Another chapter already? Well, tis the season as I am uploading these. I kinda wanted to post this sequel on the anniversary of the original.
Naivety
Moetatsuka fidgeted in her seat. People kept stopping to stare at her, often looking worried and/or confused. She was sitting there patiently, battered and bruised, across from a small, teen girl who was happily licking away a swirl of ice-cream
"Nariko?" she finally spoke. Nariko just kept licking. "N-Nariko?"
"Hm?" Finally the girl looked at her.
"You said you were going to talk to me," Moetatsuka reminded her.
"Oh... yeah, I guess." Nariko shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "I don't really wanna. That'd be a pain."
Moetatsuka's jaw dropped. How irresponsible was this girl? How irresponsible was her father for letting Nariko drag her out in the first place? "But you said-"
"But you said! Pfft!" Nariko mocked her. "Look! You tried to blow up my sister and then threatened to blow up me! You don't get to complain!"
Moetatsuka shrunk back, stunned by the sudden scorn in Nariko's voice.
"So!" Nariko smirked. It was as if she'd never held a glare on her face, not seeming mad at all. "Why don't you like ice-cream?"
"I-I-... what?"
"You heard me. Speak. You have to listen to everything I say or I'm sending you back!" She then leaned across the table between them and held her ice-cream out to the sekirei. "Hm? Have you ever had ice-cream? Just 'cause you shoot fire doesn't mean cold things are bad."
Moetatsuka shrunk back as if scared. "N-not so close!"
"Eh?"
"I-I don't want it to attack me!"
Nariko sat back in her chair, blinking once then twice in thought. She then burst out laughing. "Oh my god! I remember! I remember why you hate ice-cream!" Nariko cackled, feet kicking as she doubled over.
"You... remember?" Moetatsuka tried to compose herself. However, there was no recovering from the fact that she'd cowered before a dairy product.
"Mhm." Nariko nodded and then licked her ice-cream before it could drip on her hand. "We took a bunch of you out to eat a long time ago. Back then you were my favorite little servant!" Nariko grinned widely. "I ordered an ice-cream cone, so of course you wanted one too! But you ended up dropping it on yourself before you could even taste it and you hated it ever since!" It would appear Moetatsuka remembered her distaste for it, even if she couldn't remember the event itself.
"Oh..." Moetatsuka bit her lip. If that was all it was... well... now she just felt silly.
Though, perhaps silly wasn't a strong enough word.
"Wait here." Nariko got up from the table. A few minutes later she returned with a small bowl. The bowl was filled with vanilla and chocolate ice-cream covered in hot chocolate syrup. "Try this. No risk of a disaster as long as you're not a klutz. No cone to eat, but you can't win them all." Nariko pressed a plastic spoon into Moetatsuka's hand.
"I thought you said I didn't get-"
"I can do what I want! I'm the boss!" Nariko stated firmly and pushed the bowl closer. "Eat."
"Y-yes, Nariko..." She hesitated, but took a deep breath and managed a small bite. Her back arched and her eyes went wide. She then began to eat it with reckless abandon... until... "AH! It's attacking me from inside!"
"Your head?" Nariko asked, leaning against the table as she began to bite into her cone. Moetatsuka nodded, eyes clenched shut. "Dummy, you ate it too fast! You got an ice-cream headache! Just eat is slowly and you'll be fine! Ugh, how can you be older than me?"
Finally Moetatsuka managed to finish her treat and no longer seemed to be afraid of a desert dish. "Um, c-can I have more?"
"So you like it after all?" Nariko smiled and Moetatsuka nodded in response. "Too bad! You're still a bad girl!"
Moetatsuka slumped over in her seat, hiding her face. "Do you... hate me now?"
"Of course. I buy ice-cream for all my most hated enemies," Nariko said deadpan. She reached out and grabbed Moetatsuka's cheeks, forcing their eyes to meet. "I'm not mad because you left. You were kidnapped. I'm not mad because you forgot. He messed with you. I'm just... mad... Why was it so easy for you to be turned against us? Huh?!" A tear rolled down her cheek. "You were mine! Then... the first thing you say to me when I see you again..."
Moetatsuka's hands came up to gasp Nariko's. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"
"It can't happen again! You can't let it happen again!"
