Ghost Ashikabi

Disclaimer: I do not own the Sekirei anime.

Chapter 4: New Wings


Renato and Yahan arrived at the safe house with Akitsu the "scrapped number" in tow. Yahan went off to rest for the night and Renato went to one of the rooms to lay Akitsu on the bed and went back to find Kochou, who was on a laptop he had given her to use.

"How can I help you Renato-sama?"

"Kochou, what do you know about the "scrapped number" BS pertaining to Akitsu?"

"I don't know much about it but I can tell you what I know. It has to do with the adjuster for Akitsu messing up on the job due to his arrogance and because of that she cannot be winged by any ashikabi no matter what. The man got fired for it and tried to take it out on Akitsu but she escaped after defending herself."

"So thanks to some incompetent bastard Akitsu cannot be winged, and worse that psycho Minaka let her loose for his own amusement. Is there a way to undo the effects?"

"Not as far as I know. The other adjusters at MBI tried to undo the effect but to no avail. Why do you ask?"

"Well I found Akitsu at the park this night and took her in to be my sekirei before that Mikogami brat did."

"What?! She's here. And you want her to be your sekirei?"

"Yes and I intend to fix her too."

"How? If the people at MBI could not fix her how can you?"

"When there's a will there's always a way. If it's broken then it can be fixed and I intend to do just that."

"Is it with another one of your secret talents?"

"You can say that."

"Fine. I'll leave you to it. Maybe you'd succeed where others didn't."

"Okay one more thing Kochou, how's MBI doing in regards to me?"

"So far they still have nothing on you, however they are doubling their efforts to find you. Minaka even plans to send the Discipline Squad to find you."

"Hmph! Good luck to them then. And Kochou get some rest for tomorrow."

"Yes Renato-sama."

After leaving her room Renato went back to the room where Akitsu was and found her awake with panic on her face until she spotted him and relaxed in relief. He went to her right side of the bed and took out a chair and sat on it.

"How are you doing Akitsu?" Renato asked.

"Ah...I'm feeling alright now." Akitsu replied.

"If you think this is a dream then it's not as it's as real as it gets."

"Ah...I see. But...I am still broken."

"Well I'm about to work on that right now. Just need you to not move too much."

"Ah...Okay."

Akitsu laid down on the bed as Renato took out a pair of goggles and adjusted them to show her nervous system and blood vessels.

'Alright. Time to see what's the problem.'

Renato scanned her nervous system trying to trace where the problem was. It was the first time he was looking into a sekirei in general but Akitsu's case caught his attention as he kept looking for the problem and he found it. It looked like some kind of seal was stuck around her forehead as an obstruction of some sorts.

'That asshole that fucked up had better pray to whatever god or deity he worships because when I find him I'll make sure there's nothing left of him to identify. Anyways, it looks like whatever it is at her forehead is messing around with her ability to be winged by an ashikabi. It's like she's already winged herself but at the same time she's not winged. There's a way to fix it but it won't be easy since I'm not as good as she was at this kind of procedure.'

Renato removed the goggles and stared at Akitsu with a smile on her face making her feel some glimmer of hope.

"I've got good news for you Akitsu. I can fix your problem right now." Renato spoke, making Akitsu go wide eyed, "However it's a risk to do that as the procedure I want to pull off was done by a close person to me who was very good at it. So do you want me to go ahead or do you prefer to wait for me to get someone else?"

"Ah...I want you to go ahead and do it now." Akitsu said.

"Are you sure about this? I'm taking a huge risk here."

"Yes, I am sure."

"Okay here goes nothing."

Akitsu closed her eyes as Renato breathed in and out before he he began the treatment. He was going to attempt to hit some of her pressure points to undo the effect of the messed up seal. His close friend from way back was a skilled doctor with accupuntures and manipulation of pressure points and used them efficiently and effectively to cure people of illnesses and other medical conditions. He'd learnt it from them because they insisted that he should learn to be able to do that in case he was in trouble and couldn't reach them. Renato was used to using pressure points to incapacitate or kill but now he could use it medically though not as good as his friend. So he decided to just wing it!

With the tips of his middle and index finger he gently probed at behind and below her ears, her temples and her lower spine. Akitsu felt a chill go up her spine, her body quivered a little, her forehead had a tingling sensation on it and the same sensation came on her back between the shoulder blades. Renato seeing the Sekirei crest on her forehead gone sighed in relief. He'd just done something risky and if he screwed up he may have crippled her for life, or worse, killed her and he didn't need that on his conscience since he already had enough skeletons in his closet.

Meanwhile Akitsu noticed her breathing becoming erratic and her heart beat increasing rapidly. She felt her cheeks blush and her body heat up at being close to Renato.

