wasn't a dream. She prayed that her mind wasn't playing with her. She pleaded internally that he was her destined one, that he was her Ashikabi.

Minato slowly stood up, pulling her out of her thoughts. Now that he was standing, she got a better look at him. She looked at him, afraid he was going to leave. She immediately grabbed his shirt and desperately looked in his eyes.

Minato looked into her eyes that glimmered with worry. He chuckled lightly as he took off his jacket and put it on the woman before him. She looked at the jacket and wrapped it tightly around herself inhaling his scent as she put her arm though the sleeves.

'Warm...it smells like...dog...wait…no...It smells more like…wolf.'

The scent didn't bother her. In fact, she considered it quite pleasant. It smelled just liked the wilderness, like she had just walked into a protective embrace. Minato moved to sit on the bench, taking a seat right next to her. He put his arm around her, seeing as she didn't want him away from her. He wanted her to know that he had no plans to leave. She looked at him again, eager to know the name of her potential Ashikabi. He smiled warmly.

"My name is Minato, Sahashi Minato, and you are?" He asked.

"Sekirei no.7," The woman spoke slowly. "...Akitsu."

"Sekirei? Does that have something to do with the Ashikabi thing you spoke of?" He questioned and she nodded.

"An Ashikabi is a Sekirei's bond mate; their life partner forever. It is our duty to protect and serve our Ashikabi and help him or her win the Sekirei Plan." She explained and reached up and touched Minato's face.

"I think you're my Ashikabi, Sahashi-san."

Minato had to blush now, but he still had a smile on his face.

"I don't fully understand this whole deal about the Ashikabis, Sekirei, and the Sekirei plan, but, are you sure you want someone like me?" Akitsu nodded.

"When our destined one is near, we react and the closer we are to them, the stronger we react. Sahashi-san, I…I think I'm reacting to you." She said shyly, afraid he would refuse her.

Minato felt the same way, literally. His nerves were racing at breakneck speed, though he did well to hide it. He could smell her desire and lust and in truth, his was starting to rise as well. He had been drawn to many people in his life, but the pull to Akitsu made all those other attractions look like piles of ash. Minato normally kept himself in check when dealing with others, however, his eyes told a different story; they kept their steel color but started to glow bright. Akitsu took notice to this and leaned away, scared and confused. Minato quickly withdrew his arm from around her and looked away, ashamed of his lapse in composure.

'What the hell, Minato?! How could you lose control like that?!'

"I'm sorry," Minato muttered sadly, refusing to look at Akitsu. "I promise you, Akitsu-san, I will never do anything to hurt you, ever. My eyes...they just…slip sometimes. I can't help it, it's part of who I am. Well, it is now, anyway. Again, I'm really sorry."

He kept his gaze away from her, not wanting to look into her fear-filled eyes. However, her eyes were not filled with fear.

They were filled with understanding and compassion.

She could sense his panic; it mirrored her fear of him leaving. Akitsu slowly reached up with both hands and cupped Minato's cheeks, making him face her with surprise. She looked into his eyes that were still glowing. She saw no hostility, but a desire to protect her, to keep her safe. She sat up and leaned closer to him, studying his eyes. Akitsu could tell he wasn't human, but she didn't care. Minato wanted her, not as an object but something more. He was what she had been looking for all this time. He cared.

As long as he cared, she could care less about his quirks.

Minato, in turn, put his arms back around her pulling her to his chest. She straddled him, keeping her hands on his face, pressing her body to his while still looking in his eyes, their faces stood inches apart. She could tell with her body against his that he was lean and muscular.

"Akitsu-san…"

"Yes, Sahashi-san?"

Both of their hearts were beating faster and faster looking at each other in silence. After what seemed like an eternity, the two leaned in to share their first of many kisses that would come. Akitsu's heart pounded so heavily, one would think it would burst at any moment. She had found someone who cared for her, who would stand by her, who would love her. Even if she couldn't be winged, if he would stay by her side, that would be more than enough.

Fate can be very cruel.

"Get your hands off of her! That discarded number is mine!"

The distance between their lips was so miniscule; you'd think they did kiss. That shout, however, immediately tore Minato's and Akitsu's gazes away from each other. Looking towards the sound of the voice, Minato and Akitsu saw a boy in his teens with some weird Shakespeare attire and a tall man wearing what looked like ninja wear with an orange scarf and sword walking toward them, stopping two yards away. Minato lifted Akitsu off him and stood in front of her, facing their new guests with anger.

