An assassin's new beginning:
Chapter 7: Post-winging
As Karasuba finished her incantation, the glowing translucent grey wings that had sprouted from her back dissipated completely. Vanishing as soon as they came.
Karasuba collapsed back into Hits chest shortly thereafter, a look of bliss on her face as Hit kept her balanced against him by holding her shoulders as gently as he could.
They remained like that for a couple of seconds until Karasuba looked up, her gaze meeting Hit's. Her normal smile returned to her face, only this one carried some affection with it specifically, and exclusively for him.
"My my… that was… quite exhilarating. Wouldn't you agree, Hit?" She asked, her tone carrying amusement with it.
Hit simply nodded his head in agreement, not having much to say about what had just happened. Or what he had felt during the moment.
"Hmm.. so that was it huh? This is the 'winging' process that Minaka told us about…" She commented, resting her head against Hit's chest and taking a weird form of pleasure inside from how good it actually felt to do so.
"Winging process?" Questioned Hit, choosing now to speak up. A curious gaze on Karasuba.
Karasuba let out a light Chuckle at his expression, finding a bit of humour in how her Ashikabi had no clue what she was talking about.
"I'm guessing Minaka didn't tell you?" She asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer. Hit nodded his head once more in the affirmative, garnering another small chuckle from her. "I suppose I might as well tell you then. Seeing as you and I are now bonded to one another."
She went on. "From what I've been told, we as Sekirei, in order to realize our full potential, must be winged by our chosen Ashikabi, who we are meant to react to, to let us know he or she is the one. The one that, in that fool Minaka's own words 'is the one person in this world we will love and cherish the most.' If you are wondering about the reaction part, it's basically what you just saw happen to me a few minutes ago. Once we are winged by them, our souls are bonded to theirs and our destinies become intertwined… or so they say anyway."
As she finished her explanation, Hit nodded his head for about the third time in this conversation thus far, now having a much better understanding of what was going on.
And also a realisation that Minaka had undoubtedly known about Karasuba reacting to him from the start, which was why he had sent him to her first. Bastard didn't even have the decency to give him a warning first, he had just sent him in blind, probably to laugh his ass off at his reaction to the whole thing.
"I must say, when I first heard it, I thought it was just a bunch of nonsense. Now though… I have to admit, they knew what they were talking about. What I just felt there, when we kissed… I can't even describe how euphoric that sensation was…" She said, sounding rather surprised, as if she had just had a ground breaking epiphany.
Again, Hit would not admit it outright, but he agreed with her one hundred percent on that one. That sensation he had felt in that moment was like nothing he had ever felt before in the many, many years he had lived. Heck, even now as he held her shoulders while she rubbed her head against his chest, Hit felt a part of his soul practically swoon at her touch, taking pleasure in the current intimacy of the two as they both stood back up, her head still on him as he held her shoulders.
Of course, the moment was ruined not long after that as Hit heard the sounds of feet planting and pattering on the floor behind the door in a rush, indicating whoever was coming up to the door was literally sprinting in their direction.
The door slid open quick, and a figure practically bounced into the room with excitement clear on his face. Speak of the devil… It was Minaka.
"Hit! Congratulations on becoming the very first Ashikabi! I just knew you could do it!" He said, giving Hit an enthusiastic, and rather exaggerated thumbs up with a look of pride on his face before he turned to Karasuba.
"And you too Karasuba! Congratulations on being the first Sekirei to be winged by her chosen Ashikabi! You must be feeling so excited right now! Because I know I am, haha!" He laughed jovially, looking for all the world like a doting father who had just watched his kid grow up before his eyes and get married. It was really weird if Hit was being honest as he looked over his shoulders at the animated Minaka.
"That fool sounds more excited about this than even we do. My god is he annoying…" Remarked Karasuba, an annoyed look in her eyes as she stared at Minaka, though her smile did not disappear.
"You're not wrong about that, he can certainly be quite the pest when he wants too." Said Hit, making sure that both Karasuba and Minaka could hear him.
Minaka seemed to gain a hurt expression on his face at his words, while Karasuba let out an amused laugh at Minaka's expense. They both could tell that Minaka wasn't actually offended.
"Glad to see we're in agreement Hit, or I should I just call you my 'dear Ashikabi' now? Or perhaps 'husband' would be better?" Sheasked teasingly, her delicate left brow raising as she looked at him with the most innocent look she could muster. Which, given the type of person she was, was rather impressive.