'What is this feeling? Is it what the others feel like when near their ashikabis?'

Renato noticed this and knew what was going on. She was reacting to him and not surprisingly as she sat up and looked into his black eyes that she could barely see due to the shadows of his hood.

"Akitsu."

"Yes."

"Let's see if you can get winged."

Akitsu quickly slid her arms up to around Renato's neck and pulled herself up for a kiss. Renato didn't resist as he too returned the kiss. Wings of light burst through her back, pale blue and icy cold, but pure and beautiful. After they both released from the embrace, the Sekirei looked at him with her face flushed with more color than the pale one he saw before and this time he saw that her eyes had life in them and tears were flowing down.

"Sekirei #07, Akitsu, yours; now and forever." Akitsu said.

"Congrats Akitsu. It's now official. You're my sekirei and I'm your ashikabi." Renato replied with a small smile. Then she hugged him tight as she repeatedly said, "Thank you." while he acknowledged with, "You're welcome, Akitsu."


Once again in MBI there was pandemonium, the personnel were running around like headless chickens, alarms and sirens were going off as they all tried to figure out what the hell just happened but were not getting anywhere.

"Everybody get your asses in gear before I shove my foot so far in that you won't be sitting for months!" Takami shouted, and the results were instant as everyone got their wits together and went back to their computers to figure out what had caused the alarms. "What is it this time?"

"It's the scrapped number ma'am! Akitsu's just been w-winged!" One of the workers shouted.

"Impossible! You'd better not be playing with me!" she said as she walked to the monitor and checked the feedback. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she gasped. "Who's the ashikabi?"

"Ma'am, it's the same unknown ashikabi that winged Kochou and Yahan. The one we still can't find."

"Seriously?! Then triple your efforts! I don't care if you all drop from exhaustion or if you get insomnia, I want you to get all information on this ashikabi! Understand?"

"Ma'am."

In his office on the top floor of MBI, Minaka is fuming as he watches the proceedings in the lab on a portable monitor. "So Ghost Ashikabi-kun still wants to wing these little birds but not play the game? No matter I'm the Game Master and I still hold the cards in this game."


The next day Renato and his Sekirei: Yahan, Kochou and now Akitsu are up and on the table eating breakfast that he'd prepared for them. Toast, bacon, eggs, and miso soup with milk and orange juice. Of course the sight of Akitsu without her crest on her forehead got the attention of Kochou and Yahan who stared at their ashikabi who just ignored their looks and enjoyed his breakfast.

"In case you want to ask, yes I winged Akitsu last night." Renato spoke, "So treat her like your sister too."

"How? How did you wing her?" Yahan asked.

"Was it with that secret talent of yours?" Kochou asked.

"Yes it was and I was able to undo what that fool of an adjuster did." Renato answered, "By the way, remind me to kill him if we ever come across him."

"Ah...no need." Akitsu said as she brought herself closer to Renato and grasped his arm, "I have you as my ashikabi now. He's no longer worth it."

"Alright Akitsu. If it makes you happy I'll forget about him."

Akitsu smiled as she hugged his arm. Yahan just sighed and continued eating her breakfast and Kochou had a worried look on her face that Renato did not miss.

"What's wrong Kochou?"

"MBI are really losing it now because of Akitsu's winging and their inability to find you. Not only that but you have the attention of other sekireis and ashikabis in Shinto Teito who would no doubt be looking for you." Kochou stated.

"Are you worried?"

"Yes I am. MBI already sent their Discipline Squad to look for you and the leader is not the kind of person you want to be seen by. Higa Izumi would no doubt want to seek you out to either join him or eliminate you and Hayato Mikogami no doubt still holds a grudge for you beating him to Akitsu."

"No need to be worried about our ashikabi, Kochou." Yahan spoke up, "He's got me, you and Akitsu who's a single digit protecting him. Plus they'll need to find him first which I doubt they'll be able to."

"Ah...I'll defend Ashikabi-sama from anyone who seeks to harm him." Akitsu stated.

"Thanks Yahan, Akitsu. Kochou, you don't have to worry about me. Even if they want me dead they'll have to find me first. And even if they somehow find me I am more than capable of defending myself." Renato said.

"Okay, I'll hold you to that Renato-sama." Kochou said.

"Well then, today we'll be leaving this safe house which I'll be blowing sky high after. Need to cover my tracks you know." Renato said.

"Really? Where are we going next?" Yahan asked.

"North. So we'll be leaving soon after we're done and in the disguises I have set for us all." Renato answered.

An hour later, under the morning sun, four people were walking towards the North of Shinto Teito. The three women were wearing traditional kimono and hakamas of different colors. One wore white and light blue, one wore all white and the third one had white and red. The man with them wore a white collared shirt, a white haori and white trousers and a straw hat on top. All wore white tabi and sandals.

