Chapter 10
Two days had passed ever since Jenny had arrived at Izumo Inn, making it a Friday. Nothing truly noteworthy had happened in that time. Jenny had been allowed to move in after paying for her room, and when Dante inquired about it, she admitted to having soniced a ATM for cash just in case.
Miya was keeping her promise of training Musubi everyday and the girl was progressing in leaps and bounds, not fast enough to touch Miya, but she was much smoother in her attacks and was able to link them together in order to improve them. Tobias was working tirelessly to improve his sensory ability, having just started it and wanting to perfect it for its endless possibilities and applications in the near future. So far, his range was only 50 feet, and the outlines, while clearer then before, were still too blurry for his preference. Also, he still needed to meditate to use the ability, something he wished to change.
Dante was thinking of the meeting set Sunday at the hospital with the Ashikabi of the East, Higa Izumi. He had been thinking of how it could possibly go down, how he could make it so Uzume would ask for help rescuing her Ashikabi, and how he could take down the bastard of a Ashikabi. So every chance he got he would lock himself in his room and get on his laptop, hacking records to get blueprints and specifics about the hospital building as well as other buildings of key importance. He would use Matsu's room, since her set up was more sophisticated, but he couldn't think of how he could kick her out of her room without a rousing suspicion, either as to why he did, or how he could hack as well as he could. Either way the trouble wasn't worth it.
Another thing that was concerning him was Kagari. He hadn't seen the fire user ever since he had met Jenny. Tobias had checked on him and he seemed fine, but Tobias also said the air around him had been rising in the exact way air did when there was heat, making it ripple. That concerned Dante, since it implied Kagari's body heat was high or his powers were being slightly unstable. That's why he was now sitting in Matsu's room at 2 in the afternoon, talking to her while Miya was out running an errand with Musubi, Akitsu was playing with Ku in the park, and Kazehana was out doing Rassilon knows what.
"Reactions?" Matsu sounded confused as she turned from her bank of computer monitors. "Why do you want to know that?"
"A few reasons, but the main one is because if a Sekirei reacts and I don't want to or can't immediately wing them, I want to know what happens, as well as reaction signs."
Matsu nodded. "It's easy enough. Since I'm a brain type, information is my specialty."
She then started typing rapidly, bringing up several information windows as she said, "Reaction has 5 levels. Level one is mild, a slightly flush on the cheeks and labored breathing being the signs. As you go up higher and higher, the flush becomes more noticeable and the breathing heavier, as well as glazing of the eyes. But as levels of reaction get higher, it gets more dangerous."
"How so?" Dante asked, interested.
"The higher the level, the more violent the reactions are and the more they'll want to be winged."
"Like you." Dante smirked.
"Yes." Matsu had the decency to blush and adjust her glasses, embarrassed. Though she then grinned like a pervert. "I also still need to experiment with you to."
"Good luck with that. Keep in mind I am a lot stronger then you, last time you surprised me. Plus, Miya can walk in."
The last point caused Matsu to fearfully look at the door, like the lavenderette might have walked in unnoticed.
"Right. So, you also wanted to know what happens if you don't wing a Sekirei for one reason or another. That's a related matter that's tied closely to reactions."
Matsu pulled up more data and explained. "Sekirei have a instinctive desire to be winged when they find the person who is supposed to be their Ashikabi. Now, if they aren't winged, or don't want to be, that's when it gets complicated."
"How so?" Dante asked, getting more and more curious.
"As a Sekirei goes longer and longer without being winged, things start changing. Their bodies start reacting more and more violently, trying to get to their Ashikabi to be winged. Now, first come dreams connecting their Ashikabi."
"Like Ku did with me."
"Exactly. But if that doesn't work, power types would start losing control of their powers. For example, Akitsu would be uncontrollably freezing anything in the area around her and Ku would cause plants to grow wildly."
Dante thought for a few seconds then asked the question pressing down on him.
"What would happen with a fire type?"
Matsu paused for a second, fingers still before saying, not looking at Dante.
"Their powers would go out of control, growing stronger and stronger until they literally burned up."
He frowned. This was just as bad as he thought.
"Thanks Matsu. I'll be sure to pay you back for this." He grunted as he stood up, stretching his stiff legs.
"Well, maybe..."
"Except that." Dante dead panned.
