Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. Maybe not even the story. I'm not sure what I mean.
The skies were blue, the clouds few and far, and the sun bright but not harsh.
"What… what are you saying?"
Our hero had an air of grace and sophistication around him, his words perfectly tailored for capturing the heart of the woman he was wooing.
"I… for a long time now.."
His actions were perfect, quick, and decisive. Had he been a knight in a far off-land, there would be no doubt he would be a hero. If he were an artist, even a mere scribble of his could become a work of art: this is how much this man poured his heart into his work.
The master of his craft, a shining figure in the world he lived in- could it be that he was even godlike? –
"I.. I LOVE YOU!"
*Ping*
"YOKKYUN IS SOOOO CUUUTTEE!~"
Ah, youth.
Keima Katsuragi was a 17-year student going through the throes of high school. But the details of the real world did not matter to him, for although his body was 3d, he had a 2d heart with pixelated blood flowing through his veins. And said heart belonged only to the video game maidens whom Keima spent most of his life attempting to conquer, playing every dating sim under the sun.
Of course, like an athlete practicing his sport over and over, or a blacksmith hammering away at his creations until he can make his perfect creation, Keima mastered the ways of the digital world, becoming well known throughout the gamer circles.
And so it is his gaming prowess which leads us to Keima Katsuragi's current whereabouts- in the city of Shin Tokyo, far from his regular homeland of Maijima City, well into the countryside.
Now, one of his hobbies was to run a gaming website, under the humble moniker of "The Capturing God". One day, among the numerous E-mails asking for the latest tips and info on games, Keima spotted a particular message inviting him to the studios of one of his favourite series, "One Leaf," where he would provide insight and thought into the making of its sequel. Since summer vacation was in full gear and travel and hotel expenses were all paid for, how could Keima not go (especially considering the fact that a tour of the city's prime spots to score games of all kinds could also be arranged?)
It's interesting to note though that One Leaf was panned by critics alike for its "poor art and cliché plot," the game managed to rank as one of Japan's top selling game for a number of weeks. The cause? This particular game had the heroine of Keima's dreams, Yotsugi Sugimoto (Yokkyun, as Keima affectionately refers her as.)
His website and persona of "The Capturing God" were actually large factors in the gaming industry, where detailed reviews and comprehensive walkthroughs could be posted merely hours after a game's release, and a single recommendation, as was now easily apparent, netted the sales of hundreds of thousands of copies within days.
So, as a gift, Keima was rewarded a few extra days at a posh hotel with room service (Keima never knew exactly how much his endorsement was worth, but it was pretty ridiculous) even after his work was done. He never asked why, but he didn't really care.
And so for the remainder of his vacation, he took to wandering the streets, buying games and playing them as he pleased.
He was more than pleased at how these events turned out. Now this- this was a vacation. No annoying mothers to bother him about the trivial act of eating, no school teachers to bash his head in for playing at school, and most importantly, no little sisters to annoy him with the act of-
"AAHH, YOOKKYUUUNN!" Keima cradled his PFP, his portable game console of choice, like a newborn baby.
"Just wait.. With 'Two Leaf' coming out, you and I shall bask in each other's warmth once more.." He delicately rubbed the piece of technology with a tender hand. Luckily, few people were around to be shocked by this act.
"Nothing the real world could do at this point could break this happiness." He sniffed.
For all the clichés and tropes Keima had played through, one would think that he would know not to say such a fate-tempting declaration.
"KKYYYYAAAA!" The ground shook.
And so Keima was hit by a flying miko.
"Ah… too high to jump from.." She mumbled.
"Oh!" She apparently noticed the ground was a lot squishier than it should've been, and hopped off of Keima. "Thanks for catching me, sir!"
*BBBZZTTTT*
"Ah! Watch out!" With uncanny speed and strength, she grabbed Keima and leapt out of the side of a massive bolt of lightning that struck the ground nearby.
"There's no use fighting!" Two women, twins by the look of it, had leapt out of nowhere, landing in front of Keima and the unknown woman, clad in, of all things, S&M leather suits. One of them, sporting a larger chest than the other, pointed at the miko.
"Come on and fight us!"
"I'm not going to fight back yet!" The miko declared, standing up and steadying herself to dodge another attack.
"You don't have a choice!" the twins had positioned themselves for another blast.
However, just as it seemed that the street they were all in would quickly turn into a battlefield, the beleaguered bystander, quiet up until then, made himself aware.
"Yo… YOKKYUN!" Keima managed to sputter out, gingerly holding his crushed PFP in his palms.
The twins had spared a glance toward him, an incredulous look on their faces. Where did he come from? Most importantly, what the hell was he talking about?
"It's.. broken.. I didn't bring extras.." Keima stood up, his face twisted into a mask of rage. An aura of blackness surrounded him, shocking both the twins and the miko.
"What's.. What's with this kid?!" The bustier twin said, stepping back slightly.
"I.. MUST AVENGE HER!"
And so Keima unleashed his indescribable fury, so powerful that it was enough to ignite a million fiery suns and to destroy a billion more.
Unfortunately, said fury was Keima flailing around with his fists and knees while screaming in a way that even kindergarteners would be ashamed of. He was actually taller than the twins (but only slightly so,) so having him in a childish outburst completely disarmed the twins.
