I don't own sekirei or anything sekirei related
Akitsu was walking around in the island, as she was permitted to walk the premises now that there were no way of her leaving the island. She could freeze a path to herself but that would mean leaving Minato behind and Akitsu couldn't bear that. Minato was the only thing she had ever cared about and she was not going to leave him behind. She didn't know how she was going to get Minato away from the island as she remembered her promise to Matsu and Takami about taking her beloved Ashikabi away from the clutches of Minaka. It wasn't so hard to figure out that M.B.I was not the best place for Minato but after a month in the island, she was at a loss. Akitsu had no plans whatsoever and all she could do was hope that Takami and Matsu would think of something. She felt solace of the fact that Minato was not in danger and was absolutely fine, except the fact that he was in a coma and somehow was intune of her powers. It didn't bother Akitsu, as cold was the only constant feeling she could remember and if Minato was attuned to her that would mean that they were that much closer to each other.
Karasuba smiled at the ice sekirei walking around her own path she had created on the island and almost laughing when she saw that the other sekirei didn't go near her or the path she was walking. You could trace the thing if you knew how to look at the people down on the ground. There were a distinct pathway, about five feet wide that nobody walked on or crossed with. Some wise guy had erected a small bridge like construction on the places around the path that would be unavoidable. Turning her head to see the assassin enter the room with the underside of her fluttery outfit twirling in the breeze that was coming through the window.
"Got everything done Yahan?" Karasuba asked and glanced at the woman clad in white walking her never-ending circle on the yard, just like a prisoner would.
"Yeah, still don't know why he wanted that woman dead but who am I to disagree. Must've seen something she shouldn't or known someone she should've left alone." Yahan said and shrugged her shoulders. Being in the same room as that mad dog was giving her the chills but she wanted to know who that cute boy was that came to the island and the best way to find out was being with Karasuba and let her ramble on her own. Unlike many who didn't know, Yahan had a very good hearing and that had helped her many times in dealing with Karasuba. She had a habit of talking to herself while thinking and Yahan used that to her advantage. She knew when to stay away from the blood soaked woman and when was the right time to push a little further. Yahan was a survivor and nothing would ever change that. not even make to work with Karasuba.
"Why is never a concern for you, you just need to do what you're instructed." Karasuba said plainly and left the control tower. She was eager to go tease the team trying to bring Minato back from the coma he was in, and she gave them an incentive. Every week he was still in coma, the lead scientist would lose a finger or a toe. After ten weeks they would lose their life and a new leader was selected. It infuriated that Minato had the smell of Miya on him and Karasuba would be damned if she left her toy untouched. Even if the intensity of her thoughts about Minato were new. She could almost hear Yume talking about the one true love for all sekirei and that made her smirk. She would show Yume just how "loving" she could be.
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Kazehana was laying on her stomach on the roof of the inn and watched Yukari tend the garden. She had been drawn to the sorrow she felt from the young woman and that was puzzling. She had thought that she would hate her but after a few days with her, Kazehana had came to see that Yukari was a good girl. She was nice and tried to help as much as she could and didn' seem to have a bad bone in her body. She had thought that Yukari was a manipulative woman, just like her mother but Yukari seemed more like Minato. And that similarity was frightening, it was almost like Minato was back and that tempted Kazehana. She had already surprised the younger girl twice, acting like she would have with Minato and that had started the thought in Kazehana's head that maybe Minato and Minaka wouldn't be the only ones she would liked to be around with. In more lasting ways than just staying friends. With a sigh, Kazehana turned on her back and stared at the blue sky while drinking her sake. 'What am I going to do Minato?' She thought to herself, going back to her habit of talking to Minato when she was unsure of herself. She had started that habit when she couldn't talk to Miya and needed someone to voice her thoughts.
Miya squeezed the wakizashi in her hand as she watched Yukari weeding the garden. 'How much she is like you Minato, how much it hurts to see her when you can't.' She thought and hugged the short sword, hoping that she could hug Minato instead. Miya had come to terms that while Takehito was her first love, Minato was in no way less important and she knew that Takehito would have liked that Miya wasn't stuck on being sad and depressed now that Takehito was gone. She was still unsure as to tell Yukari that her brother was alive and she had decided that if she couldn't call Takami, she would go to see her. Miya was the one person Takami would come to see if she told the staff at the tower that she needed to talk to Takami. The only reason why she hadn't done that was the fact that she wanted to talk to Takami without Minaka knowing about it. Miya placed the wakizashi back to the stand and went to cook, as she always did when she needed something to do.
