Prologue: Encounter: The woman of ice.

I do not own anything from any media.

In the world of Gaia, there's a current that flows within the Planet. It is called the Lifestream. It was a turquoise colored stream of spiritual energy within the Planet. Because of this, life on the planet flourished, allowing it to be reborn. However, it is capable of many impressive occurrence that were thought to be impossible.

Within the Lifestream, a young man was seen being dragged inside. He was in his early twenties, appearing young for his age. He had spiky blonde hair with a prominent spike. He was wearing a purple muscle vest sweater, blue pants with black combat boot, a futuristic forearm guard and a pauldron with a kanji written as SOLDIER engraved on it. The pauldron has what appeared to be three bolts that were jetting out. He also had leather straps that formed a sort of armor on his abdomen. On his back, there was an impressive weapon: a sword easily over 6 feet in length and over a foot thick. In appearance, it looked like a giant gladius sword. It had two open spots at the base of the blade. The man was being dragged within the Lifestream till it suddenly began to glow brightly. Within the current, The man disappeared.

The man was seen being transported by a mysterious passage. It was a large void of darkness with no clear direction to go to. Wisps of the Lifestream were guiding him through the passage. He was being dragged within it, unable to do anything.

'My role in saving the planet ends here...? I guess it's worth risking your life to ensure the others are safe.' The man thought with a somber outcome.

He closed his eyes as he felt the current of the Lifestream push him forward. He was unconscious for an unprecedented amount of time. Soon, the flash of light engulfed him and he disappeared.

On Earth, there is a city called Tokyo at a country called Japan. Within it, a town called Shinto Teito was there. It was a technologically advanced place. The technology was rumored to surpass all nations worldwide.

Within the prefecture, a large building overlooked the city. It was a large conglomerate. It had three large letters that are spelled 'MBI'. At the top, a man with white hair and scientist's lab coat was seen overlooking the city with an insane expression.

"Soon, the era of the Gods is upon us! All 108 of them have been set free to find their destined ones!" He said with insanity.

Soon, he noticed a turquoise color in the sky. It looked like a shooting star, but it was falling north of the conglomerate. The man watched with glee as he witnessed it.

"Looks like it will crash at the inn where he lived in. I feel bad for the owner, but things will be interesting ." He said with false sympathy.

North of the conglomerate, there was an inn. A woman was seen sweeping outside of the building. She was wearing a formal kimono with a purple hakama. Her hair was a lavender color with matching eyes. She looked no older than a woman reaching her twenties. While sweeping, she saw the turquoise meteor heading towards the ground near her. She quickly reacted and moved back seconds before the meteor impacted the ground. Dust flew everywhere, enshrouding her sight. Everyone in the inn heard the explosion and looked outside to see a crater formed in front of the inn. The woman had a serious expression, not knowing what to expect. She slowly approached the crater to see a familiar man with a large sword on his back.

'A man?' Who is he?' The woman thought, questioning herself.

Seeing the young man's current appearance, she quickly brought him out of the crater. Surprisingly, there were only a few scratches, but he looked okay. She was curious of the large sword he possessed.

"Are you okay, young man?" The woman asked to the man.

He merely grunted, disoriented from his sudden experience. The man opened his eyes, revealing their turquoise color which had a dull glow during the day. The woman was surprised on seeing the eye color. It was mystifying to see them with a mesmerizing appearance.

"Who...are you?" The man asked.

"Asama Miya. What is your name?" The woman named Miya asked.

"I'm Cloud. Cloud Strife." The man named Cloud responded.

"Cloud... That's a nice name." Miya complimented.

Cloud nodded in response. He tried to get up, but his legs gave out. He collapsed on the ground, unable to stand at the moment.

"Ugh... What happened?" He asked.

"You crash landed here in front of my inn while I was sweeping." Miya answered.

"I...see. I'm sorry...for causing the damage. Where am I?" Cloud asked.

"You're in Shinto Teito, near my place called Izumo Inn." Miya said.

'Izumo Inn? Shinto Teito? Sounds like I'm within the continent belonging to the Wutai...' Cloud thought.

He looked around, seeing the city through his sight. Miya noticed his gaze looked blank, but it had a serious feeling. She could tell he was a person raised for combat.

"Anyway, Strife-san. Why don't you come inside? I have a room or two that's vacant so you can stay here." Miya suggested.

"Thanks, but I don't...want to be a bother." Cloud said.

"Nonsense. It's okay for you to come over and stay in. Don't worry about the rent to pay. If you can clean the house and help with chores, it'll be enough." Miya said.

