This was not as it should have been! This was not as a part of the fates she saw, the future she predicted, when she sacrificed herself, her core, for the dying little one. The promise of a future Little Musubi's Ashikabi will bring forth embolding her resolve.
Yume predicted that she will wake within Musubi and get a chance to evaluate the Ashikabi chosen for her by fate. To feel the sublime bond between Ashikabi and Sekirei-through her core within Little Musubi.
This Fateless boy- for indeed she, who saw the fate that would befall them all should the consequences of Minaka, of his actions not be countered, of the boy who was Musubi's Ashikabi and will get to keep his Sekirei in the aftermath of the S plan, of how all of her former companions in the disciplinary squad will have ashikabi of their own, with only Miya excluded-for her the fate of that boy was as dark as his black attire, unreadable to her, completely.
Never before had she encountered such a thing, and none of what she saw in the Fates hinted even at the possibility.
The now terminated, though not dead, form of number 104, whose fate was to still be active, still fight, was another glaring evidence that everything was wrong.
Everything was so wrong!
"How have you defied Fate? Why do you? Who are you, black knight? Why do you defy fate so? You are not meant to be here. Not meant to be. Your very presence here disrupts!" She could not help but accuse. This was not what should have been.
When the boy kept silent, his eyes, weary and old eyes, stared at her cautiously, silently, it was another who spoke.
"Hello to you too, Yume, I won't say it isn't good to see you again, but could you please calm down? You are scaring my Ashikabi."
"And you Kazehana, Your own fate was to find love at a later stage, with the son of the man who rejected you. You would have been happy with him." Yume spoke a bit more calmly now, with a sad melancholy instead of the previous outrage and accusation.
Her brief glimpse was not as she expected, and now nothing was.
XxXxXx
Kazehana was uncertain, the mannerism was the same, but was this really Yume? The wind sekirei really hope she won't have to protect her ashikabi against her.
Fighting Red and constantly looking over at shoulder to make sure her battle maniac of an ashikabi would survive a fight with a Sekirei trying to kill him, to keep sending wind blades at her at angles that Kazuto-san won't run into them as he fights and predict so he won't move right into her attacks, with the Sahashi harem and the would be rescues in the middle, between the two fights, was not easy.
She really was out of shape, and even if she was sober for days and hardly winded with her own fight despite Red not being half bad, the first generation of the Disciplinary squad was a whole different level, and the second was hardly weaker-With Yume as its leader.
'I don't want to fight her on my best day unless I have to, and I can feel just how freaked out my Darling is, behind his stony facet. He is really shaken, and after that light beam display, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving side of her anger either'
"To take THAT man's son as my Ashikabi? It was a tempting thought, I won't deny. But he already got a quite the Flock of his own. I would have been just one voice in a crowd, and it's chaotic enough on its own, as the Baby Birds squabble among themselves over crumbs of love and take them from each other's beak, with hardly any progress.
Besides, it would have been clingy and cliché, to go for the son after being rejected by the father. It would be me settling for the second edition, after failing to get the original.
No! I'm pleased with my choices-I get to be the only Sekirei with this one, a darling love that will be just as sweet, but original on its own, without tent by association with past hurts. He is sweet and strong, and brave and a fighter, as well as fun to tease. The human girlfriend he has is also much less antagonistic and more mature and understanding. Even if they are a bit younger, we slowly take steps forward, and don't get back-our will be a feast shared in harmony at a later time, not a constant fight over small bits."
Whatever response she was about to receive, the Wind Sekirei prepared to take Kazuto-san and fly away at a moment's notice, when a clapping drew their attention to a spectator.
"The Black Sekirei!" Red exclaimed at the sight, as the clapping, smiling form of Karasuba approached them.
"Don't get so angry at such a pretty performance, Yume, after all, the boy proved himself quite the fighter-the skill, the ruthlessness, the killing drive. You really lucked out, number 03. He is the second Ashikabi to draw my interest, why were it not for Natsuo, I just might have reacted to him."
"Are you the reason for this, this… blasphemy?"
"Oh, so he actually got you angry? My, he seems better catch by the minute, it would be a shame if he were to die. You do remember that killing Ashikabi is forbidden. Why as a member of the Disciplinary Squad in the Sekirei Game, I am supposed to stop such dishonorable acts and punish those guilty of it!" Karasuba gleefully said, smiling wide.
Yume had an angry expression, and seemed about to attack.
Karasuba must've seen it too, as she instantly moved to engage, sword drawn, only to miraculously stop it centimeters from the face of her nearly nude opponent. Her very expression of glee changing into a different kind of smile.
"Karasuba-sama?" a now different voice asked, from those very same lips.
Kazehana released her breathe, happy that she wouldn't have to fight Yume.
"Musubi ? Musubi-chan, is that you?" Minato asked, his boundless happiness at his Musubi-chan returned to him bright and obvious in his voice.
'And that, is why for me, Kazuto-san is the better choice-Minato already has his heart filled by Musubi. She is the most important bird of his flock, his 'firs wife', even if none of them realize it yet.
