Secret of the Ashikabi

Maison Izumo


Where am I? What is this place...? Minato looked around the unfamiliar area. He seemed to be in the middle of a jungle or forest of some kind, but he could not quite remember how he even got there. As he observed his surroundings, he noticed that things did not seem to be in focus. Almost as if there was a haze that obscured everything slightly.

He tried to remember how he got here. The last thing he could recall was walking back to the apartment with Akitsu and, upon arriving, explaining the situation to Musubi. She had seemed surprised to see Akitsu there, and both of them were at first a little hostile to each other, but Minato made it clear that he cared for both of them. And hurting each other would mean hurting Minato, and that was the last thing on their minds. In any case, that was pretty much the last thing he remembered. Next thing he knew, he woke up here.

How strange... he thought, scratching his head.

Everything around him also seemed to glow strangely greenish. A bright light in the distance appeared all of a sudden, catching his attention. Curious, he began to walk towards it. What made his situation stranger was that instead of the usual noises of the forest, there was simply a constant humming sound that filled his ears.

Minato got closer to the light, which was bright enough to force him to partly cover his eyes with his arm. He stopped about ten feet away from the light, unable to go any further because it was way too bright that he could barely even see.

Without warning, the light's intensity dropped considerably. He lowered his arm, squinting still as his eyes adjusted to the lower light levels. Standing before him, where the light had been coming from, was a little girl. She wore a simple white dress that went to her knees and had long dark blonde hair, slightly yellowish, and large green eyes that looked at him with... hope? He was not sure.

She leaped into the air and to Minato's surprise floated across the space between them, coming very close to the young man. Her hands stretched out towards him. "Please. Help me," she spoke, her voice full of fear. "Help me big brother."

Minato raised a hand and reached out to grab the closest hand of hers, but then she began to float away. "Hey! Wait! Where are you going?" he called out as he stepped forward, hand still outstretched towards her.

"Please, big brother! Help me!" she called as she floated away faster and slowly began to disappear.

"Wait!" he yelled, starting to run.

With a jolt, Minato sat upright on his bed. His breathing was ragged and his heart rate was slightly elevated. He looked about him and recognized that he was in his room in the old apartment. On either side of him lay two girls, both of whom slowly woke up.

"Is there... something wrong, Minato?" asked a sleepy Musubi.

Akitsu gave him a worried look, but said nothing.

Minato rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, shaking his head as he did so. "No, nothing's wrong. It was just a dream..." His gaze drifted to the window, where moonlight was streaming in. The dream had felt so real, so vivid. And that little girl...

He noticed that the two girls were still looking at him with concern and he smiled, laying back down. "Don't worry girls, I promise it was nothing but a dream. Come on, let's get some more sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Musubi and Akitsu shared a look before they snuggled up to Minato on either side of him, causing the young man to blush and stiffen slightly. He was still not used to having Musubi with him, and now with Akitsu there it was even harder to get used to. They were way too attractive.

It took him a while to drift back into sleep, all the while thinking about the little girl that was in his dream.

-xxxxxx-

Musubi was already up and getting breakfast ready by the time Minato stirred from his sleep. Akitsu still clung to his left side, though she too was already awake. She was content to simply lie there next to him, watching him as he slept, her arms wrapped around his left arm and her head resting on his shoulder. She had not felt this happy in a long, long time.

She shifted her position so that she could get a better look at his face, his eyes slow to open as he yawned. She was his now. He had given her a purpose, a chance. He had told her that he would care for her and not throw her away. And that was all she really wanted. She would not disappoint him. No. She would do everything she could to please him, because she did not want to be discarded again.

"Mmm..." Minato stretched, "Good morning, Akitsu." He gave her a sleepy smile, noticing that she was wearing some of Musubi's clothes.

"Good morning, Minato." She squeezed his arm before letting it go and sitting up to allow him to move.

Minato sat up as well and stretched again. He looked at the clock that hung on the wall. It was nine in the morning. He rubbed his face. He needed to find a place to move to tonight, else they be thrown out onto the street by tomorrow. And he was sure that his landlord would not have any mercy this time, especially considering he now had Akitsu there as well. Having one girl with him was bad enough in the landlord's eyes, but to have two would probably really push him over the edge.

It was as he stood up that he noticed he was in his pajamas and he had no recollection of changing into them. Come to think of it, I don't remember too much of what happened after Akitsu and I returned... he thought.

