Ghost Ashikabi
Disclaimer: I do not own the Sekirei anime.
Chapter 2: Mind and Shadow
It's night time in Shinto Teito. This is the time for many to recharge themselves for the next day. For some it is the time for them to go to work on their night shifts or night jobs. For some it is also the time when crazy things occur and for some it is their favorite time of the day to do what they want. Like a certain man who's become a shadow and is exploring Shinto Teito's Southern city.
Unfortunately it is also the time where some people find themselves in one fine mess. A good example right now is a young woman who's on the run from some other three other women. She possessed ashen gray hair that was cut short with in a spiky trail at the back of her head. Her dress was a violet hue and looked like a mix of eastern and western styles. A frilly lace rose up from her top to cover the back of her neck. She wore red framed glasses that had a strap to keep them on her person.
'Just my luck. I had hoped to avoid being found out here but it seems that luck wasn't on my side after all. Now I have to deal with a forceful winging. How trite.' The woman lamented to herself.
"What's the point of running? You know that there's no escape from us. It's only a matter of time before we catch you and bring you back to Mikogami-sama." One of women chasing her called out.
While this was happening, a shadowed individual was watching the chase from the darkness of the roof he was under. He seemed to be contemplating something too.
'Seriously. That lady must have bad luck. She's been chased around by those three for close to an hour and at that rate fatigue would take her.' The individual wondered.
"I normally don't go out of my way to save people but I'll do so just this once and hopefully don't end up regretting it." After muttering that to himself he tensed up as a familiar presence was close by and she had lust coming off of her.
'Not her again! How the hell is she able to find me, especially at this time of the day? I'll give her points for persistence but too persistent is what she is.'
He dropped from his position under the roof and disappeared into the darkness again hoping to lose this persistent stalker and also rescue the unfortunate woman that was running for her life. His stalker landed on the roof in the same position her target was hanging under from.
'Damn it! I just lost him again. Why does he still play hard to get? He's only delaying the inevitable and causing me unnecessary pain.' she thought. Then she saw the lone woman who was being chased by three others and she recognized them.
'That's #22 Kochou and those are that brat Mikogami's sekirei. And based on where my ashikabi to be dropped he must be going in their direction, most likely to help her though that's suicidal for him.' She had just managed to sense the direction her target was going before his aura vanished.
'Well as crazy as he is, I'm not going to lose my ashikabi!'
The woman known as Kochou was finally starting to slow down. While she was much more fit than a normal average person even she could get fatigued especially after jumping from rooftops, and running on the ground from three people that want to drag you away to a "fate worse than death". She knew she wasn't cut out for all these physically tasking stuff like the three women behind her and it was only a matter of time before she was caught and dragged of to the one they call 'Mikogami-sama'. She knew who it was they were talking about and she did not like that little brat one bit.
Unfortunately while she was thinking she had run into an alley and by the time she stopped her thinking, she found herself in a dead end. The alley was mostly dark except with one lamp on the wall that dimly lit a small part of the alley. Her luck got worse when her pursuers finally caught up with her and cut off her only way out, but at the same time her only form of salvation was also close by in the alley but just out of sight.
"About time you stopped. This chase was getting on my nerves. Now don't resist as we take you to our ashikabi."
Kochou turned around to see the three people who had been hell bent on catching her. She was not the only person that was looking at them as the shadowed individual had arrived and was also looking at the scene below him.
The first one was a young woman with blue hair and wore an elegant white dress that opened at the front and revealing some of her feminine features. The second one had black hair and a yellow and black outfit that finished at the bottom and dressed with stockings and she carried a red whip with her. The third one had light brown hair and wore a black and white dress that reached her thighs, black stockings and gloves and a black hair ornament of some kind. The sight of these three caused the 'shadow' to raise an eyebrow at this.
'Okay. One seems to enjoy showing off her chest, one looks like some kind of dominatrix and the last one is a bit too early for Halloween. And what's this Ashikabi they are talking about?' He continued to observe the scene below him.
Kochou suddenly felt her heart beating rapidly, her breathing become ragged and she was blushing. The other three women and even the 'shadow' saw this and were stunned at this.
"What the hell! She's reacting?!" shouted the woman in black and white.
"Are you kidding? Where's the ashikabi?!" The woman in the white dress asked.
'Reacting? Ashikabi? Okay what the hell's going on? Whatever time to make my move.'
"No matter. Let's just knock her out and- HEY! WHO TURNED OUT THE LIGHTS?!"
Before they could take action, the 'shadow' had already began his move as he took out a throwing knife and threw it at the only source of light in the alley, covering the place in darkness, as at the same time the moon was covered by dark clouds in the sky. He silently landed behind the one known as Kochou and clamped a hand over her mouth and used the other to lock her arm behind her before she could scream or protest, and then he vanished into the darkness with the woman.
When the clouds dispersed and the moonlight illuminated the alley, the three women looked back at where Kochou was, only to find out that she was gone.
"You've got to be kidding me?"
"She slipped through our fingertips..."
"Mikogami-sama's not going to like this."
The three women left the alley for the rooftops and left the area.
When Kochou opened her eyes, she found herself in a quaint position. She was being bridal carried by a man wearing all black, the trench coat having seen better days and the hood concealing his face from her. Her heartbeat was getting faster, her breathing becoming more erratic and was blushing. She reached for his hood, only for her hand to be intercepted.