Moetatsuka shot to her feet, pulling Nariko to her chest. "I won't! I promise..." Nariko hugged back, grabbing fistfuls of her shirt. As they began to part, Moetatsuka gently caressed Nariko's cheek. "Nariko... I-"
But a voice interrupted them. "Hey there." Nariko jumped as if electrocuted.
"M-m-mom?!" Nariko jerked away from Moetatsuka. Indeed, it was Kaie who had found them.
"Well, I guess you two are getting along, so that's... good." Kaie's eye was twitching.
"Wh-wh-what... wh-what are... what...?" Nariko stuttered and gulped in fear.
"Your father called me and told me what you did. He wanted me to make sure you were OK." She then looked at Moetatsuka and scowled. "Though I guess you weren't in any danger..."
"I-I would never hurt N-" Moetatsuka tried to protest.
"So you'll just incinerate everyone but her?" Kaie shook her head. "Look, I know you had your head messed with, but that's precisely why I can't trust you just yet. Nariko, you should take her back to the tower now."
Nariko's lip quivered. She didn't want to leave Moetatsuka yet! "B-b-but-"
"Now, Nariko!"
"Y-yes... mother..."
. . .
Rini woke up early. Exhaustion had gotten her to sleep surprisingly quickly, but her couch wasn't quite big enough to sleep on comfortably, so her rest had been cut short. Eyes and head aching, she got to her feet and wobbled her way to the kitchen to find some water.
Once liquid sustenance had been acquired, she just began walking about. She found Sairiko's sword leaning against a wall in the main hallway. She stopped to look it over, noticing that it looked different. It had been a crude, if viciously effective, weapon when she'd first seen it. A sharpened slab of metal on a stick, less elegant than even most meat cleavers.
However, now it seemed to have retained the high-tech appearance it had taken during Sairiko's norito. The glowing lights had gone dim, but it was certainly different now. It was as if the norito had reforged the blade into was it was supposed to have been all along.
She ran her fingers across the metal. It was cold. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. She had to wonder, though, just how strong Sairiko was to be able to lift such a weapon? It was nearly as big as Rini was. Although, lifting the sword was hardly Sairiko's greatest feat of strength.
The sound of her bedroom door caught Rini's attention. She saw Sairiko groggily stumbling through the hall, though she stopped halfway. The girl froze, staring at Rini.
"Hey, Sairiko. Morning," Rini greeted, trying to act casual. She was fully aware there were issues to be worked out... eventually.
"U-um... g-good morning." Sairiko appeared to be blushing.
"Is everything OK?" Rini raised an eyebrow. Sairiko didn't answer, but her gaze flitted down, but then away, face turning redder. "Huh?" Rini looked down and then sighed. That was the problem. Rini wasn't wearing pants. She'd taken them off for bed. All she had on were a pair of tight, black underwear "Oh. Sorry."
Of course Sairiko was going to be sensitive about that kind of thing, unlike her. Rini figured she should fix the problem and headed toward her room. As she passed Sairiko, the sekirei quickly flattened herself against the wall, face scarlet, and eyes averted.
They definitely had problems.
. . .
She stopped by her dad's house momentarily before heading to work. It almost felt mean, but she had chosen to leave Sairiko there. Sure, she'd be subject to Sukaime's harassment, but at least she wouldn't be sulking around the MBI building.
And to be quite honest, Rini wanted some space from her sekirei. It was the first time she'd ever felt like such a failure. Her dad had five sekirei and had overcome the S-Plan having known them less than a year. Meanwhile she had one sekirei that she'd known for years and she couldn't handle it. She was a terrible ashikabi...
She really shouldn't have winged her. What was she supposed to do now?
BANG!
She let out a shriek and her car began shuddering. She quickly pulled over, and after taking a moment for her mind to process, she realized she must have a flat tire.
"Ugh, run-flat tires my ass..." she grumbled and stepped out of the car. Indeed, her front, passenger side tire was flat. She also noticed that it had a finger sized hole that went straight through the treads. "What... the hell?" Running over a nail wouldn't have done something like that.
"Trouble?" a voice suddenly came from behind her. It was male.
