Author's note: Many thanks to the readers who have followed, favorited and especially reviewed the story so far. It's always appreciated.

Act 3: When A Problem Comes Along...

"Hanako-sama, please wake up."

"Nnnf?" The bedroom was semi-dark, the world outside still in dawn's prelude. Turning to the left, Hanako made out Karen's unclothed figure kneeling beside her futon. "Wha's wrong?"

The sekirei bowed her head. "I dreamed," she said quietly. "I do not remember it clearly, but when I awoke I was afraid. I felt I needed to be... with you."

Not all of Hanako's cylinders were firing yet. "With..?"

"That is..." Karen was likely blushing, though she couldn't see it in the gloom. "May I lie beside you?"

"Oh." This wasn't what she had in mind when she told Karen to wake her in case of trouble. Still, it qualified. "'Kay," the ashikabi grunted, wiggling sideways and turning down the blanket. "Get in." The girl climbed over in silence, slipping her lower body under the covers with a soft rustle. Hanako pulled them back up and rolled onto her side, towards the archer. "Comfy?"

"Yes. Thank you, Hanako-sama."

"Mm-hm..."

Hanako woke again to find that Karen had moved closer, but wasn't clinging the way she did on the first night. That was an improvement. Carefully rolling the other way, she picked up her phone. The virtual clock confirmed what sunlight already told her: she'd slept in, not that it mattered for someone who only worked after noon.

Behind her, the covers shifted. "Hanako-sama?"

"Still here." She turned over, facing Karen. "Feel better?"

"Yes..."

The sekirei started to push the blanket off herself. "You don't have to go," offered Hanako. "I mean, if you want to stay a little longer."

"You do not mind?"

"Nope."

Karen settled into her place again. Her expression, however, was uneasy. "I remembered part of my dream."

"Tell me." Hanako laid her hand on Karen's arm, just below the shoulder. "Please."

"I was fighting the twins, but my arrows would not hit them. I called for you and you could not hear me." The girl averted her eyes. "That is all. I am sorry to have disturbed you over something so pitiful."

"Pitiful? Karen, that's normal. I have those dreams too."

"Hanako-sama..?"

"For me, they're usually about school. I suddenly realize I've got a paper due today, or I forgot to study for an exam tomorrow. Then I wake up and remember I graduated with flying colors." She gave a self-deprecating grin. "Pretty silly, huh?"

Karen did not share the humor. "My ashikabi is not silly," she replied solemnly. "She is gentle and patient."

"When you talk like that, it makes me want to hug you." As the words left her mouth, Hanako became acutely aware of how close they were, separated by little more than the thin fabric of her shirt. The hand she extended without a second thought was resting inches from Karen's bare breasts. "...But I shouldn't right now."

The archer viewed their situation differently. "As your sekirei, my body is yours to use as you wish. There is no need to hold back when you have such desires."

"Even if that were true, self-restraint is an ashikabi's responsibility." Hanako flipped onto her back. "Well, you know how I feel."

No answer was spoken, but there was a perceptible change in the mood. After some seconds, Karen sat up. "I must exercise. Please forgive my intrusion."

"Yeah..." Hanako's eyes flicked to the right, focusing on the red crest imprinted on the girl's back. She had to admit she found the mark pretty, despite being an instant killswitch if an enemy sekirei got close enough to touch it. Major liability. Wonder if I can do something about that.

Karen crossed over to her own futon and began rearranging the blanket, left askew and rumpled in the wake of her nightmare. Hanako wanted to lie in bed some more, but the bathroom was calling and to stay here while her roommate worked out would be too much temptation.

"You know, I'm almost getting used to this."

A sort of routine had formed over the past few days, as ashikabi and sekirei adjusted to their new life together. With sparing use of Karen's MBI card, Hanako acquired a second set of bedding and furniture to replace the essentials stolen by Miki. She still did most of the cooking, while Karen attended to cleaning chores. Outside the apartment, the Sekirei Plan seemed to be in a quiet phase.

Not to say it was all smooth sailing, even before today's incident. On the morning after the visit to Crazy Ivan's, Karen came to breakfast with her bangs combed over to one side, imitating Kei's haircut, instead of parted in the middle. When asked, she claimed to believe Hanako liked it better that way. Hanako politely but firmly made clear that she preferred the usual style, and that she did not want Karen to act as anybody's surrogate. They hadn't gone back to Ivan's since then.

Another issue not fully resolved was Karen's own relationship with Hanako. It was obvious that she still considered herself sexually available to her ashikabi, regardless of the latter's determined refusal to accept any overtures. Hanako did compromise on one point for the sake of morale, allowing Karen to sleep and exercise in the state she was most comfortable. Not too much skin exposure that way, so long as she cleared out of the bedroom before her ward got warmed up.

