Wakayama, Japan: Sahashi Residence

2011

8:30 AM

Minato hadn't been expecting the surprise that he got on Saturday morning.

The day before, he'd finally mastered one of the basic Rindoukan techniques, the Hayate. He'd been working on it for about two months, but it wasn't until yesterday that his breathing technique had advanced enough to give him full power and control over the basic movement—a powerful, sliding step forward, and a punch fueled by the ki and forward momentum. He'd been worn out by the time he got the technique right, so his father had sent him off to bed early. As a result, he was up earlier than usual on Saturday, and headed over to the kitchen to fill his growling stomach as soon as he'd rolled out of bed. It was relatively early for a weekend, so he stepped lightly on the wooden floor to avoid making loud thumps and bumps that would have woken his grandmother or sister.

From the sound of sizzling and the smell wafting through the air, Minato could tell that his father was already in the kitchen making breakfast, and the low baritone of the older man's voice rumbled slightly in the air. Eager to find out what his father was cooking, Minato quickened his pace, barely touching the floor as he stepped into the kitchen.

The sun was already out and shining through the opened blinds, and Minato immediately saw his father's broad back in front of the western-styled stove. The smell of onions and frying eggs immediately let Minato know that the meal of the day was an omelet. However, that was soon forgotten when he looked at the other person in the room, a woman with black hair stained with large streaks of white, dressed in a white shirt and sweatpants leaning against the counter on the left side of the stove.

"Mom!" Minato said aloud. "You came to visit!"

Takami Sahashi smiled at her young son as he wrapped himself around her in a tight hug, and reached down to ruffle his hair. "Your dad was just telling me about what you did yesterday," she said. "I'm proud of you, son. Keep this up and you'll probably get better than him in half the time it took him to learn all of this stuff."

His father looked up from the omelet he was frying and shot Takami a dry, playful glance. "Hey now, Tacchi. Don't be so mean to me."

"You make it easy, Masaru, and I already told you to not to call me that," Takami replied, rolling her eyes. "At least not in front of the children."

Masaru's response was to put on a cheerful grin and turn back to the omelet. "Tacchi, Tacchi~" he sang, using a spatula to flip it over. "My beautiful Tacchi~"

Takami groaned and shook her head, while Minato smiled. "I'll go wake up Yukari-chan for breakfast," he said. "I'll be right back, Mom, Dad!"

He rushed out of the kitchen, and Masaru smiled at his energy. However, his smile faded when Takami fixed him with a meaningful glance."Now, Masaru, why exactly are we having this conversation about my job again? I told you everything was fine."

"Takami, I'm tryin' my best not to worry, but really, I can't help it," Masaru said, letting his smile fade as the conversation turned back to more serious matters. "Don't care how smart he is, this Minaka fella is what my dear mama would call a 'goddamn rat'. Even if he is the kids' real dad, that doesn't mean you gotta bend over backward for him. You realize this is the first time you've seen Min and Yucchi in four months, yeah?"

The bags under Takami's eyes became more pronounced as she stared at Masaru. Despite her show of firmness, Masaru could see her body sag a bit as she folded her arms. "I told you, he knows where this house is, and he's got the resources to cause real trouble. He'll do whatever he feels like he has to do to keep me on board, and that includes threatening my mother and the children. If he asks me to do something, I have to do it."

Masaru sighed through his nose and shook his head, moving the skillet off of the range so that the omelet wouldn't burn. "Then let me talk to him, already. Ain't gonna do much harm to just have words with him."

Takami's hands squeezed tighter around her arms, and the slight sound of her finger joints popping told Masaru that she was trying to hold something back. "It will do a lot of harm, actually. Because I know that you will take the first chance you get to punch him in the face until he passes out, or worse. I'm not going to have my children lose the only father they've had because he murdered their real one in a fit of overprotective rage." Her face fell into a frown. "Minaka may not have harmless intentions towards the Sekirei, but when it comes to me, he's willing to leave things alone so long as I cooperate."

Masaru simply rubbed his forehead with the back of his forearm, and looked at the omelet with a sad frown on his face."You truly ain't fixing to budge on this, are you, Tacchi."

Takami didn't take her hard stare off of his back, and he could feel it challenging him to turn around and face her. "I'm not."

At that moment, hearing her voice shed its weariness and become resolute, Masaru's shoulders squared up, and he reached out to the knob controls for the stove, turning off the burner that the omelet had been cooking on. As the snap of the knob turning into "off" position echoed in the kitchen, he turned to face her with a soft, sad smile. "Consider it dropped, then."

Takami returned the smile after several more seconds of silence, and walked the few steps between them to give him a tight, strong hug. "You know how I feel about you," she said, her voice muffled by his chest. "Minaka is the past. I love you and want to stay with you. What that bastard has to say about it doesn't matter. You are the one that matters to me."

"I know, Takami," he replied, leaning downward just a little bit to nuzzle into her neck. "I know."

'And that's why I can't let that rat keep threatenin' you and the kids. It ain't his place to mess with my family and I'll damn well show it.'

~Petal 2: A Broken Wagtail~

Shintou Teitou, Japan

2020

Wednesday, 5:53 PM

The kiss had been one of the most amazing experiences of his life.

Musubi had been gentle and hesitant, but her lips were deliriously warm, intoxicating even, and the kiss itself was passionate and loving, as if they'd been together forever. It was extremely comfortable, and he could have stayed there, with her hovering over him, for as long as she wanted to.

And then, the moment had been totally spoiled when wings of light bloomed out of her back, followed by Musubi declaring that he was her Ashikabi.

What confused him most was not what she said—because he could clearly remember her explanation of what an Ashikabi was—but the kiss; the memory of it was so overwhelming that his head was swimming. In this state, he somehow managed to find a bench to sit down on so that he could puzzle through his whirling thoughts. Musubi followed behind him and sat on his right side, looking a little bit like a kicked puppy—probably because he hadn't really responded to her kiss aside from staring at her in a daze and wandering off.

That confusion was gone now. After a few calm breaths, Minato's eyes were clear again, and though his uneasy posture—hunched over slightly, with his fingers interlaced—indicated he wasn't totally at ease yet, the focus with which he looked at Musubi showed quite plainly that he was at least processing the situation more clearly than he had while the kiss was still in his mind. "So, let me make sure I understand," he said, after several moments of silence. "The Ashikabi you were looking for this whole time, to be your partner in this game. I'm the one?"

