A New Kind of Ashikabi

I do not own Sekirei or any of it's characters. I own only Tetsuya.

Author's Note: Alright, I have finally decided who will be in Tetsuya's flock. It took a while, but I did it. It is for the most part set in stone, if you wish to find out who will be in it PM me and let me know. I have decide to tamper heavily with Minato's flock, though he will most likely have many more than 6 Sekirei this time. I also have an idea for a future story that will involve several scrapped numbers. I would like to hear any OC ideas you guys have, PM me if your interested. Now fair warning, most of the scrapped numbers will not find Ashikabis, they will find love with normal humans in normal relationships, though a few will find love with each other. But, you didn't come here to hear about my new ideas, you came to see how things worked out with Tetsuya and Miya. Now let's find out.

Chapter 10- Secrets and Lies

Tetsuya looked at his mother, she looked like she was about to cry. Before he could say anything, she whirled around and stomped back into the house.

"Wait! Miya, come back!" Tetsuya called after her and followed her inside, he went inside and caught the sight of her dress disappearing into her room. Tetsuya followed her and just barely managed to slip inside before she could close the door.

"Get out, and take that MONSTER with you!" Miya said angrily as she turned to face him. Her hannya mask had appeared and had started to spit fire and hiss angrily. Well that's new, Tetsuya thought. If he hadn't been totally immune to her famous hannya mask stare, Tetsuya would've been scared it would try to eat him.

"Wait, at least let me explain why I took the job!" Tetsuya pleaded.

"What could possibly justify you working for that madman? What did he offer you?" she spat angrily. She was livid. Her eyes were wide and had an accusatory stare. Her fists were clenched and her teeth were bared.. She looked furious, Tetsuya was mildly scared that she'd strike him. But he had to tell her why he did it, he couldn't let her think that he did it for money or some other stupid reason. He thought about lying to her, but he decided it would be better to tell her the truth.

"He-" Tetsuya began to say.

"What was it? Money? Power? Women?" she angrily said to him as tears began to run down her cheeks.

"MOM, HE THREATENED MY SEKIREI!" Tetsuya shouted, cutting her off.

"What?" she asked blankly after a while. Her son had tears running down his face and he looked ashamed.

"He said that if I turned the job down, he'd use the Jinki to terminate the girls." Tetsuya said unhappily. He was staring at the ground uncomfortably. He obviously hadn't told anyone else this, she noticed.

"But how could you wing, Karasuba? That women killed your father, my HUSBAND, she did everything but activate the Jinki that killed him." she said angrily.

"No, she didn't. Minaka did, HE messed around with the Jinki. HE put Dad in a position where he had to invert the Jinki's force field to save the Sekirei in the tower. Both Takami and Karasuba told me what happened that night. Dad saved the lives of countless Sekireis that day. Yes it was Karasuba's idea, but she didn't force Dad to do what he did. He chose to do it, Miya." Tetsuya choked

"That doesn't tell me why you did it!" Miya said her anger lessening slightly. Her son had a point though.

"I did it for the same reason that my father tried to be your Ashikabi. Because I believe, that even though I'm forced to work for that madman Minaka, with a woman that most of the world thinks is a monster. I believe that deep down, she is a good person. Perhaps very very deep down in Karasuba's case. But I do believe she's a good person, Miya." Tetsuya said with conviction.

"How dare you use him and I as an excuse for what you did? Your father and I are a totally different situation!" she said with venom in her voice as she gesticulated wildly.

"Are you? Think about it. When dad met you in the Disciplinary Squad, you were thought of by the world as the monstrously strong woman who defended Kamikura Island. You told me yourself that you had thought all humans were trash, an unnecessary race. The same way Karasuba does now. Can you honestly tell me that if he hadn't fallen in love with you or he had fallen for Karasuba instead, that you an her positions wouldn't be switched right now? Is it not entirely possible that Karasuba could have ended up with Takehito. Is it not totally possible that Karasuba could have ended up the lovely young innkeeper and you ended up as MBI's hound." Tetsuya said accusingly as he glared at her.