Yukari was kneeling in front of the flower bed and felt awkward as she felt the two woman staring at her. Kazehana had been frightening at first but it had gotten better after a few days, not counting the times when she had come far too close to her personal space, it had always stopped when Kazehana seemed to wake up from a stupor and realising where she was. That was something that Yukari was not comfortable with but it wasn't that unpleasant either and that had come as a surprise to her. She had found herself surprised at the sudden closeness of the other woman but rather than feeling disturbed about it, she was just uncomfortable but left wondering about the reasons of the feelings sadness the older woman gave when she was in the same room. It was obvious to her that Miya was feeling sad every time she looked at her and even if that was strange, Yukari shrugged it off as her resembling someone she had lost. Yukari apologized almost every time they were in the same room when she noticed Miya looking at her with that unexplained sorrow showing from her eyes and even when Miya said that there were no need, she still kept apologizing as it felt to Yukari that it was her fault that Miya was sad. When Yukari had walked around the inn and checked the rooms, she had found out that there were nobody else but the three of them in the inn. There was a room which was furnished but nobody was ever there. When she asked, she was told that a man named Kagari was there but his work kept him away from the inn for long periods of time. It was only the one room at the second room where she wasn't allowed to go, Miya and Kazehana had both shouted her to never go into that room when she almost opened the door but had explained that the room was reserved and that was the reason she couldn't get into the room. They had also apologized at the shouting but as they both had been too far to inform her otherwise, they had shouted and startled the young woman. Yukari almost believed that but only almost. It was clear that the room was some sort of a shrine to the two women and as how both of them had bouts of sadness emanating from them, Yukari didn't want to open old wounds and ask about the room.
Yukari lifted herself from the ground, the weeding done. She wiped her brow and decided to take a quick bath before going to the shop, which had been delegated to her as the newest tenant and Yukari had to agree to the reason that it would be the fastest way to get used to the city and the neighborhood. She was in the dressing room part of the bath, taking her sweat drenched clothes off when she felt someone behind her and when she turned her head, she saw Kazehana there with the faraway look on her face again. At first Yukari was going to shout but somehow being like this with the woman was not as awkward as she thought it would be.
"Kazehana-san. Is everything alright?." Yukari asked with concern in her voice, her face red from the embarrassment at being seen almost naked. Kazehana was brought out of her stupor as she realized that she was staring the younger woman. She apologized to Yukari and left the room quickly. 'Why did I do that? I was walking along the corridor and suddenly I was sure that Minato was in the bath.' Kazehana thought to herself as she made way to the kitchen to get some sake and sort herself out. Miya was cleaning up the kitchen from the preparations for lunch, the missing ingredients not included, and when Kazehana came in she almost told her off from coming to get more sake but the bewildered look on the other woman's face made her ask what was wrong instead.
"I don't know Miya, and that's part of the problem." Kazehana said with a sigh as she sat down on the kitchen and poured two cups of saké, informing Miya that she wanted her to sit down with her for a while. Miya took the cup and brought it to her lips when Kazehana told what had happened and Miya almost dropped the cup.
"You did what?" Miya said with disbelief evident in her voice.
"I went to the bath when Yukari was there and I was sure she was Minato." Kazehana said with the same deadpan tone as last time and drank her cup empty with one gulp. Miya took a sip from her sake and placed the cup on the table.
"Are you reacting to her?" Miya asked and looked Miya in the eyes, trying to see what was going on in her sister's head. Miya had always thought the others to be her sisters and brothers but being so close and in contact everyday had solidified that feeling with Kazehana, even if she was indecent at times. Though after Minato had left, that part of Kazehana had dwindled to almost nothing.
"No, I don't think so. I think it's just she is so much like him that I get... I don't know, confused." Kazehana said as she was trying to figure it out herself. Miya watched her drink cup after cup of sake and talk about everything and nothing. She drank her own cup in silence and thinking about talking to Takami again.
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Benitsubasa was annoyed. No, annoyed would be an understatement at this point. She was furious.
"goddamnit Haihane! I don't know why I bother with you when you don't even try!" She shouted to the gray-haired sekirei who was climbing out of the hole in the wall. She looked at Benitsubasa with an apologetic look on her face and brushed the dust off from her clothes.
"But Benitsubasa-sama, I don't want to attack you. I like you." She said like a little girl, smiling at the older albeit smaller sekirei. In the weeks they had been together, training and meeting with Takami-sensei, she had come to adore the pink haired sekirei she considered her big sister and mentor. Benitsubasa sighed and walked to the taller sekirei and slapped her face. Haihane put her hand on her cheek and forgot that she had her blade gloves on and cut her temple again. Benitsubasa face palmed and walked to the side of the room where they had water and towels.
"I know you don't Haihane, but this is practice. If you don't do anything here, then this is pointless." Benitsubasa said after she had gulped down half of a water bottle with one sip. 'I swear to the maker that this girl is retarded.' She thought to herself as she was quite attached to the other sekirei even if she did run her ragged at times. Haihane came to take water too and kept thinking about what Benitsubasa had said.
"So when we are practicing, I can use my skills and attack you?" Haihane asked to confirm something only she knew. Benitsubasa nodded angrily as she couldn't understand why that concept was so hard on the brain of that woman. Sekirei were supposed to be faster, stronger and SMARTER than humans but Haihane was doing her damnest to prove everyone wrong.
"Okay." Haihane said and started to stretch herself. Benitsubasa coughed the water out of her windpipe at the woman. 'NOW? She understood that just now?!' Benitsubasa asked herself as she coughed the water out of her lungs.