"Yes, Minato-sama," Musubi said. She tapped the tips of her pointer fingers together, and looked away from him; she felt bad about something, Minato could tell that much, but he wasn't sure what exactly was bothering her. "I was reacting to you before I kissed you, so I'm certain. I'm going to be your Sekirei from now on."

Minato massaged his temples and sat back on the bench, sighing, as he threw his arms over the back of the bench. "That doesn't tell me who you are, Musubi-san. What is a 'Sekirei'?"

Musubi finally brought her head up, though she continued to stare into space and not at him. "I don't know a lot about where we came from, but I know that there are 108 of us, and that none of us are human. We are all stronger, faster, and more resilient than human beings, and as you saw earlier today, some of us have special powers. But without an Ashikabi, we can't access the full spectrum of those powers, and we'll need them in order to fight with each other until the last one is able to claim the prize."

A slight wind blew through the park, and Musubi shuddered, instinctively moving closer to Minato. Minato himself felt a bit cold, but not because of the wind. Before they could touch, Minato's phone rang, jolting him out of his repose. He got it out of his pocket and flipped it open, looking at the video screen; Musubi pressed closer to him to look into it as well. Though the screen wasn't that large, it was enough for him to make out the face of the man staring back at him. The stranger's eyes were hidden behind a pair of square-rimmed glasses, and he wore a confident smile, almost as blindingly white as his hair, his suit and his cape—yet, there was something twisted and mocking about it, more like a cheerful sneer than anything else.

"Minato Sahashi," he said, never once dropping the smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. But first, allow me to congratulate you for making into Shinteidai—especially after what happened last year. Such a shame when good talent gets squandered on silly things like martial arts. You could have gotten in easily if you had been more focused on studying, I think."

Minato was insulted by the jab at his martial arts skill and bewildered that Minaka knew so much about him, which caused him to reflexively bite back his first response. That gave Musubi enough time to interject with one of her own. "Professor! How are you doing?"

The Professor nodded. "I'm well, Number 88. I see you've found your Ashikabi already—that's good. You'll make it to the second stage easily now."

"Musubi-san," Minato managed to say, his voice choked. "You know this guy?"

"The Professor is the one in charge of the Sekirei Plan," Musubi replied. "He's the one that arranged for the Sekirei to be released in the city to find their Ashikabi."

"And you, Minato-kun," the Professor continued, "are one of those glorious few chosen to be an Ashikabi. Be happy; you have a grand destiny ahead of you now. You and Number 88 are fated partners, destined to either claim the greatest prize of the game or lose it entirely."

"That's nice, but who exactly are you?" Minato asked, his brows furrowed in annoyance as he regained himself. "Do you work for MBI or something?"

The Professor simply let off an amused laugh and shook his head. "Well, that's not completely inaccurate, but you're not totally correct either. To answer your question—I am Hiroto Minaka."

Minato blinked, then choked, then stared blankly at the screen. The president of MBI itself was calling his phone and was responsible for facilitating a game where girls were beating each other up with superhuman powers? The situation sounded patently absurd, and yet, here he was, in the thick of it. Minaka laughed again and shook his head. "I was expecting someone as well-studied as you to keep abreast with newspapers, Minato-kun. Most people recognize me on sight these days."

Minato quickly shook his head, and stared at the screen with widened eyes. "But why would you do this?" he asked. "Why would the director of MBI waste his time making these girls fight each other? Are you into blood sports or something?"

"First of all, not all Sekirei are female; there are quite a few males amongst them," Minaka said, holding up one pointer finger. "As for what the point is..." His smile grew wider and nastier simultaneously. "Well, that's for you to discover. You simply have to advance to the final stage of the Sekirei Plan in order to claim the prize."

The deflection only made Minato more annoyed with Minaka, and the young man's eyes narrowed angrily. "I'm not interested in your little games. I'm not going to be part of any plan that uses people like this."

"I'm afraid, Minato-kun, that you don't have a choice," Minaka replied, knitting his fingers together in unmistakable self-satisfaction. "By becoming an Ashikabi, you have come into possession of a very valuable asset and member of MBI. It is your responsibility to participate in the Sekirei Plan in order to give Number 88, and yourself, true freedom from my company's ever-benevolent eyes. If you try to run away, whether by yourself or with her, we're going to find you. If you try to tell the media about the plan, we're going to find you." Minaka shifted slightly, and his glasses stopped shining, revealing cold, sharp gray eyes that pierced Minato through the screen, as well as furrowed gray eyebrows. "And the consequences for yourself, your little sister, your grandmother, and Takami-kun are going to be extremely unpleasant if we have to find you."

Minato's blood went cold as ice at that last statement. He'd always known his mother worked for MBI, but she was never forthcoming with details in regards to what she did exactly. Still, whatever it was, it paid enough to pretty much cover his essential finances, Yukari's, and even take care of some of his grandmother's affairs back in Wakayama—which meant that it was important enough a job for Minaka to take notice of her and keep tabs accordingly. He wanted to do the right thing and not support this wanton violence, but not if it put her—or his family—in danger. His morals didn't matter much in the face of that kind of threat. "...I understand. So I'm supposed to keep quiet about my part in the...plan, and participate until it's done."

Minaka nodded once, cupping his chin between a gloved pointer finger and thumb. The sinister expression on his face vanished, and the intense ferocity he had been exuding was replaced by an overwhelming sense of superiority which made Minato's stomach turn. "Or until you lose all of your Sekirei. Whichever comes first."

All revulsion was forgotten as Minato's hand gripped his phone tighter. "Wait, lose all of my Sekirei? Does that mean that—"

Minaka's grin grew wider still, and he shifted away from the camera, seeming to relax a bit more. "You may have as many as you desire, Minato-kun. How you wing them, where you wing them—that's all your prerogative. I, nor the Disciplinary Squad, have no intention of stopping you from doing as you wish. So long as you follow the rules, of course."

Musubi slightly shrunk back from Minato as his lip twitched upward ever so slightly, exposing a flash of his gritted teeth. "I see. Well, thank you, Minaka-san. If you'll excuse me, I have some things to do." Before the president of MBI could respond, Minato flipped his phone closed and stood up, clenching his empty hand with rage; after a few deep breaths, the anger in his blue-gray eyes eased a bit, and he sighed. "I have half a mind to go marching into that blasted tower and punch him in the face," he said at last, slowly uncurling his fist. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

"Minato-sama?" Musubi asked, her voice quiet as she stood up. "Are you upset that I...?"

