Sorry about making ya'll wait for this chapter, I haven't made myself sit down and write but I'm planning to write at more regular intervals so I can release chapters at a more decent pace. Thanks for waiting.

The First Day: Part 1

Morning's First Light

A gentle, enveloping warmth, an intoxicatingly sweet aroma, and a plush softness were my alarm clock as I awoke from the most peaceful sleep I'd had in years and looking down I saw the cause was the still fast asleep Aimi. Gently sliding from under the covers I left her in that peaceful state as I ventured to the bathroom to brush my teeth and then to the kitchen to fix some kind of breakfast for us.

Quietly rummaging through the fridge, I thought about how fortunate I had been to find a place so soon after the incident. The rent was decent, the tenants were friendly, the landlady wasn't overbearing, but wasn't a pushover either and the apartments were comfortable. Having gathered a number of items on the counter I began contemplating what I could make, but while I was lost in thought I hadn't noticed that Aimi had joined me in the kitchen until her aroma drifted into my sense of smell and she spoke up.

"Ohayou." She sleepily greeted while stretching.

"Good morning, did you sleep…" Looking up at her I couldn't help but somewhat laugh at the sight before me. Apparently at some time during the night her hair had decided to frizz out and nearly turn into an afro.

"What's so funny?" She asked with confused look.

"You haven't been in front of a mirror yet, have you?" I replied after having stopped my laughter.

"No."

"Go to the bathroom and you'll find out." Doing as I suggested she headed to the bathroom and soon after, she returned with her hair lying down, a slight blush across her face and a small, cute pout.

"I see you discovered what I found so funny." I teased while mixing ingredients.

"Yeah, but you know what else is funny?' She questioned with a smirk while exploring the different items I had laid out on the counter.

"What's that?"

"This." She stated as she blew a handful of flour in my face the moment I looked at her. After wiping the flour from my eyes the first thing I saw was the joy filled smile that was spread across her face as she laughed at the surprise 'gift' she had just given me.

"True, true that is pretty funny." I admitted while wiping the remaining flour off of my face and returning to my mixing, I made sure to set aside an amount for my revenge later on.

"So what're you making?" She curiously asked while peeking over my shoulder.

"An All American breakfast, unless you want something different." I replied.

"Oh no, I want to try it. What all do you make for this?"

"Well personally I do eggs, I can do whatever kind you want, bacon, a pancake or two and some fruit with any kind of drink you want" I explained while pouring pancake batter into a skillet then collecting the fruit I had.

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Yeah, here." I then showed her how to make and cook the pancakes.

For the next fifteen minutes I explained to her how to watch the batter for the quantity of bubbles as a sign of when to flip it and I also showed her how to flip one. It took her a few tries to get it down, but once she did she had it mastered.

"You're a pretty fast learner aren't you?" I asked while taking plates to the table and returning to the kitchen.

"I guess I am." She giggled in reply as she assisted me.

After setting the table, we said our thanks for the meal and began eating. As we ate I thought about tasks that we would need to do in the near future; Aimi would need her own clothes, we would need to inform Tachibana about her moving in with me, get some more groceries while we're out along with some other necessities we'd need.

"Michael…Michael!" Aimi exclaimed, breaking me from my trance.

"Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts." I sheepishly replied

"It's fine. So what had you in such deep thought" She teasingly inquired and I told her about all the tasks we needed to do, today if possible due to my upcoming assignment.

"That's quite the bit to do in a day."

"Yep, so after breakfast I think it'd be good to clean up and get started." I stated as I resumed my eating and with her agreement we finished eating in a comfortable silence.

"Thank you for breakfast Michael and teaching me how to cook too." Aimi cheerfully thanked as we took dishes back to the kitchen and began cleaning them.

"No problem, and thanks for making my morning interesting. I mean, it's been a while since someone's blown flour in my face." I teased as I gave her a wink.

"Oh you're quite welcome." She retorted with a devilishly cute smile.

"That reminds me…" Grabbing the batter from earlier I wafted some of it into my nose.

"Does this smell funny to you?" I asked, holding it out for her and coming closer she put her nose to it to investigate.