"Haihane. Am I to understand that you just now know why we are here doing what we are doing? After THREE YEARS!?" Benitsubasa's anger was flaring at this point. She had been diligently sparring with the other woman for so long but she had never once known what they were doing.
"I just thought we were having fun." Haihane said confirming Benitsubasa's fears and smiled. With a distinct gah shout Benitsubasa slammed her fist on the side of the other sekirei and sent her flying through yet another wall. Haihane came out of the hole with a mad glint in her eye and she started to giggle. With a manical grin, she attacked Benitsubasa and she was faster than ever before. Benitsubasa jumped, dodged and guarded the wild slash attacks and was quickly starting to appreciate the battle sense of the other woman. She was born for a chaotic melee fight. Haihane jumped, kicked and slashed in what seemed like an totally uncontrolled way but Benitsubasa saw that her moves weren't wasted. She used the momentum of her missed attacks to propel her around Benitsubasa and attacked her again and again. Benitsubasa started to grin as the practice battle was now what she had thought it should be between two sekirei. They both lost themselves in the battle and after nearly three hours of sparring, they left the room in ruins and fell into the floor.
"Now that was what I was talking about Haihane!" Benitsubasa said feeling ecstatic. Haihane looked at the torn outfit the other sekirei was wearing and the bloody scratch marks on her and her face went to a frown.
"I don't like this Benitsubasa-sama. I don't like to see you bleeding and your clothes all torn." Haihane said feeling sad about the things she had done. She had liked it, she had liked it a lot and that somewhat scared her. Haihane had never felt that kind of feeling and it was so odd to her that she didn't want to feel it again.
"I'm alright Haihane, this is practice. We do this here so that when we have to do this on the outside, we don't get hurt." Benitsubasa said to Haihane and hugged her. Benitsubasa knew that Haihane liked when she hugged her or showed her attention, which had lead to the fact that Benitsubasa used it to bind Haihane to her will even more. They were looking at each other and catching their breaths when they heard a clapping sound. Turning their heads, they saw Takami walking towards them.
"Takami-sensei!" Benitsubasa said and lifted herself to a sitting position. Benitsubasa had liked Takami from the first day they had met and the time she had been adjusting Benitsubasa had solidified the bond to the point where Benitsubasa didn't feel bad about doing things for only Takami and not for the M.B.I. It had been Takami's idea to bind Haihane to her and as she had first disliked the idea, Benitsubasa now knew that it was actually a good idea. Haihane would help her in helping Takami and Minato.
"Girls, I didn't come here for a courtesy meeting. I came to get Benitsubasa to a check up that we need to do now." Takami said with a stern voice knowing that if she didn't use it, Haihane would beg to come along with the two of them and Takami knew that Haihane didn't like the adjustment rooms. Benitsubasa nodded and told Haihane to wait in their room and when she came back, she would play something with her. Haihane agreed with a sad undertone as she really didn't like being separated from her big sister. Haihane hated being alone and she was smart enough to know that not many people liked her as she was slow, shy and prone to break things. Most of the staffed considered her a nuisance and even if Benitsubasa always berated her, she always spent time with her. Not sparring or trying to teach her some kind of tactics or anything like that, she genuinely spent time with her. They talked and played and sometimes they even walked around the tower and that had been why Haihane had done her best to please Benitsubasa in every way she could and would continue to do that.
When Takami and Benitsubasa were alone in the adjustment room and Takami had plugged various devices into her, she started to tell Benitsubasa that Matsu was going to escape in a few days and if they, meaning Benitsubasa and Haihane, would come across her, they should leave her alone or let themselves get knocked out by the Information sekirei. Benitsubasa almost voiced her objection in a very loud voice but the flare from Takami's eyes stopped her. She agreed to let her go as her pride didn't let her forfeit a fight.
Minaka was smiling at the screen where he was looking at Takami doing a "checkup" on sekirei number 105.
"I know what you're doing Takami. And it won't work." Minaka said with a smile and looked at the coroner's report on one Yukino Sahashi. He had seen the woman twice but even if she was Takami's mother, her death had meant nothing to him. It was just a means to show Takami that even if she had succeeded in formulating a plan of saving Minato and keeping Yukari out of his grasp, the rest of her family was still in his fingertips and her plan was not so secret anymore. He had congratulated himself on bugging the rooms of the sekirei Takami was dealing with and when he had found out that in regular intervals one room was deactivated, he had sent his special forces to listen through other means.
"Should I tell you this now, or later Takami-kun?" Minaka asked the screen where the two woman was obviously talking about something that agitated the sekirei. Minaka kept pondering about telling Takami about her mothers sudden demise as he had made sure that the local police didn't know who she was. Yahan was a good assassin and even better at infiltration and espionage. It was almost a shame that she couldn't be a part of the Disciplinary Squad but even her had to go find an ashikabi one of this days. It should be a little less than three year till the plan started and it frustrated Minaka that almost everything else was going fine except the buying of the capital and adjusting the sekirei. They had gone so well but when they had lost Takehito, the rate of adjusting slowed down to minimal. He had been a genius at adjusting the sekirei race. It was like he had literally seen the strands of DNA and RNA that they had been adjusting and known what to do get it run smoothly. The pack if idiots who did it now, faced problems after problems. It was infuriating but there were nothing he could do. Well almost nothing. Minaka smiled to himself again and let out a memo to sell one more secret to the general public and use the money for bribing and intimidating landowners to give him what he wanted.