"Oh." Matsu pouted. Chuckling, Dante gave her a kiss on the head, then left the room. He walked down the stairs to the yard, opening it and walking through.
Jenny was sparring lightly with Tobias, trading blows back and forth. Due to her 'birth', Jenny had reflexes and strength to fight hand to hand with most people, and she kept herself in shape to do so if needed. Tobias went for hand to hand combat to help integrate his wind powers into his fighting style, but wasn't currently using them in an offensive way due to Jenny being weak enough to be seriously hurt by them if something went wrong.
Jenny spun kicked towards Tobias head and he jumped over her, flipping over her and using his powers to make his jump higher. He spun, using his powers instinctively to decrease air resistance as he did, increasing his speed. He tried a kick at Jenny's mid riff, but she grabbed his leg before pushing back, knocking him off balance and causing them both to fall, her on too while still holding his leg. She then kept pulling up and said, "Do you give?"
"Never." Tobias growled, grabbing Jenny's head before using his powers to lift them both and spin them both. Dizzy, Jenny's grip loosened and Tobias yanked his leg out. He then let Jenny go and she hit the ground stunned. Quickly, Tobias pressed his right forearm to Jenny's throat and pressed down while kneeling on her right arm to pin it and holding the other with his left hand.
"Not bad." Jenny said, impressed. "But you left my legs free."
Jenny jerked up with her knees, hitting Tobias in the back and making him jerk forwards. She used the momentum of him moving forwards quickly. She jerked both legs up, flipping over him and his back. Once she had her feet down, she pushed down on Tobias back, making him face plant into the ground as she grabbed his right arm and twisted it behind him, making him yell in pain.
"Yield!" Jenny said firmly, pressing her knee in between Tobias's shoulder blades.
"All right, all right, I give!" Tobias shouted, muffled by the ground as he smacked it three times with his free hand.
"Good." Jenny said cheerfully, getting up off him and pulling him up.
"You've gotten better." Dante noted, stepping off the porch easily as they both looked. "Same clothes through."
Indeed, Jenny was wearing the same clothes she had the day of her 'birth,' a light green shirt tucked into camo pants and black combat boots.
"Well, what can I say? I was born in these." Jenny said, looking down at her attire fondly. "It's just comfortable."
"Didn't say there was anything wrong with it, just thinking out loud." Dante assured her.
"So, did you find out what you wanted?" Tobias asked, brushing off his shirt. Dante noticed it was a short sleeve black shirt with some red design on the front in some sort of pattern but he didn't notice it as much as the fact Tobias still had the wrist TARDIS on.
"Why do you still have that on?"
"Hhmm?" Tobias looked where Dante was looking. "Oh, River made it so unless she said a specific phrase it can't be removed. She got the idea from your own gizmo."
Dante nodded, smirking as he imagined the reaction of the creator of his Ultramatrix and it being called a 'gizmo.'
"So, what did Matsu say about reactions?" Jenny asked, wanting to know what he found out, and though she didn't know why, slightly worried for Kagari. They hadn't seen him in the past two days ever since he had met Jenny, not even at meals anymore.
"Nothing good."
He motioned to the porch and they all sat down, Dante explaining what he had learned and how dangerous it was for Sekirei who weren't being winged despite reaction, and what would happen if they weren't. They were silent for a minute until Tobias asked, "So what do we do?"
Dante sighed rubbing his chin. "Don't know. I guess we'll have to think of something before..."
"KYAAAAAAAAAA!" Uzume's voice screamed from inside the house.
"I had to say something!" Dante smacked himself as the three of them ran inside and up the stairs where Uzume's voice had come from. As they ran up, Dante noticed flickering light in the ceiling and he had a sinking feeling. As they got to the top, the feeling increased.
Uzume was standing with her back to them, hands shielding her face from a blaze that was in the hallway, and in the center was...
"Kagari!" Tobias yelled, seeing the fire user hunched over himself in the center of the blaze. "What are you doing?!"
"I-I can't stop it!" Kagari groaned, looking up, his eyes frightened. "The flames aren't listening!" He grunted and fell to his knees, hunched over again as the blaze grew stronger.
"Damn it!" Tobias growled before running towards him.
"Tobias!" Jenny cried as he went into the flames, but they didn't burn him. Tobias's had created a temporary vacuum around himself to keep the flames out. Tobias reached Kagari in the center and touched him on the shoulder, but things went wrong.
