Italicized – emphasis in a ""otherwise it is a thought
Chapter One: The First Three Birds
As I woke up I immediately know something was different. My lifetime of training with Miya and, much more recently, Karasuba made me try to quickly get up. Oddly enough though, I was restrained by something.
Then I realized I wasn't the only on asleep in my bed. Musabi, my old training partner and friend, was asleep and cuddling up to me. I haven't seen her in five years. As I search the room to see what else had changed my eyes fell upon my clock. CRAP… Miya would be here in a minute and she would kill me for having a girl in my bed. Or worse, she would let Karasuba punish me again.
I'm not ready to die…I think as I try to sit up. As I moved I accidentally bumped Musabi.
"Huh..?.?" she sighed sitting up. "Oh! REI!" She yells as she tackles me back down onto my bed. "I've missed you," she says as she straddles my chest, wearing her usual skimpy Kimono. Of course, that's when Miya came in.
"Oh, Rei. Taking advantage of your old friend already?" she says.
"Wait, it's not what it looks like!" I said as Miya continued to walk slowly towards me The Mask behind her getting even bigger. Fortunately I'm one of the few that are unaffected by it
"So you are not in your bed, wearing only your boxers, with a Beautiful women sitting on you in a very revealing outfit?" Miya asked with a growl.
"Well yes, it is that, bu-" I started.
"KARASUBA!" she yelled loud enough for the entire compound to hear. "Rei needs to be punished! You have an hour to catch him."
I almost made it five minutes before she caught me.
As I stumble to the cafeteria for breakfast, black and blue from the beating, I felt glad that Karasuba liked me enough that she wanted me alive to play with more in the future. As I sat down next to Akitsu I thought how lucky I was that the Sekireis were kind enough to let me live with them after my mother disappeared. I never met my mom, but they took in me and my little sis after something happened when I was about two years old. As I grew up over the last decade and a half, I never left the compound that I called home. There was everything right here. It had the feel of a small village and I felt safe here. There are few guys here though, and even fewer normal humans like me and my sister.
"Good Morning," I said to Akitsu, my best friend.
"Good Morning Rei. Karasuba?" She asked me.
"Yup" I replied shaking my head.
"Rei!" Musabi yelled as she tackled me for the second time today, "Are you alright? I was really worried about you."
"Ya, I'm fine, but why were you in my bed?" I watched as Akitsu's expression went from amused to shock by the end of my sentence.
"Musabi missed you Rei, and I wanted to surprise you but then it got late and I got tired and then I decided to go to bed and we used to share a bed all the time so I figured why not?"
'Who is she Rei?" Akitsu asked sliding closer to me while Musabi leaned on my shoulders. I felt vaguely uncomfortably like someone just told me I was in a minefield.
"Oh, Akitsu, This is my old Friend and Former sparing partner, Musabi. Musabi this is my best friend and my sparing partner for the last four years, Akitsu." I said while trying to eat my food.
"Oh this is My Best friend Rei's Old Friend and former sparing partner Musabi." Akitsu said with a smile as she slid closer to me. It that seemed to emanate satisfaction for some reason. I don't know why.
"Well thanks for looking after him, I will take care of him now, just like I did for ten years before I had to leave." Musabi said as she pulled me away from Akitsu.
"Well he knows me better now!" Akitsu said as she grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me back towards her.
"Well, I've known him longer!" Musabi said with a pout.
"Well I've never left him behind and went some where." Akitsu shot back.
"But…I… It's not like I had a choice..." Musabi said sadly
"That doesn't change the facts." Akitsu said with a wide grin.
"Well he promised he would wing me on my 19th birthday if I still wanted him too." Musabi shot back.
"Rei! Is this true?" Akitsu asked me with a mixture of shock and sadness on her face, looked at me pleadingly.
"Is it? Huuuuu…" I thought about it for a second "Ya it is I think." Akitsu looked sad and deep in thought as Musabi raised her hands in victory.
"You remembered!" Musabi shouted loud in my ear as she hugged me tighter.
"I wouldn't forget something like this." I said slowly.
"If that's the case," Akitsu said, "Rei I want you to wing me too." She looked at me with her beautiful, sad, blue eyes and I couldn't say no to her.
"Is that what you want? Seriously?" I asked, not able to hide the surprise on my face. I never expected that Akitsu wanted to be tied to me on such a deep level…
"Yes I'm sure," she said with a smile.