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Minato opened his eyes and saw that he was in a white room with blue stripes running in the wall. Turning his head, he saw woman with purple hair standing infront of a table and mixing something.
"Miya-neesan?" Minato said with a quiet voice and he reached his hand toward the woman when a sudden pain surged through his body and forced a yelp of pain from Minato.
"MIYA-NEESAN, HELP ME!" Minato yelled and started to convulse and shake on the bed. The woman quickly came to the bed and took Minato's hand with a gentle look on her face.
"I'm afraid I'm not Miya Minato, but you can trust me." She said and forced a foul smelling liquid down Minato's throat which immediately relaxed his body and caused him to lose his consciousness.
"HE'S DOING IT AGAIN, SEDATIVES AND RESTRAINTS!" One of the scientists shouted again to the nurses in the equipment room. The nurses scrambled into action and brought the restraints while another team of nurses prepared the syringes and drugs for the sedation of the patient. After they had secured the patient in the bed and a couple of the nurses were keeping his hand completely still, just in case, the doctor gave the sedative which relaxed the body and made Minato limp in the bed.
"That was the fifth time today. I would love to know what's causing it." The doctor said to no-one in particular and wiped his brow. The body of Minato Sahashi was starting to be one big mystery. Seemingly nothing was wrong with the boy, his pulse and other life signs were normal and the equipment from the ship was showing that the sekirei cells in his body were active but not doing nothing. If something was required to be pointed out, they had bonded to his cells even more. The brain waves was another matter. Minato's brains were active, they were even more active than it was supposed to be. It was like Minato was not in a coma but in fully aware. If the readings were right, Minato's brain was starting to be on the genius side of the board in terms of brain usage.
Akitsu was sleeping in her own room, seeing Minato laying in a bed with weird woman on top of him and caressing his cheek. She shouted in anger and tried to get through the window that were separating the two. The woman on the bed looked at Akitsu and shaked her head. Akitsu stared at the woman with pure anger. How dare she keep her away from her ashikabi and touch him. Minato was her's, not that woman who was now sitting next to him. It hurted Akitsu to see Minato but be unable to touch or talk to him. Akitsu started walking around the structure that she now noticed infront of her. It was a square structure and so far with only one window. Akitsu circled the building but saw no means of entry other than the window. Creating a pillar of ice she lifted herself on top of the building, not trusting that there weren't any traps on top of it. Seeing nothing more than a sleek white surface, Akitsu jumped down. Looking through the window and feeling pain in her heart as she was so close but so far from Minato. Tears fell from Akitsu's eyes and the froze before dropping from her face. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and she spun around, turning her hand into a ice blade. She was now face to face with the weird purple haired woman and with her hand ready to strike at a moments notice, she asked who the woman was and why she was keeping Akitsu away from Minato.
"I know you're hurting child. But I can't let you see him yet, he is still unstable." The woman said and Akitsu could hear the regret in her voice. She melted the ice from her hand and stared at the woman.
"What do you mean?" Akitsu asked and turned her head back to Minato. If she couldn't be with him, she could at least gaze upon the man who was her everything.
"Somebody has injected your cells inside him Akitsu. That's why he reacted how he did." The woman said and came to stand next to the ice sekirei. Without waiting for a reply, the woman kept talking.
"I am the Old One or Iliana if you prefer and I have looked after you and your sisters from the day you left us. It pains me that I can't help any of you as you are too far away but maybe I can give you another hope." Iliana said and turned to face Akitsu, who was now staring at the woman with disbelief.
"You were all so small when you left, barely old enough to be sent away." She said and lifted her hand to Akitsu cheek and Akitsu couldn't feel any malice from the touch. She looked deep in her eyes and Akitsu knew that she was seeing how Akitsu had been treated.
"I am so sorry for you child. You were supposed to find happiness and peace, not war and pain." Iliana said and wept for the sekirei she saw in Akitsu's mind.
"Don't speak, just listen." She said and placed a finger on Akitsu's lips, preventing her from talking and only after Akitsu nodded, she took her finger away. Akitsu was feeling overwhelmed at the precense of this Old One as she had said. She could feel the weight of years on her voice and demeanor but still she couldn't quite trust her yet.
"You and your sisters were sent away because our planet was dying. Dying at the war we had brought upon ourselves. I watched you all the way and only after you crashed in the planet you are now, my link with you were severed. I was supposed to help you awake in your new home and tell you who and what you were. All that was lost when you crashed and I didn't know what had happened. The little I know about you now is gathered from the dreams of sekirei and the information I got from you helps me understand that boy. I was surprised when I found him here, a place where only sekirei was supposed to be. This is the remnant of the psychic link I have with you. I think Minato's mind came here to run away from what ever had happened to him and because you are now intertwined, I can talk to you like this." Iliana said and created a bench to where to sit and she motioned Akitsu to join her. Akitsu sat down at the bench and was still wary of the woman.