He clenched and unclenched his free hand multiple times as he stared straight forward. The rest of his body was stock still, as immobile as stone. "...Musubi. Have you told me everything you knew about this Sekirei Plan?"

His voice was very soft and very quiet, and somehow that scared Musubi more than anything else. "Yes, Minato-sama! I promise, I told you everything I was allowed to tell you without making you my Ashikabi, and then, I told you pretty much everything I knew aside from that just now on the bench. I didn't lie to you even a little bit."

Minato turned to fully face her, then, keeping his eyes directly on hers. His hand stopped opening and closing, staying balled into a tight, shaking fist. "So, then, you don't know what the actual point of the Sekirei Plan is?"

"The only thing I know about the end of the Plan is that the Sekirei that win will get to stay with their Ashikabi forever, and that their Ashikabi will get the prize that the Professor was talking about. Any Sekirei that lose aren't allowed to stay with their Ashikabi and can't claim the prize." Despite herself, small tears began to pool in the corners of her eyes, mostly because Minato's expression was still impassive and distant as he stared at her. I never thought Minato-sama's eyes could be so cold. If he's looking at me like that, then he must hate me... She quickly bowed at the waist, and held herself there. "Please, Minato-sama. If I made you upset by not telling you everything from the start, I promise I'll do better if you'll let me. Just don't be upset, please!"

Seeing her tremble slightly as she waited for him to speak, Minato finally let his expression relax into a tired, apologetic frown, and he sighed. As he let the breath out, his body loosened as well; Musubi saw this and straightened up to look at her Ashikabi once more. "Musubi-san, it's all right," he said. "I'm not angry at you."

Well, more like "more angry at Minaka than you", he thought to himself. I'm a little bit upset that she didn't come out with everything back at the apartment, but maybe I wouldn't have believed it. Regardless, there's more to this, and I can't let my temper get the best of me. She needs my help to win, and she doesn't look like she has a real choice. He looked at her, still standing in front of him with her head bowed low, then reached out, and in a moment of affection, rubbed her head gently, like he often did when he wanted to tease Yukari. "You need your Ashikabi in order to participate, and I need to keep my family safe. So I'll help you and get us both free of this dumb plan once and for all. I won't abandon you."

Musubi simply stared at him for a few moments before she grabbed Minato and put him into a bone-crushing hug. He was surprised at first, but eventually managed to raise his arms and return the gesture, enjoying the contact. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'll do my best, Minato-sama, I promise," she whispered. "As your Sekirei, I will love you and protect you and everything you love forever!"

For a few moments, Minato was silent, taken aback by Musubi's fiercely-spoken declarations. Then, he blushed violently as he realized just what she'd said to him. "You...you love me? Musubi-san, we...not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but...we haven't even known each other for a full day yet. It's not that easy to just say you're..."

"It's because I'm a Sekirei, Minato-sama," Musubi replied, pulling away just a little bit so that she could look up into his face. "To us, an Ashikabi is more than just a partner in the Sekirei Plan. When our bodies react to someone, we know that person could be the most precious thing in our lives. We know that that person could be the one that will complete us and make us happy. Before I kissed you, Minato-sama, my body was reacting in that way. I don't know why it took so long, but I knew from that moment on that you were my Ashikabi. My heart told me that it was so."

Minato could see the honesty shining in her eyes as she spoke to him. Though she was wrapped around him still, her posture was upright as it could be, and he felt no hesitation or quivering in her body as she held him. She believed what she was saying, and believed it strongly. And, to be honest, considering what he'd seen with the lightning twins earlier that day and Musubi's extraordinary speed and durability, Minaka's claims of these "Sekirei" being aliens didn't seem that far fetched, nor did the idea that Sekirei could identify their soul-mate at a glance.. "Musubi-san, I..."

"Just Musubi is fine now, Minato-sama," Musubi replied, her smile bright as the sun. "I'm your Sekirei, after all. There's no need to be so distant when you speak to me."

Minato turned bright red and shook his head. "E-even so," he said, "I'm still kind of uncomfortable just dropping all formality like that. When I feel like I know you better, I'll do it. And when I do, I want you to just call me Minato. All right?"

Musubi smiled and squeezed him just a little more before. "I understand, Minato-sama." They stayed standing that way for a short while longer, until Minato finally managed to clear his throat, not quite sure what to say in response. "So, um...do you want to try out that breathing technique while using a real punch, or do you just want to go home and eat dinner? Either one is fine by me, but we have to get up early tomorrow and find a new place to live, so..."

"I want to try the super breathing punch!" Musubi said, releasing Minato to clench her fists in excitement. "Please, show me how, Minato-sama!"

Privately, Minato was immensely relieved that Musubi was so easily distracted from the touchy subject of the Sekirei Plan by the prospect of becoming a better fighter. "All right then. First things first, make a fist for me. I want to see something..."

Musubi complied eagerly, raising her right hand and curling it into a ball. Minato gently took it into his larger hands and helped her make a tighter, more secure fist, reveling in the smoothness of her skin for a brief moment, then let it go. "Hold it like that, then breathe in and chamber the punch. When you breathe out, let the punch go. Join your breathing with your movement."

Slowly, Musubi did as she was told. First, she slipped into a stance, raising her clenched fist to about chest level while leaving her other hand open and in front of her face. She pulled her fist backward and took in the single breath that Minato had instructed her to take in. When she did so, a sudden spike of energy flooded her body. Her stance sagged a bit because of the sudden change, causing her legs to shift out of position slightly; Minato stepped in there, and pushed her booted feet back into position before nodding at her to continue. She looked at him and nodded once, then took another breath, this time anticipating the buildup of energy, then released the air in her lungs, and her punch, simultaneously, stepping into the attack just like Minato did.

The force from her blow caused an audible whiffing sound, and Minato felt his body tremble from a sudden wave of force that washed over him. He had seen this technique executed on a higher level many times before—his father was an expert at it and had demonstrated his mastery of focusing ki when he'd been teaching Minato and Yukari. Masaru had only needed about half a second to produce a punch that could dent a tree, and before he'd left on his training trip a year ago, he had gotten that time down to a third of a second. Yet Musubi's single, untrained punch, powered by her ki, had been as strong as Masaru's—maybe stronger—while staying on Minato's level in terms of speed. If, as Musubi had claimed, Minato's punch had made the air shake, Musubi's was making it rumble.

Bewildered, Minato shook his head and sighed. Sekirei...just how strong are they?

