Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.
hadomaster: Thanks, I'm glad you think so! Thanks for the review!
I Hate Strangers
It was painfully obvious that they knew. Benitsubasa was pretty much giving everyone in the house the cold shoulder, Sukaime was teasing Oriha relentlessly, though Oriha was for once barely phased, and Kaie was still Kaie. Well, it was nothing Madoka hadn't dealt with before. Benitsubasa had her moments all the time, it would pass and she'd get over it. Well, as long as she didn't find out any specific details about what had transpired last night. In short, breakfast had been an interesting affair.
Later at work he was left wondering if what had just happened was poorly timed. What happened being a text message from Avaron during work, and judging by the inordinate number of hearts and smiley faces framing it she was in a very good mood. It read: Hello Madoka-kun. It had been too long since we've all gotten together. Would you mind calling Kouji and setting up a little meeting after you get out of work? The other half of the message had been the hearts and smiley faces. He really had no idea what to make of that. He was still trying to figure things out with his sekirei so he wasn't sure this was a good time to be dealing with Avaron.
And yet on his lunch break he found himself calling Kouji just as Avaron had asked. Awkward tensions or not, he did miss the two people he could actually call his friends a little. Sure he got along with his sekirei, even if they didn't get along with each other, but he needed friends who didn't want to kiss him all the time. Though, on that note, did Avaron still count? He sure as hell hoped Kouji did.
"So, you have other ashikabi friends?" Kaie asked as they stood outside after work. Since she'd only recently become his sekirei, he realized he wouldn't have talked to her about such things. Usually he only really talked to her at work anyway, which was too public for sekirei related topics.
"Yeah, Avaron and Kouji. They each only have one sekirei. Don't worry too much, they're all easy to get along with," Madoka told her. He wondered how Kouji would react this time. Last time he'd been surprised about Oriha. He had a feeling Kaie would elicit an even bigger response. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, receiving such recognition.
"That's good," Kaie said. "I never expected that sekirei from different ashikabi would be able to coexist. And then one of the first things I did after being winged was save another ashikabi's sekirei." Kaie smiled. "You've impressed me."
"Err, th-thanks I think. That's a good thing right?" Madoka asked. Kaie's smile faded.
"I hope so."
. . .
"Stop it!" Benitsubasa snapped. They were on their way to meet up with Madoka, but something was bothering her.
"I didn't do anything!" Sukaime replied in exasperation.
"Not you! Oriha! Stop being so damn happy! It's making me sick!" Benitsubasa growled. She didn't know why, but Oriha had been smiling non-stop since last night. It was starting to get under her skin.
"You're just jealous." Oriha adjusted her hair nonchalantly.
"Why should I be jealous?" Benitsubasa narrowed her eyes and Oriha giggled knowingly.
"Because you never have a reason to smile maybe? You're always angry."
"And what's your reason, huh?" Benitsubasa growled, baring her teeth and placing a hand on her hip as she blocked Oriha's path.
"Nothing," Oriha insisted sweetly, and just walked right around her. The ease with which she was ignored left Benitsubasa flabbergasted, standing in the middle of the sidewalk with jaw agape.
"Ooh, shut down!" Sukaime chortled.
"Shut up and walk!" Benitsubasa spun and kicked Sukaime in the rear.
"Ow! You need therapy! Jeez!" Sukaime pouted, but obeyed.
The three continued on in silence to find Madoka and Kaie waiting outside the store. Benitsubasa wasted no time, claiming one of Madoka's arms for herself expecting them to soon be on their way. No such thing occurred, and she found herself standing there, clutching his arm, with no sign that they'd be leaving soon.
"What are we waiting for?" Benitsubasa looked up at him.
"Avar-"
"WHAT?" Benitsubasa shouted. When had this happened? Was he making plans behind her back now? Why was she never told anything?
"Avaron wants us all to meet up. She messaged me at work," Madoka explained. "That includes Kouji and Namiji." OK so maybe he hadn't been hiding anything from her. That didn't make her like it any better.
"What for?" she grumbled. She'd gotten used to them not being around. Avaron had always bugged her for some reason, and not just because she was an ashikabi.
"Well it could be because we're friends, but-" Benitsubasa cut him off with the deepest scowl she could manage.
"Oh you two, you're so cute. Especially you Beni-chan, trying to hoard him all to yourself!" Sukaime teased. Benitsubasa quickly rounded on her and clamped her hand around Sukaime's mouth, digging her fingernails into her cheeks.
"Never talk to me like that again!" she growled.
"Hey!" Madoka shouted, voice raised enough to make her flinch. Benitsubasa let go of Sukaime, but there were marks left where her nails had cut into Sukaime's skin.
"Wow, cranky much?" Sukaime clutched at her face.
"Sukaime, maybe don't provoke her today," Madoka said uneasily. Sukaime stared at him incredulously, but somehow Benitsubasa knew he wasn't done. She was next. "And you," Madoka narrowed his eyes at her. Sukaime calmed down, no longer looking the victim of favoritism. Benitsubasa just turned her head away, wishing she had pockets she could put her hands into. She didn't want to deal with another scolding right now. "Are you going to behave or do I have to send you home?"