The flames burst out at him, knocking him back while destroying his concentration and subsequently, the vacuum. The flames hit him the chest and burned through his shirt, charring his chest as he screamed in pain.
"Tobias!" Dante shouted, running forwards and catching the user in his arms as he flew back, skidding slightly as he looked down. Tobias chest was now burned in several places, shiny red in some while patches were bleeding and a small patch the size of his hand was black and charred. The wind user was knocked out but his face still tensed in pain.
"Damn it." Dante growled as he saw the wounds. Kagari's powers were going into overdrive. At this rate it would burn down the whole inn, the only reason it hadn't already was because Kagari was using what little control he had to prevent it. He needed to do something.
Just as Dante was setting Tobias against the wall, He saw something zip past him and looked up to see Jenny running towards him.
"Jenny, stop!" Dante shouted, but she didn't listen as she dove into the flames. She was moving quickly through them until she had reached Kagari. She then did something that shocked everyone present.
She cupped Kagari's face, lifted it, and kissed him.
Kagari's eyes were wide as a red light formed on his back, the flames around him compressing and focusing on his back as they formed wings of red fire.
After a second, the wings smoldered out of existence, leaving the passage darker and quieter.
Jenny pulled back from Kagari, blushing bright red at what she had just done. She didn't know why she had done that, she had just...reacted.
"Well, that was...different." Dante said, temporarily forgetting the situation.
"Indeed."
Everyone turned around to see Miya was standing at the end of the hall, a bag in her hand and Musubi behind her.
"Miya." Dante said in relief. "About time you got home."
"What happened?" Miya asked as she set down the bag and quickly walked down, looking over them all.
"Kagari was just coming out his room," Uzume started explaining. "But he wasn't looking good and when I asked him if he was ok, his powers started going out of control."
Kagari managed to get to his feet, but his clothes were signed from the previous out of control use of his powers. "I'm sorry, I couldn't stop it, and Tobias..."
Dante knelt and looked over Tobias again, but he was still unconscious. Miya knelt next to him and frowned when she saw the burns.
"These need to be treated before they get infected. Bring him upstairs while I get the first aid kit."
"No, I'll take care of it. Jenny, get the door to my room." Dante said as he picked up Tobias, slinging an arm over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Miya asked, confused.
"I have a more effective way of healing him other then burn ointment and bandages, but I need privacy. Jenny, downstairs and get the door." They quickly went down the stairs, Dante being careful with Tobias as they hurried to Dante's room.
Jenny went and opened the door as Dante walked through and set Tobias on the couch, Jenny going beside him to quickly look over him herself. Dante went back to the he door just as something was stuck in it, preventing it from closing. He looked to see Miya holding her sheathed sword in the doorway, looking stern as she did.
"Miya," Dante asked pleasantly, "Could you please remove your sword so that I can shut the door?"
"Of course," Miya replied in a tone that was both pleasant and stern. "Just as soon as I come in as well." The woman took a single step forward, no doubt making an attempt at moving into the room before Dante could deny her access. She didn't get any further than that single step, however, as the teen she was currently at odds with stepped directly in her path.
"Miya, I'm sorry, but I need privacy to heal Tobias." Dante said.
"Jenny is in there." Miya said.
"Let me rephrase that last statement. I need privacy from people who don't know my past." Dante said coldly, getting impatient with the landlady. "You'll get in the way."
"I suggest you rethink what you just said," Miya spoke in a tone that was chillier than a winter in the frozen tundra. "This is my house, and while you are a guest in my house, you will follow the rules that I lay down and listen to me. If I tell you that I am going to be with you while you help Tobias, you are not going to stop me. Am, I, clear?"
Dante's eyes were flat and his gaze colder then space. "Crystal." He ground out, his patience finally reaching his limit. While the burns on Tobias would not kill him, they were still very painful, and the longer they remained unhealed the greater the chances were that they would get infected, particularly that painful looking third degree burn. And this woman was stopping him from doing his job. "However, you're still not getting in."
What happened next would be something that Miya would not be able to describe even if she tried. One minute, she was looking into Dante's eyes, and the next all she felt was incredible killing intent that was so strong it was almost a physical blow as she stumbled backwards and almost tripped over her own feet.
