I Hate Candles

It almost felt like she'd gone back in time a little. The bridge battle may as well have never happened. Benitsubasa's life for the last week had been simple, practically worry free. It had been like that before. She would wait home lazily for Madoka to be done at work and then walk him home. It was like that again, but just a little more crowded than it used to be. She'd have been glad that Kaie wasn't always around if the reason for that wasn't that she spent all day at work with Madoka. So maybe things weren't that worry free, but at least she'd managed a full week of napping, stab-wound-free, on the couch.

There was one little curiosity though. She didn't pay much attention, usually napping or generally oblivious on her couch, but Benitsubasa had noticed that Oriha seemed to be sneaking out of the house. She had no idea where to or why, but she'd asked Madoka and he'd said he didn't know anything about it. She'd decided she believed him and that, so long as Oriha wasn't sneaking off to spend extra time with him, she didn't care.

Aside from that one thing her life for the moment was simple. Also boring, but after all that had happened lately, boring was actually refreshing. As much as she liked to fight and as much as she yearned for Madoka's recognition, lounging was far more comfortable than someone's fist in her face. Or an icicle in her thigh. Or electrocution. At least she didn't think electrocution would ever be an issue again. She'd solved that problem.

There was still Shinjuryo, though. That one had earned herself a good beat down the next time they met. Akitsu too. They'd both humiliated her. But, by some twist of fate, she was still alive which meant that there would be a reckoning. They'd regret leaving and not finishing her off. The moment that realization dawned on them, the moment she saw it in their eyes, would be sweet.

. . .

Masukagami felt like she was withering away. She was a flower without sunlight. Avaron was there, but only just. She was starting to forget what her skin felt like and what her hair smelled like. She couldn't stand it. The person whom she loved and who she'd twined her soul with was so distant. It wasn't the way things were supposed to be.

Masukagami was pacing back and forth as anxiety took control of her body. She'd spent so many days in a state of depression and lethargy that she couldn't sit still any more. She was reaching her limit, but what would she do when she hit it? Would she just break? She didn't want to find out. She just wanted Avaron back. It didn't matter if Avaron didn't love her yet. As long as she had her ashikabi, she was sure everything would be fine in the end.

She turned on her heel, ready to continue wearing down the floor with her pacing, but as she began to walk past a doorway she froze. Avaron was right in front of her. She was so close. If she took one more step forward...

"Excuse me," Avaron said. Masukagami flinched and quickly shuffled back.

"S-sorry, Avaron-sama," Masukagami apologized quickly for getting in her way. She waited patiently and soon Avaron came back, a glass of water in her hand. It was only scarce few times like this that she ever saw Avaron. She heard Avaron's footsteps as she headed back up the stairs to her room.

Finally she hit her limit. She raced after Avaron, flying up the stairs. She made it to Avaron's room right before she could shut the door. Slipping her hands in to stop it at the last second. She winced as her fingers were pinched between the door and the door frame, but didn't relent.

"Masukagami... let go." Masukagami could only see one of Avaron's eye peeking out through the small gap.

"N-no! Let me in!" Masukagami insisted.

"Let. Go," Avaron ordered her icily.

"No!" Masukagami pushed the door open. It wasn't that hard, but she gasped as Avaron was thrown back off her feet, the glass clattering out of her hand and spilling its contents. With a groan, Avaron began to sit up. At this point Masukagami figured she had nothing left to lose, so before Avaron could get up Masukagami threw herself upon her, pinning her down and clinging to her tightly.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Avaron growled.

"No! I'm never letting go! You can't make me!" she refused. She wasn't just being stubborn, Avaron really couldn't make her. She was much stronger and at this point she was willing to abuse that.

"Fine," Avaron muttered and just lay there limply, eyes averted. Masukagami didn't know how long she lay there on top of Avaron, but her emotions were tumultuous within her. She finally had her where she wanted her, their bodies pressed together, her warmth flowing into her, and yet she still felt like Avaron wasn't really there. Her entire body was shaking and soon her eyes overflowed with tears. What would it take to fix things? Could their bond ever be repaired?