Maybe I should ask her to go naked for the whole day. If I can't avoid seeing her, I'll have to get used to it... No! Bad mental image! Bad!

Seated across the table from her, Karen was thankfully unable to hear the internal monologue. "That is good," she said, replying to the prior comment. "Is it not?"

Hanako put aside her marital misfortune for the moment. "It's not," she declared. "Not when the Sekirei Plan is just getting started."

"You mean this is... the calm before the storm?"

"You can hide from a storm," said Hanako sourly. "This is sitting in a trench, waiting for the whistle to blow." She crammed a spoonful of cereal into her mouth with one hand and logged onto her laptop with the other. "Let's see which famous white guy was caught driving dru... Oh, you gotta be kidding me."

"What is wrong?"

Hanako re-read the opening lines, then read them a third time. "MBI paramilitary forces have seized control of Tokyo."

Karen put down her spoon and got out of her chair, coming around to the same side. "Why?"

"Doesn't say." Hanako scrolled through the text as Karen watched over her shoulder. "They locked down the airports and train terminals, and they're patrolling with boats and helicopters." The ashikabi picked up her phone and selected Sahashi Minato's name from the saved list. "How the hell did they pull this off?"

Minato answered the call promptly, though he sounded rather distracted. "Hanako-san, good morning."

"Hi. Listen, have you seen the news?"

"You mean, about MBI occupying the city? Minaka made an announcement on TV a little while ago."

"I missed that. Did he say what's going on?"

"Not really. It seems like the second stage of the Sekirei Plan is beginning."

"Second stage..." Hanako flash-reviewed her schedule for the day. "I think it's time for an English lesson. How do you feel about baklava?"

"Er... It's a hat, right?"

"That's a balaclava. Baklava is a Turkish pastry. I made a batch last night, but Karen thought it was too sweet and I can't eat the rest myself. I'll bring it over if you like."

"Sure, I guess."

"Great. See you soon." She hung up and turned to Karen. "Finish your food. We're going over the top."

Twenty minutes later they were on the street, Karen wearing her archery gear over her t-shirt and Hanako carrying the baklava in a cookie tin inside a slightly threadbare hiking backpack. MBI helicopters, mostly Black Hawks, crisscrossed the sky as they walked. The weather was pleasant, cool and breezy with scattered clouds.

"Nice day for a date," remarked Hanako, half sincere and half sarcastic. She threw a sideways glance at her stoic escort. "Would that interest you?"

"I do not require such indulgences."

Hanako had a pretty good idea of the subtext underlying the refusal: I am not the one you truly want to go with. Even if the girl didn't say it, she was thinking about Kei. "I don't mind if you want to try," said her ashikabi. "See what it's like, you know? Might be fun."

Karen remained noncommittal. "Perhaps."

They were overtaken by an armored personnel carrier, painted in the same monochrome scheme as the choppers. Hanako tracked it until it turned at an intersection ahead. "Minaka tells us to keep the game secret, then openly flaunts his power. The man wants to have his cake and eat it too."

"Cake?"

"You can have a cake, and you can eat the cake, but if you eat the cake then you don't have it any more."

Karen frowned. "Having a cake serves no use if one cannot eat it."

I'm gonna dress you up as Seven of Nine for Halloween. "It's – "

Something hit the sidewalk behind them with a soft thud. They turned in unison, each reaching for her weapon as the intruder rose from her landing crouch. "Found you."

"Karen, wait." Hanako put a hand on her flashlight, but didn't draw it. "What was that?"

The newcomer had a diminutive figure, a full head shorter than Hanako, yet with a physique comparable to Karen's. Her skin was a rich shade of brown, covered sparsely by drab shorts, an olive tank top, fingerless gloves and paratrooper boots. The tufts of hair poking out under her baseball cap were a darker chocolate color. "I found you," she repeated. "The one who makes my heart race."

Karen relaxed her bowstring. "Hanako-sama, this person is – "

"I know," the ashikabi muttered. "Why me?"

"You're a hunter." The other girl raised her face, revealing vivid green eyes and a mischievous grin. "Aren't you, Neesan?"

"Uh... I used to cull razorbacks as a summer job, but that's probably not what you're thinking of."

The stranger's joy only grew stronger. "You know how it feels to stalk prey, to follow its trail and lie in wait." She placed her right hand on her chest. "And then..."

That movement drew Hanako's attention to a couple of details. One, there was a length of braided cord wrapped around the intruder's hand. Two, she wasn't wearing a bra. "No offense, but we're kind of in a hurry here," said the older woman. "If you want to tag along, that's fine."