Looking up, she saw the black aura that surrounded him two days prior, but it was different this time. Aside from the chains that started to wither around near the point of thrashing, there was also a pair of green eyes looking from the blackness. The eyes narrowed before a grin appeared and gave a deep and evil chuckle, the sound making it feel like her blood had turned to solid ice. And then it was gone, disappearing so suddenly that Miya had to blink and wonder if she had just imagined it.
Without giving the woman time to recover and make another attempt at getting in his way, Dante spun on his heels and the door suddenly slammed shut behind him. The sound of a lock clicking into place signified that he had locked the door so she couldn't get in without breaking the door down.
"M-Miya," the scared voice of Uzume sounded in her ears. The lavenderette did not turn, she was too busy staring at the door that had just closed on her face. Her mind was busy trying to replay the last few seconds of that conversation in her mind, trying to help her discern what had just happened. Unfortunately, at the moment all she could think about was that thing that had appeared behind Dante when he had finally lost his patience with her.
"Wh – do you know what that was?" The question seemed to snap the woman out of her funk, and she finally turned her head to look at a wide eyed and extremely pale Uzume. So she had seen it too, then. Turning her head some more, Miya saw that it looked like everyone had seen the same thing she had. Musubi was shaking violently and looked terrified as she stared at the door, while Kagari was looking at the door terrified and breathing heavily, looking paler then a corpse
Turning back to Uzume, Miya shook her head. "I-I don't know what it was," her voice sounded just as stupefied as the rest, and maybe even a touch fearful as well. She looked back at the door, taking several deep breaths to calm herself down. While she felt and looked sufficiently calm, her eyes showed how furious she was at Dante for what he had done. She looked back at the door one more time, before spinning on her heels and walking down the hall, stopping outside the stair case.
"All I know was that was no Hanya." She said as she walked upstairs.
Dante sighed as he leaned against the door for a moment. He didn't like using his killing intent as he did, but it was necessary. This situation, though terrible, could prove to be exactly what he had needed to move his plan along. But first things first, Tobias needed healing.
He went back to him and took out his sonic, scanning Tobias as he did.
"How bad?" Jenny asked, holding a hand to Tobias forehead to check his temperature.
"He has first degree burns to his entire torso, some second degree burns in patches, but that black spot is a third degree burn. His ribs are slightly cracked and I think he might have some mild internal bleeding."
"So what are you going to use to heal him? We don't have any equipment."
"Never say never."
Dante pocketed his sonic and tapped the Ultramtrix a few times before pushing on the dial. A low breeze started going through the room with a tell tall sound of VWOOORP VWOOOORP VROOOOORP.
The TARDIS started flickering into sight in the middle of the room before settling into solidity. Dante went to it and pulled on the sign, showing the telephone. He picked up the earpiece and twisted the dial inside three times, then spoke into the mouth piece.
"Initiate protocol delta, alpha, sub sigma 7-4. Release nanogenes."
Dante hung up then and closed the door to the phone before pushing open the door to the inside. He instantly spotted a glowing cloud of gold glitter floating next to it. He stepped back and the cloud drifted out, letting Dante close the door.
"What are those?" Jenny asked as Dante went back to Tobias, the cloud following him.
"Nanogenes. Tiny microscopic machines that can heal tons of things. Burns are simple, they just need the right inspiration."
Dante held up his right hand, the cloud focusing on it and whirling around it for a second before Dante put his hand on Tobias's chest over the third degree burn. The nanogenes spread out over Tobias like a swarm, targeting his injuries and healing them with remarkable speed, making it look like the burns were melting and leaving behind flawless skin. They then sunk into Tobias for a second before coming back out and floating for a second above him, then flying back to the TARDIS. The door opened and admitted them before it closed with a slam, leaving the room silent.
Dante lifted his hand to see the third degree burn gone without a mark.
"He should be fine in a few minutes. He'll be tired, but fine." Dante took a moment to point his sonic at the TARDIS and flipped it on, the whirr filling the room while the TARDIS flickered and vanished, a second out of sync with time.
With a tired sigh, Dante pocketed his tool, stood up from the bed and began walking to the door, Jenny choosing to stay with Tobias so she could explain what happened when he woke up.
Unlocking and opening the door, Dante made his way outside. The hallway was empty, well, mostly empty. It took the clinking of chains for him to realize that Akitsu was in the hall. The ice user had taken to sitting against the wall next to his room, her back straight as she sat in seiza. It seemed that the moment the door had opened, she had focused her attention on him, which would explain the clinking of her chains.