"No, not really." She stated

"Check again, I thought it smelled weird when I was mixing the batter." I lured once more and this time as she put her nose to it I pushed her head down and brought the small bowl up to meet her. The shocked reaction she gave was priceless as she quickly jerked back and gave me a menacing glare as the batter ran down her face.

"Now that's funny!" I exclaimed between laughs and I could've sworn I saw some of the batter start to bubbles as she glared daggers at me, but my laughter quickly ceased as a pit of guilt formed in my heart as she turned and began to angrily walk away towards the bathroom.

"Wait, wait, wait…" I pleaded while grabbing her wrist and when she turned to face me I could still see the aggravation in her eyes.

"Come on." I said as I pulled her back into the kitchen and grabbed a towel, wetted it and began attempting to right my wrong. As I wiped the batter off I was able to get a better look and feel of her face; the soft cushion of her cheeks, the messy bangs that helped frame her face, the gentle firmness of her cheekbones and the alluring beauty of her sea blue eyes.

"Are you done yet?" She bashfully asked while looking away. Without realizing it I seemed to have just fallen for her a little more.

"Yeah, sorry. I just got somewhat mesmerized." I replied as I rinsed the towel out.

"I'm going to go bathe and get dressed to go." Aimi quietly stated as she turned to leave the kitchen.

"Ok."

"No peeking." She firmly commanded as she looked back with a stern gaze and not wanting to have another awkward moment I simply complied. As she headed to the bedroom to get her clothes I proceeded to the living area and fell onto the love seat. Laying there I eased into a comfort that relaxed my whole body, but it was quickly interrupted as the TV suddenly turned on. Checking the cushions I didn't find the remote anywhere under or near them, instead it was resting next to the TV. Suddenly the picture switched from static to a white headed man wearing glasses and a ridiculously large side swept hairstyle along with his entire outfit being nothing but white.

"Why hello there and congratulations on being chosen as a Sekirei's partner Michael Matthews!" He exuberantly exclaimed.

"Who is this nutcase and how does he know my name?" I questioned as I simply continued to watch but then it dawned on me. Minaka Hiroto, the director of MBI and also an acclaimed genius.

"I'm sure you know who I am but just in case, I am Minaka Hiroto director of MBI and game master of the Sekirei Plan. A plan which you are now involved in until you are either…"

"Not to be rude Mr. Hiroto, but I've already been informed of the circumstances that surround the Sekirei Plan by my Sekirei." I politely said.

"Very well then and do please refer to me as Director. Now onto a very important subject…" His tone and demeanor completely changed in a heartbeat.

"The secrecy of this program is of the utmost importance, so I cannot stress the value of you keeping this under wraps. Am I making myself clear to you Mr. Matthews?" The Director bluntly stated with no hint of ifs, ands or buts.

"Crystal clear sir." I respectfully replied.

"Splendid, well in that case an employee of mine should be arriving soon to drop off a package for you and Aimi. It will contain clothes for Aimi and an MBI card for which should easily suffice for your day to day needs and anything you may want in the future." He cheerfully stated.

"Thank you Director."

"You're more than welcome my boy and good luck." With that the TV shut off and I was left in silence again.

"Well that was certainly interesting." I thought aloud as I returned to lying down, but no sooner had I comforted myself there was a heavy knock on the door.

"He wasn't kidding when he said soon" Getting up I headed to the door and upon opening it I was met by two suits. One being an older, burly man with a crew cut and a stern look matched with the stereotypical black shades; the other, well the other was obviously a new recruit and at that a young woman that couldn't have been much older than myself.

"Good morning, here is the package you were guaranteed." The young woman nervously greeted as her partner silently handed me a decently sized box.

"Have a good day and remember to keep the contract in mind." She said just before her partner closed the door. Standing there in a little bit of bewilderment I was trying to process exactly why such two complete opposite personalities would be paired together.

"How was that Hiroshi-sama?!" I heard her earnestly ask in an extreme desire for praise.

"Like I've said before, you don't need to do a greeting or reminder; just a simple handing of the package to the client." He calmly and firmly stated as they walked away from my door continuing their conversation.