"I feel bad...for the tenants who have to pay the rent." Cloud admitted.

"Don't worry, they do pay the rent from time to time. Usually they do chores to help with the house." Miya reassured.

Cloud reluctantly went inside the inn. He was suddenly met with a woman. The person in question was a well-endowed young woman with long, dark brown hair, brown eyes and a well developed body figure. She was wearing a pink/violet belly top with a golden star on the front and a golden "10" on the back. For the lower part, she had capri jeans.

"Miya, is there something happening...? Oh, who's our new neighbor?" The woman asked.

"Uzume-chan, please refrain from being rude to our new guest." Miya said with a smile.

Cloud and the woman named Uzume noticed a purple hanya appearing near Miya. Uzume shivered, but Cloud kept his gaze. He barely flinched upon seeing it.

"I-I'm sorry!" Uzume quickly apologized.

The hanya disappeared. Uzume looked pale for a moment, recalling the sensation of seeing the hanya. This made her cling on to Cloud reflexively. This got his attention in response.

"You can let go of me..." Cloud said, not sounding rude.

Uzume regained her bearings and quickly released herself from Cloud. She looked embarrassed as her face turned red.

"Now that we have met each other, this is Cloud Strife. He will be our new tenant." Miya said.

"Please call me Cloud. I'm usually not one with formalities." Cloud commented.

"Okay then, Cloud." Uzume said, looking at his face.

Cloud managed to get himself settled in the room for the night. This made him think of what to do the next day.

'I wonder what I should I do... I can handle doing deliveries, but I don't have a vehicle to use...' Cloud pondered mentally.

Unknown to him, Uzume was his next door neighbor. She was staring at him through the keyhole from the door. She clenched her fist at where her heart is. A noticeable blush was shown on her face.

'Cloud... Why am I reacting to you?' Uzume thought.

The next morning, Cloud was outside Maison Inn, searching for possible areas for a job. He had breakfast thanks to Miya. He had a bento with him.

'Might as well start from square one... Hopefully if there's a place for hiring, I don't mind working there.' Cloud thought.

Soon, he found a construction crew looking for possible recruiters. He found the boss of the crew, asking for a place to be hired into.

"So you're looking to get hired as a construction worker... You don't seem much, but looks can be deceiving." The boss said, looking at Cloud.

"I assure you that I can help lift some heavy objects in case some of my colleagues are having trouble." Cloud reassured.

"Oh, aren't we confident? Very well... Let's see if you can move that K-rail to the sidewalk. A fellow worker left it there to direct traffic away from the construction site. I was hoping it would be moved closer to the sidewalk to prevent crashes." The boss requested.

"Leave it to me." Cloud said.

Cloud lifted the concrete freeway divider, much to the shock of his boss with little difficulty. He was able to drag it on the ground and carefully lifted it on the sidewalk. The boss could only exhale, not believing what he saw.

"You're strong... You're hired, Strife-san." He said in disbelief.

"Just 'Cloud' will be fine. I'm not one for formalities." Cloud said.

After hours of understanding the job and knowing his colleagues, Cloud was on his way back to Izumo Inn. On the way, he noticed a girl slouching on a bench with a hollow expression. She had short, light brown hair with dull turquoise eyes. She was wearing a lab coat that was bloodstained. Cloud felt pitiful for the young woman.

"Are you...okay?" He asked.

"No... I'm not..." The girl replied with a hollow, cold tone.

"What happened...to you?" Cloud persisted.

"I am a scrapped number, one who cannot be winged." The girl said.

Cloud had a closer look, noting a strange bird mark with a yin-yang symbol below it on her forehead. This got him confused, yet he felt sympathetic.

"What makes you believe that you're broken?" Cloud questioned.

"I cannot be winged, no matter who I be with. I am...a wingless number." The girl answered.

Cloud, sympathizing her emotions, took her right hand gently with his left.

"I used to think like that... I assumed I was someone else, but I was broken. I couldn't believe myself, yet someone saved me from a fate worse than death." Cloud said.

The girl looked at Cloud, slowly standing up. There was a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Even if I'm scrapped... Will you still be...my Ashikabi?" The girl asked.

'Ashikabi? What is that term?' Cloud questioned mentally.

"Whatever awaits me for the future, I will be with you. It's too early for you to give up..." Cloud replied.

Soon, the girl held his left hand. Cloud noted how cold she felt. In spite of this, he didn't hesitate to hold her hand. However, two people were watching the interaction.