"Have you been here the whole time?" asked Dante as he turned to fully face the woman. He was surprised when she was back. He figured she'd still be at the park with Ku, but they must have come back only minutes ago and found out what had happened.
"Ah, yes," she admitted with little hesitation. Dante nodded to himself as he held out a hand to the snow woman. After a second or two, he realized that she hadn't taken it. Looking down he saw she was staring at the appendage in confusion, probably not quite sure why he was offering her his hand.
"Come on, Akitsu," he said, making a gesture with the hand he had offered.
"Let's get you up and than meet up with the others." Akitsu blinked, then slowly reached her hand out towards his. The moment their hands touched, her pale cheeks turned a light shade of pink.
Dante lips twitched ever so slightly as he pulled the ice user to her feet. The woman really did look quite adorable when she blushed like that. Normally she was pretty unflappable from what he had seen so far, and the only time she ever blushed seemed to happen when he was some way involved. Though he was surprised by how shy she could act, considering this was the woman who often times forgot to wear panties.
"So where are the other's?" asked Dante as he switched gears.
"Ah...upstairs." The ice user said in her normal monotone, but Dante detected a hint of unease.
"Well, let's go get them." Dante said as he walked down the hall to the stairs, the usual sound of chains following him.
Before he could actually beginning walking up the stairs, Dante heard the hurried sound of footsteps coming from the very direction he planned on going. Less then a second later, two of his Sekirei, Kusano and Musubi, appeared at the top of the stairs. The two stopped the moment they saw Dante, a pair of nearly identical smiles appearing on their faces, right before they launched themselves down the stairs and made to tackle Dante in a hug.
"Dante!" Musubi shouted out as she nearly bull dozed Dante over, running smack into him and wrapping her arms around him in one of her earth shattering hugs. Dante stumbled back several steps. Thankfully he was fairly used to the girls spontaneous bursts of affection, as well as just how ridiculously strong she was. If he wasn't, then Dante might have actually ended up getting seriously injured by the girl by accident.
Despite the creaking of his ribs, the teen began returning the girls hug, feeling happy for a split second.
"You're so amazing!" his first Sekirei continued crowing as did her utmost to smother him with affection. Down below Musubi, hugging on to his left leg, Kusano added her own 'Mmhmm!' of agreement with the older Sekirei's words while nodding her head. Dante blinked at the pair, nonplussed as he wondered what he had done that would warrant this kind of reaction from his girls. While part seemed to admire him a lot, he hadn't been around them for the past few hours. Naturally he was curious. "I can't believe you managed to heal Tobias like that! Your powers are so cool!"
Dante really should have known better than to tempt fate. Like a bucket of ice cold water being dumped on him, the timelord felt his entire body run cold. His mind blanked for a full second before rebooting and trying to put the words
Musubi had just spoken in a format he could understand.
Had she really just said what he thought she did? But how would she even know about the way he had healed Tobias? She knew he was powerful, but she wouldn't have been able to come to the conclusion that he was capable of healing people as well. No offense to Musubi, he liked her, he really did, but she wasn't very sharp when it came to using common sense and logic. So how had she managed to find out he had healed Tobias with his medical equipment? The only way she could have done that was if she had actually seen him at work, and the only way she could have seen him was if she was there or...
Matsu.
He forgot about her spy cameras. In his haste to help his friend, Dante had forgotten Matsu had cameras all over the house, which should include his room. So they had seen the TARDIS, the nanogenes, everything. The entire house, except for Akitsu and Kazehana, knew about his technology. But this situation went two ways. A curse...and a gift.
"Dante?"
Dante looked Musubi who looked confused. Glancing down, he saw Ku had the same look.
"Sorry, got to thinking about something. Where is everyone?"
"Upstairs." Musubi said, still confused.
Dante nodded, thinking.
"Musubi, why don't you and Ku go take a bath? Akitsu, help them with that please. I need to talk to Matsu."
Musubi nodded cheerfully "Ok!"
"Ah...yes."
Ku looked up at Dante. "Is something wrong?"
Dante looked down and grinned at the sight. Ku ws looking up under her bangs, her eyes wide and innocent. Combining the two, she looked extremely adorable.
"No. Just...something I have to take care off."
Ku nodded and cheered, "Ok!"