"if you wish, I can show you what you were supposed to see when you woke up." She said and offered her hands to Akitsu. Akitsu stared at the hands of the other woman, debating with herself as to touch the woman or not when suddenly the woman started talking with a hurried voice.
"The link is growing weaker, you must be waking. Come to me when you can, I am here waiting and don't worry about Minato. I will save him from the misdeeds that had been done to his mind." Iliana said and vanished from the bench. Akitsu turned her head and saw that she was inside the structure again, taking care of Minato and then she woke up.
She spasmed up from her bed inside the tiny and dark room they had given her and pondered what was that and what was she supposed to do now. Akitsu started crying for her being so powerless and unable to help Minato. All she could do, again was weep and hope and she had run out of hope a long time ago. Akitsu rose up from her bed, deciding to go for a walk and left the small room she had been living in. As she crossed the yard to go walking her path, she heard a scream of pain. Whispering Minato's name, she ran to the door where the sound had come. No-one had told where Minato had been placed and now that she was sure where he was, no body was going to stop her. Akitsu slammed herself through the thick metal door and saw Minato strapped into a bed with needles being stuck in him. Akitsu's anger went to astronomical heights in that instant. She was used to being poked and prodded but nobody, NOBODY would do that to HER ashikabi in front of her eyes.
Akitsu's eyes flashed into white and the building was frozen. She launched herself through the window that was separating herself from Minato and struck down every human inside the room. Doctors and nurses screamed in muffled voices as their heads were encased in ice and their hands that were on the restraints were cut off.
"You will all die for this." Akitsu said with a cold voice, mist rising from her body. Everywhere she stepped, a small ice column was formed and then she was among the near dead staff of Kamikura. Some of them were ripped apart by a sudden ice ball that Akitsu planted in their stomachs and some simply were frozen solid and smashed to pieces. When Akitsu was done killing the staff, she walked next to Minato and stroked his cheek.
"It's alright now Minato, I wont let anyone hurt you anymore." Akitsu said and kissed the boy in the bed, not being concerned that they were now inside an ice cavern.
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Karasuba was brought out of slumber with the sudden scream of alarms and staff. She was feeling quite angry at the fact that she had been awoken ahead of her own schedule but one look from her window made her laugh. There was a giant block of ice where the treatment center for Minato had been. Karasuba could only imagine what had happened but she was willing to bet that Akitsu had heard Minato from inside that building and not liked one bit what was going on inside there.
"What are you laughing you insane bitch, come here and get that building de-frosted." One of the soldiers from the yard shouted. Karasuba stopped laughing and smiled at the soldier.
"The fuck you are smiling?" The soldier continued. "I am the project leader of this facility and I command you to get that ice off of that building." He continued and showed some sort of a badge to Karasuba.
"Say goodbye." Karasuba said to the soldier and took a few steps towards him. The soldier was rather confused at the lack of response from the sekirei. He had been sure that all of them had to do what they said and this bitch was just smiling at him.
"This is what happens when you don't do what you're masters say." The soldier said and lifted his rifle. Waving goodbye to Karasuba, he pulled the trigger and then he was a pile of bloodied meat on the ground. The other men from his group stared at the scene in disbelief. Karasuba had walked towards him and then he was in pieces.
"You seem to have one thing wrong here." Karasuba said as she kept walking.
"You do what I say, not the other way around. Is that understood." She continued and took the arm of the nearest soldier off from his shoulder.
"IS THAT UNDERSTOOD!" She shouted and took the other arm off. The rest of the soldiers shouted yes over and over and kept staring at the man who had lost his arms. He was still standing in silence as his mind was trying to process what had happened. Karasuba smiled at him and tapped his cheek. Her smile widened as she started to push the blade slowly inside the man's stomach.
"If you ever talk to me or about me in that manner, I will kill you and your families slowly and painfully." Karasuba said and gave the soldier a small kiss on the cheek before ripping him in two. She turned her attention to the rest of the men who were nodding, too scared to talk. Karasuba turned her back to the soldiers and turned her attention to the ice block in the middle of the complex.
"Now, what am I going to do with you, hmm?" karasuba said to herself and was not surprised to hear Yahan come to the scene.
"We need to inform Minaka about this." Was her only response as she knew better than to point out the stupidity of killing their own troops. Karasuba conceded and sent Yahan to report to Minaka as she was more interested to see if she could get inside that block of ice. She walked around the building and was not surprised to see that every entryway was frozen solid, even the door Akitsu had gone through was solid as a rock and when Karasuba had striked the ice with her sword, it hadn't given in a inch. This rose the anger of the black sekirei as she found some one else, once again, trying to keep her away from her toy or pet as she had now started to call Minato inside her mind.
"You will pay for this Akitsu, of that you can be sure of." Karasuba said to herself as she started to walk around the ice block again, to find a weak point she could get through.
