(Professor Farnsworth: Good news everyone! He's still technically alive.)
Hello boys and girls and girls and boys! First off I'm incredibly sorry for the long wait, life isn't the greatest companion when it comes to writing, but hopefully you'll enjoy this nice long chapter (Chapter 6 Arc 1 is 49 pages), but again because of how long it was taking to get this chapter done, I decided to split it in half otherwise it probably would have been double in length so there is quite a bit more. A lot of stuff has been going on but the broad highlights…..
To start, grandma took a turn for the worst and now looking after her is a bit more of a priority, right now we're just counting the days. She has her good days and her bad but we're doing what we can for her.
Next, I finally told Dollar Tree to stick it, after they screwed me again out of the Assistant Manager position again and Publix was offering more hours and pay so no brainer. What made it better, this happened during season and things got so bad after I walked I had the DM calling me begging me to reconsider and come back, this went on for six weeks so I got some satisfaction out of that., especially getting to hang up on him more than once.
Got cross trained in another position at Publix so now I'm getting more hours, and I've got a few raises, so things are more comfortable and easier to manage work wise. Which means bills are easier to pay.
A big development that's happened is that I've decided to go back to school, and I got a full scholarship for it so win. I'm going for A+, N+ and MCSE certifications (Computer Repair, Networking, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert). Hopefully after getting these certs will lead to better opportunities, but it is occupying a lot of my time, so time is a premium. But I just passed one of my Exams so I'm feeling pretty good.
I'm still waiting on the Artist I found for time to open up for them so I can get some character drawings for you.
Also just ordered a brand spanking new Alienware Area 51-R2 Desktop. So good times are to come.
Now some story info.
A heads up, things get a little hot between Alex and Akitsu this chapter, no lemon yet (Sorry those aren't till later, lol) but she does enjoy herself. If that isn't your cup of tea, then close this window and stop reading the fic, you knew what you were getting into when you started reading this story. Lastly, the voting period is over and the winning Sekirei will appear in this chapter. The runner up will make an appearance at a later time and possibly the epilogue. Hopefully you'll like the result even if the winner isn't who you voted for. Also the folder in Dropbox has been updated, once again head to my Deviantart page of the same name, and look for the folder titled after the story and look for the link, if you have trouble, message me.
Once again I deeply apologize for the long wait and thank you for your continued patience and support, I've tried to maintain the level of quality you've all come to expect so I hope this chapter makes up for it. I'll be taking a short break before I start the next chapter to rest, recharge and do some studying for my next test. With that said enjoy!
Story Arc 1: Forming a Party
Chapter 6: Multiplayer: Round 1 (Part:1)
Italic = Inner Thoughts
(Italic) = Media Dialog
() = Action
{} = Music Choice
* = Check end of chapter notes
Northern Area of Shinto Teito – "Player One's" Neighborhood – 11:16 A.M.
{Start Music: 1} *1
Last night was certainly…interesting to say the least, and if things went the same, his birthday would be interesting as well. The atmosphere at home was getting a little weird for him, which is why he decided to go out alone to do the grocery shopping for the party so he could get some space. Though this was heavily protested by both Akitsu and Benitsubasa after what happened yesterday with the robot. It took some finessing to convince them to let him go, in the end he promised he would stay within the neighborhood and call at the first sign of trouble.
Now he was heading back with everything he needed for the party. He was just going to keep it simple and grill up some burgers and fries; he had all the condiments he thought they would need to go along with them. He got a bit more than normal since Akitsu ate quite a bit more than regular people and since he was having two Sekirei at his party he thought it would be smart to stock up. While it wasn't too heavy, he was slowing his pace down a bit because he wasn't particularly sure if both the Sekirei in his home have calmed down some or would things still be awkward when he got home.
"Ok, meat, kaiser rolls, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, diced garlic, stake fries, durable paper plates, red cups, soda, a small cake, and the other little things. I think that's everything. All that's left is the setup at the house, and that's basically nothing. I just hope Akitsu and Benitsubasa-san got…whatever it is out of their systems." Alex thought tiredly.
{Flashback}
Ever since he got out of the shower last night, it seemed like Akitsu and Benitsubasa were competing for his attention. He asked for one of them to pass the pepper at dinner, and later the potato salad and it turned into a race for both of them. Then when he was helping Benitsubasa get settled for the night, getting her a change of clothes for the evening (He lent her one of his shirts and a pair of shorts since nothing of Akitsu's seemed to fit her.), Akitsu did everything she could to minimize his contact with her. When he decided to chat with her for a bit, Akitsu hung around them and gave off a chaperone vibe, though Benitsubasa seemed to be very friendly to him. She even asked if he would be interested in hitting the gym sometime so they could work out together (whether it was the one in house or one out in the city), which didn't sound like a bad idea, he could use a workout buddy. Benitsubasa was still cocky, proud, with a touch of arrogance, but she was acting a bit more girly (she kept playing with her hair), like she wanted his attention on her. On top of that, Akitsu and her were giving each other glares all night.
Later, when he was giving Benitsubasa her space to relax, as soon as he showed her how to use his T.V. and told her if she needed anything just to holler, Akitsu cut in and said that he'd be busy for the next hour and a half. When he asked if the talk was really going to take that long, because he assumed she wanted to lecture him about his experience with the robot, she said no, but the massage would. She then went on to say how enjoyable the last one was, which made him feel a bit embarrassed. He wondered why exactly Akitsu would say something so embarrassing. When he looked over at Benitsubasa, she looked a little red….well she looked a bit flush since the end of the fight but it seems like she was angry and jealous. But a promise was a promise, so he said yes, and told Benitsubasa if she needed anything important he'd come.
When he and Akitsu were alone in the master bedroom before he did anything else, he gave Akitsu her present. She looked happy with getting her own tablet and phone, and thanked him quite a few times. He took the time to have them setup at the Apple store, so they were all set for her to use. He gave her her login info and showed how to change the password and linked it to her M.B.I. card, so she was good to go. He hoped that these gifts would cause Akitsu to take some of the heat off….so to speak. While not the true purpose of the gifts, it could have the effect.
But sadly his luck isn't that good, after thanking him over and over for her new possessions, and the momentary high wore off, she got right back to the task at hand and brought up the robot, and started lecturing him on what he did was dangerous and bla bla bla, that went on for at least ten minutes. When she was done voicing her concerns, she more or less declared that it was bad enough he stared down Karasuba, he didn't need to continue to tempt fate. Then went on to declare if he did it again, she'd stop kissing him and sleeping with him, and she did it with that pout that he'd seen her do only with him. It was an idle threat, one that she couldn't hold to, she did it as a way to hide her own concerns, but he wasn't going to let that slide, so he retaliated with the threat that he was fine with that, but if she did, he was completely fine with to never massage her again. She looked shocked, and begged him to reconsider. But he just laughed and said he was just calling her bluff, but he understood her and promised no more reckless actions. Again she pouted at him for having fun at her expenses.
He thought about asking her about her behavior this evening, but decided to lay off unless it got worse. But since they were alone for a while, and it was already established with Benitsubasa what would be happening, he figured he might as well give Akitsu her massage. He went into their bathroom and got two towels, he also dug out his massage kit he put together that was located under the sink.
When he discovered he had a talent for doing massages, and with everyone he ever worked on said his skills were simply sinful, he even made a couple of bucks at college with his skills, so he decided to transition his talent as masseur to a hobby and thus made a small kit with a few things to enhance the experience and kept it all in a grey toiletry travel bag. Though as he was leaving the bathroom he stopped to think for a moment, apparently M.B.I. really did go through all his stuff and placed it were they should be, though he wasn't sure what to think about them going through his stuff…..
He walked back into the bedroom where Akitsu was waiting and spread out the towel on the bed, he told her to get undressed and get comfortable. He turned around to give her some privacy and waited till she said she was ready. When she called for him he turned around to see the familiar sight of Akitsu's naked body, regardless of how many times he saw her naked body, she always took his breath away. Moving on, the first thing he did was drape the second towel across her back side to cover her, next he pulled out a silk sleep eye mask from his kit and put it on Akitsu, which removed her ability to see. She asked what was going on, and he told her that when you lose one of your senses, your others work harder to make up for it. So by removing her ability to see, she would be even more focused on his touch. Lastly he grabbed his iPod and selected a playlist he liked to use for this, which consisted of smooth jazz with no lyrics, plugged in the earbuds and put them on Akitsu. He told her just to relax and enjoy, then he hit play and warmed his hands for a few moments while Akitsu laid there.
When he was ready he got on the bed and kneeled to the left of her and started with lightly massaging Akitsu's neck and started slowly working his way down and stopping at her waist, then he would move his hands to her sides and rubbed and knead his way back up till he reached the sides of her large breasts, being careful not to tickle her, from their he moved his hands back to the top of her back and repeated the process a number of times, but every now and then he went in reverse.
For the time being he decided to ignore her crest, he wanted to stretch out her pleasure for now instead of overwhelming her. He took his time with her back, though she didn't seem to mind. After he was done with her back he started to work on her left arm. Starting by kneading her shoulder and working his way down her arm till he reached her hand. He then went on to gently rub her hand thoroughly, going so far as to rub her fingers and in between them. When he was done with her arm he gently took it and stretched it behind her back and bent it at the elbow. Then laid the arm down and moved himself to the other side of her and repeated the process for her other arm, all the while Akitsu was making little groans of pleasure at the relaxing of her muscles.
Then after he finished another cycle after doing her arms again he started on Akitsu's back again, but this time he used a lighter touch. She released small sighs at the light touch of his fingers trailing across her skin along with some giggling, apparently she was ticklish here as well, then after some time after working on her back and arms again he started to gently kiss his way down her back along her spine, making sure to ignore her crest by kissing around it, still all the same this caused her to squirm slightly and giggle more. But deciding to be a little bit of a tease, placed a single light kiss in the center of her crest, this caused her to gasp loudly and tense up for a moment.
This lasted about twenty to thirty minutes, and then he moved himself further down on the bed and started to work down her legs (and avoided staring). Making sure every part received the same amount of attention, her thighs but not going too high, then her knees, calf's and then the ankle. From their he rotated her foot both clockwise and counter a few times, after this he started on her heel firmly rubbing it, and worked his way up the sole of her foot till he reached her toes where they also received the attention that was due to them. Akitsu sounded like she was completely content from the sighs she was making. He repeated the process a few times before he moved on.
After finishing up with firmly massaging both legs and feet first, he repeated what he did with her back and started the process over again with the same light touch he had been using that she enjoyed. She started to release a mixture of sighs and giggles from his light touch, when he reach the back of her knees and ankles. When he reached her ankles he gently lifted her right foot and gently massaged it with the same light touch, causing her to giggle a little louder, when he was finished, he ended with a few gentle kisses on the sole of her foot. She shuddered in surprise and flexed her toes shut, it seemed like she enjoyed it when he did that, though she started to giggle again, for whatever reason he was enjoying seeing Akitsu giggling, it was something she only showed him and while he was glad she was coming out of her shell more and more he was glad there were little things that only he got to see of her. But now wasn't the time to indulge in his own pleasure, right now it was all about Akitsu, but there was nothing wrong with teasing her a bit and showing her what to expect in the future. Then he went over to the left foot and made sure it received the same treatment.
When he was done he moved himself once again back up to where he originally was and started again with Akitsu's neck and worked his way down again only this time he used some massage oil that smelled of vanilla, jasmine and lavender. He put a generous amount into his hands, made sure it was warmed to body temperature and proceeded to work it into every gentle curve of Akitsu's smooth skin, once again even getting it between her gentle fingers, all the while she sighed in pleasure, but once again he was sure to ignore her crest.
After working his way down her legs with the oil and being just as thorough as he was with her back, going so far as to get the oil worked into the delicate skin between her toes which once more caused her to giggle, he once again returned to Akitsu's upper body and repeated the process all over again, like everything else he continued the theme of repeating the cycle a number of time, working multiple coats of oil into her skin. By now Akitsu was basically dead to the world and limp, if someone asked anything of her she more than like would have done it…assuming she could bring herself to get up.
He had been working on her for a while at this point, just about an hour give or take, so he thought it was time to bring things to and end. Now gently he began to trace her crest with his index finger. From the look of it, the feeling Akitsu was getting was electric from the treatment, she started to grip the sheets in her hands and started to moan in a way that was all too familiar to him and was calling his name, which was a turn on, although with every girl he worked on and had a relationship with he'd never got reactions like he was with Akitsu right now. Girls did one of three things when he did his full massage on them, they either felt refreshed ad relaxed, he put them to sleep or they jumped him which lead to a few fun nights. But Akitsu reaction was a new one, and he was definitely glad he filed the info away about her crest.
After teasing her for a bit, he went on to actually massage the area where her crest was, and it sounded like she was losing her mind, when he finally got around to using the oil, she got louder from that and screamed his name a few times and then eventually passed out from the stimulation. He continued working till he worked the oil into her skin and gave her another quick massage while she was asleep, before he decided to wrap it up and gently wipe off any excess with a washcloth from the bathroom. When he was done he removed the eye mask from Akitsu's eyes and the earbuds from her ears and put the rest of his things away and washed his hands, he checked he time and saw he finished with thirteen minutes to spare. He figured he did a good job with the time he used so he thought he'd pop his head in on Benitsubasa to see if she was alright or needed anything. So he took the blanket on the bed and covered Akitsu, then leaned down and gently kissed her left cheek that had some color on it thanks to the last few minutes and ran his fingers through her soft hair, unconsciously she moved into his touch which caused him to smile. He got changed for bed and left a note by her that told her if she woke up he was downstairs and he'd be on the couch for the night.
On his way out he saw a simple wood framed picture on the dresser that made him pause, it was of a girl a few years younger than him, she had long ebony hair, bright green eyes, porcelain skin, she was very beautiful and to him that was putting it lightly. After seeing it he was hit with a bunch of emotions. He had packed that photo away some time ago, apparently they guys that decorated were more thorough going through his belongings than he thought which was upsetting but he'd never find out who it was so he let the anger in him go but seeing the photo was very painful, and at the moment he just didn't want to deal with it after what happened today. So for now, after hesitantly holding the photo for a moment he placed it face down on the dresser and left it there and took a sec to get his emotions in check. He took a moment to look at Akitsu sleeping blissfully and couldn't help but give a small smile. Once more he made his way to leave the room and closed the door.