"Uhh, n-no, I can handle it!" Rini assured them as she straightened up to take a look. Their clothing was casual: jeans and a t-shirt. However, she recognized him. The straight, longish white hair and silver eyes. "H-H-Hyoushi?" She gulped. He was one of the missing sekirei and one of the few male ones. Her parents hadn't said, but she'd assumed he might have been the one to hurt her mother.
"Well, at least you keep track of us." He glowered at her. Rini was sure his mind was filled with the same propaganda that Minaka had fed Sairiko.
"What... do you want?"
"He's not happy that you keep interfering. You're to come with me," Hyoushi told her. "If you resist too much, he's fine with me killing you."
"You're a sekirei, how would me resisting cause you any trouble?" Rini began backing away. She knew running was pointless... but... She ran anyway. She didn't hear him chasing her. Was he just taking aim to kill her after all?
Something struck her foot. She couldn't lift it and fell, nearly dashing her face against the sidewalk. She looked down and saw a single ball bearing rolling across the concrete by her foot. It was the width of her thumb, but had come down on her foot with enough force to pin it to the ground.
She looked up to see Hyoushi advancing toward her. She also heard a car coming. Would he be bold enough to abduct her in front of witnesses. Would that prompt him to simply kill her and run? No, he kept advancing. He meant to take her.
The next thing she knew her body was... glowing. Then she felt like she was flying, no, she was flying. She soon found herself hovering in mid-air next to a fancy sports car.
"Get in," a female voice told her. Before she could respond the mysterious force simply flung her into the back seat. Rini blinked and the quickly sat up, looking at her saviors. One was a petite blonde woman in an extravagant, yellow dress, and the other was-
"Higa?!" Rini stared at the man behind the wheel. She only somewhat knew him as the owner of a big pharmaceutical company and one of her father's former opponents in the S-Plan. There was still some tension between the two men but for the most part they were on OK terms. Last she knew, the two companies had even begun working together, though she didn't pay much attention to that kind of stuff.
"Looks like you got yourself into some trouble," Higa responded without looking at her.
"Y-yeah... Hey, we need to-"
BANG! BANG! POP! BANG!
All four of the car's tires were flattened before she could even discuss retreating.
"My... car..." Higa let out an annoyed sigh. "Kyoukko?"
"Yeah, yeah. So I guess that guy is a sekirei?" The blonde, Kyoukko, opened the passenger door to step out.
"He's a sekirei that was kidnapped by Minaka! He's re-tuned them to be at full strength. As in one-hundred percent!" Rini called out a warning.
That got Higa's attention. He turned his head to look at her, eyes wide. "What?"
"He's... dangerous..." was all Rini had to say. What else could she say?
"And so what?" Kyoukko chuckled. "I'm a sekirei with her ashikabi present. I won't lose to some wild child like this."
"It's as she says. You stay here, we'll handle this." Higa also stepped out of the car.
"So, I'm number 98, Kyoukko. Who are you?" Kyoukko asked her opponent. The only response was a silver blur shooting at her forehead. A wall of golden light shot up in front of Kyoukko. The ball-bearing that had been on course to penetrate her skull struck it and slowed to a halt, millimeters from Kyoukko's face. "How rude..."
Hyoushi sent a full barrage of the small, metal spheres at Kyoukko, but she didn't budge. They all struck her wall and were halted like the first. Kyoukko just smirked and inspected her fingernails.
Hyoushi growled and summoned a storm of bullets, flying out to strike at Kyoukko from every angle. Kyoukko expanded her wall, reshaping it to surround her entirely. She weathered the barrage with ease, none of the spheres able to breach her defenses.
"Do you get it yet?" Kyoukko laughed. "A telekinetic type like you is useless against me! What, are you new? You're so bad at this!" She looked over her shoulder. "Higa, darling. Shall we finish this?"
"Of course." Higa walked over to his sekirei, leaning over to kiss her. Golden wings spread from Kyoukko's back.
"My golden spirit embodies my pledge, wash out the unsightly that stand beneath my ashikabi! Zubuno Shihai!" Kyoukko's golden energy flared up and took shape. She saw a number of weapons form, including Hyoushi's spheres and something else familiar. "Hmmm... this one!" All of the energy copies faded, leaving only one. It was the familiar one: Sukaime's doubled-ended javelin. The excess energy converged upon it and it grew to a truly massive size.