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Takami was staring at her PDA, trying to decide if she should call Miya at the inn and ask if her daughter had already arrived. There were two reasons why she hadn't called her yet and the first was that she wasn't sure that Minaka hadn't tapped her phone and the second reason was that she wasn't sure if Miya would answer her if she did call. It was no secret that Miya hated her because of what Takami did to the sekirei and she was almot certainly partly blaming her for the death of Takehito. With a heavy sigh, she dialed the number as she knew that almost every phone in Tokyo was now "malfunctioning" as Minaka was taking over the communications network in order to get tabs on every one who could and would be an ashikabi. Not to mention to be able to block information about the Sekirei Plan leaking.
Miya and Kazehana was saying their last goodbyes to Kagari who had decided to leave the city, as he was afraid what would happen if he ran into Homura. He had given the name Homura to the gender swapping sekirei when he had injected his genes into him as a means of stabilizing him. It had worked in a sense, it kept him more often as a male than not but that had also given the sekirei his features and that had caused him to think of him as his son and when Minaka had found out that, Kagari had barely escaped with his life. Minaka didn't want anything disrupting his plans and Kagari had started to have his doubts at the treatment the sekirei was getting after he had that connection to one of them. If he had been able to be a ashikabi, he probably would have been spared but being just an assistant had gotten him in the expendable list.
The phone at the inn started ringing and Kagari used that opportunity to hug Miya and Kazehana while saying good bye for the last time. Yukari shouted that she'll get it and lifted the phone from the hook.
"Maison Izumo, how can I help you?" Yukari said and waved at the man who she had seen two or three times after she had come to the inn.
"Yukari?" Came an astounded voice from the phone which Yukari recognized immediately.
"Mom? Oh my god, I've been trying to call you but none of my calls got through." Yukari said to the woman on the other end. Takami cringed at the notion that Yukari's calls didn't get through. That meant that Minaka was screening the calls and knew something was going on.
"Yeah, I've been busy. Just called to see if you've gotten there safely." Takami said and couldn't keep the relief away from her voice. At least her daughter would be safe, all that was left was saving Minato.
"Listen Yukari, this is important. Whatever happens, do not go outside. Is that clear?" Takami said with her no-bullshit-and-you-will-listen-to-me voice. Yukari recognized that voice and knew it meant that disobeying that would mean a severe reprimand.
"I need to shop mom. I can't just stay inside here and not go anywhere." Yukari said with a slight blaming tone. She wasn't happy that her mother called her and started giving her instructions almost immediately. Miya and Kazehana were standing a little way to her back and debated if they should ask her now as Takami had called them. That meant that they could talk to her about Minato. Kazehana came to the phone and said to Yukari that they needed to go the shop now if they meant to eat that day. Yukari nodded and started to say that to her mother when Takami suddenly said to give the phone to Miya. She was a little surprised at the sudden request but agreed. Miya lifted her brow when Yukari said that Takami wanted to talk to her but came to the phone anyway.
"What do I owe the displeasure Takami?" Miya said with unbridled disgust in her voice. Takami sighed and rubbed her temples. This was not going to be easy and she knew that.
"Yukari has a brother Miya, and I am going to ask your help in rescuing him. Now I know that we are not on the best of terms but those children are innocent Miya, they need your help." Takami said with all the pleading she could muster and waited for a response. She got one but it wasn't the one she was expecting.
"You have the nerve to say that after it was you who brought Minato here to be played upon. It was your decision to bring that boy here to be dissected and his mind tampered with. Because of you that boy is as close of a walking weapon as a human can get and you DARE to ask help for him?" Miya said with rising voice as her anger was rising with every word she said to the woman. Takami was very much surprised at the fact that Miya knew who Minato was. But now that she thought that Minato had been able to elude M.B.I for three years, it would be quite clear that he had been in Maison Izumo. Safest place to be was the place where M.B.I were afraid to enter.
"I had no choice Miya. He gave me no choice. Please help me help Minato." Takami was now desperate as her guilt and self-hatred was starting to rise to the surface as she had nothing to dispute the accusations Miya was saying. Miya voiced her disbelief at the no choice part and Takami found herself telling the story behind everything. Miya was shocked at the cruelty of the leader of M.B.I and told Takami to never say what had been said now to Kazehana. Miya needed Kazehana to be able to move and this information would destroy her as Miya knew that the wind sekirei was still in love at the man. She couldn't help it, Minato would've been able to help her but he had been taken which had returned Kazehana to the same old routine of drinking and feeling self-pity. Takami agreed to not tell anything to Kazehana and Miya promised to help Takami on her plan and to keep Yukari safe. Miya knew without Takami telling her that losing Yukari would drive Minato insane and nothing would help him if that happened. Miya asked if they should tell Yukari about Minato but Takami forbade it until they actually had Minato out of Minaka's hands. Then she told Miya what had happened when Takami had been forced to tell Yukari her brother had died. Miya wept for Yukari and then she wept for Minato. They didn't deserve this and MIya almost left after the phone call. She almost took her sword and went to kill Minaka but the faces of a very disappointed Takehito and Minato stopped her. She wouldn't tarnish the only thing they had asked her to never do with spilling the blood of such an unworthy man. Miya only gripped the handle of her sword harder and harder and went to clean the two short swords on the stand.