He headed down stairs, and before he got himself comfy for the night, he popped his head in his den to check on Benitsubasa. She was sleeping and curling up with his Kurumu body pillow, she was smiling and seemed to be mumbling in her sleep, he could make out her saying "Ashikabi-kun" and giggling occasionally. She seemed to be ok so he'd leave her alone and let her sleep. But while he was here, he creeped in to grab his bag that had his laptop, then killed the lights and closed the door.
He set himself up on the couch for the night and pulled out his laptop. He just wanted to rest for a while and unwind by himself and play a game, he hadn't had a moment really to himself all day. He went on steam and noticed a new friend request, by the name "BluDeth". He remembered that was Haihane-san's screen name and saw that she was in the middle of playing Borderlands 4 & 7/8th. He accepted her request then went about playing something mindlessly violent and nothing to make him think too much right now, he still had that damn headache since before the robot showed up in the park. He ended up deciding on an incredibly old game by today's standards, Red Faction II. He then proceeded to go on a rampage and basically shot anything that moved with the exception of civvies'.
Sometime later he received a message from Haihane-san, asking where he's been. She hadn't seen him online at all since they swapped names. He apologized and told her that he'd been caught up with the joys of life, he then told her about what happened earlier today. She immediately asked if he and Benitsubasa were ok and so on, and he explained everything was alright. After that had a good chat and talked about random stuff, mostly games and anime and got to know each better. He ended up learning that she had an interest in art, mostly from the art books from games and anime, but still she enjoyed looking at them and tried her hand at drawing, though she didn't think she was any good. It was nice to talk with her, but it got late and he needed his sleep, he was still tired from the fight and his head was still acting up so he told Haihane-san good night and that if she liked they could play something tomorrow at some point or at least chat. They both said good night and signed off, from their he pack up his laptop and put it back in the bag (though he'd put the bag back sometime in the morning), got comfy on the couch and put on Netflix on the TV, set the T.V. to turn off in a few hours and went to sleep with Bob's Burgers playing in the background, the last thing he remembered hearing from the show before he fell asleep was "The Mad Pooper".
The next morning was more or less the same as last night in terms of behavior of the two Sekirei. He woke up around 8:30 or so, but the last thing he wasn't expecting to see or feel was Akitsu on top of him since he took the couch. At least this time around she was wearing something, but that sort of made things worse, she had on his Sith Academy Korriban T-shirt, it was one of his larger shirts he used to sleep, head to the store, or lounge in…...and that was it. While he did find it sexy and a turn on to see Akitsu dressed in only one of his shirts, this was not the right time with a guest in the house, so he kept his urges in check.
After waking up Akitsu, which was a bit difficult since he had figured out soon after she was sharing his bed she wasn't a morning person on top of her vice grip, he got her to go change and get ready for the day and told her she could use their bathroom, but before she let him go she thanked him for last night with an early morning make out session, which filled the room with her wings light.
Before he went to get himself ready he went to check on Benitsubasa-san. When he opened the door he was greeted to the image of Benitsubasa still cuddling with his body pillow in nothing but a sports bra and panties with her hair down. Apparently in the middle of the night she got hot and taken off the clothes he lent her. It was initially a surprise, and while he did take a quick moment to admire her, it was nothing he hadn't seen before so he put it out of his head with some ease, but he had to admit that she had a great looking body.
He closed the door till it was cracked and knocked on the door frame. She woke up relatively easily and told her that she could continue to sleep if she wished but he and Akitsu were up and breakfast would be along soon after. She asked him why he was talking through the door, and when he replied to look at herself he closed the door. As he was walking away he started counting in his head till he heard Benitsubasa-san scream. He snickered to himself at how girly she sounded, while she acted tough, she was a girl at heart. It reminded him vaguely of a time at one of his college's in New Hampshire, when he fell asleep in a four person room that wasn't his during a nasty blizzard and the first thing he saw when he woke up was seeing a girl he didn't know in her underwear, then when she noticed him she freaked. A funny and pleasant memory whenever he remembered it.
After his time in the bathroom and getting dressed (Cargo's, a black T-shirt that had the Pyro from TF2 skipping on a rainbows, and white socks)..….and once again hearing the door knob rattle, he made breakfast for the three of them. Nothing special, just some eggs (egg whites for him), bacon and toast, he had his morning glass of earl gray tea, while Akitsu (She was dressed in one of her new kimono's, a very light blue that could have been mistaken as white, brown leaves spiraling around from the bottom leading up her body to around her neck, white tabi socks, and simple black obi.) was having green tea and Benitsubasa-san was having coffee (She was dressed in her Disciplinary Squad outfit, which was freshly laundered.). Benitsubasa's ankle seemed to have recovered already overnight since he saw her walking around as if nothing had happened, it was amazing to see that Sekirei were far superior to humans physically, surprisingly she healed not much faster than him when he thought about it. But even taking that into account it seemed Benitsubasa was a morning person from how energetic she was while Akitsu was struggling till after she had her morning tea.
Though after breakfast, things went downhill…..
Both Akitsu and Benitsubasa were in a battle to get his attention by doing everything short of each of them taking one of his arms and playing tug-a-war. They tried to do anything they could to please him since it was his birthday, rubbing his shoulders, learning to play one of his games so they could play together, also they both asked what kind of present he wanted for his birthday (Akitsu dropped a few hints on some things they could do after everyone left, he was surprised at how aggressive she was being, and going so far as to flaunt last night to the pink haired Sekirei). Which lead to him insisting that he go out and do the shopping for the party, not that he minded. Having a birthday party was always a small thing on his to do list, he liked having it, but just wanted it to be kept simple, that and he was going to do the cooking anyway so what did it matter. But more importantly, separate himself whatever was going on between Akitsu and Benitsubasa.
So he took off to do the shopping, while Akitsu decided to try her hand at house work and Benitsubasa-san claimed she was going to check in with M.B.I. to let them know that she was alright since she hadn't checked in. But he could tell from the looks in their eye's that they were both planning something…..
{Present}
He was just about home with everything in hand, and all he hoping that the girls had started to get along and didn't go overboard with gifts he knew they were going to get. Well it couldn't be that bad, and he could always go for a drive to clear his head if it got stressful. Still things got a lot more complicated in his life than he liked, and while Akitsu was doing wonders for him to relax mentally after his brake up with his ex Vicky, and Benitsubasa was fun to spend time with, the throbbing in his head didn't help his patients…..Though it did seem to ease after he left, but then it would get worse and then better randomly.
He opened the gate and walked his way down the path to the front door and readied himself for an eventful birthday.
"Please don't let my house look like a demilitarized zone." Alex said aloud to himself.
{Stop Music: 1}
He unlocked the door and let himself in, after locking it and taking off his "soap's". He took a brief look around to discover that indeed the house was still standing and also he was alone, which is what he figured, he was also happy to have some time to be alone. From there he went straight to the kitchen to put away the groceries and start readying the food for the party.
First he put the cake in the fridge; it was just a simple yellow cake with buttercream icing. Then he pulled out some platers and plates and started slicing veggies, then went on to slice the kaiser rolls and place them on a plate. Next he went on to start cooking the stake fries and started to pre-heat one of the ovens. While he was waiting on the oven to heat up he started working on making the burgers. He washed his hands and put all the meat in a bowl, then added some minced garlic, an egg, some teriyaki sauce and lastly sprinkled in a little bit of bread crumbs. He worked the meat over till everything was mixed in then started to make patties. When he was done he washed his hands again then popped the fries in the oven. He pull out a frying pan and started to cook the burgers, and continued to do so until he finished using all the meat, then put all the burgers into a deep dish and put it aside. He thought about doing the veggie burgers but decided to put them in the fridge for now, if anyone wanted one he could cook them up pretty quickly.
The fries finished shortly after he was done with the burgers, he pulled the tray out of the oven and poured the fries into a large bowl then put it aside. He started doing the dishes and made sure everything was cleaned because he didn't want to think about it later, when he was done he put everything away and then placed the stake fries and burgers into the oven with it just hot enough to keep everything warm. The buns and veggies were laid down on the island along with the soda, plates and cups. Keeping everything simple and buffet style would make clean up easy and stay casual.
As he was wrapping up he got a text from mom saying that she was busy and couldn't get away to call him to wish him a happy birthday, but hopped he'd enjoy his day and she would definitely make time to call him tomorrow. He sent her back a reply to thank her and told her not to worry over it, but looked forward to hearing from her all the same.
By now it was a little past noon and decided to just chill on the couch till everyone got here which would be around 12:30, so he popped in a movie (He ended up picking "The Empire Strikes Back"), grabbed his iPad mini and decided to see if Haihane-san was on steam chat and just kill time.
She was on and playing an older game, Arkham City, he shot her a message and waited for her reply. A minute or two later he got a response.
(BluDeth: Hey nice to see you! Also Happy Bday! ^ ^) 12:11pm
(Grey Wulf: Thanks, how's your morning? Also not playing Borderlands anymore I see?) 12:12pm
(BluDeth: Boring….and finished Borderlands around 3 this morning. Have to say the twist at the end has me looking forward to the next one, looking forward to hearing how Handsome Jack is alive again.) 12:16pm
(Grey Wulf: Damn it! No spoiler's girl, I haven't finished it yet! RARW!) 12:18pm
(BluDeth: Whoops…Sorry…._) 12:21pm
(BluDeth: …..:( ) 12:23pm
(Grey Wulf: Sorry for the wait, got caught up with what's on tv. Don't worry about it, I already knew. Just messing with you a bit, lol. Jack is one of my favorite characters, so I'd checkup anything new about him on the wiki.) 12:25pm
(BluDeth: _ That was MEAN! I'm so going to frag you when we play something!) 12:25pm
(Grey Wulf: Your welcome to try kitty :p lol) 12:26pm
(BluDeth: kitty? O_o) 12:27pm
(Grey Wulf: yeah, that choker you wear, the clawed gauntlets. Also I'd bet you curl up like a cat on a couch. Lol ) 12:30pm
(BluDeth: ^/^) 12:33pm
(Grey Wulf: Lol, are you really blushing?) 12:34pm
(Grey Wulf: You so are!) 12:37pm
(BluDeth: Shut up!) 12:37pm
(Grey Wulf: You are! ROTFL!) 12:39pm
(BluDeth: \(`0´)/) 12:40pm
Alex and Haihane talked for a while longer about random stuff till Alex heard the doorbell go off. He wrapped up his chat with Haihane and told her he had to go but they could chat more later when time was available. She wished him a happy birthday again and looked forward to talking with him again and playing something sometime soon.
Alex placed his tablet on the table and paused the movie then went to check the door. It could only be Minato, otherwise Akitsu had the key and he was willing to bet Benitsubasa-san was with Akitsu. He got to the door, unlocked it and when he opened it not only did he see his brother but two good looking girls and a pretty boy. Minato was dressed again in one of his white t-shirts and jeans with his sneakers, along with his brown jacket.
One of the girls was shorter than him, with brown eyes and had a slender build. She was very very VERY well endowed; she also had some nice curves. Brown hime-style hair with what looked like it formed an antenna on the top of her head; she was wearing a white and pink miko style outfit with white stockings and brown boots. She seemed like a very cheerful girl but had a feeling she was very naïve.
The other girl was well-endowed as well with long, dark brown hair, brown eyes and a well-developed figure; she was a bit shorter than him and had some of the nicest legs he'd ever seen. She was wearing some kind of pink belly top with a golden star on the chest, along with capri jean shorts and flip flops. She gave off a cheerful vibe as well but also carefree but with a touch of mischief.
The pretty boy was a little bit taller than him, maybe an inch or so, he gave off an air of being a heart breaker but wasn't arrogant about it, as well as being calm and collected. He had grey hair and dark brown eyes. He seemed really fit, and well dress, wearing some black slacks, a white button down shirt (untucked), and some nice black dress shoes.
"Hey Alex, happy birthday." Minato said cheerfully but nervously.
Alex looked over Minato and those in tow with him. This was by far completely unexpected for him to know girls this pretty, and the guy with him didn't seem like they would travel in the same circles. He was sure there was a reasonable explanation but he had a nagging feeling that things were going to get complicated.
"Look at you, I don't see you for three days and you go from moping about no girlfriend, to a girl on each arm and an entourage. Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Alex joked.
The girl with the long hair snickered at the comment. Minato laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "A lot of stuff has happened the past few days, and it's quite a story to explain…." He explained but before he could say anymore he was cut off by the girl in the miko outfit.
"My name is Mutsubi! I'm so happy to meet Minato-san's brother!" Said the cheerful girl.
Alex was surprised for a moment at how eager and sincere she sounded. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mutsubi-san." He said politely. He then looked at the other two and the one with the grey hair spoke up.
"We're borders from the same inn that Minato-kun is from, apparently were one of your neighbors, were only a short walk from here, our landlady wanted us to welcome you to the neighborhood and send you her regards. By the way I'm Kagari, it's a pleasure to meet you." The pretty boy said and extended his hand offering a handshake which Alex took.
"Also we heard the word "party" from Minato-kun and decided to tag-along, we brought sweets. And my name is Uzume." The other girl spoke, she lifted a small box into view which smelled of pastries.
Alex greeted the other two and invited them in, but while everyone was removing their shoes and Alex was about to shut and lock the door he heard some yelling in the distance, he looked outside and over the fence in the distance he could see a huge dust cloud.
"Is that all you got Ice Queen!" Benitsubasa yelled.
"Is this the best The Disciplinary Squad can do?" Akitsu yelled back, but devoid of emotion.