He looked at Akitsu, who was still sitting down on the bed and looking back at him. "Hey Akitsu, what... what happened last night? I can't really remember much."

"You passed out from exhaustion, plus it did not help that you had lost some blood in the fighting," she explained in a neutral tone, "So your other Sekirei and I we cleaned you up and changed your clothes then brought you to bed."

Minato gave a nod, "Oh, thanks then." Then his eyes widened and he did a double take, "WAIT! You did what?"

"Is there something the matter?" she asked, not understanding his reaction.

"You... you... you two cleaned me up... and... and changed me?"

"Yes."

"But... but..." Minato looked down at his pajamas, heat rising to his face as the realization of what had happened hit him.

"What is wrong, Minato?" asked Akitsu, genuinely worried.

He took a deep breath to try and calm himself. "Uhhh... nevermind that. Nothing's wrong. . . Nothing! Come on, let's go see if breakfast is ready." With that he walked out of the room.

Akitsu watched him go with a quizzical look but then got up and followed him. Her Ashikabi could be really weird at times.

"Good morning, Minato!" greeted a happy Musubi, her eyes closing as she smiled at him.

"Morning, Musubi. Is breakfast ready?"

"Almost! Give me a few more minutes!"

Minato said, "Okay, take your time," before turning on the television and sitting down several feet in front of it.

Akitsu walked in and greeted Musubi and then sat down next to Minato, grabbing his arm and resting her head on his shoulder again. The way she was acting it was almost as if she was afraid he would leave her.

"... in other news, the abnormal growth of plants in the Arboretum has not stopped yet. MBI, the managing company, says that they are not taking the situation lightly and fully intend to find and correct the problem," said the female news anchor. "Now, on to the weather..."

"Oh right!" Minato looked reached into the pocket of his pajamas for his cellphone, but it was not there. Oh, right. They changed my clothes last night, it's probably still in my jeans... he thought. "Hey Akitsu, I need to get my phone..."

"Okay," she said, letting him go.

Sure enough the phone was still in the pocket of the jeans he wore the night before. He flipped it open and pressed speed-dial #1. "MOM" appeared on the screen along with a picture of her and two kids, one of whom was Minato.

"Hello, Minato. What is it?" answered the familiar voice of his mother after the phone rang a few times.

"Hi, mom. I was calling to tell you that I'm going to move soon."

"MOVE?! At a time like this? What are you thinking?"

"I know, mom. I'm sorry, but..." he turned to look at Musubi and then Akitsu, "It's complicated."

His mother sighed on the other end of the line. "I'm really busy right now, Minato.. anything else?"

"Well, you see... about my allowance.."

"It's cut in half," she stated simply.

"Wait, what? But, that's not fair!" he protested, panicking.

"Look, Minato. Until you get into a college, your allowance is cut in half. Since you're not attending classes right now, you should be able to find a job. Goodbye, Minato. I've got to go." She hung up.

Minato slowly lowered the phone as well as his head, slumping his shoulders down too. Great, just great...

"Breakfast is ready!" announced a happy Musubi.

-xxxxxx-

Minato had his hands in his pockets, his gaze directed downwards as he hunched over. Musubi and Akitsu trailed behind him, eyeing him with concern. They had spent the whole day looking, and with his previous allowance he would have been able to afford a few places, but now that it was cut in half there was nothing he could afford. And since he did not have a job yet, there simply was no way they would be able to find a place before the landlord kicked them out the next day.

Minato was walking aimlessly, no real direction in mind as he thought over and over again about how he had failed to find a place and the consequences of that failure. The whole situation was magnified because he had two girls that he was supposed to be taking care of, as their Ashikabi. Why did this have to happen to him? First the entrance exams, now this? He could not fathom why these girls would ever like him. Minato, the failure.

He sighed as he kept walking, unaware that he had wandered into the same park that he had been at the night before where he had first met Akitsu.

Musubi knew she had to do something, but she was not sure what exactly. She followed her Ashikabi, hands clasped in front of her, concerned for his well-being. He was clearly devastated by the fact that they had not been able to find a new apartment to move to. She turned to Akitsu, who was feeling much the same way though was even more clueless about what to do in the current situation.

A few drops of water fell from the sky, and Minato sighed inwardly as he felt them.

