Full Summary: Minato never could handle pressure all that well, nor was he too skilled at standing up for himself. When it came to girls especially he was a bit of a doormat, which was understandable considering his uncompromising mother and dominating sister. But with hot alien women trying to get in his pants one moment and waging war against each other the next, he's really going to have to step up his game if he wants to make it out of this messed up battle-royale alive.
Chapter 1 – Misfortune or Luck? The Similarities are striking; Part 1
Posted: 07-02-2019
Cover Art: Unbreakabledolphin on Deviantart
This really wasn't the kind of place I'd normally visit. Throbbing music, disorienting lightshows, and a large dance floor populated by a very loud and very drunk collection of people. They didn't really dance. It was more like they just wildly flayed their limbs in random directions, while bobbing their heads up and down to the beat of the music.
Honestly, considering the way they moved, I felt kind of impressed no one didn't just accidently smack someone else in the face. That must have required some impressive coordination; or maybe collisions did happen but people were simply too drunk to notice or care. Yeah… I was leaning towards the second option.
Still, this was more or less what I'd expected to be honest. After having spent months doing nothing but sleeping, eating, and studying – it felt refreshing to get out for once. Or at least it should have according to my sister, who, bless her heart, had decided to drag me to one of her favorite drinking holes in Tokyo.
I had no idea how she even had a set of favorite bars in Tokyo, considering she didn't even live here, but well, I made it a point of never questioning my little sister. So then, what was she even doing here? Well, simply put; I'd failed the entrance exam. Again.
That's right, I was a second time ronin. That was kind of impressive actually, in a depressing, pathetic sort of way.
So, after hearing the news of my failure she'd hightailed it to my apartment – spending hours in traffic – only so she could tell me in person how disappointed she was. Well, perhaps that was a little unfair. She had spent some time admonishing me, poking fun at my miserable expression, but she'd spent just as much time trying to cheer me up. It hadn't really worked – I still felt just as dejected – but I appreciated the effort nonetheless.
She'd probably noticed my mood wasn't improving and therefore decided to drag me to this place; to keep my mind occupied. Well, it was working, kind of. I'd downed a few beers. Not enough to get really drunk, but enough to leave some of my worries to drown in the low buzz in my head.
A slight stir announced the arrival of a new individual as she entered the bar, and more than a few heads – mostly belonging to males – turned in her direction. Wow. She was gorgeous. Long legs, fair skin, with long, raven hair that perfectly framed her curvaceous body. The kind of woman I just knew instinctively were so far out of my league it wasn't even funny. She wore a formfitting, elegant dress, the design of which probably would have locked a little less immodest if it weren't for her breasts – whose size, I might add, would have left Yukari drooling – and the area in between them that were cut in intricate patterns, leaving a generous portion of her cleavage on proud display – the dress clinging to her body like a second skin.
My eyes moved up, just in time to meet her own. I adverted my eyes immediately, and the heat rising in my cheeks certainly didn't help matters. God, had she caught me staring? Of course she had, I hadn't exactly been subtle about it.
Damn hormones. I thought Yukari was the perverted one, but turns out I was just as bad. Normally I could keep my eyes from wandering, so perhaps the alcohol had affected me more than I realized.
Come to think of it, where were Yukari? She'd told me she needed to use the restroom, which was over an hour ago. Guess I'd lost track of time.
Suddenly, as in response to my thoughts, the phone in my right pocket started vibrating. It was probably playing its normal tune, signaling someone's call, only, because of the loud club-music I couldn't hear it.
Checking the caller ID, it was Yukari like I'd kind of expected. Should probably leave the club before answering the call though, otherwise I'd have to yell to surpass the loud club-music in volume. The exit was right next to my seat, and soon I was outside in the brisk night air.
"Yukari?" I asked, answering the phone. "I was beginning to wonder where you disappeared of too."
"Y-Yeah... sorry onii-chan." She sounded kind of nervous, which was a rare state of being for my sister. "Something came up."
"Wait..." I started, feeling just a little irritated. "Did you leave without telling me?"
"As I said," she muttered, "something came up. Anyway, onii-chan, you feel a little better?"
I wanted to point out that 'something came up' wasn't a very good excuse, especially considering she'd left me waiting for over an hour, but well, this was my sister we were talking about.