She hated herself. She'd done this. She'd forced herself on Avaron and this was what she deserved. And now she was crying again. She knew Avaron hated it when she cried, it always made her mad, but she couldn't stop. She had nothing left – she was empty.

"It's not working, is it?" Avaron said.

"Wh-wh-" Masukagami felt Avaron's hand gently fall upon her shoulder.

"I tried to pull away so I wouldn't hurt you, but you're still crying." Avaron's other hand brushed across her face, wiping away her tears, though they were soon replaced. "I'm going to ruin you. I don't know how to keep you safe."

"I don't u-understand," Masukagami hiccuped. She was still getting used to the fact that she could touch her ashikabi again. "It's my job to keep you safe."

"I'm trying to protect you from me-"

"No!" Masukagami clutched Avaron close to herself. "Don't do that! I want all of Avaron-sama! Don't leave me ever again! I don't care if you hit me or step on me or yell at me! I know the real Avaron-sama!"

"The real me?"

"Even if you hurt me one day I know the real Avaron-sama still wants me..." Masukagami sniffled. She had to believe it was true. "I can wait until you love me." She couldn't wait, it was all she wanted, but wait she would. She'd wait an eternity and a million forevers until she heard the three words she always imagined passing through Avaron's lips spoken in reality.

"I must be a terrible ashikabi if you have to say that," Avaron whispered.

"No! Masukagami was lonely before she met Avaron-sama. Avaron-sama told me I was perfect. The thing that makes me happiest is Avaron-sama. I-I know I'm not really perfect, I make mistakes and make Avaron-sama mad... but I will always want to be with Avaron-sama, I-"

"I know," Avaron stopped her. "Shall we... spend some time together?"

. . .

Oriha needed to be fast. She couldn't afford witnesses. She knew Benitsubasa was already suspicious and god forbid Sukaime got curious. Fortunately she was pretty sure Kaie didn't care about her comings and goings or things would have been much more annoying. A third set of eyes to tip-toe around would have been truly aggravating.

It was morning and Madoka and Kaie had just left, making Kaie's level of giving a crap irrelevant, and Benitsubasa and Sukaime were busy eating the breakfast she'd made for them. That gave her a little time to make her way to her sleeping bag while they weren't looking. She reaching into the sleeping bag and rooted around through the folds in the material before her fingertips brushed against a small, rectangular object. She pulled it out and, sure there were no witnesses, pulled at the collar of her shirt and stuffed it down between her breasts. Part of her hated that she was using the idea Sukaime's perverted mind had come up with, but it really was a convenient hiding place for things she didn't want people to see.

With her sneaky deed taken care of, she headed for the front door. There was no hiding that she was up to something, but if all went well it wouldn't matter. She'd accomplish her goal before anyone knew what she was up to.

. . .

"She's doing it again," Sukaime said between bites of food.

"Yep," Benitsubasa muttered.

"This will be day six of her sneaking around," Sukaime noted.

"Yep."

"You really don't care?"

"She's not visiting Madoka behind our backs, why should I?" Benitsubasa shrugged.

"She could be plotting something. Something that could put her way ahead of us in terms of getting Madoka's attention," Sukaime suggested, though she didn't sound especially concerned herself. It did give Benitsubasa pause though. She could, barely, live with Kaie being part of their group, but if Oriha was plotting something like that... and if she succeeded...

"Mph, yeah right. What could she possibly do? She's not that smart," Benitsubasa huffed and tried to ignore that idea. Besides, Madoka would just yell at her if she broke Oriha's kneecaps. "And shut up."

"I didn't say anything!"

"You were going to."

"True."

. . .

Madoka was walking home with Kaie, something that he'd gotten used to and comfortable with. Also, Kaie had found a new route for them to take home, something he was thankful for. It was longer, but he didn't mind. They hadn't been mugged yet, so that was a good sign. However, with his sekirei, he had a feeling a mugging would be more hilarious than anything.