"Hey, get off- No, I don't have any money- Hibiki, help me!" abandoning the warrior-readying-for-a-fight façade, the poor girl was at this point just warding off Keima's furious man-slaps.
Hesitantly, the younger of the two joined the fray, attempting to separate the two, but to no avail.
"Where are you touching- Hey, that hurt-Hikari, he's grabbing my hair!" The twin named Hibiki said, having reduced to simply slapping Keima back.
"This looks fun! Can Musubi join too?" the Miko named Musubi had also completely forgotten the idea of having a serious fight.
Hikari, the bustier and apparently the quicker to anger of the twins, had enough.
"GGGEEETTT OOOOOFFFF!"
Accompanying this outburst was a bolt of lightning, sending dust, smoke, and people flying alike. Soon enough, the one named Musubi had taken Keima's hand and jumped away from the scene with a burst of strength.
The twins now identified as Hikari and Hibiki merely lay on the ground, dirty and bruised.
"Your short temper got the best of you, you know.." Hibiki said while staring up at the sky, her voice notably softer than that of her angrier counterpart.
"I know, I know.." Hikari groaned.
(So!)
Musubi and Keima had landed in a tiny plaza, a fountain gently sending its streams of water unto Keima's back, face down in the tiny pool. Musubi swore she heard him crying and sobbing underwater, but once he dragged himself out, he was fine, albeit looking tired and a tad distraught.
"Sorry for getting you involved, sir.." Musubi sheepishly said. Her clothes were torn and ragged, and although her face was friendly and inviting, she looked noticeably tired.
"Don't worry about it." Keima grumbled, sitting down at the edge of the fountain.
"Ah, that's right!" Musubi realized. "I haven't introduced myself."
"They call me Musubi."
A slight pause filled the air. Ah, it really was a genuinely nice day..
"Keima Katsuragi." It was only polite manners to introduce himself as well.
And then he ran.
"Nice to meet you, too.. I guess.." Musubi had shouted back at Keima's quickly shrinking figure in the distance.
*THUMP*
Upon hearing the less-than-conspicuous sound, Keima paused.
…. He turned back to check on her, albeit hesitantly.
Musubi had suddenly collapsed in a heap.
"You.. alright?" He shuffled up to her. Upon closer instruction, her clothes were more worn out than he had thought, and her face was tinged with fatigue and the slightest hint of pain.
"Can you speak? Is anything wrong?"
Musubi's lips parted slightly, and Keima leaned in closer to hear closely.
"I'm huunngrry," Musubi wailed, conjuring up a set of puppy eyes sure to disarm the toughest of men.
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Hold on.
What the hell just happened?
Slightly dripping, Keima had taken Musubi to the nearest restaurant, although the fast-food joint they were occupying was stretching the term slightly. Musubi didn't complain, as she began devouring two large burgers, the first in a line of many other burgers awaiting their grisly fate. Keima almost felt for the person who arrived carrying the large stack of food.
But that doesn't explain what just happened.
Now, Keima realized the world will see fit to deliver a cruel punishment if you tempt fate. Fine, his fault for raising a flag.
But hold on.
What the hell just happened?
He didn't even make it past a minute after he said the ill-timed sentence. The story wasn't even a full page in before he encountered this woman!
"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THIS PACING?!" Keima shrieked suddenly, sending the poor waiter tripping back in shock.
"U-uh, Sir?" The poor, average wage employee said.
"DO ALL REAL WORLD EVENTS GO LIKE THIS? IT'S RIDICULOUS! IT'S RANDOM, TOO FAST TO EVEN COMPREHEND, NOT TO MENTION THE… "
If there's one thing about Keima Katsuragi, it's that he's not just left the real world in favour of a more cartridge and disk portable form; it's that he hates regular reality with a passion.
"Reality is shit." He finishes, picking up his game and continuing on glumly.
Musubi paused in the middle of eating her meal, looking genuinely concerned. "What's wrong?"
"Everything." Keima whines. Musubi continues eating.
"Why do we always get the crazy ones?.." The poor employee mutters, shuffling away to ferry another stack of burgers to the ever-hungry Musubi.
As the overworked server went away, Keima found himself inadvertently analyzing Musubi using the cache of knowledge he had gleaned from interacting from numerous heroines and characters alike, as he did to all the mysterious women who popped into his life (which, Keima had to admit, was quite frankly, a lot.)
He focused on her clothes right off the bat, for that was the norm when Keima had to shape up someone's character. Yes, all faces are different and unique, but clothes can show someone's personality more easily. Special accessories, trademark articles of clothing, suits and outfits worn for deliberate purposes; as they say, the clothes make the man (or woman, in this case.)
Also, the hair. The heroines always had the unique, best-looking hair.
But that was mostly a preference thing, anyway.
What he thought was a miko's attire was a simple white gi and a red skirt, all tied up with a pink scarf that served as a belt. Her other pieces of clothing, currently discarded in a corner, were boots (with their fair share of use), a pair of thigh-high white stockings (Type A, a distant corner of Keima's mind remarked), and most notably, red gloves that looked like they were used for fighting.
As for the lady herself..
Well, she was slim. Definitely fit. Brown eyes, Short hair. Shorter than Keima, but not by a lot. Large chest.
This made Keima twitch ever-so-slightly.