Dante chuckled as the trio walked down the hall. He then looked up the stairs and started walking up, pushing open the secret door without hesitation. It wasn't long before Dante found himself standing in front of the secret entrance to Matsu's room. Without a moments hesitation, the teen put a hand on the door and pushed it open as he walked in.
Matsu was there, just as he had expected. She was looking at him in a resigned manner, which meant she had somehow heard the conversation downstairs and knew that he was possibly not happy with her. It wouldn't surprise him if she had spy camera's set up there as well. A glance around the room also showed him the monitor she had used to spy on him when he healed Tobias. It still showed the inside of his room, and he could see the wind user lying on the couch but was stirring with Jenny helping him up. Judging from the angle of the camera, it was the perfect view to watch him when he called in the TARDIS and use the nanogenes.
The fact that she had not even bothered hiding the screen told him a lot, probably more than Matsu could even realize. Firstly, it was clear that Matsu already knew that he knew she had been spying on him, and obviously felt that by not hiding that fact she would show him that she hadn't meant any harm by it. Secondly, the expression on her face told him that whatever she had been expecting to see while spying on him, what he had done was not it. She was surprised by his technology most likely, or at least confused. Perhaps she was hoping that by proving she meant no harm when she had spied on him, he would answer the questions that were no doubt brimming in his mind.
Dante silently closed the door behind him and locked it to give them privacy. He then walked to Matsu, sat down while crossing his legs, and looked at her for a few minutes, making her squirm uncomfortably.
"Miya asked you to didn't she?" Dante asked calmly.
Matsu flinched and slowly nodded looking at the ground in shame.
"I'm not angry, but you should know why I refused to let Miya in the room. Did it not occur to you that perhaps, just like Miya, I have things about me that I wish to keep secret? What could have possibly possessed you to spy on me while I was attempting to help one our friends?"
Matsu winced, but didn't flinch away from him as he mentioned what he had been doing. "Dante is a very mysterious person." She said quietly, but Dante could feel through he bond on how guilty she felt about what she had done and invading Dante's privacy.
Taking off her glasses, a change seemed to overtake Matsu. Without the round lenses on her face seemed thinner, enhancing her already attractive features, and making her seem more mature than the childish Sekirei he had known for all of a day. The change was so startling that it was almost enough to make Dante forget about why he had come here in the first place. For a moment, all he could think about was how beautiful the woman before him was. A small shake of the red managed to help rid him of the thoughts, allowing him to focus on Matsu as she spoke.
"He seems to be taking things seriously and is doing his best to learn about the Sekirei Plan and be a good Ashikabi, but Dante is still a very mysterious person. We know so little about him. And his friends know so much about him."
Matsu paused, seemingly in thought as if she were trying to decide on whether or not she should admit the next part. The pause didn't last long.
"Dante doesn't know this, but when Jenny arrived, Minaka put almost all of MBI's resources into researching Dante and his friends."
Dante was surprised that the idiot had tried to figure out his friends were.
"He didn't find anything, but that just made him fixate even more. He's issued complete surveillance on all of them to learn about them."
Dante frowned. This bastard was going too far in trying to find out who they were and it was pissing him off. But he calmly asked, "And that just made you more curious didn't it?"
Matsu nodded quietly.
Dante sighed rubbing his face. He took a deep breath as he dragged down his skin before looking at her.
"Matsu, I was planning to tell you all who I was and where I from. I was planning it soon, in complete trust."
Matsu seemed to deflate under Dante's words, feeling more and more guilty.
"I still will, but right now, I'm only going to tell you one thing." Matsu perked up as Dante went on. "But this is strictly between us. You will not tell Miya, or Uzume, Kagari, anyone else, no matter what they say, or do. Am I clear?"
Matsu nodded eagerly and Dante sighed.
"Come here."
Matsu sat down across from him and Dante said, "Close your eyes."
Matsu did so, relaxing as she did. Dante lightly touched her temples and closed his eyes. He then put one thing in her mind. One phrase.
Timelord human hybrid.
Matsu jerked back from Dante likes she had burned as her eyes snapped open, looking at Dante in shock. Dante was calmly looking at her as he said, "I told you in that way for a reason. It shows how much I trust you to keep this a secret and not dig into my friends and my past. Understood?"
Matsu nodded mutely, not stopping her staring at him. Dante smiled and kissed her, holding it for a second before separating.
