So... many reviews... the weight... it crushes me... with happiness.
Sorry this was so late. Life happened.
I Hate Secrets
"So it's all televised?" Madoka asked.
"Yep!" Sukaime answered.
"Ugh." Benitsubasa was still groaning.
"Oh, stop your whining! I want to watch the next match before I go to bed, so you're safe for now!" Sukaime said in a scolding tone.
"Whatever! I don't care!" Benitsubasa stuck her nose in the air. It was an obvious lie considering she'd just been acting very much like she cared.
"But you're in for it in the morning, you hussy!" Sukaime frowned, looking offended.
"Oh my god! Why me?" Benitsubasa clutched her head and bashed it against the floor.
"Hey! Cut it out!" Madoka spoke up. "You're going to damage the hardwood!"
"Not as hard as her head, right?" Oriha giggled.
"Exactly." Madoka folded his arms.
"No! Not you! You don't get to join in! Not fair!" Benitsubasa glared at Madoka.
"Hey look! The contestants are on the TV!" Sukaime's alerting them stopped the arguing immediately.
"Wait, isn't that Avaron?" Kaie pointed to a slender, black-haired figure on the television.
"Wah? Holy crap!" Sukaime exclaimed. "It is!" Then all their jaws dropped.
"Kouji?" Madoka's eyes bulged.
"Well, looks like we're about to be at least one friend short," Benitsubasa commented without a care in the world.
"Hey! It's the same rules as last time! A race to the finish, not a fight to the death!" Madoka reminded her. "They can work together."
"I think this is weird. Don't you think MBI probably knows about our little alliance? They have to be keeping tabs on us, right?" Sukaime frowned.
"Maybe they're more focused on our alliance with Minato. That's far more noteworthy, right?" Kaie suggested. "Maybe they've overlooked our alliance with Avaron and Kouji."
"Or maybe they're testing it." Benitsubasa shrugged. "If they are keeping tabs, then they know Madoka is the leader. Pit the minions against each other and see how loyal they are to each other. We're too strong to go against, but what's stopping them from killing each other? If they do fight, it messes with the whole alliance." For a moment, all eyes were on her. "What?"
"When did you get smart?" Oriha scowled.
"I think she's just being hopeful." Sukaime rolled her eyes. "She's evil, it's totally something that she'd think up. Fortunately I'm a masochist." She winked.
"Stop being gross," Benitsubasa hissed.
"Enough!" Madoka spoke up. "It's starting."
. . .
-11 Hours Earlier-
Avaron couldn't even begin to think of words that described her mood. She felt sick though, actually physically ill. She didn't understand what was going through her own mind. She had to admit, she wasn't sure she'd been able to understand herself for a long time now. She paused as she reached the door to her home. What was going to happen when she walked in? What would she do to Masukagami? What emotions would flare up without warning?
Madoka had rejected her. That left her with Masukagami. She had no one else anymore. She felt alone again. How could she live when she only had one person? It wasn't even someone she felt comfortable loving.
She bit her lip until it hurt and then a little more. Finally she took a deep breath and opened the door, trying to shake off the feeling of dizziness that had been plaguing her the entire walk home.
"Avaron-sama! Did you enjoy your walk?" Masukagami had clearly been waiting intently for her to return. She was like a tick. Avaron already felt a burning sensation welling up in her chest, she felt her hands tighten into white-knuckled fists. "Avaron-sama? What's wrong?" Masukagami walked over to her, not flinching in the slightest despite Avaron's past actions.
"Why are you like this? Can't you tell you're going to get hurt again?" Avaron's voice shook. There was no surprise visible on Masukagami though. A somber look came over her face and she merely tilted her head towards the floor.
"I already told you, I don't care. Please, just tell me what's wrong. I-I only want to help Avaron-sama!" Masukagami insisted.
"You're so stubborn! IDIOT!" Avaron raised her first, but she froze. Suddenly she couldn't do it. Nothing worked with Masukagami, nothing got through to her. If she kept doing this. kept making her cry... it was too familiar. Her knees went weak. She felt sick again, even sicker. She felt sweat drip down her face.
"A-Avaron-sama!" Masukagami had to catch her as she began to collapse. "Wh-what's wrong?"
"I'm no good. I'm no good! I'm ugly!" Avaron wailed, clutching her own head.
"What? No!" Masukagami clutched her tightly to her chest. "D-don't talk about yourself like that! I know that word means something different to you! Don't say it about yourself! My Avaron-sama isn't ugly!"
"He's in my head! He's ugly and he's making me ugly!" Avaron sobbed. The memories were back, but it wasn't just that. It wasn't the knife anymore, it was his face. It was replacing her own. She felt like she'd die if the memories didn't stop. She shut her eyes, but then his face was all she could see.
