A/N: Thanks for following guys, and thank you for the review Handsomistic1; I plan on it!

Note: Perspective switches from Yukari to Homura.

Also, in case you're wondering: I read the manga as well as watching the anime and in the manga [SPOILER ALERT] Higa kidnaps Yukari and claims he is going to marry her because her father is Minaka; that's the reason why I had Uzume withdraw, because Higa wouldn't want his future bride getting killed.

COLD FLAMES

chapter two: the last feather

I grabbed her wrist without thinking, yanking her back into her seat. This Yukari was more than just a pretty face - she was an ashikabi, another player in the game. I looked over her again, now noticing the resemblance; Minato's sister, huh? He had five sekirei himself, and now that he knew who I was he, it seemed he was gunning for me as well. I believed myself to be defective, I would not lease control to someone else. I would not be owned.

My actions were rewarded by a growl from Yukari as she narrowed her eyes and watched me with suspicion. I hesitated, dropping her hand as if it were a snake. My words came out as a rushed whisper.

"Be quiet, damn it."

"Then say it, you're a sekirei, aren't you?" she shot back.

Once again I paused, "Y- yes."

She dropped the scowl and replaced it with a smile, nodding almost imperceptibly. Relief clouded over me and I fell forward into my hands which rested on the table between us. So close. That was so close. But there was one more problem that loomed over me - did she want to possess me too? I peered up at her through a part in my fingers but she was gone.

I shot up, searching frantically for black hair, my tight dress shirt protesting every sharp movement. Finally I caught her eyes; they were on me and she was still smiling but now she was standing in front of the door. She rose one hand and waved goodbye before walking out.

I wasn't sure exactly why, but I had the strange feeling we would meet again very soon. I wasn't wrong.

It had been several days since I met Yukari. I had gone home that night after entertaining several clients and passed up on the opportunity to hang out with Minato and his ladies in favor of going straight to bed. I didn't bother with explaining how I had grabbed his sister off the streets by accident; the prospect of talking to him didn't really appeal to me at the time.

Everything had proceeded as usual until that bastard Minaka had sent an email to all of the ashikabi in the Capital that I was the last feather. When I got the call I was enraged, but that anger was hiding something else: shame. I guess I wasn't surprised to hear that I was the last one left but somehow it still hurt, a dull throb in the back of my mind as I raced toward the MBI building. My intentions were very clear - Minaka had to die. For hurting sekirei, for forcing innocents into this game, for screwing with me.

"That bastard, I swear-" but I was cut off by a piece of cloth shooting out at me from the shadows.

I avoided the attack without thinking, tracing the fabric back to its owner: Uzume. Something inside of me cracked when I saw her there. She seemed different - darker. I called out to her, asking her who was forcing her to do this but the only answer I got was a flash of pain in her eyes. A split second later it was replaced by a cool indifference as she lashed out at me again.

Thrown off by her moment of indecision, I didn't have time to move around the next attack. My body stiffened and I threw my arms up to brace myself but the blow never came. I opened my eyes, not realizing that I had squeezed them shut in anticipation and saw the thin frame of a girl in front of me. She was wincing, a shallow cut now marring her pretty skin.

"Y- Yukari?" I stammered, recognizing her instantly.

"I got the email too, thought you might need some help," she said with a faint smile.

My eyes widened a fraction as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into a sprint. I glanced over my shoulder to see Uzume gritting her teeth. She seemed reluctant to follow us and after a minute she turned around and raced off in the other direction. Had she not been expecting interference? Still, why wasn't she pursuing us? I could only assume that she had been ordered to fall back but I had no idea why.

Yukari came skidding to a halt in front of me and I stumbled into her, sending us both crashing to the ground. I landed on top of her, my hands braced my fall on either side of her face and I stopped, watching as she flinched beneath me.

"Am I interrupting?"

I looked up, my jaw hanging loose as my eyes fell upon the discarded number. I rose to my feet, pulling Yukari up with me. This was not a good time; I was almost to the MBI tower, it mocked me from a safe distance. I wouldn't be able to finish Minaka off from this distance and yet it was so near. I could almost hear his sadistic chuckle. I bared my teeth before turning back to the ice sekirei.

"I don't have time for you!" I shouted.

She said nothing, only thrust her hand in front of her, sending shards of ice hurtling toward me. Yukari was now at a safe distance, waving her arms at someone on the ground below the building we had come to rest on. I could only assume it was her sekirei, number 107; the only reason I happened to know this information was because of my guardian status. I had been watching out for him as well while he searched for his master - unfortunately, I had lost track of him.

I sidestepped, narrowly missing being impaled. Shiina was there now, I watched as Yukari directed him to the discarded one and he launched at her. He seemed so strong just then, able to avoid everything she threw his way while still getting closer to her; close enough to use his own power.

My dark gaze slid back toward the horizon and the monstrosity that leveled against it. Damn it. I had done so much to protect those unwinged sekirei from bastards like Minaka and the ashikabi who only wanted to use them in this stupid game. To be stopped this close; I guess it was fate. At that moment I decided I would not be a prize for some foolish player.

Fire sprung forth around me, engulfing me in the flames of my hatred. It would consume me before I could be claimed. "Watch Minaka, watch how number six burns!"

My clothing began to tear, shredding from the intensity of my own power. I was unstable to the point of being dangerous but that didn't stop her. She pushed through the flames despite the burning but I was too far gone to stop it. When she grabbed my shoulders, drawing me close to her I shook beneath her gentle hands. Yukari treated me as if I were fragile in that instant - it was a side of her I hadn't seen.

Her touch cradled me, sheltered me.

"Get away from me! I won't be used, not even by you!" I yelled, feeling my strength blaze out of control.

"You won't die here," she barked, "So shut up Kagari!"

For the second time that day, I was shocked. When she tossed her head up to stare me in the eye, I could see tears in the corners of those cobalt orbs. I watched as Shiina looked on from the other end of the roof, a concerned expression decorating his face.

That was when I realized: both of them wanted to see me live - and so did Minato or Miya. The discarded number had retreated at the call of her master as Minato arrived, followed closely by his sekirei. Suddenly I wanted to live too, I felt a heat in my chest that wasn't caused by the fire, a heat that symbolized my ashikabi was near to me. I wanted what all the others had: a bond.

Her lips were soft against mine as she drew me into a kiss. My ruby orbs shot open, not expecting the caress; her touch sent my spine ablaze and my blood began to rush everywhere we made contact. Her nails dug into my arms and I felt my body begin to lax against her. My hands moved on their own, wrapping around her waist and pressing her closer.

My wings unfolded just then and the fire around us dissolved. She had saved me.