"But Rei…" said Musabi with a pout. "I thought it was going to be just you and me… but I guess Akitsu can join. Though to be honest, it will make you a stronger Ashikabi …"
"Are you sure this is what you want?" I asked. They both shake their heads yes. "When is your 19th birthday Musabi?"
"Today." She said with a shy but excited smile. "so you should wing me now!"
"Here? In Public?" I said in shock of what she asked. "Shouldn't I wing you somewhere a little more private and not as likely to get me killed?" I said with an uneasy expression on my face.
"Are you ashamed of the thought of becoming my Ashikabi?" Musabi asked with a face close to tears. "Am I that worthless?"
"No, it's just someone made me promise to never ever wing anyone without her permission. Seeing as it's you two I don't want to have to ask, I just want to have this between us." I said with a sigh.
As I had my eyes closed, they both decided to ignore what I had asked and both decided to kiss me right then and there. When I opened my eyes it was too late. I was in the middle of a three way kiss and both of them got their wings at the same time. Before I could react, a loud angry voice, from the one person who I might actually fear said "Stop that, he is mine!" I then was knocked out form something that hit my head.
"They were kissing him!"
"I Know. But doesn't that also show how strong your husband is that he got two more Sekirei to react to him?"
"But he's supposed to only be mine! He was promised to me by his mother!"
"Didn't you say you needed two more members for the squad?"
"Ya, I did so what?"
"Well, how about you finally bring your husband into the squad. With him and you three, his Sekirei, it should be no problem to do your job, eh? Oh, wait a second, you never told him that you were his."
"I will tell him as soon."
"I'm sure you will Karasuba."
Owwww… My head hasn't hurt this bad since Miya and Karasuba took me out for my 16th birthday. Why does it hurt this much? Wait…where am I? I don't recognize this room… wait a second …Why is Karasuba's sword leaning against the wall? This can't be…Karasuba's apartment?
Besides the sword on the wall, the only other "Personal" thing in the room is a picture of Karasuba, Miya, and a woman with a baby. I get up to take a closer look at it. As I get up I realize that I'm only wearing a short pair of shorts.
"Oh, you're awake Rei." Karasuba says as she walks into the room wrapped in a towel. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine, but who is this woman…" I turn around finally realizing her state of undress for the first time. "wa…"
"She is the mother of my Ashikabi. This is the picture of the day that we were bonded." She says with a soft voice.
My amazement was stronger than my feeling of discomfort at the moment. "Where is your Ashikabi? And why does he look so familiar?"
She looks at me with amused eyes. "You know him. He lives on campus, and he isn't even sure what exactly our connection is. Most of the other Sekirei know who he is." She suddenly looks downtrodden. "But will he forgive me? I've beaten him in nearly every way possible…"
I've never seen this side of her before… "I'm sure it will all work out for the best Karasuba. Hell I know I would forgive you." I say as I give her a gentle hug.
She blushes a little as she says, "Why would you forgive me after all the beatings you have received from me?'
"Because I know its your way of showing affection." I replied with a grin.
"…" She stares at me with some tears in her eyes.
"What is it Karasuba?" I ask confused.
That's when Miya also walked in…
"Shit." Me and Karasuba said at the same time.
What is Karasuba thinking? I thought to myself as I sat across from them at the low table after Karasuba put on a kimono and Rei did the same. If she isn't going to tell him, why did she let it get to this point?
"Now tell me again what were you two doing?" I asked barely keeping my voice in check. If it was anyone but these two my mask would scare it out of them…But it had to be Karasuba and Rei.
"We were just talking about the picture on the wall. I woke up and saw it. Then Karasuba came in and then you came in." Rei said. "I don't know how I wound up in here but I just did."
"So Karasuba, how did he end up in here?" I asked her. "And why were you only wearing a towel?"
"I was wearing a towel because I just got out of the bath, and was going to get my clothes. I stopped to talk to Rei about the picture of you, me, and her." Karasuba said with a shrug and a grin.
"And the other thing? Why was he asleep in here? Also, why were you looking like your about to cry?" I asked in a softer voice.
"…I don't want to talk about it…"
"Well, until I get a straight answer, Karasuba, you are not allowed to punish Rei." I said. "Also Rei, Musabi and Akitsu are looking for you. So go back to your room and pack up."