"What did you just call her, brat?! Her name is Akitsu and if you call her discarded again, I'm aiming for your throat!" Minato shouted, baring his teeth, his fangs ever so slightly emerging.

The boy looked shocked at first, but soon snapped out of his worry. "Mutsu, bring me that Sekirei and dispose of whatever he is."

Mutsu stepped forward and drew his blade. "I'm sorry, but he is my Ashikabi. I must follow his will." He bowed, dropping into his stance getting ready to attack.

"I can tell you're a guy with guts and honor. Mutsu, was it? I've got to say, it's a shame your Ashikabi's such a spoiled brat."

Akitsu was getting ready as well to protect Minato. She didn't want to lose the person who was going to be her world, let alone be taken from him. Before she or Mutsu could move however, Minato was already gone. He moved faster than Akitsu realized and Mutsu could barely follow, jumping back from where he was standing only to see Minato there. Looking down, Mutsu noticed he was bleeding slightly from his chest. As he looked to face Minato, he notice there was blood on the now sharpened nails of his right hand and he was holding Mutsu's scarf, smiling wide. He dropped the scarf and disappeared again. This time, no one could follow as he appeared behind Mutsu and clawed his back before finishing him with a kick from his left leg. Mutsu stood up slowly with the kid's help and they both looked at Minato with shock.

"Impossible! No human should be able to take on a Sekirei, let alone a single number like Mutsu! The boy barked. "Who-no, what the hell are you?!"

"Never said I was human, kid. Now both you and your buddy vanish and leave with your lives or you can stick around and see what happens. Flip the coin, brat."

Minato turned and walked to Akitsu who looked surprised at his abilities. Mutsu and the boy made their escape, but not before the boy made a quick threat.

"Just so you know who you're dealing with, I'm Mikogami Hayato Ashikabi of the South! You better pray we don't cross again, you…you…you…!"

With that, they disappeared.

Akitsu walked up to Minato as well and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her head nuzzling in his chest. Minato put his left arm around her waist and grabbed her chin with his right hand, making her look at him.

"You definitely know I'm not human, do you still want something like me?"

The longing in his voice made it clear that now he was the one afraid of rejection. Fortunately, his doubts evaporated as Akitsu gave him a breathtaking smile.

"Yes, my Ashikabi-sama." She declared as she leaned up to capture his lips, Minato was more than glad to reciprocate and leaned down to meet her.

The joy that erupted in Akitsu's heart paled in comparison to how she felt as a result of what happened next.

Minato still held her close, but had to shut his eyes tight as a bright light emitted from Akitsu's forehead and the back of her neck. Then a giant pillar of ice pierced the sky before shattering, causing an instant snowstorm in the capital. The man finally opened his eyes to see the mark on her forehead was disappearing and crystal like wings showed up behind her.

'I was right; I just didn't know how right I was. She looks like an angel.'

When he saw Akitsu's face, his heart turned to butter. That breathtaking smile she gave him sat pleasantly on her face, as if it was always meant to be there. The only difference; Akitsu was now crying with joy.

"I found you," Akitsu sobbed. "Sekirei no.7 Akitsu, I will shatter the misfortunes of my Ashikabi, now and forever." she vowed. "Thank you, thank you so much."

Such a beautiful sight broke a few inhibitions in Minato's body. He held Akitsu in his arms like a princess and caught her lips in a searing kiss, a kiss she returned quite passionately. He poked the entrance of her mouth with his tongue which she wholeheartedly allowed, searching each other's mouths with an innate desire for more. The snow fell as the unscrapped Sekirei and new Ashikabi passionately kissed. They slowly broke away, a small strand of saliva briefly connecting them. They loving stared at each other, quite pleased with how things have developed.

"So, ready to go home, love? I can safely assume that you're staying with me, right?" He asked even though he knew the answer.

Akitsu nodded, "Yes, now and forever." She affirmed happily. Then her gaze turned curious. "Though I must ask, Master...what exactly are you?"

"You shouldn't call me 'Master,' Akitsu. We're lovers now, aren't we? Just call me Minato." He declared and gave Akitsu a quick peck on the cheek. Minato started walking north, towards his home. "As for what I am, it will take some time to explain, as I would like you to explain your part in all this as well, but to sum it up...your Ashikabi's a werewolf."

Sorry for the hold up. I was moved to a new section at my work which involved getting more training and less free time so thank you MODdenial for doing the edit for me. Please check out his page.