The dust cloud was getting closer and closer, and then when they were more or less in front of the house, they leapt over the fence, he could see a bag in Akitsu's hand and a box under Benitsubasa's arm. They were both gazing at each other and Alex had a feeling that they had been doing that since they started "racing". How they managed to avoid hitting anything is anyone's guess, and it was just as they were coming at him like a freight train. He quickly side stepped and hugged the wall, avoiding getting hit by the two racing Sekirei…though Minato wasn't so lucky.
He was knocked to the ground and felt the weight of two girls on top of him. They formed a pile of groaning limbs on the floor just inside the house. Also it seemed that Minato's hand had found its way to Benitsubasa's backside. Alex snickered a little at what he saw and decided to have a little fun at his brother's expense, after all this picture mirrored scenes from anime too well. Mutsubi looked on curiously wondering what was going on, while Kagari and Uzume looked on in surprise and a bit of a amusement….well Uzume did.
"Hey bro, is their a reason why my girlfriend is on top of you and your feeling up my house guest?" Alex asked sarcastically.
At hearing this Akitsu quickly and nimbly got to her feet and was blushing a hard red at the implication, while Benitsubasa just then noticed the hand on her rear, and like Akitsu blushed a hard red but unlike her, she didn't take it as well….
"YOU PERV!" Benitsubasa yelled. She pushed herself up and was getting ready to punch and cave his head in.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Minato pleaded frantically.
Alex saw this and he knew how strong Benitsubasa was and needed to step in to bailout Minato. He grabbed Benitsubasa's wrist to stop her and then just realized how stupid that was and prayed she wouldn't fling him across the room.
"Easy their killer, it was an accident. He just got caught in the line of fire; otherwise it would have been me in his position. So give him a pass, please." Alex asked, as he held her wrist his head started to throb like crazy and he was feeling incredibly warm.
Benitsubasa was also starting to feel very warm from the skin contact, and felt all her strength drain from her at his request, though she was finding that she didn't mind it.
"Fine…..but if he touches me again, I'll brake more than his hand." Benitsubasa warned while still blushing.
"That's fair, right Minato?" Alex questioned, trying to please the upset Sekirei.
"Y-Yeah, that's completely fair." Answered Minato nervously.
From their Alex helped Benitsubasa up, it wasn't till then that the people traveling with Minato started to recognize each other, particularly Akitsu and Kagari. While Akitsu and Kagari were friendly enough to each other, they were matched against each other in the PIT often enough to see which of their polar opposite powers would surpass the other, but to this day, every match had ended in a draw.
"Akitsu-san, what are you doing here?" Kagari asked the ice Sekirei in surprise.
"This is my home, I'm living here with my Ashikabi." Akitsu answered equally surprised, and forgetting she need to check and see if the others in the group were Sekirei and keep information on the Sekirei Plan a secret.
Minato was surprised to hear that Kagari knew Akitsu and that she was a Sekirei. How did an escort learn about Sekirei's and the Sekirei Plan?
Upon hearing the word "Ashikabi", Mutsubi perked up and eagerly addressed Alex and Minato.
"Alex-san is an Ashikabi, isn't that wonderful Minato-san! Now you'll both be in the Sekirei Plan!" Mutsubi said cheerfully.
The room went quiet after this was said and Alex and Minato just looked and each other. Minato with worry in his eyes, and Alex with caution.
Alex looked down on his brother with no trace of the good humor he had only moments ago, "Are these three your Sekirei?" He asked.
"Only Mutsubi-chan, Kagari-san and Uzume-san are just borders at the new inn I'm living at. Does this mean you're a Ashikabi as well?" Minato replied.
Alex was not in the best mood now after hearing this news, and the throbbing in his head had decided to comeback now and with a vengeance, but still no pain. He extended his hand to help his brother up. "You and I need to talk, now." Alex said cautiously.
Minato took Alex's hand and allowed him to pull him up, from their Alex led everyone into the living room, where Minato went over the events that lead him to become an Ashikabi and Alex explained what happened to him since he arrived in Japan.
M.B.I. Tower – 87th Floor – Disciplinary Squad Quarters – Haihane's Room – 12:43 P.M.
Haihane was sitting Indian style in her comfy "boss" style gaming chair, wearing her indigo underwear while snuggling a blanket, in her rather spartan looking room with the lights off, rereading the message history between her and Player One. Her room looked just like Karasuba-sempai's only with a larger T.V., a higher end computer with a dual monitor, a few of the latest game systems and a full rack of games and anime, and of course, said chair.
It was shorter than what she would have liked but she was happy to talk with Player One again. This was still all so new to her. No one…..ever, showed any interest in her hobbies, and those that she met online were either too far away or once they found out she was a girl just started hitting on her and asked for pics. But after meeting Player One she wasn't sure how to act. She was physically able to meet someone who was not only interested in her hobbies but seem to be as interested as her. He wasn't bad to look at either, just thinking of the short time she had to speak with him was starting to make her feel warm….very warm. When he seem mad at the spoilers she gave, she was certain he was mad until he said otherwise, until then her heart all but stopped beating for the seven minutes he didn't reply back.
She wanted to speak with him again. No, she, NEEDED, to see him again. And maybe, just maybe, he was the one who was supposed to Wing her.
The only real reason she accepted a position on the Disciplinary Squad was that she wanted her fix of anime and games, and in return for her service, she got what she wanted, getting to fight was simply a perk of the job, she resigned herself to the idea that she would never have an Ashikabi that would care for her, have her same interests, not mind all her scars she gave herself from her gauntlets, and not be creepy so she would tolerate being Winged by Natsuo…when she was ready. But if she could be with Player One then she would happily give up her position on the squad.
Once more she reread the message history between them and began to fantasize about what it would be like to be Player One's Sekirei. In fact she was starting to feel warm from her day dreaming and her heart was starting to beat faster. But it was soon interrupted by knocking on her door.
(Polite knock on the door)
"Go away…" Haihane answered lazily.
(Polite knocking on the door continues)
"I'm busy, go away." Haihane replied, sounding annoyed.
(Polite knocking on the door continues)
"Damn it…" Haihane complained to herself. She got up from her comfy position, let her blanket fall to the floor and proceeded to her door, uncaring of her current state of dress.
"What is…" Haihane started to say but suddenly bit her tongue and paled at who was standing in her doorway. "K-Karasuba-sempai, w-what do you n-need?" Haihane stuttered, wondering what the Black Sekirei was doing paying her a visit.
Karasuba stood there and looked at her with her misleading smile, she wasn't dressed in her usual attire, she opted for her lounge ware today, a simple black tank top, grey sweat pants and walked barefoot. She had been practicing her hand to hand skills and had a light sheen on her skin. Even without her sword, she could think of eleven different ways off the top of her head on how to kill someone without it. With or without her nodachi she was still a cold-blooded killer.
"Haihane-chan you really shouldn't sit in the dark so often, it's bad for you." Karasuba said, ignoring her subordinate's question. She then proceeded to let herself in the room and opened the shades for the large window, flooding the room in light, causing Haihane to wince her eyes at the sudden brightness.
"Oh, what's this? Not playing a game for once?" Karasuba asked curiously. She approached the computer and looked more closely at the screen.
"That's nothing you need to worry about Karasuba-sempai, just chatting." Haihane said nervously, still off balance from the visit of the Black Sekirei.
"Well now, Grey Wulf. If I remember correctly, that's the, what was it called again….."screen name" of Player One." Karasuba stated looking over her shoulder to face her kohai, thinking that her plan could be a lot more entertaining if her "teammate" was friendly with Player One.
Haihane didn't see much point in trying to lie to Karasuba. Being this caught off guard there was no way she could get away from trying to fool her, even then, they was no way she would even try to without her clawed gauntlets, and they were stored in her closet (which was closed), and to get them not only would she have to be faster than Karasuba, but show her back, no, one way or the other Karasuba would get the answers she was looking for.
Haihane simply nodded, though at the moment she didn't realize that she had a little bit of color on her cheeks at the admission, lucky her hair blocked it from sight.
Karasuba went back to looking at the screen, and after scrolling through the message history spoke again. "It seems like you two are getting rather close." She said, realizing that her plan was going to be far more entertaining.
"I guess…..why?" Haihane responded hesitantly.
At that moment Haihane had a chill go down her spine when she saw a predatory smile from Karasuba reflecting off the monitor. She didn't even bother to look back at her and spoke once more.
"How would you like to see Player One again?" Karasuba said darkly.
"Player One's" Home – Living Room – 1:47 P.M.
Minato felt very nervous after being called out by his brother as an Ashikabi and then discovered he himself was an Ashikabi and his girlfriend he met at lunch a few days ago was a Sekirei….also with him silently looking him over after he finished saying his story.
Alex ushered them into the living room and told them to wait while he pulled the food out and when it was set he told everyone to make a plate and head back to the living room to sit and eat. Alex taking the leather easy chair between the couches, Akitsu-san (She sat closest to him.) and the pink haired Sekirei sat to the left of him on the couch (She seemed to be giving Mutsubi-chan glares). While Mutsubi-chan, his inn mates and himself took the other couch with him the closest to Alex.
After they started eating, Alex started talking and said everything that happened to him. Meeting Akitsu, Winging her, being abducted by M.B.I., being nearly being killed by a robot assassin and why a member of the Disciplinary Squad was in his home. It sounded like his brother was living out a story from an anime after stepping off the plane.
When he was done speaking, he started looking at me and told me it was my turn. His two inn mates were still eating but watching him…..except Mutsubi-chan was busy eating and enjoy the food, being on her third hamburger and mentioning that these were much more filling and delicious than the ones she had the other day. So he went on to tell that he met Mutsubi-chan on his way home after flunking the entrance exam while she was being chased by two S&M sisters (For a moment he saw a bit of surprise on his face at mention of them.) and how he lost his home and moved into the inn.
When he finished, he continued to watch him for a few moments and stayed quiet for a little while. He removed his glasses and put them in his lap, then closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair and put his hands over is face and groaned in frustration. After a few seconds he finally spoke, but I have to admit his response wasn't what I was expecting…
"Minato….after all that work I put into you….. this is what you do?" Alex said in tired frustration.
"What do you mean?" Minato replied nervously.
"You choked! You choked, you miserable workaholic…." Alex went on. "Minato….you aced all the practice tests I gave you and you understood the study material. But brother you need to stop second guessing yourself and show some confidence." Alex explained, finally taking his hands away from his face and looked at the ceiling. He was also still feeling the throbbing in his head and feeling a bit warm, he was starting to get used to this feeling appearing and disappearing, he had no idea if that was a good or bad thing, and still had no idea what was causing it.
Minato was surprised that out of everything he told him, this is what he took from it.
"You mean you're not worried we might have to fight?" Minato asked, still finding it hard to believe that his brother was taking this completely the opposite way he was expecting.
"Why? You're not going to fight me and I won't fight you. What's the problem?" Alex answered simply and waved his left hand dismissively while still looking at the ceiling.
Minato was having a little difficulty understanding how Alex was being so laid-back with all this, but when he thought about it, it was like his brother to think calmly about this and since he had no reason to go against him, he had no reason to what to fight him. If anything the fact that they had to face each other at some point could be put aside for now and knowing him, Alex will probably find a way around it…he always did find ways of getting way with things he didn't want to do. For now he had an ally in the Sekirei Plan.
"Yeah, your right. Sorry I was worried over nothing." Minato answered with a smile, feeling the worry he had flow away.
Alex tilted his head to face Minato and raised his left fist and waited for Minato, after a moment Minato respond to the fist bump, along with the following explosion.
Alex sat up, replaced his glasses and decided to ask his next question. "So have you told mom?"
Minato paled a little at this question but answered. "No way, she'd kill me. She was already angry that I failed the entrance exam; she ended up cutting my allowance in half. I don't want to think about what she might do if she found out."
Alex was a bit surprised that mom didn't contact him, or told him anything yet…..there could be reasons. But whatever they maybe, it wasn't his place to tell.
"How about you? Have you told her?" Minato asked?
Alex thought about this for a second and noticed Akitsu gave him a look, he could tell she would play along with whatever he said.
He decided to keep quiet and let mom speak up or Minato tell her when he was ready, and he'd pretend to be in the same boat. The last thing he wanted to do was rock the boat when he didn't have all the information about what his mom was doing. This was something he would have to talk with mom about when time permitted.
"No, I've come to grow fond of breathing." Trying to sound as nervous as Minato on the subject.
Minato and he shared a light chuckle.
"So for now we keep this to ourselves." Minato said.
"Agreed." Alex responded. There was only one more thing he wanted to ask, it was really only a formality but still after learning about the Sekirei, many people wouldn't be as open minded as him and while he knew Minato wasn't one of those people he just needed to hear it. "So Mutsubi-san, has Minato been treating you ok?" Alex asked, looking past Minato to the girl who was happily munching her way through her fifth burger.
She perked up at the mention of Minato's name and spoke cheerfully. " Yes! Minato-san is a wonderful Ashikabi! He done so much for me and taught me many things!"
Hearing this set Alex's mind at ease, for now at least. This was the easy part of the Sekirei Plan, and if he, Akitsu, and his family were going to get through this, they all needed to be open minded and looked to the future. But right now he was more interested in hearing what Mutsubi was talking about.
"Like what?" Alex asked curiously.
"Modesty!" Mutsubi continued excitedly.
Minato turned redder than a tomato. "AHHHH! Mutsubi-chan!" He yelled frantically.
Everyone started laughing at Minato's reaction as Mutsubi went on to explain her story.
For now Minato and Alex had dealt with the with the most pressing concern. There are things that still needed to be talked about but for now they could wait, Minato also had to talk with Kagari about how he knew about the Sekirei but again that could wait. Now was a time to party!
After Mutsubi finished unintentionally embarrassing Minato, everyone went to finish up what food was left…..that Mutsubi didn't already eat, then went on to the cake (it was unceremonious at Alex's request) and sweets that were brought and put the trash away. Since he was the birthday boy he got to choose the activities for the day. But before anything else he was presented with two gifts, one from his Sekirei Akitsu and the other from his guest Benitsubasa. Before he accepted them he asked why they were racing before, and discovered while they both left the house at different times and under different alleged reasons, they ran into each other on the way back and somehow it ended up turning into a race. Alex had a small laugh at that.
