"So, let me get this straight..." Minato sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You're a member of an alien race called 'Sekirei' that — due to a bizarre genetic quirk — is able to breed with practically any sentient life form."

"To put it bluntly; yes." Miyarian nodded.

The lavender-haired woman sat across from them and calmly took a sip of the tea Yukari had brought for lunch. Currently dressed in Minato's oversized coat, the alien woman looked absolutely ridiculous, but was still somehow able to give off an air of sophistication and elegance. The trio was currently situated in a common area of the ship, apparently meant for recreation.

"I must say," the lavenderette said appreciatively. "This beverage is divine. What do you call it?"

"Er, green tea…?" Yukari smiled sheepishly.

"And that's despite our species having completely different evolutionary paths?" Minato prodded, trying to get them back on track. "The fact that your body structure is humanoid is shocking enough, but you practically look human yourself!"

"And I would say that you look like a Sekirei." The woman gave him an amused smile. "You'd be surprised. Most intelligent life ends up taking a humanoid shape. It is an ideal structure for the crafting of tools and the eventual rising of civilization."

"I suppose," the boy murmured. "You also said something about a bond forming between us from that… kiss?"

He couldn't help but flush when he thought about it. That had been his first kiss, after all. And it had been with a gorgeous woman! He'd finally graduated from complete-loser-virgin to just a regular-virgin. That particular train of thought did not improve his mood as he thought it would. In fact, it may have had the opposite effect…

"Yes." The purple-haired woman smiled at him warmly, causing his already flushed face to turn tomato-red. "You are my Ashikabi; my destined one."

"Destined one?" Yukari squealed. "So, that kiss was like a marriage ceremony!"

"M-Marriage?!"

"Actually, that is quite accurate." The other woman nodded. "In a process known as winging, a Sekirei and their chosen Ashikabi exchange genetic information; generally through a kiss. This forms a kind of psychic bond between them; tying them together physically, mentally and emotionally — forever and ever."

"That's so romantic!" Yukari cried out. Her face settled into an eager grin. "So, what happens now? Are you gonna breed with Onii-chan?"

"Y-Yukari!" Minato choked, a scandalized look on his rapidly reddening face.

"Eventually." Miyarian nodded, prompting the boy to begin sputtering at the utter nonchalance in her voice. She spoke as though that were a given! "But before that can happen, I must ensure the safety of my little feathers."

"Ah, that's right!" Yukari exclaimed, pumping her fist excitedly. "First, we gotta take care of the eggs and embryos! Then, you can start breeding with my brother, Miya-chan!"

"Yukari!" Minato snapped. If his face had been red before, then it was positively glowing right now.

"Miya… chan?" It seemed the purple-haired woman had chosen to focus on the wrong part of Yukari's statement. Minato wasn't sure if he should be happy about this or exasperated. Maybe both. "I assume that Miya is a shorthand term for myself. But what is this 'chan' you speak of…?"

"It's a term of endearment." The man sighed before turning to glare at his sibling, who simply pouted at him in return. "But it's also considered rude to use it with someone you've just met."

"I do not particularly mind." The woman assured him. "If you would, please feel free to do the same. We are bonded, after all."

"Right… I'll keep that in mind, Miya-san," Minato said, still finding the whole psychic-bond-thing a little hard to take in. But, hey. If he had to be bonded to someone, he supposed he should be grateful that it was with a beautiful woman. "You said something about your fellow Sekirei. The ones still in stasis?"

"Yes." Miya nodded, somewhat sadly. "With our given situation, I must assume and prepare for the worst."

"What do you mean?"

"Our home planet had long since grown uninhabitable," the lavenderette explained. "It is the reason we began exploring the galaxy in the first place — to find a new home. The other sentient life forms we've come across were simply too primitive to peacefully coexist with, so we have been searching for years. The flagship that carried this small cruiser we're standing in was the culmination of my species' history. The fact that this vessel reached your planet alone means that our presence here was a last-ditch attempt at preserving that history."

"But… that would mean…"

"The 108 individuals on this ship may very well be the last of my species," Miya murmured, her eyes drifting up to the ceiling and more importantly, the stars above. Seeing her quiet distress, Minato felt a sudden impulse that, normally, he would never have followed. But seeing the shimmering of her eyes compelled him to act.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Minato found himself holding her hand in his. The look of surprise his female companions threw him said that they had not been expecting it either. He knew that there were no words he could give her that could possibly comfort her. But then again, no words were needed. The gentle squeeze of her hand and the small, grateful smile on Miya's face told him that he'd done the right thing.