Once, when she was maybe five if I remember correctly and still believed in Santa Claus, she'd spent almost two hours arguing with her 9 year old friend over whether Santa existed or not, and by the end of it convinced her older, disbelieving friend of Santa's existence. If she thought something was right then it undoubtedly was, at least by Yukari logic.
"Yeah... I'm actually feeling a little better. Though that might just be the low buzz of the alcohol talking."
She giggled. "Glad to hear it! After sitting coped up in that small apartment of yours for such a long time, I thought it'd be good for you to-" another voice suddenly interrupted our conversation at the other end of the call, one not belonging to Yukari.
"Yukari-san? Which towel should I use?" I had a hard time telling because of the individuals light voice, but I was pretty sure it belonged to a male.
Yukari in turn released a tiny whine that sounded wholly unlike her. I heard her shuffle around in the background, leaving her phone behind as she frantically... did whatever it was she did.
"Yukari, what happened!?" I called into the phone, suddenly worried. "Is there someone else there with you!?"
Her frantic shuffling got closer again, before a rattling sound which must have been her dropping the phone echoed in my ear. A moment later she was back. "Onii-chan, you still there?" She did sound just a little panicked, but there was no fear which helped calm my nerves somewhat.
"Yes, I'm still here. Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I'm completely fine. Why wouldn't I be?" There was confidence in her voice, but also a little hysteria. "But anyway, I really can't talk right now, so I gotta go."
You called me!
"Just wanted to let you know I'd left so you didn't start to worry, okay? But anyway, I gotta deal with this one thing real quick, so I'll call you tomorrow. Bye!" And just like that she hung up, leaving me to sigh as I hung my head.
I probably should have been worried, or at the very least feeling just a little concerned. But well, again, this was Yukari. Her love life were about as successful as my own, not because she was unattractive and wishy-washy like me – she'd inherited mom's genes, so she was actually quite popular with the boys in school – but because she could be a little too intense at times. I had never seen her in a relationship that lasted longer than a week or two, so if Yukari really was with a guy then all the more power to her. Assuming he was a good guy of course, but really, would my stubborn little sister settle for anything less? She was a good judge of character.
And, more importantly, her love life really wasn't any of my business…
…or maybe that male voice in the background actually came from the TV in her room, which – now that I thought about it – was the more statistically likely possibility.
Yeah... shouldn't worry. I'd just call her tomorrow.
*The next day
I was out of food, again. Mom had cut my allowance in half after failing the Todai exam, so if I intended to retake the test a third time I'd probably have to get a job, as the money I'd collected was quickly running out. Well, should still afford something simple and cheap like instant noodles... which I was really sick of. Maybe it would be okay to buy something a little more filling for once, as a sort of consolation price for not getting into the university of my choice.
Either way, whatever I decided to have for dinner, I needed to go to the store.
The evening air was even chillier than yesterday, the cold compelling me to wrap my jacket even titer around my frame.
I'd called Yukari earlier today, and she sounded just as happy and spry as she always did. When I asked for information regarding her current relationship status however, she'd vehemently denied any knowledge about a boyfriend, so apparently that voice in the background really had been the TV or something similar. Well, she could have lied I suppose, but then again, why? My little sister loved teasing me, so if she really had managed to snag a boyfriend she'd likely be rubbing it in my face, reminding me – vehemently and gleefully I might add – of the fact I'd never even kissed a girl before.
My little sister was sweet like that...
After a 10 minute walk I finally reached the store and soon I'd bought myself some food that for once actually made my mouth water. After weeks of scarfing down nothing but instant noodles it would feel great to enjoy some high quality sushi for once.
The bag I was holding exposed my hand to the cold however; should have brought along a pair of gloves. As a particularly strong gust hit me right in the face, I couldn't help but grunt slightly and turn my head to protect the delicate structure from the cold weather; craning my neck just enough to catch sight of her.
It was the same gorgeous woman I'd seen at the bar yesterday. Her purple dress contrasted sharply with the gray street, which was why she was so easy to spot. What were the odds I'd run into her again like this, out on the street, almost 20 minutes by buss from the bar I'd seen her at last?
Go talk to her. A part of my mind taunted. Introduce yourself.
But no, no. I wouldn't. Mostly because I simply didn't have the balls to just go up and talk to a girl like that – honestly the thought of doing so was downright terrifying – but also because I was sure a woman like that would be getting plenty of attention already. She was probably sick of being hit on the second she entered a bar, and most likely didn't want to have to deal with the same thing while just taking a stroll outside. Plus, walking up and hitting on a woman you'd only seen once at a distance the day before, simply because you found her sexually attractive was dangerously close to stalker territory.