Alex took the gift bag that Akitsu had first and pulled out the tissue paper and saw his present.
Akitsu wasn't sure what to get someone for a present because she had never given a gift before, but with her M.B.I. Card and what she was able to learn about her Ashikabi she thought it would be enough, but ended up being mistaken. She was able to find a collectible store that had anime memorabilia thanks to her new phone, but after seeing the many different kinds of items the store had to offer she was at a loss of what to get. In the end she decided on an autographed copy of the complete collection of Scott Pilgrim V.s The World The Animated Series on Blu-ray, signed by its creator Bryan Lee O'Malley and a few of the other voice actors. It was suggested by someone in the store that it would be a safe option if she was unsure of what to get if money was no object. She remembered her lesson about money well, but wanted this to be a special occasion.
While Alex already had the series digitally, it was still quite the gift. He thanked Akitsu with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. And while she maintained her composure in front of everyone, she did blush lightly.
Next up was Benitsubasa's present. Alex thanked her but said it was unnecessary since they only just met, but she insisted that she wanted to. It was a long box wrapped in red wrapping paper, it felt like clothes; Alex tore into the box and looked inside.
Benitsubasa was equally unsure of what to get him, she had no interests in games or anime herself and whenever Haihane started to talk about them she would just tune it out, and she was regretting it. She was hoping if her gift was good enough it could help her get closer to her new prospective Ashikabi. But after hitting a few stores that catered to his tastes she felt overwhelmed and gave up. So she decided to stick to what she was able to learn from her time chatting with him. While he did work out he wasn't serious about it and kept it casual. With that in mind she thought she could build on that, and decided on getting him a pair of black mesh basketball shorts then doubled back to an anime store and got a simple grey t-shirt that she found that said "Over 9000!" on a suggestion from someone in the store, and to top it off she added a iTunes gift card. She figured he could add a few songs to his playlist while he worked out (with her hopefully), her end result, she got a gift of something in common they could both do while still appealing to his "geek" side as he called it. She felt pretty proud of her creativity.
Alex was a bit surprised with this gift but was all the same happy, and got the message that she wanted the workout buddy thing to happen and promised it would definitely happen and gave a hug as a thank you. Though no one noticed the glare Akitsu was giving the pink haired Sekirei, and the triumphant look Benitsubasa shot back.
With the presents opened, before anything else Alex wanted to finish "Empire Strikes Back", yeah he saw it a million times but it was his birthday and it was about half over, so everyone watched. Though except for Alex and Minato everyone was unsure what was going on in the movie. Alex figured at some point he would have to sit Akitsu down and introduce her to Star Wars properly.
After the movie was finished, Kagari was the first to take off, saying he had to leave for work and he'd see the others at home, he wished Alex a happy birthday once more and went on his way.
Shortly after Alex received a text from Claire wishing him a happy birthday and that she was working on travel plans to visit, it would be a while but she would keep him posted. He sent a reply telling her to give him ample warning of when she was going to come, while he did it under the guise of getting ready for her he really wanted to make sure everything was safe for her to even be here while the Sekirei Plan was going on and if it wasn't make up some reason why she couldn't come yet.
The sun was starting to go down now, and Alex decided the next activity would be strolling down memory lane, and by memory lane he meant a video game party using a retro system. He pulled out his old N64 that he found online, along with a fair amount of games. They played Golden Eye, Wave Race, Star Fox 64, Smash Bros., and Banjo-Kazooie (Everyone took turns). It was a fun couple of hours, everyone was getting into it, even Benitsubasa who never really cared for games found she was enjoying it somewhat (Though that probably came from her competitive nature.).
After playing games for a few hours the party was starting to wined down and it was getting late and Minato wanted to take off. So Minato and Mutsubi got ready to leave but Uzume wanted to stay a bit longer since she heard that Alex had Cards Against Humanity, so she told them to tell their land lady she would be back late or in the morning. So Minato and Mutsubi left with the promise that him and Minato would need to meet up soon and do lunch or something.
At this time Uzume thought it was about time to tear into the bar if they were going to play Cards Against Humanity. Alex was about to remind her that he wasn't old enough but then remembered that the age for drinking was different in Japan and he was in his own house, and it's not like he hadn't done it before at college, old enough or not, also it was his birthday so he figured what the hell. Akitsu and Benitsubasa, not wanting to be left out also decided to join in on the game and have a drink as well. Uzume helped herself to a bottle of saki she found, and Akitsu decided to share with her. Benitsubasa decided on a rather pricy bottle of red wine, while Alex went for his good friend Jack Daniels.
(THIS FIC AND ITS WRITER IN NO WAY ENCOURAGES THE ACT OF UNDER-AGE DRINKING.)
Alex got the cards and turned on the T.V. For background noise, then they all took seats around the coffee table, Alex taking the easy chair and the other three Sekirei taking the couch on the left of him, with Uzume taking the spot closet to Alex on the couch to the right, while this time Benitsubasa was able to get the he closest seat on his left with Akitsu getting the farther seat, she wasn't happy with it but didn't want to start anything at Alex's party so she tolerated it. Akitsu and Benitsubasa had never played the game before, and after being explained the rules, Benitsubasa was getting the hang of it, though Akitsu was a bit slower. But regardless after something to drink, everyone was having fun. Though after a few hands and everyone was on their second drink Uzume decided that they need to make the game more interesting…...
"As fun as this is, why don't we make this a bit more interesting?" Uzume suggested slyly, and proceeded to drain most of her second glass of saki.
She was enjoying her time with Alex, he was a nice, smart, and interesting and he wasn't afraid to flirt back or even turn her own attempts back on her which kept her on her toes. He was definitely someone she was happy to have met, just like Chiho, maybe she could introduce them. Speaking of which, she needed to visit her soon so she could be Winged, if anything this could be considered her last big "hurrah" before she commits to her future Ashikabi.
"What did you have in mind?" Alex asked curiously, focusing on his hand.
The other two Sekirei looked at Uzume curiously as well, wondering what the carefree Sekirei was planning.
Uzume smiled like a Cheshire Cat, leapt out of her seat and back over to the bar and returned with four shot glasses and tall green bottle.
"The losers of each hand have to strip off one piece of clothing, while the winner will have to take a shot of this." Uzume explained, holding up a fair sized green bottle for everyone to see.
Benitsubasa turned to a indescribable shade of red at the suggestion, even after a few drinks Akitsu kept on her "mask" but gained a fair shade of color in her cheeks as well. Alex looked up from his hand and upon closer inspection of the bottle; Alex started to get a bit worried.
"Absinthe….straight out of the bottle? You do realize this stuff is basically gasoline." Alex asked.
"Oh, is that all your worried about?" Uzume asked back slyly.
Alex blushed a bit remembering the other condition; he took a large sip of his whiskey to steady himself. "I've done my fair share of college antics, this is nothing new." Alex replied. Attracting interested looks from the three Sekirei, which was a sign that they wanted to hear more. "And before you ask, no I won't tell you, because A: I'm not in a "sharing embarrassing story mood" since the party isn't all that crazy and B: I haven't had enough to drink yet." He continued.
Akitsu was surprisingly the first one to speak up. "A bit later then?" She asked. Though Akitsu really just wanted to learn more about her Ashikabi. Though she was starting to wonder about Uzume, she had been friendly to everyone during the party and teased Minato and Alex. But she noticed that Uzume was focusing a bit more on Alex.
Alex paused for a moment, and took another sip, finishing off his whiskey and shrugged. "Maybe." He answered simply with a smirk.
"So is that a yes to the suggestion?" Asked Uzume smiling.
"It's my birthday, so what hell. It'll be a story to reminisce about." Alex responded with a chuckle and poured himself another glass. While this response was a little out of character for him, but alcohol and the throbbing in his head along with him feeling hot might have contributed. Also he was starting to get used to this throbbing in his head even though it was getting worse, he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.
"What about you girls?" Uzume asked still smiling.
"It's no big deal, it's not like I'm going lose." Benitsubasa taunted in agreement, but she was still blushing. It was embarrassing to think about her stripping in front of everyone but if it was Alex she could do it, besides it could be a good chance to get him to look at her more. Also she wanted to see what he looked like with his shirt off.
Akitsu simply nodded, but it seemed that she gained even a bit more color in her cheeks. She didn't like the idea of the other Sekirei undressing in front of Alex but she liked it when he had his eyes on her almost as much as when he put his amazing hands on her. But still Alex was enjoying himself, and she remembered something she overheard from a few of the researchers at the Tower long ago before she became broken, that at a party sometimes things got a little crazy and from that craziness, deeper bonds were formed that either improved friendship or romance….at least that is what she heard. And any chance to deepen her relationship with Alex she would take; she would just have to keep an eye on the other two Sekirei…..especially the pink haired one.
"Then it's settled! Let's play!" Uzume declared.
"Whoa there, if where going to play this game the way you suggested then we're going to be adults about it, so there will be some ground rules. If someone doesn't want to drink anymore or doesn't want to take off anymore clothes, they can tap out. And no-one has to go past their underwear." Alex spoke, trying to be the voice of order to some degree.
"Fair enough, but what makes you think you'll get us down to our underwear." Uzume teased.
"The fact that you left the game open till question marks and I'm good." Alex answered back with a sly grin. Then Alex collected all the cards back and shuffled both decks and started to deal out the cards for the new game, making him the first Card Czar. After looking at his cards he placed down the first black card.
"When I have sex I like to think about _"
Throwing that card down caused Akitsu and Benitsubasa to blush once more, though Uzume just laughed at that they were getting right into it at the start of the game, and that the other two were so innocent.
(Chuckling) "Oh this will be a good one, ok ladies, wow me." Alex said, starting to feel a pretty good buzz.
After everyone had a chance to look at their cards. Uzume spoke up again. "You know…..from what I heard about how devoted you are to Akitsu-chan I figured you wouldn't agree to something like this." She questioned, while trying to decide what card to play.
This had caught Akitsu's and Benitsubasa's attention and watched out of the corner of their eyes to see what Alex's response would be.
Alex settled more into his chair and spoke, "It's my birthday, and I'm just turning 19 so I think that warrants a little special treatment and I doubt this will happen again. Besides theirs no harm as long as I don't touch. Also I'll make it up to her later." He sent an look at Akitsu that instantly reminded her of what happened the previous night and her face turned red.
"I-I'll allow it….this one time." Akitsu spoke, trying to hide her face behind her cards.
Benitsubasa wasn't too happy about the attention Akitsu was getting. Since they started drinking, Alex had loosened up some and was flirting with Uzume and Akitsu. She just wished he'd do the same with her, it was bad enough she knew what Alex was talking about. When she heard that he was giving her a massage, she was jealous. When she fell asleep she dreamed all night about being in her place, having his hands all over her, giving her more pleasure than she could stand. But that's not to say he hadn't been showing her a fair share of attention during the party. Initially a few of the partygoers we're on guard with her after hearing she was part of the Disciplinary Squad, but Alex spent time with her and made sure she was included in everything they were doing so she wouldn't feel left out. He even took more time to talk with her and made honest efforts to learn more about her, asking about her favorite foods, music, movies, places she'd like to see, he even asked what she wanted to do after the Sekirei plan. If nothing else he liked her company, but she wanted more, so she would just have to keep trying to get his attention!
After a few moments everyone finally decided on a card to play.
"Ok ladies, what have you got?" Alex asked.
Uzume played a card that said "Blueberries".
Akitsu played a card that said "Washing my car".
And lastly Benitsubasa played a card that said "Going on a bender with Bender".
There was a momentary pause before Alex and Uzume broke down laughing, while Benitsubasa and Akitsu were still blushing at the topic. Alex was the first to speak.
(Laughing) "Really Uzume-San, blueberries?" Alex said, still struggling with stopping with his laughing.
(Laughing) "Hey, I get hungry! What about Akitsu-chan? Are you so bad in bed that Akitsu-chan thinks about washing her car?" Uzume replied, also trying to get her laughing under control.
Akitsu was still trying to get used to this games level of humor and just humor in general, but also she just wanted to be a part of this because Alex was. She was still embarrassed about talking about this, and she didn't have much experience with sarcasm. But she would give it a try…..
"It's…..It's not that he's bad…I just have a lot of things on my mind that need to get done." Akitsu said, unsure if she said the right thing. She felt a bit better hearing more laughter but was still unsure.
"That's my girl Akitsu, always productive. Benitsubasa-chan, I had no idea you could drink with Bender?" Alex said after getting his laughter under control, by now the alcohol in his system had taken full effect and he was feeling it.
"Sorry, I don't know who that is…." Benitsubasa admitted, she just picked the card because she thought it sounded the most ridiculous, which seemed to be the way to win the game.
"Bender? The cigar smoking, alcohol drinking, foul mouthed, stealing robot from the year 3000. You never heard of him?" Alex grilled Benitsubasa, pretending to sound serious. Benitsubasa just shook her head in response.
The other Sekirei in the room looked lost as well, Alex wasn't all that surprised but he just rolled with it.
"I don't know any of you anymore." Said Alex and pretend to sulk.
Benitsubasa felt a little down that she once again didn't know anything about the world Alex was from and once again wished she paid more attention to some of the things that Haihane was into.
"Alright, alright, so who's the winner?" Uzume asked wanting the game to continue.
Alex carefully looked at the three cards for a moment and made his decision.
"Gotta go with Bender." Alex stated. Earning him a surprised look from the three Sekirei.
"Come on, Blueberries!" Uzume urged.
"What about me!" Akitsu questioned loudly, in a rare show of emotion.
"Don't be sore losers ladies." Benitsubasa taunted with a smug look on her face, her down feeling suddenly disappearing since she was chosen.
Akitsu gave an angry glare to the pink haired Sekirei, but before she could speak Uzume spoke for both of them. "Oh be quiet, you didn't even know who Bender was." Uzume spoke. Akitsu felt vindicated from the reply.
Benitsubasa had the decency to blush at the reminder that she only got lucky with this round.
"Maybe so, but Bender is Bender, and Bender beats everyone." Alex explained.