Strangely, though, Benitsubasa and Sukaime showed up as usual to walk with him, but Oriha didn't. Kaie took notice, but wasn't especially concerned, and Benitsubasa unsurprisingly didn't miss the competition for holding his hand. Though, now that he though about it, it was still three sekirei to his two hands. He wondered why Kaie never tried to hold his hand or link arms. He wasn't going to complain, it would just spark a jealousy match, but it was an oddity in his mind.

He got home and immediately he could smell food. Now he knew why Oriha had stayed home. It had been a long time since he'd come home and had a full meal waiting for him. Not since his high school days when he'd still lived with his parents.

"Well, that smells good," Madoka's lips twitched in the direction of a smile. Oriha popped out of the kitchen/dining room and gave a tiny bow.

"The table's all set, go ahead!" The dress clad sekirei smiled.

"Woo! Awesome!" Sukaime didn't waste time heading in. Benitsubasa wasn't as vocal about her enthusiasm, but it was no secret that she enjoyed food and was hot on Sukaime's heels.

"Thank you, Oriha-san." Kaie nodded and joined them.

"What's the occasio-" Madoka was cut off as Oriha stopped him from following them by grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the house.

"Quiet!" Oriha whispered harshly. He soon found himself outside with a confused look on his face. His confusion doubled when she began leading him to the stairs that led up to the empty second floor apartment.

"OK, OK! Whoa! No witnesses anymore, what's up?" Madoka tried to free himself.

"No questions!" Oriha frowned. "Up!"

"Err, all right." Madoka glanced at her nervously before heading up the stairs. He found the door at the top unlocked. Had Oriha found the key? She must have since the door was still intact, but what was she up to?

That question was answered when he found a blanket spread across the floor in what was supposed to be the living room with an unlit set of candles in the middle. He immediately knew what she had done. He shook his head and smirked before looking back to find her blushing madly.

"They're going to wonder where we are," he told her.

"Th-then we'll whisper so they don't know we're up here... a-and walk quietly," Oriha told him, but for good measure turned around and locked the door. He decided to go along with it, he knew she must have put a lot of work into her plan. He had to wonder how she'd pulled it off, though. He didn't own candles, and he didn't recognize the blanket either. "Umm, s-sit! I'll be there in a moment!" She wasn't doing a good job of whispering, but he didn't think they'd hear her, so he obeyed and sat down on the blanket and waited.

Oriha soon returned carrying two large plates stacked with food. It looked and smelled better than anything he'd ever seen her make before. He'd also never get over seeing small girls easily carry large, unwieldy objects. Sekirei had their hilarious qualities at times.

"Sorry, I didn't know what you were planning or I'd have dressed up." Madoka chuckled. "Candle lit dinner?"

"I-I... well... I don't mind..." Oriha put down the food and sat opposite him. Her body was tense as she sat on her knees, hands stuffed between her legs, eyes avoiding his.

"Of course, it only counts if you actually light the candles," he reminded her. Her eyes went wide and she jumped. Embarrassment was plastered over her face as she frantically scrambled to her feet and ran out of the room. She came back with a matchbook and quickly lit the candles before retaking her spot, just as stiff and uncomfortable as before. Meanwhile he was trying not to collapse in a fit of laughter. She was too cute at the moment.

"So, are we going to eat?" he asked. Oriha nodded, but didn't move. "Oriha, look at me." She obeyed immediately, apprehension clear in her eyes. "Relax. I didn't turn into a monster over night. I'm going to eat the food you made, not you." He grinned, amused at her antics. She was so nervous, but it was endearing. Sitting there with her was bringing back something he hadn't felt in a long time.

"S-sorry," she mumbled and gingerly took a pair of chopsticks that were set near the candles, and he took the other pair that was closer to himself. He took a bite and had to pause. "D-did I mess up?" Oriha asked, instantly noticing when he stopped.

"Ordering from a restaurant is cheating," Madoka frowned at her after he swallowed.

"I-I made it myself!" Oriha insisted.

"Bull!" Madoka said, but grinned. "Heh. You get better every day, don't you?" Finally Oriha smiled, but kept fidgeting nervously. Another oddity popped into his head. He knew for a fact he hadn't stocked this kind of food.

"S-so you like it?"

"Yeah, but can I ask how you did all this?"