Kyoukko grinned madly. "You should run, child!"
Rini could see the fear in Hyoushi's eyes. He took one step back and then broke, all courage leaving him. He did as he was told and ran. To Rini's utter surprise, Kyoukko had done it... sort of.
Kyoukko let her norito fade and her golden energy all disappeared. Then, strangely, Kyoukko slowly doubled over, placing her hands on her knees, taking deep breaths.
"Are... you OK?" Higa asked. "You look shaken."
"He was... way too powerful." Kyoukko panted. "If he'd fought back while my defenses were down... I'd have died. Just... just a little more and I would have been broken."
Suddenly Rini understood. Kyoukko had been bluffing. She'd taken the small advantage she'd had and made it look a hundred times bigger.
"Well, still, you pulled it off." Rini climbed out of the car herself. "Thank you for helping me." She was pretty shaken herself though. It could only be called pure luck that someone had been around to help her. She knew her parents would be furious when they found out. After all, it had been Rini's decision to travel alone. There was no reason she couldn't have had Sairiko with her...
"Yes, well, I'd offer you a ride from here, but," Higa stared at his car and his eyes narrowed. "I don't have that many spare tires..."
. . .
It was early in August, so Summer break was in full swing. It meant Nariko was pretty much free to run around. Whether or not she should be, given the current state of things, was debatable, but she couldn't imagine there was any reason she'd be targeted. She wasn't really part of MBI. She didn't know anything. Unlike Rini, she hadn't ended up winging a sekirei either.
A sekirei which was currently sitting at their house. If Nariko hadn't been in such a bad mood herself, she'd probably have yelled at Rini for that one.
Instead, she was going to her friends' house. Her friends just so happened to be a pair of sekirei around her age. A family who'd failed to have kids of their own had been cleared by MBI to adopt the two. Unlike a normal adoption, the family was being paid rather than the other way around.
Nariko had always gotten along with all the sekirei, but the twins were among her favorite, along with Moetatsuka. Seeing as how her mother apparently didn't approve of Moetatsuka anymore, this was the next best thing. She needed something to cheer herself up.
When she arrived, she knocked and was let in by the mother.
"Oh, hello Nariko. Here to see to girls I take it? Maybe you can get them to do their summer homework while you're here!"
"They're being stubborn again? Yeah, I'll see what I can do." Nariko forced a smile as she took her shoes off before heading upstairs. Without ceremony she swung the door to their bedroom open. "I'm here!" she accounted, knowing exactly what to expect.
"Nariko!" the two girls in the room jumped up and shot to her side, each clinging to her. Their overly affectionate behavior was something Nariko had never bothered to dissuade... and in fact she'd probably encouraged it a little too much.
"Tetsuko... Koumi... Down!" she commanded and they hesitantly slide off of her. The two looked very similar, each with short black hair and red eyes, much like Benitsubasa's. The main difference between the two was that Tetsuko kept her hair just a little bit longer and tied up into pigtails. Currently the two were lounging around in pajama pants and tank-tops.
"Hey! We're not dogs!" Tetsuko whined.
"Then why did you obey like one?" Nariko smirked and patted her on the head, taking the joke as far as she could without shoving a biscuit in the girl's mouth.
"We haven't seen you in days and this is how you treat us?" Koumi scowled.
"Sorry, sorry. But if you two can forgive me, I require pampering. I've had a bad couple of days," Nariko told them. The sisters just exchanged glances and crossed their arms, not having it. "OK fine, cheer me up and I'll do your homework for you."
The girls immediately grinned. Koumi went and sat on her bed. "Your pillow awaits, my princess," she said and presented her lap.
"Much better." Nariko nodded.
. . .
Rini walked up to her father's office door. This wasn't going to be a fun conversation. She knocked and opened the door when beckoned.
"H-hey, dad..." Rini couldn't hide her nerves.
"Rini. You don't usually visit me in the morning. Where's Sairiko?" he asked her.
"I, uh, left her home. L-look, something happened on my way in..." She gulped and her father raised a curious eyebrow.
