MBI Sekirei Adjustment Facility

200?

Monday

For Musubi, the "tangibility" of days, months, and years was practically nonexistent. As concepts, she understood them—there were 24 hours to a day, anywhere between 28 and 31 days to a month, and 12 months to a year—but her reality did not match up with what she knew.

Instead of seeing the sun rise, doing things during the day, and then going to sleep at night, Musubi would spend her time, when awake, being taught, or having Takami-san poke and prod her with needles, or eating, or exercising.

The only rest she got came when she was allowed to sleep on her bed, surrounded by the same pristine white walls that were always around her.

She could only count time by how many times she'd fallen asleep between one event and the next.

There was only one break in the monotony, and that was when one person came to visit.


"Yume-sama! Yume-sama!"

Outside of Musubi's personal room, Yume smiled down at the young Sekirei that was clinging to her leg, dressed in the white shift that all of the children wore around the labs. Musubi's brown hair and eyes—her entire appearance, in fact—resembled Yume's own looks so much that she couldn't help but think of Musubi as her own child in a lot of ways.

"Hello, Musubi-chan," Yume said, bending down to pat the child's head. "How are you today?"

"I blew up some training dummies today with super punches!" Musubi said. "Takami-nee-chan said that I'm a power type!" She laughed and clapped her hands together. "It was really cool!"

Yume smiled and used her hand to pet Musubi's back."Is that so? Sounds like you were having fun." She turned away from Musubi's room and began to walk down the hallway, towards one of the outdoors exercise fields; Musubi quickly fell into step behind her. "Is Takami-nee-chan nice to you?"

Musubi nodded eagerly. "She always brings me candy and lets me exercise outside for longer than I used to be allowed. And she always tells me stories about where she lives when she's not working in the city. She says that it's got lots of grass and space to run around, and that she knows a nice guy that is really good at this karate thing!"

Yume's expression didn't change, but she squeezed Musubi's hand just a little harder, betraying a slight shift in her mood. "I see."

"Hey, Yume-sama? Can you tell me about your dream again?" Musubi asked, oblivious to the thoughtful frown on Yume's face."The one about me and the other Sekirei."

Yume blinked, putting her musing on hold, and put on a smile. "You aren't tired of hearing about it?" she asked, laughing softly. "It's not really that impressive, Musubi-chan."

The little girl vigorously shook her head. "I think it's beautiful, Yume-sama," she said, her voice calmer but tinged with longing. "If I was grown up and strong, I would make sure that the dream came true, too." The sparkle in her eyes was impossible to miss as she quoted Yume's words from memory. "'All of the Sekirei, flying freely in the sky. Free to pursue their Ashikabi, free to live the way they want to.' If that came true, I'd be able to play outside, and stay up as long as I wanted, and eat as much as I wanted, and no one could stop me."

Yume laughed again as they came to the door that led to the exterior training fields of the facility. "And some of those things wouldn't be good for you, Musubi-chan. There's a reason why you have to eat and rest properly. If you don't, you won't grow at all. Do you want to be fun-sized forever?"

"No way! I'll be taller than you one day, Yume-sama! Definitely!"

As the sunlight warmed them both, Yume felt her heart ease itself a little bit. Musubi's innocence and blind faith in her was often a comfort, the only thing she could be happy about during the kinds of things she had to do as the leader of the Disciplinary Squad. If it were at all possible, she would have looked after the young Sekirei like her own daughter—she knew nothing about where the Sekirei came from, but the similarity between herself and Musubi couldn't have just been coincidental.

'Or, it could be just a quirk of nature, and fate just likes to play bad jokes on me like always,' she thought, releasing Musubi's hand so that Musubi could run about on her own for a while. 'But it's a nice quirk. To see someone that looks exactly like you and have a chance to guide them...'

Musubi sprang into the air with a loud shout, then panicked when she reached the top of her jump and realized that she was at least eight feet off the ground. Before she could start to scream, Yume was up in the air with her, already cradling her, as gently as if she were a newborn baby. "Now, now, take it easy, Musubi-chan," Yume said, alighting on the ground with ease. "You're still a bit young for that, hmm?"

Musubi sniffled a few times, but then looked up at Yume and nodded, smiling even though a few tears were gathered in the corners of her eyes.

'Yes,' Yume thought again, returning Musubi's brave smile. 'To see myself reflected in someone as cheerful and pure as Musubi-chan...it's a wonderful thing.'


~Petal 9: Circumstances of Bellflowers~


Shintou Teitou: Izumo Inn

2020

Wednesday, 6 PM

The time between Yukari's arrival at Izumo Inn and Takami's passed relatively quickly for Minato; since Shiina was busy playing with Kusano, both Minato and Yukari were free to do some work with Musubi. Akitsu and Matsu watched the Sahashis alternate drills with Musubi for hours—breathing exercises, followed by basic strikes, followed by technique practice, followed by a spar with Minato before the cycle started over again. Though both Minato and Musubi worked up a good sweat, Matsu noted (at least when she wasn't busy rapidly typing things into her tablet computer) that neither of them seemed tired.

