I Hate Rice

Madoka stood before his place of employment. Beside him was Kaie whom he had been forced to buy a new outfit for. Her old outfit hadn't been entirely inappropriate, but there was no way his boss was going to hire a strange girl wearing a collar. They'd gone with a simple red sundress with wide shoulder straps that went down past her knees. Her "ample proportions" actually resulted in more skin showing, but at least the outfit wasn't so eccentric.

He frowned, at this rate Kaie was becoming more trouble than she was worth. If this job idea didn't pan out he was going to be pissed. It didn't help that Benitsubasa had decided to make things difficult...

. . .

"So, I think my boss would have a fit if I had Kaie show up dressed the way she is now. You know that dress I bo-"

"No!" Benitsubasa had refused Madoka's request before he could even finish it. "There's no way it'd fit her anyway. Just look at her huge br-"

"We don't know that. She hasn't even tried it on!"

"And she's not going to! It's mine! I picked it out for me!"

"Fine, be that way..."

. . .

He sighed at the memory; a real spitfire indeed. Kaie's new dress really wasn't that great, being very plain, but at least had been on sale. Somehow though, she made it look good which left him wondering what she'd look like in a nicer outfit.

"You're sure I have to wear this? It 's so... loose," Kaie tugged at the neckline of her dress. Madoka felt himself blush.

"Y-yeah, I'm sure!" he insisted quickly. He looked away before he went on. "Well, not that specifically, but your usual outfit is a definite no." He wondered what it was with sekirei and strange outfits. And was Oriha the only sekirei who didn't have something against dresses? Well, Kaie had picked it out, but since it was one of the few things that fit her that also fell within his price range, she hadn't really had much choice in the matter. "You can put your normal clothes back on later." Right, "normal."

"You know more than I do about this." Kaie nodded. At least so far she'd remained easy to work with.

"Right then, let's go," Madoka said tensely. The man who owned the store on the other hand could be difficult to deal with. The store used to have another employee, but after firing him, the owner hadn't exactly rushed to find a replacement, content to have Madoka do all the work. Would he be open to hiring Kaie?

The store didn't open for another half hour, so he had to use his key to get in. It was probably the first time in months he'd been there that early. He sometimes wondered why he hadn't been fired yet. He wasn't required to be there before the store opened, but he was still late a lot, though less so now since he'd cut back on visiting his family.

"Keisui-san, you're early."

"Oh, good morning Asahi-san," Madoka greeted. Kin Asahi ran the check-out counter. It was why the owner was free to scold Madoka even when customers were about.

"Hm, you know, I've noticed you've been meeting girls after work, but this isn't one of them," Kin mentioned, a mischievous smirk on her face, "bringing her into the store too. You're getting bolder," she teased him.

"About that." Madoka sighed. Kin was incredibly outgoing and social. After working there for only a week she was talking him up like he was her closest friend. It was like she felt this meant she could pry about things, no matter how personal it might be. However, she was too kind for him to get angry. He knew he'd end up feeling guilty if he called her on it. "She's actually looking for a job."

"Oh, really? Can't handle it all on your own?"

"No, not at all, it's just..." Madoka was stuck. How was he supposed to explain this? "Well, she's my cousin, and she needs the money." He wasn't the type to read manga or watch anime, but even he knew that was the most cliché lie ever. It worked though; Kaie's hair color matched his well enough, so they could actually pass as relatives to the casual observer. Claiming to be cousins would also explain away the fact that they didn't look that similar. He just had to hope that Kin would buy it.

"Really? Cousins? I didn't know you had a cousin," Kin said.

"My part of the family moved away for a while, but I moved back recently because I missed the city," Kaie told her, "when I mentioned I needed a job, Madoka offered to help me." Madoka had to stifle his surprise. Kaie's poker face was rock solid.

"Huh, well isn't that nice of you, Keisui-san," Kin commented. "The old man's in the back somewhere. We'll be opening soon, so hurry up." Madoka nodded in response and motioned for Kaie to follow him. Now for the hard part. He'd just have to hope the owner's impatient side would kick in and cause him to not ask too many questions.

They found him typing into a computer that looked almost as old as he was. The man didn't care though, so long as it could still, barely, connect to the internet. It was what he knew how to use. Madoka was hardly one to talk though, considering the age of his television, though that was more from a lack of funds than anything else.

"Excuse me, Chino-san," Madoka spoke to get his attention. The man looked up.

"I can overlook some things, Keisui-san, bu-" the owner began, but Madoka decided to clear things up immediately.

