Response to a Guest Review

Jack Whitty: Sure, I don't mind making a crossover for Xiaolin Showdown. I think I know the series you're talking about, but just to make sure, you mean the old cartoon about four monks who embody elements, right? Did you have any ideas for what you want in it, or just a general desire to see it written? Also, I should warn you that I won't be able to write it immediately, for a couple of reasons. 1. I have a bunch of other fics that I'm writing, and a couple other requests as well. So, I'd write it, but I'd have to finish one other story first and then I'd start in on it and write it for that day. Like, if I finished this fic, then I'd start writing your story and posting it on Saturdays. 2. I have watched the series, but it's been a couple years so I'd need to watch it again and refresh my memory. 3. I also need to know what it would be about and plan a bit of it ahead of time so I know what I'm writing, so if you have any thoughts on that, feel free to let me know and I'll write it as soon as I can (as in when I finish another fic).

And now, on with the chapter.

Sora woke up slowly, clinging to the oblivion of her dreamless sleep. She could tell from the sunlight that was glowing through her closed eyelids that it was already much later than she would normally wake up, either due to school or work, or because of Yui waking up at the crack of dawn wanting food. So today was truly a treat for her, being able to sleep until she wanted to wake up, feeling the warmth of another person . . .

Wait what.

All thoughts of sleeping in until Yui started fussing were brought to a screeching halt as Sora realised that she hadn't imagined the arm that was wrapped around her waist or the chest pressed against her side. Stiffening immediately, Sora tried to remember whether she had left her father's gun in her nightstand or in the workroom when she felt the person beside her stir.

Preparing to scream and kick him away, Sora was surprised to hear him say sleepily, "Um, you wake up really early, don't you, Sora-san?"

"Kagari!" Sora all but screeched as she, finally freed from the arm that had been draped over her, jerked upright, ready to give him hell for trying something despite his promises to the contrary. Before she could fully give into the feelings of betrayal, Sora saw the white bandages that were under Kagari's shirt, and the events of the night before came rushing back to her.

When they reached the house, Kagari put Sora down on her feet so that she could open the door, only for the two of them to walk in on a very surprised Asa watching TV in the living room. The teenager seemed too shocked by their sudden appearance, or rather the appearance of a man in Sora's house who wasn't a thief, that she couldn't seem to form any words, even as Sora hastily pulled her babysitting fee from her pocket and pushed her out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Sora said, "I need to check on something and then you need to explain what just happened in detail. Depending on the explanation, I might still kick your ass for that kiss."

Laughing lightly, Kagari told her, "I have no doubt that you'd try."

Pausing on her way to the stairs, Sora looked at him over her shoulder to ask, "But I wouldn't do any better against you than I did against those thugs, would I?"

"Sorry, but no." At the darkening of Sora's eyes, Kagari seemed to realise that this was an issue that really bothered Sora and hastily added, "But you did better than most humans that try to go up against us, both tonight and the night that we met."

Sighing sadly at his attempts to cheer her up, Sora walked up the stairs to her old room, now Yui's room, to make sure that Asa had put her to bed and she hadn't climbed out of her crib. As she looked down at her daughter, she could see that Yui had, as usual, rolled against one of the sides of the crib with her blanket tangled around her.

After the crazy night that she had had, Sora relished in the ability to just stand there and watch her daughter for a few minutes, glad that she hadn't died on the street and left Yui alone, and that she'd still be able to see her daughter grow up.

As she thought more about how close she had come to being killed, Sora wondered if she should distance herself from Kagari. Even if he had a good excuse for the kiss, it was obvious that he'd had some type of connection to those girls earlier, and she couldn't help but wonder if that connection would put Yui in danger.

Sora was startled out of her thoughts by a quiet voice asking, "So is that Yui?"

Swallowing down her surprised yelp so as not to wake Yui, Sora instead said softly, "Yes." As though testing how he would respond to the news, Sora added, "This is my daughter, Yui."