In fact, they only got more invigorated as the training wore on, and their final spar of the evening was little more than a race to see who could outlast whom. Musubi's strikes were fast and terrifyingly accurate, rendering Minato's usual strategy partially useless—he could see where the blows were going, but his body, even with breathing, could only barely get him out of the way of the most dangerous ones. However, parries and blocks, followed by counter-attacks, were roughly as effective, and after knocking Musubi back with one well placed Hayate to her sternum, Minato was satisfied to see that she looked at least respectably beaten down, with dust and dirt staining her clothes as well as a few welts and bruises from where she'd been hit.

Two quick baths and a change of clothes later, Minato and Yukari were waiting in the foyer for Takami to arrive while Miya put the last touches on dinner and prepared to set it out. Since both Uzume and Homura were absent, presumably thanks to work, there would be enough space for everyone at the table with only a slight modification to seating arrangements.

"Onii-chan," Yukari said, still facing the door, "you know that she was holding back, right? If she'd fought all-out she would have made you a stain on the ground."

Minato nodded. "I never told her to pull her punches. She already knows that it's too dangerous to fight me with all of her strength." He tilted his head to the side, stretching a sore muscle in his neck, and grunted. "It's just the way Sekirei are. They're built tougher than us."

His calm tone made Yukari round on him with a heated glare. "But are you OK with that? Teaching someone that you can never fight at her absolute best? What would Dad say if he knew you were doing that?"

"Self-control is more important than showing off your power," Minato said, folding his arms. "That was the first thing Dad taught us, wasn't it?"

"Don't even go there," Yukari replied. "I know what you're going to say, and you're right. But that doesn't mean I approve of how you can't even let her cut loose every now and then." She put her hands on her hips and stared her brother down (impressive, considering that he was towering over her as always). "That's important too. She has to know her limits so that she understands just what kind of power she has."

Minato returned her gaze without fear. "The Sekirei Plan will teach Musubi all she ever wanted to know about that."

His voice was steely and steady. Yukari knew that he was absolutely serious, and broke eye contact with him to signal the end of their discussion. "OK, onii-chan. I'll trust your judgment, but if you mess up with Musubi-san I'll show her how a real Rindoukan user fights."

Minato's response was cut off when someone knocked on the door. "It's Takami," a muffled voice said from the other side.

Minato unfolded his arms and opened the door, automatically looking downward as his mother's shock of snow-white hair came into view. Takami was dressed fairly casually, wearing a white lab coat over a blue, v-necked shirt, black slacks, and black shoes. A cigarette, unlit, dangled from the corner of her mouth, shifting around as she took a small breath. A thin, pale scar ran down her left eye, marking the top and bottom lids; the reminder of his mother's injury at Yomi's hands made Minato twitch for a moment before he managed to gain some self-control and relax himself.

"You're not going to light that in here, are you?" Minato asked her, folding his arms to keep his fists from clenching. "Kagari-san is the only person that smokes at Izumo, and Asama-san barely lets him get away with it. Even if you know her personally, I doubt she'll let you get away with it."

Takami snorted and shook her head, causing the cigarette to wobble. "You know me better than that, Minato," she replied.

Minato hesitated for a moment, frowning darkly as a thought crossed his mind. And ever since I found out that you're a part of the Plan, I've doubted that. If his mother saw the shadow across his brow, she deliberately ignored it, and did something surprising; she took her cigarette out of her mouth, put her free hand on her son's back, and then pressed herself into him, pulling off an awkward one-armed hug. Despite his traitorous thoughts, Minato couldn't help but relax, smile, and return the gesture.

"I missed you, Min-chan," she whispered. "I know that this has been...strange for you, but I truly didn't want you to be involved. I know you're still angry at me, and I understand that. Just...please, trust me. OK?"

Minato nodded, and patted his mother's back. "OK."

She pulled away from him, and he saw the ghost of a smile on her face before she replaced her cigarette, pulled the door shut, and turned to Yukari. "And my wayward daughter is here as well? Still attached to Minato like a ball and chain, I see."

"Mom!" Yukari shouted, flushing bright red. "Don't say that! You'll give onii-chan's girlfriend and everyone else the wrong idea!"

Takami's response was to chuckle and shake her head before stretching her arm up to ruffle Yukari's hair. "My goodness, is your fashion sense the only thing that's changed since you came to the big city? You still can't take a joke, Yukari."

As Yukari mumbled something under her breath, Takami stopped messing with Yukari's hair and walked further into the house. Minato quickly followed behind her, and Yukari, behind him. To Minato's surprise, Takami seemed completely at ease making her way through Izumo Inn, keeping her hands in her pockets and looking around with a casual air.

"Have you been here before, mom?" Minato asked as Takami paused to look out at the backyard. Musubi would have been outside practicing at this time, but with dinner on the way she'd been ordered to stop early and take a bath. "You walk around here like you've been living here your whole life."

Takami looked over her shoulder at her son for a moment, then chuckled softly, continuing to walk towards the dining room. "It's been a while, but the inn is by and large exactly how I remember it," she said. "It's nice that not much has changed. It was a pretty quiescent place to begin with."

The door to the dining room was already open, the table already set with a large spread of food. Three cushions sat unoccupied at the low table; one was between Kusano and Shiina, on one side of the table, while the other two were on the other side, between Akitsu and Musubi. Akitsu sat on the left end of the two and Musubi sat on the right end. As Minato, Yukari, and Takami entered the room, Kusano looked at Yukari and patted the cushion.