"Hmph, stop talking to me like I'm a child!" Benitsubasa snarled. She was feeling angrier than usual that day, and against her better judgment she'd traded in her shovel for a jackhammer and was digging herself a nice sized hole at an astounding rate. She knew this, but she didn't feel like backing off.
"Then don't act like one!" Madoka's voice showed that he was just as confused by her actions as she herself was. No, he was confused, she knew exactly what her problem was. She just didn't want to do anything about it. Most people would pull their hand away if they leaned on a hot burner, but she felt like leaning all her weight onto it. The burner in this case was Madoka as she glared at him defiantly. All the anger she had roiling around suddenly found focus and stabbed out at him.
"Whatever, don't talk to me!" she bristled and stalked off to stand a few feet away. She wasn't leaving though, she didn't dare leave him unsupervised. She'd stop acting childish when he stopped acting like a horny teenager. She had no idea what exactly happened with him and Oriha, but she didn't need to. It was obvious something had happened.
. . .
"Somebody's in trooouuu-bllleee~!" Sukaime announced sing-song. "And it's not her." She turned her gaze on Madoka, causing him to shrink away as if she'd lit on fire.
"Wh-why me?" Madoka stared back at her uneasily. Sukaime felt a little of her old self resurface as she saw Madoka looking vulnerable. He had no idea what was going on. No, yes he did, and he was terrified.
"You know why," Sukaime giggled with a tiny smile. His grimace told her everything she needed to know. She was feeling a little sadistic at the moment, and for once she had no desire to torture Benitsubasa. That left Madoka, since Oriha was in her untouchable state of nirvana. She didn't have to say anything more though, she just had to keep on smiling her knowing little smile and Madoka would cringe every time she looked at him. It was wonderful. She felt awful.
. . .
Madoka was cringing. First Benitsubasa, then Sukaime. Kaie wasn't helping him either. She wasn't getting on his case, but she kept quiet throughout the incident. He felt a little better when Oriha quickly made her way to his side and hugged him around the waist. At the same time, he had a feeling her showing him affection in front of the others wasn't going to ease tensions.
"Stop being mean to Madoka-sama!" Oriha yelled at the others.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we can find ways to torment you too, little miss sunshine," Sukaime told her. "Because I can be so much meaner." Madoka was inclined to believe her. Finally, thankfully, at that moment it seemed Kaie had seen enough.
"Can we all calm down? It would be embarrassing if we were to be seen like this when Madoka's friends arrive," Kaie said.
"Fine fine, let's keep up appearances. Benitsubasa's fine though, they expect her to be cranky." Sukaime ran a hand through her hair, as if adjusting it to make sure it was perfect. Madoka was wondering when they'd all finally start to get along. Would it ever happen? While hardly best friends, they'd seemed to find a sort of contented peace for a little while, but it seemed jealousy had destroyed that. He was at a loss as to what to do, but right now he could do nothing.
"Hey, it's been a while!" Kouji was here. "Who's your... friend..." It was a question turned stunned realization as Kouji slowed to a halt and stood there slack-jawed at the sight of Kaie. It was hard to say if he was surprised that Madoka had another sekirei, or if he was just caught off guard by her full figure. Certainly fuller than Madoka's previous three sekirei. When Madoka caught a glimpse of Kaie shifting uncomfortably under Kouji's gaze, he figured he should speak up.
"Yeah, you missed a few things." Madoka chuckled and shuffled his feet.
"I'll damn well say I did, who is she?" Kouji asked, wide eyed.
"She's a new sekirei, obviously," Namiji grabbed Kouji's arm, trying to snap him out of his daze. Judging by the way Kouji flinched, he'd realized how much he'd been ogling Kaie – in front of his own sekirei.
"Yeah, it was kind of an unplanned thing," Madoka explained, a nervous quiver in his voice. He didn't know why he felt embarrassed. At the same moment he saw Kaie shrink back a little, face turning away. "B-but so were the rest of them, right?" He caught Kaie's lips twitch towards a smile for a second, but in the end it seemed that hadn't helped much.
"Madoka-kun, did you just admit we're all mistakes? How irresponsible!" Sukaime stuck her tongue out at him.
"Yeah yeah, I should have worn a mouth condom." Madoka shook his head.
"Oh and now you regret us, huh?" Sukaime gave an exaggerated frown.
"This is getting dangerously close to a father-daughter metaphor which would make things really awkward for you," Madoka told her. "Just warning you."
"Ah, touche sir, touche." Sukaime nodded slowly and gave a small bow.
"So, you always have that much fun with each other?" Kouji asked.
"Totally." Madoka decided to avoid that line of questioning. "So, I take it you haven't seen Avaron? This meet-up was her idea."
"Nope, I just came when I was told to," Kouji replied, as he'd expected. Maybe Avaron was just busy fixing her hair or some other girly thing and was running late.
"Oh no, she's running late, pity that," Benitsubasa chimed in dourly off from the side where she stood inspecting her fingernails apathetically. She didn't even bother to look in their direction, seeming content to let the back of her head represent her.
"She hates when people run late. Less people for her to be mean to," Sukaime said. Madoka was half inclined to believe her. However, a moment later the two women in question turned a corner and came into view.