Kazehana was walking beside the younger woman and was in awe at the bubbly personality she had.
"Why can you smile like that Yukari?" Kazehana asked as she was genuinely interested at the joy of life Yukari had. She couldn't do that, not now as she had lost both men in her life as Miya had. Only now when Yukari had joined them, it had started to get a little less gloomy at the inn but still they both felt the loss of Minato inside the inn. Yukari would never be a replacement to Minato but she was a new and bright existence there and it helped them to cope with the situation.
"What do you mean Kazehana-san?" Yukari asked in wonder as she didn't knew what the older woman was talking about. Kazehana bit her tongue as she remembered that she was not supposed to know that Yukari had a brother, who was now lost.
"I mean, look at the city. Look at life in general. What is there to smile about." Kazehana said, avoiding the real reason she had asked Yukari the question. It was clear that Yukari loved Minato, even if the subject of Minato was not breached. Yukari had talked about an older man she called Onii-chan, not that she had a brother and that Onii-chan had moved but both Miya and Kazehana had known instantly that she had talked about Minato.
"There is much to smile about. Being alive is one of those things and I believe that if we don't smile for the people who we have lost, we demean their importance. It's like we don't care that they would want us to smile and laugh. I wouldn't want people who miss me keep crying. People should laugh and smile when they remember the people important to them, that is the true way of valuing people and their actions." Yukari said with such a conviction that Kazehana was astounded. It was a very idealistic way of looking life but it was also something she hoped she could do. Kazehana suddenly hugged the younger woman and surprised her completely.
"Umm. Kazehana-san?" Yukari asked after awhile as the woman kept hugging her. Kazehana released Yukari and apologized and only said that her words had touched her. Yukari took the explanation in stride as she remembered how sad the other one usually was and if her words had helped her to move past that, it would have been what Minato would've done. Yukari had tried to be like her brother as she thought it would be the best way to remember him and keep him close.
"Come, the shop is just around the corner and we need to hurry." Kazehana said and grabbed Yukari's hand and started to pull her towards the shop.
***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO* **TsoO***TsoO***
Takami was staring at the folder in her hands and trembled. In the photo was her mother, on a cold metal table with empty eyes and the all too familiar y-section they had done to her to discern the cause of death.
"Why?" Takami asked with a quiet voice as she felt empty. Empty of emotions and numb to the world. She wouldn't be able to see her son, her son who were being cruelly experimented with. She couldn't see her daughter or she would bring her into harms way and now her mother had been killed.
"I felt it fair to give you a warning Takami-kun." Minaka said with a voice like he had just given Takami a slap in the wrist for being late for work.
"A warning. You killed my mother as a warning?" Takami said as the words her former lover said was starting to sink in.
"Yes, I thought that giving you a warning before resorting to more serious means would be in order as your services so far had been exemplary." Minaka said with that ever present smile. Takami was starting to tremble more and more and contrary to Minaka, it was not from sorrow. Takami was trembling under barely controlled anger, she was ready to kill that smug bastard in his fucking white cape. Her eyes stared Minaka down and her hand were creeping towards the tranquilizer gun she had in her jacket after having to sedate a sekirei. Takami toyed with the idea of injecting Minaka with it and slowly dissecting the man to pieces but when Minaka pressed a button on his desk which showed a building incased in ice, she faltered as she recognized the building as one of the Kamikura complex ones.
"What did you do Minaka? WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!?" Takami shouted as she lunged toward the man, now totally ready to strangle the man to death. Only the sudden appearance of M.B.I security forces stopped that from happening as they pulled her away from the man.
"I didn't do anything Takami-kun, this is all Akitsu's work. But you don't need to concern yourself further Takami-kun. I know about your plan and let me remind you of this. You don't need your legs to do your work. Take her back to the labs." Minaka said with indifference as he was now turning his complete attention to the screen. Yahan had informed him of the situation and he was now eager to see how it would resolve itself. Would Yahan and Karasuba break in to the building or would Akitsu let them in. Minaka laughed out loud as he was thinking how the setting up of the board was this much fun, then how much would it be when the plan started. He made a mental note to push his staff more as he wanted more results in moving the plan forward. He was eager to start.
"Hiroto-sama, the department chiefs are ready for you now in conference room 1." Said the blonde secretary and forced Minaka out of his delusions of the grand age of gods.
"Yes, thank you Yumire. Tell them I will be there shortly." Minaka answered and typed a few notifications to his staff in Kamikura and for the newly appointed adjusters that were in charge of the new sekirei that came in from the island. He could barely contain his enthusiasm for knowing how were the adjusting going along with them, especially the one with the ability to control fire. Rubbing his hands together in glee, Minaka made his way to the conference room.
"Welcome gentlemen. Now, please tell me that you have good news today so my good mood would stay that way." Minaka near shouted as he slammed the doors open and scared the scientists inside.