Apparently taking the introduction as an invitation, Kagari stepped into the room until he was just slightly behind Sora and looking into the crib. When he didn't say anything, just kept staring into the crib, Sora took that as his response to the statement and, ignoring her own feelings of rejection, said viciously, "You don't have to stick around. It's not like she's your kid, and I've been doing just fine with her for the last few years, so don't feel obligated to stick around just because you want into my pants. I'm sure there are much easier ways-"

Kagari grabbed her by the shoulders and cut her off. "I already told you that I'm not here for sex. And, while it wasn't just one kiss that carried no obligation, I don't mind the child. I'm just not used to seeing them." As Sora continued to look at him warily, though he could spot a trace of hope in her eyes, Kagari said softly, "Why don't we go back downstairs and I'll explain the kiss and everything else that's happened tonight?"

"I thought I told you to stay down there, too," she snapped at him, before immediately checking to see whether or not she had woken Yui. Seeing her daughter's even breaths continue, Sora turned back to him.

"I was going to, but after you were gone for almost thirty minutes, I started to get worried. And I was also hoping that you might have bandages somewhere," Kagari explained evenly.

Sora was surprised that she had watched Yui for so long, but she also knew that she had done it in the past when she was stressed. As the two walked out of the room, Sora was flooded with guilt that she hadn't thought to treat what were obviously bad burns, even though he had gotten them protecting her. Which also reminded her about some of the questions that she had.

"You found your way up here easily enough, so I assume that you can get back down to the living room by yourself, right? I'll grab the first aid kit and be down soon."

As she gathered the burn ointment and bandages, Sora tried to figure out what she wanted to grill Kagari about first. Should she ask him about the kiss? Or were the flames and crazy chicks more important? What about why he was burned when she was pretty sure he was controlling those flames?

As though sensing all of the questions bubbling up inside her, Kagari lifted a hand and said, "I know that you have a lot of questions, so why don't I start with what happened tonight, since I'm sure that's what you're most concerned about, and then I'll explain the rest of it. Though I should warn you that if I do things in that order, some of it won't make sense to you immediately."

Seeing that Sora gave no complaint other than telling him she couldn't treat him with his shirt on, Kagari began. "Tonight I honestly was only going to help you carry your groceries because I still hadn't decided what kind of person you are and I didn't want to emerge until I was sure. But when I fought against Mitsuki and Mitsuha, my power became unstable and, combined with the heat from my reaction with you, I wasn't able to keep it under control long enough to beat them. I kissed you because I was told that when I got an Ashikabi, my powers would stabilize, which seems to be the truth since I can control my flames now."

Sora interrupted, "So then it was your intention to have a relationship with me all along?"

While the question was asked with a neutral tone, Kagari could tell by how Sora refused to look at him and how tense her body looked. He said carefully, "When I first began to react to you, I knew that you had the potential to be my Ashikabi, but I needed to know what kind of person you are before I could let that happen, and that was my only intention at the time. The bond between an Ashikabi and Sekirei can take many forms, varying from lovers to parent and child."

"So, me potentially becoming your . . . Ashikabi," Sora began, stumbling over the odd word, "wouldn't necessarily mean that I would be your lover if I agree to it?"

Kagari tried to figure out a way to break the news to her gently, but eventually realised that he'd just have to do it like a band aid. "There is no potentially about it anymore. When I kissed you, you became my Ashikabi, and that bond can only be broken by death."

Displeased at having her choice in the matter taken away, but also knowing that Kagari did have a good reason to do it, she asked, "And the other part of my question?" though she felt that she had an idea of what his answer would be from the way that he hadn't answered immediately.

"Er, it is possible for the bond to have different forms, but most of the time . . . well, most of the time it is a mating bond." Seeing Sora tense, he quickly added, "But it's not like it's a requirement. We don't have to do anything you don't want to."