"I will tell you all. Soon. And when I do, it means I'm ready to share. Just be patient with me."
Matsu nodded again, though she was out of her shock and slowly looking normal again as she put her glasses back on.
"Thank you. Can you tell me where Miya is?"
"Miya is in her room at the moment." Matsu said, not looking at her monitors to confirm this.
"Thank you. Do me a favor too. Keep watching MBI and let me know if they're doing anything drastic, and see what you can do about the complete surveillance."
Matsu nodded. Dante smiled and gave her a kiss again.
"You're then best." He said as he got up and walked out of the room, waving over his shoulder as he did. Matsu smiled before thinking of the phrase now in her head.
'Timelord human hybrid...' She mused, thinking.
She had known he would be coming. When the knock on her door sounded within her room, Miya Asama already knew exactly who would be there. Standing up from where she had been sitting in front of the shrine dedicated to her husband, the landlady of Izumo Inn slowly walked over to the door. Her steps were measured, unhurried, as if she were not actually concerned about the oncoming conversation that was about to take place. Opening the door, Miya got her first good look at the person on the other side.
Dante was standing there calmly, hands in his pockets as he looked at the land lady. While outwardly he looked fine, Miya could see a slight look of betrayal in his eyes, and that small look cut her deeply.
"May I?" Dante asked calmly. Miya moved aside and let Dante in, closing the door behind him. He sat on one side of the small table and Miya sat on the other, both sitting calmly.
"You had to know, didn't you?" Dante asked levelly. Miya, to her credit, didn't flinch but rather replied calmly.
"As I said before, Dante," she started in a slow, careful voice, as if making sure that there was no way for the hybrid to misunderstand her words. "This is my house, and while you are a guest in this house, I expect you to obey me." Her purple eyes narrowed slightly. "Not only did you not obey me, but you deliberately made sure I could not follow you and locked me out."
"With good reason," Dante retorted, his own eyes narrowing.
"Perhaps," Miya admitted with a small shrug. "And Tobias may be you're friend, but he has become my friend as well as my tenant. I wanted to make sure you would not do anything untoward while tending him."
"I understand that, but it still does not give you the right to invade my privacy when I respected yours." Dante responded, snapping slightly which made Miya wince slightly.
"Is it really so bad that we know about your... abilities?" asked Miya, it was a question asked both out of curiosity and out of her desire to change the subject. She had a feeling that if she pursued the previous matter she would lose any argument they might have.
"No, but that's the problem!" Dante snapped, letting his temper sneak out slightly. "Because I was planning to tell you all when I was ready!"
Miya visibly flinched and felt like she had just been hit. Dante had been planning to tell them about himself?
Dante sighed. "Miya, I know more of your secrets then you can possibly imagine, but I respected your privacy and didn't pry. I was hoping you could respect my privacy as well."
Miya was falling deeper and deeper into guilt as Dante spoke. Dante was rather private person when it came to his past. Honestly, she was surprised he had let her know as much about him as he had, and his friends made her even more aware how little she knew about him. she was feeling worse then Seo at the moment, and that was close to rock bottom.
Dante stood up and bowed to her. "I am sorry for how I acted when I was healing Tobias. I will still tell you all about me when I'm ready. But for the time being, you'll have to earn back the trust you had before. Good day Miya."
He then left the room, leaving Miya to look down at the table in shame. She had ruined the trust Dante had in her by invading his privacy at a critical moment. She would admit when Dante had shut he door on her, she hadn't been thinking clearly. She had gone to Matsu to see what was happening in the room, and what she had seen had shocked everyone when he had healed his friend. Now she felt like she had stepped over the line in the worst way possible. She just hoped she could earn back the trust she had, or things would get very tense in Izumo Inn.
Dante walked up the stairs thinking deeply about what he had just done. He felt slightly guilty, but he knew things that others couldn't know until the time was right. If they did, things would go to hell faster than Musubi could polish off a meal.
Dante paused when he saw Uzume when he finally made it back up to the second floor. She was standing next to his door, her hips tilted slightly to the right, her left arm grasping her right one at the elbow as she no doubt waited for him. She looked nervous, he concluded. Her facial expression betrayed her, the way she shifted while waiting let him know how anxious she truly was. At the same time, there was a determination on her face that he had not seen for a while. Whatever she wanted to speak with him about, it was important enough that she was willing to cast aside her own fears to do so. The moment their eyes locked, her will seemed to form into a determined resolve. There was a hardened glint to them that Dante couldn't help but admire.