"Something indeed." Rini cringed as Higa stepped into view. "Madoka-" Before the man could say another word, Madoka raised a finger to silence him.
"Rini. Do I need to kill him?" he asked.
"N-no... he helped me..." Rini hung her head. This was it.
"All right. Higa... to what do I owe the pleasure?" Madoka crossed his arms. "You don't usually visit me in the morning either."
"No, I don't. But today, unlike other days, I was attacked by a wild sekirei. Or rather, your daughter was and I was forced to intervene. I can't imagine things would have ended well had Kyoukko not been with me. According to Kyoukko, they nearly didn't regardless," Higa explained. "So, old friend, what exactly do you have to say about that?"
"Nothing good." Madoka grimaced. He then sat down and buried his face in his palms. "I'm not sure I should be telling you what's going on."
"What? Afraid I'll use it as leverage? Hmph. Well don't worry, your daughter disclosed the short version in the heat of it. Minaka again is it?"
"Yes," Madoka admitted. "And unfortunately we only have one sekirei who can stand up to him right now..." Madoka glanced at Rini and he didn't look happy. As she'd thought, he was upset she didn't have Sairiko with her.
"So, us ashikabi from before are going to be useless?" Higa sighed. "I see. Well, I'll stay out of it then. I'd keep a close eye on your family. Minaka surely likes you least of all. He's had a long time to pile up all his resentment." With that, Higa left.
"Do you... really think he'd go after someone besides me? I mean, I'm the one with a sekirei..." Rini didn't like the idea of Nariko or Katsurou being in the crossfire.
"Hold that thought," Madoka grumbled and picked up his cellphone. A moment later, his call went through. "Sukaime? Hey, where are my children right now?"
"Well Rini went to work..."
"Yeah, I have her right here."
"OK, let me see. My babies are in their cribs. HEY SAKI, WHERE'S THE PAPERWEIGHT? . . . I'M TALKING ABOUT YOUR SON! . . . OK, so he's in his room playing video games like usual."
"And Nariko?"
"One sec. HEY KAIE! WHERE'S YOUR HELLSPAWN? . . . Kaie says she snuck out. Is that bad? Should I be panicking? Oh god I'm panicking... Madoka tell me I don't have to panic!"
". . . Hold that thought. I'll call you back later. Oh, and tell Sairiko to get over here." Madoka hung up and took a deep breath. "Now what am I going to do about you?" He narrowed his eyes at Rini.
. . .
"Are you feeling better yet?" Tetsuko asked.
"No." Nariko replied sleepily.
"How about now?"
"No. And if you keep asking, I never will be," Nariko grumbled.
"But if you wait too long you won't have time to do our homework!"
"Nope!" Nariko smirked and cracked an eye open.
Koumi scowled down at her. "Hey, lap pillows aren't free you know! My legs are falling asleep!"
"Oh please, sekirei have excellent circulation. Besides, I told your mom I'd make you do it." Nariko nestled herself further into Koumi's lap. "Besides, you have weeks. What's the rush?"
"Will you at least help?" Tetsuko pleaded.
"Yeah, sure, whatever. I'm trying to nap!"
CRASH!
So much for napping. All three of them went rigid and Nariko sat straight up. It had sounded like a door being smashed open.
"Hey? Who the hell are-" Nariko heard the twins' adoptive father, but he was silenced by another crash. This was followed by their mother screaming, but soon she too went silent.
"Wh-wh-wh-" Nariko was frozen in terror. Was it a robber? Some sort of psychopath? . . . One of Minaka's sekirei?
"St-stay here! We'll check it out!" Koumi told her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.
"What? No! It's dangerous!"
"We're sekirei... w-we'll be fine!" Tetsuko told her, but it was clear the two were still scared.
"Yeah. We're still stronger than regular people, it'll be fine. I promise!" Koumi nodded.
"And you totally have to do our homework after this!" Tetsuko insisted. With that, the two, still rather hesitantly, began making their way down the stairs. Nariko could only sit in shock, barely able to breathe as she watched their backs disappear.
For a moment it was quiet – only her own heart hammering away.