"I see I'm here last, did you wait long?" Avaron asked when she reached them.
"N-" Madoka tried to speak, but...
"If you're going to be a pain in my ass at least be on time!" Benitsubasa yelled, even turning around this time. It looked like it was going to be one of those days. "I hate people who are late!"
"I'm sorry, it's just been so long since we've made the walk we couldn't quite remember how long it took," Avaron took Benitsubasa's stormy reaction in stride.
"But we're here now, right?" Masukagami smiled cheerily.
"No!" Benitsubasa snapped at Masukagami. "Don't make excuses! Just aim to be ten minutes early and you'll never be late!"
"Wow, that's actually really smart, who taught you that?" Masukagami asked, looking more fascinated by Benitsubasa's unexpected words of wisdom. Madoka hadn't seen it coming either.
"S-someone. It doesn't matter! Just stop being late! The sooner you arrive the sooner you can go!" Benitsubasa was always aggressive, but she should have at least been somewhat used to Avaron and Masukagami by now, enough so that she could at least make some attempt to behave. He was pretty sure this was his fault. That said, there was suddenly something beneath all that aggression. He was wondering who "someone" was.
"Why do you want us to go? We just got here!" Masukagami cocked her head to the was going to be a long day.
. . .
"Oh, I see what's going on here," Sukaime whispered to Benitsubasa, causing the girl to glance at her. "She's trying to be dumber than you. Strong showing!" She had to dodge a jab from Benitsubasa's elbow.
"Benitsubasa, calm down-" Madoka spoke up. Sukaime winced apprehensively.
"Don't tell me to calm down! You expect me to be calm just because you tell me to? Never tell me to calm down! I don't just... I don't... fuck off!" Benitsubasa crossed her arms and turned away.
"Hm. That actually went a little better than expected." Sukaime nodded slowly. "I think her rage actually melted her brain. Poor thing. She didn't have much to begin with."
"I SWEAR TO GOD!" Benitsubasa charged at her and she took off running. She heard Madoka say something about them acting like children. Oh well, children had fun right?
Running didn't remain easy for long. It was the end of the work day and the streets were filling up. She ducked around one group of pedestrians and then slid through a gaggle of school girls, flipping a skirt for the hell of it as she did. If she was going to be a child, she might as well go all out.
"Heh, stripes." She grinned perversely and then turned on her heel to keep running. Benitsubasa wasn't making it easy on her. Committing the panty shot to memory may have cost her dearly. There were too many people on the sidewalk. It was time to parkour.
She turned towards the street and jumped deftly onto a small rail with bicycles chained to it and ran across the narrow surface to avoid the crowds. She did a front flip, purely for style points, off the other end and then kept running, jumping over a small advertisement sign as she went. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that her stunts hadn't shaken Benitsubasa.
For her next trick she jumped onto a fire hydrant and then pushed off and up onto a parked box-truck. She vaulted off the other end of that and kicked off of a nearby light pole, completely over the heads of the crowd of pedestrians below, and landed on top of a vending machine.
"Ha!" She turned around... to see Benitsubasa easily copying her. "Oh shi-" she quickly slid down off the vending machine, just as Benitsubasa landed on the now wobbling contraption. When Benitsubasa jumped off, it tipped and began to fall. "Crap!" She didn't know why, but she decided she'd have felt bad if it crashed, and on instinct jumped under it to catch it. It was a lot heavier than it looked and her knees nearly buckled. Her knees were slowly bending under the weight of the machine that would have crushed most people her size flat in an instant.
And then suddenly the weight was gone and with a bang and a rattle the machine rocked back into place, bouncing off the wall behind it before settling back where it was supposed to be. Sukaime turned to see Benitsubasa standing there, one arm outstretched, having shoved the vending machine back upright in one go... with one arm.
"Hmph, show off!" Sukaime scoffed.
"It's what I do," Benitsubasa shrugged, not looking overly concerned. "Besides, I wanted the satisfaction of-" She was interrupted by scatted clapping that soon broke out into applause. They'd totally forgotten that they had witnesses who had seen not only their athletic stunts, but their little feat of strength with the vending machine.
"Yeah... You can break my legs later, we should go back to Madoka," Sukaime said under her breath as she gave the crowd a feeble wave.
. . .
"In front of how many people?" Madoka looked ready to have a stroke.
"Oh, you know, just a few... dozen," Sukaime laughed nervously. But how bad had it really been? She was mostly sure that MBI wouldn't show up to cut off his head over something like that. It wasn't like he had said anything to anyone he wasn't supposed to. Technically no one had said anything. They'd simply displayed inhuman abilities in front of a large crowd.
"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..." Madoka muttered frantically under his breath, pacing back and forth and running his hands through his hair.
"It's fine, they all thought it was cool. They probably thought we were making a movie or something!" Sukaime tried to reassure him.
"A movie? Really?" Benitsubasa crossed her arms. "No one would put you in a movie."
"I dunno, she seems like she'd be a good actor," Kouji chuckled.
"Don't encourage her!" Madoka and Benitsubasa shouted in unison.
"Heh, if that hadn't been so cute, my feelings would be really hurt here," Sukaime smirked at the two who were left blushing.