"Who? Who is he?" Masukagami asked.
"He made mother cry! B-but..." Avaron whimpered, shaking, curling up into a ball in Masukagami's lap. "I'd make mother cry too. I did make mother cry. I'm the same. I make you cry."
"No! Avaron-sama makes me happier than anything! I don't cry because of you! I cry over you! It's different!" Her words made her stop for a moment. She didn't understand. "M-Masukagami did cry a few times because she was being selfish, b-but most of the time I cry because I'm sad that Avaron-sama isn't happy! I don't know how to make Avaron-sama happy, so I cry. I can't stop myself! I hurt whenever Avaron-sama hurts! Right now it feels like I could die!"
Die? Avaron had just been thinking the same thing. Was it a coincidence? She opened her eyes. She let herself relax, going almost completely limp, laying against Masukagami.
"Promise me that I can trust you," Avaron said, her voice faint.
"O-of course! You don't even need to ask!"
"Then tell me. Am I ugly?" Avaron asked.
"No! Not in any way! Not even in your way!"
"What do you know about my way?" Avaron looked away.
"Avaron-sama is a good person! She's a kind person!" Masukagami insisted strongly. Avaron scoffed.
"How can you say that?"
"If you weren't, then you wouldn't care if you were ugly!" Avaron couldn't respond to that. She'd run out of words suddenly. Why did this girl have so much faith in her? Being a sekirei couldn't account for it all.
"You always say you love me, but I've never said it back. Why don't you give up? Are you that desperate?" Avaron asked, struggling to keep her voice from breaking.
"It's not that. Y-you have tried to hurt Masukagami, b-but... I can feel it, beneath the anger every time. You're always crying inside. You don't like it. I want to help that part of Avaron-sama!" Masukagami never failed to surprise her. Avaron felt so weak. Masukagami was breaking her. She loved the feeling. She felt a lightness inside her. She lifted her hand to Masukagami's cheek, caressing it gently.
"You win." Avaron smiled without having to will her face to do so. "I guess this means... I love you too."
. . .
-12 Hours Later-
"Holy crap! I had no idea Masukagami was that crazy in a fight!" Kouji said. "Namiji, did you even do anything?"
"Yes. You were too busy watching Masukagami though," Namiji muttered, not looking at him.
"S-sorry! But I was just trying to keep track of her! She was disappearing every two seconds!"
"I'll... admit it was impressive." Namiji nodded.
"Thank you!" Masukagami hopped over and hugged the other sekirei.
"W-words are enough, I assure you," Namiji replied nervously. "Err... th-that means you can let go now."
"Yes, Masukagami has never let me down. I don't think she knows how." Avaron giggled. "But you got the prize, didn't you?"
"Only because you helped clear the way. I can't believe that bastard made it a six way brawl! That's twice as many as Madoka had to deal with! Heh, that means our alliance has two of these things now! Awesome!" Kouji held up the shining crystal he'd won. "Now we just need to find one for you!"
"If it's necessary, yes." Avaron nodded.
"Hey, Namiji was cool too!" Masukagami grabbed the other girl and pushed her in front of Kouji. "You should give her a kiss!" The twos' eyes went wide and they glanced away.
"Uh, um, y-you don't have to right now. I-in front of them... y-you can do it later, uh, i-if you want," Namiji stuttered rapidly, face redder than her shirt.
"Uh, y-yeah," Kouji replied, face equally red.
"If you three are done, we're being watched," Avaron said, her voice losing it's air of happiness. The others followed her gaze and watched as a woman in a strange, pure-white outfit jumped down from a nearby rooftop. She wore a hood that kept them from getting a good look at her. The outfit was a cross-section of cloth over her chest, a skirt, long gloves, stockings, and then little else left to the imagination.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm going to have to ask you to give me that jinki," the strange woman, sekirei, said.
"Jinki? Wait, the crystal?" Kouji asked.
"Crystal, jinki, treasure of the gods, whatever you want to call it. Give it to me," she demanded. "I'll let you go unharmed as long as you cooperate."
"You didn't earn it! You're not getting anything!" Masukagami turned to face the white-clad sekirei. "Who are you?"
"That's none of your concern."
"What? We're sekirei! We're supposed to introduce ourselves!" Masukagami complained.
"That's none of my concern. Besides, that's only the rules before a fight. Are you planning on starting one?"
"We're not giving you the jinki, so I guess so!" Masukagami unlatched her palm-mirror.
"If that's your decision," the white-clad sekirei lowered her stance.
"Be careful!" Avaron called out. Masukagami nodded and then ran straight at the other sekirei. The white-clad sekirei reared her arm back and in an instant white cloth wrapped around it and formed into a spear. Masukagami was surprised to see how her ability worked, but otherwise she wasn't phased. She ran right into the attack, letting it strike her palm-mirror. The spear of cloth bounced back, but the force was enough that Masukagami had to brace her wrist with her other hand.