Friendly attitude? Hyup. Crazy strength? Check. And now a particular large bust. What next, was she normally clumsy and/or air-headed? Keima was fine with this archetype, but it was a video game archetype, and Keima knew the real world contaminated the pure ideas of 2D, enough so that Musubi could be a risk to Keima's peaceful lifestyle.
Oddly enough, as Keima was busy figuring out Musubi's existence, she herself had already taken the time to try to figure out Keima's personality.
He seemed nice.
"Ah! That's 'Shooting Star Nanana,' isn't it?" Musubi chimed out of nowhere, referring to Keima's choice of game on his new PFP, obtained at the nearest game retailer with money that Keima cryptically referred to as "M funds."
This particular tidbit of knowledge started Keima; Musubi didn't honestly appear as the type of person who acquainted themselves about these things. He nodded, and was about to resume his bout of gaming before the most horrid sentence ever to grace his ears was said by the unassuming person in sitting in front in him.
"Those games are boring."
AW HELL NO.
Keima's heart skipped a beat, and if there were any outside indicators of Keima's immediate shock (aside from a 'bloop' where there should've been a 'beep',) there were none.
Musubi happily devoured her free meal for a few seconds.
"WHAT?!" Keima had shouted at the top of his lungs, jarring everybody present in the area. Keima had pointed at Musubi like a villager would point at a witch.
"VISUAL NOVELS ARE THE MASTERPIECE- NO, THE MAGNUM OPUS OF MANKIND!" Keima screamed at the top of his lungs, hands raised in the air for drastic effect. "THEY ARE CLASSIC STORIES MADE BETTER BY THE INTERACTION INPUTTED BY THE PLAYER, ENSURING A UNIQUE, LOVINGLY-CRAFTED EXPIERENCE FOR EVERY PERSON!" He slammed the table to drive the point home.
The ordinary folks were disturbed, the hearts of the few gamers there flared with passion, and Musubi paused mid-bite, leading Keima to believe that she had forgotten what she had said.
"Oh, but it's not the same!" She said voice now completely serious for the first time since the two had met. "You can't hear their voice-"
"ANIMATED CUTSCENES! " Keima had sharply shot back. "BESIDES, SOME GAMES HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF VOICE ACTING, AND THE BEST VOICE ACTORS PROVIDE ANGELIC VOICES TO THE CHARACTERS AND HEROINES, NOTHING COMPARED THAN ANY ORDINARY WOMAN!"
The people in the restaurant, having not moved once since the beginning of this little act, were now divided. The female half was beginning to see Keima in quite the negative light, but the male half quietly began to agree. Musubi stood up, now completely engrossed in this argument.
"Video games can never replace real people!" She declared, a simple but effective statement sending the band of females in the background into an uproar.
"OF COURSE THEY CAN!" You could see the righteous fury in his eyes, the embodiment of all that is mankind's hopes and dreams for the future powered by sheer willpower and hope rippling throughout his voice. "THEY CRY, THEY LAUGH, THEY SMILE!" Keima had now stood on the table, his hands not flailing madly, but reaching to the heavens themselves.
"THEY'RE DESIGNED TO BE MORE HUMAN THAN ANY OF US, TO HAVE STORIES THAT FILL THEIR LIVES WITH RICHNESS THAT CAN BE SHARED WITH OTHER PEOPLE IF THEY JUST REACH OUT TO GRASP THEIR HANDS AND LOOVEE!"
The men cheered out in triumph. Hell, most of them didn't even play video games, but this man spoke so highly of a higher love, that they couldn't resist joining his cause.
"YOU CAN'T HOLD A GAME!" Musubi had started yelling back, hands on her hips and her face squarely staring down Keima's intense gaze.
"YOU CAN'T KISS THEM, CARESS THEM, LET THEM FEEL YOUR HEARTBEAT!" The men, although still united, had begun to falter, and the women jumped on that moment of weakness. Keima didn't give up, however.
"YOU CAN USE BODY PILLOWS!"
Ok, yeah, that wasn't the best comeback.
The tension in the atmosphere was immediately cut by everybody imagining a comical picture of a man hugging a body pillow, a creepy look on his face and a cheery smile eternally plastered on the figure of the pillow.
And that's when a store worker had regained enough common sense to neatly chuck the two highly disruptive figures out onto the street.
Keima neatly brushed himself off, nonplussed at the fact that he almost started a revolution, and turned towards Musubi, who was now, of all things, laughing. It was as light and bubbly as her personality, and was refreshing to hear after such a heated debate.
"Keima-kun's a funny person, huh?"
Keima, despite himself, gave a small little smile. Yes, he did, and while he might disagree with Musubi's opinion of Dating Sims, she also had obviously felt very strongly on the subject, and who was he to hate a follower lover, of, well, love? It all distills, no matter how far apart a real-life love or a virtual one are, down to the same thing after all.
2D love was better however, just for the record.
"I like love." It might've sounded simple and almost childish, but almost profound because of it.
"I do too." Musubi nodded sagely, still lying upon the street. Despite the crowd at the restaurant, it had now dispersed and there was barely any foot traffic. She sighed, content but laced with the slightest hint of melancholy.. and longing?
"I wish I could find my Ashikabi." She said in a small voice. All of this talk of love, and, well..
Keima was not smiling anymore at the mention of this unknown term.
Keima abruptly turned, back now facing Musubi.