"Okay. Time to watch a little fireworks." The man said as he pressed a button on his phone. What followed next was rumbling on the ground, the sound of explosions going off in the distance, people screaming and running around like headless chickens and police sirens.

"That should keep them occupied while we make ourselves scarce, ladies."

And scarce they did make themselves as they easily left the area while the commotion was going on, no one bothering to pay attention to them.

Three hours later, the four people were now in the North. They were still looking for a place until they found a poster for a place called Maison Izumo, that had vacancies.

"Ladies. We've finally found a place to stay in."

"That's good to know."

"Ah...great."

"Now can we get out of these disguises? They're making me look ridiculous."

"Fine. Let's go to that alley over there."

The four people went into a nearby alley and after a few minutes, four different people came out: Renato in his signature outfit, Kochou, Yahan in their normal outfits and Akitsu now wearing a white kimono, that was close to being torn apart due to her large chest but only held together by chains, and a black skirt. How and where she got those chains they would never know and Renato wasn't in the mood to find out but he accepted the sight either way.

They finally arrived at the building that was known as Maison Izumo. It was a two story building with windows and a fence around it. It had the traditional Japanese feel to it just by the sight of it, according to Renato.

"Nice house. I wonder who's the owner." Yahan commented.

Anyways, they walked up to the front door and Renato lightly knocked on it. He heard movement and then the door opened, revealing someone who caught him by surprise. Standing in front of him was a beautiful woman long purple hair that reached her waist and brown eyes. She was wearing a white haori with a sash like belt, a purple hakama and wooden sandals. She reminded him of his dear friend from years ago and he had to fight back some painful memories.

However that wasn't the only thing that put him on edge, the woman in front of him had the grace of a warrior that had been born and bred for battle. Reminded him of the guy he hated whom he called a battle crazed fool.

The lavenderette looked at him and the three other women in front of her. To the casual observer she was just looking at them, but to Renato he knew that she was trying to access whether they were a potential threat.

'She's definitely like Yahan, Kochou and Akitsu but on a whole other level. She's definitely killed a lot more people than she shows.'

The woman herself knew who the other three were though she was surprised at Akitsu but managed to keep those hidden. It was the hooded man in that trench coat that looked like it had been through a blender that caught her attention more. She looked into his black eyes that were only visible in the shadow of his hood and she could tell that he was someone who had spilled more blood than any human though she doubt that he was even human himself.

'This man...he's spilled so much blood than any human I've met though I sense that he's more than human.'

The moment lasted for a few seconds before she gave them a warm smile. "Hello, can I help you four?"

"Yes. I saw the advert over there that mentioned that your place had vacancies, and we're here looking to become residents here." Renato spoke.

"I see. It's true that we're offering housing here. The monthly fee is 50,000 yen." The lavenderette said.

"That's a good deal for us." Renato said. It looks like this was a place to lay low in especially since MBI chose to avoid this area like the plague.

"However I must ask, are you four in any kind of trouble that I should know of?" The lavenderette asked once more.

"None as far as I'm concerned." Renato said as he turned to his sekirei.

"Nope no trouble." Yahan said.

"We've done nothing wrong." Kochou said.

"Ah, nothing wrong." Akitsu said.

"Like we all said, we're not in any kind of trouble." Renato continued, "Would that be an issue if we were?"

"Oh no, not at all." The woman replied with a kind smile, "My husband believed in never turning a person away. I just needed to know as a simple precaution."

"He sounds like a good man. Is he the owner of this place?"

"No, he was but my husband died a few years ago." The woman answered with a sad smile on her face.

Renato felt his heart ache at that. He was mad at himself for bringing up a sad memory for someone. Apparently the woman noticed this and assured him. "It's alright, it's not like you could have known, so please, don't beat yourself up over it."

"Alright. I'll do that." Renato said.

The woman's personality brightened as she opened the door and led the four into the house. "I am the landlady, Asama Miya. And you are?"

"Agba Renato."

"Well then Renato, we currently have two rooms available on the first and second floor though I'd prefer it if you stayed in one and your four ladies stayed in the another room."

"Why can't we be in the same room as Renato-sama?" Yahan complained.

Miya giggled, hiding her smile behind her hand, as a scary hanya mask appeared over her shoulder. "Lewd acts are prohibited in Maison Izumo. It wouldn't do for you three to share a room with him."

The three sekirei hid behind their ashikabi, all terrified of the scary abomination they were seeing. Renato however was unfazed by it as he stared at Miya with a blank look.

"Can you please not scare my ladies, Miya?"

