A/N: Alright, for those of you who have read this story before, you will have noticed that chapters 3, 4 and 5 have all been taken down. I thought about it a lot, and decided in the end that the storyline just wasn't going to work out. So, let me set a few things straight here.
Zach will only have three Sekirei; Akitsu and Uzume will still be a part of that group, and the final Sekirei will be Miya, although she won't join the team until much later in the story. Uzume also won't be winged immediately, only being winged by Zach some time after Zach and Akitsu move into the Izumo Inn. I already have an explanation to why Miya can still be winged, but that'll wait until later.
Minato will be showing up, and he will be retaining all of his Sekirei, although he will gain a couple more, Shiina and Yume, who will join up when Ku does, and at the end of what would be season one in the show (when Musubi is defeated) respectively. Yukari will make some appearances, but she will not be an Ashikabi.
Zach will be living in the same apartment that Minato was, although he will not know Minato had lived there previously. Seo and the twins do make appearances, although their role will be mostly comic relief.
Also assume that everyone is aware of the Sekirei Plan, with the exception of Zach (who, at the time of the announcement, was out of the country, and also doesn't bother to pay attention to the news and such).
The story begins literally hours after Minato rescues Ku (along with Shiina), and after Mikogami abandons Akitsu, calling her worthless and such.
Mikogami will have more of a role in this story (mostly just being the main antagonist to Zach and Akitsu), while Higa's role will be basically trying to blackmail Uzume (thusly being her antagonist), although Higa won't make an appearance for awhile.
Chapter three will be up as soon as I get the chance to write it; my next few days are going to be hectic, but I'll try to get some writing time in (I'm currently also trying to beat Tales of the Abyss, so that's taking up some of my time too).
Wow. Half a page of just one huge author note…ahem. Anyway, without further ado, here's Broken No More!
Chapter One: The Beginning Of A Very Screwed Up Life
If you had told me all those years ago that I was about to become part of a madman's sadistic plan for his own personal amusement, I would've laughed at you and called you crazy. If you had told me that I was about to come across super-powered humans and that I'd be the 'master' of a whole group of them, I would've called the police. If you had told me that the same group I was going to be the 'master' of would end up being my harem (or at least that's what everyone calls it), I would've made sure that you'd be put in a mental institution if it was the last thing I did. But then I'd need to get you released later, seeing as how you would end up being correct. Oh? What's that? You want to hear the story? It's kinda long, and I'm sure you'll get bored. Oh? You promise you won't? All right, if you insist…
It all began one evening, a rather cold one at that. It was even in the middle of summer, and somehow it was still chilly. Damn global warming. Or would it be cooling? Damn being politically correct. Anyway, I was on my way back to my apartment. I grimaced at the thought; I really hated my landlord. He was kind of a prick. He would always randomly show up to 'check in on me'; in other words, being nosy and sticking his nose into something that wasn't his business. Therefore, being nosy. Yes. So, continuing on with my story, I was walking through a pretty popular park, figuring a bit extra fresh air would do me good. It would turn out to be a life-changing experience. Go figure.
So I was walking through the park, as I said, and I happened to look over at one of the benches. Sitting there was a woman. Yes, shocking I know. A woman, sitting on a bench at a park. That's quite rare these days, dontcha know? Ahem. Sarcasm aside, it was her clothing and the tattoo on her forehead that caught my attention. For one thing, she seemed to be wearing some form of informal dress. If that wasn't enough, the tattoo on her forehead was pretty abnormal too. It looked like a bird that was flying above a ying-yang sign, with two comma marks on either side of the ying-yang sign. Curious, I approached her. I got within five feet of her when I noticed something was wrong. She seemed so…sad. I almost felt like I was going to burst into tears just by seeing the depressed look on her face. So, being the chivalrous person I am, I went up to her. She looked up at me with a curious expression, which almost made my heart melt, which, in retrospect, would be considered ironic. Hmm? Why would it be considered ironic? Hang on, I'm getting there. Can't expect me to tell the story while you're constantly asking questions, now can you? I didn't think so.
"Err…not to intrude or anything but…are you alright?" I asked, hoping that she wouldn't label me as a weirdo or anything.
"…I am…a failure…I am…broken…Nobody would want me…" She replied. Now if that doesn't tug on your heartstrings, you are a complete asshole. No exceptions.
Not knowing exactly what to say to that, I swallowed, hoped that I was saying the right thing (or at least what she wanted to hear), and said, "Now, I don't really understand what you're talking about…but I don't think you're useless, or whatever."
Apparently that did the trick, because the next thing I knew, she was hugging me tightly, sobbing. Putting one arm around her, patting her head with my opposite hand, I spoke consoling words to her, being careful with what words I used (didn't want to accidentally upset her, after all). Sure, we got strange looks from people (some even threw me a disgusted glance, while others gave me a knowing look; one kid looked kinda pissy, as if I had done something he was going to do. Oh well. You snooze, you lose), but I ignored them. After awhile, she calmed down, and she sat back up, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm sorry for troubling you with this…" she said morosely.
"Oh no, not at all. I'm just happy I was able to help. It would've left a bad taste in my mouth to leave you just sitting here looking all depressed." 'I'm also glad I didn't accidentally upset you any further…' I privately thought, thinking that it would be unwise to say something like that at the given moment.
"Heh…I wish someone like you could be my Ashikabi…" she said.
"What do you mean?" I asked. I had never heard of the term before, or maybe I was just naïve. But she seemed to take for granted that I knew what she was talking about, and she continued on.
"Well…I'm broken, so I can never be winged…" It was then that she seemed to realize that I didn't have a clue what she meant. "Oh! I'm sorry…I must be confusing you…Just please forget about what I was saying…"
Now, I had a few choices here. One, I could agree to her request and forget about what she was talking about. I didn't choose that one. I could also just leave it at that, and ask her later, provided that I would've met her again. I didn't choose that one either. So I'm sure you know what I did.
"No please, tell me. Whatever it is, I want to help you. And I can't really do that if I don't understand what you're talking about. Please…" I was almost begging her. Me. Begging her. Yes, it's quite absurd, isn't it? Well, you try resisting that depressed look. It makes you want to do anything to never have to see it again.
She looked at me hesitantly for a few moments, and nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you…but can we go somewhere a bit more…private? I wouldn't like to be overheard…"
"Ah, of course. Hmm…Why don't we go back to my apartment? It's private enough; just don't talk too loud, and I'll need to make sure that the landlord isn't snooping around…but other than that, it should be perfect." I replied, smiling. This was going great; Not only was I helping her out, but also…No, I shouldn't be thinking of perverted things like that. She was a friend (yes, I'm quick to call others my friend; leave me alone), and I was helping her. So what if she was beautiful, and she was coming to my apartment…with just the two of us being there…Oh my god, I was going to be in my singles-only apartment with a beautiful girl! …I just hope the landlord doesn't catch us…