I had no idea what kind of personality she had, so the one part that wanted to approach and get to know her was my libido, and nothing else. Not exactly a good reason.
Yeah… let's just walk back to my apartment and eat some blissfully tasty sushi by myself; a perfect ending to a perfectly normal day.
It was getting dark anyway, and while these streets were populated and busy during the day, towards nightfall some slightly less savory types started to appear out of the woodwork. You know, like those three guys standing at the other side of the street, wearing dark, leathery clothes, almost hiding them from view.
They didn't appear to be paying any attention to me, but instead at something behind me. I turned around, just in time to see the purple clad woman from before slink into an alley. One of the guys motioned towards her, and as one unit they too started moving in the direction of the alley she'd just disappeared into.
Something heavy settled in the pit of my stomach. It was an ugly feeling, making my heart pound as if preparing to fight or flee, and the nausea bubbling up from within didn't help matters.
Oh, and then there was the fear of course, couldn't forget the fear, because as much as I wanted to do the right thing, the thought of confronting three grown men who were – going by their build – much stronger than me left me feeling weak, scared and just generally pathetic.
Still, I didn't know the woman. I had no obligation to help a complete stranger. I could just turn around and head home; enjoy some delightful sushi and pretend like I'd never seen anything, which I actually hadn't. I hadn't seen anyone commit a crime, and perhaps no one would. Maybe those three people actually weren't looking to take advantage of the woman. Maybe they just happened to be heading in the same direction as her…
…
Ha… couldn't even convince myself.
Cursing silently, I turned around and half walked-half ran towards the alley. They'd been walking briskly so I needed to hurry if I wanted to catch up.
The passage was inordinately thin, forcing me to retract my limbs slightly and press them closer to my body if I wanted to avoid touching the graying walls, which just happened to be covered in some kind of mold. In my haste I accidentally got a little too close to a wall, and the smell wasn't great, which I really should have expected since, you know, it was mold…
It wasn't supposed to smell nice.
As I moved deeper into the backstreet I slowly started hearing voices. They were loud, boisterous and sounded more than a little cocky.
I tried to rationalize in my head what I was going to do if what I thought was happening was actually about to happen, but came up blank. Shit! I could never focus properly when under pressure. It was the same reason for why I'd failed the Todai test twice in a row. My brain kind of just short-circuited and started running on autopilot.
And the autopilot, while functioning in the most technical sense, tended to crash into mountains more often than not. So yeah…
"Come on now sweetheart." The first thing I heard as I emerged on the other side was that sickly sweet voice, as if the owner was trying way to hard at sounding friendly. As he continued his voice dropped several decibels, probably realizing how unpleasant his made-up voice actually sounded, and as a result decided to drop it altogether. "We ain't gonna hurt you." He didn't sound all that sincere.
The scene I entered as I rounded the corner was not a pleasant one, but still what I'd more or less expected. Three men, wearing the kind of clothes you'd expect to find on suspicious, skulking individuals like themselves, surrounding one lone woman. Their intent was quite obvious, as were their threatening postures. One of them – most likely the one who'd spoken before – was even carrying a god damn iron pipe, hefting it on his shoulder like a baseball bat.
Okay… this is the point where I do something to prevent this from happening, my panicked mind supplied helpfully. The police! Yes, I call the police! Such a beautifully simple solution. Just need to reach into my pocket and…
Argh! I'd left my phone at home! Seriously, what kind of idiot didn't bring their mobile along when going outside at this day and age?! Was there something wrong with me?
Okay, so, no phone. Won't have time to run home and get it.
Scream for help? Well, it might help the woman as the assailants might attack me instead in order to keep me quiet, giving her a chance to run. It wasn't a particularly good plan, especially since it involved me getting beaten bloody – possibly killed – but it was all I had to work with.
"If you just do as we say and don't struggle we won't hurt you." One of the men muttered – the one with the iron pipe – before moving forward, as if ready to grab a hold of the woman, and without thinking I stepped out from behind cover and screamed at the top of my lungs. "Leave her alone!"
Alcohol, Kazehana decided, was perhaps one of the most brilliant beverages – no, one of the most brilliant things – humanity had ever invented.
So pure. So sweet. So perfect.
Now, Kazehana would be the first to admit she enjoyed a good drink. Too much, some would say, but personally Kazehana didn't think it was possible to drink too much wine. The way she saw it, the more the better.