***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO***TsoO* **TsoO***TsoO***
Akitsu was afraid. She was more afraid than she had ever been in her life. After her rage had dwindled, she had seen the carnage that she had brought upon the people inside and when that hadn't made her feel anything, she had started to be afraid of herself. She wasn't some mindless killing machine, no that was the black one outside who was trying to get in. Akitsu had kept increasing the volume of the ice but now she was afraid that it was too much. Minato was blue and shaking and Akitsu was rather sure it was her fault. It was the scientists fault, that was what Akitsu kept telling herself. It was their fault as they were doing horrible things to her ashikabi and she had to protect him from the pain and suffering they had caused her. Akitsu wept on Minato's chest and repeatedly said I'm sorry, over and over again. She was sure that because Akitsu had been winged by him, he had now become a test subject to maker knows what kind of tests. And it didn't take long for Akitsu to fall asleep on top of Minato as she was feeling exhausted. Using her powers to the extreme like that and then feeling emotional turmoil had taken a lot out of the sekirei of ice and being finally together with Minato had all made her feel so weak. Minato's steady heart beat comforted her and so she slept, she slept better than she had since she had last slept with Minato.
"Akitsu my child. Wake up." Akitsu heard a familiar voice and opened her eyes. She was again in front of the white cube shaped house and the woman was next to her, smiling that gentle smile that should've made troubles fade away but Akitsu just couldn't bring herself to trust that face. Akitsu rose to her feet and searched for Minato with her eyes and when she couldn't find him, she turned her eyes toward the woman and turned her hand into an ice blade.
"Minato is fine Akitsu, he is just sleeping. Transformation is never easy and it takes a lot out of you." Iliana said softly and made no move to guard against Akitsu. The fact that she had openly told about Minato made Akitsu lose some of her aggressiveness but not enough to melt the blade from her hand.
"What transformation? What have you done with Minato? And why am I not with Minato, I was with him just a minute ago." Akitsu asked in quick succession and Iliana lifted her brow at the intensity of the woman. Akitsu was supposed to be cold and unattached. Even if this was her ashikabi, it was remarkable how much tension and emotion she put in those words she had said. She was becoming more like her mother.
"He transformed as a result of your winging. They had injected your cells into him when they injected him with sekirei cells and if I read this right, they injected you with his blood when they gave you the shots for your winging procedure. This is something that is very rare. It would be the equivalent of siblings winging each other at home. Unorthodox and not that wise but still, not unheard of either. Fate, it seems is a fickle thing." The purple haired woman said as if she talked to herself and didn't notice that Akitsu was still there.
Iliana easily saw the confusion in Akitsu's eyes and decided against of explaining it further as it would most likely confuse the woman more. With a smile, she invited Akitsu to come inside the house to eat and see for herself just in what kind of condition Minato was in. As they entered the house, Iliana told Akitsu that this place they were in was not physical. It was purely mental and as such, very prone to shift in shape or context. The reason why it was a white cube inside a white nothingness was because Minato was unconscious, the moment he regained his senses would change the whole place and Akitsu was the only one who could stop this place coming literally the stuff of nightmares. Akitsu declined the eating part and went to the bed with a beeline and settled herself next to Minato and just looked at him.
"When you wake up Akitsu, you need to take Minato and yourself somewhere else than where you are now and hide. You need to hide until Minato is ready to wake up and do what he is now supposed to do." Iliana said and pressed a few buttons on dashboard that had sprouted itself from the wall.
"What is he supposed to do then?" Akitsu asked with an edge in her voice, being half sure that most of Minato's problems were because of this one woman.
"Save the sekirei of course, he is now the only one who can do it. And mostly thanks to you." Iliana said and pointed a finger on Akitsu and made her fall asleep. She reminded her of taking Minato away from there and hide in a telepathic whisper as Akitsu jerked awake in the same frozen room where Minato was still tied to the bed and into a myriad of monitors. Even without the vague remarks from the odd woman, Akitsu had decided take Minato away from there, the only problem being as how. Akitsu was thinking when she heard a distinct cutting noise and a hectic growl form outside the room which indicated that time was running out. Before Akitsu could make a move, Karasuba bursted through the ice layer with an evil grin in her face.
"Hello Akitsu, and just what are you doing with my pet?" Karasuba said softly and pointed the tip of her nodachi toward the ice sekirei. Akitsu didn't answer Karasuba, she just wrapped her arms around her ashikabi and stared at the black sekirei.
Wow, this was a lot faster than I thought. And longer too. I know this seems a bit like unimportant rambling but I felt this was necessary for the story and so you're stuck with it. Sorry about that. I tried to end this chap better but everything I tried was just not that good in my head and honestly, this was the best I got. And I don't think I'm gonna write about Musubi as one of the guests reading this wanted. It could be possible but highly unlikely. Anyhoo, here's a new chap and it is quite possible that I do a time jump in the next chapter or to be precise, it's gonna be between chapters. In a way. Well I'm gonna try anyway. See ya laterz
-DraXXter-
getsuga1993: Hopefully this helped with the whole Kagari/Homura thing and I do appreciate that you brought that to my attention. ^^