"But… what now?" It seemed that even the ever-exuberant Yukari was sobered at the thought of an entire race of people going extinct.

"I must make efforts to protect the little ones," Miya said quietly, turning to face them both. "I can tell that the two of you are exceptional individuals, even with my nonexistent knowledge of your species. So, tell me; how would your people react to extraterrestrial life suddenly appearing on your planet?"

The two siblings glanced at each other before simultaneously turning pale. Not well was the general thought in both their minds. Every Hollywood sci-fi movie ever pointed towards war or inhumane treatment of the foreign visitors and seeing the vulnerable state of the Sekirei, the later was the most likely outcome.

The mental image of Miya being strapped to a table and dissected caused a cold pit to form in Minato's stomach.

"Onii-chan…" Yukari whispered urgently.

"I know," he muttered, tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"From your reactions, I take it the answer is far from ideal." Miya nodded solemnly.

"What do we do?" His sister squeaked fearfully. "If we of all people could find them, anyone could!"

"This ship is equipped with a cloaking device," the lavender-haired alien told them. "But that is only a temporary solution. If my people are to survive on this planet, we will need to make efforts to… blend in. To hide in plain sight."

"But your people are all either eggs or embryos." Minato pointed out.

"The ship is equipped with a means of accelerating the gestation process as well as the growth of children, but…" Miya grimaced. "It was always an unspoken taboo. The process was a subject of immense controversy to my people. But I'm afraid we won't have much of a choice…"

"Let's just hold off on that for a minute," Minato broke in. "If you're planning on blending into society, you're gonna need identification and housing. You'll need a source of income and a means to provide for yourselves; all things none of us are going to be capable of providing."

The alien woman could only bite her lip as more and more holes were being poked into her already threadbare plans.

"Then, what do we do, Onii-chan?" Yukari asked quietly.

"We…" He paused for a moment and took a calming breath. "We need help."

"And who would be willing to provide aid to us, my Ashikabi?" Miya murmured solemnly.

Minato didn't answer immediately. He stared at the ground at his feet for several long moments before finally raising his head to meet her gaze. "I'll call Mom."

"Your mother?" the alien woman blinked at him in surprise. "Why your mother?"

"Our mom is a famous geneticist," Yukari explained, perking up. "She specializes in bioengineering and is a real bigwig in the scientific community. If anyone can help us, it's Mom."

"We can trust her, Miya," Minato said reassuringly. His little sister did not miss the lack of honorific in his statement and quickly hid a grin. "Mom likes to play the role of tough, no-nonsense woman, but at heart, she's a big softie. She also has connections that will be immensely helpful to us."

Miya stared at them for several moments before nodding. "If she has your trust, then she has mine."

Smiling gratefully, Minato withdrew his smartphone and dialed a number he knew by heart. Now, the only problem was getting out of this with his health intact. He was pretty sure his mother would not be pleased that he was apparently married to an alien.

As the dial tone rang, he vaguely reconsidered whether or not this was a good idea. When he walked off to get a better signal, Yukari turned towards their alien companion and gave her a strange smile.

"Now, while we wait for Onii-chan..." She grinned, her eyes locking onto the lavender-haired woman's chest peeking through Minato's coat. "Let's play for a while, Miya-chan. I wanna get a good look at you..."

Miya blinked as the girl began stalking towards her, the ravenette's hands twitching in anticipation. "Play?" she parroted, a look of confusion taking shape on her face.

Yukari's only answer was to let out a perverse giggle.


Sahashi Takami could not be described as an easygoing woman. From the day she first entered a laboratory, she had been clawing her way up — making enormous strides in the scientific community and leaving a blazing trail in her wake. Many would call her a cold and ruthless person.

And for a time, many would have been right. But all of that changed the day her first child had been born. The first time Takami held her son in her arms, something had stirred within her. He had been the most beautiful thing she had ever laid eyes on.

But he had been so… fragile. Minato had entered this world far earlier than anyone had been expecting. He'd been such a tiny thing. For months afterward Takami had been forced to watch over him from behind a glass window as he struggled to live and for a time, she feared her baby wouldn't make it.