"This is my cousin, I was hoping she could work here," Madoka explained.

"Oh," the man grumbled, and then muttered a few words under his breath. He scratched his rapidly balding head. "I assume you will vouch for her?"

"Of course." Madoka nodded.

"Hmph, she's your responsibility. Two days, two days to prove herself. Any damages come out of your pay."

"Damages?" Kaie asked.

"If you break or drop anything. You'll be stocking a lot of shelves," Madoka explained. He was keeping a straight face for the sake of looking professional in front of his boss, but inside he was extremely relieved. That had been almost too easy, but he wasn't going to complain. He almost hoped Kaie stayed around for a while. Her presence in his house would make things a little crowded, but, barring any horrible screw ups, her presence at his job would make his life a lot easier. Hell, he spent most of his time at work anyway. Kaie seemed quiet, calm, and kind, so he didn't foresee her causing any trouble.

And... was the owner seriously staring at her chest? Madoka took a step to the side so his shoulder obscured the man's view of Kaie a little. Maybe that was why it had gone so easily. Considering the man frowned the moment he moved in the way – it probably was.

. . .

The day went almost flawlessly. It was a little tedious teaching Kaie the ropes, but she learned fast. She also never complained or got angry when he had to correct her on something. Maybe she was simply grateful that he was helping her, or maybe she was really that easygoing. He supposed just because his sekirei were difficult didn't mean that they all were.

"Madoka?" Kaie spoke as they walked home.

"Hm?" Madoka looked at her.

"Should I, um, should I introduce myself as Keisui now?" she asked. Her face was red as she said it.

"Err." That caught him totally off guard. "O-only at work or around people that are supposed to think you're my cousin. Otherwise you're j-just Kaie," he told her.

"I see, of course." She nodded. "You don't mind though?"

"No, it's fine." He shrugged. It's what they had to do for her to get the job right? So, why was she blushing so much?

. . .

"What are you grinning about?" Benitsubasa glared at him. Not the nicest welcome home he'd ever gotten.

"Nice to see you too," Madoka said. "Comfortable?" he asked, looking down at her on the couch.

"Oh yeah, I'm great. Only some minor throbbing across my entire body," she grumbled, crossing her arms stiffly. "So, why are you grinning?" Like a dog with a bone that one.

"I'm not."

"You were."

"I wasn't."

"You were!" Benitsubasa moved to sit up but her eyes immediately shot wide before slowly lowering herself down with a pained groan. "J-jerk."

"Is it a crime to be in a good mood?" Madoka shook his head. He had a pretty good idea about why she was getting riled up.

"You don't usually come home grinni-"

"I wasn't grinning." Madoka let out an impatient groan.

"-grinning." She scowled at him. "So what's different?"

"Noth-"

"Oh, actually, I do know what's different!" The look in her eye was nothing if not accusatory.

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure it's not that big of a deal," Madoka told her. Of course he knew she suspected Kaie was the reason for his abnormally elevated spirits. She wasn't entirely wrong, but he knew she had the wrong impression all the same. Just because Kaie was a pleasure to work with didn't mean Benitsubasa had anything to worry about. "Anyway, it's a long walk home. I need to use the bathroom."

He felt terrible about it, but part of him was glad that her injuries were still keeping her from being too animated. It meant she couldn't chase him as he "went to the bathroom."

After dinner, though, Benitsubasa limped off to his bedroom to rest. Oriha was in the kitchen as always, and Kaie was too, though Oriha's incessant glaring had caused her to pull a chair to the opposite end of the room. That left him with Sukaime in the living room. This worked out well, because he had a question for her.

"So," Madoka said.

"Hm? So what? So, Sukaime, you look especially pretty today. Your eyes sparkle like diamonds and your body-"

"Is fine, but I had a question," he cut Sukaime off before things got too ridiculous.

"You're no fun." Sukaime smiled though. "OK, shoot. What is it?"

"What's a norito?"

"Ooh, good question! Are you finally getting serious about things?" Sukaime grinned, kicking her feet excitedly.

"Well, considering that using one saved you three from dying, I figured I should know exactly what they are," Madoka told her.

"Right, well here it is. It's really not that complicated. Or maybe it is, but all you need to know is the basics. Which is good, because that's all I know!" Sukaime giggled. "OK look, when you kiss us our wings spread, right? We're connected to you, permanently. That makes you important. You're not here just to look pretty after all."

"Get to the point..."