"Ok "winner", now drink up!" Uzume said reaching across the table for Benitsubasa's shot glass and filling it with absinthe and placed it back in front of her.
Benitsubasa looked hesitantly at the green liquid. But she was determined to keep going, so she quickly downed the green liquid. Then quickly regretted it as she proceeded to cough….
"First time with absinthe?" Alex asked, watching her to make sure she was alright.
Benitsubasa nodded while continuing to cough. But notice that Uzume was smirking at her while Akitsu had a look on her face that basically said she got what was coming to her.
"Alright ladies…..(coughing)…strip….." Benitsubasa taunted, trying to remind them that she was the winner of the round.
Uzume shrugged while Akitsu casually brought her left leg up. Uzume removed her hair tie, which resulted in her hair falling down, while Akitsu removed a single tabi sock, she did that on purpose and caught Alex looking at her and smiled on the inside.
"Hey no fair!" Benitsubasa complained, upset at the little damage caused to the two other sekirei.
"It was said "One piece of clothing", ergo, Latin, a sock and hair tie. But if you want to you could argue that the hair tie is an accessory." Alex said stating the rules once again. He snapped himself out of his stare before the others caught on, with the exception of Akitsu.
Benitsubasa huffed at the other two Sekirei that seemed to get off much easier than she did.
"That was long winded, are you drunk already?" Uzume chided.
"No, though I got a nice buzz." Alex answered.
(Giggles) "I wonder how much longer till we get to see drunk you?" Uzume asked.
"I'm nothing too special. I sound a little intellectual, sarcastic, a bit talkative. I can be a little affectionate, and as for my special skill I get much better playing at games and doing stuff with my hands." Alex overly explained.
Uzume laughed at the explanation and spoke, "Is it true Akitsu-chan?"
"I don't know, I haven't seen Alex-kun drink since we've been together." Akitsu replied, though when Alex said he got more affectionate she got curious, she already loved it when he put his hands on her, she wondered what he would be like alone with him when he was in that state.
Benitsubasa was also thinking along the same lines as the ice user.
(Giggling) "Well I look forward to seeing this side of you." Uzume spoke to Alex. He seemed cool and laid back throughout the day, she looked forward to seeing him cut loose, besides it could be something she could hold over his head later for fun.
"We shall see said the blind man, we shall see." Alex replied.
"Alright alright, let's keep playing, it's my turn!" Benitsubasa declared, and placed down the next black card.
The game went on for some time, resulting in an empty bottle of absinthe, 2/3 of another and everyone getting very drunk and being in various stages of undress. It had been a fun evening for everyone, Uzume ended up staying the night. Eventually everyone passed out, but because of the evening's final event, the following morning was going to cause a whirlwind of events that would lead to a complicated living arrangement.
"Player One's" Home – Master Bedroom – 10:46 A.M.
Alex started to stir himself from his blissful sleep and was regretting it, he drank waaaay too much last night and now he had a moderate hangover (He had the throbbing in his head again, though he wasn't sure if that was from the booze or not, also he was feeling really warm.) and everything after the third hand of the game when they started taking shots was a big jazzy blur.
"Oh god…my head…...I drank way too much. This is going to be the morning from hell…." Alex thought. In fact he was feeling more sluggish than he's been before after drinking, his body felt heavy, really heavy…..actually he couldn't move.
He started to open his eyes slowly and felt pain from the light filling the room. His mind was still a bit foggy, so he was a bit disoriented. He was able to recognize that he was in his and Akitsu's bed room, and wondered how he made it to the third floor, then noticed a pile of clothes in the corner of the room.
But as he looked down at himself and saw that he wasn't alone and explained why he couldn't move, Akitsu, Benitsubasa and Uzume were all in bed with him in various states of dress. Akitsu was laying on his right with her head resting in the crook of his neck and was clinging to his arm with her signature death grip and tangled her legs with his right leg, much like she did their first night together….including with his hand between her legs, she was missing her obi and both her tabi socks.
Benitsubasa was missing her hair tie and everything above the waist, she was laying right on top of him and looked to be snuggling into his chest, she was close enough to him that if she scooched up a little she'd be face to face with him. He had to admit, that she looked cute laying on top of him, if he met a girl like her in college he probably would have tried his luck in asking her out.
Uzume was on his left and was asleep on his arm, it was wrapped around her and his hand was resting on her hip, pulling her close to him (though it was dangerously close to touching her ass), she had tangled her legs with his left leg like Akitsu and was resting her head in the crook of his neck. As for her state of dress…she had nothing on but a pair of white panties. Once again, while he didn't like taking advantage of the situation, she had a truly amazing body…..
He himself was shirtless and missing his socks, and was on the verge of freaking out. Not because of the position he was in, he wasn't shy about sharing a bed, it happened about half the times he had gotten drunk and most of the time he went to con's and had to share a room, and he was mature enough to handle seeing a naked or partially naked girl…...but Akitsu seeing the other two Sekirei in bed with him might cause some fireworks and the last thing he wanted was a three girl melee going on in the house while he was nursing a hangover. While the girls were all still out of it, it was only a matter of time till one of them woke up, and he had no idea what a Sekirei was like after waking up drunk. He wanted to get up and out of bed before he had a chance to find out. But there was no way he was getting out of this position by himself, he needed help.
After weighing his options he decided on that Uzume (He thought about Benitsubasa, but being the firecracker that she was….) was the best choice to help. She was laid-back and wouldn't probably freak about the situation since they haven't done anything, at least he was pretty sure….with what he could remember before passing out, Akitsu was still up so it was doubtful she would have let anything happen.
He started to make use of his only available hand and tried to gently stroke awake Uzume. She started to moan lightly in pleasure from the attention she was receiving but after a few moments she started to stir and awake….if but partially.
"Ashikabi-kun, good morning…..." Uzume said through half lidded eyes, obviously still half asleep.
"Morning, do think you can give me a hand here?" Alex asked in a hushed voice.
After a moment Uzume snuggled into Alex, causing his "lower half" to awaken…..well more so. This caused Benitsubasa to murmur and giggle in her sleep, causing Alex to worry that he was starting to push his luck.
"Don't wana….your too comfy." Uzume answered, closing her eyes and preceded to get comfy.
"Uzume-san, please. I'm begging here." Pleaded Alex.
Uzume groaned and begrudgingly opened her eyes and looked at Alex with sleep still in her eyes. (Groaning) "Fine, but you have to do something for me…." She wined.
"Name it." Alex said quickly.
Uzume at that point, while still tired, put on her Cheshire smile from last night, making Alex a bit nervous.
"Be frisky with me…"Uzume said tiredly, but her actions betrayed how she sounded. She quickly locked lips with Alex and thrusted her tongue into his mouth. Once more Alex felt like a bolt of electricity traveled from his tongue to his brain. Even though she was half asleep and probably still out of it from the drinking, and while he didn't want to admit it, she was an amazing kisser, a reminder of a make out session during high school. She was doing all she could to get him in the mood, it was hard not to get into it.
Still a feeling of dread washed over Alex when he saw Uzume' pure white wings appear. Not only had he broken his promise to Akitsu, he basically did the Sekirei of equivalent of drunk sex. He was now Uzume's Ashikabi, and he felt horrible that something so important to a Sekirei was going to be something she'll hardly remember or with the person she wanted in the first place…..or was he? But even with all these thoughts going through his head he couldn't help but start to enjoy kissing Uzume. Though out of the corner of his eye he saw a blur move toward Uzume and knocked her off the bed.
Uzume fell to the floor and wanged her head, nothing serious but now she was awake and starting to become cognitive and wondered what was happening.
Both her and Alex looked to who caused such violence so early in the morning, though Alex wasn't surprised…..it was Akitsu. She was on her knees on the bed looking over both Alex and Uzume. She was awakened to a feeling in her bond with Alex, the same feeling she had when she was winged. Her eyes shot opened and if that wasn't enough to sober her up the sight of Uzume locking lips with her Ashikabi did the trick.
Akitsu wore her "mask" and coldly looked down upon Uzume. Alex was able to get a better look at Akitsu's state of dress, while she did have her kimono; it seemed her underwear was missing as a result from last night. Even so, now was not the time to admire the Ice Sekirei.
"How dare you wing yourself to my Ashikabi…" Akitsu threatened coldly, with the temperature dropping to match her voice.
"I….did what?" Uzume said, trying to get her thoughts together. She was starting to realize what she had done, while she did feel a pull from Alex yesterday because of him being an Ashikabi, he wasn't her Ashikabi. But now she could sense him and his emotions right now, she couldn't feel Chiho anymore. Right now she was having a problem processing everything that was happening thanks to the hangover, hitting her head and the traces of sleepiness left on her mind. But the fact that she was now Winged was sobering her up.
"Akitsu, please calm down it wasn't her fault. I shouldn't have allowed us to drink-" Alex tried to speak but Akitsu looked at him and caused him to stop.
"This is not your fault." Then she looked back at Uzume with her icy stare. "It's her's." Uzume was backing away to get some distance but with her being on the floor, Akitsu had the advantage; also her head was still clearing.
As Alex was trying to think of a way to calm the situation, the other guest in the bed decided to make herself known.
"You've got to be quicker Ice Queen." Benitsubasa taunted.
Benitsubasa's voice caught Akitsu off guard, along with the shove that pushed her off the bed and tumbling on top of Uzume. Benitsubasa was now straddling Alex and blushing at her position and her state of dress, while Alex was blushing hard from seeing her naked from the waist up, she gently held his face still while she closed the distance. But he noticed the cockiness and pride in her eyes had disappeared and was replaced with the look of a girl that just wanted acceptance and love. Alex wanted to try and stop her but his mind was still hazy from the booze and Winging Uzume.
"I know I have a temper, and I may not understand your interests, or be as….attractive as other Sekirei, but please accept me….my Ashikabi." Benitsubasa said, then she hesitantly kissed Alex. Her tongue slowly and timidly entered his mouth and gently started to tangle with his. Once more the feeling of electricity going from his tongue to his brain was registered with him…as well as the sight of bright red wings emerging from her back. He knew this was a problem, he knew he shouldn't be doing this but the hangover, the constant actions happening combined with the relief from the throbbing in his head dying down he couldn't help but relax into it. But it wasn't to last….
A moment later Akitsu leapt at Benitsubasa and knocked her off to the other side of the bed, where a fight started to break out.
"I warned you…." Akitsu threatened coldly, trying to get her hands around Benitsubasa's throat but she was met with resistance from the pink haired Sekirei.
"I heard you..…just didn't care." Benitsubasa taunted, shoving Akitsu off of her and the both of them preceded to brawl. Akitsu grabbing Benitsubasa's hair and Benitsubasa trying to get free and grabbing Akitsu's left breast and squeezed hard. Normally this would be no contest in terms of strength but after last night she was still a little weak from her first night of drinking.
A moment later Uzume joined in the fray, she felt bad that this all started because of her, so she was hoping to get them to calm down. She needed to have a conversation with Alex about what had happened and probably a lengthy conversation from Miya about this, which she wasn't looking forward to.
"Girls knock it off! This is no way to act in front of your Ashikabi!" Uzume yelled, trying to get between them and brake them up.
"How dare you! You Winged yourself to my Ashikabi! I trusted you to stay the night and not force yourself onto my Ashikabi!" Akitsu spoke loudly.
"Oh shut up and share you greedy bitch! So she wanted him too, you can't hog Alex-kun all to yourself!" Benitsubasa argued.
The fight continued to go on with Uzume eventually joining in the fight as a combatant, and Alex was sitting stunned in bed thinking about Winging two more Sekirei and of all the possible consequences of it, as said girls were fighting half naked in front of him. He had a responsibility to see that they each received attention and love they deserved; and quite honestly he wasn't sure if he could return those feelings evenly. This was a situation he was hoping to avoid since he learned he could have more Sekirei. He had a feeling about Benitsubasa was reacting to him but he made the mistake of seeing her as a person not a Sekirei. If anything he should have talked with her if she was reacting to him, maybe things could have been worked out. Uzume was a mistake pure and simple, he should have been more careful with her and now she's Winged by him and he had no idea on her feelings on that. They both needed to have a serious conversation later. And there was Akitsu…..
He needed to apologize to her, he broke his promise about having more Sekirei and he felt bad about it, especially after he found out about her history. He'd have to do what he could to make things right with her. He himself felt really bad about all this, he sorta felt like he was three timing. But he didn't have time for that right now; first he needed to get these girls under control.
Alex got himself out of bed and staggered a bit getting to his feet thanks to the hangover and unwisely tried to break apart the practically naked super powered girls.
"Ladies break it up!" Alex said. "I said knock it off! Damn it listen to me!"
Once again stepping into a cat fight between girls that could kill him probably wasn't the smartest thing to do in hindsight. Because Benitsubasa ended up accidentally getting a good kick in on Alex's gut. It was an accident on her part and luckily it wasn't too bad but it was strong enough to send him flying across the room and slammed into the dresser on the far side of the room. It wasn't too bad but it did knock the wind out of him.
"Alex are you ok!?" The three Sekirei said in unison.
"How dare you strike my Ashikabi!" Akitsu yelled for the first time since this started, cracking her emotionless mask.
"It wouldn't have happened if you weren't so greedy and started fighting!" Benitsubasa yelled back.
"He's BOTH your Ashikabi! You both need to calm down and share!" Uzume yelled over them, trying to be the voice of reason.
"THIS ALL STARTED BECAUSE OF YOU!" Akitsu and Benitsubasa both yelled in unison.
Once more the three Sekirei melee began once again. Thankfully none of them had started using their powers yet, but their fight was starting to get brutal.
Alex was in a bit of a daze after that kick and coughing after having the wind knocked out of him, he was about to get up and try and brake them up again when he felt pain from one of the fingers on his right hand shoot up his arm. He looked at what was causing the pain and saw he pricked his finger on some glass. For a moment he wondered where the glass came from but then he noticed a picture frame face down on the floor a foot or so away from him. His heart felt knotted and all thoughts about the three Sekirei left his mind. He slowly reached for the frame, turned it over and saw that it was the picture of the girl that would always tear his heart in two. The frame was cracked and the glass was shattered, he hesitantly reached to touch the picture but stopped himself. All of his emotions came to a boil, worry and frustration from this morning's events, sadness from see the girl in the picture. Then Alex did something he rarely did, he got angry, not upset, angry.