"L-later!" Oriha raised her voice a little and then slapped her palm over her mouth. They waited, but it seemed their cover hadn't been blown.

"OK then." Madoka decided to let her keep her secrets for the time being. "Just promise me there were no criminal organizations or illegal loans involved."

"Of course not," Oriha muttered. Finally she started eating from her own plate as he continued with his. An awkward silence began to grow before Oriha asked a question. "Um, what is this place?"

"The second floor?" Madoka asked and she nodded. "It's the same as downstairs where we live, but take a look." He pointed at a corner of the room where the walls and ceiling were black. "This floor lit on fire a few years back. The landlord couldn't afford to fix all the damage and lost the place. It was so cheap I just bought the whole place and fixed what little damage there was to the bottom floor and made sure that there were no water leaks up here. Well, when I say I bought it I mean I paid for less than half and my parents covered the rest."

"You had a job before you came here?"

"Same place I work now. My high school wasn't really that accepting of students having jobs, but you won't tell on me right?" Madoka grinned. "Or do, I don't care. I'm free of their clutches now." Finally Oriha started to relax and giggled. "I've had this place for just over a year now. Moved in during my last two months of school and now it's just parties every day and girls everywhere. The life of a bachelor."

"Wh-what? Girls?" Oriha went paler than she already was.

"I'm talking about you four." Madoka winked.

"O-oh..." Oriha sighed in relief. She started blushing when the fact that he'd winked at her sunk in.

. . .

"Benitsubasa. Dear. Darling. Sweetie. Stop playing with your food," Sukaime spoke up. Benitsubasa just glared at her. She'd been fidgeting; just pushing her food around her plate and not eating it. "Eat up like a good little girl." This time Benitsubasa's fist slammed down on the table.

"Where the hell is he? He and Oriha disappeared! They're up to something! He's... he's... DAMMIT!" Benitsubasa exploded, reaching her boiling point. Her mind was racing with thoughts of what Madoka and Oriha might be doing alone together wherever they were.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they're just making out furiously in a fit of heated passion." Sukaime waved her concerns off casually. "Eat, we can have a public hanging later."

"I can't eat! I'm going hunting!"

"Bring me back some breast meat," Sukaime told her.

"Wh-. . . ew." Benitsubasa shuddered as Sukaime bobbed her eyebrows.

"Leave it be," Kaie said.

"What?" Benitsubasa frowned at her.

"So what if he is with Oriha? You don't know why or what they're doing. Perhaps she is doing something, so let her have her chance. By now I'm sure you've had yours. You should trust your ashikabi to decide who he wants. Do you doubt yourself so much that you can't trust him to be alone with anyone else?" Kaie asked. "Did you waste your chance?"

"N-no! Shut up! Go to hell, that's stupid! Madoka's mine! Stupidity like that is why you aren't even going to get a chance!" Benitsubasa shouted. She then turned to Sukaime. "Shut up!"

"I... grr, you're no fun anymore." Sukaime sighed. "But I agree with Kaie. Let's just wait it out and see what happens. We should trust Madoka. It's not like she'll get a lead on us."

"He just broke a promise to us! Why should I?"

"That's my fault. He didn't have any other option. Don't blame him for that," Sukaime replied, sounding more subdued.

"Yeah? Well now we're stuck with that!" Benitsubasa pointed at Kaie. "So the next time you feel like playing hero, just do me a favor and stab yourself in the face with that stupid... that... thing!"

". . . javelin," Sukaime mumbled.

"Die."

. . .

It wasn't long before the food dried up and he immediately began missing it. That said, he was too full to eat more even if there had been any left.

With the food gone, Oriha had moved over so she was sitting next to him. The tension in her body was back. It didn't help that they could hear his other three sekirei getting a little rambunctious downstairs. Though, he had to say they were probably safe. If Benitsubasa knew where they were, she'd have broken down the door by now. Fortunately a silence came and it wasn't followed by any doors slamming, so he wasn't too worried.