"Yuka-nee-chan, sit here, sit here," Kusano said, her eyes wide. "Shii-chan was lonely without you."

Takami gave Shiina a passing glance, with one eyebrow raised. The young man blushed violently, looking away as he scratched his head. Yukari's face was practically glowing with embarrassment, but she did as she was asked, saying, "Thank you for saving me a seat, Kuu-chan."

While Kusano smiled up at Yukari, Minato and Takami went to the other side of the table; Minato sat next to Akitsu, and Takami plopped down next to Musubi. Minato let his eyes wander around the table, and wondered where Matsu had gone off to—after she had been winged, the braided Sekirei had eaten with them at the dinner table every single night, often cozying up to Minato when she did.

Before he could ask Miya about Matsu, though, Musubi smiled broadly at Takami. "Takami-san! It's good to see you in good health!" she said, bowing her head slightly. "How have you been?"

"Just the same as always," Takami replied, taking her cigarette out of her mouth and scanning the other side of the table. Uzume was sitting on Kusano's left side, and Homura was at the foot of the table, leaving the head of the table for Miya, as always. When Takami made eye contact with them, Uzume simply gave a small wave and a cheeky grin, while Homura nodded, absently scratching at his chest before his hand stiffened and flew down to his lap.

The action made Takami's eyes narrow, but she said nothing as Miya walked into the dining room. The landlady made her way to her seat and sat down before turning directly to Takami. "Sahashi-san, it's been a long time," Miya said, her face neutral. "It's nice to have you here, though."

"No need for that, Miya," Takami said, closing her scarred eye with a sigh.

Miya chuckled softly and relaxed her expression, hiding her smile behind a raised hand. She did, however, note the scar on Takami's eyelid. "Very well, Takami-san. Have you been well?"

Takami opened her eye and waggled the fingers that her cigarette was pinched between. "Managing, as always. Work's still crappy, my boss is still an idiot, and my subordinates are even more stupid than him." She sighed and ruffled her hair with her free hand, then gave Minato and Yukari brief, affectionate smiles. "These two brats have been keeping their noses clean, though, so that's one less stress factor I have to deal with."

Minato and Yukari rolled their eyes, but smiled back. Takami then took a look at the dishes spread out, and raised an eyebrow. "Are your spreads normally this extravagant or did you just decide to get fancy to entertain me?"

"I do this pretty much all the time," Miya replied, reaching for a platter of sliced-up fish and passing it to her right, giving it to Musubi. "No sense in letting one's skills go to waste by not keeping them sharp."

Once the platter passed from Musubi to Takami, Takami took a piece of fish for herself, laid it out on her plate, and gave the platter to Minato. She took up a piece of the fish and chewed it, savoring the flavor for a few moments before swallowing it and nodding in approval.

From there, dinner passed quietly, though there were a few times where Takami found herself giving Shiina the stink-eye when he gave any looks in Yukari's direction. The young Sekirei would then shrink into himself, causing Yukari to stare back at her mother in annoyance before continuing to interact with Shiina anyway. Though she kept her patient facade, Takami knew that it was a good thing she'd shown up for dinner after all. Miya wouldn't have allowed Shiina to do anything untoward to Yukari, but the landlady of Izumo Inn wouldn't necessarily say the kinds of things that Takami would say in order to make Yukari understand just what it meant to become a part of the Sekirei Plan.


Once dinner was over, Takami took Yukari and Shiina to the backyard while Minato helped Miya clean up (and kept his Sekirei distracted enough to avoid eavesdropping for the time being). All three of them sat on the porch, but Shiina sat further apart from both Takami and Yukari, still intimidated by the sharp gaze that Takami had been sending him during dinner.

At length, Takami spoke up, scratching her chin. "So, Yukari. How have you been?"

Yukari stared out into the yard, looking at the thin-branched tree that stood above the dusty ground and the neatly clipped grass at its roots. "Can't complain. The city's more pleasant than I thought it would be." Her lips twisted into a smile that didn't reach her eyes, but she never looked at her mother. "Aside from the secret alien fighting tournament going on right under our noses, and all."

Takami's natural shock reaction was grasped and throttled to death by the hand of iron willpower before it could show on her face. "How did you find out?"

"Shiina-kun explained the basics to me, but Minato was the one that added a few details," Yukari said. "Including a tidbit about how you're involved in it somehow." The chill in her voice could have frozen lava solid. "But I would rather hear it from the source, as it were."

Takami's cigarette traced a few lazy circles as she moved it around with her mouth, trying to form the right words. For a moment, she almost reached into her coat pocket for something, but she stopped her hand halfway raised and deliberately pulled it down, letting it sit in her lap. "It's the truth," she said at last. "I'm pretty much responsible for the day-to-day operations of everything pertaining to the Plan. I also supervise the medical and recovery staffs that MBI has for the Sekirei."

Yukari's back stiffened, but her expression didn't change. Shiina looked at her with a dismayed frown, and started to say something; Yukari put a hand up, and his mouth snapped shut. Then, she slowly turned to look at Takami, her dark eyes hard and angry as they met her mother's half-lidded gaze. "Why?"

"That's a long and complicated story to get into after a good dinner," Takami replied, closing her eyes. "If I tell you, it'll sour your stomach."