This move was a mistake. In a flash, her opponent whipped up another length of cloth that wrapped around and bound her arms together. Masukagami's eyes shot wide as she realized she was now trapped, and the cloth spear was coming at her again, and this time she couldn't bring her mirror up to defend herself.
However, before the spear could hit home, the cloth tying her to her opponent was cut and the spear knocked aside. Namiji had arrived just in time to interfere.
"If you refuse to play by the rules, there is no reason for me to," Namiji said. "Free yourself, quickly," she told Masukagami.
"R-right!" Masukagami quickly began wiggling her wrists. The cloth was wrapped tightly, but with the tension gone, it began to loosen quickly. Meanwhile, she saw the cloth sekirei jump back, and then shoot a length of cloth that spiraled through the air, forming a point as it flew toward Namiji. However, Namiji only needed one mighty swing of her halberd to blast the attack away.
The cloth sekirei hesitated at this. Masukagami saw her chance as she finally freed her hands. She pulled out her large mirror and aimed it behind their enemy. With a quick spin, she flickered out of sight, and then appeared behind the white-clad sekirei. With one arm, she lofted the large mirror high, and swung it down at her opponent's head.
However, despite the suddenness of her sneak attack, the cloth sekirei was able to react. She pulled a length of cloth taught above her, catching the one-armed swing. However, Masukagami was ready as well. She flicked her palm-mirror back into her hand and slammed it against the cloth sekirei's side.
Her opponent cried out in pain, her skin splitting open, the attack from her own spear being used against her. Namiji tired to take advantage of this, rushing forward and trying to land a finishing blow, but the cloth sekirei twisted, a flurry of cloth suddenly twisting around her, pushing Masukagami away and causing Namiji to shield her eyes from the dust that was kicked up. When the two could safely look again, their opponent was gone.
"Up there!" Avaron alerted them to the rooftops. They saw the cloth sekirei standing there, staring back down at them, but instead of renewing her attack, she turned and fled.
"Coward!" Kouji shouted.
"Masukagami, why are you letting her go? Your mirror would make chasing her easy." Avaron walked over to her.
"From this angle... I could see her face," Masukagami replied. "She looked sad. I have this feeling. I don't want to fight her, something wasn't right. I don't know, but I feel like if I chase her now, I'll never understand why she attacked us. Besides, I'm not sure I can beat her. Fighting her was like balancing on a razor blade, the slightest stumble would have killed me. It almost did."
"I'll trust you." Avaron nodded, then smiled. "Now calm down, it's strange seeing you so serious."
"S-sorry." Masukagami blushed. "O-oh yeah! We should let Madoka know! He has a jinki too, he could be targeted!"
"Good idea, Kouji, call him," Avaron said to Kouji.
"Huh, oh, OK! On it!" Kouji pulled out his cellphone.
"You don't want to?" Masukagami tilted her head. She'd thought Avaron got along well with Madoka, why was she telling Kouji to make the call?
"Well, Kouji is the one with the jinki, he was the one really targeted. I just thought he should be the one to explain to Madoka," Avaron explained with a shrug.
"Avaron-sama, why-" Masukagami shook her head. "No, you're right, it makes sense!" She forced a smile. But why was Avaron lying to her?
. . .
"Yeah, I'll keep an eye out. Good luck. Uhuh... talk to you later," Madoka said and hung up his cell.
"So what did dearest little Kouji want?" Sukaime asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly. After watching the last match, they'd been just about ready to finally sleep when Kouji had called.
"He and Avaron got attacked. Someone tried to steal Kouji's crystal," Madoka relayed.
"And?" Benitsubasa raised and eyebrow.
"Don't worry, they're fine," Madoka replied, purposely wording it that way. Benitsubasa rolled her eyes.
"Great, so why are we still awake?" Benitsubasa yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "I'm going to bed."
"You're all heart, love." Sukaime rolled her eyes.
. . .
To say that his day was pleasant would have been completely untrue. The "game" was getting to be downright bad for his health. Being forced to go to work on less than six hours of sleep was torture. Not to mention all the stress from the fights. Oriha was nearly head-to-toe bandages. Fortunately her injuries were all fairly shallow and she'd assured him she'd be fine. He was really glad he'd chosen to stock up on bandages a while back.
There was also one other thing on his mind. As far as he knew, Minato had no idea that a thief was on the loose. Minato had a lot of sekirei, strong ones at that as far as he could tell. There was a good chance that if Minato ended up in the third round that he'd emerge victorious. That meant he could easily become a target. What if he got caught off guard? He needed to be warned.