It started to rain harder.

He stopped walking. The two girls behind him following suit, a few steps away. They turned to each other, unsure of what to do. Then Musubi had an idea. She gave a nod to Akitsu, who gave her a curious look but said nothing. The brunette walked over to Minato and grabbed his hand, breaking his train of thought and making him look at her.

His eyes were full of defeat and shame. He could not hold her gaze so he looked away, though he did not remove his hand from her grasp.

"Minato," started Musubi, the rain getting stronger and drenching them all. "It will all work out. Don't worry."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry... I failed you girls. I failed... to find a new home for us... I am a failure.." He turned to look at her, then turned some more so he could look at Akitsu, who had come closer at that point. "I'll understand if you don't want me as an Ashikabi anymore... it's okay. You can... you can leave me if you want. I'll understand. I'm nothing special after all."

Akitsu launched herself at him and hugged him from behind. All three of them ignored the fact that they were soaked and at this point somewhat cold, not that it phased Akitsu at all anyway. She held him tightly. "You fool," she said softly, "I would never leave you. No matter what happens, I am yours."

Musubi was still holding his left hand and gave it a squeeze of reassurance. "I won't leave you either, Minato. My place is here, by your side. To me you're the most special person in the world. I will never leave you."

He drew comfort and strength from their words, and the fear he initially had of them leaving was replaced with relief. And happiness.

Unexpectedly, Musubi let go of his hand. She reached up and put her palms on his cheeks then leaned in for a kiss. Akitsu felt the movements and let go of Minato for a moment, stepping back as she watched the scene unfold.

A bright pink light emanated from Musubi as she kissed him, and wings of energy seemed to sprout from behind her. Akitsu could feel the power radiating off of her, and at that moment she truly envied her. So this is what it's like... the true bond between Ashikabi and Sekirei. She wished that she could have the same with Minato, though she knew that it was no more than a dream.

"Musubi..." Minato said in a soft voice, surprised at the kiss. Her lips are so soft... and she looks so beautiful...

Musubi began to glow with a pink light. "I swear, Minato. I'll do anything for you. Whatever you can possibly wish for, I'll do it," she looked upward, extending her hands, "I would even break through those clouds to reach the moon, and some day... to the higher sky above!" Looking back at Minato, she crossed her arms in front of her and closing her eyes she chanted, "By my fists of the contract, my Ashikabi's perils will be shattered!"

Then she reached out and grabbed Minato's hand. "Well, shall we go?"

"Huh?" responded a bewildered Minato.

Around them swirled a strong wind that came out of nowhere. Akitsu jumped backwards as she felt the energies being released from Musubi, marveling at the scene unfolding before her. If only I could do such a thing with Minato as well, she thought as she hugged herself.

A whirlwind appeared around the dark-haired boy and the brunette, who jumped up into the air while holding onto Minato's arm. To his surprise, they began to fly up into the sky as the whirlwind followed them. It looked like a tornado by the time they reached the clouds, and they did indeed burst through them like Musubi had said they would. The whirlwind that they brought along with them scattered the clouds and the rain stopped, revealing a beautiful, clear sky full of shining stars and a lovely full moon.

They floated high above the city holding each other's hand, a soft breeze blowing. The whirlwind had dried them, though the temperature was still a bit chilly, especially up where they were. Minato was awed at what had transpired as well as with the scenery he was enjoying. The many lights of the city shining and twinkling to match the stars that shone and twinkled above. And the moon, it looked so beautiful that night.

"This is amazing, Musubi. Thank you." His mood was completely changed. He felt his spirits lifted.

She giggled, "You're welcome, Minato."

"Are you okay?"

"Well, kinda..."

He chuckled, "Why kinda?"

"Umm... well, I didn't think about how we were going to land..." she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Wait, what?!"

At that instant they started to fall as gravity reminded them of its existence. They both started screaming, partly in surprise and partly out of fear. The wind howled in their ears as they hurtled towards the ground, the city getting ever closer.

Is this it? Is this how it ends...? Minato thought.

Out of nowhere, the little girl appeared. She was engulfed in a green light and she was coming from underneath them, her hands outstretched as if to catch them. A moment later and they fell into a tree, which should have killed them. But it seemed as if the tree caught them, though he was not quite sure of that and later dismissed it as a strange thought as they dropped to the ground in a heap.