"Hm, fine." Sukaime shrugged. "The kiss is how you winged us, and it's how you can interact with us. Oh sure you can talk to us and touch us, but kissing is special. It can be just for fun, or it can let us use our norito. When we want to remove another sekirei's wings, we use our norito, which is just a chant. But when you kiss us and we recite a norito, the chant will do a lot more; it'll let us use our powers on a much greater magnitude for a very short amount of time. Basically, we get one shot to go all out on our enemies."

"Wait, I remember. When I winged you, we kissed twice," Madoka spoke up, "did you...?"

"Yep, I used a norito!" Sukaime smiled. "You're a good student, Madoka-kun!"

"Um, thanks?"

"So, like I said, you're important. If you're not around during a fight, that means norito isn't an option. So if things get too hot, we're screwed without you," Sukaime explained, her expression turning a little more serious. "Is it all starting to sink in?" It was. He remembered his talk with Oriha again. It made sense now, he wasn't just there for moral support. The weight of the whole situation was starting to press down on him. The responsibility he had taken on by winging these sekirei was a lot bigger than he'd thought. He wasn't just along for the ride.

"I... I guess I'll try not to let you down," Madoka said. What else could he say? He probably should have said something a lot more confidence inspiring than that, but nothing was coming to him.

"That's all I ask!" Sukaime chirped, and suddenly leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"What have I told you?" Madoka scowled at her, though he felt his cheeks tingling with a blush.

"Right right, sorry. I guess my sex appeal is too much for your virginal self to handle. Don't want to overexcite you." Sukaime winked at him. Madoka's lips twitched. That was it, time to take her down a peg. He could do it with one sentence.

"I'm not a virgin." He had to keep himself from laughing. Her eyes widened, her lips turned white as they pressed together, turning her mouth into a thin line, while the rest of her face turned a lovely shade of deep red.

"O-oh," she said. "Um. Oh."

"Oh. Yeah, didn't see that coming did you?" He chuckled. "You know, for a while there I was thinking you didn't know how to blush."

"Y-you... You can't just drop a bombshell like that on me! My fragile heart might burst!" Sukaime whined and crossed her arms, looking away to hide her flushing face.

"I'll make you a deal. You keep that a secret and I won't tell Benitsubasa that for a few seconds your vocabulary was reduced to 'oh,' OK?" Now it was his turn to grin.

"What? Nooo! If you do that I'll never be able to keep her leashed in! All my work will be undone!" Sukaime begged. She threw herself prostrate on the couch, forehead to the seat, hands clutching at his pant leg.

"Leashed in?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, sh-she's a good dog, isn't she?" Sukaime looked up at him nervously.

"Well." Madoka rolled his eyes. "She does like to bark."

"Ha!"

. . .

Things continued to go unusually well. Benitsubasa was in a better mood than usual and she seemed to just ignore Kaie's presence now rather than take a fit over it. Yesterday had been Kaie's second day on the job, and so today she was an official employee. He had to assume MBI had interfered somehow since no such person as "Keisui, Kaie" actually existed. Yes, things were going smoothly. Why, why for the love of god could things not just keep going smoothly? Because, just over halfway through the work day, the door opened and two customers walked in.

"This is so demeaning! But I'm not losing to you, I don't' care if it's shopping!" A rather shrill, female voice shouted. OK, that was a little strange.

"Musubi won't lose either!" Fuck. Madoka peeked around the corner of a shelf to confirm his fears. Upon seeing the girl he immediately ducked back behind the shelf. Yes, yes it really was her. Musubi, the sekirei who had really wanted to "meet" Benitsubasa. "Oh, hello!"

"GAH!" Madoka nearly fell over in shock. She'd found him already.

"Sorry, did I scare you..." She looked down at his name-tag. "Madoka-san?" He'd never told them his name. He guessed they hadn't thought to check his tag last time. Well, she knew now.

"N-no, not at all," he glanced to the side. It had only given him a minor heart attack. "Don't tell me you ate all the rice already." He grimaced. He knew how much a sekirei could eat.

"Not yet!" The girl was way too happy. Benitsubasa would hate her on principle just for that. Well, that and for being a sekirei. "We're here for some other things this time."

"We?" Madoka hadn't recognized the other voice with her.