The woman had spent nearly every waking moment watching him and praying to whatever gods that would listen for his safety. Then one day, as though in answer to her prayers, he had finally opened his eyes and smiled at her. The sight of it had brought her to tears and instilled a deep-seated protectiveness in her.

For the first few years of his life, she hardly let him out of her sight; taking him wherever she went. The same could be said of her daughter, Yukari, when she was born a year later. Most called Takami overbearing, but her children were her single greatest priority in life. And as a result of this, her children had been exposed to the world of science ever since they were young children.

It was of little surprise when Minato expressed his desire to follow in her footsteps. Her son had displayed an incredible intelligence ever since boyhood and with Minato aiming to become a scientist, Yukari was quick to follow. She had always adored her elder brother despite his timid nature — something Takami was eternally grateful for.

Smiling slightly to herself, Takami glanced to her right, where a picture of her small family sat upon her desk. It featured her children wearing matching caps and gowns — a beaming smile on each of their faces. Watching them graduate from her alma mater had been one of proudest days of her life; matched only by the first time she saw them walk into the office wearing their lab coats.

Takami was broken out of her reminiscing by the sound of her phone ringing. Sighing to herself, she hoped it wasn't Takehito calling to complain about another problem in whatever it was he was working on nowadays.

Seeing the name on her caller ID, her mood brightened slightly. She brought the device to her ear and answered in a light tone. "Minato!" She smiled. "How's the survey going? I'm surprised there's reception on the island."

"Er, yeah…" Her son said in an awkward tone of voice. "The survey… About that…"

Her mood dropped. "Minato…" Takami said lowly. "What happened?"

"We kinda... capsized onto the island and ended up damagingmostoftheequipment." Minato said this so quickly, she could barely understand what he said. "The boat is also wrecked. It won't be seaworthy any time soon."

"Are you two okay? You're not hurt are you? What about Yukari?" The white-haired woman was already reaching for her office phone to call in a rescue team.

"I'm fine, Mom. And Yukari's as gung-ho as ever."

"Good." Takami relaxed slightly. "So, then? Why are you just now calling? What have you been doing for the past few hours?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," he admitted. "Mom… We found something here. Something incredible."

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"I can't talk about it over the phone." Takami blinked at the seriousness in his voice. "This is extremely sensitive information. You need to see this for yourself."

"I can't just leave, Minato," she said with a small frown. "I have obligations."

"Please, Mom. Trust me on this. You know I wouldn't ask this of you unless I was completely serious."

He had a point. Her son knew her well. "Alright. I'll get a team together and meet you on the island."

"No!" There was a noticeable hitch in Minato's voice when he said this. "Please, come alone."

"Alone?" Takami repeated. "Minato, what the hell is going on over there? You're acting like this is some sort of conspiracy."

"I can't explain, Mom. Please, believe me."

The woman sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose wearily but nodded regardless. "Alright. I'll be there. Alone."

"Thanks, Mom. Oh, could you also bring a spare set of your clothes?"

"My clothes? What the hell do you— You know what? Fine. But you're gonna have a lot of explaining to do when I get there."

"Thanks. I better go before— YUKARI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Takami brought the phone away from her ear as Minato shouted the last part of his sentence.

"Minato?"

"Oh, calm down, Onii-chan." She could vaguely hear her daughter's voice on the other end. "You'll have plenty of time to try them out yourself later."

"T-That's not— You can't just—" Minato began sputtering and she could easily imagine the blush on his face.

"Is this a common Earth custom?" A third, unfamiliar voice asked, causing Takami's eyebrows to shoot upwards. "Where I'm from, the groping of breasts is a rather… intimate gesture."

"Ugh!" Her son made a strangled noise of frustration. "I'm sorry, Mom. I gotta go. Please, be here soon. I'll explain everything when you arrive." With a click, the call ended and Takami could only stare at her phone in astonishment.

Just what the hell was going on over there?!


A/N: This is highly unusual. I don't normally update this soon. I don't even update on a regular basis. But then again, these are shorter chapters than what I usually write.

I decided to leave the terms "Sekirei" and "Ashikabi" unchanged to avoid confusion. Miya's "original" name is Miyarian because it sounds alien enough while still being somewhat recognizable.

Anyway, I'm glad that 7% of you enjoyed the first chapter. Here's to many more!

- Your King