The brown girl shook her head. "I can't go with you now. Find me at the botanical gardens when you're ready." With those words, she leaped away.

"Wait! At least tell me your name!" Too late. The unknown sekirei had vanished. "...Dammit."

The pair arrived at Izumo House safely and without further hindrance. Today the door was opened by a woman with princess-cut lavender tresses and traditional clothes, similar to Karen's former costume except long-sleeved and colored white and purple. In one hand she carried a sword in a plain scabbard.

Hanako greeted her. "Good morning. You must be Asama Miya-san."

"I am. And who might you be?"

"Hanako Hanlon and Karen Bowman. Sahashi-kun is expecting us."

"Yes, he told me. Please come in."

Minato met his visitors in the hall and led them upstairs to his own modestly furnished room. Gathering around the table inside, they were joined by a new face: a bespectacled, ginger-headed young lady sporting double pigtails and a loosely Chinese styled dress. Like Musubi and Uzume before her, she was gifted with a generous bust. "This is Matsu-san," said Minato, looking a little bashful. "She's my third."

"A brain type," added Matsu herself. "Nice to meet you, Hana-tan, Karen-tan."

Hanako ignored the childish nickname. "And the same to you," she replied. "Uzume isn't joining us?"

"She's sleeping," Minato explained. "And Kagari-san is at work. What did you want to talk about?"

"The second stage and MBI's takeover," answered his fellow ashikabi. "We have a new problem as well." Lifting the backpack onto her lap, Hanako unzipped it and pulled out the cookie tin. She opened the tin and set a box of toothpicks beside it. "I'm warning you now, this is really sticky. Brush your teeth extra well tonight."

Musubi took the plunge, spearing one of the little squares and carrying it to her mouth. "Mmmmmmmmf!" She swallowed. "It's good!"

Matsu and Kusano tried it as well, though Minato held back. "The problem is..?"

"We ran into another sekirei on the way over, and I think she was reacting to me." Hanako described the sidewalk meeting. "...So here we are."

Musubi finished off a third piece of baklava. "You're going to wing her, right?"

"I dunno, should I?"

She said it rhetorically, but the three sekirei across the table looked at her like she was about to drive a stake through her suitor's heart. Even Minato seemed surprised by her poor enthusiasm. "Well... If she's reacting, isn't it cruel not to accept her?"

"I'd like to hold on to whatever shreds of control I still have over my life," his counterpart retorted. "I already have one unexpected roommate. I'm not taking on another unless I know what I'm getting into."

Matsu adjusted her glasses, obscuring her eyes behind the round lenses' glint. "Hana-tan may not get another chance," she cautioned. "The second stage begins when only ten unwinged sekirei are left. From now on, the fighting will increase and other ashikabi will be rushing to capture the last sekirei."

"Meaning I should get her before someone else does." Hanako took a square for herself. "Wonderful... What about the city lockdown?"

"MBI is preventing players from leaving the game. Of course, there were measures in place all along, but doing it openly encourages aggression."

"The cornered animal bites hardest." Hanako folded her arms. "I'd at least like to find out who this sekirei is."

"Matsu can help you with that," said the same. "Follow me."

She led them to the end of the second floor hallway and opened a camouflaged revolving door in the wall beside the stairs. The room inside was dark, save for the glow of computer monitors stacked from floor to ceiling on all sides. Kneeling before one of them, Matsu placed her hands on the keyboard below it. Text and images flashed across the screens, coming and going faster than Hanako could interpret them. After several seconds the flow lessened, finally settling on photographs of three dark skinned and short haired girls: Hatae, Nambu and Kuzuri.

"Based on the description Hana-tan gave, it's – "

"That's her." Hanako pointed at the face in the middle. "Definitely her."

"Like I was going to say, it's her because she's the only one who isn't winged yet."

A data sheet and a new picture replaced the mugshots: the personal profile of Number 80, Nambu. The face was the same, though her hair was neatly combed and she wore a different costume. It appeared to be made completely of black leather, combining a choker, a halter top, short-shorts and thigh high stiletto boots. "Great," said her desired ashikabi flatly. "She's a dominatrix."

Minato scrambled to cover his youngest sekirei's ears. "Hanako-san, Ku-chan is listening..!"

Hanako paid him no heed. "A sling user," she noted, scanning the finer print. "That could be useful."

"Then you're going to do it?" asked Musubi.

"No promises," the American grumbled. "But since she went to the trouble of finding me, I guess I should at least go talk to her."