"Damn it, Mom! You can't just play this off!" Yukari shouted, standing up. Shiina flinched, as if he wanted to join her but couldn't will his body to move. "Shiina-kun could be made into a slave against his will! So could have any of the girls that onii-chan is with, if he hadn't found them first! And on top of that, you're making all of these Sekirei fight each other! Do you not get how wrong that is? Why won't you fight back?"

"If you think I want it this way," Takami replied, standing as well, "then maybe you need to use your brain a bit more." Her eyes were narrower now, a sign that she was entering 'mom-lecture' mode. "Of course I 'get it', Yukari. Do I look like a child to you? Do you honestly think I don't know what I've been preparing the Sekirei for?"

Yukari sliced a hand through the air and bared her teeth. "That's not answering my question! Why are you doing this? What do you have to gain by making other people suffer through something so damn stupid?"

Takami didn't even budge, and focused her attention completely on Yukari. "There's nothing to gain from it. But I have plenty to lose if I don't." She paused, and Yukari realized that Takami had some very large bags beneath her eyes; the pride and stubborn resolve that the older Sahashi normally carried was gone, replaced by exhaustion, bitterness, and sadness. "And I refuse to lose them."

"So, it's blackmail," Yukari said, slowly sitting down again as she connected the dots in her mind. "Is it me and Minato being threatened?"

Takami stayed standing, and closed her eyes. God, I wish I could cry. "...your father, as well. Though they've yet to make good on it as far as he's concerned. Last I heard from him he was still out in the middle of nowhere." The lie tasted more bitter than the cigarette in Takami's mouth, but it couldn't be avoided. Minaka's explicit instructions were to not reveal anything about where Masaru actually was, and while Izumo Inn would have been the safest place for her to speak (between Matsu and Miya, there was no way MBI could have planted any kind of surveillance anywhere near here), she refused to spur either Yukari or Minato into a rashly-considered action that would probably get them killed by Karasuba.

Yukari's voice was just above a whisper. "Does he know?"

Though every part of Takami was screaming to say "Yes", she shook her head. "I didn't want to worry him. He doesn't know about any of this."

Yukari stared downward for a few moments, then swallowed something in her throat and squared her shoulders. Her eyes were focused straight at the wood of the porch, looking at nothing."Good."

Takami sighed, and looked up at the sky. The moon was full, and the stars twinkled, oblivious to the life below. "Yukari. I need to know. Are you going to become Shiina's Ashikabi? Because if you do...there are things you will have to face that you will not like. The bond you form with Shiina will only last as long as he is not defeated or you are not killed. And you will be expected to fight Minato at some point if both of you last that long. Is that a risk you're willing to take?"

Yukari finally brought her head up, looking aggrieved. "Shiina-kun found the little sister he was looking for. But, if I leave him by himself, someone will force him to become their Sekirei. Shiina-kun said that I might be his Ashikabi. If he can have happiness with me, and I can keep him safe, then I'll do whatever it takes to get us both through this alive and OK." She then looked to Shiina himself, who had simply been watching the two of them talk, but was now looking like he was on the verge of tears. "I know it's gonna be dangerous, and I know they'll try to make me fight. But none of that matters. I won't be tricked into fighting onii-chan, and I won't abandon Shiina-kun."

Takami looked down at her, and, seeing the resolve in Yukari's posture, nodded. Soft steps sounded in the hall behind them as Minato came around the corner, wiping his hands on his pants. "What did I miss?"

"You came just in time, actually," Takami said as Yukari and Shiina stood up and turned toward each other. Minato immediately understood what was going to happen next and opened his mouth to object, but his mother drove a sharp elbow into his ribcage, shutting him up. He glared down at her, all filial piety forgotten, but held his tongue when he saw that her expression was carved from stone.

Surprisingly, Shiina took the first step, coming closer to Yukari. She bent slightly so that their faces were level, and then she smiled. "Lucky for you my lips are still pure and chaste," she said, and leaned in toward him.

With that, they closed the gap, kissing gently, and wings of ki burst from Shiina's back, flaring up the flaps of his apron and ruffling the rest of his clothes. When the light faded and the draft of wind settled, they broke away from each other. Yukari stood back at her full height, smiling affectionately at her Sekirei. After he wiped the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes, Shiina smiled back at her. "And now, we will stand together," he said. "Forevermore."

Yukari's response was to squeal and pick him up, nuzzling him like a child would cuddle a cat. "Oh, Shiina-kun, you're absolutely adorable!"

Shiina's response was to blush, while Minato rubbed his temples with a weary smile. Looks like I'll have to step up a bit and teach that poor kid how to deal with her properly. His life's gonna be a damn mess if he doesn't learn how to keep her from running roughshod over him. Once his sister put Shiina down, Minato walked over to them, the mirth fading from his face. "Yukari, Shiina-san. What are you going to do in the Sekirei Plan?"

Yukari pursed her lips for a moment, then shrugged. "I know that if we fight a lot we'll be breaking up a lot of couples, and to be honest I don't want to go around hurting just whoever. Dad raised us better than that, right?" Her mouth tightened into a line. "Though, I think there's one guy that I have a grudge to settle with. You ever heard of a guy called Mikogami?"

Minato's hand twitched into a fist before he forced it to relax, but Yukari saw his arm shudder; behind him, Takami rubbed the spot on her forehead where the scar on her eye ended and frowned.