"Come on, relax. I should be the nervous one here. You have me in a locked room alone and vulnerable." Madoka laughed. Oriha seemed shocked at the implications and turned away, face red as could be. "Sorry, sorry," he said when he realized he wasn't helping.

"N-no, I'm sorry. I'm not good at this. I don't know what I'm doing. I'm ruining everything," Oriha whimpered.

"No you're not. I'm enjoying this. I never really get any of you just one-on-one for very long." Well, except Kaie, but that was at work so he didn't feel it counted. He couldn't remember the last time he spent any time with just Oriha. He was pretty sure he never had, not since he'd walked her home for the first time.

"B-but we didn't do anything. We barely even talked. I finally got you alone and I made a mess out of it! I-I let you get hurt when it was my job to protect you. I-" Madoka had to stop her, grabbing her face and squishing it leaving her with fish lips and a confused look in her eyes.

"I thought we went over this." He stared at her for a moment before letting her go.

"B-but I keep thinking about it and I don't f-feel any better," she sniffled, staring down at the blanket they sat upon. "What if it happens again? What if I'm not good enough?"

"Oriha, you've saved all of us more than once. Why are you worried?"

"Because I'm not important enough! When have I actually won a fight? Benitsubasa's the strong one, Sukaime is always talking to you, and Kaie works with you every day! What about me?" Oriha bit her lip, immediately turning away from him after her outburst. "A-all I do is cook..."

Madoka didn't know what to say. The longer he spent with them, the more he realized how fragile they all were. Superhuman, though not exactly human, they may have been, but they were still girls with enough tangled up emotions to strangle a spider.

"The o-one time it was all my job to protect you, I failed. When I'm not standing behind everyone else I'm useless! I can't even apologize right!" Oriha started to cry.

"Then go ahead. I'll be quiet," Madoka whispered. Oriha looked up at him, lip jutting out in a massive pout before she threw herself at him.

"I-I'm sorry!" This time he didn't stop her, didn't try to make her feel better and bury her feelings. When she finally started to quiet down she pulled away. "I-it r-really is r-ruined," she hiccuped and wiped her eyes.

"Hm?"

"Everything. Th-the... date..."

"What are you talking about? It went perfectly. Good food and we had a good... conversation," Madoka told her. Well, maybe conversation wasn't the right word, but he was trying to make things look good. Oriha didn't respond right away, going quiet and fidgeting.

"N-not perfect." She glanced around furtively and kept fidgeting, face red and not because she'd been crying.

"What?"

"W-well... if it was a d-date... then..." Oriha still wouldn't look him in the eye. And then it hit him and his eyes went wide. While not a requirement, many dates ended with a kiss. Oriha was a sekirei, so she'd want a kiss. "N-never mind. W-we should go before they come looking." Oriha scrambled to her feet like a scared rabbit but his hand grabbed her elbow and pulled her back.

Oriha lost her balance and fell back. Twisting on her way down, she landed on Madoka's chest, faces only an inch apart.

"M-M-Madoka...sama?" Oriha's voice became tiny and incredibly high pitched.

"Well, you want it to be perfect, right?" Madoka asked, garnering a barely perceptible nod from the flustered Oriha. He knew what she wanted from him, her lips were so close to his and yet he felt himself hesitating. What was he doing? He empathized with what the girls were going through, he even cared about them, but this? He hadn't seen this coming. He hadn't woken up and said to himself "I want to kiss Oriha today." It wasn't that she wasn't attractive, but...

Then his eyes fell into hers and he couldn't pull them away. Huge, glistening discs focused only on him. She was so close her short, lavender locks fell down and tickled his cheeks. For the moment, nothing else existed, her face was all he could see and her body was all he could feel, her just ample enough chest pressing down on his. His hand released her elbow, slowly sliding up and taking hold of the fabric adorning her shoulder and pulled her yet closer. He could feel her shaking, hear the tiny gasp that escaped her.

He didn't know what he was doing. He couldn't name nor describe the emotion that was driving him at that moment. All he knew was that he wasn't letting her go just yet. He didn't think she wanted to anyway. He kissed her. Her tiny, soft lips were easily enveloped by his. He could feel feel her stiffen before going limp, her heart was speeding and pounding through her chest into his. He could smell the spices she'd been cooking with. He could taste them too. Her wings burst out, bathing the dim, candlelit room in violet light.