"It may not be that easy," said Matsu thoughtfully. "Hana-tan is sure she said to look for her at the gardens?"

"Yeah, why?"

"This is only Matsu's hunch, but she might want to challenge you before she lets herself be winged." The information specialist pursed her lips. "Hana-tan can't beat her in speed or strength, so it must be a test of cunning."

Hanako's eyes narrowed as she recalled Nambu's words. "If she wanted me to catch her, how would I do that? I assume a net or pitfall – "

"A net?" interrupted Minato. "Matsu-san, what happened to the one you used in the bath?"

Matsu and Hanako both turned to look at him, allowing Karen to see their reactions from her vantage point by the door. The former was pouting. "That's not fair, Mina-tan. You spoiled the surprise."

"Sorry..."

Crawling to one side, the brain sekirei pushed a hand into the narrow space between two of her computer towers. She pulled out a large black gun with a wide, stubby barrel. "This is an MBI riot control launcher. It fires a net woven from an ultra-strong synthetic fiber."

"And you had that in the bath, why?" Hanako quickly shook her head. "Never mind, I don't care. Will it work on sekirei?"

"Guaranteed."

"Are you letting me borrow it?"

"Of course." Matsu slid her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "There's only one cartridge left, so you'll have to make it count."

She held out the device and Hanako took it, keeping the muzzle aimed at the ceiling and her fingers clear of the trigger. "What's the minimum range?"

"Three meters for a single target."

"Okay." Hanako pulled out the net gun's collapsible stock and tested its fit against her shoulder, the movements quick yet comfortable. Watching her, Karen was struck by a powerful impression that her ashikabi had done this before.

"Hanako-san..." Minato hesitated, then recovered his resolve. "Now that the second stage has begun, what are your intentions?"

"I don't have any grand plans," was the candid reply. "As I see it, we should stick together as long as we can. Minaka never said we can't form teams, right?"

Hanako and Karen encountered Miya at the bottom of the stairs as they descended, the launcher stuffed into the former's backpack. "Are you leaving already?" the landlady asked them. "I thought you would stay for lunch."

"We have to run out for an errand," Hanako told her. "Should be back in a little while." Her eyes drifted to the sword which the lady of the house still carried. "Are you, ah... expecting trouble?"

"Oh no," said Miya. "I merely felt like practicing." She smiled sweetly. "Please take care."

It was one of those days where Minato felt like his perception of the world lagged behind everyone else's, and he was only reacting when others acted. This had been happening to him a lot lately.

"What are you doing, Mina-tan?"

Minato jumped. "I, er... I was just thinking..."

"Oh?" Matsu came closer. "Perhaps you're wondering why I helped Hana-tan so much, hmm?"

"Well..." While he welcomed any distraction from the embarrassment of being caught spacing out in the hallway, he was also genuinely curious about his newest sekirei's actions. "I guess I am."

"We need allies, Mina-tan, allies. Strength in numbers." She was getting very close now. "With someone like Hana-tan on our side, it might be possible to defeat even the Black Sekirei!"

This fiery spirit stood in stark contrast to the image Matsu presented earlier, when she cowered in terror behind her lair's trick door as an unanticipated guest trod the floors of Izumo House. It baffled Minato, since that same visitor had been nothing but cheerful and friendly towards Musubi. "Um..."

Matsu wasn't listening. "Everything is going according to my calculations," she announced gleefully. "If Hana-tan accepts Number Eighty, the rest will be simple." She laid a single fingertip on Minato's chest. "Of course, Mina-tan should be making more friends as well."

After waking up half-smothered by sekirei, Minato wasn't sure he could handle any more of the 'friends' she had in mind. "Could we maybe talk about that later?"

"Mmmm?" By this point she was almost rubbing up against him. "Is there something else Mina-tan wants to discuss instead?"

"Matsu-san?" The landlady's chiding voice drifted up the stairs. "What have I told you about impure acts in the house?"

"Eep!" Matsu frantically backpedaled. "I'm not doing anything, Miya-tan!"

As she retreated to her room, Minato realized he'd completely forgotten to tell Hanako about Karasuba.

"You were awfully quiet back there."

"I did not wish to cause offense."

"It's just you and me now, kiddo. You can cause all the offense you want." Hanako looked around, double-checking that they were alone, and stopped walking. "Before we go any further, I need to know how you feel about this."

"If what Matsu said is true, this is an opportunity you cannot squander."

"And you're okay with that?"

"As your sekirei, I will abide by your decision."

Here we go again, thought Hanako. "That's not what I asked. If I go through with this, and that's a big if, you're going to have to share everything in your life with another sekirei. Food, bed, my attention, all of it."