But how was he to warn Minato? Lie and say he'd faced the thief himself? He could he supposed, Kouji had given him a decent enough description. It wouldn't be too hard to fabricate a lie, but he was starting to get sick of lies and secrets. Would it be so bad if Minato knew about Kouji and Avaron? What was the worst that could happen? And it was that train of thought that led to another dinner invitation at Izumo inn.
"I hope this doesn't blow up in my face," Madoka grumbled nervously.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. I don't see how this changes much," Kaie commented. "Why should he care if you have other allies?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell myself. I guess as long as he doesn't get offended that I didn't tell him sooner it won't be a problem."
"Or maybe he'll be intimidated by our numbers!" Sukaime cackled.
"The bastard has five sekirei. We outnumber him by one. It's not that impressive." Benitsubasa glowered. She'd never liked Minato and apparently she wasn't planning on changing her mind any time soon.
"Eh, fine, then quality over quantity."
"He has two single numbers." Benitsubasa rolled her eyes.
"Whose side are you on?" Sukaime cried incredulously.
"Mine."
"So not mine?" Madoka couldn't resist.
"M-my side includes you!" Benitsubasa stuttered, off guard.
"What does that even mean?" Oriha asked.
"Shut up! It makes perfect sense! It means exactly what I mean it to... mean." Benitsubasa's face was bright red, but whether from embarrassment or rage was impossible to tell. After that Benitsubasa was too moody to be especially conversational, and Sukaime quickly became bored of prodding her. About twenty minutes later they reached Izumo inn.
"So-" Madoka began to speak but Benitsubasa cut him off.
"I know, I know. Behave, be nice, blah blah, don't rip Musubi's head off." Benitsubasa crossed her arms with a resigned scowl.
"That about covers it, yes." Madoka rolled his eyes.
"Ah, she's well trained. Good girl." Sukaime patted her on the head.
"The rules don't extend to you." Benitsubasa glowered murderously.
"Maybe you should just behave in general while we're in public," Kaie suggested. Benitsubasa began to protest, but a glance from Madoka silenced her.
"Shit..." Benitsubasa muttered in exasperation.
With Benitsubasa, hopefully, under control, they went up to the door and made their presence known. The door was soon answered, and it was Tsukiumi.
"Well, it seems you're on time. That's good," she said. Madoka could tell it was killing her to be polite. She didn't seem like a rude person necessarily, but he could tell that she was like Benitsubasa in that the whole concept of an alliance didn't quite agree with her. "Minato!" She called out over her shoulder. When she looked back at them her eyes caught Sukaime's.
Before long Tsukiumi's face flushed red and she shifted uncomfortably. Before long she just gave up and walked away. Madoka caught Sukaime grinning.
"Thanks for that, Madoka-kun," Sukaime said.
"No idea what you're talking about." Madoka cleared his throat.
"Of course."
"What just happened?" Oriha blinked in confusion.
"Nothing. Nothing." Sukaime flipped her hair innocently.
"Just Sukaime being Sukaime," Benitsubasa muttered and crossed her arms.
"What?" Oriha still looked completely lost.
"Like she said. It's Sukaime." Kaie shrugged.
"But... wha-... yeah good point." Oriha shook her head.
"Hey!" Minato greeted when as he jogged over. "Err, where'd Tsukiumi go?"
"I think she's still getting used to us. I'm not offended." Madoka shrugged. "So, can we come in?" he asked.
"Yeah, of course. This way." Minato led them in to a room where they could all sit. It wasn't long before Musubi descended upon them with her usual cheerful attitude.
"Benitsubasa-chan! Hi!" Musubi accosted the pink-haired girl immediately.
"Here we go again," Benitsubasa muttered under her breath. While his and Minato's sekirei interacted, the two ashikabi got to speaking.
"Oh, before I forget again, congratulations on winning the first round!" Minato told Madoka.
"Right, thanks." Madoka nodded.
"You're right. I'm having all kinds of fun right now." Benitsubasa's eyes glistened with excitement.
Madoka did his best to shake off the chilling memory. He glanced at her, trying to remind himself that she wasn't a total psychopath. Right now she just looked like a normal, moderately impatient, girl... with bright pink hair and sparring gloves. Well, it was still better than the sadistic face in his memory. He'd seen her in fights before, enjoying herself, winning, but never like that. She'd been absolutely reveling in it with blood still dripping from her.
"So, I guess we should talk about why you're here." Minato changed the subject. It wasn't exactly a pleasant subject change, but it was welcomed.
"Right, the thief." Madoka nodded.
"And your friends..." Minato added nervously. Madoka just nodded. "L-look, you've helped me out a lot. I mean it's a little surprising to hear, but I get it. In hindsight, the fact that you were so willing to be friendly makes a lot more sense now."