"Well, now that you're fed.." His voice had slipped into monotone, and he was facing nothing but the front of a PFP once again. He began the long walk back to his hotel.
Musubi, thrown off by Keima's cold shoulder, stood up, but took no steps toward Keima. Her face ran through a gamut of emotions, until resting on a look of worry.
"Erm.."
Her hands were now pressed tightly against her chest, perhaps to stimulate her heart enough to work up the courage to call after the quickly-retreating boy.
Keima then paused, as if noticing the woman's discomfort.
"Nice to meet you." It was in a notably friendlier tone, but also strained.
And as quickly as Musubi and Keima Katsuragi met each other in a whirlwind of activity, did they separate from each other.
Yes, it would be a long walk indeed back to the hotel.
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What happens when you walk away from the Heroine?
Sometimes, but not always, there were those twilight times when the protagonist in a story merely wandered throughout his life, interacting with various characters he may or may not get better acquainted with in the future.
Of course, if the protagonist wanted to go for a particular woman's heart right away, he would have to pay the most attention to her, to interact with her more than the others, just like real life. And often, the other heroines, when they were ignored, would go on to happily live their own life.
Just not with the protagonist.
But ignoring a heroine is one thing. Walking away from them?
And that's what Keima did.
On the balcony of his hotel suite, Keima was staring at the numerous rooftops and streets that criss-crossed across the city, no particular importance in his actions. Simply looking at the view. If there were a deeper meaning behind it, he didn't know.
Of course, there was a reason he walked away. That being, well, everything was too damn suspicious!
A woman falls out of the sky unto Keima, accompanied by twins in leather outfits that shot lightning that the first woman was able to dodge using unparalleled strength and speed no man should have.
That woman, being Musubi.
How many times would he have to stress the irregularity of it all? In the face of such mysterious developments, Keima knew that the longer he stayed, the longer he would be involved in.. Whatever Musubi was involved in. That's why he tried to run away in the first place! If he had maybe just given her money and sent her on her way, he'd happily be racking up hours of playtime by now.
But he went with him, they talked, and hell, they even bonded.
And he left anyway.
This is what bothered him.
By all means, a normal man can leave. If this was a normal situation. With a normal lady playing the leading role. If this was normal-land, where a man saves a woman from being mugged (the only plausible situation that could be used as a comparison,) the man is free to leave the woman right away after being the hero. If she was injured, maybe help her out a bit. But then again, it's not like the woman is at risk of being robbed right after the man leaves.
But Musubi wasn't ordinary, she certainly wasn't involved in something normal, and Keima? Keima was far from normal.
So chances are, Musubi was at risk. From the lightning twins to whatever she was trying to say before Keima left, she was definitely in danger.
Maybe. MAYBE she was in trouble; there's no way of figuring it out. The logic of the video game world was at work here, and when the real world was involved?.. well.. godddamnit, anything happened in the real world.
And Keima, to put it lightly, was not fond of the real world.
Alas, every man has to have at least one character flaw.
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The Hotel Manager, having regarded as Keima as a particularly special person of interest (the company that paid for him was said to now be particularly rich) rapped smartly on Keima's hotel door, delivering Keima's freshly-laundered laundry (why it was so wet confused the hotel workers.) He was short in stature and slightly balding, but he carried the air of responsibility needed to run a large hotel well.
What opened the door was a notably depressed and disheveled teenager.
"Sir?" The manager held out Keima's freshly laundered outfit, a simple long-sleeved white shirt with a stiff collar and a pair of khakis. Keima grabbed the clothes, uttered a word of thanks, and closed the door.
Humph. Even if he was a VIP, the old hotel worker still didn't approve of Keima. Sure, he wasn't a delinquent, but the way he was glued to that video game screen..
"The youth of today are useless," Keima accurately predicted of the man's monologue. Still, he'd only be here for two more days, so..
Keima found his restless self leaning on the railing of the balcony, once more looking down on the city. The night was as listless and dull as yesterday, and today proved to be no different. His eyes scanned the numerous streets and sidewalks, eyes passing over the crowds of people. He knew what he was doing, however.
He was looking for her.
Ahhh, whatever happened to those carefree times of video games and quiet?
Keima absent-mindedly lowered his hand to the PFP, which lay in its same spot where it was put down yesterday. He stared at it, absent-mindedly wiping the buttons with his fingers; as if one of his beloved heroines would suddenly pop unto the screen to make his worries disappear. Instead, he was rewarded with his reflection.
A moment of silence occurred where Keima's eyes met his own.
And he knew what to do.
Damn, he hated the times in the past where he was like this.
Cue little laugh.
He supposed one of the reasons he was so adamant to get involved in this particular story was because he wasn't even finished the first one.
Yes, this wasn't the first time Keima had been thrown into an outlandish situation, a plot ripped off the pages of a novel or a script for a game inserted into the real world.
His hands traced the choker-like accessory mounted around his neck, normally invisible to all. However, that was another matter altogether, so he decided to concentrate on what was in front of him. He threw on a polo shirt and a pair of jeans with haste, disregarding all his doubt and his negativity from yesterday.
He hit up the flag, he met the girl, and the route was locked in. He was the protagonist now, and nothing he could do would stop that fact.
And now's he gotta save the Heroine.
