I'm a huge fan of the show, so I of course wanted to take a stab at writing a fanfiction for it! I already have a decent idea of where I'm gonna go with it, but feedback and ideas are all appreciated! Enjoy!
God, this city is huge…
Shaking his jagged black bangs back to their customary position over his left eye, the young man stepped down from the train onto the Central Platform of Shinto Teito. His eyes widened in awe as he looked up at the towering structures around him, the shimmering giants reflected in his crytsalline blue orbs.
"Rei?" The young man turned towards the voice and saw a man in a pale suit and glasses, a briefcase in one hand. "Rei Kinuhara?"
"That's me," Rei replied with a small, crooked smile. As he shook the stranger's hand, he asked, "You're from the tournament committee, I presume?"
"That's right," the man in the suit said with a curt nod. "I was sent here to meet you and let you know that there's been a brief delay in your trip to this year's tournament."
"What?" Rei shouted, drawing the attention of several passers-by. "This is the biggest Judo competition in the world, and you're telling me there's a delay?"
"I'm really very sorry, Mr. Kinuhara." The suit straightened his collar a bit, then sighed and added, "Now I wasn't supposed to tell you this, but I've heard that you're a favorite to win in your class, so you of all people shouldn't be kept in the dark…" He leaned in conspiratorially, then said, "The problem is that the sponsor of the tournament, MBI, is kicking up some sort of ruckus upstairs. Don't ask me what it is, but until they sort it out, you'll have to stay here in the city."
Rei sighed loudly. "Why can't I just head out to the complex now?" The International Judo Championship was held annually in a different city, and this year, Shinto Teito had outdone itself by building a large compound just outside of the city, compliments of MBI's generous CEO.
"Hey, I'm just a messenger," the man said with a shrug. "Anywho, you'll have to find somewhere to stay in the city until this gets cleared up. We didn't have enough warning to find lodgings for you, but I was told to give you this." He reached into his jacket's chest pocket and withdrew a card, which he handed to Rei. "It's a gift from MBI in an attempt to make amends for the trouble they're causing you. It's a limitless credit card that will remain active until you leave the city."
"Did you say… limitless?" Rei gasped, his jaw practically detached from his whirling head. "So I can buy whatever I want?"
"Until you leave the city, yes," the older man said flatly. "However, please keep in mind that MBI will thoroughly check the card's records for anything… exceptional, and has the right to shunt any of those costs onto you."
"I see…" Rei paused, his brow furrowing slightly. "So do ya think a nice hotel, some new clothes, and decent food would be too much?"
"Not at all, Mr. Kinuhara," he said with a small smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going. We will be keeping you updated as new information on this issue is made available!"
"Thanks, man!" Rei said, giving the man a quick wave as he walked away. Holy shit, he thought, did they really just give a twenty-one year old an unlimited credit card? MBI must be even richer than I thought if they can afford that kind of risk…
"Well," he muttered to himself, looking down at his new card as he straightened out the strap of his bag, "I'm sure not complaining!"
Rei had only been walking the streets for a few hours before a woman stopped him and asked if he needed somewhere to stay; she said her name was Miya, and she was the proprietor of Maison Izumo, where there were apparently plenty of vacancies.
"How did you know I'm not from around here?" Rei had asked.
"Faces are like open books, as long as you know how to read them," Miya replied with a warm smile, "and there's also the fact you're carrying a large traveling bag."
Though he was hesitant at first, Rei felt at ease around her, and figured that an inn run by such a nice lady would be better than some cold, sterile hotel suite, no matter how 'classy' it was. Rei shrugged the strap of his bag farther up his shoulder, then offered to carry Miya's groceries for her, and she accepted the help with an enthusiastic thank-you, telling the young man how well-raised he was as she led the way back to Maison Izumo.
They arrived a half-hour or so later, and as soon as they set foot inside, Rei's ears were assaulted by a barrage of violent noise.
"Matsu, get your pervy hands off of my costumes!"
"For God's sake, Musubi, put some clothes on!"
"You guys are giving me a headache!"
"Sorry, Kagari!"
"She's lying!"
"I am not!"
Rei laughed as he followed Miya through a crisply-decorated dining area and into the kitchen, where he set her bags on the counter. "It sounds like you have your hands full, Miya-sama."
"You're quite right, Rei-sama," she said, sighing slightly. "Also, Miya will do just fine, thank you."
"Same goes for me!" Rei then chuckled and added, "Not Miya, obviously, but just Rei."
Miya laughed softly into her hand. "You are a very charming young man, Rei. I'm sure you'll fit in just fine here at Maison Izumo until you're able to leave town."
"I'm glad to hear it," Rei said with a nod, flashing a crooked grin. "So where's my room? I wanna drop my stuff off," he said, gesturing towards his bag.
"Here's the key," Miya said, brushing a strand of purple hair from her face as she handed it to him. "It's the first room on the left after you turn right," she said, pointing to the stairs.
"Thanks!" With that, Rei turned and walked up the wooden stairs, and Miya noticed that they didn't creak under his feet; Judo requires masterful control of how the judoka holds himself and distributes his weight, so Rei almost always moved soundlessly.