Something in him gave way. Something that had been holding him back. If he was going to kiss her, he might as well make it good. Suddenly it was like Oriha was magnetic, he felt he had to be closer. His arm went around her waist and his other hand dug into her hair, pressing her against him and deepening the kiss. He heard Oriha squeal in surprise before her arms wrapped around his neck. It felt like forever, going on until his lungs were on fire and he had to let go.

Oriha pulled away, sitting up on his stomach, cheeks red and eyes nearly glazed over. She was totally dazed. The corner of her lips kept twitching up into a smile before going back to hanging loosely apart. He couldn't stop himself. He started laughing uncontrollably. He laughed until Oriha fell off of him and his sides hurt and once again he risked suffocation. It certainly snapped Oriha back to reality.

"Wh-what is it? Was I that bad?" Oriha whimpered.

"No... you... you... you're just so damn cute!" Madoka said between gasping breaths. The look on her face after the kiss had been priceless. He wasn't sure how he'd expected her to respond to that. What she did do caught him off guard though. She threw herself back atop him and took the initiative in stealing a second kiss. He decided he didn't want to stop her. Once again the mood lighting was set to the violet glow from her wings. He felt her delicate, gloved hands gently hold his cheeks, her dainty legs hooked around his, blocking any escape attempt that he currently wasn't considering. She wasn't letting him go.

Finally, breathlessly, they parted once more as her wings faded away. Only then did she release him, untangling him from the folds of her dress. She just laid against his chest for a while, fingers lazily grabbing at his shirt.

Madoka took the time to think. What exactly did this mean? It wasn't as if he intended to pick Oriha over the others. He hadn't even been planning to pick any of them, not necessarily. Of course in the back of his mind he'd thought that maybe something would happen. He had four attractive girls out for his affection, a romantic development wouldn't exactly be surprising.

"Benitsubasa is the strong one, but she's totally insecure." That was what Sukaime had told him. If she knew about this... what would happen? If he picked someone else over her, it would destroy her. But if he took Benitsubasa, wouldn't that in turn destroy the other three just the same? He didn't think even Sukaime could just take that with a straight face. But now he'd given in, even just once, to Oriha. If he pulled away from her, what would happen? He didn't imagine she'd take it well. He was at a loss.

"Um-" Madoka started, but Oriha's finger was place on his lips to silence him.

"Can I just pretend you're mine for a little longer?" Oriha asked. "I only wanted you alone for a little while... I know it's too soon to have changed your mind," she whispered, her grip on his shirt tightening. It seemed she'd given him an easy way out, though that was only one worry assuaged.

"Sure..." He placed a hand on her back as she lay there. She really was cute.

. . .

"I'm going to break something I swear..." Benitsubasa sat on the couch, arms and legs crossed. Her foot was tapping furiously as she impatiently waited for Madoka to return. She could care less if Oriha ever came back. In fact she'd better not at this point. It wouldn't be healthy for her.

"Hm. It has been a while now. Ah, but Madoka's not like that. He wouldn't give into her seduction, surely. I'm not sure if Oriha even knows how to be seductive," Sukaime responded. "I mean, that tight little body of hers is nice and all, but she has no idea how to use it. It's a shame really."

"Shut up, pervert," Benitsubasa scoffed.

"Hey, I take offense to that. Don't tell me to shut up!"

They were interrupted when the front door opened.

"Speak of the devil..." Sukaime muttered and headed to the doorway to the entry hall, Benitsubasa right behind her.

"Hey," Madoka greeted and walked past. Oriha followed behind, a rosy complexion adorning her face and a blissful little smile as well.

"What the hell?" Benitsubasa gaped. Why did Oriha look so damn happy? She hated happy people!

"Shit. She totally got a lead on us." Sukaime frowned.

"You're dead to me..."

This chapter was pretty short, but that just makes it more digestible. Oriha really is such a cute little doll...

(Fixed up in batch four of my edits.)

Til' next time!