"Heard of him?" Minato asked. "He tried to abduct Akitsu-san when I first met her. I owe him a punch in the face."

Yukari raised her eyebrows a bit, but continued her earlier point. "So, as it turns out, Mikogami sent one of his Sekirei after Shiina-kun here. I let her know that was a bad idea, and then brought him back to my place. We came over here just to relax, but...well, you know the rest."

Minato nodded. "So you want to take Mikogami out of the game as payback for messing with Shiina-kun? Sounds like a plan, but he's got a Sekirei with him that's a bit above the rest." It had been weeks ago by now, but Minato could still remember Mutsu's heavy hand on his shoulder, and it gave him a kind of pause that no other opponent had managed to give him. "And, even though he's a jerk, I really don't want to go out of my way to fight him. There might be one of his Sekirei that has a real relationship with him." He closed his eyes, remembering how tearful Musubi had been at the prospect of being separated from him, how Akitsu was so steadily devoted to him and his happiness, how Kusano trusted him completely, how Matsu wanted to help him when he was feeling bad about himself. "I'd feel like a scumbag if I took from them the kind of relationship that I have with my Sekirei."

Yukari grimaced, rubbing her neck. "...Yeah. That wouldn't be right. Even if he's a jerk... If his Sekirei are happy with him, then I don't want to put them in a tough spot." Her indecision soon faded, though, as she looked at Shiina with a smile. "But if he starts a fight, onii-chan, I'm not playing nice. He wants to keep his Sekirei? He stays away from ours."

Minato nodded, expecting nothing less. Takami sighed again, but managed a crooked smile as she walked toward the door leading back inside. "Then, since you all have made up your minds, I'll head out." Before going inside, she turned to her children and Shiina, her smile growing thinner, softer, sadder. "If I could have had it my way, I would've talked you out of it, but it's like I told Minato once before. You're almost grown, and can make your own decisions. And, considering who I am in this plan, and how I haven't even been around you all because of it...I don't have any right to tell you what to do."

"Mom, can't you at least try not to let it get any worse?" Yukari asked. "If you do so much for the Plan already, then—"

Takami shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. I do a lot for the Plan, but in the end I don't have any say in what happens. It's all based on what Minaka wants to do. Even so, I'm still at fault for helping him, and..." She thought of the crest on Akitsu's forehead, and closed her eyes briefly, wishing that her cigarette could be lit. Wishing that the tears would drop from her eyes already. "And for a lot of other things."

With that, she slid open the screen door and walked inside, her feet padding softly as she went back towards the front of the house. Minato and Yukari exchanged sad, worried glances, then nodded and went in after her, with Shiina following behind them. By the time they were halfway down the hall, Takami had already put on her loafers and was about to leave. Miya stood near the stairs, her face showing no particular emotion.

"You know, you don't need to be so hard on yourself," the landlady said. "You need to forgive yourself for your mistakes."

"You, of all people, telling me to forgive myself for what I helped do to the Sekirei," Takami said, stopping to stare at Miya. The sarcastic incredulity was written all over Takami's dull expression. "Miracles happen after all."

Miya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Takami-san, I'm serious. You didn't understand what you were doing back then, and by the time you did, you were already being coerced into helping. Do you think I'm so petty that I would hold a grudge in that circumstance?"

Takami stood up, brushed off her pants, and turned toward the door. "If you were, you wouldn't have let me over here for dinner. I may not be a Minaka, but I'm no idiot." Her shoulders stayed square for a brief moment, then slumped. "For God's sake, I'm basically responsible for what happened to Akitsu, even if I wasn't there. I have to be reminded of that failure and every other one whenever I look at my son." Her hands shook. "I can't be forgiven for that. I can't be forgiven for anything. And I can't forgive myself for anything."

Miya heard the footsteps in the hall growing louder right at that moment, and hoped that whoever was coming hadn't heard a word of that.

"Mom, wait up!" Minato shouted, rounding the corner and panting slightly. "Why'd you just walk off like that?"

Takami didn't answer, opening the door. Yukari and Shiina came to the foyer area just in time to see her step out and start to close the door. Minato took several angry strides forward, but Takami closed it right as he got close. Grunting, Minato opened the door and put a firm hand on his mother's shoulder before she could get out of arm's reach. "Mom, talk to me. What is it? What's wrong?"

Takami's words were quiet and controlled, but Minato had never heard her voice sound so hollow. "I have to go back to work. It was good to see you, son."

"Damn it, Mom!" he shouted. "If there's something wrong, say it! What's the matter with you?"

Slowly, Takami reached up and put her hand over his, then lifted it off of her shoulder. With the other hand, she reached into her coat pocket and withdrew a lighter; in a few moments, she'd lit up her cigarette and taken a deep breath, replacing the lighter as casually as she'd taken it out. "I already said it. You're an adult now, Minato. You don't need me holding your hand every step of the way." Something had crept back into her voice that had been missing, but Minato didn't know what it was; she still sounded distant and cold. "You and Yukari, from here on...you have a lot to face. I'll help if I can, when I can. But from now on, there isn't anything that I can do for you directly, aside from pray." She turned to look at him, and her scarred eye was watering slightly. "I love you and your sister very much, and I want you two to look after each other. Very soon, the next stage of the Sekirei Plan will start. And that's when this city will become a closed-off, bloody battlefield."