6:01 PM

After another ten minutes of practicing, Musubi's stomach started protesting at the lack of food, and so Minato led her out of the park at a brisk walk, taking another path to the exit. The paved walkway through the grass led to an area with a round fountain, a few benches, and lampposts cutting through the newly-coming dusk; a few people were milling about, either because they were passing through the park or simply enjoying a romantic evening. Musubi was walking behind Minato, her face all smiles; her breathing had fallen out of sync a few times during the punching exercises. but she'd basically gotten the hang of it and was looking forward to practicing more at another time. For his part, Minato was debating how far he would take these impromptu lessons; he most certainly knew enough about Rindoukan to teach Musubi everything Masaru had taught him, but it felt presumptuous to assume the role of teacher without his father's permission.

While he was debating the matter, he happened to look upward for a moment, if only to habitually survey his surroundings. Initially, he didn't see much aside from people walking out of the park, or one or two couples sharing a seat on a bench and leaning into each other; then, as he turned his gaze toward the fountain, he happened to see something particularly odd.

A woman in an oversized laboratory coat was sitting on one of the benches closest to the fountain, huddled into a ball with her knees pulled in to her chest. Her hair was brown, like Musubi's, but sandy-colored as opposed to chestnut. It was moderately short as well, barely reaching her shoulders, and unkempt enough that it went out in all directions and had a strand or two floating freely from the rest.

Most telling, though, was the strange mark on her forehead. It was made up of multiple parts; the biggest was the solid, stylized shape of a bird in profile, with one raised wing. Just below that bird was the yin-yang symbol of the taijitu, and on either side of the bird were two comma-shaped magatama each, with their tails turned toward the taijitu. The common feature between all elements of the design was the crimson coloring—the bird, the black parts of the taijitu, and the magatama all shared it, and the part of the circle that would have been white in a normal taijitu was instead the color of the woman's creamy, pale flesh.

Musubi noticed that Minato's attention had shifted toward the woman, and blinked a few times before her eyes lit up in understanding. "Minato-sama! That's a Seki—"

Minato flinched and clapped a hand over Musubi's mouth; she'd been speaking loudly, and he had no intention of revealing the plan in a crowd of people and paying the price for it. "Musubi-san, the plan's a secret, remember? So you can't talk about it so loudly when we're in public."

"Mm mmph, mmmmto-mmph," she replied, her voice muffled by his hand.

He sighed and removed his hand. "You have to say that again, I didn't understand a word of that."

Musubi blushed at her double mistake. "I'm sorry, Minato-sama. I got too excited. What I was going to say is that that woman over there is definitely a Sekirei. That mark on her forehead is a Sekirei crest." She pushed aside her ponytail and pointed to the nape of her neck; Minato craned his head to look at where she was pointing and saw the same mark, printed in black ink, on the outer robe of Musubi's clothing. "I have a smaller one with colors like hers between my shoulder blades, on my back. I don't know why hers is on her head, but she's definitely a Sekirei. You should go and talk to her!"

Minato recalled Minaka's words about having multiple Sekirei, and grimaced, viewing it in the context of Musubi's earlier declaration of love. "I don't know if it would be right to..."

Musubi gave him a surprisingly fierce stare, and his objections died on his tongue as she interrupted him by stepping forward and wagging her finger disapprovingly. "Minato-sama. The only thing crueler than taking a Sekirei from their Ashikabi is never giving them a chance to meet their Ashikabi. Talk to her. If she reacts to you, then she will have an Ashikabi and you will have another Sekirei. I will have to fight eventually, and having more Sekirei on our side means that our team will be stronger."

Though she was standing firmly where she was, Minato knew Musubi well enough to see that she wasn't upset with him so much as trying to get his attention. "Well, yes," he said, scratching the nape of his neck, "but...won't there be a lot of fighting between you all if I'm everyone's Ashikabi? I mean, you'll all want my attention, and..." And it'll be like I dropped into a bad harem anime, he thought to himself, suppressing the urge to grit his teeth again. Not to mention that I'd be doing something that that bastard Minaka approves of. Neither idea is particularly appealing.

Musubi folded her arms sternly, then nodded once, and put her hand on Minato's chest while using her other one to put his hand on hers. "Minato-sama. Do you remember that feeling that we shared when you winged me today? Someone very dear to me told me once that she wanted all Sekirei to feel that bond. When it became impossible for her to make that happen, I decided that I would do it instead. All of us Sekirei need that bond in order to become stronger, and I won't let a single one go without experiencing it." She let her hand linger there for a moment more, then removed it, and shoved him towards the girl with a half-smile on her face. "So go talk to her!"

Minato stumbled a bit at the strength in the push, but regained his footing without too much incident and gave Musubi a flat stare (which she returned with a wave) before shaking his head and walking up to the mysterious Sekirei. She'll probably just say "I'm not reacting to you" and then I can leave, he thought to himself, keeping his body loose so as not to accidentally intimidate her or weird her out. No big deal. It wasn't until he got within arm's reach that he saw that the Sekirei wasn't wearing anything except the lab coat, and that it had quite a few spots of blood on it. Her legs and the visible parts of her arms were scratched and dirty, and there were noticeable bags beneath her eyes. Despite all of that, she focused on him with a clarity that her sleepy expression didn't imply she had.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "I can offer you nothing."

Minato was taken aback by the softness of her tone and how melancholy she sounded, and actually took a step away from her. Most bizarrely, though, he couldn't get any kind of readings from her posture. She was simply...there. She didn't shrink away from him, put herself on guard, or anything. "...what?"

"The girl that sent you over here is a Sekirei," the woman continued, taking a moment to stop staring into space and focus on his face. "You are her Ashikabi. She told you that I too am a Sekirei. However, I am a discarded number. Discarded like trash, incapable of being winged."

Minato stared at her for a few moments, trying to come up with some sort of response to that. From what he understood, winging was part of getting an Ashikabi, and so if she couldn't be winged, she couldn't have one. Was she distraught about not being allowed to participate in the contest, or was it something else? From what Musubi said to me, an Ashikabi is effectively a Sekirei's soulmate, he thought, briefly closing his eyes. If "winging" is a part of the process of getting an Ashikabi, and if this Sekirei can't be winged, then she thinks she has no chance to find that person.

He opened his eyes and looked at her again. Her brown eyes were still focused on him, and her blank expression (both on her face and in her posture) hadn't changed in the slightest. She was clearly curious as to why he was still there, but she wouldn't ask him a word, he could tell. Regardless of all of that...Sekirei or not, she's still a person, Minato. If nothing else, maybe you can just take her along and help her find a place to stay.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

She finally blinked for the first time that Minato could recall. "Akitsu."