"You know, Ikki thought it might have been a movie too, what with all the applause, but I knew better." Their conversation, such as it was, was interrupted as an unknown pair walked over to them. One wore a thin, woolen jacket and had dark hair, and the other had some of the nicest thighs Sukaime had ever seen. She was still working her way up to the girls face. He breasts confirmed she was indeed female.
Her evaluation was cut short by a foul smell that left her coughing. The guy smoked.
"Gah, dammit, p-put that thing out!" Sukaime wheezed. "I have sensitive lungs!"
"My apologies, I didn't' realize sekirei could have things such as 'sensitive lungs,'" the young man said and humored her, stomping his cigarette out.
"You have ten seconds to explain who you are," Benitsubasa warned them, cracking her knuckles.
"Well, he's an ashikabi, that's a given," Madoka narrowed his eyes suspiciously, hands in his pockets. Sukaime knew he was white-knuckling even if she couldn't actually see his knuckles.
"Obviously, so why are you interrupting our meeting?" Even Avaron looked a little hostile as she spoke. Normally she was exceedingly pleasant, but Sukaime had always felt something was off about her, so she found she wasn't surprised to see that Avaron could so quickly throw on a different face.
"Well the fact that you three are meeting is exactly it! Three ashikabi, meeting, conversing and not having their sekirei tear each others throats out. I'm intrigued. You don't have to worry, I'm not so foolish as to throw my sekirei away. It's six-to-one odds after all. I don't want any part of that," the stranger explained.
"So what do you want? Wait, never mind, your ten seconds are up. Leave or I start breaking things!" Benitsubasa growled. During this Sukaime had gotten a chance to look over the sekirei girl, Ikki. The most noticeable feature was that adoring those fine, fine thighs were tights and tall boots. The boots went up to and a little past mid thigh and had huge 19's printed on them. Sukaime assumed that Ikki was number 19. Out of 108 that was pretty low, but she had no idea if number placement mattered much past the single numbers. Being a sekirei didn't mean she knew that much about them. Past that she had a Chinese-style shirt with no sleeves and a high collar, black gloves that covered her wrists as well, short, black hair, and dark blue eyes. In short, she was a little plain, as far as sekirei went, but with a bombshell body. Then again, while Madoka seemed good at finding all the outliers, "bombshell bodies" weren't exactly rare among sekirei.
Ikki narrowed those dark blue eyes at Benitsubasa's threat, but otherwise made no move to attack. Considering the aforementioned six-to-one odds, that was probably wise.
"Benitsubasa, enough, I'll handle this. Please?" Madoka looked down at her. Benitsubasa just threw her arms up and turned to walk a short distance away.
"Well, angry, but obedient, eh?" The stranger commented.
"Usually." Madoka shrugged. "So, answer her question. What do you want?"
"I want in of course. Why else would I take such a risk?" he told them. "But I should introduce myself, shouldn't I? I'm Masayuki, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He gave them an extravagant bow, crossing one arm over his chest and dropping his head down low.
"Eh? People still talk like that?" Sukaime raised an eyebrow in surprise and glanced at Madoka to make sure he was seeing it too. His perplexed expression told her indeed he was.
"Stop that," Madoka grumbled and waited for Masayuki to right himself. "You want 'in?' Why?"
"Well, Ikki is a fine sekirei, but she is only one sekirei among over a hundred. Sure, the number has dwindled somewhat, but we're still grievously outnumbered. Then I see you three, a trio of ashikabi playing nice. Like I said, I'm intrigued. Though, if you're not accepting new members, I can go," Masayuki explained. "No harm done, yes?"
"NO!" Benitsubasa spoke up as expected. Sukaime had been counting the seconds from the moment Masayuki had said he wanted in. "No more! I can't even stand the ones we already have hanging around! I swear to god I will kill this one!"
"It's your ashikabi's decision, not yours. A good sekirei is obedient," Ikki spoke, nearly emotionless as she did. The way she talked, Sukaime almost wanted to give her a hug just to see what would happen.
"A good sekirei kills as many other sekirei as possible!" Benitsubasa argued.
"I don't like it either!" Oriha threw in her opinion.
"No, it is Madoka's decision," Kaie took the other side of things. Sukaime froze, body going stiff and heart racing. No, not again, she didn't want to be the tie breaker again! She didn't want it to come down to her word! It had been a narrowly averted disaster last time! Well, this was just them arguing over whether or not it was Madoka's decision, right? In the end it would be up to Madoka, then she'd be free of any blame, one way or the other.
"Yeah, j-just let Madoka decide! We should trust him!" Sukaime blurted out a little louder than was necessary. Well, there went all the effort she'd put into making Madoka uncomfortable.
"It's not just up to me, Avaron and Kouji have a say too," Madoka replied.
"Ah, well, now I know all your names. Nice to meet you," Masayuki grinned.
"Yep, because sekirei don't count!" Sukaime nodded.
"Ah, my apologies, of course you count, but the question is, will I be around long enough for introductions to really matter?" Masayuki stared at Madoka questioningly. Madoka sighed.
"Well?" Madoka glanced to Avaron and Kouji in turn.
"I'm not sure. How can we trust him?" Avaron asked.