CRASH! BANG! The sounds of a brawl downstairs made her jump and left her trembling – heavy objects being tossed about and furniture splintering. Within seconds it was over again.
"K-Koumi? Tetsuko?" Nariko whimpered. She sniffled as a tear slowly rolled down her cheek. Almost without realizing it, her shaky body began to move. She was on her feet and the next thing she knew, she was making her way down the stairs. Already she could see debris scattered across the floor below.
No blood yet, so that was something.
When she reached the bottom, she could see that everything was trashed. She saw the father, laying still across the room, blood leaking from his mouth. There was no sign of the twins.
Crunch. The sound of glass underfoot made Nariko gasp. Another footstep and she froze. Who was it? She didn't have to wait long. A tall figure walked into her field of view. It was a woman with dark hair, like smoke and steely eyes. She had a thick slab of metal, like a shield, but pointed like a vicious talon on one end, strapped to her arm. Under each arm she held one of the twins.
Nariko could only take shuddering breaths as the woman stopped and stared at her. However, she then just walked by and left, taking the two, young sekirei with her.
Nariko fell to her knees, tears flowing freely. She'd been helpless, and now her friends were gone. Was it her fault? Why was this happening?
. . .
"We have to do something!"
"I know-"
"What have you been doing?"
"Kaie-"
"This is two daughters now that have nearly been killed!" Kaie was furious to say the least.
"Well, according to her, it seems she wasn't in much danger..." Madoka tried to calm her a little.
"We have two people in the hospital, two more sekirei gone, and my daughter is traumatized!" It seemed there was no calming her. "What. Are. You. Doing?"
"Honestly? Not much at the moment. Right now I'm mostly on damage control..." Madoka hung his head. Nariko was his daughter too. He wasn't any happier.
"Trust me, I wish there was more we could do." Avaron was present as well.
"There must be some way to track these sekirei!" Kaie demanded.
"There's no way to differentiate the sekirei. We'd be tracking hundreds of them," Madoka told her.
"Well we know where she's been and she has two others with her. And she's been tuned to full power. Are you saying we really can't pick her out of the crowd?"
Madoka and Avaron traded silent stares before Avaron spun around in her chair and began furiously typing.
"I can load the satellite logs and find out where she went!" Avaron said. A minute later Avaron sighed. "Good news and bad news."
"Hit me." Madoka grimaced.
"Bad, the twins have been taken out to sea and I lost track of them. Good, it looks like our kidnapper is still here. I don't think they realize we can track them like this." Avaron then turned to face them. "What's the plan?"
"I think we all know there's only one plan." Madoka shook his head. "Get Rini and Sairiko in here."
"Madoka. We're talking about Sadashi. Even unwinged she's dangerous." Avaron was worried and her face showed it. Her worry quickly spread to an increasingly ill looking Kaie.
She had good reason to be. Although the new sekirei were tuned down to no longer be fighters, they kept records of their innate abilities. Sadashi would have been on Karasuba's level.
"Do we have any other ideas?" Madoka asked. The lack of an answer was his answer. "Like I said." He got up to go find Rini himself. He didn't have to go far, she was just outside the room; no doubt eavesdropping.
Madoka sighed. "How much did you hear?"
"Oh, you know... just... everything?" Rini smiled weakly. "Look, Sairiko and I can handle this. Don't worry. We'll go grab Sadashi and hopefully she'll tell us how to find the twins and Minaka."
"I hope you're right, but lately my optimism has taken a hit. Don't get your hopes up. Moetatsuka and Sairiko had no idea where Minaka is. Sadashi might not either," Madoka told her.
"Only one way to find out." Rini took a deep breath. "So. Where am I going?"
. . .
Sadashi turned out to be hiding in a strange place. She was in a small, forested, garden area by a shrine. More importantly it bordered a river that led out to the ocean. She'd probably handed off the twins nearby.
"I don't see her yet. Are we sure she's here?" Sairiko asked, scanning the area.
"Yes. Nothing suggests she's left," Rini replied and stepped closer to the nearest stand of trees.
"We should be careful. If she doesn't know we're here, maybe we ca-"
"SADASHI!" Rini shouted, "GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!" Sairiko's jaw dropped at Rini's brash course of action. She then gritted her teeth as Sadashi stepped into view, coming out of the trees.
