"This is the first time I've seen a different expression on your face..."
o-o
"You don't seem to be happy like he was..."
"I was hoping it would be different. But it wasn't. The history of man has been one of never-ending war. That hasn't changed. Even here..."
o-o
"Why are you leaving?"
"You already know of the insane game he is planning. I can't stop him... not without her help."
"I will go with you..."
o-o
"Even without wings, I promise you, now and forever."
"You don't need wings. But I give you the same promise, now and forever..."
o-o
"What's wrong?"
"I have cancer... It's incurable."
"No it isn't. Go to him and you'll get cured."
"I left him and took you along. I can't go to him."
"I'm not going to stand by and let your pride kill you."
o-o
"Will you help him, please?"
"I can't. He removed himself from us. He is no longer part of us. He even sold his shares. If I treat him, then I should also treat everyone who is dying. I can't... I won't."
o-o
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna kill him."
"No. I forbid it. No more killings."
"But you will die!"
"No more killings. Promise me."
"No!"
"Promise me!"
"I-I... I promise..."
o-o
"I am sorry. I will have to break my promise... I promised you, now and forever."
"This doesn't have to happen if you..."
"What's done is done. I have lived without shame, and for a short while, I had you. I am happy."
"Don't do this..."
o-o
The present:
"Why did you have to go...? You didn't have to", Miya whispered to her husband's grave, the pain in her voice apparent. She recalled all the memories she had of her husband. If only he wasn't so idealistic... If only Minaka had helped... If only Takami had sided with Takehito... If only she hadn't listened to Takehito and threatened Minaka at sword-point. So many things that could have been done to change everything, but they didn't get done. It was her fault, and Minaka's and Takami and Takehito. But it was done. Takehito was no more. Still, she bound herself to her promise. If only Minaka knew how tenuous his life was, he would be running scared. It was her promise to Takehito that kept her sword away from Minaka's belly. But he didn't know that. Because of that, Minaka was scared of her; and she was going to use that to force him to cure a person who was precious to one she looked out for.
MBI hq:
"Security alert", a calm and pleasant voice spoke through the PA system at MBI headquarters. "Security alert. Level 1 threat perceived. All personnel, please proceed to evacuation zones. Disciplinary squad, please report to the front of MBI premises. Security alert..."
"Wh-What's going on?", a surprised Benitsubasa looked up from the magazine she was reading. "Alert level 1 means a lethal threat. What...?", she looked to her ashikabi, Natsuo for confirmation.
He shrugged. "I am as surprised as you are. I haven't received any notice from Minaka."
A door to one of the rooms in the disciplinary squad apartments burst open, revealing a fully clothed Karasuba in her uniform. For once, Karasuba's easy going facade was not present. She looked grim as she ran out of the apartment, gripping her katana tightly.
Flabbergasted, Benitsubasa quickly got up from the couch and followed Karasuba. Behind her, she heard Natsuo and Haihane following and moving quickly. By the time they got to the elevators, Karasuba was gone. Benitsubasa's mouth tightened. Even if Karasuba was the best of them, they were still a team. Leaving them behind like this... But something definitely got under Karasuba's skin. Benitsubasa wondered what it was. Riding down the elevator, she, Haihane and Natsuo stared impatiently at the numbers display, unable to enjoy a smooth, quick ride, travelling a hundred floors down in less than half a minute. It was all in their minds. Something had rattled Karasuba. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.
Outside MBI hq:
Miya stopped in front of MBI. Between her and the building, Karasuba stood with her Katana already drawn. "I did not come here to kill anyone", she spoke crisply. She hated this sekirei. She was a killer. It didn't help that Minaka encouraged her killer instincts. But regardless of external influences, it was Karasuba who made her own choices. Whatever she was now was her own fault. Like Minaka, this person was only alive because of her promise to Takehito. Of course, all bets were off if she had to defend herself. She would gladly teach the brat a lesson.
Karasuba grinned maliciously. "Hand over your katana."
"You know I threw it away when I left", Miya calmly replied, her long purple hair waving gently in the wind.
"Whatever", Karasuba said dismissively, grinning hideously, savoring the confrontation about to take place. "You'll have to..."
"Whoever you are, you're not going to get by us!", Benitsubasa shouted, unknowingly interrupting Karasuba. The moment they stepped out of the building lobby, they saw Karasuba with her drawn katana. Desperate to prove that she was as good as Karasuba, she jumped into the fray. She was sick and tired of Karasuba treating her and Haihane with disdain. She didn't know who Karasuba was up against, but there was no one stronger than any of them; which meant that, whoever this was, she was going to end up with a few broken bones. Confident of her situation, Benitsubasa leapt at Miya with her fists drawn, ready to strike the moment she got close. She never did.