Miya opened her mouth to respond, but the more she thought about it, the more it seemed her son was right. Hers and Takehito's meeting was totally by chance, their marriage even more so. If Takehito had fallen for Karasuba, their roles really could have been reversed. Yes Karasuba was more twisted than she had been while she was in the Disciplinary Squad. Though, the Black Sekirei had stayed with MBI for far longer than she had. She closed her mouth and all the anger seemed to to flow out of her body. Her shoulders sagged in defeat as she unclenched her fists and her arms hung limply at her side.

"Even if you are right, I'm sorry but I won't house Karasuba. I just can't bring myself to do it. And I'm not sure I'm okay with you staying here while you work for Minaka." she said as she turned away from him to adjust some flowers in a vase.

"You don't have to, I made it very clear when I winged her to avoid this house unless it was absolutely necessary, and come to think of it, I have no idea why she's here now. I'm gonna head outside and find out. As for me living here, I've taken that into account and we'll hammer the rest of this out once I find out why Karasuba's here." he said as he turned to leave. As he turned to leave, she grabbed his forearm. She was looking down at the floor.

"I know this sounds terrible, but some people are beyond fixing Tetsuya. Remember that." she said as she continued to look at the ground.

"I think dad would disagree." he said as he stepped out into the hallway, only to see that the house appeared completely deserted. At the same time, Miya noticed the duck that normally sat on her nightstand was gone.

"Tetsuya, have you seen my duck?" she called out.

"The duck who tells you people's secrets?"" Tetsuya called back. He was very familiar with said duck. It had gotten Toyotama in trouble more times than he could count.

"Yes." she said uncertainly. That duck was an invention of Matsu's that automatically picked up on people's conversations and transmitted them through it's speaker.

"Where did you last leave it?" he asked as he poked his head back in. Miya wracked her brain to remember where she had seen it last. When suddenly she sat bolt upright.

"I left it in the bathroom." she said suddenly.

"Oh, damn it!" said Tetsuya as he realized exactly what had disturbed Miya, anyone in the house could use it to listen in, and he hadn't wanted to tell anyone why he had really taken the job to avoid making his Sekireis feel guilty. If they heard why he'd taken it, they'd blame themselves and he didn't want that.

"GIRLS, COME HERE PLEASE." Tetsuya called out loudly as he stepped into the hall and looked down it to where the bathroom opened out into. Only to watch in horror as Toyotama and Uzume exited the bathroom. Uzume and Toyotama gingerly exited the bathroom, both looking like they had been caught in the process of doing something wrong. Someone tapped on his shoulder from behind he turned to see Akitsu, Haihane, Benitsubasa standing in the hall behind him. Benitsubasa looked like a child on Christmas morning, she was grinning excitedly from ear to ear, the girl was one song away from bursting into a musical number. Haihane looked embarrassed, she kept nudging Benitsubasa in the side and muttering to her to calm down. Ah, that explains it, thought Tetsuya. Akitsu was standing there looking as disinterested as usual. He turned back to face Uzume and Toyotama.

"Have you girls seen my mom's duck?" he asked calmly. Although his voice was calm as he said this a flaming oni mask appeared behind him. Uzume's and Toyotama's faces drained of color at the sight of the mask. Miya giggled, he certainly was Takehito's son.

"Which duck do you mean Tetsuya?" Uzume nervously.

"You know exactly which one I mean." he said

"We found it in the bathroom." said Toyotama guiltily.

"Toyotama! C'mon we swore not to tell." said Uzume, sounding like a 10-year old girl whose friend had broken a pinky promise.

"What's the use? They know already!" said Toyotama to her.

"I'll talk to you two later. But, I have business elsewhere. So we will talk later." said Tetsuya. He walked outside to see Karasuba standing in the yard. As he left he saw Miya's hannya mask begin to appear as she turned to face Uzume and Toyotama.

"Don't do any permanent damage mom." he called as he shut the door behind him. He turned to face the Black Sekirei, who had waited patiently in the front yard.

"Thanks for waiting Karasuba, and don't get me wrong I'm glad to see you. But, why are you here? There are still 14 unwinged Sekirei out and about." Tetsuya said as he remembered the data on the laptop that MBI had given him. It contained a list of winged and unwinged Sekirei that was updated as the unwinged ones found Ashikabis.