"So, finally acting rather than reacting? It's about time. You were disappointing me." Sadashi didn't exactly greet them warmly.
"Excuse me? We disappointed you?" Rini was furious. "You're disappointing me! How could you kidnap other sekirei like this? You put my sister in danger!"
"They'll be better off this way and your sister was unharmed." Sadashi narrowed her eyes, not flinching before Rini's scolding.
"Do you even know who you're working for? What Minaka did in the past?"
"I don't care!" Sadashi scoffed. "The me he's let me become is much better than the me before!"
"What-"
"Enough!" Sadashi snapped and squared her feet. "Do what you came here to do!"
"Rini, stand back. It's my turn now." Sairiko hefted her blade and stepped between Rini and the rogue sekirei.
"Good. Come then." Sadashi smirked. Sairiko bared her teeth and then flew forward, giving her blade a mighty swing, but Sadashi moved right into the attack, lifting her left arm. A teardrop-shaped shield blocked the blade, with the point extending down over her hand. Sadashi then surged forward again and rammed her right fist into Sairiko's gut.
Sairiko staggered back, but Sadashi didn't relent. Sairiko's massive blade was useless as Sadashi kept herself in Sairiko's face. Sadashi used the point of her shield like a talon, jabbing it up at the sword sekirei's throat. She leaned back, but the shield was then bashed across her face. A fist followed, spinning her about before Sadashi kicked her face-first to the ground.
Sairiko pushed herself to her feet quickly enough, but Sadashi was already moving in for the kill. Sairiko came up with a unusual strategy just in time to save herself – she dropped her sword. She turned around just as Sadashi stabbed her shield-point forward. She evaded the attack and grabbed Sadashi's arm, twisted, and threw Sadashi over her shoulder, sending the rogue sekirei tumbling across the ground.
Now having the time and room to do so, Sairiko retrieved her blade, readied a swing, and charged forward. She swung quickly and Sadashi hopped back, so she next stabbed, but Sadashi parried it aside. As Sairiko pulled her blade back, Sadashi had time to dart forward, jabbing her weapon at Sairiko's midsection.
Sairiko pulled aside at the last second, but Sadashi was still able to spear her shoulder into the other sekirei. Sairiko grunted from the impact, but quickly began her counter attack. She brought the hilt of her massive weapon down on Sadashi's back. Once, then twice, and the rogue sekirei's legs began to buckle. She then brought her knee up into Sadashi's stomach with enough force to throw the girl back.
Finally, Sairiko batted Sadashi with the broad side of her blade, once more sending the rogue sekirei crashing away. "Give up!" she shouted. "I've been winged, you can't beat me!"
Sadashi stood up. "I'm strong enough on my own!" she spat. Sairiko didn't give her a second chance. She swung her sword, hard this time. She knew Sadashi would see it coming, but she had an idea. Sadashi raised her shield to block, but she staggering under the force of the blow. Sairiko saw her chance and swung again, hoping that this blow would throw her opponent down.
Sadashi recovered faster than she expected. She ducked the swing and moved in quickly. Sairiko was if she tried to tackle her again, but that wasn't the girl's plan. As she drew close, Sairaiko let go of her sword with her right hand, swinging a backhand at her. Sadashi leaned away and twisted her body, and suddenly Sairiko felt a searing pain.
Sadashi had hooked her left fist, and thus the pointed end of her shield, into Sairiko's side. Sairiko grit her teeth, not wanting to scream, not wanting to show her pain. The next thing she knew, Sadashi's right arm was around her throat and the other sekirei was at her back. Sadashi then lifted her weapon for a killing blow to her neck. Sairiko was trapped, unable to stop her.
She'd failed.
"Rini... don't watch... please don't watch..."
. . .
Rini watched in horror as Sairiko was stabbed and left at Sadashi's mercy. This wasn't supposed to happen. No one was supposed to die! Sairiko was supposed to be strong enough!
"SADASHI! STOP!" Rini cried out in desperation. To her surprise, the girl's whole body tensed up. Sadashi hesitated.
It was just enough.