"If you find her agreeable, I shall do my best." Karen gripped her bow with both hands. "I... only hope you will not forget about me."

Hanako felt the same impulse she'd gotten as they lay together in bed, and this time she didn't reject it. "Come here."

The archer gave a startled squeak as her ashikabi pulled her into a bear hug. "Ha... Hanako-sama!?"

"Whatever happens, you're still my first. I won't forget that." She could swear she felt Karen shiver. "Trust me?"

"Yes... Thank you."

Hanako released her companion. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

The district botanical gardens had been in the news quite a bit recently, though Hanako was preoccupied with her own problems and paid little attention. It began with an outbreak of unnatural growth, upon which MBI evacuated and quarantined the area. The anomalous plants were then disposed of overnight, allegedly without any use of herbicides. From what Minato had told Hanako, the growth was connected with Kusano's powers. She wondered if the corporation's cleanup involved sekirei as well.

The garden gate was locked. Its battered condition and the unrepaired blast damage on the street facing it dissuaded Hanako from lingering. "We'll have to go over or under," she said clinically, eyeing the surrounding wall. "How high can you jump, Karen?"

"This is not a problem for me."

"Good." Hanako shrugged off the backpack and laid it on the ground. "Can you give me a boost?"

"Yes."

With Karen's support, she heaved herself over the wall and dropped down on the other side. Her sekirei cleared the obstacle with a single leap. "Good job," said Hanako, getting her bearings as she put the pack on again. "Here we go."

Thick trees loomed over the pair, dead and barren. A winding footpath ran among them, and the ashikabi decided to follow it. Even without a living canopy, the forest had a gloomy atmosphere. Visibility on either side was limited by the numerous trunks, and the trespassers hadn't gone far before the sounds of the outside world disappeared completely. The stifling silence put Hanako further on edge, but it took a minute to realize what bothered her most.

"Is it just me," she murmured, "or is there not a single leaf in here?"

"I do not recall seeing any."

"Yeah..." None on the branches, none on the bushes, none on the ground. MBI's cleanup couldn't have been that thorough. "Picked a nice venue, didn't she?"

The woods thickened, threatening to consume the narrow path entirely, and Hanako began to feel as if she could really get lost. Before she had a chance to dwell on it, Karen's eyes picked out something that didn't belong. "There."

Hanako saw it too. The path forked ahead, and between the forks was a large bush. Nambu's baseball cap hung from a branch on the front of it. "Looks like she left us a hint."

Karen started towards it, but her master caught her by the arm. "Hanako-sama..?"

"Just a minute." Hanako kept her distance, scrutinizing the cap suspiciously. Did Nambu place it there to mark a meeting spot? It wasn't pointed in any specific direction, so far as she could see.

"What is it?"

There was another possibility, one Hanako somehow didn't think of until this moment. She'd assumed she would be pursuing Nambu and not the other way around, but how sound was that assumption? If she considered it from a hunter's perspective, what looked like a signal could instead be... "Bait."

"How do you know?"

"It's basic technique." The ashikabi raised her eyes, searching the trees. "Pick a vantage point, lay out a lure, wait for the prey to come to you." Brush rustled at her back. "...Clever girl."

Nambu stepped out of the undergrowth and onto the path a few yards behind them. "You came," she said happily.

"Yeah..." Did we seriously walk right past her? "So, ah, you want me to be your ashikabi?"

The slinger nodded. "That's right. Number Eighty, Nambu, has chosen you."

This was Hanako's moment to speak her piece. "Listen, I'm really flattered that you like me, but I think you should know – "

"Hanako-sama, please stop." Karen turned her head from side to side, listening intently. "Someone is coming," she informed the others. "From the gate, moving quickly."

Homura found Tsukiumi right where he expected her, looking down on the city with brooding disdain. "Have you recovered from the other day?" she asked, glancing back at him.

"Mostly," the fire sekirei replied. Crossing the rooftop, he stood beside her at its edge. "I'm not in the mood for fighting, though."

"As you wish." His rival scowled at a passing helicopter. "Just you wait, you vile monkey..."

Homura knew the remark wasn't directed at him. "You understand what this means, don't you?" he prompted, shaking his head at her one-track mind. "Instead of wasting time up here, go find your ashikabi and receive your true strength."

"I don't need it," Tsukiumi declared impetuously. "I'm the strongest! I'll never submit to one of those animals, never!"

"Even if you say that, you're – " The host was cut short by his ringing cellphone. "Excuse me... Hello?"

Matsu's alarmed voice blasted into his ear. "Homura-tan! You have to get over to the botanical gardens right now!"