"Hey, you! Let that woman go!" A young male voice called out.

Cloud turned and noticed a young boy barely 15 years old. He was a slim teenager of average height with brown hair. The boy was accompanied by a larger man, whom appeared muscular. He was tall with messy silver colored hair and grey eyes. His outfit consists of black pants and a long sleeved shirt of the same color. The shirt is open in the front, stopping just a few inches below his solar plexus, with crisscrossing bands of leather forming an 'X'. The sleeves near his shoulders has a single band around them. Sitting almost lazily on his waist is a belt that looks more like an accessory than an actually functioning one. It sits slightly askew, the left side riding lower on his hip than the right, and the ends are tied together by a leather string. The only other distinguishing features about his clothing is the black fingerless gloves he wears, and the orange scarf he wraps around his neck and shoulders. The man was wielding a large sword on his waist.

"Why are you interested of the girl as though she's an object?" Cloud asked.

"She's a Sekirei, and she belongs to me." The boy answered quickly.

"I don't see your name on her. She's a person like all of us here. If you plan to take her, I won't back down." Cloud said.

Soon, he reached behind his back, pulling out his weapon. It was a large sword that intimidated the young boy and the man.

"Mikogami, we should retreat... This man is no ordinary person. He feels...strong." The man said to the boy.

"He looks weak, even though he's holding that sword. Mutsu, take him down." The boy named Mikogami commented.

"Very well." The man named Mikogami obliged.

Cloud was forced to bring his sword out in a defensive position, blocking the attacks from Mutsu. Soon, he swung quickly with some effort, forcing the man back. Cloud flipped in the air, creating a shockwave that traveled fast to Mutsu. The man was forced to dodge the attack at the last second. However, a sharp cut was shown on his left part of his body.

'This guy... He could kill me if he wanted to... He's dangerous.' Mutsu thought with shock.

He then retreated to Mikogami.

"Mikogami, I cannot fight this man. He will slay me easily. He's no Sekirei, but he can hold off on his own against my strength." Mutsu warned.

Mikogami clenched his teeth and reluctantly retreated. Cloud calmed himself and placed his sword on his back, causing it to disappear. This surprised him for a moment.

'Since when I could summon the Buster Sword like that?' He questioned in thought.

He had to ignore finding the answer for his attention was on the girl he protected. She had a faint blush on her cheeks.

'Cloud... This is the one who may be my Ashikabi.' The girl thought.

Cloud was able to carry her in a bridal fashion. He began moving fast, rushing his way to Izumo Inn.

Cloud quickly arrived at the inn. Miya heard his panting and noticed he was holding the girl he met at the park.

"Oh my, Cloud. What happened to her?" Miya questioned.

"I found her lying on a park bench alone... This isnt her blood, since she doesn't have any cuts or bruises. This may be someone else's so it's likely she fought in self-defense." Cloud explained.

"I understand. You did the right thing, Cloud." Miya said.

The woman was surprised that Cloud defended her without getting to know her. It made her cheeks red.

'He is the one... Cloud is my Ashikabi.' The girl thought.

Cloud was about to fall asleep till he heard his door open. It was the same girl he encountered.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"I found the one I'm looking for." The girl said.

Soon, she kissed Cloud on the lips, surprising him. An icy blue veil of wings appeared on her back. The girl moaned as she felt her body temperature rise. The tattoo on her forehead vanished and was now on her nape.

"I'm Sekirei number 7, Akitsu. You're my Ashikabi, now and forever." The girl named Akitsu said with a smile.

Cloud was entranced by the smile she showed. Without knowing it, Akitsu hugged him close. The young man blushed in response.


Opening 1: Come by Amuro Namie


'moshi ima kanashimi afureru nara

watashi ni motarete naite ii kara'

-Cloud is seen overlooking the night sky. His hair was billowing with the wind. He had an indifferent expression, but he appeared to be suffering internally. Akitsu was seen behind him, holding his back.

'I get, I get, I get, get the feeling

I get, I get, I get, get the dreaming

tada kono mama'

-Akitsu stretched her left hand out, creating a field of ice. She then held Cloud's right hand, guiding him through the icy land, now a large icy plain. Cloud, without showing hesitation, walked with her.

'Come my way

kono yami no hotori

Come close to me

ima akari tomoshi

I'll be with you, I'll be with you

tada soba ni iru kara

So come my way'

-Soon, Cloud was watching the sky, thinking about the people he knew from his world. He then turned to Akitsu, whom held his face. She then kissed his lips, smiling.