"How long have you been sitting here?"

She shifted on the chair, but there was no emotion behind the action; it simply was something she did. "I don't know."

Minato frowned slightly. "How did you get here?"

Akitsu said nothing for a few moments, and then lowered her head slightly, her gaze becoming unfocused through her half-opened eyes. Though the woman emoted far less than anyone he'd met before, Minato could immediately tell that this was, for her, a strong show of some kind of feeling. "I...ran away. Because I am a discarded number, I was going to be..."

Though she didn't finish the thought, that was enough for Minato to quit restraining his natural compassion, and he frowned, drawing closer to her. "Well, I don't care about what kind of number you are or aren't. You're hurt, tired, and probably hungry. Please, come with me so we can get you taken care of."

He extended a hand towards her, and after a moment, she took it, gently placing hers into his.

"Now wait one moment," said a young male voice behind Minato. "That girl there isn't going anywhere with you. I saw her first, she's my prize."

Minato's eyebrow twitched, and he turned his head to look at the intruder. The young man that had interrupted was of fair height, with brown hair. He was dressed in a pristine white suit, trimmed with gold around the sleeves, with a ruffled ascot at his neck, and carried himself with an air of clear, calm dignity despite his young age (if he had to guess, Minato would peg him as a high-school student at best). Despite that, there was something hungry in his hazel eyes as he stared past Minato and at Akitsu.

"And you are?" Minato asked, his voice calm but his gaze hostile.

"Hayato Mikogami," the young man said, smiling pleasantly as he examined his nails, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Minato—not out of fear, but as an insult. "And you're standing between me and my newest toy. If you don't mind, I'd like you to step away from her. Otherwise, I'm going to have to have my friend deal with you."

A shadow passed over Minato's brow as he let go of Akitsu's hand and stared at Mikogami with naked hostility. "Let me tell you something, you little brat," he said, his voice getting icy. "You are pushing your luck. If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you left before I decide to deal with you."

Mikogami sighed, shaking his head as if Minato was a child throwing a tantrum, and snapped his fingers. In the blinking of an eye, a tall man with greyish-brown hair, dressed in black with a pale orange scarf around his neck and shoulders, was standing between Minato and Akitsu, pushing Minato away with a firm shove. Minato, for his part, was completely taken aback, as he hadn't even heard the intruder move between him and Akitsu. How did he...?

"Mutsu," Mikogami said, addressing the newcomer, his smile becoming cruel. "Take the new one to the car."

Mutsu nodded and reached for Akitsu's hand, but failed to notice the woman's eyes narrowing slightly. Before he could take it, she slapped it away; Mutsu seemed untroubled by this, and simply reached out again, much more quickly. This time, Akitsu's response was more fierce; the air around her grew cold when his hand was closing around her wrist, and Mutsu stepped back as an icicle pierced the ground near his foot. The man grunted in annoyance, but did nothing as Akitsu stared straight at Minato, who was still glaring down at Mikogami;. As a result of his attention to Mikogami, Minato hadn't seen Akitsu attack Mutsu, but heard Mutsu's grunt and retreat. Now that he'd had a moment to get over his surprise, Minato understood exactly who Mikogami was and what was going on, especially with Mutsu's silent entrance.

"You're an Ashikabi," Minato said. "And from what I can tell, spoiled rotten." He heard footsteps drawing closer, and internally, smiled to himself as Musubi came to his side, her posture strong and neutral. The concern was clear in her eyes, but she was regarding Mikogami with suspicion, and gave Mutsu the same treatment.

"Minato-sama. Is there a problem here?" Her tone was calm and even, but her fists were clenched and shaking gently. She was clearly ready to spring into action the moment she needed to; she'd probably seen Mutsu push Minato back. Mikogami briefly looked at Musubi before turning his attention back to Minato. "And you're one of us too," the young man said, folding his arms. "I admit, she's a cute one, but my Mutsu is not a man to trifle with. Step aside and let us take the girl. She'll be better off with me."

Minato fully gave up on any pretense of trying to avoid conflict (though by Minato's own admission, negotiations broke down the moment Mikogami decided to pretend that the dirt under his fingers was more important than looking at who he was speaking to), and stepped closer to Mikogami, using his height advantage and build to increase his intimidation factor. "You wanna give orders? Allow me to give you one. Piss off."

Mutsu's heavy hand then settled on Minato's shoulder, squeezing dangerously, and something told Minato that he didn't want to look at the Sekirei's face at that particular moment. Though he was positive that Mutsu was likely much stronger than him, Minato remained unfazed—Akitsu was not going to be beholden to some jackass brat who thought he could collect Sekirei like stamps. Musubi tensed as well, fully prepared to throw a punch at Mutsu, and the air grew heavy with the tension of building aggression. However, before things could get bad, Akitsu's voice cut through it.

"I will not go with you." She pointed at Minato. "Him. No one else."

"But all he offered you was a place to stay," Mikogami said, oblivious to the atmosphere as he extended a hand in Akitsu's direction. "He didn't offer you a purpose, or a real place to live. I can give you all of that. It's better if you come with me. I'll treat you the way you deserve."

Akitsu simply looked at him. Though her face was expressionless aside from her knotted eyebrows, pure enmity oozed off of her body, even though she was still huddled in on herself. It gave the appearance of a child sulking in the corner and staring angrily at the world, but even a fool could see that any tantrums Akitsu threw would be a little more dangerous than a minute or so of angry yelling. "You know nothing about what I deserve. He does."

Musubi looked at Akitsu with owlish eyes, but said nothing, reading the tension in the atmosphere and deciding not to speak. At length, Mikogami scoffed and shook his head, but gave Mutsu a meaningful glance; Mutsu's hand came off of Minato's shoulder without a single word. At that point, Minato's hand flew up, and before Mutsu or anyone else could react, his clenched fist was inches away from Mikogami's face. "If I ever see you again, you're not going to like the consequences." Minato's voice was calm and measured, but everything in his facial expression screamed I do not like you and I am not happy that I am not beating you into a paste right now. "Namely, my fist breaking your face, followed by the rest of you. And Musubi will hold off "your Mutsu" until I get a chance to do it."