"Uzume," Dante acknowledged the girl as he walked up to his room. The busty Sekirei in the star shirt shifted again, choosing stand a bit straighter than she had been.
"Dante," she said, then hesitated before taking a deep breath. "Can we talk?"
Dante said, "I was going to check on Tobias and Jenny..."
Uzume said quickly, "Their fine. Jenny was bringing Tobias down to his room before you came up here. Please Dante, this is extremely important." Uzume said in a pleading tone.
Dante had a feeling he knew what this was about, and decided not to delay. He gestured for her to led the way and he followed her down down the hall towards the stairs.
Dante reentered the living room where Uzume was sitting with two empty cups and a pot of tea. Placing on cup in front of the brunette, he proceeded to pour some of the steaming liquid into it, then did the same to the cup he placed in front of the spot he would be sitting. Uzume grabbed the cup he offered in both hands and took a sip of her tea, her posture relaxing as she did so. When she removed the cup from her mouth, her enjoyment of the beverage Dante had made was clear on her face.
Dante smiled as he poured his own tea and sat down, taking a sip from his cup and enjoying the flavor mixing together in his mouth before swallowing. He absently watched Uzume as she sat before him. They were sitting on opposite sides of the table, which was pretty standard whenever they had meals. In fact, they had not sat on the same side in all the time they had been living together. Looking at the busty young woman, Dante could see that she was trying to bring up the conversation she wished to talk about, but was unsure how to do so. She would open her mouth every few seconds, look at him, and then promptly close it and look away. Just from that small action Dante already had an idea on what she wanted to discuss with him.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" he asked after the silence seemed to stretch on longer than necessary. If Uzume was not going to bring up the subject, then it would be up to him to push their conversation forward. He was slightly tired, and though he refused to show weakness in front of Uzume. This was important.
"That healing ability you have," she flinched like she expected him to shout, but Dante calmly sipped his tea, motioning to go on. "I wanted to ask you about it."
Dante took a sip of his tea, eyes closed before setting the cup down. He opened his eyes, which were now steel as he said in a slightly cold voice, "I suggest you tread lightly Uzume. This conversation can easily be closed if something is asked that is intruding."
Dante was testing the girl. He knew what she had come to him for, but he wanted to make sure she had the steel in her to take any risk to take care of what she held precious.
The Sekirei in front of him shrunk, but only for a moment. Dante raised his right eyebrow, impressed and pleased when he saw the tomboy's back straighten and her eyes harden in resolve once more. Though his warning had not been the most blunt, it hadn't been the most subtle either. If one were to look into Dante's eyes, they would easily see the fierce of gleam within them, the barely contained will to kill someone else should the situation call for it. The teen did not know if Uzume saw that, but it was clear that she had seen something. To still be willing to steal herself for what was to come was as admirable, and what he wanted to see.
"Can you heal more than just burns?" She asked directly. Inside Dante smiled. She was willing to risk her life for what she cared for. That was exactly what he had wanted to see and confirm the girl had.
"Yes." He said, the cold tone gone but his eyes still flat to make sure.
"And what about diseases?" Uzume asked, still staring at him with that intense look in her eyes. "Can you heal diseases as well?"
This time Dante allowed a slight smile on his face, though not enough Uzume would notice.
"Yes. The time it takes to treat them varies depending on the disease and how far it's progressed, but yes, I can heal those."
The answer seemed to be enough for the Sekirei and she abruptly stood, Dante doing so as well out of instinct.
Uzume suddenly pushed the table out of her way, then suddenly sunk down on her knees while placing both hands on the floor and lowering her head on it. The position was called Dogeza, and was a prostrated position only used when showing the highest displays of reverence or making the most earnest of requests. It also told him that he had been right in what Uzume had been going for when she had asked him about his healing.
"Please, Dante," she began, her voice no longer firm or determined, but desperate and despairing. "Please help me save my Ashikabi!"
"I have a feeling this conversation is going to be a bit longer than our usual ones," he said, his words making the Sekirei that he was not bonded to look up at him. "And important to everyone. How about I get them before you explain what this is about?"
Uzume nodded and Dante pulled her to her feet as they both left the room, Dante letting a smirk grace his face as he led the way out.
Time for Uzume to get back her Ashikabi.