"Musubi! Stop wasting time!" Speaking of which, he could now see who the other voice belonged to. It was a woman in an outfit that he couldn't quite describe, but it involved a lot of white and black. Her chest was heavily exposed, showing off a substantial portion of her breasts, and her skirt was way too short. Looking at it, it reminded him slightly of Oriha's outfit, but far more revealing. Putting it simply, it was a tiny white dress with a long black overcoat that flowed down her back. Her long hair and her eyes were the same color as his, though her eyes were a solid blue.

"Oh, sorry," Musubi apologized, "but Tsukiumi, this is Madoka. He's an ashikabi!" Madoka winced at that. Tsukiumi was definitely a sekirei, and she must have belonged to Minato. He wasn't sure he wanted her to know about him. And how many sekirei did Minato have?

"Nice to meet you?" Madoka greeted her nervously.

"What?" Tsukiumi was now glaring at him intensely. So much for nice. "Hmph, and are any of his sekirei here?"

"Apparently they only meet him after work. I want to meet them though!" Musubi explained excitedly.

"Not. Happening." Madoka twitched. "Can you please just get whatever you came for and go? Otherwise, please find somewhere else to shop."

"Why you-" Tsukiumi growled.

"I'm going! I still want to meet your sekirei some day!" Musubi chirped, not perturbed in the slightest.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" As the two headed off into the store Madoka let out a long sigh. They left as violently as they came. It looked like they were racing. With a groan he got back to work. It was a smaller store, so he liked to just constantly restock and reorganize the shelves as people came and went. It kept him from getting too bored. There was usually always just enough to do to keep him busy, but not always.

"Madoka-san?" He turned to see Kaie peering at him from another aisle, just her eyes and the top of her head visible over the dividing shelves. "Were they sekirei?"

"Yeah. Did they see you?" he asked. She wasn't his, or even winged, but something told him that wouldn't keep her safe. She shook her head though.

"I hid. Do they come here often?"

"Apparently. This is the second time I've seen the brunette," he told her, "I'm betting we'll run into them again."

"OK. I'll be careful then," she said, and then got back to work.

"Good."

. . .

"Why do you have to stay in here?" Oriha asked. For whatever reason, Kaie had seen fit to invade the kitchen. As far as Oriha was concerned, the kitchen was hers. Well, technically it was Madoka's, but normally she had to the room to herself when she wanted. She hardly ever had to share the room except when someone was hungry. Well dinner was over, so why was Kaie still there?

"Am I bothering you?" Kaie asked from across the room. Well for one, just her being in the house bothered Oriha. Also, she was creepy. Kaie just sat there, silent, not doing anything. How could anyone be that patient?

"Why are you so quiet?" Oriha squinted suspiciously.

"I assumed you didn't wish to speak to me," Kaie told her simply.

"Well, yeah, but don't you get bored?" Oriha asked.

"Very," Kaie stared at her. "I wouldn't mind a conversation." Oriha opened her mouth, but then shut it. She honestly hadn't expected that. She'd thought Kaie had some trick to silently amuse herself, or would at least lie.

"Oh. Well, t-too bad," Oriha scoffed. There was just one problem with that. The problem being Oriha's own mind numbing boredom.

. . .

"No, I told you the first day, that goes here," Madoka told Kaie. It was her fifth and final day, for the week, on the job.

"The owner made us change it yesterday, remember?" Kaie counter-corrected him. Madoka stood there mouth open before shaking his head. She was right. Of course he'd gotten his job down to a science, and now the first time he had someone who he was supposed to be training, she was correcting him. That put a small crack in his fragile pride. It was sad that this job was all he felt had to pride himself on.

"Sorry," he said, and Kaie smiled and moved along. At least she'd been nice about it. He then looked up and saw Minato walk into the store. He felt he must have turned white as a sheet. "I'll quit, I swear I'm just going to quit this job," he muttered to himself. "Fuck this job." He wasn't getting paid enough to deal with this, though it wasn't like he could complain. What was he supposed to say to his boss? He had to leave because there were too many sekirei around? Yes, because that would go just swimmingly.

He tried to hide, but he swore the other ashikabi must have been looking for him.

"Oh, hey, Madoka-san right?" Minato said when he found him.

"That's what it says." Madoka glanced down at his own name tag.

"Oh, r-right, sorry."

"So, I doubt you're just here for pleasant conversation," Madoka said.

"Actually I heard about how you ran into my sekirei-"

"HI!" Musubi suddenly popped out from behind a shelf, giving Madoka his second heart attack of the week. He hadn't even seen her come in. Probably because he hid the second he saw Minato.

"P-please stop doing that," Madoka pleaded.

"Sorry." Musubi looked embarrassed.

