Kazehana was the first to return, saying that she chased off the Veiled Sekirei and had decided to call it a day. She trusted Musubi enough to assume that she wouldn't be out on her own at night, not with dinnertime fast approaching. Besides, Kazehana hadn't seen Minato for entire hours.
"Minato!" she called, upon entering the front door. When no response came, her instincts told her he was upstairs.
And he was: pressed against the wall by a giggling, lingerie-clad Matsu, the redhead rubbing her soft breasts up and down against his chest and looking like how Dr. Frankenstein did when he screamed, "IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!"
Minato desperately appealed to Kazehana for aid with a look, and she did. Shouldering Number 2 over so that she could get her melons pressed against his chest as well, she got Minato's hand off of Matsu's shoulder and pinned it beside his waist. Matsu took the cue and did the same with his other hand.
"Guys, come on! Cut it out!" Minato protested in a hushed voice.
"Oh, come on, Minato, don't tell me you haven't fantasized about this," Matsu said, licking his left ear.
"I know wehave," whispered Kazehana, guiding Minato's right hand around her neck and down over her breast.
The two women gave each other a mischievous look, then grasped Minato by the shoulders and dragged him to the floor, peeling his shirt off in the process.
"Wait, Miya might- mmh!" Matsu silenced any further protest by straddling his waist and kissing him full on the lips. As her golden wings lit up the room, Kazehana felt up her friend's back with her hand and popped the button on her bra. As Matsu's luscious mounds bounced down, Kazehana began pulling her purple dress up around her plush buttock, all the while kissing her way up Minato's neck. Minato, for his trouble, hesitantly placed a hand over one of Matsu's exposed nipples and the other on Kazehana's to give them both a little squeeze. The two women squealed with pleasure and redoubled their efforts.
Matsu was sliding her whole body up and down Minato's, crumpling his shirt up to his neck, and Kazehana was completely naked when the secret door to Matsu's room swung open.
And then, without a word of warning, the Ladle of Wrath descended to met out punishment.
"Shame on you, Minato," Miya scolded him. "And to think I had your word of honor about this. Just for that, there will be no supper for any of you."
Minato simply hung his head and nodded. Matsu and Kazehana were scared into compliance with a well-placed hanyo glare. But just to be safe, Miya confined Matsu to her room and Kazehana to the roof for the next half-hour.
At the end of it all, Kazehana's previous assumption about Musubi had been half-right, because as soon as Number 88 arrived back and found Minato playing Naho with Ku, she'd grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him out the door, speeding down the sidewalk and into the night. Sighing, smiling, and lamenting her sore body, Kazehana followed through the air.
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"That's so sweet!" Kazehana swooned. "Wearing his coat and realizing he's the one! Falling in love is what Sekirei were meant to do!"
"Anyway, Kuno told me she couldn't fight, not after her run-in with those two lightning girls, so we decided to escape the capital," Kuno's Ashikabi, Shigi, said.
"Escape the capital?" Minato repeated.
"Yeah," Shigi confirmed. "We tried once today, but there were…"
Shigi's voice trailed off as he and Kuno turned very pale.
"Issues?" Musubi suggested.
"Well, that's one way to put it…" Shigi said. That wasn't quite what he would call a terrifying Sekirei with razor-sharp metal claws and an unnervingly upbeat demeanor about death.
"She was one of the Discipline Squad," Kuno whimpered. "They're a team of strong Sekirei who follow MBI's orders."
"And according to Kuno, they don't hesitate to kill Ashikabis if they think they have to," Shigi said ominously.
Minato visibly swallowed. Shigi sympathized with him. He'd caught Director Hiroto's message on a TV outside an electronics shop, and he knew that as jovial as Minaka had been, he was dead serious about no one escaping.
Shigi stood up.
"I get it," he said. "You can relax because you have two strong Sekirei. Meanwhile, I…" He sighed, then felt a tug on his shirt.
"You kissed me, and said I was your girl," Kuno murmured. "I said I'd be with you, now and forever..."
Shigi felt very bad about himself.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I won't compare," he told her, reaching down and wiping away the tears from around her eyes. This drew a lovey-dovey sigh from Minato's other woman, the one who'd fought the Veiled Sekirei earlier that day.
"Lovers trying to run away with each other!" she said, her hands pressing against her cheeks and blushing. "It's so romantic!"
Shigi should've felt heartened by this, but it only made his frustration grow larger.