Sadashi moved to stab Sairiko, but Sairiko's hand flew up to intercept it, grabbing the bladed point with her bare hand. It cut into her, but better her hand than her neck. Once more Sairiko dropped her blade, this time so she could drive her elbow back into Sadashi.
With her strength, the blow rocked Sadashi's body. A second elbow and Sadashi's arms slackened. Sairiko took her chance to pull away, reaching for her sword, but Sadashi still had enough strength to kick her, knocking her away from her fallen weapon.
She tried to push herself up, but Sadashi kicked her in the side, where she wounded.
"I told you! I don't need to tie myself to anyone to be strong!" Sadashi then brought her heel down on Sairiko's head, digging her face into the dirt. Sairiko's fingertips dug into the ground, but she couldn't crawl free.
"NO! Sadashi, stop it!" Rini ran to where Sadashi was grinding Sairiko's face into the dirt, but Sadashi's arm shot out and Rini found the tip of the sekirei's weapon at her throat.
"Silence!" Sadashi growled. "I'm not supposed to kill you, but I won't hesitate if you give me a reason to!"
"P-please... don't..." Rini whimpered, her vision blurring as tears began to flow. Sadashi stared into Rini's eyes, and all Rini saw was coldness. And yet, Sadashi began to lift her foot from Sairiko's head. For a moment, Sairiko was able to lift her eyes to meet Rini's
"You came after me. You brought this on yourselves," Sadashi spoke harshly.
"Wh-"
Sadashi stomped her foot back down. Sairiko cried out once and went limp. Rini fell to her knees in despair. Sadashi was right, this was her fault. She'd been arrogant to just assume they'd win. Now she couldn't protect Sairiko. Inches away and she was helpless to save her.
She looked up, as if to silently plead with the sekirei one last time, but she'd already turned her back. And then suddenly something hot and bright slammed into Sadashi's back, blasting her off her feet and away from Rini and Sairiko.
"Huh?" Rini could only blink dumbly, wondering if she'd snapped under pressure and was imagining things.
"I knew you'd screw it up!" A voice spoke that only confused her further. Rini turned her head and did a double take. It was her sister and Moetatsuka. "You're not the only one with a sekirei who'll obey your every command! I'll take care of this!"
"I-I'm not a slave..." Moetatsuka mumbled while blushing.
"Whatever! This bitch needs to be punished! Blow her up, Moetatsuka!" Nariko commanded, pointing at Sadashi. Moetatsuka's expression hardened and she nodded, her body beginning to glow as she charged her explosive powers.
"Wait!" Rini shouted. "You can't just do that! We're near trees, you'll burn the whole place down!"
Nariko and Moetatsuka's eyes widened. They clearly hadn't thought of that. It hadn't rained in a while so everything was bone dry. One misplaced spark and it was game over.
She saw Sadashi smirk and she rushed at Moetatsuka. Moetatsuka was forced on the defensive, doing her best to avoid Sadashi's onslaught of attacks. She had no weapon or armor, she couldn't even block.
Moetatsuka thrust her palms forth when an opening presented itself, unleashing a close ranged blast. It pushed Sadashi back, but at best it only slowed her down. Moetatsuka wasn't defenseless, but she was out of her element in a close-ranged battle.
Rini's heart sank. Even with Moetatsuka, it seemed there wasn't much hope. If she didn't do something they could end up losing Sairiko and Moetatsuka. Why had Nariko tried to play hero? Rini had already screwed up badly enough, and now? Now she didn't know what to do. What could she do?
She heard a faint whimper from Sairiko. She crawled over to her, gently turning her onto her back. The girl winced as her injured body was shifted.
"I'm so sorry," Rini hiccuped. "I-I don't know what to do..." She cradled the girl's head in her lap. "Please be OK. You have to be OK. I-I'll never forgive myself if- if..." She couldn't even bring herself to say it. She pulled Sairiko close, leaning over her and touching her forehead to Sairiko's.
She shut her eyes tightly. All she could do was hope.
Her head was swimming. She began to feel faint... and then nothing.
Oh no. A cliffhanger. I sure hope they're OK.
Unfortunately do to... reasons, the final chapter won't be up for a few days. Should be before 2017 though.
Hope you're enjoying it.
Til' next time!