"Well, as much faith as I may have in Ikki's fighting abilities, she couldn't beat all of your sekirei alone. I'm not really sure what benefits I could hope to gain by lying my way in here," Masayuki countered.
"He makes a good point. I mean, you let me and Namiji stick around and we tried to fight you. Why not give him a chance?" Kouji offered his opinion.
"Nobody likes you!" Benitsubasa shouted.
"Nobody likes you," Sukaime stuck her tongue out. "Shush dear, grown-ups are talking."
"Both of you be quiet!" Madoka groaned, placing a hand on his forehead. He looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel. "Kouji has a point though. Avaron?"
"It's true," Avaron said. She was quiet for a while but finally gave a barely perceptible nod. "I'll risk it. It's your call now, Madoka-kun." Madoka turned to Masayuki, and then slowly held out a hand.
"All right, welcome to the club, I guess," Madoka said and Masayuki shook his hand.
"Fantastic! So, shall we have those introductions now?" Masayuki grinned widely.
. . .
"I-"
"Can't believe Madoka would do this again. This is so stupid. Insert various expletives here. Yes, we get it. You are so predictable I can't stand it! You're actually starting to bore me. I mean, sure, you tried to turn the tables and start cutting me off, but that won't be amusing for very long," Sukaime interrupted Benitsubasa's impending rant with one of her own. She watched as Benitsubasa stood there slack-jawed, trying to figure out what to say next. There meeting had been cut short after Masayuki had showed up. They'd instead just agreed on when they'd meet next so they could get to know Masayuki, or just Yuki, better. Now they were back home and Benitsubasa was taking her chance, or at least trying, to vent. Sukaime didn't really want to hear it though.
"I-I..." Benitsubasa stuttered and then frowned deeply. "You're a bitch, you know that?"
"Mhm, but so are you. It's why we're so perfect together." Sukaime winked.
"Remember how I hit Oriha?" Benitsubasa suddenly changed the subject.
"Err, yeah?" Sukaime didn't like where this was going.
"I don't think I've ever hit you." The pink-haired sekirei cracked her knuckles. Now she really didn't like where this was going.
"Ah, b-but of course you have. The incident with the pillows and-"
"Doesn't count." Benitsubasa's expression was now holding far too much malice for Sukaime to be comfortable.
"You wouldn't! T-too many witnesses! I'll have Madoka sic Kaie on you!" she threatened. Benitsubasa didn't even pause for a moment. Suddenly she had Benitsubasa's hand clamped around her throat.
"Stop playing with me!" Benitsubasa growled darkly. "I don't think you realize how hard it is for me to tolerate you! Everyone is always complaining about how I barely 'behave!' You don't realize how much I'm holding back every moment of every day! It's sickening to look at you all the time, seeing you act like we're friends! We're not, understand?" Her grip tightened and Sukaime felt herself choking. This was bad. Masayuki's arrival had pushed Benitsubasa over the limit. Madoka sneaking off with Oriha had already made things dangerous. That had been poorly timed, so soon after Kaie being winged.
"L-l-" She couldn't talk, Benitsubasa's grip was too tight.
. . .
Benitsubasa felt Sukaime's neck beneath her fingertips. She could calculate how much more it would take to crush her throat. She could feel Sukaime choking, feel her struggling to breathe. She felt the rage and hatred burning inside herself. It was wrapped so tightly around her heart and it hurt. She needed to make someone else hurt. She needed to aim it all at someone else.
She needed all the hate to come out so she could breathe again. She wanted to let it all out on Sukaime. Nothing was happening. She squeezed, she ranted and raved, but nothing came out, it was still locked inside her. She looked at Sukaime's struggling face, saw the glint of fear in her eyes and she should have taken joy in that, but she didn't. She watched the sweat drip down her face and glue her bangs to her forehead. She felt sick, she had to let go.
The burning hatred she felt had cooled into a heavy lump that was weighing her down. She didn't know what was happening to her. Anger and hate were things she was supposed to understand. Right now she just felt confused, lonely, and cold.
"Leave me alone," she muttered as Sukaime clutched at her throat.
"Um, are you OK?" Sukaime asked hoarsely. Benitsubasa twitched and stared at her incredulously.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Go away!" she demanded. She would never understand Sukaime.
"If you say so."
. . .
"Seriously? Again with this?" Sukaime coughed. It was two days later, Saturday, and Ikki and her smoking ashikabi were back. So was everyone else.
"So, what do you all do together?" Masayuki asked.
"Sometimes we just talk," Avaron answered.
"Talking eh? It must be tiresome, this pair of blondes gossiping about you behind your back," Masayuki said.
"They don't, at least... I don't think," Avaron suddenly looked rather unsure. Madoka knew that had sort of been a shot at him, but the look on Avaron's face was too good, he had to laugh.
"Oh it's no laughing matter," Masayuki spoke up again. "I mean, look at you and those lovely, golden locks. Avaron here must be quite jealous. Such feelings aren't healthy. Then you go and talk about her behind her back, I'm surprised she hasn't shaved you bald in your sleep." Madoka frowned, as this time Avaron was the one laughing. Kouji too, but Kouji was close enough for him to reach out and smack in the back of the head. "Oh dear, it seems I've brought violence to a once loving relationship."