"Not since numbers 11,12,06, and 02 were winged today." Karasuba said. Tetsuya sighed, he hated when Karasuba called Sekireis by their numbers and not their names.

"C'mon Karasuba, we talked about this." he said exasperatedly.

"Sorry, not since Matsu, Homura, Hikari, and Hibiki were winged today. I forgot that you're so sensitive about that. That means the Second Stage is about to start and Minaka wants you back at the Tower ASAP." said Karasuba with chuckle. Tetsuya made a mental note to find out who had winged Matsu, he already had a fairly good guess who had winged Homura.

"Two things; first, tell Minaka he can bite me. Second, at least give me a day to say my goodbyes. It'll only be a day, I promise. Miya's about to kick me out anyways." he said pleadingly. Karasuba smirked.

"Fine, I'll tell Minaka. I'll see you tomorrow. I know I'm not welcome here." she said as she turned to leave. But before she could take a step, Tetsuya grabbed her from behind, spinning her around and gathering her into a hug. She just stood there in shock for a few moments trying to comprehend exactly what was happening.

"What are you doing?" she said blankly. She had not expected this. She stood there in his arms, still trying to wrap her head around what was happening, she had no idea how no react to this sudden gesture.

"Well the common name for it is a hug." Tetsuya said with a laugh, not letting go of her.

"I know what its called, I meant why are you doing it." she snapped. Tetsuya held her at arms length to get a better view of her face. She wore a look of irritated confusion.

"I just want you to know, I don't care what anyone, including my mom, says about you. I think you're a good person deep down. I meant it when I said it was good to see you. I missed you, I just want you to know that." he said as he kissed her forehead. And on that day, for the first time in living memory, Sekirei #04, Karasuba, the Black Sekirei, blushed. It lasted only a few seconds before it subsided and was replaced by her normal carefree, if somewhat cold demeanor. She gave an apathetic chuckle before saying,

"Whatever you say Tetsuya. I'll see you tomorrow." she said as she turned and walked away. What was that feeling back there? If I didn't know better I'd say it was... No, it couldn't be... Could it?, she thought as she headed back to MBI Tower, she had a lot to think about...

Tetsuya headed back inside to see Miya waiting for him.

"So? What did she want?" she asked severely.

"The Second Stage is about to start, so Minaka wants me to move into the tower tomorrow." said Tetsuya.

"Wait. Does this mean we work for MBI now?" he heard Hikari ask from behind him.

"No, I work for MBI, along with Benitsubasa, Haihane, and Karasuba. You girls will simply be tenants in the tower. If you're okay with it, that is." he said as he turned to face the twins, who were in the living room.

"Of course." Hibiki said as she took a sip from a teacup in front of her. They couldn't exactly complain, they had lost their MBI cards and were sharing a one bedroom apartment. At that moment, Kagari and Yukari walked in to the living room holding hands.

"He Miya, can I talk to you about something?" he asked her.

"Of course Kagari. Can the rest of you give us some space?" she asked as her hannya mask appeared again, nearly scaring Hikari and Hibiki to death.

"Of course, come on girls. I'll introduce you to everybody." Tetsuya said as he beckoned them upstairs. They went upstairs, where Tetsuya introduced Hikari and Hibiki to the rest of his Sekireis. After a few hours of hanging out Miya called them down to dinner.

They all went down and ate together, where Kagari announced he would be moving in with Yukari. Tetsuya pointed out that he better act the exact same at his new house as he does here. Seeing how Takami would take none too kindly to Kagari deflowering her daughter.

After dinner, Musubi and Benitsubasa went out into the backyard to spar, while Uzume took Haihane to her room to give her a makeover, insisting that the Indigo Sekirei desperately needed it. Yukari followed Kagari to help him pack up his things. Minato went to take a bath. Akitsu went off with Hibiki to show her some interesting books she had recently purchased, it appeared reading was one of many hobbies that the two girls shared. Hikari volunteered to go pack up the girls' things from their shared apartment to prepare for the imminent move to MBI Tower.

Tetsuya headed to his room to be alone. He had had a long day, one of many in the past month since he had winged Uzume. He began to undress when he felt a pair of hands on his back, he turned to see Toyotama kneeling on the floor behind him. He sighed,

"Toyotama, please, not tonight. I'm already in enough trouble today." he said tiredly.