"Dammit, I want out of this insane plan!" Shigi growled, banging his fist on the wall. "At least to get away from the landlord's constant complaining."
"Yeah, he does do that a lot," Minato chuckled, scratching the back of his head. Seems Shigi was in the same predicament that Minato had been in earlier that week. A thought occured to him.
"You know," Minato said as Shigi continued to stew, "I actually have another Sekirei. Maybe she'll know what to do."
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"Escaping the capital's no joke," Matsu said. "While I can hack their orbital satellites and temporarily shut them down, MBI still has heavy troop presence on all of the bridges, not to mention the Discipline Squad."
"So you're saying it's impossible?" Minato asked.
"Not at all, just that it's going to be difficult," she said. "I'm glad you agreed to help them, though. I would've been very surprised if you'd turned them down."
"Well, you know me," Minato chuckled nervously. "Always happy to help!"
Speaking of helping, it was good to know that Matsu could, in fact, take care of those satellite lasers. With all her computer prowess, he wondered what else she could break into, like maybe-
"Entrance exams are tomorrow!" Minato exclaimed. He folded up into a fetal position on the floor. In all of this hassle with Sekirei and battles and escape plans, he'd completely forgotten to study! Cram classes could only carry him so far, and even now he felt all of the knowledge he'd accumulated flying off into the wild blue yonder, beyond his ability to recall.
"Minato."
Minato felt Matsu's hands pressed to his face as she gently pulled him upright.
"I know you can pass them," she said. "I've read your grades from high school and looked at your previous test results. You made different mistakes each time. It's not that you're not stupid or incompetent…"
Matsu gazed into Minato's eyes. He felt his anxiety begin to evaporate.
"You just need to believe in yourself."
He relaxed as Matsu kissed him, feeling something stir within himself as her golden wings lit the dark room. Maybe she was right. He felt less relaxed when, after pulling away, a tooth-filled grin split her face cheek-to-cheek.
"Besides, if you fail, I can just hack the system and change your grades! Hee hee… HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Minato hastily retreated to his own room. Nightmare fuel was the last thing he needed on a night like tonight.
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The yellow eyes had returned.
This time, they were looking down at the brief skirmish that had happened today between Tsukiumi and the others in that alley. Once again, they narrowed as they took note of Minato's actions, his protection of Tsukiumi from both the other Sekirei and that Ashikabi, Seo. Once again, she could see the wheels in whatever head they belonged to turning, scheming. And as the fighting came to a close, once again it all evaporated into ashes: the buildings, her friends, her big brother, and she was left all alone in a field of fire, black lightning crackling overhead, swirling around the skies-
She jolted awake. Miya slept on her bed as usual, but Kusano knew there was only one person who could save her from the eyes. She hopped out of bed and slid the door open, running down the hall to her big brother's room. As she neared the door, a light flickered on behind her and she screeched to a halt.
Her shadow was being cast on the door, but the silhouette didn't belong to her. This was someone much taller, broader, with its hands about its waste, like they were in its pockets. Whatever it wore, the collar was flared out about its thick neck and its legs were hidden by what must have been loose-fitting pants.
And from where its face would be, the yellow eyes stared back at her. She stood there, frozen in terror. The eyes narrowed and the shadow's head tilted slightly as it spoke.
"You're not… Afraid of me, are you, child?" Its voice was wispy and soft, but also deep and resonant. It spoke a foreign language, yet the meaning of its words was somehow conveyed. There was a mocking undertone about it, like it knew something that it wasn't telling her, and yet even that seemed somewhat insincere.
Kusano tried to run from it, back to the light that was casting the shadow, trying to find someone, anyone that could drive it away. She found herself staring at the shadow again, this time cast over the open door on to Minato's sleeping body. The other Sekirei lay with him: Musubi, Matsu, Kazehana, even Uzume and Tsukiumi were there. The eyes were lower on the wall, inspecting the slumbering forms before acquiring the same intrigued look it had before.
"Helloooo, who is this?" it breathed, focusing on Uzume. Kusano turned away again, back to the closed door. These eyes were still looking at her, the shadow's arms now folded, its neutral expression turned to… Scorn?
"You can't run from the dark forever, child," it rumbled. "It's always there: around you, within you; it's unavoidable."
The shadows began to grow, consuming the walls of the inn around her.
"Though I must wonder… How are you able to sense me, but no one else?"