She did agree, however, with the sentiment that you should never drive drunk; or, in her case, traverse the city skyline drunk. This epiphany had come to her earlier today when she, while making her way across the rooftops towards her favorite bar, happened to slip on a particularly wet roof-tile only to plummet towards the ground below.
She'd righted herself in the air of course, landing on her feet like she always did, but the fact still remained that she – former member of the first Disciplinary Squad – had slipped on a stupid roof-tile. Miya would have never let her hear the end of it.
So, for the simple reason that you should never traverse rooftops drunk, she was now walking back to her apartment instead of jumping. Normally such slow traversal speed would have been mind-numbingly boring, but well, she had the low buzz in her head to keep her at least somewhat occupied. Which was good, because she wanted her mind occupied. All so she didn't think of him.
His refusal to accept her love still hurt more than she cared to admit, although at this point she'd grown accustomed to drowning her sorrows in the wine-bottles she carried. She still thought of him now and again, and whenever she did she would down another bottle. In that sense it was kind of annoying being a Sekirei actually, as – because of their species' advanced metabolic system – she needed to drink almost teen times as much as any human to get half as drunk, and wasn't that unfair. She never got hangovers though, no matter how much she poured down her throat, so it kind of evened out.
She was brought out of her musings as she felt the presence of three individuals closing in on her. She stopped, allowing the three people to catch up to her.
Typical… Kazehana thought with a sigh. For a moment she'd thought a group of Sekirei were looking to take her down, but no, just a group of horny humans – none of them Ashikabi as far as she could tell.
They quickly circled around her, cutting of her escape paths; well, all but the one straight up, of course.
They… didn't smell great. Admittedly she probably smelled of alcohol too, but at the very least she didn't reek of dirt and sweat.
"Come on now sweetheart." Ugh. That was a disgusting voice if she'd ever heard one. "We ain't gonna hurt you." Well, that much was true. Or to be more precise they couldn't hurt her.
The one with the disgusting voice was carrying a little iron pole, while the one next to him had a knife strapped to his shin… and that was it.
No automatic rifle. No shotgun. Not even a basic handgun. These people weren't a threat.
Or she supposed they could be, but only in the sense a group of mice might be able to leave teeth-marks in the tail of a tiger before said beast ripped them to pieces.
Not that these people seemed to realize the danger they were in, exuding the kind of confidence only individuals who thought they had nothing to fear could muster, staring at various parts of her exposed skin with hungry eyes.
The one in front was wholly focused on her rack, which admittedly wasn't all that unusual. Men tended to greet her chest before their eyes moved up to meet her gaze, and more often than not their eyes would wonder down again when they thought she wasn't looking.
Really, she blamed her dress, which perhaps showed a bit more cleavage, back, and legs than strictly necessary. She'd started wearing more revealing clothes in the first place in an attempt to have the one she thought would be her Ashikabi pay more attention to her – not that he ever did.
Now that she was no longer actively trying to seduce a potential mate, maybe she should put on something just a little less revealing…?
Nah. They were comfortable, easy to move in, and easy to put on. Perfect clothes for a Sekirei.
It was just too bad they made these people look at her like a piece of meat. Kazehana felt a shill go down her spine. Oh, what she wouldn't have given to have him look at her this way.
When these people did the same she just felt disgusted.
"If you just do as we say and don't struggle we won't hurt you." One of the men stepped forward – the one with the tiny pole – obviously expecting her to comply.
So. How should she handle this? The obvious answer was to just kill them and be done with it. It was unlikely anyone would miss these people, and as long as she didn't leave any of her DNA on the scene, police would have a hard time tracing the crime back to her.
Plus, MBI would likely just sweep the whole thing under the rug anyway, making sure the case was never investigated.
However…
That would trouble him wouldn't it? He'd made it clear on multiple occasions that if possible they – the disciplinary squad – should avoid killing humans, as dead bodies on the street only entailed more work for him…
She hated how she still craved his attention, his approval. He'd made it very clear he had no interest in her as a woman, yet she kept hoping. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, once this stupid game was over he'd change his mind.
Ugh. Now she was feeling depressed, and worst of all she'd started sobering up.
It was all these bastards fault! She should avoid killing them but that didn't mean she couldn't break a few bones.
Before any of her assailants (read as victims) could reach her she'd already summoned a tiny ball of wind in her hand, getting ready to send the bastards flying.