============== Loading ==============
Musubi awoke, having slept on a bench, and happy that it was another sunny day. The nights were actually quite harsh, but that was to be expected as the season became colder. Still, her circumstances did not detract from her mood, and after going up and doing a few stretches, she went off to complete her most important task- finding an Ashikabi.
Poor Musubi had incurred the wrath of some vengeful spirit, for ever since she had arrived to Shin Tokyo, she had a string of bad luck, including but not limited to the two ladies who shot lightning and losing her MBI-branded credit card.
Still, the reward at the end of this perilous journey still appealed greatly to Musubi, and this spark, combined with her insanely happy demeanor, kept her running.
The time with the boy in the glasses was still fresh in her mind, and Musubi lingered over the abrupt ending of their time together. Perhaps if she had called to him.. but Musubi wasn't sure if she felt the instant connection Sekirei did when found "the one," and, well, he was gone now. And she couldn't speak ill of him for doing so, however. Musubi was simply that nice.
"Still," Musubi thought, "I hope I can at least find a Ashikabi half as nice as Keima."
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Keima was walking, then jogging, then running around the streets. Even though Musubi couldn't have gone that far, the city was still a large place. Even though it was opposite to his actions, Keima knew that if the world was definitely running in its funny, sadistically happy way, it would be a simple matter of time before the two crossed their paths.
Of course, since the world was running in its funny and sadistically happy way, it saw fit to hold a reunion between Keima and a certain pair of ladies..
"Grand opening! It's the grand opening of a new restaurant!" Hibiki and Hikari were wearing red and blue maid outfits respectively, a far departure from what they wore the first time Keima had met them. Indeed, it was even odder to see them handing out fliers and balloons to happy toddlers. Upon recognition of each other, however..
"CRAZY S&M TWINS!" Keima burst out.
"CREEPY KID WITH THE ANNOYING SEKIREI!" The two ladies yelled in response.
Keima immediately pulled a 180 and attempted to make a dash for it, but a well-aimed thunderbolt straight in front of him halted his escape. Before he knew it, the two ladies were staring him down, sparks playfully jumping from their hands mere inches away from his face.
"Where's that Sekirei?" The less angrier of the two had chosen to take the lead this time, although the embarrassment from their last encounter was still lingering in the background, causing Hibiki to be just as volatile as her other self.
The unknown term didn't matter to Keima, for he knew damn well who she was referring to, and with a threat of a bolt of electricity being jammed down his throat, specifics didn't matter. "I don't know! We separated soon after!" Keima shrieked, hands in front of his face in the slim hope he had somehow developed the ability to block lightning. Godddamnit, why now? An encounter like this only served to get Keima hurt for the enjoyment of a cruel higher being. If he needed to scream like a little girl to get out of this, so be it.
"Are you sure?" Hikari barked, increasing her power in such a way that the static crackle that her powers produced became intensely loud, much to Keima's chagrin.
"I HAVE NO IDEAA!" Keima's voice raised in pitch so high that he had basically broken out in hysterics.
*ggrrrrrrhhhhhmph*
A sound akin to a truck mating with a chainsaw flooded the street, as Keima realized that not only did he manage to attract a crowd, but also the attention of a hungry certain air-headed Sekirei.
"Ahh, I'm hungry again.." Musubi held her stomach as if to comfort it, completely unaware of what was occurring just a few feet to her left.
…..
"YOOOUUU LIIIAAAR!" The twins bellowed in unison, readying themselves to impale Keima's face with as much spears of lightning as they could.
"Ah, Keima-san!" Musubi had spotted him, giving a friendly wave. Wait..
"AH, KEIMA-SAN!" Fully grasping the situation at hand, Musubi had immediately dashed toward the twins, only to be driven back with a pillar of light that singed the front of her clothes and sent it toppling.
"Finally! Let's just get this over with!" The twins ignored Keima and strode towards Musubi slowly, their hands now crackling with excitement as opposed to the angry buzz they had shown towards Keima. "Lucky for us, it looks like you haven't been winged yet!" The twins were speaking one after another, and Keima couldn't figure out who was saying what.
They stopped, striking a deliberate pose, arms linked together and their free hands channeling the jittery stands of lightning. "Too bad you had to meet us two days in a row, huh?!" With that, the twins had swiftly raised their hands and swung it down like a guillotine, sending another wave of electricity at Musubi.
*KKKKRRAACKKT*
Keima pushed Musubi aside into a side alley, taking the full brunt of the attack and lighting up like a lightbulb connected to a nuclear reactor; that is, becoming bright as the sun and burning out right after. Keima landed with a soft thud in Musubi's chest, smoking and burnt.
"Ah, damn kid! You're not even her Ashikabi! Why even protect her?" Keima couldn't make out who said that particular phrase- his ears were filled with a buzzing noise, although he was unsure if it was his ears burning off or the two angry ladies in front of him.
He was no fighter. Even a lap around the school track was enough to wipe him out, and Keima honestly lamented not exercising more, if not to only gain more stamina to run away from situations. Even now, his head was pounding and his heart was throwing a tantrum.
"Keima-san.."
Ah, were these the angels come to escort Keima to the heavens?
"You.. can't give up!"
"wha-what?.."
A score of maidens surrounded him- no, shield maidens, more like! Clad in armor of distant lands and wielding weapons of all kinds, Keima recognized them as heroines with whom he had fought alongside with in other worlds.