"I guess." Madoka shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't exactly been in a rush to fight Avaron either when they'd first met. It wasn't like Madoka had needed to learn the ways of peace and coexistence. He just really didn't want to fight unless he had to. Sometimes he wished he was the one who'd escaped that night on the bridge. "So... we're good?"
"Yeah." Minato nodded. "You knew them first right? It's not like you do it behind my back to plot against me."
"Nope, no plotting at all," Madoka assured him. Though, it was at that moment he realized that his alliance with Minato had been completely behind Avaron and Kouji's back. He forced back a grimace and decided to deal with that problem later.
"Anyway, remember that day we warned you about the sekirei who was going around eliminating sekirei without revealing her identity?" Minato asked. Madoka had to think for a moment, but he did remember that. Mostly though, he just remembered Benitsubasa doing her darnedest to demoralize Musubi.
"You... think it's the same sekirei?" Madoka supposed that was actually a strong possibility.
"I do. I spoke to Matsu after you called. We've agreed that that's probably the case."
"Well, I figured with a team like yours, you're bound to end up with a jinki. That would turn you into a target," Madoka explained. Minato nodded, but then his eyes went wide.
"Wait! Musubi and Tsukiumi ran into the sekirei that we're talking about! Did your friend give you a description? We could see if they match!" Minato looked excited at his realization.
"Yeah. He said she wore all white. Kind of, errr, skimpy and with a hood. She fought with cloth," Madoka relayed what Kouji had told him.
"That's her." Madoka looked up to see that Tsukiumi had returned. Her arms were crossed and her expression was serious.
"She got away from you and Musubi?" Madoka asked. Well, she'd also gotten away from Namiji and Masukagami, and Masukagami could teleport. She must have been strong.
"She had help," Tsukiumi suddenly shot an angry glare across the room. Madoka followed it to see the woman who'd arrived on the bridge at the end. Sukaime had told him her name was Kazehana. So it was true that Minato had winged her.
"I had my reasons." Kazehana smiled back in a way that Madoka wanted to say was mysterious.
"Hmph. I don't want to hear it from someone who doesn't even recycle!" Tsukiumi shouted.
". . . what?" Madoka raised an eyebrow. Minato's sekirei were even stranger than his.
. . .
Benitsubasa was quietly muttering every swear she knew to herself in an attempt not to smack Musubi every time she opened her mouth. She was trying, really trying, to get used to the girl. She supposed it was good that she was in a rather good mood at the moment. Otherwise she'd have exploded by now. She'd just had to save her, hadn't she? Now Musubi assumed they were best friends or something. Shijime was bad enough, she didn't need another excitable moron clinging to her.
She'd overheard a little of Madoka and Minato's conversation, and thus had turned her attention to Kazehana. How the hell had Minato winged her? Number 3, such a low number.
"How the hell does that wimp do it?" Benitsubasa mumbled.
"What wimp?" Musubi asked.
"Your wimp! Your ashikabi! He's a quivering little idiot, but he has five sekirei and two single numbers!" Benitsubasa grumbled. Apparently Musubi didn't take it as seriously as the last time Benitsubasa had insulted her ashikabi, because she just laughed.
"Six and four!" Musubi said.
"Say what now?" Benitsubasa blinked. She didn't mean...
"Minato has me, Kuu-chan, number two Matsu, number three Kazehana, number nine Tsukiumi, and now number six!" Musubi explained. "Kagari-san! Come here!" she called out.
"S-seriously?" Benitsubasa's jaw dropped. Another low single number? And Matsu was one as well? Well, six was still higher than the single number that Oriha and Sukaime had fought, but only by one. Why did Minato have so many strong sekirei? Who was he? What kind of horrible things was he doing behind closed doors? Was he really as meek as he seemed? "H-he must be a real carnivore!" Benitsubasa blushed at the thought and shivered.
After a few moments, a tall, slender figure in black clothing walked into the room. She had a fairly average figure as far as curves went, and her shirt was unbuttoned towards the bottom, revealing some of her midriff. She also has startlingly familiar, short white hair.
"Hmm..." Benitsubasa narrowed her eyes. Something was bothering her.
"What is it Musubi? I'm not really in the mood to socialize right now," Kagari said. Wait, her voice...
"I wanted to introduce you to Benitsubasa-chan! She's the one who saved me on the bridge! Oh, and Kaie helped me too, over there!" Musubi pointed to Kaie. Everyone turned to look at Kaie. For a moment her face looked a bit blank, staring at Kagari, but then she just smiled.
"Nice to meet you," Kaie introduced herself pleasantly. Kagari just sighed.
"It's OK, I can tell you know. Everyone here already knows," Kagari said. "I'm honestly surprised that mask fooled as many people as it did."