"Anyway," Minato reinserted himself into the conversation. "I got the impression that Tsukiumi, err, she's the-"

"Crazy, angry, blonde one?" Madoka said. "Musubi introduced us." Minato chuckled nervously at that.

"Yeah, I guess she wasn't as polite as she could have been, so I wanted to apologize. I figure we should be nice to the person who sells our food." Madoka was about to tell him that he only stocked the shelves, but then figured he probably shouldn't discourage them if they wanted to play nice.

"That would be appreciated, yes."

"We should be friends!" Musubi said.

"Ye- Wait, what?" Madoka had to blink a few times. Had he heard that right? From "meeting" Benitsubasa to friends?

"Well when I reminded her that we get our food here, she suddenly thought we should make friends with you," Minato explained. "I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea since we'll probably be running into each other a lot. I thought we might as well get to know each other, and m-maybe you'd come over for dinner; to show there's no hard feelings."

"Right," Madoka stared at him hard. "Minato-san... are you hitting on me?"

"I-I-I, bu- I-I just me-" Minato began stuttering wildly, totally caught off guard.

"That was a joke," Madoka said deadpan, "the whole sekirei thing has you flustered, huh?"

"I-I guess so," Minato sounded relieved.

"Eh, you'll get used to it." Madoka turned back to the shelves, trying to look busy, just in case.

"How long have been an ashikabi?" Madoka paused at Minato's question. How long had it been? It was to the point where he no longer expected his house to be empty when he got home. He expected someone to be there to greet him. It was just hard to say what kind of greeting he would get. It usually depended on Benitsubasa's mood.

"It must be about two months now," Madoka told him.

"Wow, I found Musubi less than a month ago," Minato said, seeming impressed.

"I was his first, but he's gotten more since then. Tsukiumi makes four!" Musubi jumped in.

"You don't say," Madoka said casually. His expression went blank for a moment. He had four? He'd winged four sekirei in less than a month? "That's, um, wow. You don't waste time."

"Well half the time it's more like they used me to wing themselves," Minato laughed.

"I know the feeling." Madoka rolled his eyes. Benitsubasa had pretty much forced herself on him. No, no, she had forced herself on him.

"So, would this weekend work? I could even meet you here tomorrow to lead you to where I'm staying. Oh, and our land lady knows about sekirei. Her husband worked for MBI, so you could even bring your sekirei if you wanted."

"Right, I bring my sekirei to you and your four sekirei..." Madoka didn't bother to hid the suspicion in his voice.

"It'll be fun!" Musubi smiled. Somehow he couldn't imagine Musubi being part of a trap to terminate his sekirei and then just smiling about it. Then again, he didn't really know her. His Oriha had seemed like one of the sweetest girls he'd ever met, and yet not long ago she'd been coldly suggesting they terminate Kaie to reduce the competition. Wait, his Oriha? He sighed.

"Look, if I did go, if, I wouldn't bring my sekirei," Madoka said.

"Right, I uh, I understand." Minato forced a smile.

"Aww, I wanted to meet her!" Musubi pouted.

"That's what worries me," Madoka muttered, "anyway, I need to keep working before I get fired."

"Fair enough, I'll swing by tomorrow around four and see if you're here." Minato nodded.

"No promises."

. . .

Madoka was getting sick of not sleeping in his bed, but Benitsubasa's back was still sore according to her. Of course, now that he'd spent a week of sleeping like she did, he wouldn't be surprised if she was lying just because she really wanted to sleep in a real bed. He'd done his best to make the couch and floor comfortable, but he didn't have that many spare blankets. It might have been about time to upgrade things for them.

This all meant when Kaie wanted to talk to him, he wasn't hard to find. Then again, it was fairly well known by then that his door didn't have a lock, so did it really make a difference where he was?

"Are you really going to go through with it?" she asked him. "I overheard... again."

"Considering it," he told her. "If he's friendly I don't want to blow him off and if he's dangerous I want to find out. I doubt he'll hurt me as long as everyone else stays here. I'll do my best to figure out how honest he's being and go from there."

"You think you'll be able to do that?"

"Unless he's a master manipulator, my first impressions suggest a glaring lack of self-confidence. I'm hoping that means if he's hiding anything that it'll be easy to see through him. He just doesn't strike me as the conniving, malicious type," Madoka explained. Minato had been easily flustered and nervous, so he was fairly confident that if Minato was trying to trick him, he'd be able to tell. He was fairly hopeful though, he really didn't seem like the bad type, and neither did Musubi. Well, it seemed like he'd just decided to go for it.