"Wait, Why?" Rei asked with a puzzled expression.
"Well all three of you can't live in your tiny apartment Rei. In fact, the three of you can't live on campus anymore either." I said. "But you are in luck. Karasuba is going to a small inn in town and you will be living and working there."
"She is? And wait, why are they moving in with me?" Rei asked incredulous.
"I'm doing what?" She yelled.
"Yes." I said with a smirk, "she will be manning the transition home. It was supposed to be Matsu's and Mutsu's job, but Mutsu is gone and Matsu can't possible do it by herself. Also since you are their Ashikabi, it is only proper that you share lodgings with them, no?"
"The idea is once a Sekirei is emerged, if they are their Ashikabi first, they will take their Ashikabi's to the inn. There they will learn about each other." I said barely holding back a laugh. "It's the perfect job for Karasuba. All of the new trainees you could ever want to beat on."
"But why do I have to go?" Rei asked still confused.
"Mutsu was a swordsman like Karasuba, but he also had chi manipulation like Akitsu, and he also was gifted in the martial arts like Musabi. While not as good as those three in their own field, he was still good enough to teach it. There is no way that Karasuba alone could teach all the little birds on her own." I said. "Plus, you will make a great butler."
"So I'm going to be a servant?" Rei asked confused.
"Beyond that though, we need to reinstate the discipline squad. Of the 300 or so released Sekirei, nearly all have become involved in some sort of war." I said sadly. "So Karasuba, Akitsu, Musabi, Matsu and you are going to make the basis for the next discipline squad."
"What do you mean war?" Rei asked.
"Karasuba, will answer this one? I've got to make some preparations for your departures." I asked.
"Yes I will Miya." Said Karasuba as Miya was walking out of the room.
Where is Rei? We just reunited after five years, and that stupid Karasuba had to go and take him from me just as we were getting winged. And what was that whole Mine thing about. But it was nice to see her again. I haven't seen since that time she left after training me for the first two years without Rei. I'm going to go visit her!
That stupid Musabi. Why did she come back? Does she know how much pain she caused Rei? Does she have any idea how much she hurt him? When I first met Rei, he had this dead look in his eye and he seemed to hurt so much. All he would say for the longest time was that "she left" or "Why am I so terrible that everyone leaves?" he doesn't seem to remember how bad of shape he was in, but I do remember. It took two years to put a smile back on his face. Not counting the year he was without me or Musabi. Why did she come back? Wait there she is… Where is she going? I'm going to follow her.
"Well the Sekirei that live outside the compound either are searching for or are with their Ashikabi. Now there are three big Ashikabi factions, each one with multiple Ashikabi and Sekirei. They are basically gangs. The largest one is the Hyoto syndicate. The other two are the Yamoto and the Fujiwara. They control about 3/5 of the total Sekirei out there." Karasuba started with. "there is about 5 smaller groups. Besides the ones in those groups, there is roughly 50 Sekirei that were unaligned. At least 30 of those have no Ashikabi or they are at the inn. The last twenty are just trying to have a regular existence with their Ashikabis. Besides all those there is also the five guardians. Headed up by Mutsu, the rushing sword, there is also the blue flame, the strong wind, the raging river, and finally red fists."
"Ok, where do they fit in? I asked.
"They are the guardians of the unclaimed Sekirei." I said. "they stop any forced winging or violence towards the unclaimed ones."
"So the are like the good guys? With them, why do we need a discipline squad?"
"Well, the Discipline squad is more of the homicide squad, while the Guardians are more like the volunteer police force." I replied.
"Karasuba, why did I wake up in your room?"
"Well, you are my Ah….. um my student." I said flustered.
"And why did say I was yours?" He asked, moving his face really close to mine.
I never realized this, but when Karasuba's flustered, she is really beautiful. And her hair is so long and gorgeous. And it smell so good, as I take a sniff, I closed my eyes. Suddenly, I felt something on my lips. When I open my eyes, I realized that Karasuba was kissing me.
"What the hell!?" I yell as I wheel backward. "Don't you have an Ashikabi?"
"Yes, I do." She says as she crawl towards me. "He is in this room in fact."
"Wait… I'm that baby!?" I ask.
"Yes, you are." She says as she is above me on all four. "Now its time that you become completely mine."