"Still", Karasuba continued, "These two tried to escape the Game, we can't just let it stand, can we now?"
As if to punctuate her statement, a bright light shot from the sky at the bridge- heavily damaging it even more-The satellite laser was back online. The bridge destroyed utterly now, with only Shigi and Kuno on the far side of it.
XxXxXx
Seo thought they were done for, the new group of MBI soldiers wearing some sort of electrically insulating suits, prepared to call a retreat.
'Nomeal of Miya is worth the trouble we would get into if those guy get ahold of us, I think they took their shocked friends' fate as an insult.
And I was hoping to see what kind of food would someone calling themselves Miya's cooking teacher would make'.
It was at that point that a loud noise approached the troops from the side, and what soon appeared to be a biker decided to go on collision course with them.
'Wait a moment, is that a kid behind? That's the Green Girl! Than it must be one of Sahashi's Sekirei! I swear he gets all the luck with them, an innocent one, a tsundere, an open minded one, all he needs is to fill the twins spot'
At that point a horrible thought entered his head.
'No! I won't let him! Those twins are MINE!'
it was at this point that Hikari turned to him, having noticed a strange look on his face, (gotten a creepy feeling)and commented.
"You better not be thinking strange things now!"
"Wha-I didn't I swear! I-"
Whatever he was, was interrupted as the biker took what looked like a rocket launcher, and shot poke'balls at the troops.
Wait, no, those were spheres, with small plants inside- which rapidly grew into giant growths that entrapped the MBI armed goons.
The biker turned out to be that glasses girl of Sahashi.
"Hey, Seo-tan, we should hurry, Mina-tan and the others might be in trouble."
"Where are we going?"Hibiki asked.
"To be the cavalry for the others on the bridge! Hurry!"
The Ashikabi, and four Sekirei, got to the others just in time to see a Glowing, almost naked Musubi accusing an unmoving sekirei of going against what's Preordained or something.
It took blinking, and more looking before he realized his mistake.
'Oh, wait, she's talking to a wide eyed kid in black wearing outfit.'
The fact that they were talking, and not fighting, seemed promising. And the purple hair was saying some interesting things.
Until SHE appeared and started clapping.
The idea that a human, let alone a kid, could terminate a sekirei, especially the Blue Sekirei, was ridiculous, and from anyone else, he wouldn't have believed it.
But this was the Black Sekirei. Seo knew of her, more than enough, from both what he overheard, and from Takehito.
Her expressed appreciation of the kid was not good news either. Though for some reason, a glance at the biker girl showed that she was not surprised at the news.
Just who was that boy, which even now lay unmoving, as if not concerned in the least.
Musubi soon got back to herself, and a Satelite Laser ruined the bridge, showing again Minaka had disregard to property damage.
Seo thought how likely it would be that he will end up among the workers hired to clear and rebuild this mess.
He figured out-very.
As Biker Girl pointed and yelled at the couple they were smuggling out
"Run now, and that three hundred meters in that direction they should reach a road, a cab was ordered to wait there, the driver will be waiting to pick up' two friends of Asuna'. Move"
As the two did, and he and all the other Sekirei prepared to fight the two remaining 'dogs of MBI', as they were often called, Karasuba suddenly expressed a disinterest, and after telling Musubi-san to get stronger, ordered the Red Sekirei to go back with her.
"Thank you for worrying and coming to check outon us, Seo-san." Sahashi told him with a grateful look.
"Actually, a drill sergeant named Asuna sent me. Didn't know you were familiar with anyone from the JSDF."
At his joke the mysterious teen that felled one of Minaka's birds gasped.
As he turned a closer look at him, Seo Kaoru noticed that the kid in black didn't move at all, from his position on the ground.
"You okay kid?"
"I'm… "
The last part was whispered to quietly for him to hear.
The Purple haired Sekirei with the impressive chest, however heard him, and walked to and picked the boy up, bridal style, picking two metal rods from the ground near him.
For reasons he could guess, the ever friendly Minato dropped his smile, as if remembering something foul, and kept his distance from the pair.
"We should wait for MBI to collect Hihane-san." The blonde Tsundere said. The tension only intensifying after that statement, with Minato angry at the boy, and his girls confused.
"So.. a Sekirei AND a girlfriend? At your age? You need to have a talk with your Senpai, and tell me all about your secret!" Seo asked, trying to lighten the mood. His attempt failed.
Author Notes:Finally it's done. While this is the longest and favorite fic to write, its not the easiest, by far. Expect next chapter next month.
Writing Yume was difficult, particularly inserting my take on her and her 'fate' powers... i hope it was too bad, and that she still a good likable character here, it's just that Kirito-his presence and nature as a blind spot and wildcard to her by surprise. Just to clarify, Musubi is back, and she is Minato's, Homura will be his as well.
Writing Karasuba in this chapter, on the other hand, was very fun- i re-watched the Anime, and had her do the opposite. A foil and Contrast due to Kirito- and not for the last time.
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