Minato could hear Mutsu's feet shift as if he were preparing to do something, but Musubi immediately showed her support of Minato by raising her fists. Mikogami simply pushed Minato's hand down and sighed, giving one last, longing look towards Akitsu before walking away. "Come along, Mutsu," the boy said, not even sounding annoyed in the slightest. "If we make too much of a fuss now, we'll be breaking the rules of the game. We can try again later."

Mutsu sighed, and followed behind his Ashikabi, deliberately looking forward the entire time. As he passed Minato, he spoke up for the first time, his voice a calm baritone. "That threat you delivered applies to you as much as it does to Mikogami. I will not allow him to be harmed. Underestimate my power at cost to your life."

And with that, both Sekirei and Ashikabi walked past the fountain and into the night. Musubi shook her head as she watched them leave, then turned back to Minato and Akitsu, smiling broadly as if she hadn't been a part of a tense standoff. "Well, Minato-sama? How did it go? Did she begin to react before that jerk came over?"

Minato had to give Akitsu credit; if Musubi's question had struck a nerve, it didn't show, as the sandy-haired woman didn't say a word in response, only sparing a moment to look at Musubi before focusing on Minato again. "We'll talk about that later, Musubi-san," Minato said. "We need to go back to the apartment. Akitsu-san hasn't eaten anything in a while, and she's exhausted. If she isn't taken care of she might get sick."

Musubi scratched the side of her head at that remark. "Minato-sama, Sekirei don't get sick from human diseases. My adjuster said so."

Though he was tempted to ask just what an adjuster was, Minato put that thought on hold when Akitsu's hand slid back into his. He felt it shake slightly, and as she slowly got up from the bench, he saw her waver slightly where she stood before she let his hand go. "Well, Sekirei can definitely get tired," he replied. "And right now, Akitsu-san is more or less dead on her feet. We need to take her home so she can get some rest."

Musubi looked at Akitsu for a moment, and after seeing that the sandy-haired Sekirei was doing her level best to stay standing, nodded. "OK, Minato-sama. Let's go then."

With that, they left. But neither Minato nor Musubi noticed that Akitsu's gaze stayed firmly locked on Minato's back the entire time.

6:20 PM

Once they'd arrived at the apartment, Minato's first order of business was to send Akitsu to the shower to clean herself off a bit while he made a separate serving of dinner for himself—he figured that if most Sekirei ate as much as Musubi did, it was likely that between her and Akitsu, the meal he'd cooked for him and Musubi to eat earlier would be finished as soon as he set it down at the table. Better for them to have all of that food to themselves.

Once Akitsu was rinsed off, Minato gave Musubi one of his old gray sweatsuits and asked her to give them to Akitsu before the other Sekirei came out of the shower. A few moments later, the quiet Sekirei walked out of the bathroom and into the dining room, her curvy figure and fairly large bust concealed under the bagginess of the outfit.

"How are you feeling?" Minato asked, setting down the two large bowls of curry rice that he'd prepared earlier; one was put in front of Musubi while the other was put on her left side.

"I am well, Minato-sama," she replied quietly.

The fact that she referred to him in the same way that Musubi did didn't escape his notice, but Minato decided he'd rather approach that once she'd eaten. Instead, he patted the cushion next to where Musubi was sitting and staring at the bowl of curry in front of her. "Good. Come over here and take some of this. It'll warm you up."

Like a ghost, Akitsu slid over to the place at the table laid out for her and sat there. Without further prompting from Minato, she pulled her bowl to her and began to eat. To his surprise, she matched Musubi in sheer speed but had a far more refined way of getting her food into her mouth; Minato was watching her directly, and yet all he could see was her scooping up the rice before it disappeared in the blink of an eye—without leaving the sparest of crumbs.

I guess Sekirei are just inclined to eat like machines, he thought, scratching his head and moving back into to finish the soup he was making for himself. Musubi was demolishing her food in the usual way, though she was at least stopping to pick up and eat some stray rice that flew off of her plate now and then. Some are more efficient and orderly than others.

Moments later, he joined the two Sekirei at the table, slowly chipping away at his meal while Musubi and Akitsu finished their servings. As soon as they finished, Minato swallowed a mouthful of soup and said, "Musubi, could you pick up the plates and forks, please?"

"Of course, Minato-sama," Musubi replied, and whisked up her plate as well as Akitsu's before she went to the sink and began to wash.

With her food gone, Akitsu shifted slightly and put her hands on her lap, staring forward impassively while Minato slurped down his soup. Every now and then, he would look at her, but she wouldn't return the glance, simply staring forward. Eventually he put down his bowl and folded his arms as he looked at her. "Akitsu-san, are you sure you're all right? You're just sitting there."

For the first time since they'd come home, she turned directly towards him, her eyes unblinking. Looking at her directly, and able to concentrate on her entire body without noticing a lack of decent clothing, Minato realized once again that she lacked the normal physical responses that most people did; she was almost inhumanly composed, never flinching or shifting in the slightest unless she deliberately did so. This odd behavior seemed to suit her just fine, but he was sure that if he was speaking to anyone else, it would have been eerie to not see them as much as twitch. "I am fine, Minato-sama. I am simply waiting for your next command."

Minato frowned. "Why?"

Her gaze stayed fixed on him. "As a discarded number, I have no Ashikabi. Because you took me in, you are the closest thing I have to one. Therefore, I will follow your every command to the letter unless it is better for your safety for me to disobey."

The intensity in those words made Minato pause and reconsider his response. It makes sense that she would latch on to me like this if she thinks it'll convince me to treat her like my Sekirei. He ducked his head for a moment and rubbed his forehead a few times with his fingertips. And really, even if she isn't my Sekirei, there's no way in hell I can just leave her abandoned. I just need to try and reinforce that she doesn't have to act like my Sekirei to stay with me.

"Listen, Akitsu-san," he said, raising his head, "you don't need to do that. I won't leave you behind or abandon you just because you're not acting like 'my Sekirei'. I'll help you for as long as you want my help, and when you're ready to leave, you can."

Akitsu didn't respond to that, and continued to look at him. There was no doubt or confusion in her eyes, either; she either didn't care about what he said or wasn't listening to him. Unnerved by her passivity, he tried again. "You're not my servant or my slave, Akitsu-san, so I don't want you to act like you are."

"That does not matter, Minato-sama," she replied, slowly shaking her head.

Minato barely restrained the frustrated moan working its way out of his mouth before his phone started to ring. He let out a short puff of breath through his nostrils and answered it without checking the ID. "Hello?"