Hit merely gave her a deadpanned expression, his face a complete mask of stoicism as he replied. "Neither, just call me by my name." He said, his voice carrying with it the barest hints of annoyance, which Karasuba was able to catch.
"Oh really? Now that's such a shame…" A sigh escaped her lips, clearly faked and she made no attempt to hide it, as she locked gazes with Hit. Mirth clear in her eyes as she had a little fun at his expense. "I guess that means I'll have to cross off all the pet names I was going to come up with for you. Such a waste."
Hit let his hands fall to his sides as she stepped back from him, clearly even more amused than before as she noted how his right eye began twitching.
The torture didn't stop there it would seem, as Minaka lost his mock hurt expression and gained a playful smile on his face. "Oh come now Hit, don't be a spoiled sport. I'd personally love to hear the pet names she could come with! Hell, I might even give her some suggestions myself."
Hit turned fully at this to meet Minaka's gaze, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You'll do no such thing, Minaka. You won't like what happens if you do…" Said Hit rather ominously, the thinly veiled threat easily being noticed by both Minaka and Karasuba.
Minaka gulped. "Ehehe, I was just kidding. No need to get violent Hit, I was just having a little fun, no need to be such a grouch." He replied, his hands waving in front of him in a placating manner as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.
Hit closed his eyes briefly as a sigh cut through his lips, his index finger and thumb moving up to his eye lids, his head bowing in a small form of frustration.
Karasuba gave Hit yet another amused look before she turned to Minaka, her tone becoming a bit more serious. "So, care to tell us why you're down here than? I sincerely doubt you came over here just to praise us. There has to be something else to it."
At this, Minaka straightened up, his posture suddenly becoming akin to that of a child in a candy store as he wrung his hands while having a skip to his step as he approached them. He honestly looked like a complete idiot right now in Hit's eyes. As he started speaking though, Hit felt another presence reach the room, an aura of anger and irritation in it that was directed at Minaka.
"How astute of you, Karasuba. Yes, as unfortunate as it sounds, I didn't come down here just to congratulate you. As soon as I saw on the monitor you had been winged I rushed down here as soon as I could. I'd love to run some tests on you to see how your body has changed now that you're winged. The excitement is killing me inside! I can't wait to see what changes have happened to you! This is truly a pivotal moment in our research! Hahahaha-Ooph!" Minaka grunted as heel of a foot impacted against his skull, sending him plummeting to the ground in a heap. A large comical bump visible on his head where he was struck. His eyes swirling around as if he was in a cartoon.
Standing right behind the crumpled mess that was Minaka on the floor, and was the main reason he was sprawled out on the floor, was none other than Takami, who had the most comically angry expression on her features that Hit had ever seen.
"GOD DAMMIT MINAKA! DON'T JUST RUSH OUT OF THE ROOM WHILE WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF ANALYSING THE SEKIREI LIKE A DAMN CHILD!, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH EQUIPMENT YOU KNOCKED OVER WHILE RUNNING HERE YOU IDIOT!" She screamed intensely, getting Minaka to whimper on the ground from her molten gaze that was fixed unto him. Shit, he was in the doghouse now…
Karasuba couldn't help but blink in astonishment at Takami, not just for how she assaulted Minaka and screamed at him, but also how she continued to chastise him even as she lifted him up by the scruff of his neck as if he was a four year old.
"DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR MINAKA!? OR DO I HAVE TO CONVINCE YOU ANOTHER WAY NOT TO DO THAT AGAIN?" She shouted, cracking the knuckles on her free hand rather menacingly in his face.
Minaka's face paled so much at that point you'd swear he was a ghost. "N-no that's quite alright T-Takami! I won't do it again, I-I swear! Now please, don't hurt me!" He whimpered again like a coward, not wanting to face Takami's wrath. In fact, he'd rather deal with whatever Hit would do to him if he helped Karasuba come up with a pet name for him than face her womanly fury! He was too young to die an excruciating death!
Even Hit had to blink in astonishment as Takami utterly cowed Minaka into submission. Even he hadn't garnered such a fearful reaction from him when he threatened him mere minutes ago. If he was being truthful, he felt his respect for Takami rise up considerably with this display.
It took a minute, but Takami finally calmed down, her features softening as she placed Minaka down on his knees and looked over at both himself and Karasuba. A small smile making its way on to her face as she finally regarded them with her attention, Minaka having been dealt with for now.