"I see. I didn't want to make a scene. Thank you though, everything worked out. You were right," Kaie said, her smile growing a little.
"I'm glad." Kagari nodded.
"Wait! Mask? IT IS YOU! I KNEW IT! B-but you were a guy!" Benitsubasa shouted, pointing at him.
"I-it's a long story." Kagari's face turned bright red. "I'll be going."
"Oh! You both know Kagari-san?" Musubi's face brightened. "How did you meet?"
"You know, i-it's a long story. Never mind," Benitsubasa decided to just drop the whole thing and let Kagari go. Madoka knew her story, but Musubi didn't need to.
"A very long story." Kagari nodded, face returning to its normal color. "It was nice seeing both of you again. I'm glad things turned out so well."
"Wow, Benitsubasa darling, you have so many friends. I'm jealous." Sukaime chuckled, laying on her stomach, feet kicking up in the air.
"Ugh." Benitsubasa's face collided with her palm. "Dammit Shijime!"
. . .
Madoka and Minato quickly ran out of important things to talk about. Aside from getting a free meal, though Miya asked Oriha to help her with some of the preparations, which Oriha enjoyed, Madoka wasn't really getting that much out of being there. He supposed it was at least nice to socialize a little, but considering the reason he'd gone there, it was feeling like a waste of time. He'd learned next to nothing about the thief, and the entirety of their conversation about her could have been handled in a two minute phone conversation or five text messages.
The feeling didn't last long though.
After eating, Madoka and Minato were sitting away from their sekirei, taking a rare chance to relax without being clung to in some way. Well, Madoka was relaxing, Minato was fidgeting with his phone.
"Something up?" Madoka asked.
"Heh, it's just ever since these fights started, I've been nervous about my phone. I keep waiting for it to go off," Minato replied. "And, well, never mind."
"Come on, I helped you break the rules and ended up in the hospital 'cause of you. You gonna start keeping secrets?" Madoka grinned.
"Ah, s-sorry, no-"
"I'm kidding. It's fine," Madoka patted him roughly on the back.
"It's my sister," Minato suddenly admitted. "She sent me a text a while ago. She said she was fine, but that she wouldn't be able to meet with me for a while. I get that she must be busy or something, but she's completely dropped off the map, and it's been a long time now."
"Your sister huh? Damn." Madoka was an only child, but he could only imagine that after getting a text like that, Minato must be worried.
"Yeah, Yukari. She's kind of a handful at times, but I can't imagine that she'd be in some kind of trouble. I don't know what she could be up to," Minato muttered. Madoka froze. Yukari? There was no way... was there?
"Heh, well, I can't imagine she'd be in too much trouble. If she got her looks from the same place you did, no one's gonna be going after her," Madoka teased.
"I-I guess," Minato chuckled weakly.
"But really, what's she like?" Madoka hoped he wasn't being too weird.
"She's not really anything like me. W-well, she kinda looks like me I guess, her hair anyway," Minato said. "But she's way more, um, energetic." So far the description was painfully similar to Yukari he'd met.
"Don't tell me she's as tall as you. That'd be a scary combination." Madoka laughed.
"N-no, she's... well I can show you." Madoka pressed a few buttons on his phone and then held it so Madoka could see. The picture Madoka saw nearly gave him a heart attack. It took every ounce of willpower to not scream or throw the phone out a window. It was her.
"Poor thing, totally looks like you." Madoka put on the most forced grin ever to adorn his face. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK! SHIT!"
"Heh, maybe. Don't tell her that though, she'd hit you." Minato laughed.
"That kind of person eh?" Madoka twitched. "She's already done worse than that."
"Like I said. Energetic."
"Well, speaking of 'energetic' girls, I should check on Benitsubasa. It's been way too quiet." Madoka got up. "I'll be right back." He quickly walked away. He couldn't be in the same room as Minato right now. It wasn't his fault though, he clearly didn't even know Yukari was an ashikabi. He didn't know what he should do. With his head down, and so caught up in his thoughts, he didn't see Matsu and bumped into her.
"Oh, sorry. Mina-tan was just with you right?" Matsu asked.
"Y-yeah, that way," Madoka told her.
"Thank you." She nodded, but then Madoka grabbed her arm.
"Wait, I need to talk to you."
"Huh, why?" she looked puzzled.
"Because you're the smart one, right?" he asked. Matsu chuckled.
"Well, I guess you could say that. I hope you realize that I'm not going to keep secrets from Mina-tan though," she said.
"I figured," Madoka muttered. Regardless, he didn't know who else he should talk to, and just ignoring the problem didn't seem like a good idea, tempting as it was.