"Minato, are you all right?" Takami's voice asked, buzzing with anger that was no reflection of the call quality. "Did that sneering bastard Minaka call you already? If he threatened you, just tell me and I'll kill him right now!"

"Mom? Wait, hold on a second, how did you know that he...?"

After he said that, the line went dead quiet for a few moments before Takami spoke again. "So you did hear from him." Her voice was flat and resigned, but Minato could tell that her anger had only ebbed slightly. She was bound to explode again fairly soon if he pushed the right buttons. "How much did he tell you?"

Though suspicious of what she'd meant by How much did he tell you, Minato gave a short summary of his conversation with Minaka, and while she stayed silent the entire time, Minato knew that he'd probably prodded his mother back into a rage (albeit, not intentionally). Once he finished speaking, Takami took a slow, shuddering breath, and let it out as calmly as she could. "...Ideally, Minato, you never would have found out about any of this," she said at last. "I...I didn't want you involved. I should have been the only one that had anything to do with Sekirei in our family."

Slowly, Minato stood up, feeling a knot in his chest as the sneaking suspicion in his head was confirmed straight-up. "So you're saying that you have something to do with this Sekirei plan that Minaka was babbling about. How involved are you, Mom?"

Takami sighed again, and Minato heard a few muffled clicks come from the speaker; she was likely lighting up a cigarette, which meant that she was well and truly stressed out. "It goes back a very long way, Minato, and I don't want to discuss all the particulars right now. Suffice it to say I've done enough to be as guilty as Minaka is." She followed that sentence with a few muffled puffs of breath, confirming for Minato that she was indeed 'enjoying' a cigarette.

"If you disagree with Minaka so much, why are you still with MBI?" he asked, his voice getting a bit louder. She may have been skirting the issue, but he could tell by her flat tone that whatever she'd done was really and truly not something she wanted to discuss. "Did he threaten you, too?"

"Not me!" Takami replied, her voice gaining an angry bite in response to Minato's persistence. "He called you, and threatened you, didn't he? Use your brain and take a guess as to who he would use as leverage to make me cooperate."

Minato made no audible response to that, allowing the angry, fearful clench in his stomach to silence him, and that was all Takami needed to hear to understand that her son had connected the dots. Or at least, connected the ones that she'd wanted to. She didn't want him to find out about Masaru. Not yet.

"So, which Sekirei did you wing?" she asked.

Minato could tell that she was simply trying to change the subject, but didn't bother pushing the issue further. If he did, he was in for more trouble than he could handle the next time he saw her. Instead, he scratched his head and sighed as he answered. "Musubi. I think she's number...88, she said? Also, I found one named Akitsu in the park. She said she was 'discarded', and implied that something was going to happen to her before she ran away from MBI." On the other side of the line, Takami choked and coughed, causing Minato to flinch in alarm. "What happened, Mom? Are you all right?"

"Go put Akitsu back where you found her," she replied, sputtering around the smoke that was probably clogging up her lungs. "You can't have her around you. She's dangerous, Minato!"

"She was also alone and beat up when I found her, and some punk Ashikabi was going to abduct her when I was ready to bring her home and get her fed," Minato said. A slight creaking sound came from the hand that held his phone up to his ear. "What the hell did you expect me to do, leave her in the park to freeze overnight? Or get taken by him?"

Akitsu blinked and looked directly at Minato, but he didn't notice as Takami responded to him as irritably as he had to her. "With her powers, freezing would be the least of her concerns. Minato, she's a discarded number for a reason—her power is dangerously strong and she can't be winged. If you keep her around you, you're going to get hurt."

In response, Minato clenched a fist and let his voice gain a growling edge. "I don't care!" he said, doing his best to avoid shouting. "Akitsu needed my help, and somewhere to stay. Whatever reasons MBI gave her to run away don't matter to me. Their reasons for wanting her back don't matter to me. As long as she wants my help, I'm going to give it to her, period!"

A few quiet moments passed before Takami spoke up, much more subdued than she had been before. Before she continued, more puffing sounds came over the line, and Minato could see it as plain as day; his mother was likely rubbing her forehead in consternation as the cigarette dangled loosely from her lips. "...if that's what you want, then, fine." She took in a long breath, which was clearly meant to take a drag from the cigarette. "You'll be twenty soon enough. If you're going to be an adult soon, I might as well treat you like it. Just be prepared for what could happen to you."

"That's fine," Minato replied, slowly relaxing his body. "Really, I have other things to worry about. Like finding somewhere else to live. My landlord is going to skin me alive for having two girls sharing an apartment space with me in a singles complex."

"Haven't you started looking for a new place yet? You should have started once you winged Musubi."

Minato resisted the urge to slap a hand to his forehead. "It just happened today, Mom. Like 'not even two hours ago' today. When was I supposed to start my little house hunt, as soon as she kissed me?"

Another puff of air came from Minato's speakers, both a sigh and a release of smoke. "Fair point. Tell you what, let me give you a leg up. I know someone that would probably be willing to let you stay with her. Get a pen and paper or something, so you can get the address."

Minato did as he was asked, and once he gave his mother the go-ahead, she rattled off an address for him. From the sound of it it was in the northern part of the city, a boarding house by the name of Izumo.

"Landlady's name is Miya Asama," she said. "We've got history together, and she knows about the Sekirei Plan already. If she doesn't bring my name up in connection to you, then don't mention it; she and I have had our disagreements in the past and the last thing I want is for that history to ruin your shot at getting a place to stay. Just be aware that she's not likely to accept any money you give her if it comes from Musubi's MBI card, and that she is not going to want to discuss the Sekirei Plan directly, if at all."

"I hear you, Mom," Minato said, "but you said that Musubi-san's got what?"

"Did I stutter?" Takami replied. "Musubi should have a black MBI VIP credit card. It's supposed to help cover your expenses for food—I'm sure you've noticed by now that Sekirei eat enough to feed a small country. If we didn't provide it the Ashikabi would likely be broke by the time the plan was done with."

"My empty wallet has plenty of reason to agree with that," Minato said with a grimace, "but I don't know if she has a card or not. She didn't mention it to me."

Conveniently, Musubi chose that moment to walk back into the room, though she looked rather dismayed since the front of her robe was extremely wet. Minato took one look at her, sighed to himself, and added "teach Musubi how to wash dishes" to his list of things to get done eventually. "Musubi-san, do you still have your MBI card?"