"You were a great mage in my world!" A blonde knight declared, carrying with her nobility and grace that would belong to queens and kings alike.
"A conqueror who united my country!" A woman dressed in Japanese armour boomed; you could tell she lived for the thrill of battle.
"And a cunning strategist in mine!" A woman clad in a simple kimono, but still retaining the fierceness of any brave warrior worth their salt finished the line of praises, bring tears to Keima's eyes.
They were right. All of them. How could he waver so easily in the prospect of a fight, when he had fought endless times (in video games) and faced enemies of unimaginable scale and strength (in video games) to save scores of heroines? Fighting games, RPGS, Strategy games, he had won them all!
He was able to ignite the flames of passion in the real world by using the feelings he had grown in the 2D world; who was he to say he could not draw from his experiences of battle here?
He would take up the mantle he had worn in those war-torn lands, adopt once again his qualities of bravery and quick thinking wit- No, he already had all those, and more! He was both a fighter and a lover, a man who survived countless battles and captured the hearts of many more women!
He was Keima Katsuragi, The Capturing God!
"I.. I shall win! For truth! For justice! FOR LOVE!"
[Fade to black]
Ending Theme: Dream Traveller of the Integrated Circuitry
Lyrics: Keima Katsuragi / Vocals: Keima Katsuragi Feat. 2D girls
*KKKRRAAACCKK!*
A thick layer of dust clouded the air, as both Keima's and Musubi's bodies were shielded from view. Hikari raised her arm for another strike, but Hibari grabbed her arm, spotting something new in the dust cloud.
This figure looked ready for a fight; they gave off an ominous aura by the way they stood.
Actually, it was Keima wielding a garbage can lid and a lead pipe.
Let it be said that Keima was not immune to moments of insanity, however clouded his regular definition of 'sanity' was.
"Why you-" Hikari instantly flung a flash of lightning, but Keima threw the lid into its path, sending both flying in opposite directions. Musubi strained to get up, but found herself a lot weaker than she usually was; that cold night must've done a great deal on her than she realized.
Keima still held the pipe with two hands, but despite his battle-ready pose, he was in no way ready to even survive a flick to the forehead.
"Keima-san, you don't have to do this for all me.." Musubi said, feeling indebted to the boy. Going to such lengths was too much, although she had to admit, that warm feeling growing in her chest calmed her down. Ah, was she possibly reacting to him?..
"No." He sounded unsure, and he still was- about all of this. It had been a long time since Keima had taken up such impulsive actions. He knew it wouldn't be the last.
"I do."
Something about Keima's unwavering loyalty apparently cracked something in the twin's psyches- the younger twin found herself having a fit of anger. Another loud crack and Keima was once again sent tumbling towards Musubi, lead pipe flying out of his hands and Musubi catching his frail body in her arms as Hibiki shrieked out,
"THAT'S IT! I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND THEN SHOOT A LIGHTNING BOLT DOWN YOUR DAMN NECK-"
"Nice tits."
"WHAT THE HELL, SEO?!" Hibiki had seamlessly transitioned from being violent to being outright shocked.
"Well, I'm just saying, they're an awful nice pair that Sekerei's got."
With a shrewd smile, a man whom Keima could only describe as 'The roughest-looking deus ex machina' appeared from the other end of the alley and wrapped his arms around the twin's shoulders, beginning to grope their ample chests.
"DAMN IT, SEO!" "Damn it, Seo.." Although the twins definitely looked angry enough to send the apparent molester into a burn ward, their mixed reactions of pleasure and fury were apparently intense enough to stop them from doing anything. He gave off a obnoxious laugh, continuing on with his perverted act.
"What- what the hell are you even doing here?!" Hibiki was on the verge of killing the poor man who had wrapped an arm around her, if her bouts of wayward sparks held back only by a hair trigger had any indication. "You were supposed to be at your job earning us some money so we can eat!" That last part was stressed upon far too strongly.
Seo seemed hurt, although it was all in jest as he laughed brashly. "Hey, hey, Hibiki! I thought you were supposed to be the nicer of the two! Well, I ended up clockin' a guy when I was at the counter cause' he was being a proper ass. Got fired pretty quickly after that after I knocked the manager's head around a bit, too." It appeared all the anger that the twins had directed towards Keima had found a new target, one painfully oblivious to what was coming next..
"Today was payday." Hibiki was angry now, but her other half was the epitome of 'angry,' Hikari's words dripping with more venom than Hibiki could ever muster up. "Did you at least manage to pick up your paycheque?..."
"... Nope! Guess we'll be living on rice for a few more weeks, huh?"
*KRRRAAACCKKKATTHOOOOMMM*
If what the twin's powers could be described as was power over thunderstorms, the ability they displayed right then was more comparable to a priestess's act of calling forth a godly force to smite non-believers, the quite devastating, jagged streak of energy crackling with such voltage that anything metal nearby still had sparks dancing along it's surfaces.
"ow." Seo squeaked, his voice high pitched and barely audible. He coughed, a comical puff of black smoke arising from his lungs. It was a miracle that his clothes, heck, his body wasn't reduced to ashes the same soot-coloured blackness that was the colour that Seo was hacking out of his chest. As if the lightning bolt had consumed all the tension in the air, the sisters merely stood in place with no fight in them, winded from delivering a gargantuan display of raw energy simply because the man in front of them had irritated them.