Minato wanted very badly to say something, anything, but he couldn't open his mouth. Takami simply walked away, passing through the front gates with a wisp of smoke trailing behind her and her shoulders held firm and high.

It wasn't until she approached the limousine waiting several blocks away from Izumo Inn that she noticed the tracks of tears running down her face.


A few seconds after his mother left, Minato went back inside, shaking his head when Yukari started to ask about what had happened with their mother. Getting the message, Yukari decided to say something else. "Onii-chan, Shiina-kun and I will be leaving too. I have to get ready for school, and try to get back in shape in case any Ashikabi start to get ideas about hunting down some Sekirei."

Minato nodded, his eyes still faraway. "Just don't do something stupid like that 'crusader of justice' stuff you used to go on and on about. All that's gonna do is get you in trouble with someone that might be able to beat your ass if you fight them."

Yukari puffed out her cheeks and punched Minato in the gut. He pretended to choke dramatically and staggered around, clutching his belly. This only got her more upset, and she tried to stomp on Minato's foot, only to miss every time she came close to crushing his toes. Eventually, she gave up, walking back over to where Shiina was watching the whole affair. She took Shiina's hand in hers, causing him to blush, but before her Sekirei could say anything, she stormed off, her cheeks puffed out. However, she stopped when she got to the door, and looked back at Minato with a smile.

"Onii-chan. If you ever need me, just call."

Shiina nodded as well, and bowed to Minato. "Minato-san, take care."

And just like that, they were gone, closing the door behind them. Minato locked it, then turned to the stairs with a sigh. Thanks to his height, he totally failed to notice Matsu standing in front of him.

"Hey there, Mina-tan. Did you have fun with your mom?"

Matsu's voice coming from nowhere made him jump backward and fall on his butt; wincing, he got up and rubbed his tailbone with a grimace. "What the—Matsu-san! Where have you been?!"

"Takami-san and I have some history together that isn't exactly warm and friendly," Matsu replied. "It's better that I wasn't there to stir that up."

"She said the same thing about her and Asama-san and they got along fine," Minato said, folding his arms and frowning a bit to hide his discomfort. "I don't see what would have been so bad."

Matsu put a hand to her temple and sighed; when she met Minato's eyes, her own were narrower than usual, and sadder as well. "Really, Mina-tan, you don't want to know. I don't like talking about it." It's not something I'm ready to burden you with yet, she added to herself, feeling gloom sink into her bones.

For a moment, Minato considered pressing her on it, but since she had lapsed into first-person reference to herself, he figured that it was something she seriously didn't want to discuss. "Well, all right."

Immediately, her expression brightened up. "Then, Mina-tan, come eat dinner with Matsu~ Since I had to miss the big one with everyone else~"

Minato was about to agree to it, but then, he saw Musubi, Akitsu, and Kusano poke their heads halfway around the corner near the stairs. Though only Kusano was the one actually glaring at him (Musubi's eyes were wide and guileless, while Akitsu's expression was blank as usual), Minato could feel something sinister emanating from the other two.

"I'm a bit sleepy, actually," he said, wishing he could wipe his neck to get rid of the sweat running into his shirt. "I'll just turn in early tonight. Sorry, Matsu-san."

Matsu, seeing his gaze fix on that distant corner, spun around and glared, only to see that no one was there. She then looked up at her Ashikabi, her eyes still narrowed in suspicion. His blank expression eventually caused her to back off, and she walked back to the kitchen with a huff escaping her lips.

Minato shook his head and sighed, heading upstairs. His exhaustion wasn't entirely faked, but he still felt guilty for ducking out on getting to know her better.

Then again, pissing off Akitsu, Musubi, and Kusano was an even worse idea considering that they would all be dog-piling him by tomorrow morning, and that three angry girls were way scarier to deal with than one slightly miffed one.


He didn't know where he was standing, only that it was foggy and misty around him. And cold.

When he stepped, wandering through the clouds around him, he heard the slap of his feet on what seemed like tile. Whatever surface he was on was cold and hard, but smooth.

And then, he saw her.

At first, she was just a shadow, growing larger and larger within the fog. But then, she emerged from it, right in front of him. Her hair was long and blonde, cascading down her back in waves. Her dark dress billowed outward, as did the white one she wore underneath it.

But most striking were her eyes, icy blue and locked on his face.

"So it is you, then," she said, and he was taken aback by her imperious tone. "You are the one who would claim to be my Ashikabi." She smiled as she raised her hand, but the expression on her face failed to reach her eyes. The sleeve of her dress billowed outward, and a small sphere of water began to form above her palm. "Luck does not lie with you today. For now that I know your face...I shall not suffer you to live and violate me against my will."

Her wrist snapped forward, and the sphere of water exploded into a million streams, rushing at him, battering his body with the force of a waterfall. He could feel himself spinning around and around as he flew through the air, and when he hit the ground, his vision immediately began to darken. The click-clack of her heeled boots kept him just conscious enough to hear her last words.

"Begone from me, you who would call himself my Ashikabi. I have no need of you for my strength to become whole. Already I stand at the pinnacle. Heed my warning or I shall end your life in the twinkling of an eye."