"Alrighty then, well I guess things will certainly be getting interesting now." I said as I headed to the bedroom. What amazed me even more was the fact that all of this transpired within ten minutes, my mind was already getting a jump start on what was supposed to be a not very tasking day. Setting the box on the bed I proceeded to open it and discovered everything that Minaka promised would be in it. A white card with MBI printed on it in black lettering lay on top of three sets of clothes that consisted of a black, spandex type turtleneck crop top with a sleeve type ring that extended to the arm, white arm warmers that covered from the fingers to the middle of the upper arm, a black pleated skirt, mid-thigh high boots and a pair of sky blue…

"What's that?" Aimi inquired breaking my train of thought as I set the item down with the rest of her clothing.

"Well, the Director introduced himself by randomly turning the TV on and told me that this package would come along with other matters." I replied while continuing to empty the box. All that was left was a single card down in the bottom with "No. 37" boldly written on the front.

"I believe this is for you Aimi along with most of this package." I said holding the letter behind me.

"Really?" She curiously asked,

"Yep, here you go. I'm going to take my turn with the bath now so go ahead with whatever you need to." I said as I grabbed a pair of underwear and shorts and headed towards the bathroom. Closing the door, I undressed and doused myself with water after which I began washing myself. Running the washcloth over my body, I remembered that I didn't have to be at Ichinomi's place until the day after next which left a good deal of time for Aimi and me to complete our tasks and anything else we wanted.

"What is today anyway?" I wondered as I rinsed my hair and began to wash it. Scrubbing the shampoo into my hair sent me into a deep relaxation removing the thought from my mind. When the water washed over my head it replenished my energy and made me feel more awake and ready to take on the day's challenge, so standing up I grabbed a towel and dried off.

Exiting the bathroom after finishing my routine, I returned to the bedroom to find Aimi pulling her boots on as the final part of her dressing process and when our eyes met, she quickly turned red and diverted her gaze.

"You saw them didn't you?" She nervously asked while fidgeting with her hair.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." I apologized. She didn't reply but turned to face away from the closet as I grabbed a pair of blue jeans and began putting them on.

"So umm… what are we going to do first?" She asked.

"Go down to talk to the landlady about you living here now. She's typically pretty easy going so it shouldn't be a problem getting her to agree. You can turn around if you want now." I explained as I finished putting my pants on and began fitting my boots on.

"Umm… Michael?"

"Hmm?"

"…it's nothing." She responded.

"I bet I can guess what it was though." I thought while pulling a black long sleeve and white button up on, grabbing a light jacket and heading towards the door.

"So what's the deal with this card?" I asked while putting the VIP card in my wallet.

"From what I understand it's a card, like what you call a credit card, with no upper limit but I'm not sure if it's given to everyone." Aimi explained as she followed me.

"So are you ready?" I asked.

"Yep." She cheerily replied as she joined me at the door.

"Do you want a jacket or anything?" I asked while giving her a look over and the exposed midriff and other small areas of exposed skin somewhat concerned me about her getting cold along with my disdain of other men taking too long of a look.

"I don't want to trouble you any more than I already have." She quickly protested.

"Nonsense, you haven't been a bother and I'll make sure to never look at you that way. At least just wear it like this until you feel like wearing it normally." I persuaded as I tied the jacket arms around her waist and enjoyed the bashful look that covered her face as I brought our faces close.

"Thank you."

"No problem, now let's say we get this day started huh?"

"… Sure…" She quietly answered.

"She's too much; she can quickly change from a cheerful, upbeat, in your face with joy kind of girl; to a highschooler experiencing her first love and being embarrassed at some of the smallest kind gestures. Well, from what I understand, I am her first and only romantic love." With that in mind I lead us out to into the morning's first light to start our first day together as Ashikabi and Sekirei.

November 20, 2019

So to start off, sorry for taking so long to finally get back to writing, thank you those who have remained patient for this story to update and I promise I'm going to be writing/posting at a more regular pace (as I stated in my intro). Secondly, if this chapter seems dry or somewhat forced in areas I'm going to blame that on not really being able to easily obtain/maintain a good thought process going.

Thanks for reading and hopefully you'll stick around to see the next chapter.