"OK, OK, we get it, you're hilarious," Madoka sighed, though it was taking some effort to keep himself from grinning. "Moving on?"
"Yeah, well, since he said he had so much confidence if Ikki's fighting abilities, I thought we could head back to the warehouses and find out," Kouji suggested.
"What's this now?" Masayuki looked confused.
"We have a place where we can have practice fights," Namiji explained. "Unless it's too soon."
"Not at all, I'm sure Ikki would love to test herself against you. I believe there was a little tension between her and Benitsubasa there. Perhaps a friendly chance to resolve it."
"No," Benitsubasa said adamantly. "Stay away from me. That wouldn't end well."
"I'm sure you can trust them, nothing's going to happen with everyone else here," Madoka told her. She needed to learn to be more trusting.
"That's not what you should be worrying about right now," Benitsubasa grumbled.
"What are y-" Madoka was cut off when Sukaime placed a hand on his arm and shook her head. Now he was worried. "Err, all right, sit this one out if you want."
"A shame, I would have liked to see what she had behind all those words," Masayuki said, earning a heated glare from Benitsubasa, and yet that was all. He was surprised, and impressed, to see that she didn't take the bait. Something wasn't right. He needed time to think about it, but he didn't have that time at the moment.
"You'll have to wait," Madoka told him firmly, he didn't want him to goad her again. If Benitsubasa didn't want to fight, then something was going on and he wasn't going to let her be harassed.
"Of course of course, no harm meant." Masayuki held his hands up in surrender. Well, to be fair, Benitsubasa had threatened Ikki once or twice. As long as he could just drop it for now he wouldn't hold it against him. "So, let us see these warehouses."
. . .
Once they were there and Masukagami once again showed off her ability to teleport past the fence, Kouji explained what exactly he had in mind.
"I figured we could have a sort of survival style, winner stays set up. One of them fights until they lose, then the winner from that fight stays until they lose or until no one wants to fight anymore," Kouji told them. "It shouldn't take long since Benitsubasa doesn't want to fight. It's possible that one of them won't even lose. So who wants to go first?"
"May I try?" Kaie asked. Madoka could have sworn she actually looked eager. He knew she wasn't a pushover now that she'd been winged, but he had no idea what her feelings were when it came to fighting. He was of the impression most sekirei didn't have any huge aversion to fighting, but he also didn't think that all sekirei were as aggressive as Benitsubasa.
"Uh, sure." Madoka nodded.
"That's it, I give up," Sukaime immediately took a step back.
"Err, I-I'll let someone else go," Oriha gulped and joined Sukaime. Madoka couldn't decide if it was funny or shocking that the two just immediately caved the second Kaie announced she wanted to fight.
"Well, that's quite interesting," Masayuki said. "Ikki, why don't you give it a go and see if there's a reason those two have lost their nerve."
"Of course." Ikki nodded and did the opposite of Sukaime and Oriha and stepped forward.
"This will be my first time." Immediately Sukaime giggled causing Kaie to frown and sigh. "Are there any special rules for a practice match? Besides the obvious no terminations."
"Well, try to keep the injuries to a minimum. No special rules really, it's all pretty obvious," Kouji explained.
"Understood," Kaie nodded. Ikki nodded in understanding as well.
"Everyone stand back, let's begin!" Kouji announced. The second everyone was out of the way, Kaie and Ikki began circling each other. In a flash, Ikki pulled out a pair of tanto style swords and rushed forward. Her advance was almost immediately halted when Kaie's whips cracked close to her face. Ikki wasn't going to have it easy getting close enough to attack.
Ikki quickly changed direction, but was once again was cut off by Kaie's whips lashing out and blocking her path. Ikki tried to immediately reverse direction completely, but with much the same results. Ikki tried to slash at the whips this time but this accomplished little. While she was busy with that, Kaie took her other set of whips and struck Ikki's ankle, trapping it and then pulling her off her feet.
Ikki quickly attempted to cut herself free, but Kaie pulled her whips away before they could be damaged. Now free, Ikki flipped to her feet and rushed at Kaie. This time, Ikki was just barely ducked one strike from Kaie, closing the distance enough to make it difficult for Kaie to lash at her. Well, that's what Madoka had thought anyway.
Kaie took a short hop back and pulled her right set of whips across in a horizontal slash. Ikki crossed her blades in front of her to block, but still stumbled from the impact.
"H-hey, uh, disarm her!" Madoka felt like Kaie could have figured that out on her own, but weren't whips good for that? It happened in movies. Well, when he thought about it like that he felt stupid. However, Kaie nodded. Just as Ikki set her feet after stumbling, Kaie lashed out with one set of her whips and caught Ikki's wrist and pulled her off balance, but she didn't drop her weapon. She moved to cut herself free with her other blade, but as she raised her arm, Kaie lashed out with her other set of whips and with a loud crack Ikki's other weapon was knocked out of her hand. That left her with one hand trapped and her other undoubtedly in pain.
"Give up, you won't get free before I hit you again," Kaie warned. Madoka could have sworn her expression hadn't changed once during the whole fight, and she stayed calm and rock-steady as she asked for Ikki's surrender.