Saturday, 7:00 AM

Shintou Teitou, Izumo Inn

Minato awoke in a cold sweat, eyes snapping open as he tried to sit up (and failed, thanks to Kusano's weight on his chest). After a few moments, he recognized his surroundings and took deep, steadying breaths in order to slow down his heartbeat. The dream had been so lifelike that for a second he'd thought that he had been abducted and tossed to the mercy of that water-using woman...

He shook his head to clear it of the fog of sleep, and once his vision cleared up, he saw both Akitsu and Matsu hovering directly in front of his face.

"Mina-tan, you were thrashing around a lot," Matsu said, frowning as she leaned back into a sitting position. Her glasses were nowhere in sight, which was normal when she first woke up in the morning. "Are you all right?"

Minato nodded slowly as more memories from the dream came back to him. The woman had said that he was supposed to be her Ashikabi; could it have been another dream like the one he had of Kusano?

"Matsu-san," Minato said, rubbing his face with one hand, "I have a question that I need you to answer. Is it normal for Ashikabi to dream about Sekirei?"

Out of nowhere, Matsu produced her glasses with a flourish of the hand and slid them onto her face, her expression becoming thoughtful. "Well, yes, it's not unheard of. Why do you ask?"

As Minato explained what he'd just seen in his dreams, and then recounted his dream of Kusano, Matsu nodded several times. "That sounds about right," she said. "Usually, though, an Ashikabi will only dream about Sekirei that could be reacting to them, and the ability tends to not develop in most Ashikabi because they don't have the potential to be particularly strong Ashikabi."

Minato's nose wrinkled. "'Strong Ashikabi'?"

"That is to say, Ashikabi that have winged more than one Sekirei and have—or are developing—a particularly deep bond with those Sekirei." Matsu adjusted her glasses and smiled, though it seemed a little bit shaky. "Basically, as you wing Sekirei, your ability and potential to attract stronger Sekirei increases, as does the overall power of your connection to the ones you have winged. So if you hadn't winged both Muu-tan and Kuu-tan, it would have been harder to attract Matsu's attention." She saw the crestfallen look on Minato's face, and hastily added, "Strictly in terms of biology, you understand."

Seeing that Matsu was seriously fumbling for words at this point, Minato just nodded. Internally, though, he could feel doubt nagging at his mind, and a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. So then, all of these Sekirei gathering around me...was it really just because of their biology that they even came in the first place?

Surprisingly, it was Akitsu that responded to the tensing of his body as the implications settled in. She put a hand over his own, and squeezed it gently, causing him to look at her. "You are more than your power," Akitsu said. "Love transcends that. And...we all love you."

After a few moments, Minato nodded again, but this time, his expression cleared up. Akitsu then withdrew from him, and Matsu stood, smiling at her Ashikabi. "After breakfast," the pigtailed Sekirei said, "come to Matsu's room, Mina-tan. We can find the Sekirei you saw in your dreams."


9:00 AM

It took a little longer than Matsu had been expecting for Minato to get to her room. After breakfast, he'd taken an hour or so to train with Musubi again, watching her fail at the Hayate slightly less than usual, and then he'd made his way to her after about an hour or so.

As Minato pushed in the wall, Matsu looked at him with a pout on her face. "Mina-tan, what were you doing, taking a nap? Matsu's been waiting forever for you~"

"I was busy," Minato replied with a shrug; from behind one of his legs, Kusano stuck her head out and blew a raspberry at Matsu. "Sorry, Matsu-san."

Matsu made a dignified huffing sound, directed either at Minato or Kusano, and turned back to the main monitor. "Anyway, Mina-tan. What did this Sekirei you saw in your dreams look like? Start with the basics."

Minato closed his eyes and concentrated on the vivid mental image. "A girl, with long blonde hair," he said. "Kind of small-looking. Blue eyes. Wore a black dress and thigh-high boots. Spoke...kind of strangely. She sounded like she was from a period piece or something."

As he spoke, Matsu's fingers flew over the keyboard, referencing every detail that Minato mentioned. When she finished, one result came up on screen, and after studying the profile, she turned to Minato with a look on her face that could only be described as a miserable stare. "Please, Mina-tan," she said, her voice indistinct and mumbling. "Don't tell me that this was the one."

Minato took a closer look at the screen, and the Sekirei from his dream was on the monitor as plain as day, with the words "09 Tsukiumi" written above her picture in addition to what looked like a psych evaluation. "Well, then I won't tell you that you pretty much found her." He looked at the monitor again, more closely reading the kanji characters that Tsukiumi's name was written with. "'Moon Sea'. That's a pretty interesting name."

"Mina-tan, could you focus for a second?" Matsu said, her voice pleading. "Tsukiumi is really bad news. She hates Ashikabi with a passion, and based on how clearly you two saw each other in the dream, she'll know who you are on sight." Her lip trembled. "If she finds you, she'll probably do everything she can to kill you, just to soothe her pride."

"She said as much, and I've heard worse threats anyway," Minato replied, easing into a sitting position before he folded his arms, staring at Tsukiumi's picture as if it were the real thing staring back at him. Kusano plopped down right beside him, sitting cross-legged just like him. "If she wants to try me on for size, she'll be in for a rude awakening."