Back at the park, Akitsu saw them falling and fear and panic gripped her. "No," she whispered, "I cannot lose you. Not now, not when I have only just found you!" With surprising agility and speed she raced towards where they were falling, jumping up into the air and going across the rooftops of the houses and buildings. She pushed herself to go faster, hell-bent on getting there and saving Minato.

Minato grimaced in pain. He was on his back on the ground, numerous aches, brusies, scrapes, and cuts making themselves known to him. He moved up a little, leaning on his elbow, and rubbed his head with his free hand. "Musubi, are you alright?" he asked. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw and felt that Musubi was on top of him, with her butt right in his face.

Why does this always happen? he thought as he felt some blood escape from his nose and heat once again rise to his cheeks. Looking around, he noticed that they seemed to have landed in someone's backyard.

"I'm okay... sorry, Minato," Musubi replied, still embarrassed. She also seemed to be in pain and as usual was oblivious to the way she was making him feel in their present situation.

"Excuse me," a feminine voice spoke out. It was a young woman with purple hair dressed in traditional miko garb: a purple hakama with a white haori and a sash-like belt to keep it all in place. Her purple eyes gazed at them with interest. "Hello there. Who are you?" she asked politely.

"Uh.. I'm... well, we are..." Minato started to say as he tried to get up, but he stumbled and hissed in pain.

"Oh! You're hurt!" exclaimed the purple-haired woman.

"Minato!" Musubi said with worry.

They both turned to look at her, and Minato's face went red. "Musubi! Your clothes!"

The brunette was on her hands and knees, looking worriedly at Minato, but she turned her attention down to her clothes at the mention of them. "Oh, I guess they ripped when we fell," she noted innocently. Her shirt was thoroughly ripped, barely covering her breasts as they were torn right down the middle.

The purple-haired woman turned around quickly, body tensing slightly as she felt someone coming. Sure enough, Akitsu appeared. She jumped high up and landed in the middle of the yard. Without so much as a glance towards the purple-haired woman or Musubi, she rushed over to Minato.

"Minato! Are you alright?" she held him carefully, eyeing his injuries with concern. Then she looked over her shoulder at Musubi, "What the hell were you thinking? You could've all died!"

Musubi lowered her head, "I'm really sorry!"

Minato reached up and touched Akitsu's hand that was on his shoulder. "It's okay, Akitsu. We're still alive, only a little banged up."

The purple-haired woman relaxed and took the situation in for a moment. The sound of a door sliding open caught all of their attentions as they looked to see who had come out.

It was a young man with gray hair in a simple white long-sleeve polo with dark pants. "Why's it so noisy. What's all the commotion out here?" He looked confused to see all of them.

The woman with the purple hair clutched her hands in front of her by her waist and tilted her head towards the new arrivals. "They're hurt, Kagari. Why don't you take care of the young man over there and I'll take care of the girl?" It was more of an order than a question the way she said it, but the young man with the gray hair did not mind.

He did take particular notice of the fact that one of the girls there had the Sekirei symbol tattooed to her forehead as he walked over and helped the young man with black hair to his feet. What is a discarded number doing here? he wondered as he helped the injured one inside.

After getting bandaged up and his wounds cleaned, Minato thanked Kagari profusely. Even more so once he was given some fresh clothes to wear.

"Don't mention it. Really, I was doing what Miya said anyway."

"Miya? So that's that lady's name."

"What's your name by the way?"

"Minato. Minato Sahashi."

"If you don't mind me asking, Minato," said Kagari, "What were you guys doing out there? How did you get there?"

Minato hesitated a moment as he thought back to what the guy on the TV said about not revealing anything about the Sekirei plan to anyone. Rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously he responded, "Uhhh... I guess we... flew in with the wind, ya know?"

Kagari grinned, "Wind huh? Well, I guess there's no reason why we can't leave it at that." Though he was still curious as to why the discarded number was there, it was clear to him that Minato here was an Ashikabi and that the brunette was a Sekirei of his. And from the looks of it, the discarded number is his too... how interesting.

"Minato!" a familiar voice called out to him.

Both guys turned as the door to the room they were in slid open, revealing three girls. Musubi stood in front of the other two. "I borrowed a kimono from Miya! What do you think?" She twirled around to show it off.

Kagari chuckled, "It's a human flower garden."