"ENOUGH!" Alex screamed. Causing the three Sekirei to stop their brawl and look at him in shock at his out of character anger.
"ALL OF YOU! Get your asses down stairs! Go there, sit there, shut up, and think about how this morning has turned into a complete disaster!" Yelled Alex, after venting Alex seem to slump down and looked drained and after a moment he kept speaking, though his eyes were more focused on the floor. "I'll…..I'll be down in a few minutes." Alex said in his normal tone of voice but it also contained some traces of sadness.
Akitsu, Benitsubasa and Uzume all looked like deer's caught in headlights. But after a moment, as if they were in unison they separated and gathered their clothes and started to head down stairs. While Benitsubasa and Uzume both obediently left before further upsetting their new Ashikabi, Akitsu lingered at the door and looked back at Alex, she couldn't stand to see her Ashikabi in the emotional pain he was going through and as she was weighing the decision to speak and risk his anger, Alex spoke up before she could say anything.
"Akitsu….not now….just go…..please." Alex said, sadness still in his voice.
Akitsu didn't want to leave her Ashikabi when he was obviously in pain, but he rarely told her to do anything so if he had given a command then she would obey. But she would definitely ask him about this later when he seemed to be in a better mood about that picture that seemed to quickly cause emotions with him. So for now, she nodded her head in acknowledgment and left Alex alone.
When Alex could no longer hear the patter of her feet he reached for the broken frame, being careful not to cut himself on any of the glass. Despite his best efforts he couldn't help looking at the picture and then he did something he promised he would never do over her again, he cried. Tears slowly welled in his eyes and fell into his lap.
"Melody…." Alex said sadly.
"Player One's" Home – Living Room – 11:19 A.M.
For a while now the three Sekirei had been sitting on the couch in silence. After Alex's unexpected anger, Uzume, Benitsubasa and Akitsu quickly came down stairs and got dressed in their outfits from yesterday and waited for their Ashikabi on the couch. Though that had been some time ago…..
"How long is he going to be? I know he's angry but considering everything we need to talk." Uzume asked.
"I'm starting to worry too, I don't like it that I just got my Ashikabi and he's angry at us already."Benitsubasa spoke.
"We should have controlled ourselves a bit better." Uzume replied back.
"You're one to talk, it all started with you Winging yourself. Though I can't blame you, I was just waiting for a chance." Benitsubasa answered; unaware that her words stung the Veiled Sekirei at the reminder that she was Winged to an Ashikabi she didn't want.
But suddenly the temperature in the room dropped to an unpleasant temperature, causing the two Sekirei to bundle up the best they could and look in Akitsu's direction.
"What the hell is your problem Ice Queen?" Benitsubasa complained; her teeth on the verge of chattering.
Akitsu simply looked at the two Sekirei with her emotionless face, far different than what she showed this morning to the both of them. She brought her right hand up and pressed her pointer finger to her lips and "shushed" them, a reminder of what their Ashikabi had ordered them to do. At seeing that they once again became silent and resumed their Ashikabi's order.
It was a few more minutes before Alex decided to walk downstairs and show himself. His hair looked like it was a bit wet so it appeared he showered, he was wearing a grey t-shirt that said "Get Shwifty", some plain khaki slacks with white socks, he seemed to have a picture frame in hand and a plastic bag that jingled of glass. The Sekirei restrained their urge to stand and look at their Ashikabi because of all the strong emotions they felt through their bond with Alex. Anger, frustration, sadness, confusion, and concern were all running through his mind, the three Sekirei were unsure what was going to happen.
It was a surprise to them that Alex walked right passed them and went straight into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. As the water was boiling he removed the picture from the broken frame and tossed it into the trash and gently folded the picture and put it into his back pocket. Benitsubasa being the most emotional of the group attempted to speak but Alex simply raised a finger signaling her to be silent. The three Sekirei remained sitting in silence as their Ashikabi ignored them while he made his tea. The scene looked like a parent getting ready to discipline children.
When he finally reentered the living room he took a seat on the opposite couch and took a moment to sip his tea and look them over before talking.
"I'm going to say this right now, until I say otherwise none of you are to speak. I should be the only one talking, if I hear one word I will walk out that door and none of you will ever see me again." Alex warned.
The three Sekirei looked at him in shock at his threat, even Akitsu's "mask" was broken at the threat he made, Alex looked back into their eyes to reveal that he was serious. He was silent for a moment to let his warning sink in.
"To start, I am completely DISGUSTED with the behavior from everyone this morning, including myself!" Alex stated, once again surprising the three Sekirei that he wasn't just angry at them. "That's right, there's plenty of blame to go around." Alex continued, and then set his eyes on Uzume.
"Uzume-san, you should have been more careful and let me know that you were an Unwinged Sekirei! I would have done what I could to make sure what happened this morning didn't. (Takes a breath)….But now you're stuck with me and I….I have no idea what to do now. Is this something that you wanted or not, or is there someone else you wanted to be with…..and now regardless it can't happen now." Alex ranted.
Alex's comment hit home as Uzume looked down at her feet like a child being scolded at the reminder of the situation, but she was a bit surprised that it seemed like he was upset and worried that he Winged a Sekirei and it wasn't something she wanted. She found out yesterday that he was a nice guy and all but from what she had seen, most Ashikabi's would jump at the chance at having another Sekirei, regardless of circumstance, she even heard a few whispers about Sekirei being forcefully winged. The fact that he saw her with such respect made her feel a bit better with this situation, but still they would need to talk at some time together…with Miya.
Next up was Benitsubasa.
"Benitsubasa-san, you should have told me that you were reacting to me! I already said I didn't want any more Sekirei, but at the very least we could have talked about it and worked something out….maybe making you my Sekirei, maybe not. But the fact that you did this without asking upsets me more than anything. I do like you, but I don't know about a relationship, we would have needed to talk. Even then….I'm not sure if I can give you the love and attention that you deserve, I'm just a regular person and Ashikabi or not I can't imagine having a relationship with multiple girls so in the end this might turn out being unfair to you." Alex's rant continued.
Benitsubasa like Uzume looked down at her feet during her lecture. She was definitely happy to hear that he liked her and that there was a possibility at him Winging her on his own. Also it seemed like he was more concerned about her happiness but she felt a bit bad that she just forced herself on him without even saying anything, though she wouldn't have needed to if it wasn't for that frigid bitch. Still she felt bad that he was upset because of something she did.
Lastly was Akitsu.
"Akitsu, how dare you even think that I would abandon you after Winging another Sekirei! I know that's what was going through your head after Uzume-san and Benitsubasa-san kissed me and that's why you went all Rambo on both of them. I know your upset about what happened, and so am I, but that's no reason to behave the way you did. We'll talk for a minute in private after this and say whatever we both need to. But right now you better get it in your mind that I would never abandon you under any circumstance and for the foreseeable future I have other Sekirei now and that's something we're both going to have to deal with it." Alex continued ranting.
Like the others, Akitsu looked down at her feet as she was scolded. She felt horrible that he questioned her on her lack in trust in him and sadly the truth is that is if she thought about it, he was right….she didn't want him anywhere near other Sekirei by himself. A Sekirei could jump him like this morning or he could grow to like them and want to Wing them. She'd do any to please him, anything he commanded as long as he didn't leave her and with the Winging of another Sekirei she became extremely territorial. Had her way she would never allow another near him. But he was too kind of a person that he would want to meet her other sisters. But while she hated the fact that she had to share him now it just proved what a strong Ashikabi he was, not many Ashikabi she would wager would be able to Wing two Sekirei at once and now chances were good that he would attract more. Even if she did have to share him now, she was lucky to have Alex as a Ashikabi.
After a moment Alex continued to speak but he once again surprised the three Sekirei by talking about himself this time around.
"As for me…I made the stupid mistake of allowing myself to get drunk around Unwinged Sekirei, I broke my promise to one of you, I failed to notice another's feelings and essentially had the equivalent of drunk sex with another (motioning to Uzume) and now she's stuck with me. (Alex leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees and put his hands on his face and took a deep breath, one of not only of frustration but depression.). Damn….I'm such an idiot…." Alex sulked.
The three Sekirei could feel his emotions of regret and worry for what happened through their bond. If you were to ask each of them they would all agree that he was taking on more blame that he should have and that sadden them but also made them a little happy that he was taking have them very seriously. After a moment or two Alex removed his hands from his face and started taking again.
"But what's done is done. So now for better or worse you're my Sekirei and I'm your Ashikabi and I will do everything in my power to see to it that we have a happy life together and we make it through the Sekirei Plan, all of us." Alex stated. The three Sekirei looked to Alex and saw how serious he was when he said this.
The three Sekirei felt relief from hearing Alex speak of them with the future in mind, also his emotions were settling back to normal. Though the next thing he said threw them for a loop.
"But the first thing that needs to happen is you all need to find a way to get along, which is why all of you are staying here for the day to work out your problems with each other while I head out and clear my head." Alex stated with a smirk on his face, which caused the three Sekirei to look at him and hoped he was kidding…which he wasn't.
"You three have a problem, a problem you three have to deal with. I'll be back later tonight and I'll bring dinner. So when I get back I expect the three of you to have found a way to get along, because I will not tolerate or deal with living in a house where every day I'll need to deal with the three of you at each other's throats. And as for any of your reasons I shouldn't go out by myself because it's not safe because of the Sekirei Plan…..I don't care. If I need help, I'll call otherwise this decision is finally and this conversation is over." Alex explained light heartedly. He was well aware of what could happen, especially after that run in with the robot. But at the moment if he was going to clear his head and find a way to live with three Sekirei, romantically or otherwise, he needed some space and a day out.
The three Sekirei looked worried but knew that if Alex had made his decision, he wasn't going to change it, so they would just need to accept it, no matter how much they disagreed.
"Now then, I'm sure you all have plenty of questions but right now I'm only going to answer one from each of you now, but tomorrow I will meet with each of you to hear out the rest of your questions or concerns and try and find solutions. But before I leave for the day, Akitsu and I need to talk for a moment in private. When I call on you, you may speak." Alex spoke with authority and saw that the three Sekirei understood.
"Uzume-san, you're first." Alex asked.
Uzume took a moment to think. She did have her fair share of questions considering her situation and she would need to take Alex to meet Miya, and would he allow her to continue to visit Chiho? There were other things she needed to go over as well but, since she could only ask one question she felt she could make herself feel somewhat better with a general question she had in mind.
"Are going to treat us all fairly?" Uzume asked seriously.
Alex could see the worry in her eyes, she understood her situation and he had a feeling she also had an Ashikabi in mind as well which only made this situation harder, but she was also his Sekirei and she had some obligation to him whether she wanted to or not, which complicated things, also the other two Sekirei seemed eager to hear his answer as well. But she raised a good point, would he be able to treat them all fairly? To be honest he never thought about juggling relationships with women, and he's been with Akitsu for a longer period of time so at the very least in the short term he's going to feel more for her. But these girls are with him now, they saw him as their partner for life, he owed it to them to do all that he could. So he took a moment to collect his thoughts and say them as best he could.
(Sigh) "Uzume-san I'm not sure how to answer that. I've never been in a relationship with more than one girl before. I've had a few girlfriends, and a number of flings but never at the same time where I had to juggle, that's just not something that's normal. But I promise all of you that I will do my best to give each of you the attention you deserve, but I will ask for your patience with me because this is new to me and if I'm making a mistake I want you to call me on it because chances are I'm going to make them while I'm getting used to living with all of you and it's the only way I'll learn. But the short answer is that I will do my damnedest to try Uzume-san." Alex answered.
Uzume felt a bit better from his answer. It was understandable that this type of situation was new to him but he was taking it seriously, as well as what it meant to be a Ashikabi. So she supposed regardless of how things turned out he would take care of her and the others which made her feel a bit better, so his answer was acceptable.
Uzume gave him a small nod of approval of his answer. Akitsu and Benitsubasa also nod as well. Alex took this as a signal that his answer was ok for the time being and decided to move on.
"Benitsubasa-san, your turn."
Benitsubasa was unsure what to ask. She was finally winged, and Uzume's question got rid of one of her biggest concerns, so at the very least no one would be the favorite and get more time. So he could learn to love them all. But what he said before was still worrying her, he said he wouldn't tolerate them fighting among themselves, and that threat he said he would leave if they spoke before he said it was ok still bothered her. If they couldn't get along would he really leave? This is what concerned her, and figured she had found her question.
"Did you really mean if we keep fighting, you'll leave?" Benitsubasa questioned.
This caused the other two Sekirei to give pause for a moment while they waited for Alex's response, even Uzume with her situation waited for the his response, which wasn't long.
Alex answered almost immediately, "Yes, yes I did." The girls looked at him shocked, but he raised a hand to silence them and let him continue to explain.
"Since meeting Akitsu, I've had to come to accept certain changes to my life, and it was only after most of these before I was able to come to terms that I had feelings for her. For example, essentially being married to her for just having her kiss me, having to finalize my living arrangements without any thoughts to what I want, getting involved in battle royal for space girls, and lastly having to wonder if I need to keep looking over my shoulder for a girl that wants to gut me like a fish. Once more I accept these changes to my life and the changes I will need to make after the events of this morning, and once more, I will need to learn how I can make it work before anything beyond that can happen." Alex said calmly, he let it sink in before he continued.