Miya saw her coming. She didn't even bother lifting her arms to defend herself. Instead, she used her ability to create shockwaves; the same ability she used to sink a fleet of battleships. She toned it down of course. She didn't want to kill this sekirei and break her promise to Takehito, though she did use enough to swat the stripling like a fly. The shockwaves sent Benitsubasa tumbling away from her, sending her sprawling to the ground, flat on her back.
Benitsubasa was in shock. She could not move, but she felt pain. It felt like a metal girder swatted her square on her chest. It was so painful, yet she could not even scream out.
Haihane saw it all. She was preparing to go help her teammate when Natsuo shouted for them to stop. "Are you kidding me?", Haiahane asked Natsuo incredulously. "Benitsubasa is hurt."
Natsuo just shook his head and ran to place himself between Karasuba and the strange purple haired woman. What he was doing might be stupid, putting his life on the line, but he was loyal to Minaka. He would obey Minaka, even at the expense of angering Karasuba; just like he was doing now.
"I never thought you'd do anything stupid", Karasuba quipped. "Do you know what you're getting into?", she asked humorously.
Natsuo just shook his head as he saw Haihane run to check on Benitsubasa. "Minaka's orders. Not even a single hair harmed on his visitor."
Karasuba grinned. "She has quite a lot of hair... protecting them all would be very hard to do."
Miya waited patiently as Karasuba bantered with her ashikabi. She couldn't imagine Karasuba bantering with any other human, so she had to assume that this man was an ahikabi. Whoever he was, he was stupid to place himself in front of Karasuba, ashikabi or not.
Unaware of the stupidity of what he did, Natsuo bowed to Miya with formality. "Please to forgive the lack of hospitality. Minaka Hiroto wishes to assure you that he would have stopped the disciplinary squad from acting impulsively, given enough time."
Miya bowed back, observing the civilities as Takehito had taught her. "What happened was hardly worth mentioning. I am Asama Miya. I am here to visit Minaka."
Karasuba gritted her teeth at being referred to as something not worth mentioning. She had half a mind to show Miya how she had come along. In the years that had gone, she had acquired more power. She may not have equalled Miya, but she thought that she was close. She wanted a chance to prove it. Deciding to keep silent for now, she instead focused on her curiosity. What in the world forced number one to come here?
Top floor, MBI hq - Minaka Hiroto's office:
Minaka sat warily behind his desk. He certainly didn't expect Miya to come here. Whatever it was she wanted, he was grateful that it wasn't his life. He'd be dead now if it was. They had exchanged polite greetings already. He was waiting for Miya to speak her mind. Try as he might though, he didn't feel the same comfort he usually felt when the disciplinary squad was there to back him up. 'Well', he thought to himself, 'I suppose even the first disciplinary squad couldn't handle Miya. She is the goddess.'
"Number 10 Uzume", Miya began. "Her ashikabi is sick and dying from a disease that humans can't cure. I am asking you to take responsibility for the ashikabi's treatment", Miya declared calmly.
Minaka stared thoughtfully at his fingers, not daring to look at Miya. He was scared shitless. But... if he could help this time, then maybe a little of Miya's anger would go away? He hoped it would. He wasn't counting on it though. There were times, a lot of them, that he regretted not treating Takehito of his cancer. He actually felt guilty. If this could, in a small way, repay for that, he would do it gladly; with the added bonus that he got to keep his life. "I am aware of the sick ashikabi's status", Minaka replied carefully. "It will be easy for us to have her care transferred to MBI since the owner of the hospital is a participant in the sekirei plan. All I have to do is make a few phone calls..."
"Then do it", Miya ordered. "Or are you going to decline?", she asked through gritted teeth.
'Scary', Minaka thought to himself. He didn't know the why or where, but Miya somehow inherited Takehito's scary aura. That, coupled with what she was made her really scary. Aloud he said, "It shall be done immediately. You can rest assured that MBI will do its best for number 10's ashikabi", Minaka assured her, almost bowing his head.
Miya looked at him distastefully. "Her name is Uzume... and one more thing", she warned. "If the ashikabi dies, don't even try to retrieve Uzume. If the ashikabi dies, I will take care of Uzume."
"But, a sekirei dies when an ashikabi dies", Minaka protested.
"I know that. I just don't want you or anyone else putting your grubby hands on Uzume, even if she is dead", Miya reasoned.