"We'll have to give her this one, Ikki. No need to for you to get your pretty little face hurt trying to win just a practice match," Masayuki spoke up. "Well, that didn't last very long. She's good, you've got yourself a real winner there, don't you?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess," Madoka replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. Kaie was a little scary when it came to fighting. He was used to her when she was at work, head down, quiet, and diligent. This icy, emotionless fighter before him now was barely recognizable. But no, it made sense. He could see it. She was always in control emotionally. It was a mistake to confuse "quiet" and "gentle." She could be just as dangerous as Benitsubasa. The difference being that Benitsubasa was wild and explosive.
He was wrong about one thing though, and he realized it quickly. He'd made another mistake just then, and that was the uncertainty in his voice when he'd spoken. Kaie was a winner, wasn't she? So what the hell had been with him and his answer? And for a moment in Kaie's eyes he could see the disappointment. He was an idiot.
"Winner stays, anyone else want to take their chances against her?" Kouji asked. The silence was tangible. Kaie was just plain scary.
. . .
In the end Namiji had taken her chances, but once again Kaie had won. Namiji wasn't fast enough, though she'd done a little better than Ikki. The power behind her weapon had helped her deflect Kaie's whips, but in the end her large weapon had been too big of a target and had also been her downfall. Kaie had managed her second win by once again disarming her opponent. After that no one was willing to step into the ring against her and they'd decided that their fun had been had and it wasn't worth sticking around and risking being arrested for trespassing.
After spending more time around Masayuki, Madoka had to admit a liking for him. He wasn't strange like Avaron, and he wasn't as awkward as Kouji could be. He was more confident and outspoken, something he knew he himself lacked.
As he got ready for bed, Madoka was wondering how much sleep he'd really be able to get. He had a couple things on his mind. He didn't want to regret the evening he'd spent with Oriha, but was the fallout really worth it? It was too late now though, shouldn't he just keep it as a happy memory and try to deal with the consequences as best he could? Wasn't that really his only option now anyway? He was nervous though, because if Sukaime of all people was getting on his case... he shuddered a little at the thought. With any luck, she'd already had her fun at his expense and was ready to forgive him.
Benitsubasa was a different story. He couldn't just wait that storm out. He'd have to make it up to her somehow. Would it start a vicious cycle though? Spend time with one sekirei, then spend time with another to make her feel better, but then leave the other three jealous of that one? He'd never get ahead. He wished they'd make friends, then maybe they could just talk it out amongst each other. Would they ever get along? He felt like Sukaime could do it, if only the others would let her. Some days it seemed like she and Benitsubasa actually got along, but then other days they were making a scene running through the streets.
He-
"Madoka-kun?" There was a light knock on his door before it was cracked open.
"I'm going to be naked one of these days and then it will be really awkward," Madoka said. Oh who was he kidding, they'd probably enjoy that. Well, Oriha might pass out, but that didn't mean she wouldn't still enjoy it. This time though, it was Kaie. She'd been another of the things worrying him, and that made him nervous. What did she want? "So since I'm not naked, what's up?"
"I was thinking," Kaie told him.
"It happens. Anything specific?" he asked, but she didn't respond, just looking around his room nervously.
"You," she finally said, almost blurting it out. It took him a moment to realize it was a delayed answer to his question.
"Um, me?" What about him? He couldn't imagine she'd have too much good to say right now. He tried, but he knew he consistently fell short. He knew he was needed in some capacity, but half the time he felt they'd be better off without him.
"What do you, err, th-think of me?" she asked. And here he'd been fretting over what she thought of him. This was far more complicated. Crap.
"Well, I'm not sure what you mean," Madoka struggled to make himself speak. He had a feeling she didn't want him to compliment her figure.
"I don't know where I... stand," she spoke quietly. "Everyone else has a place, I can see it even if they can't. I don't know about myself."
"Uh-"
"Benitsubasa was your first, and you and Sukaime are really close, and even Oriha... you two fit well together," Kaie explained. Madoka was left dumbstruck. He couldn't' argue with her. He trusted Sukaime, and when it came down to it, he'd winged Oriha because he'd been attracted to her. "I don't know about myself," Kaie continued. "Everyone else earned their place with you. I don't know if there's room for me."
"W-well come on, we work together every day," Madoka said, his voice shaking. It was a pretty pathetic answer, he knew.
"So do you and Asahi-san, but that doesn't mean she really matters to you," Kaie muttered, staring at the floor.
"It's not good enough, I get it." Madoka sighed. He liked Kaie, he just didn't know how much. He didn't know if he could honestly tell her what she wanted to hear. Kaie just shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I'm just troubling you, I should go," Kaie turned on her heel quickly. Madoka groaned quietly. He didn't know what to do. Then something inside him kicked, and hard. If it had been a real kick it would have hurt. As it was, it made him grab Kaie before she could leave the room.
"No, really, I get it," Madoka told her. Actually, he was pretty sure he did. He didn't think himself particularly smart, but somehow he thought he might have figured out part of what was bothering Kaie. "We've never really talked, have we? We don't talk much at work, and everyone else shows up for the walk home. Everyone else has had their chance."