"Uzume-san, Benitsubasa-san, I can't love either of you before we're at least friends, and to be friends we have to get along. Akitsu, you're my first Sekirei, I'm not sure if it means anything for your people, but with the current circumstances to me I expect better of you and would hope you could get along with them and not be so territorial. If you all have a fight once and a while, fine, it happens with roommates. But if what happened this morning is going to happen every day and I'm stuck playing dad disciplining the kids then I'm sorry but, it's not worth it, in which case I will leave. I'll go to M.B.I. and try and work something out with Minaka, and either go back to the States or come to some arrangement. Now girls, I'm not asking you to like each other, but if we're going to live together, survive the Sekirei Plan, and you getting a relationship of something more than just an Ashikabi in name, then you need to find a way to get along among yourselves or any other Sekirei that may join this group. Do you girls understand what I'm saying?" Alex finished his rant.
Benitsubasa understood what he was getting at, it wasn't so much a threat from anger, it was more of "If you're not going to put in the effort then I won't" sort of thing. He also had a good point, when she was on the Disciplinary Squad, she and Haihane may have fought all the time, but they were a team and they worked together to get the job done regardless of how they felt about each other. If the three of them or any other Sekirei he Wings can't work together, it didn't matter how strong they were, they would only get so far in the Sekirei plan before they lost. So she understood where he was coming from, also coming home every day to house of fighting Sekirei would get old fast for anyone. But he was going to do his part and accept them into his life, now it was their turn, and she felt a feeling of understanding from her "sisters" through their bond. Though this did bring up another question she would need to find out later, was she part of the Disciplinary Squad anymore since Natsuo wasn't her Ashikabi? She'd need to get in contact with or meet with Minaka later. For now, it looked like the three of them were having a girl's day in.
Alex didn't mean for his answer to be so long winded but it was important he got what he was thinking across to them. It took a moment but instead of depression or desperation on their faces from his warning he saw understanding, followed by nods from all three Sekirei.
"I'm glad you all understand what I'm trying to do, and I know you can all get along because you were doing it yesterday, so you girls show me more of the same, ok" Alex asked with a small smile. He received another nod from the three of them as confirmation, and from their decided to continue.
"Alright then, Akitsu it's your turn. Is there anything you would like to ask?"
Akitsu didn't really have a need to ask anything, she was able to read Alex-kun well, also with sharing the bond with him for a longer period of time, and she could understand his emotions better as well. So she had no real questions or concerns, but she was curious about one thing. Who was that person in the picture that caused such a storm of emotions in him? It was obviously someone from his past, and more than likely she guessed it was another of his ex-girlfriends. But she's only heard of him speak of two of them, one of them with contempt and the other as a dear friend from what she overheard from the phone, this third one, to cause him such pain and yet to hold on to her picture….she had to know.
"Who was that in the picture? If it's too painful you don't have to say much." Akitsu asked
Benitsubasa and Uzume were curious as well, they could also feel the emotions from their Ashikabi through the bond at being asked this question, and they weren't pleasant. They could see and feel the depression and sadness after being asked this question and it bothered them that something, better yet someone could cause him so much pain, and yet he chose to keep a picture.
Alex took a deep breath, shut his eyes and sat in silence for a few moments to steady his emotions. The three Sekirei gave him the time he needed, this was obviously a very delicate and painful subject for him to talk about so they would be patient and wait for him to answer. After a minute or two Alex was finally able to work up the nerve to speak.
"The person in the picture is of a girl, she was my first girlfriend. We were very close, and while we met in middle school, we actually talked semi seriously about our lives together. But she…..passed away and it hit me pretty hard. If it wasn't for my second girlfriend, who was also the one who introduced us in the first place, helping me emotionally, I'm not sure what might have happened. I'm sorry but I'm not going to go into any more detail for now. I'll tell you all eventually, but I'm just not ready to share this yet." Alex explained, straining to keep his voice even at remembering a painful point in his life.
Alex took another breath and spoke again, "Was that answer satisfactory for all of you?"
The three Sekirei nodded in response, simply unsure of how to answer. More or less they all thought along the same lines that for now this was a topic best left alone for the time being. When he was ready to speak more about it, he'd share, but not before then. None of them could even image what it would be like to lose a loved one like their Ashikabi, how Alex could be so strong as to move on and be the person he is even after getting support was unthinkable.
Uzume had a bit more knowledge on this subject than Akitsu and Benitsubasa, but even then it was only and idea. She knew that Miya was married to Takehito, he was the Head Researcher at M.B.I. before Takami. While he wasn't her Ashikabi, she just didn't react to him, she loved him very much. When she asked her about him one time and the subject of his death came up, she admitted that she was devastated and it took her some time to recover. But Miya being like she was gave her a little token of wisdom she only now remembered at the end of their conversation which came up out of curiosity.
"I wonder….if Winged Sekirei were able to survive the death of their Ashikabi, could any of us really recover emotionally since we've bonded with them?" Miya questioned.
It was a good question, since the bond a Winged Sekirei has with their Ashikabi connected them on a much deeper emotional and psychological level. The thought in itself was scary, and the emotions she was feeling now from her new Ashikabi weren't pleasant. Even if Alex wasn't her ideal choice for an Ashikabi, she wouldn't want something to happen to him, and if she only felt a fraction of what he was now she wasn't sure how she could live with it.
The room remained quiet for a few moments, before Alex decided to speak up again. He sounded more in control of his emotions and then the three Sekirei could feel it as well.
"Now if there is nothing else on this subject, I will consider the matter closed until I feel like speaking with all of you again on this." Alex asked. Once more he received nods from the three Sekirei in response.
"Then this meeting is over. What the three of you do with your day from here is up to you, but again the end result when I get back better be the three of you finding a way to get along and the house being in one piece. Understood?" Alex stated, the authority coming back into his voice, again receiving another nod from the three Sekirei.
(Sigh) "Alright then; Akitsu. Would you follow me to my den so we can talk please?" Alex asked gently, sounding like he wasn't looking forward to this.
Akitsu gracefully stood up and walked to Alex's den with Alex standing up and following behind her. Akitsu opened the door and stepped in which Alex soon after and him flipping on the lights and closing the door leaving Benitsubasa and Uzume alone in the living room, wondering what they were going to talk about.
Alex motioned for Akitsu to take a seat on his day bed, which she quickly did near the head.
Akitsu herself was wondering what they were going to talk about.
"I wonder what Alex-kun wanted to talk about? He doesn't seem upset, but he does seem worried." Akitsu thought, trying to figure out what was on Alex's mind.
Alex himself took a seat next to her and seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Akitsu just patiently waited for him to speak while wondering what he was going to talk to her about. But she didn't have to wait long and once again he continued to surprise her.
"Akitsu, I am so very very sorry." Alex said simply, surprising the ice Sekirei.
"Wha..What do you mean Alex-kun?" Akitsu asked trying to overcome her confusion and figure out what he was apologizing for.
"I broke my promise to you about not Winging anymore Sekirei. I may not have been in much of a position to do much about it this morning and everything moved so fast, but that's not an excuse. I shouldn't have drank so much last night, otherwise this probably wouldn't have happened. Can you ever forgive me?" Alex asked, not even looking at her.
Akitsu couldn't believe what she was hearing. She was worried herself about something she may have done, but instead he was asking for her forgiveness.
Alex spoke up again, "If you want to yell or hit me to get some anger out of your system, go ahead, I deserve it. If anything it'll be a nice reminder of how bad I messed up with you." He said starting to lose some life in his voice. He started to feel himself slip back into a place of depression and disappointment he thought he left behind. And it all started because of that picture…whenever he saw it it brought back such happy but painful memories, which are why he had it packed away. But seeing it again was bad enough but tolerable, but when he saw it with the broken frame, it just flipped a switch in him for some reason. It took a lot of will power to get himself off the floor and get himself ready for the day and then talk with the three Sekirei. He almost was able to put it out of his head until one of them brought it up and he had a feeling one of them would, and it took a lot more out of him than he expected. While he believed it was a good thing to talk out your problems, this was the one time where it was easier to control them by keeping them bottled.
At this point Akitsu couldn't listen to anymore. She faced her body towards him, gently reached her cool hands out to touch his face and made him look at her. From their she brought her lips closer to his and kissed him gently, causing her light blue wings of light flooded the room. After a moment she broke the kiss and looked at him seriously, allowing him to see her without her "mask", she looked visibly upset to him right now, but not for the reason he was thinking.
Now it was Alex's turn to look surprised and confused at Akitsu's sudden actions.
"Never say such a thing ever again." Akitsu said coolly enough to match ice and continued. "I always thought I would be alone till you found me, then even though I was broken you were still able to Wing me, that proves that we're meant to be together. But while I knew you must have been a very strong Ashikabi to Wing me and even if you promised not to Wing anymore Sekirei, you would eventually attract others. I do want you to myself because I am afraid that you will say that you don't need me anymore. But now that it's happened, and even though I knew it was a selfish wish, I knew I would be depriving another Sekirei of their Ashikabi just like I was and it's a painful thing that I wouldn't wish on anyone. You'll probably have even more Sekirei, and that's something I'll have to accept no matter how much I want you to myself."
Akitsu then took his left hand and brought it to her right cheek and held it their tenderly, he could feel the coolness of her skin against his own. Alex was still looking surprised and confused. Akitsu's voice now took on a gentler tone.
"As long as you still love me and can still say it, I can be happy. There is no way I could ever be angry with you, so please don't say such things about yourself. And whatever you're feeling now from that picture, when you're ready, you can come to me and the others." Akitsu said.
Normally Alex never let his emotions get the better of him. But the situation with his first ex and his third were really some of the few times he didn't, though these were on the extreme ends of the spectrum, also mornings like this was rare. But right now he was about to lose it again, the frustration, anger, sadness, worry and depression were all rearing it's head and he broke down in front of Akitsu.
Alex embraced Akitsu in a strong hug and cried. Akitsu returned his embrace and just held him.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Alex kept repeating between his tears. Even though he knew Sekirei stayed with their Ashikabi for life, right now with the way his emotions were running wild and thanks to his last relationship he was scared about losing Akitsu from what happened.
Akitsu raised her right hand to his scalp and just ran her fingers through his hair trying to do what she could to comfort her Ashikabi. She had never imagined that someone could affect Alex so much emotionally that he would break down like this in front of her. She was glad he could confide in her, but he always seemed so strong, to see him like this upset her and she could feel his emotions through their bond. She wanted to take away that pain but after seeing it and feeling how deep it went it was going to take time. For now all she and the others could do if something happened again would be to comfort him the best they could till he was ready to share, then either find a way for him to get it back under control or deal with it once and for all. But for now her Ashikabi needed her.
"It's ok." Akitsu said soothingly while stroking his hair, all the while Alex continued to cry.
"Player One's" Home — Living Room — A Few Moments Later
Uzume and Benitsubasa waited patiently for Alex and Akitsu's come out of Alex's den, it had only been a few minutes, but still they were curious about what was going on behind the door.
"How long do you think they're going to be?" Benitsubasa asked.
"No idea, but have you been feeling that as well?" Uzume replied.
"Yeah…Alex-kun feels like he's in…..pain." Benitsubasa spoke, trying to understand the new feelings from the bond with her Ashikabi.
"I feel the same thing. I feel sorry for him; this morning had to have been a real rollercoaster for him." Uzume answered.
"But why is he only talking with her? It's not fair!" Benitsubasa complained in a huff.
"Well he has known her longer, and she is his first Sekirei. He probably had a few things he wanted to get off his chest and then just broke down, because I wasn't feeling this till all of a sudden. Give him some time and he'll open up to you, I'm sure of it." Uzume explained but also tried to cheer up the pink haired Sekirei.
Benitsubasa huffed again, slouched on the couch and stayed quiet for a moment then looked to Uzume and spoke again.
"What about you? He mentioned it and you don't seem happy or excited that you were Winged. Was Alex really not your Ashikabi?" Benitsubasa asked.
This time it was Uzume's turn to slouch into the couch. (Sigh) "No he wasn't….and this whole situation is awkward right now. But it's my own fault, and I could do worse for an Ashikabi, but I'm not sure what happens from here." Uzume answered, starting to think about Chiho.
"I'm sure he'd try and work something out with you so you can see who ever he's was supposed to be." Benitsubasa tried to assure her.
"It's a she." Uzume corrected.
"Oh….then this must be weird." Benitsubasa answered, feeling like she just stepped on a land mine.
"Not really, he's not bad to look at, and from what I remember kissing him was nice." Uzume admitted.
"So then things worked out then?" Benitsubasa asked, curious how this situation would turn out.
"I don't know…I need to have a talk with him along with a….friend of mine, from their we'll see. For now, like I asked before as long as he treats us fairly and lets me visit her, I think I can make this work." Uzume answered.
"You're taking this very well. I wouldn't be able to do that." Benitsubasa replied, thinking about being in her situation, she'd probably beat the person who wrongfully Winged her within an inch of their life.
"Well all things considered, if I was going to be with someone other than my real Ashikabi, then Alex-kun is probably one of the best options I could have." Uzume answered honestly, but then she moved her head to glance at the door to Alex's den and continued. "But right now, it seems like he might need some space and our help more than anything." Then faced forward after a moment.
Benitsubasa just nodded.
From their they sat in silence for a few more minutes, before they heard the door open and saw Alex and Akitsu walk through.
"I'm sorry that took so long girls." Alex said.
Uzume and Benitsubasa took a closer look at the both of them and saw that Alex seemed a bit better but his eyes looked red, and the right shoulder of Akitsu's kimono looked damp, further confirming the fact that the conversion that Alex had with Akitsu was an emotional one for him.
"Is everything ok?" Uzume asked, being the first one to speak up.
"I'm fine. Just some emotional baggage on my part, nothing you need to worry about." Alex replied, trying to downplay what he went through. If one good thing came out of this morning, it was the throbbing in his head disappeared, but in the last couple of minutes it started coming back and it's been getting steadily stronger.
Though the three Sekirei could tell he was trying to just be strong, he was still feeling some pain. It also bothered them that he belittled his emotions, if he was going to overcome his past with their help this was going to be a very long road. But for now he seemed to be pushing those feelings aside and focusing on clearing his mind so he could think straight.
"Anyway, I'm hoping you two were getting along while me and Akitsu were talking?" Alex continued. He received a nod from both Benitsubasa and Uzume.