"But we, might as well avoid prying ears for the moment, this way." Matsu led him up the stairs to the next floor, stopping in an empty stretch of hallway. "All right, what is it?"
"What do you know about Minato's sister?" Madoka asked. Matsu looked confused, and a little concerned, but she answered.
"Just the basics, I've only seen her once and I didn't see much need to research her too thoroughly at the time, why?"
"Well... she's an ashikabi," Madoka said, deciding not to waste time. Matsu's jaw just about put a hole in the floor.
"What? No! Impossible! I would know! Dammit, I got lazy! I need to check!" She turned away, but Madoka stopped her.
"Don't bother, I saw her myself and Minato showed me a picture on his phone," Madoka explained.
"W-well then I need to tell Minato!" Matsu this time tried to head back down the stairs.
"Aren't you going to ask the obvious question?" Madoka turned to face her. Matsu stopped at the top of the stairs, and then slowly turned her head and sighed.
"What happened?" she asked seriously.
"Benitsubasa nearly got terminated. If my friend hadn't shown up when she did, she would have been. Yukari didn't seem too worried about whether or not I got caught in the crossfire," Madoka told her. "She was even ready to torture me for information."
"Dammit," Matsu swore. "Minato won't like that. He already has enough to worry about."
"Well, he's going to be a lot more upset if I run into her again." Madoka scowled. "Benitsubasa isn't the forgiving type."
"I know," Matsu replied.
"So-"
"Aren't you going to ask this time?" Matsu stared into his eyes. Suddenly he felt really nervous.
"What do you mean? It's obvious, Benitsubasa isn't exactly a nice person when she gets mad."
"I don't like this, but I'm going to make a deal with you," Matsu said. "Let me explain. Remember the lightning twins?"
"Wh-what?" Madoka's eyes went wide.
"Yes, I know about that. I have access to the MBI database, I can see the outcomes of all fights that have occurred and come to any kind of... conclusion," she explained. "Seo, Kaoru was a close friend of Miya's husband, and to some extent was an ally of Minato. I understand what he was doing, which is why I've kept quiet. I'm pleased that Minato has an ally, and one as powerful as you, especially with Seo gone... even if that is your fault."
"So let me guess, I don't tell Minato his sister's a psychopath, and you keep quiet about Seo?" Madoka sighed. Well, wasn't this a lovely mess.
"Yes. I'm sorry if this seems like blackmail, I have nothing against you. I'm just trying to do what's best for Mina-tan. It works out well for you too, it would be very bad for you if Miya knew what had happened," Matsu told him.
"Yeah, whatever." Madoka shrugged, staring at the floor.
"Now, could I ask one more thing? Yukari's sekirei, what can you tell me?" Matsu inquired.
"The basics I guess. Number one-oh-seven, Shiina. Some sort of crazy power that disintegrated whatever he touched or something like that." Matsu nearly spit on his face in surprise when he finished telling her that.
"Seriously?" Matsu grabbed his hands. "This is great! Kuu-chan has been looking for one-oh-seven!"
"What? Why?" Madoka was confused.
"Kuu is one-oh-eight. She sees Shiina as a sort of brother! She's been trying to find him!" Matsu let go of his hands, speaking a mile a minute at this point. "Now all Minato has to do is tell his sister to meet with him and they can be reunited easily! Yukari wouldn't start a fight with her own brother! It's totally safe!"
"Umm, th-that's good..." Madoka said slowly. He was lost, but it sounded like at least something good had come of all this. "Minato said Yukari had disappeared though. It might not be that easy."
"I'm sure she'll show up if Minato tells her it's really important! Now come with me and help me tell him! Remember our deal!" Matsu stared him hard in the eye.
"I got it," Madoka replied in exasperation. He was just having so much fun.
. . .
"Wh-what?" Minato looked ready to faint. Matsu had just finished explaining to him what she'd learned about Yukari. Madoka had done his best to lie through his teeth so that Yukari didn't come off as a deranged lunatic. "Sh-she's an ashikabi?"
"Not just any ashikabi, she's the ashikabi of the one Kuu-chan is looking for!" Matsu exclaimed. Rapid footsteps were as the little sekirei in question charged over.
"Shii-chan?" Kuu shouted excitedly.
"That's great, but I have no idea where she is or what she's doing," Minato muttered in dismay. "Apparently she still can't meet with me."
"Mina-tan, it's your sister. I'm sure if you call her you can convince her to meet with you. Tell her the truth if you have to, there's no need to keep secrets from her anymore," Matsu told him. "It's not too late, I'm sure a teenager like her will still be awake. Call her now."
"Yeah, you're right." Minato pulled out his cellphone.
"Well, I'm glad I could help, but I think I'll be going now. It's a long walk home," Madoka spoke up.