"It's not about being even," Kaie muttered, looking away.
"Yeah, but we're together every day, and you still feel lonely, don't you?" Madoka said. He saw Kaie stiffen and knew he was right. He knew enough about sekirei by now to understand. She saw him every day but always felt like she had to keep her distance. It must have hurt to go through that day in and day out. He'd finally winged her, but she must still have felt distanced. "Come on." He took her hand and saw her blush. Her other hand went up to her lips and she bit a nail nervously, eyes flitting back and forth. He'd never seen her look quite so girly and vulnerable.
He brought her over to his bed and got onto it, sitting down and leaning against the wall and motioned for her to join him. Once she was sitting next to him, he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
"Uh... um..." she stammered quietly.
"Shh, just relax," he said softly. "Stop holding back so much." He felt her shiver and her fingers slowly crawled across his chest before grabbing onto his shirt. She moved so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Before long she was leaning against him heavily, and he could feel her relaxing, loosening up, allowing herself to get closer.
"Th-there was one other thing," Kaie spoke quietly, face turning redder.
"Yeah?" Madoka asked.
"It's just... I'm a little... different. I mean, umm... the others are so... uhh... I mean physically..." Madoka nearly hacked up a lung when he realized what she was getting at. "D-do you prefer-"
"St-stop! Stop! Don't worry about that. You're fine." In that case, both definitions of fine applied, but he didn't feel like making that fact clear was necessary. "Trust me, there's a reason Kouji was acting like a moron. I can see it too. I'm just not a moron." That made Kaie laugh, and it was a cute laugh.
"I'm glad."
Time passed and his eyelids began to get heavy. He'd lost track of time, only glad that he didn't have to work tomorrow. Kaie wasn't so much lying next to him as she was almost lying on top of him now, head having migrated from his shoulder to his chest
"Hey, um, you awake?" he said groggily, voice little more than a deep croak.
"Mhm," Kaie whispered.
"I hate to do this, but you should probably go. Mt. Benitsubasa is close enough to erupting as it is," he told her.
"I guess so," she didn't move though.
"Kaie..." he sighed. This time she slowly pulled herself off until she was standing. "And fix your hair. Let's not give the wrong impression."
"I wouldn't mind if we did," she smiled. He had to admit it was nice to see her with her hair down, so to speak.
"Fair enough, but..." Fortunately Kaie went along with it and ran her hand through her hair, returning a few loose strands to their rightful place.
"Goodnight, Madoka-kun," she said and walked out of the room.
"Yeah, goodnight." He let his breath out slowly. Things were getting complicated.
. . .
Benitsubasa couldn't sleep. Kaie was in his room. She'd been in there for hours. Her only consolation was that it was quiet and there wasn't any light pouring out from under his door, meaning they hadn't kissed. Even so, just sleeping in his bed was more than she could accept. Why, why should Kaie get to share his bed and she couldn't? Finally Kaie came out. Nothing seemed amiss, but that didn't tell her why she'd been in there so long. Kaie certainly looked happy enough, a casual sway to her walk that was different from usual.
"Fuck," Benitsubasa's voice came out a strained whisper. Her throat was tight and painful as she struggled to hold herself together. She bit down on her thumb until she was afraid she'd bite through it. She shut her eyes tightly and receded deeper into her sleeping bag, hoping it would bring her some measure of comfort, some feeling of security, but it didn't.
She glanced up in time to see Kaie looking down at her as she went to her own sleeping bag. Their eyes met for a moment and Kaie frowned, and then looked away as she climbed into her bag and went to sleep. How had this happened, how was it that she now felt like the outsider? She was his first, but everyone else had clawed their way into Madoka's life and pushed her aside.
"Fuck!" her voice cracked, but she wouldn't cry. She'd never cry. Crying was for people who gave up. She'd almost broken before, but not this time. She'd never admit to being beaten.
Poor Beni, she's falling apart at the seams! I'm a terrible person! But it's all part of my master plan to... well that's for you to find out next time!
Also, as you can see, things have changed. Ikki is still alive because Yume never popped out to send Karasuba onto the war path!
Reviews!
RykOakwine: I don't think this chapter is going to be what you were hoping for, but maybe the next one? Who knows! Thanks for the review.
KenjakaTsukune: Thanks for accidentally reviewing twice? Haha. I dunno about a fight, but... stuff is definitely happening, and it's not over yet! As for names, I kinda just mashed Japanese words together. I think Sukaime means something like "Sky Orb" if I remember correctly, but it's been so long at this point. Thanks for the review!
Frayner: Sukaime is a mind ninja, what can I say? And cute is what I was going for! Thanks for the review!
ManlyMonk: Of course Oriha's not just there to be there! She's there to be freakin' adorable! Hmm, and I dunno if you'll get the effect you're hoping for, but you might like what I have in store for Benitsubasa. Thanks for the review!
Atrile: I'm glad you think so. Not sure about milestone, but important for sure! Thanks for the review!
WE'VE BROKEN 100 REVIEWS! I love you guys! And girls!
Follow this if you're interested, favorite if you liked it, and review it if you really liked it! I welcome both constructive criticism and kind words! Let's aim for 250 now!
Til' next time!