The poor man turned a teary face towards the sisters, Hibiki looking off to one side, Hikari attempting to whistle and failing horribly. Then he turned towards Keima and Musubi and shuffled towards them, looking much like an electrocuted zombie at that. Only the shuffle of his dragging footsteps could he head as he stood right in front of the two, still on the ground, and he kneeled slightly. Keima honestly thought he was about to collapse atop them, but instead the man ruffled the kid's hair.
"Bit young to be an Ashikabi, kid."
Keima couldn't quite grasp anything about this man. One side of his brain dedicated to analyzing people warned him that the words used to describe this guy was, to grab a few words from Keima's diverse vocabulary, "Useless, Slacker, Creepy.."
White undershirt, ripped-up jeans.. "Violent, arrogant, freeloader.."
Unshaven face, messy hair.. "Loyal, good-natured, cunning.."
"What?" Keima blurted out, attempting to sort out the half-fried contents of his brain. At this point, Seo had kneeled down to stare at Keima, still shielding Musubi from harm.
Useless, Violent, Good-natured Seo gave off another fond laugh, absent-mindedly patting Keima's head- he was much like a big brother teasing his younger sibling, a act most unexpected considering he was almost burnt to a crisp. "Interesting guy, considering you didn't wing this pretty lady yet." He turned his head towards Musubi, who, at this point was just watching the events in front of her occur, was beginning to blush slightly at the mention of this "winging." Another gruff laugh, and Seo stood up and walked towards Hikari and Hibari, the two unsure of what would happen next. The two looked genuinely sorry for delivering such a harsh blow.
Seo slung his arms around the twins again (after what that had led to, Keima was slightly impressed), but the two were docile now, and Seo wasn't outright molesting them. "Ya know, I'ma fine 'bein a lightning rod once in a while, but you ladies kinda overdid that one." His voice was still rough around the edges, but he honestly sounded a bit wary. Hikari attempted to defend herself, her excuse along the lines of "We might've overdid that one.." but Hibiki regained her humility enough to add "...because we were overreacting. We got a bit too worked up." The two really did seem repentant, the glance Hibiki shooting toward Keima containing only half the desire to fry his innards. Luckily for the two, Seo ruffled their hair much he did to Keima, and he didn't sound angry. "Aaah, 's alright. Gotta be expected to see a bit of fire from you, seeing as you two are lightning in the sack."
"You ass.. " "Seo, ya' jerk.." The two muttered, looking more comforted than angry, relief seeping into Hibari's abashed profile and Hikari's pouting looks. The gentle, crude, subtle-as-a-train-wreck slightly misogynist comment being said at such a time meant everything was well between the three.
Seo's bravado came back to him soon enough, and twins in his arms more for support than anything, began to walk them off in the other direction, voice cocky and confident as ever.
"Well, who are we to interrupt two lovebirds? I don't roll like that."
"But- hold on a damn minute, attacking unwinged Sekirei was your idea!"
Seo completely ignored that relevant last sentence. "Hmm, maybe you girls 'oughta do some 'special' service for me when we get back to make up for this, huh?" As the trio turned a corner, Keima swore he heard not-so-distant thunder, along with a man's shriek- Keima wondered if the sisters were so volatile specifically because of that man. Keima wasn't sure how he should feel after escaping such a emotional circus- angry? relieved? exhausted? He couldn't summon up the words needed to describe the topsy-turvy chain of events he was going through.
Also, did he just encounter a bonding moment right after an attempted attack on his life? A bonding moment between the people attacking him, no less?
Truly no words to describe his life right now.
Soon enough, the day was as lifeless as ever, and there was nobody around once again, bar Keima lying atop Musubi-
"Erk." The sound was more casual than anything, but there was no eye contact as Keima stood up and dusted himself off. The two walked towards the entranceway to the alley, neither of them saying a word. It was only when Musubi increased her pace just enough to catch up to Keima and shoot a casual glance towards his profile, eyes giving off a curious gleam as she idly asked him,
"So, it was lucky we bumped into each other, didn't we?"
"Erk." Not as casual. The teenager froze.
"You weren't worried about me, weren't you?" She was still discussing the matter like one would be discussing the weather.
Keima's response was immediate. Turning around and brandishing a pointed finger at Musubi, he yelled out,
"NO! I was just.. just wondering what you were talking about yesterday! About your 'Ashikabi' and 'Winging' or.. or whatever! THAT'S IT!"
Musubi's smile merely grew wider, and Keima instantly recoiled, repressing the urge to smack himself in the head. With that outburst of tsundere, the roles were pretty much switched around, weren't they? Keima might've been the princess and Musubi the dashing prince dashing in to save Keima from-
Wait, that was pretty much the case, wasn't it? Ah, damn it..
Musubi gave off an innocent giggle; Keima could swear that for all her naivety and innocence, she was actually teasing him.
"An 'Ashikabi' is someone whom I've never seen, yet is very precious to me."
It sounded practiced, but revered, like a man reciting his wedding oaths.
"Someone whom I'll serve."
A step.
"Someone whom I'm to guide."
A step further.
"To the higher sky above."
Keima and Musubi stood face-to-face.
"And this is what we 'Sekirei' refer to as 'Winging.'"