Briefly wondering if that meant he wanted to, Sora asked about the other events of tonight.

"Ah, the girl that you protected was an unwinged Sekirei who was being hunted by those twins you saw in order to be added to Mikogami's collection," Kagari told her with a sneer. At her raised eyebrow, he explained, "Mikogami is an Ashikabi who forcibly wings Sekirei. And since it's a lifelong bond for the Sekirei, they're stuck with him after he catches and wings them."

"And why does he want to do that?"

"Well, that's where I should probably start at the beginning," Kagari said before he sighed. "The full explanation is a bit long, and I can tell that we're both tired, so do you mind if I give you the short version? Knowing that bastard, he'll probably fill in whatever blanks I leave whenever he gets the time to come and harass us."

Wondering who Kagari was talking about, Sora nodded.

"The corporation MBI is run by a madman named Minaka. He's put together a last man standing competition in which Sekirei like myself and those girls you saw earlier are being forced to participate. Sekirei are basically aliens. We resemble humans, but, as you've already seen, we all have abilities that no human can ever even dream of having. In general, there are some like me and can control an element, and others like the twins earlier who just have enhanced combat skills with a single weapon, though we all have greater speed and strength than any human. Possibly with the exception of that girl you rescued earlier.

"But we can't use our full power until we find an Ashikabi, a type of human who has special DNA which, when we gain access to through, basically, kissing them, will allow us to fight with all of our strength rather than the portion of it that we use when we are unemerged. These Ashikabi are just like other humans, with the exception of their ability to make Sekirei emerge. However, there is a way for Sekirei to identify a single Ashikabi.

"When a Sekirei gets close to a certain Ashikabi, our bodies feel hot, as though we have a fever. This only happens with a single Ashikabi and we Sekirei are taught that that person is our 'destined one,' and, for the most part, when a Sekirei is bound to the Ashikabi they react to, they usually do find happiness."

As Sora finished wrapping most of Kagari's torso in bandages, she sat back to try to absorb all of the information that he was throwing at her, which, honestly, made her feel like she really was insane. Kagari stayed quiet while Sora mulled over things, but eventually she had to ask, "So then, that night we first met . . ."

Sora tailed off, uncertain of how to ask, but Kagari quickly understood and explained, "That first night in the club, I reacted to you, but I didn't want to wing myself to you immediately in case you turned out to be the same sort of Ashikabi as Mikogami."

"So you thought that I'd go out and take other people's free will just to get some power?" Sora asked, bemused. As Kagari started to sweat, she sighed and said, "Well, I guess I can't blame you for not trusting a complete stranger."

Smiling gently, Kagari said, "Yes, you've certainly already shown how much you like the idea of trusting people you don't know."

Sora spent a few minutes trying to figure out what she wanted to ask him about next, but was cut off by a large yawn. Realising that she was drop dead tired, she stood up and started to lead Kagari to the door when she swayed, causing Kagari to once again carry her.

Sora tried to protest about how much it must hurt Kagari to have her pressing against his burns like this, but he just brushed her off, saying that he could handle it and carrying her to her room. When they arrived, Sora just kicked off her shoes and collapsed on her bed, barely even noticing when Kagari climbed in next to her.

"Damn, that really happened," Sora exclaimed in the present, shocked by the truth of that statement.

So, I don't have much to say here other than to answer a few general questions.

If anyone's wondering why Kagari isn't as injured and weak as he was in canon, it's because he met Sora before the anime/manga starts and he wasn't as close to death when he emerged.

We haven't seen the end of Sora's issued, but I'm trying to show who she is, even though, at this point, she's still pretty firmly in her shell of issues, but I will try to show more of her character than was seen in this chapter. Thanks to Ikrani for pointing that out to me.

Also, how do you think Kagari will react to being around Yui? I have a pretty good idea of how he will, but if you have any opinions on the subject, feel free to let me know and I might change it a bit.