"Tch... There are... no... Natsuo, you and the squad leave", he ordered.
"But Minaka-sama", Natsuo protested "We can't do that especially with..."
"Leave", Minaka interrupted. "If she came here to kill me, I'd be dead by now."
Karasuba tittered. "Its nice to know you trust the squad so much, Hiro-chan", she said sarcastically.
"I didn't mean to question your trust", he countered. "I just need you to leave, please."
"Fine", Karasuba huffed. "Don't blame me if you come out of this without your head."
Minaka waited until the doors to his office closed. What he was going to tell Miya had to be kept secret. If word got out, there would be another Kamikura all over again. When everything was secure, he turned back to his guest, still avoiding those red eyes that could send shivers down his spine. "The sekirei who die don't really die, in the sense of the word. They are disabled. What happens is they fall unconscious when they lose their crests. After they are retrieved, we bring them back to Kamikura and put them in suspended animation in the ship", he explained at length.
"All the more reason then, for you not to retrieve Uzume if her ashikabi dies", Miya countered.
Minaka scratched his head. "What difference does it make?"
Miya's eyes hardened as they glittered red as blood. "It makes all the difference to me. Uzume lives in my home. Anyone who stays there is under my protection. If you want..."
"Okay, okay", Minaka held out his palms placatingly. "I will have a hands off policy with number t... I mean Uzume . But I cannot promise to protect her from the sekirei battles. Also, what I told you about the disqualified sekirei, please keep it a secret. If any nation knew about it, they would probably try to invade Kamikura again."
"Fine", Miya replied, "so long as you take good care of Uzume's ashikabi."
"It will be done", Minaka assured her earnestly.
"I will leave then", Miya said as she stood up. She was halfway to the door when Minaka spoke up.
"Miya... about that time when you..."
"Don't bring that up!", Miya glaringly spat out. "Not if you want to live."
Minaka quickly held up his palms. "My apologies, Miya."
"Apologies are not enough", she countered. "If you even slip once, my face will be the last thing you see." With that, Miya turned and left the room, disdaining to notice the disciplinary squad or the ashikabi who rushed into the office to make sure that Minaka was alright. Miya was hoping that Karasuba would be dumb enough to try something. She could take down Karasuba and this whole building in one blow. She bet it would feel great. Instead, Karasuba winked at her playfully.
"See you next time... number 1", Karasuba teased as she said goodbye.
Miya ignored her and kept on going, desperate to escape this building that symbolized so many negative things for her.
Meanwhile, Benitsubasa and Haihane were looking at Karasuba with mouths wide open. "Did you say number one?", Benitsubasa asked in disbelief.
Karasuba grinned. "It was stupid... what you tried to do. Be thankful she didn't kill you. She usually sinks battleships when she does that."
"Hardly", Benitsubasa downplayed Miya's abilities. "It did hurt, but it didn't kill."
"Did I ever lie to any of you?", Karasuba asked with a smile.
Benitsubasa thought hard. Come to think of it, Karasuba never lied.
"You see?", Karasuba continued. "What you did was stupid."
The streets of Tokyo
Miya walked home contentedly. She had accomplished what she set out to do without shedding blood. Perhaps now, there would be some justice for Uzume, who didn't deserve to be put back to sleep just as her life was really starting. But at least, even if the ashikabi did die, Uzume would get to continue living. Uzume would be sad for awhile, like she was when Takehito passed away, but a little time would help her over it; and she would make sure that she would be there to help Uzume. But maybe it wouldn't be necessary, if Takami did her job well. She was as brilliant as Takehito or Minaka. Miya was confident that Takami would do her best in finding a cure for the disease that was killing Uzume's ashikabi. Miya smiled happily as she returned to her inn. She was itching to hold her broom again, ready to pound someone's head if they got out of line. Fu... Minato and his sekirei certainly didn't learn their lessons quickly. She even giggled as she thought of Homura struggling to come to terms with his "womanhood" even as Minato had finally winged him.
If only Takehito was alive, everything would be perfect.
To be continued...
A/N: No, I am not writing a resurrect Takehito fic. Get that thought out of your heads. Takehito is dead, dead, dead, and he'll stay dead. This is a Miya centric fic. It will be a new romance for her. I just have to figure out who it will be... Definitely not Minato. That's worse than incest. I just can't imagine Miya and Minato together; not the way Minato is portrayed in canon storyline. I might even have to create an OC for Miya. Well, whatever happens will happen or some such trite phrase. Reviews please, and read my other on-going fic, Sekirei Unbound.