A pair of bird-like wings burst out of her back, which blossomed into streaks of purple that stretched out all around her, more solid than light but yet softer than glass. A violet hue dyed the air around her, her own body giving off the peaceful luminescence. But what Keima noticed most of all was her smile- while normally she was all sunshine and rainbows, this time she gave off a look of bliss that even sent the normally staunch Keima to blush slightly.
For all the times that Keima had encountered that particular look, he could never put it exactly into words. It wasn't necessarily that he didn't have the vocabulary needed to describe it, nor was it a form of respect in this particular look 'could never be described with mere words.' He simply never knew how to say it.
She was happy. She was in love.
============== Loading ==============
Back in Keima's hotel room, Musubi was sleeping on the particularly squishy bed in the middle of the room, the TV providing a steady stream of background noise while Keima simply leaned against the balcony, playing a game as always. The PFP still felt slightly warmer than usual to the touch, although he was just lucky it didn't burn out after that encount-
*ffffzzzt..* A thin trail of smoke came out of the PFP. Keima gave a small frown of displeasure, gently laying it on the balcony table. He winced slightly doing so. Even slightly bending ever reminded him he was sore, and burnt, and tired.
Keima didn't sigh as often as his misfortune allowed him to. Still, he gave a little 'hmmph' of discomfort.
Keima realized just how impulsive he was these days, finding himself running after girls on a bad feeling and fighting against angry, belligerent living lightning rods.
And what now? He could not see an ending; nor could he believe there was one in his unforeseeable future. This unnerved Keima. For a large part of his life, he had planned everything out to the nearest detail, and it went perfectly well, save for a few bumps in the road that simply meant he had to recalculate his projected route in life. And now, well, he was flung into a world he barely knew about, where every day could herald a new headache and a chance to get grievously injured. And if every day was was like today..
The real world.
Was this what it felt like living in the real world?
Keima Katsuragi sighed.
What had changed from the halcyon days of 2d screens and warm controllers? Scratch that question, He knew full well what changed in his life to.. stir up ripples in his lifestyle.
The images lingered in his mind; lively voices overlapped the still but clear images cycling through his head, not unlike a flashback in a video game.
"Kami-sama.." He was never really used to that declaration being used so casually.
"… Spirits in the gaps of maidens.." It really was, and still is, a pain to this day..
".. Hell won't return to its former glory… As long as you goddesses exist!" Is that what she said? Keima heard it second-hand..
"I.. don't really mean.. what I said at that time.." …
But that was the past, and Keima thought nothing of it except when he needed to. Or at least he tried to. As he likes to think What's past is prologue.. or rather, prerequisite.
Prerequisite. Hmm. Ever steady on the cel-shaded brick road, at least.
He walked over to Musubi; oddly enough, the way she was sleeping so deeply reminded him of a hibernating bear. He shook her gently, and she muttered lightly, "No, the ham isn't very delicious.."
Oh, she loves food, huh? What an endearing trait.
"Hey, Musubi." He nudged her.
Musubi immediately sprang up, her non-existent dog ears perked up and her equally as existent tail wagging. "Yes, Keima-sama?" the change in prefixes startled Keima considering what he mulled about earlier, but he pressed on.
"About earlier.. about Sekireis and Ashikabis, I still don't have a clue about what you're talking about."
"Ah! I never told you about the Sekirei Plan either, right?"
*beepbeepbeep!*
Keima turned off the TV.
"No, you didn't. Can you tell me everything you know about…" Keima scrambled over the little he knew. "..everything?"
Musubi tapped the side of her forehead with a fist in a light-hearted gesture. "Ehehe, I'm not sure if I can tell you everything-"
*beepbeepbeep!*
Keima paused. The TV was off now. Where was that coming from?...
Keima turned his head towards the source, his supposedly burnt-out PFP. He walked over and lifted it up, and the minute it was at eye level-
"CONGRRRAAAULATIONS!"
He came face to face in a man in white.
=================== Save? ===================
Notes
Hey. What's up.
First time writer, first story released, and I got no betas. I'm not saying it's automatically horrible, but that being said I fully expect there to be mistakes and crappy writing a-plenty in my story. So rip into it all you want, reviewers. If you enjoy it, that's a whole other matter. Feel free to review all the same.
Anyway, I've had this idea stewing for a while, and while it certainly isn't the first story I'm working on, this chapter is the first of the batch to feel satisfying enough for actual release. I'm a fan of both TWGOK and Sekirei, but I admit I can count the amount of dating sims/galges I've played on one hand, and my knowledge of Japan and it's customs are limited to that known by a fan of anime and manga and vidya games. And not a hardcore fan, too, so it's limited knowledge. But for the sake of this fanfiction, I will learn more and play more!
Now, for the story itself. Time-wise, it's just after Keima finished up the Goddess Arc, so while Keima's undergone a bit of character development, he still has room to grow. Seo is met early, because I do plan to skewer the pacing just a bit to get some original content in.
.. I've honestly a lot to say, but I feel I've written too much already. I'll end this with a note that updates will be sporadic (I'm sorry if this makes you sad,) but I'll try my best to crank out chapters.
EDIT: Added more to the encounter with Seo, finished up a sentence that I didn't even finish in the beginning (I'm ashamed, really,) minor edits here and there.