"The way you're talking, you have a lot of experience with this kind of thing?" Kaie asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"Not at all!" Madoka laughed, forcing a grin. "I could be totally screwed!"

"So, you are going through with it?" Kaie looked outright puzzled now.

"At the very least I get a free meal." He shrugged. "Anyway, time for bed, unless you have any more questions."

"No, um, good luck, Madoka-san," Kaie said, a faint blush coming over her. "I hope you stay safe."

"Oh, thanks." Just another awkward moment among many.

. . .

And so it was that Madoka found himself standing outside his job on his day off, waiting for Minato. He'd had to lie through his teeth to get out without anyone following him. He felt like he had to lie or sneak around his sekirei a little too often. The guilt may have been starting to get to him. It wasn't like he was cheating on them though. Hell, it wasn't like he was even "with them" in that capacity. He should be able to do whatever he wanted! They just happened to be really, really stubborn and made it so that subterfuge was usually the path of least resistance.

. . .

"So, we all agree that what Madoka told us is complete bull?" Sukaime asked. Oriha and Benitsubasa nodded. "So, we follow him?" Another set of nods. It seemed they'd finally found something they could all agree on.

"Are you sure? I mean, if he left on his own he must have a reason." It was Kaie.

"Then he shouldn't have lied!" Benitsubasa argued.

"The truth might have been more troublesome," Kaie mumbled.

"Oh, does the outsider know something we don't?" Sukaime crossed her arms.

"No, but I just don't see why your ashikabi would lie for no reason. Assuming he was lying, of course." Sukaime stared at her hard. This girl was good, she couldn't read her very well. She was fairly certain Kaie was covering something up though.

"Hm, well, he's gone all day and now he abandons us on the weekend too? No way, we're crashing his party to fulfill our own selfish desires!" Sukaime announced.

Oriha rolled her eyes. "That's... one way to put it."

"I'm just making sure he's not meeting anyone I don't want him to!" Benitsubasa claimed. Playing the jealous card was she? Actually, Sukaime believed her.

. . .

Kaie found herself sitting outside on the front steps. Now that Madoka's sekirei had left, it was too quiet and lonely inside. Outside at least she could enjoy the wind gently playing with her hair. She wanted to follow Madoka as well, but she wasn't his; she didn't belong. As nice as Madoka was, she knew she was barely tolerated.

"Are you sure it's safe to just be sitting outside like that?" She heard a voice speak to her. She looked to see someone leaning against the house. She hadn't even noticed his approach. She felt stupid for letting her guard down so much. The person was a man with a rather slight figure wearing a black jacket, pants, and gloves along with a mask over his lower face. His hair was silver and his eyes brown.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Kaie asked, hoping to ascertain his intentions.

"An unwinged sekirei, alone, not paying attention? There are some who would take advantage of that," he told her, "you're living with an ashikabi though, aren't you? I find that strange."

"Is it?" She stared at the sidewalk, her expression blank.

"Yes. He knows you are a sekirei, correct? But he hasn't winged you. He doesn't want you. Do you not want him?" She could feel him staring at her, waiting for her answer.

"I'm indebted to him," she answered.

"Your point?"

"I'm just a temporary burden right now. If I were winged that would change."She glanced at him. How long did he plan on questioning her? Who was he?

"So you have considered being winged by him?"

"Yes. I reacted to him, but he can't be my ashikabi." She tried to keep calm, but she was wringing her hands. Her emotions were beginning to overpower her self control.

"I don't see why not. If you re-"

"He promised his sekirei he wouldn't wing me. He barely has room for me. I have to work just so he can feed me. Winging me would bring him trouble. I don't want to remember the day I was winged as the day I burdened my ashikabi." She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Maybe I'll meet another ashikabi I can react to."

"I can't be certain, but I don't know if that's possible. If it is, I'd imagine it's very unlikely." He sighed and turned away, but looked over his shoulder. "This person is your ashikabi. I suggest you come to a decision before something happens to ruin this for you." And then he was gone.

Kaie bit her lip and clenched her eyes shut. She'd already had those thoughts running through her mind. Why had he had to put her through that again?

This chapter was actually becoming too long. I know what you're thinking, that last chapter was longer wasn't it? Yes, but this chapter was becoming even longer. So what did I do? I decided to extend it further, and then cut it in half to make it more manageable.

(Fixed up in batch three of my edits.)

Til' next time!