Kusano awoke again, for real this time (she hoped), to see Miya leaning over her. This time, the room was well-lit by sunlight.
"Is everything all right, Kusano?" she asked. "You've been tossing in your sleep."
Kusano sat up in her little cot and hugged Miya's waist, tears welling up around her eyes.
"Miya, promise you'll keep Big Brother safe!" she sobbed. Miya was a bit surprised by this, but overcame it and returned Kusano's hug.
"I'll do my best, but I can't be there for him all the time," she said gently.
"Then I will!" Kusano declared, letting go and clenching her tiny little hand in a fist. "I'll keep everyone safe from them!"
"From who, Ku-chan?"
"The yellow eyes," she sniffed.
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As Minato left the inn, his Sekirei in tow, he spied a familiar face approaching the entrance. Seo greeted him, Hibiki and Hikari accompanying him. He seemed to be in a far better mood than the girls.
"Seo-san?" Minato asked. "What are you doing here? Are you looking for a room?"
"Nah," Seo said, waving a hand in front of him. "We came here for Miya's cooking."
"We're out of food again…" Hikari muttered. Hibiki simply sighed.
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"Good luck, Minato!" Musubi said.
"Pass you exams and I'll give you a special reward…" Kazehana added, jiggling her hips. Minato felt the blood rushing to his nose.
Ku had come as well, giving him a big hug. She'd told him about the nightmare, and once again he'd been left without anything to say to her. Still, it looked like she'd gotten over it.
"Hey, guys?" Minato asked. "You think you could ask Matsu to get Seo's address? He once said his best friend was part of MBI. Maybe he can help us?"
Musubi nodded, as did Kazehana.
"Who's Seo?" Kusano asked.
"A bum," Kazehana said. "But a good man."
Minato laughed, his tension bursting from his mouth. He knew he was delaying the inevitable, and there was no excuse for tardiness. Inhaling deeply, he turned around and, for the third time in his life, marched to where the entrance exams awaited.
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"Looking to take on MBI?" Seo asked, leaning back on his couch. "You have some serious brass, kid."
Hibiki and Hikari sat on either side of him. They were wearing color-coded dresses, the same blue-vs-purple combination as their standard S&M attire. Looking at them now, they looked surprisingly normal.
"Personally, I don't like the way MBI's running things," Seo said, looking out the crack in the window, "taking control of the capital like they own the place, never mind the whole Sekirei plan."
"So, you'll help us?" Shigi asked, hopeful. Kuno's eyes lit up as well.
"Yeah, I'll help," Seo said, rubbing his index finger against his thumb, "For a fee."
"You want us to pay you?!" Shigi barked.
"Why not? A man's got to eat, doesn't he?" Seo said casually. Minato took out his phone and began dialing as Seo continued. "Grown-ups don't work for free."
When Minato finished, he put the phone to his ear.
"Who are you calling?" Hibiki asked, somewhat suspicious.
Minato didn't answer her, instead talking into his phone. "It's Minato-san… Yeah, he is…"
He offered the phone to Seo. "It's for you, Seo-san."
"Me?" Seo asked. He took the phone. "Hello?"
"You weren't extorting money from my tenant, were you?" came the voice on the other end. Seo felt the specter of a hanyo creeping up behind him.
"N-no! I would never!" Seo stammered.
"Who did you call?" Musubi asked, sitting next to Minato.
"The Landlady," Minato answered. This drew a chuckle from his gathered Sekirei.
"Kaoru-san, you will help them," the Landlady said, "Or you will never eat my food again."
"No! Please! Have mercy!" Seo shrieked. The twins sighed. Miya had known exactly which button to push.
"Minato, you sneaky boy," Kazehana said, leaning on the back of the couch and wrapping her arms about him.
Miya's serene wrath concluded and Seo closed the phone.
"That was a rotten trick, you bastard!" Seo growled, grabbing Minato's collar and yanking him off the couch, away from Kazehana's affectionate embrace.
Kazehana's irritation was obvious. "Excuse me, I wasn't done with him, Seo."
"Agh," Seo retched, releasing the young ronin. "Fine, I'll help, but only because I like you guys."
"Really?" Musubi asked innocently. "I thought you were helping because Miya-sama is really scary."
Seo's face turned bright red and he ground his teeth together. There was nothing he could say to Musubi that would counter her statement. He couldn't even get mad at her; she was too naïvely sweet.