"Can't I see my savior's face?" She asked the unknown person with a serious, analytic expression.
"It's better that you don't. For your own safety." The person said. Kochou could tell that it was a male's voice. It was deep and distant, like a loner. She took a moment to see where they currently were. It looked like a medium size room which was only lit by the moonlight from the outside and three windows. There was a bed, table, chair, small couch, kitchen sink and refrigerator. Her ashikabi placed her on the couch and then went to the chair and sat in it.
"Alright you. Come out of my shadow. NOW." he said.
Kochou was taken back by his statement. Before she could make sense of it, a woman came out of her ashikabi's shadow, literally to be speaking and she knew who this person was. She was #57: Yahan, The Shadow Sekirei. She was dark skinned with jet black hair and wore bikini top beneath a hooded shawl, a sarong that was held by a belt and knee high boots.
"Wow. How did you know that I was hiding in your shadow?" Yahan asked.
"I'd long since sensed you hiding in my shadow. Anyways, I want answers here and I want them NOW. What are you two and what is this about "reacting" to me and "ashikabi"?" the hooded man in front of them spoke up.
Kochou adjusted her glasses before she turned to her ashikabi, "We are Sekirei, and we're not birds but named after them. An ashikabi is what you'd call a 'soulmate' or 'destined one' to us sekirei and reacting is what happens when a sekirei finds their ashikabi or is in proximity of them, which prompts them to seek him or her out."
"Like when you were blushing and your heart beat and breathing were becoming erratic. And I am a potential ashikabi?" The man asked.
"Yes. I reacted the moment you showed up near me. You were definitely in the area when I was being chased by those three sekirei."
"And I reacted when you were on the rooftops earlier today. And I've been trying to find you all along. Why did you have to play hard to get?" Yahan asked.
"Paranoia." he answered bluntly, "So now that you've found me what's next?"
Yahan and Kochou walked up to him as he stood up expecting trouble. Yahan reached up and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him closer and said, "This is next." Then she kissed him and a pair of wings came out from her back and lit up the room for a while. When they stopped kissing the wings disappeared and the brightness of the room. While he was dazed the man heard Yahan recite some sort of pledge and then Kochou turned him around and kissed him again and the same thing happened and ended with some pledge that sounded different from Yahan's.
After recovering his bearings he glared at the two sekirei in front of him who couldn't see his glare thanks to his hood and saw them happy like they had just met the love of their life.
"What. The. Hell. Was. That?"
"You winged us. That's what. And now you're a part of the Sekirei Plan." Yahan answered for him.
"Let me guess, you kissing me was like sealing the contract between an ashikabi and sekirei?"
"Yes, that's the process called winging and now we are both yours forever." Kochou said.
"What kind of sekirei are you two?"
"I am a shadow sekirei. I can manipulate the shadows to my advantage even in a fight." Yahan proudly said.
"Well I'm a brain type. I'm good at gathering information and manipulating electronics like computers." Kochou stated.
"I see. And what is this Sekirei Plan?"
"It's some kind of contest organized by the president of MBI, Minaka Hiroto, where sekirei find their ashikabis and then fight against each other until there's only one ashikabi and sekirei left." Yahan stated.
"What happens to the winners then?"
"They get to ascend and bring the age of the gods." Kochou said.
"And what about the losers?"
"They get separated from their sekirei." Yahan said.
"Well I'll have no part of some madman's bull shit. I'm not participating in this game of his."
"Unfortunately you don't have much of a choice." Kochou spoke up, "If you try to run or hide MBI will just send people out to eliminate you."
The hooded man chuckled and looked at Kochou with a feral grin on his face which she could see.
"Well good luck to them on that. They couldn't find me if they tried hard enough."
"Why?" Yahan asked, "MBI has surveillance, satellites and all kinds of stuff to pinpoint your location. And they'd most likely have records of you to begin with. Besides you should be getting a call from them soon since you've winged us."
"Then we'll be waiting a long time for that. I'm a ghost to them and no matter what they do they'll never find me unless I let them. Just like I did with you Yahan."
"Huh?! What do you mean by that?" Yahan said in surprise.
"The only reason why you were able to find me and enter my shadow was because I let you, since I was getting tired of our game of catch me if you can, which you were losing by the way."
"I see. No wonder why it was so hard for me to find you. You must be a master of stealth if you could easily blend in the environment so well." Yahan stated.
"The best at it to be precise. Not even the best tracker can find me even on my worst day. By the way Kochou, you said that you can manipulate electronics right? Can you disable MBI's way of tracking me?"
"Yes I can and I've already did that before you winged us." Kochou answered.
"That's good to know. Though even if you didn't it wouldn't make a difference since they'll never find me."
"By the way, what's our ashikabi's name?" Yahan asked, "We can't keep calling you ashikabi-sama right and how about you let us see your face?"
The man sighed, "I'd prefer not to. The less people know of me the better for them. Although since you are now my sekirei I'll at least tell you my name as long as you tell no one else." After getting nods from his sekirei he sighed again, "Name's Renato Agba. That's all you're getting from me."
"Okay we'll keep it secret. But if I may ask, why do you not want people knowing who you are?" Kochou inquired.
"Because if people knew I was still around hell would break loose and you two and innocents would get caught in the crossfire and I'll have to silence everyone involved even you two." Renato answered grimly.
Chapter 2 End.