"Leave her alone!" The scream came so out of nowhere that she actually halted her attack entirely, and the idiots surrounding her all turned their attention towards the new voice.
So someone had actually decided to come to what they thought was her rescue? It was somewhat surprising really, as not all that many people would go out of their way to help their fellow man in this day and age.
She turned around to get a look at the man – because while surprisingly light, the loud voice had definitely belonged to a male – who was getting ready to defend a complete stranger.
She expected to see someone confident. Someone with a strong build and a confident stance, suggesting they were no stranger to violence. Maybe even a policeman.
What she did not expect to see was a scrawny looking teenage-boy, standing there rigid as a wooden board, looking utterly terrified with large panicked eyes.
Without warning he rushed forward, and the people around her must have been just as surprised as her as they let him push past. As he reached her he grabbed a hold of her arm and kept running. She followed along behind more as a result of her curiosity than any strength on his part.
He probably hadn't paid too much attention to his surroundings though as he rushed right towards the side of the quadrangular alley that happened to lack an exit. He cursed as he realized his mistake, before spinning around to face the three other men who'd more or less recovered from their surprise, circling menacingly around their new targets, once again cutting of all obvious escape paths.
The teen again grabbed her by the arm and pushed her in behind him, placing himself between her and the three assailants.
"Come on kid, no need to make things difficult." One of the men muttered before sighing. "Just step aside, and walk away. As long as you don't call the police we won't come after you."
"Yeah," another added, "our interest lies with the sexy whore behind you. No need for you to get hurt."
His actions so far suggested he wouldn't take them up on their offer, yet at the same time Kazehana couldn't help but notice his general bearing suggested he just might. His stance was low but didn't appear all that stable, with feet pointing in the same direction off to the side, and shoulders retracted close to the body. These were all telltale signs of someone ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
…But he didn't. He held his ground, even though his posture unconsciously made it very, very clear he didn't want to. Huh.
Probably noticing he was being meticulously studied, he turned around, and for the first time she got a clear, unobscured view of his face.
She wouldn't have called his delicate face handsome – the moniker just didn't fit – but that didn't mean he was unattractive by any stretch of the word.
He was cute she supposed, in a dorky sort of way; with messy, raven hair and a pair of blocky glasses situated on the tip of his nose, framing a pair of large, expressive eyes that were quite, well… pretty really, looking just a little out of place on the face of a male as a result.
His features also seemed familiar somehow, although for the life of her she couldn't figure out in what way.
"N-no. I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to let you hurt her." His voice was small, the tremor and uncertainty clear. He didn't want to be here, that much was obvious, yet despite that he stayed.
The other men laughed. "And what are you going to do to stop us?"
There was a slight pause where it seemed he would not answer, but then suddenly the words just exploded out. "I-I'll fight you!" It was a lie. The other men knew it as they laughed even harder, she knew it, and going by the uncertainty in his voice he knew it too. Knew with absolute certainty that he was completely outmatched.
Then why did he stay? Why had he resolved to fight a battle he couldn't possibly win?
He angled his head – not enough to actually look at her but enough to make it clear he was speaking only to her – and whispered. "When I make an opening, you run. I-I'll hold them off for as long as I can."
And then it hit her. Was he staying behind because he thought she was in danger? Ignoring his own fight or flight response because he thought she needed his protection? There was something strangely adorable about that entire notion.
She felt a sudden, not entirely unfamiliar sensation spread through her body; a warmth originating from her chest racing all the way down to her toes.
Perhaps she should spend some time getting to know this boy. It couldn't hurt could it?
…but first she needed to deal with all these distractions.
I really have no idea if Kazehana's purple dress is easy to put on or not. I mean, it's got quite the complicated design, but at the same time it doesn't appear to zip at the back so the only way I can imagine you'd put it on would be by sliding it over your head like a normal (really long and tight) shirt.
You also probably noticed Kazehana appeared a little more murderous than she does in the manga. Honestly I'm not entirely sure why I made this change but she is a member of the 'first generation' Disciplinary-Squad. She fought a freaking war on Kamikura Island against what was essentially the governments of multiple countries, and while we've only seen small parts of the battle, she almost certainly must have killed during this time.
I used her cold and calculating inner monolog regarding the potential fate of her assailants as a way of showing the reader that she isn't just another naïve sekirei who doesn't know how the world works.
See my profile for future updates.