Matsu fully turned away from the screen and gave Minato a stern glare that he didn't even know she could unleash. "She can control water, Mina-tan, or did you forget that? You wouldn't even be able to get near her, she'd just blast you back like she did in the dream. And probably go farther than that."

Minato didn't even flinch back from her gaze. "And Akitsu-san controls ice. Considering how I've felt her make her own personal winters in the past, I'm pretty sure she can apply that skill to freezing water. Problem solved."

Matsu grimaced at the oversight, and Minato smirked at his small victory, though he soon relaxed into a more genuine smile when he realized how smug he was being. "I appreciate you being worried about me," he said. "Honest, I do. But if she doesn't want to be winged, I won't go out of my way to find her and force her to become my Sekirei. And, even if we meet, I still have the option to turn her down, don't I?"

Matsu slowly nodded. "Though, if she's reacting already, leaving her alone might be crueler than just winging her. It's true that you could let her find another Ashikabi, but out of all the ones with the ability to attract her..." She looked back toward the screen, silently debating whether to say anything or not about the subject dancing on the tip of her tongue.

"Finish your thought," Minato said, leaning forward slightly. "'Out of all the ones with the ability to attract her,' you said. What were you going to add to that?"

Matsu sighed. He had to ask, didn't he. She pulled off her glasses, rubbing her temples for a moment and taking a quiet breath. Then, she put her hands down on the keyboard again and typed rapidly, only lifting one hand to grab the mouse on the right side of the keyboard to click a file folder or two open. In moments, three images like Tsukiumi's appeared on the main monitor in left to right order. Minato recognized the first, leftmost one as Hayato Mikogami, dressed in his usual fancy clothing. The one in the middle was of a young man with hard, angular features and light-colored hair that was wearing a pure white business suit. The last one, on the right, was a man with messy dark hair, wearing a biker's black leather jacket, with the zipper spread wide open to expose his chest and a pair of brown goggles hanging low around his neck.

"These are the three other Ashikabi that are capable of attracting Tsukiumi's attention," Matsu said, her voice low as she pointed to the three pictures in order. "Hayato Mikogami, Izumi Higa, and Nishi Sanada have all winged multiple Sekirei, and thus are the only ones that have the kind of power that an Ashikabi would need to make her react. If you refused her, one of them could wing her in your place."

Minato's blood immediately froze at the thought of Mikogami claiming Tsukiumi for his own, though the bitter, angry look in Higa's photograph wasn't doing much to persuade Minato to trust his intentions, either. Matsu saw his jaw set in in anger as he glared at Mikogami's picture, and sighed again. I would feel more comfortable if Tsukiumi wasn't gunning for Minato's blood, but he'll never wing her if she doesn't want it. At the same time, if Minato lets her be winged by someone else, then he gains a potential enemy. Her eyes narrowed as she looked away from him. If he doesn't realize that I'm trying to push him towards her for the sake of trying to solidify our own position in the plan, then everything should be fine. If not...

"I'll talk to her, then," Minato said, his voice allowing no doubt. "I'll take Akitsu-san with me and tomorrow we'll find her. If leaving her alone means that bastard Mikogami might get a chance to capture her, then I should at least warn her."

Matsu put on her glasses, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that her Ashikabi was so kind-hearted. "You should take Muu-tan with you," she said. "Just in case. You never know what could happen."

Surprisingly, Minato shook his head, and stood up. "She's almost made a breakthrough with her training. I think it'd be better if she stayed here tomorrow so she can concentrate on that. Akitsu-san will be more than enough protection."

"I'm coming too," Kusano said, pounding a fist on her chest with a broad, catlike smile. "Aki-chan is strong, but so is Kuu-chan!"

Minato almost considered saying no, but he found himself tongue-tied when he tried to dissuade her; her big, green eyes were practically staring a hole into his head, and they only seemed to get bigger by the moment.

Matsu simply watched Minato struggle against the proud look in Kusano's eyes, trying not to laugh out loud at how he was being stared into submission, before he sighed and hung his head. "OK. You can come along. But you have to promise you won't do anything crazy. Otherwise you'll go on time out when we get home."

Kusano simply puffed her chest out, and Minato shook his head, groaning with a crooked smile, while Matsu chuckled to herself, losing the battle to hold back her laughter.


Author's Notes:

A bit late again, but real life has been surprisingly persistent these days. That, and I keep focusing too much on trying to get my buffer back to an appreciable size.

Anyway, as usual my favorite part of this particular chapter was writing Tsukiumi's dialogue. The fake Shakespeare really wasn't doing it for me, as I said earlier; I'm not sure how much better my antiquated linguistics will go over, but hopefully it gets the point across better this time. Surprisingly, there were times when Matsu pretty much wrote herself, as well. It feels a little weird to write a character that's so sneaky about being good, mostly because the last character I wrote with that archetype largely chose to defy it (I'm looking at you, Urahara!).

Chapter 10 is due in two weeks, but I'll give you all forewarning; I am going to try not to miss the update, but I am debating taking some time to build up another buffer after it comes out. I probably won't do it because it's hard to stay on the update wagon once you fall off it, even on purpose, but please be aware of that while you wait for the next chapter.

Anyway, I need to take some time and polish a few typoes in the early stuff, so I'll see you in October. Hope this chapter finds you well and that you all enjoy.

~ZS