"I'm not here to try anything." she said quietly as she began to massage his shoulders."I came to apologize."

Tetsuya turned around to look at her. She looked very sad, she was looking down at the floor. The usual feisty expression was gone, in its place sat a look of shame. Her usual energetic demeanor was gone she looked like the life had gone out of her. He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her blue eyes.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong." he said to her.

"But if it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have had to work for Minaka." she said quietly.

"Hey, listen to me. I don't care what I have to do to keep you or any of the other girls in my life, I wouldn't trade having known you for anything." he said.

"But you said-"

"I said I took the job because Minaka threatened you girls, you should have guessed from that fact that I would do anything for you girls, even work for Minaka." he said as he gathered her into a hug.

"You mean it?" she asked in a choked voice as she hugged him tightly.

"I do." he said as he sat back and kissed her gently on the lips. He went back to his duffel bag and finished changing into his pajamas, after which he laid down Toyotama stayed to keep him company, and Tetsuya spent the next hour getting know her better. She enjoyed fighting, though according to her, she also liked trying her hand and drawing and promised to show Tetsuya a few of her sketches at a later date.

After an hour and a half he dozed off, when Akitsu and Hibiki came to visit later they found him and Toyotama sound asleep. Benitsubasa and Haihane had taken off for the tower earlier that night. After a brief discussion with Miya, it was decided that Hikari and Hibiki would spend the night in Kagari's old room. The man had packed up his things a few hours earlier and headed to Yukari's apartment. He had only had a few boxes, the man owned very little other than clothes. In the morning Tetsuya packed his things and headed off towards the tower in the center of the city with his Sekirei. All of them ready to begin a new chapter of their lives. Tetsuya didn't care what he had to do or where he had to go, as long as he got to stay with all of them.

On a nearby rooftop...

Yume watched as the boy took off on his motorcycle for MBI headquarters. He certainly cares for all of them. It definitely explains why I'm reacting to him, she thought. She would definitely need to meet with him soon, but for now she was content to watch...

At MBI Tower...

Tetsuya got off the elevator at the floor the receptionist had indicated. It looked like a penthouse, it was expensively furnished, with a full stocked kitchen, with 3 separate bathrooms, including the master bath. There were several small apartments that joined with the larger central area, with a door that led to what looked like a pool. Tetsuya headed to the master bedroom and set his duffel bag and backpack on the bed and headed back into the main area which contained a kitchen, living room, and dining room. All of them large enough to hold him and all his Sekireis and even a few extra guests. He turned to see a woman step off the elevator and walk over to him, she wordlessly handed him an envelope and returned to the elevator and disappeared.

"What have you got there?" asked Uzume asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind him and set her chin on his shoulder. Tetsuya opened the envelope and scanned the contents silently.

"It's a message from Hayato Mikogami of the South. He wants to meet with me to discuss... it doesn't say what he wants to discuss." Tetsuya said quizically.

"Well that's odd. What do you think he wants?" said Uzume as she grabbed the letter from his hand and scanned it.

"Nothing good I bet." Tetsuya said seriously...

Somewhere in the East sector of Shintou Teitou...

"Here is your target, you know what to do." said Kakizaki. The woman wordlessly took the photo from the desk and exited the office.

"Can we trust her Higa?" the man asked his employer.

"It doesn't matter, worst case scenario is she dies and we are one competitor closer to the goal. Besides that boy needs to learn what happens when you toy with Higa Izumi." said the man as he looked out the panoramic window behind his desk.

"He will pay dearly for what he has done. No one treats me like that and gets away with it, certainly not after stealing from me." Higa said, as he rubbed the bandages that were reminders of just how dangerous Tetsuya Asama was...

AN: Alrighty guys, who did Higa send after Tetsuya? Will Miya be proven right about Karasuba? Or Will Tetsuya teach her what Yume tried to all those years ago? How will Tetsuya and his flock adjust to their new lives at MBI? What does Mikogami want with Tetsuya? Find out in the next chapter. Also form this point on, BEWARE OF INCOMING CITRUS FRUIT! Future chapters are likely to contain lemons, rating will be changed to M to accommodate new content.