The dark aura and the mask disappeared quickly as Miya looked at Renato, stunned by the fact that he was unfazed by the mask or the dark aura she had projected. Renato saw this and he moved on to what was in order. "So can you show us to our room, Miya? I'm responsible for my ladies here and I'll make sure there are no lewd acts like you mentioned."

Miya stared at his face to see whether he was lying. The stone cold blank look in Renato's eyes easily told her that he wasn't lying to her but she still wasn't going to trust him so easily. "Ara. Aren't you a responsible one? However I'll still stick to what I said."

"You're the boss. Your rules." Renato said, not wanting to argue with her as Miya led them to the rooms on the first floor.

After showing them their rooms and the inn itself, Renato asked his sekirei to stay in their room and relax while he finalized the arrangements with the landlady. They hesitantly obeyed. He went to find Miya who was in the living room/dining room enjoying some tea.

"So what do you think?" Miya asked.

"Simple and nice. I definitely like this place, it makes me feel more at home." Renato replied.

"So how do you intend to pay for the rent?" Miya asked.

"I can cover that and even more." Renato said, as he brought out a large brown envelope from his coat, "Here's 500,000 yen up front then."

Miya's eyes went wide as dinner plates after seeing the amount he had. She took the envelope and counted it just to be sure. After she confirmed that they were accurate she nodded and turned to look at him. "Well thank you very much Agba-san."

"Call me Renato instead, Miya." Renato corrected.

"Okay then, Renato." Miya said with a smile on her face, "I'd like to inform you of another rule here in Maison Izumo: No violence is allowed here."

"That's fine with me since I'd rather avoid violence to begin with." Renato said. That was true as he preferred to just use stealth and avoid the use of unnecessary violence unless as a last resort.

"If I may ask Renato, why do you still have the hood on indoors?" Miya asked curiously, "Are you sure you are not in trouble?"

"I am sure, Miya." Renato answered, "It's just better for me and those around me that I don't reveal my face to anyone. Call it paranoia I acquired."

"Okay if you say so Renato."

"Yo Miya. Do we have guests?" came from the door before it opened to reveal a voluptuous brunette with dark brown hair, a pony tail on the left side while the rest fell behind her back and brown eyes. She was only wearing underwear and a frilly pink shirt that showed off a lot of cleavage much to Renato's displeasure.

"Uzume, how many times have I told you to not come out of your room dressed like that?" Miya asked.

"At least I'm in panties now." The now known Uzume countered like she didn't care who saw her.

"Please dress up properly. Have you no modesty?" Renato stated while looking away from her.

"Don't worry, Renato. Uzume has modesty, right?" Miya said in a sickly sweet voice as the familiar dark aura and hanya mask appeared again.

"Uwah! Y-y-yeah! Y-yes I-I-I do! I-I-I'll go c-c-change right away!" Uzume said as she ran out of the room, mostly out of fear of the landlady.

"Are my housemates like her or she's the only one that's like that?" Renato asked.

"No. It's just Uzume...she's a little...indecent." Miya said.

"Good. At least it's just her. I've had my share of debauchery to last a lifetime and I don't need anymore." Renato said. Bad memories of a certain crazy couple he knew came back to haunt him which he quickly got rid of. They really scarred him for life.

"Did Uzume do something perverted again?" said a male that came into view. Renato turned to see a white haired man who looked more female than male, wearing a white collared shirt and black slacks looking into the room at him and Miya.

"Yes Kagari, she did but I sent her back in to dress up properly." Miya answered.

"Kagari's your name? Well I'm Renato and I'm one of your new housemates. Nice to make your acquaintance." Renato said.

"Oh, nice to meet you too." Kagari replied, "Though why the trench coat? It's seen much better days."

"Sorry. This was my first coat I've ever worn and I took a liking to it and always had it with me." Renato said sheepishly before he realized something, "Speaking of which, Miya, can you tell my three ladies that I'll be out for a while? I'm just going to buy some things for my room and theirs. I won't be long."

"Of course I'll tell them." Miya said.

"Thank you very much Miya. I'll see you all later." Renato said as he left the room for the front door and left the building.

"Miya. Don't you find that man suspicious?" Kagari asked the landlady.

"He definitely has his own secrets and will not tell us unless he wants to. He's also a good man who'd rather enjoy a peaceful life than resort to violence which I can see that he's been exposed to in the past." Miya said, "I just hope he doesn't end up bringing any of it back to this place."


End of Chapter 4.

Akitsu's been winged and MBI's in pandemonium since they can't identify her ashikabi.

Minaka's losing it and he plans to turn up the heat to find him.

Renato and his sekirei move into Maison Izumo.

Renato knows Miya's a sekirei like his own but more powerful and Miya knows that he's more than human.

What else does Shinto Teito have for the Ghost Ashikabi?