"So, you two got hitched huh? I gotta say I'm not really all that surprised Hit. You may not have paid it any mind awhile back when you met her, but we could tell the moment she blushed at you that she was reacting to you in some way. I'm pretty sure you've already figured it out by this point that that's why this idiot-" She said, pointing down at Minaka. "-sent you to her before any of the other Sekirei." She finished, fishing out a cigarette from her lab coat pocket and placing it in her mouth, before cursing as she remembered she'd handed over her lighter to Takehito. Having given it to him as he didn't want her to pop a smoke in the lab, and would only give it back when she was ready to go outside.
"You know, you really shouldn't be smoking Takami. It's bad for your health." Chimed in Minaka with a disappointed tone as he stood up, and then recoiled as Takami levelled him with a glare.
"Minaka, if I were you, I wouldn't open my mouth about what someone else likes to do, especially if said someone is still pissed at you for doing something stupid. So, if you would, please shut the fuck up." She cursed, her words being enough to silence him once again, having gotten the memo that she was NOT in the mood to be lectured by HIM of all people. As if he needed a reminder that she was about ready to throttle him right now for his antics.
With him dealt with, she let out a despondent breath as she placed her cigarette back into her pocket for later. Her attention coming back to the brand new Ashikabi and Sekirei in front of her.
"With that being said, I do have to agree with Minaka on one thing. I'm also rather curious to see what's changed about you Karasuba. As of this moment, we only have second hand information from the data we scrounged up about what occurs to a Sekirei once they've been winged. With your help, if you'd please, we should be able to get a much better understanding as we note the effect it has on you first hand. I know Takehito can't wait to see it either." She added at the end of her explanation, knowing that her friend would be thrilled in his own way to see the difference himself first hand rather than simply read it off a data bank.
Karasuba regarded her with a displeased gaze, her smile faltering just a bit as she stole a brief glance back at her Ashikabi. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose I might as well." She said, her tone matching the look in her eyes as she stalked forward, passing Takami as she headed for the door.
Takami sweat dropped at this, knowing full well with her response that she had no interest in doing that whatsoever, and would've much rather stayed close to her Ashikabi, which she couldn't fault her for.
"I guess I'll see you later, my dear Ashikabi. Don't be a stranger now…" Remarked Karasuba with her head turned to the side in such a way to where she was giving him a sideways glance.
Hit let out a low grumble at her words, not appreciating how she had ignored what he told her to call him before and had referred to him the way she had teased him about. Great, just great… Guess that meant he had to look forward to a pet name from her in the future too. Joy to the world…
Minaka in that moment, chose to high tail it and run. His feet carrying him out of the room swiftly as he followed Karasuba to the testing table where he knew Takehito was, while simultaneously avoiding Takami in case she turned on him again. Killing two birds with one stone.
Hit was about to make his way out as well, until he felt Takami place her hand on his shoulder, stopping him from advancing.
He turned back to her as a dead serious look adorned her face, letting him know that she held him back for something important.
"Before you go Hit, I should tell you right now it'd be a good idea to visit Matsu next, whether it be today or tomorrow." She said, her request confusing him.
"That's the red headed one with the glasses right? Why her next?" He asked, wanting to know why her specifically and why he couldn't just meet the rest of them randomly.
Takami let out a breath, knowing that Hit might not take this well. "As we were monitering her last night, she began to mumble in her sleep as her face started to heat up."
"And?" Hit asked cautiously, having the odd feeling he wasn't going to like where this was going…
"The thing is… she was mumbling about you in her sleep." She said, noting the grimace that came over his face.
"Don't tell me…" He trailed off, his mind working out what she was about to say before she even said it.
"I studied what was going on with her body, and came to the only logical conclusion. She, like Karasuba, is beginning to react to you…"
AND CUT!
Hey everyone, I'm back to this story! Sorry it took so long, a combination of writers block and personal stuff in real life caused me to put this on temporary hiatus. But now, it's back!
I don't know whether to call Hit a lucky bastard, or an unlucky bastard right now. First Karasuba, and now Matsu apparently. Oh dear. Hit good luck with that when you get to it, Matsu's certainly a handful.
Also yes, I am aware I've just changed a canon pairing between her and Minato, but hey, I thought I'd shake things up a bit. She'll more than likely also be the only one changing, as I'll have Minato keep the rest of his flock when he appears in the story.
Regardless of that, I'll see you guys again on the next chapter of 'An assassin's new beginning'. See ya next time!