"Good, now girls I'm taking off and I'll be back later tonight. Seven, maybe eight and I'll bring back dinner. What you three do, I don't care as long as you find a way to get along by the time I get back and the house doesn't look like a demilitarized zone. Understand?" Alex stated.
He received nods from all three of them.
"Alright then." Alex said.
From their Akitsu went back to join the other two Sekirei on the couch while Alex went back into his den to grab his "Bag of Holding", he made sure his iPad mini was in it, his iPod, earbuds, he decided to throw in some DVD's for later, he planned on finding a video room. Then he made sure he had his phone on his belt and grabbed his keys.
When he was ready he left his den and closed the door and made his way back toward the couch. "Alright I'm off, under different circumstances I'd give kisses good bye, but with Uzume-san's case, me and Benitsubasa-san not being close enough, it wouldn't be fair to only kiss Akitsu, so I'm not going to. So for now I'll just say have a good day and I'll see you all tonight." Alex said. He started to make his way to the door till to grab his light jacket with all the patches on it till Benitsubasa stood up and faced him to speak, making him stop.
"You are coming back, right?" Benitsubasa asked with a little bit of worry. She already understood his reasons but still that threat shook her up. She didn't want to lose Alex after just getting Winged so she would stay calm and get along…..even with that frigid bitch.
Akitsu had every intention of doing what Alex asked, so she would try to find a common ground with the other two Sekirei…even the pink haired one. She also knew that after such an emotional display she saw and felt from Alex that he needed her around him, so even if he carried out his threat it wouldn't be right way but she would make sure that wouldn't happen.
Uzume didn't have any problems with the other two Sekirei, to her everything that happened was just a fight that got out of hand with jealousy being the main cause. But some bonding time with her new sisters was a good idea to work out any remaining jealousy. But she wouldn't be the cause of Alex leaving, whether he was her real Ashikabi or not, and she still felt bad that she caused the events of this morning.
Alex looked back at her to answer, "Are you going to give me a reason not to?" He said simply.
Benitsubasa just shook her head.
"Then I have no reason to leave and you'll see me tonight. Benitsubasa-san, one thing you'll learn about me is I keep my promises, come hell or high water. Understand?" Alex stated gently.
It seemed that the pink haired Sekirei just needed to hear him say it, because she seemed to relax and nodded in reply.
"Yes Alex-kun." Benitsubasa replied simply.
Alex just realized he was also going to have to cover how addressing each other was going to work. "Well also be talking about honorifics when I get back. But in the meantime Akitsu can fill you in on my stance." He said.
Alex then continued to the door feeling the throbbing in his head spike, hard. Causing him to stop in his tracks after grabbing his jacket.
"Is your head bothering you again?" Akitsu asked, noticing the discomfort from her Ashikabi and was getting ready to move to his side should he need her.
"I'm fine, it's not like I haven't felt this before. If anything I think I'm getting used to it….not sure if that's a good thing?" Alex answered and continued. "Anyway I'm gone; I'll see you all tonight."
Alex put on his "soaps" and grabbed his jacket, all the while feeling the throbbing in his head get stronger and now it was at the point where he felt it's reached its peak. He just tried to ignore it and just leave, he undid the locks on the door and opened it but he wasn't expecting to see someone standing there.
Upon opening the door he saw that office lady from M.B.I. that was in the finance office that also showed him and Akitsu the house. This was a bit of a surprise…..
"Oh…hey….I wasn't expecting you to be there." Alex said feeling a bit caught off guard that someone was just standing outside his door.
The lady in question was wearing a grey work suit (a gold M.B.I. pin was in her lapel) with a white dress shirt today along with a skirt that just went past the knees and simple pair of black heels. Today her brown hair was done in a bun with "chopsticks". She seemed to to have a few clothing bags in tow with her…..but something also seemed off, she seem to have a lot of color in her cheeks.
"M.B.I. detected that you Winged two more Sekirei, the President sent me with a few extra sets of their battle clothes." She stated handing him the bags.
"Oh, thanks….but no offense this seems more like something one of the "suits" would be doing. Aren't you busy to be playing delivery girl?" Alex asked taking the bags from her. Akitsu, Benitsubasa and Uzume were peeking their heads around the corner to see what was going on.
"I am, but I…..wanted to come back here." She said, struggling to get the words out.
"Ok…weirdness aside from your answer, are you ok? You're not looking so good." Alex asked, placing the bags in the entryway and put his focus back on the woman in front of him.
"I'm fine…I'll be doing better soon enough?" She said still taking a few more ragged breaths while wringing her hands.
"Alright…so long as you ok, but if you'll excuse me I'm I have some thi-" Alex said still feeling a bit weirded out from her behavior, till she lunged at him and locked lips.
Akitsu and Benitsubasa saw this and and grew angry at this woman suddenly kissing their Ashikabi. They were both about to head over and break them apart. Who did she think she was!?
But that was about to be answered.
Suddenly simple ash grey wings appeared from her back, bathing them all in their light, stopping the other two Sekirei in their tracks. Once more Alex was in shock from the suddenness of being kissed again for the third time today and the electric like feeling he got from her tongue wrapping around his and traveling to his brain.
After the light had died down, the woman took a step back so she could look at him. She lifted her right hand to her hair and removed the "chopsticks" letting her hair down and suddenly he noticed her eye color changed from brown to amber, and then as she spoke he heard her voice change.
"Sekirei Number 55 Saki is now yours please take care of me as I will of you my Ashikabi." The girl in front of him said with a smile on her face and color in her cheeks.
Alex just looked at the girl that was a little taller than him thanks to the heels with his mind blank for a few seconds.
"Another one…I got another one…Why am I getting more action than I ever did in college? Why the hell is this happening now? Someone please just hang me…." Alex thought in frustration.
"Helllloooooo, Ashikabi-kun you in their?" Saki asked waving her hand in front of him trying to get his attention. He had been standing there quite for a few moments.
Alex just looked at her feeling exhausted, once again worrying about another's happiness and wellbeing. He looked back to see his other three Sekirei all peering around the corner wondering what he was going to do. All probably wondering if this just pushed him passed his braking point, but running just because of a new Sekirei wasn't fair to any of them. But he really didn't need this right now.
(Sigh) "Girls, would you mind filling her in on what's going on. I'm.….I'm going to take the car. It'll probably be better that way." Alex stated to the three Sekirei looking around the corner.
He received nods from them, and then with a sigh he removed his shoes and made his way to his den once more so he could grab the keys to one of his cars and then the basement/garage leaving his newest Sekirei wondering what was going on. Which was an unusual feeling for her since she was M.B.I.'s spy so she was well informed about most things.
"Am I missing something?" Saki asked, still feeling very confused and a bit disappointed at the lack of affection from her new Ashikabi. This wasn't exactly how she pictured her first meeting to go.
Uzumi was the one of the trio to approach her and usher her into the house so she could remove her shoes and close and lock the door.
"It's a bit of a story….the short version is we're more or less in a time out till tonight when he gets back and I guess you'll be joining us." Uzumi explained.
"What!? What did you three do!?" Saki asked in surprise. She couldn't imagine what three Sekirei could do in a span of about an hour and a half to upset their Ashikabi to the point where he was going out and making them stay and play nice. One thing was for certain, she had the perfect first day planned to spend with her Ashikabi, and she wasn't going to miss out on being able to go outside and latch on to his arm like a real couple, she went to a lot of trouble to override the computer so M.B.I. AND The President wouldn't notice her and the other two Sekirei's Winging for a while, and she'll be damned if that hard work went to waste.
"Again, it's bit of a story. But we might as well head to the living room and explain everything." Uzume explained once more trying to be the voice of reason.
Akitsu and Benitsubasa decided to chime in as well at this point and give Uzume some support.
"You are one of our Ashikabi's Sekirei, you would do well to listen to the instructions he's given us." Akitsu stated, her voice lacking in emotion and her "mask" up around the new Sekirei. Even though she just finished her private conversation with Alex and she was willing to try and get along with her new "sisters", she wasn't exactly thrilled to have to share "her" Ashikabi with yet another Sekirei, and Benitsubasa was feeling the same.
"He's already upset with us, don't make things worse." Said Benitsubasa, doing an amazingly good job of keeping her temper under control.
But that answer didn't sit well with Saki, and she really didn't want to hear anything coming from someone on the Disciplinary Squad when she was a member before the pink haired Sekirei, though she didn't know that, only Minaka, Takami and Karasuba were the only ones to know who she was and what she did, and she intended to keep it that way for now until after she spent some time with her new Ashikabi. But right now Saki was more frustrated than angry and marched past the three Sekirei and went to Alex's den to see if he was there, after opening the door and not seeing her Ashikabi she made her way to the basement/garage, all the while being tailed by the other Sekirei.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing!" Benitsubasa yelled at the new Sekirei.
"I'm going to see my ashikabi." Saki said with determination making her way through the kitchen.
"Everyone just settle down." Uzume once again tried to get the situation under control. She could guess that their new sister had a much different image in mind after getting Winged, and she probably just wanted a little reassurance and some time to spend with Alex. But with the way Alex was feeling, he just wanted some space for himself right now to wrap his head around the situation and adding another Sekirei to the mix suddenly after all that's happened wasn't helping his mental stress.
Saki quickly opened the door to the basement with the other Sekirei still following and started going down the stairs and rounded the corner going down another set of stairs seeing Alex sitting on the last step finishing tying his shoes with his messenger bag set on the ground in front of him.
"Hey! This is not how today is supposed to go." Saki declared sternly with a bit of a pout.
Uzume, Akitsu and Benitsubasa all stopped behind her and just watched to see what would happen, not wanting to upset Alex only just after him calming down after all that's happened. But they did feel sorry for sorry for their new "sister" at how suddenly things were happening and not the way any Sekirei probably would have imagined.
"Really?" Alex replied simply not even looking back and finished tying his shoe.
"Yeah! We're supposed to spend the day together getting to know one another. Maybe even get closer…." Saki stated as if it were fact and slowly trailed off thinking about all the things they could be doing even with the other Sekirei in their group, she was a very girly romantic so it was fairly obvious what she was imagining with the light blush on her face.
"That's good to know, but I'm not at that point with you yet." Alex replied simply, he tried to keep his voice from sounding uncaring or cruel, but let her know that he wasn't exactly in the best of moods right now.
Saki lost her blush for one reason and was now getting it for another after hear that, and groaned in frustration.
After Alex was done tying his shoes he got up, grabbed his "Bag of Holding" and made his way towards his Mustang.
All the girls only now realize what nice cars Alex owned including Saki, she may have given him a tour of the house and explored the place a bit herself before he arrived but she never looked in the garage, but that was in the back of her mind at the moment.
Alex opened the door, put his bag onto the passenger seat and then got in himself and shut the door. Alex opened the garage door and pushed the starter button to turn on the car so he could open the window on the drive side because it looked like Saki still had more to say.
She marched over and put her hands on the door and leaned down so she could look at him better.
"I don't know what happened, and I'm not used to the bond yet. But that's not any reason to leave me or the others!" Saki said loudly.
Alex reached into his bag and took out a small sturdy case and continued speaking. "You weren't here for this morning's events and they weren't exactly a shining moment for anyone here. Also I ran an emotional gauntlet a little while ago and I need some time to clear my head and figure out how this is all going to work, especially now that I have yet another Sekirei to care for and their happiness to worry about. I'm assuming the others have already offered to fill you in, so I suggest that you do that because I'll be straight with you, I just don't have the patience right now to do it nor am I in the mood to do so right now." Alex explained tiredly. From their he opened the case and inside was his pair of prescription Oakley's and he swapped them with his current glasses.
For a moment Saki was taken back that Alex was taking off for different reasons than she initially thought. At first she thought maybe more than one Sekirei may have been too much and he just didn't want to take his commitment to them seriously. But he was taking it very seriously. She'll admit she was emotional right now, and the emotions she's feeling from the bond from her Ashikabi probably weren't helping before she was used to it. She was spy, and her training and experience told her she needed information and patience was her best course of action now, so she'd go wait with her new sisters..…..but she still wanted her lovey dovey time!
"So you're just going to take off!? It's not safe in the city!" Saki said trying to convince Alex to stay.
"I missed the part where I'm supposed to care." Alex replied simply, and continued, he looked at her and she could see her reflection in his sunglasses. "Look, I know this isn't probably how you thought everything was going to go but please be patience, head upstairs, relax and get to know the others. Theirs's still plenty more to talk about and I promise I will get to you as well. Until then, please be patient. And like I told the others, if something happens I'll call. Otherwise end of discussion."
With that Alex pressed his foot down on the brake and pressed the starter button on the car once more to actually start the car, and the stereo instantly resumed from where it left off after syncing with his iPhone wirelessly and started blaring, not to the point to where it was uncomfortable but it was still loud, and it was worse that it was in an enclosed space.
2*(...I hit a home run right over your fucking head
If you don't like it, you can go home
I'm a winner
Winning comes naturally to me,
I'm a winner
And I'm a real nice guy, don't take it from me
Don't wanna talk about losing
I ain't got time for none of that crap
Well, check me out, I'm a winner
I'm on a non-stop victory lap, I'm a winner…..)*
From here Alex released the parking brake and shifted the car from park to 1st and pulled out of the garage….probably a tiny bit faster than he should have, once he hit the street he made a right, in the direction of the city. Then he quickly shifted into 2nd and took off leaving the four Sekirei in garage behind.
Uzume once more trying to be the one to lighten the mood spoke up.
"Well if nothing else, we know we'll get to ride around with him in a nice car in the future." Uzume said cheerfully.
"That's something to look forward to." Benitsubasa replied.
Akitsu simply nodded in confirmation.
(Sigh) "I guess we might as well head upstairs and you can explain everything." Saki said feeling a bit depressed but accepting the situation.
With that, Akitsu hit the garage door button to close it and then the group headed upstairs to explain things to their newest sister and get to know each other. While they were at it, try and figure out what they were going to do for lunch.
End of Chapter (Part 1)
*1 = Music 1 is "Regular Life" from the album N.E.R.D.
*2 = Winner - By : Cheeseburger