Minato stood up then. "I'm so sorry, we're wearing all your clothes and caused you a lot of trouble."

Miya smiled and tilted her head slightly, "Oh, don't worry about that dear. I like to help out wherever I can. My husband felt the same way, and in fact you're wearing his sweats!"

Turning to look at Kagari, he apologized.

To that, Kagari took a step back and waved his hands about. "Oh no! I'm not Miya's husband! He... passed away a long time ago."

"Ah, I'm so sorry to hear that."

"It's okay, it was a long time ago..." she trailed off, before gasping, "Oh my, I should introduce myself. I'm Miya. Miya Asama," she bowed.

Minato bowed as well as the other two ladies. "I'm Minato Sahashi."

"I'm Musubi!"

"I am Akitsu."

"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Kagari by the way," said the silver-haired young man, pointedly looking at the girls since he had already introduced himself to Minato.

The sound of footsteps caused them all to turn to the other doorway across the room. A female voice said, "I'm hungry. Is dinner ready yet?" The door slid open to reveal a very attractive woman in pink underwear.

Minato's eyes widened, face going red as he looked away. Miya glared at her while Kagari shook his head in disbelief.

"Uzume! How many times do I have to tell you not to leave your room dressed like that!" he scolded her.

She grinned, not embarrassed in the slightest. "Well at least I went out with panties this time..."

Minato turned an even brighter shade of red at that revelation. Then he turned to Miya.

"Excuse me, but... what exactly is this place? I noticed you don't all look like... family..." he had realized he was not sure how exactly to put it but he was already talking so he kept going. He hoped he would not be perceived as rude the way he went about it.

Miya giggled, "You're right, Minato. We're not family. This is a boarding house and I'm the landlady," she motioned towards Kagari and Uzume, "And these are some of our tenants."

Uzume nodded affirmatively, "This is a nice place, especially since the food is great. The only problem is that this place is a bit old and worn down, but we're looking for new tenants to try and spice things up!"

Miya smiled menacingly at Uzume, "Oh? Is that so?" There seemed to be a chill in the room all of a sudden.

Uzume stammered, "Ah.. well.. I mean, this place has so much character and we're looking for new people so that we have a variety of types... heh... heh.."

Without warning Minato dropped to his knees and bowed towards Miya, surprising everyone with the gesture. "I'm sorry! We were just kicked out of our apartment and have nowhere else to go. Please can we stay here?"

"Oh my," said Miya, "You poor thing. Please, raise your head." Minato did so. "My husband believed in never turning anyone away. So, welcome home to Maison Izumo!"

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" Minato said, bowing down again in gratitude.

Everyone was smiling. The whole scene was interrupted when a loud grumbling escaped from Musubi's belly, causing her to feel embarrassed.

"Looks like it's time for dinner. We can talk about the arrangements afterwards." Miya giggled, noticing the happy looks she got from Musubi and Uzume as she left to go get the food.

Uzume pumped her fists in excitement, "You guys are going to love Miya's cooking!"

Kagari followed Miya into the kitchen, stopping in the doorway and leaning against the door frame. "Are you sure about this? You hardly even know them."

Miya gave a nod, "Yes." she paused. "I know that when they came here they weren't looking for a home... the fates guided them here. They were sent here for a reason."

"I guess you're right, though even if you're not you've already made up your mind. I can tell." He laughed a little at that, "Still, you did notice the discarded number with him right?"

Again Miya nodded. "I saw that she truly cares for him, almost as if he were her Ashikabi..." She continued to prepare the food to be brought to the dining room and Kagari watched her for a moment before offering to help.

Back in the dining room, Minato sat on one side of the table in between Musubi and Akitsu. Uzume sat across from Musubi, with an empty place for Kagari next to her. At the head of the table was a place for Miya.

"You did it, Minato!" Musubi exclaimed happily.

"Yes, you succeeded, Minato. You should be proud."

"I did what?"

"You found us a new home, silly!" said Musubi.

He let out a short laugh and rubbed the back of his head, "I guess you're right." Maison Izumo, he repeated the name in his thoughts, I hope this turns out to be a good place for us.


Author's Notes: Let me know what you guys think so far. As you should know by now, I will be following the general storyline of the anime, adding more and more changes as we go on.

Also, sorry for the slow pace but I like to do things that way at times. Don't worry, things will pick up soon enough!

The Wandering Bard