Windows ran along the wall to Rei's left, and he stopped halfway down the hallway to look outside. The inn's yard was small, but it was well-kempt, and he saw both a laundry-line and the branches of a large tree blowing in the wind. It's very… serene here, he thought. However, that notion was soon cast from his mind as a door swung open behind him and all hell broke loose.
"All RIGHT, I'm goi- hey, who're you?" Rei turned to see a girl in glasses suddenly appear behind him, her long red hair tied in a braid that hung down past her waist.
"Hello, I'm Rei Kinuhara," he said, sticking out his hand politely. "It's a pleasure."
"You're tellin' me!" The amply-endowed woman spun and yelled back into the room from which she'd just been ousted, "Hey Uzume, there's a new guy out here, and he's cuuuuuuuute!"
Rei blushed slightly, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Th-thanks, I guess," he said softly. Another girl then appeared, who was also quite large in the chest. After the competition, Rei thought, I'm moving to this city for good.
"You're right, he is cute!" Uzume said with a wicked smile. "Then again, I've always been a sucker for a guy with big blue eyes." She cocked her head slightly as she straightened out the hem of her t-shirt, which was in no way reigning in her attention-drawing rack. "So what's your story, Rei? What brought you to Maison Izumo?"
"I needed somewhere to stay for a little while," the black-haired man said, his arms crossed in front of him. Though he was aware of the hotness of the women to whom he was speaking, Rei Kinuhara was not the kind of guy to make a fool of himself or ogle a woman's chest. "I'm headed to a place a short while out of the city for the International Judo Tournament, but there's been a problem with its sponsor or somethin'. Apparently, all of the competitors are stranded here in the city until MBI gets over this little hissy fit it seems to be throwing."
At the mention of the conglamerate's name, Uzume and the redhead's eyes widened, and when he saw the way they looked at each other, Rei was more than a little confused. "Okay, what's goin' on here?" he asked. "Are you guys makin' fun of me or somethin'?"
"No, not at all!" the bespectacaled girl said, waving her hands in front of her defensively. "I've just… never met someone who does Judo!"
"Well it's not as big as a lot of other sports," Rei said with a shrug, "but I've been doin' it since I was a kid. In fact, I've gotta go do some training right about now, so I'm gonna go stick my bag in my room and change."
"Maybe Matsu and I will come watch," Uzume said, and Matsu winked past her crison bangs, making Rei's blush intensify. He then gave a quick nod before continuing down the hallway to his room, not noticing the looks the girls shared as he went.
His feet were bare on the cool ground as he worked his way through the various positions, his muscles straining as he stretched them to their limits. Rei always prided himself on his athleticism, so he never went a day without training his body to keep it in top shape for his matches. He was wearing the lower half of his keikogi, but he'd discarded the top when he noticed how harshly the sun was beating down on him. Sweat gleamed on his skin as he moved between each stretch, each tumble and each practice-strike, his eyes sometimes slipping closed as he lost himself in the routine of every motion.
Suddenly, a strange feeling came over Rei, hitting him like a splash of cold water. At first, it felt as though he was being watched, but he quickly discounted that, seeing as he was aware of Matsu's eyes at her window for some time now. As he continued his positions, Rei realized that the sensation was refusing to ebb, and he finally sighed and opened his eyes. When he did, he turned slowly, scouring the yard for anything out of the ordinary.
After a few moments, he saw something through a gap in the fence:
A splash of a pale, delicate pink.
She wasn't looking for trouble, but even though the Sekirei Plan had only been truly up and running for a day or so, trouble had already found her. She knew that he was close by… she hadn't expected him to follow her here, not up to the back-yard of the Northern Demon. He wanted to make her his, but she was having none of that; she'd heard horror stories of what happened to Sekirei who were forced to bond with the wrong Ashikabi.
As she ran past a white, wooden fence, she suddenly felt a wave of warmth wash over her, as if raw heat was blanketing her in a soft embrace. Her eyelids fluttered as she slowed to a stop, and when she put her hand to her chest, she felt that her heart was racing.
This… this feeling, it's… so incredible… She licked her lips slightly, then cast a glance around her. I can't even begin to describe it, but… is this what it feels like? Am I… reacting?
She had to find him… her Ashikabi was close, she could feel it. The street around her was empty and the buildings were dull, but as her hand slid down the ebon surface of her kimono, she looked to the fence on which she was leaning. I want, no… I need him… especially with that scumbag so close behind me…
Before Rei could even reach the fence, he felt a whoosh of air through the cracks as the spot of pink he'd seen suddenly launched into the air. He spun around just in time to see a figure land behind him in the inn's yard, and as it straightened up mere feet from him, he gasped.
"I am Number One-Oh-Five, Benitsubasa, and you… are my Ashikabi."
Let me know what you think so far with a Review! And also, if you like what you see, be sure to fave/follow either the story or myself! If you're anxious to see what happens next, a strongly-worded review or PM will be a sufficient kick in the pants for me :) Til next time!