Musubi pressed her lips together for a moment and squeezed her eyes shut, then gently knocked on the side of her head a few times. "Ah, no, Minato-sama! I lost it when those girls from earlier attacked me. I'm sorry!"

Minato smiled, and gently shook his head. All things considered, it was probably better that way considering that wherever his mother was sending him wouldn't accept the money from the card anyway. "It's fine. I was just curious."

Musubi's face lit up with a smile as well; Minato would have responded were it not for a set of loud knocks at the door. "That's probably MBI with clothing for Musubi," Takami said. "Go get it, don't keep them waiting. Also remember that Yukari will be in town soon, maybe as early as tomorrow, and she might need your help getting settled before she starts going to school. You should get to Izumo House as quickly as possible to see if you can move in there before she calls you to help her."

Minato shifted his phone to the crook of his right shoulder and craned his neck to keep it close to his ear. "Tomorrow? What dd she do, break open her piggy bank and buy an express ticket into Shintou Teitou?"

Takami's reply was carefree enough to imply a shrug on her part. "I don't know. But really, I don't blame her. Yukari won't admit it, but she missed you, Minato. You are the only person that can keep her sharp while your father's gone, after all."

The reminder of his father stung a bit, but he knew that she didn't mean to hurt him by mentioning Masaru. If anything, he was heartened by the fact that she continued to refer to his father in the present tense. It served as a reminder to him that she believed he was fine and would come back, which in turn helped Minato believe the same.

When he opened the door, he was somewhat surprised by the size of the dark-suited man that stood before him. However, MBI's agent said nothing of import to Minato; he simply pushed the cardboard box he carried into the Ashikabi's hands and left, closing the door as he did so. Minato turned to his left and dropped the box on the ground as gently as he could before straightening out his head and saying, "Musubi, your new clothes are here, you can change if you like."

"Keep in mind," Takami said, "that they didn't bring any for Akitsu, since she's not a part of the plan. Looks like you're going shopping tomorrow, unless you want to wait and ask Yukari for help?"

Minato rolled his eyes as he jabbed his fingers into the tape sealing the box open and pulled upward, exposing the clothes inside. "No way. She'll want to know why I'm asking and then I'll have to feed her some kind of lie. Better if I resolve it myself." He then looked down at the contents of the container, and sure enough, several sets of Musubi's outfit, complete with extra sparring gloves, were sitting inside, with a black credit card sitting on top of the pile. However, they also shared space with several links of chain and what appeared to be a low-cut kimono outfit with a black sash. There was a note sitting on top of the latter set of outfits, attached to one of the chains. Minato scanned it briefly, and then made a choking sound in his throat as he read every word.

These are for Akitsu. She has a nice figure, you ought to show that off.
~Minaka

"Minato, what is it?" Takami asked, her voice echoing her concern about the sudden silence.

"Mom, your boss expects Akitsu to wear an outfit that will get her arrested for public indecency. Do you mind if I kill him and then flush the remains down a toilet?"

A rush of static swept over the phone as Takami sighed. "I don't mind, son, but I'm certain he'd find a way to either come back to life or crawl out of a manhole if you tried it. Don't bother."

As if summoned by the very mention of her name, Akitsu glided over to where Minato was standing and looked down at the box of clothing. She looked down at the note for a few moments, then took up one of the lengths of chain and a matching outfit before going to the bathroom as quietly as she had come over to the box.

Minato paled immediately. "Akitsu-san! Please don't put that on!"

She stopped and stared forward for a moment, then turned towards Minato. "This clothing is satisfactory, and if I wear it, you will not have to spend money on clothes for me, Minato-sama." With that, she walked into the bathroom and shut the door before Minato could protest again. Minato groaned and turned away from the bathroom, rubbing his forehead with his free hand before moving back to where he'd been sitting before and settling himself back down. "She's so contrary," he muttered to himself. "One minute she says that she'll listen to whatever I ask of her, and the next she does what she wants when I ask her to do something. She's so...hot-and-cold."

On the other side of the line, he heard his mother take another drag on her cigarette. "It's your own fault for trying to talk her out of free clothing, Minato. You grew up with two women in your house; you should understand how we work."

Minato gave no response to that, and instead watched as Musubi finally responded to his call and went over to the box to see what was inside. She smiled as she picked up one of her fresh outfits, and her happiness made Minato smile as well...until she began to take off her top, exposing her bare breasts. "What the—Musubi-san! You don't wear...?"

Musubi blinked, then looked at Minato, who had his eyes squeezed shut while pinching his nose. A small trickle of blood was seeping between his fingers, and his face had gone beet-red. "Don't wear what, Minato-sama?"

Takami heard enough of the conversation on her end to sigh through Minato's phone again.

Author's Notes

This one is early, because as I mentioned in Chapter 1, I planned on releasing it assuming that I got the chapter I was working on finished. Since then, I've finished that chapter and am already working on Chapter 8, so this goes out to you all as a reward. If things go according to plan, two Fridays from now, Chapter 3 will be out for your viewing pleasure, and I would have completed another chapter or two. Once I get the majority of the story written, I can switch to weekly releases and that will undoubtedly make people happier.

Something I will point out here is that Minato's fighting style, Rindoukan, is fictional, but did not originate in this story. The series that it appeared in is a fairly popular fighting game series, and the character that uses the style in that series is one of my favorites because she's powerful as cuss even if she's on the slow side. So, in a sense, this is a little bit of a crossover, but not very much of one.

I also encourage you, the readers, to play close attention to certain details in the story. I'm doing my best to keep internal continuity consistent, and I will strive to foreshadow certain things before they happen, hopefully better than I did in Substitute School. For the most part, you can assume that if a twist happens, I planned it in advance.

Review Response (Chapter 1)

First, if your comment was something along the lines of "this is amazing/nice", I thank you sincerely. I hope to keep up the hype as we go on. Just be aware that I will not be able to answer your question in the next chapter's Review Response, or via PM, if you ask something that the story might or will discuss in a later chapter. That includes "will Minato wing this Sekirei" and "Is this character related to that character".

Rc1212: Unfortunately it's difficult to answer that question precisely at this point in time (because we haven't seen a lot of Sekirei to compare against). Suffice it to say for now that against the likes of Karasuba, Mutsu, or a Sekirei that can control an element, Minato would not win unless they let him. Against Musubi, she'd have to hold back a little bit to keep the fight even, because there are limits to how quickly he can respond even if he knows what she's going to do next.

rajvir: I believe this chapter answers that question for you quite well.

All right. Hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you all later.

~ZS