"No, stay a bit longer. If my sister is available, it'd be great if I could introduce you two properly!" Minato argued. Madoka froze, and he saw Matsu shift uncomfortably as well.
"Sorry, nah. I think Benitsubasa's already hit her limit for socialization tonight," Madoka tried to weasel his way out of it. It was more like he was afraid he'd be unable to stop Benitsubasa from attacking Shiina on sight. Furthermore, he wasn't sure he could control himself if he saw Yukari. "Besides, I have work tomorrow. My job is tiresome enough when I'm not exhausted from lack of sleep."
"O-oh, all right. Well I'm going to call my sister, I'll see you out after you gather your sekirei," Minato said and started dialing numbers into his phone.
Meanwhile, Madoka did as Minato suggested and went to collect his sekirei. He found them, perhaps unsurprisingly, in the middle of an argument.
"No! Don't you dare tell her about Shijime!" Benitsubasa yelled at Sukaime.
"Shijime?" Musubi titled her head curiously.
"Just Benitsubasa's bestest friend from MBI," Oriha explained, a playful smirk on her face.
"I hate all of you," Benitsubasa grumbled.
"That's right Musubi, you have competition if you want to be Benitsubasa's friend," Sukaime said.
"We could all be friends! And then we could fight to see who's the strongest!" Musubi's eyes glistened with far more excitement than they should have.
"If that's what you do with your friends, I hope you don't mind if I pass," Madoka commented as he walked over.
"Silly, you're an ashikabi!" Musubi giggled. "Oh, but maybe you could spar with Minato!" Sukaime immediately burst into laughter at the suggestion while Benitsubasa just pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
"M-maybe some other time," Madoka cleared his throat nervously. "Anyway, we're leaving."
"Fi-" Benitsubasa glanced at Musubi and sighed. "Yeah, OK." Madoka had to say her restraint was impressing him. She wasn't exactly being "nice" but she wasn't acting any worse than she did at home. Actually she might have been doing a little better. She wouldn't have hesitated to tell Sukaime or Oriha exactly what she was thinking. He wondered what exactly it was that was causing her to behave at the moment. He wanted to believe she was actually getting used to playing nice.
To Madoka's surprise, Minato approached him a moment later.
"Well, that didn't take long," Madoka said.
"She didn't answer. The phone didn't even ring." Minato sighed worriedly. "Matsu was right though, it's not that late. I don't get it. But now that I know Yukari's an ashikabi, it makes me worry more."
"What?" Benitsubasa spoke loudly.
"Minato's sister. Turns out she's an ashikabi and he's very worried because he hasn't been able to contact her," Madoka explained to Benitsubasa, a slight edge to his voice. He gave her a quick look which he hoped would keep her silent.
". . . k." Benitsubasa crossed her arms, though he could see sweat beginning to run down the side of her face.
"Well, I'm sure she'll turn up. Ashikabi aren't the targets of the fighting, I doubt she's been hurt or anything. Good luck, but we have to be going now," Madoka said, trying his best not to sound too hasty.
"Right, yeah. It was good talking to you, and thank you for telling me about my sister. I hope I can find her before something bad happens," Minato told him. Madoka hesitated for a second, but nodded.
"Me too. I'll see you around."
. . .
Benitsubasa had thrown a small tantrum shortly after they left, but there wasn't much Madoka could do about it. Knowing that Minato was the brother of the ashikabi who'd tried to order her execution was quite the shock. All Madoka had been able to do was remind her that just being related to Yukari didn't make Minato an enemy. Finally he'd gotten a grunt of resignation. It wasn't much, but he'd take it for now.
That was the previous night. Madoka and his sekirei were currently jogging home through a sudden downpour of rain.
"Gah, this is bullshit! I'm already soaked!" Benitsubasa complained.
"Sheesh, cat or dog, make up your mind! What are you?" Sukaime berated her.
"Tiger. And I'm going to rip your throat out if you keep it up," Benitsubasa growled threateningly.
"Oh come now. We all know tigers like water!" Sukaime corrected her.
"Yes yes, now continue your zoology lesson inside!" Madoka urged them as he unlocked his front door. He held it open as the four quickly ducked inside. Madoka lingered for a moment and looked back up at the sky. It was rather ominous, and didn't look like it would be relenting any time soon. They were the darkest clouds he'd seen all year.
"Well, this is a depressing way to start my weekend," Madoka muttered.
"Um..." He heard a female voice, but it wasn't one of his sekirei. He turned to look and his heart immediately seized up. He saw a girl with long, black hair and a longing look on her face staring back at him.
"H-Hiromi?" His voice shook.
"Hi..."
Oh shiiiii- I wonder how many of you remember that name from two chapters ago.
I'm also happy to discover that some of you are really liking Sukaime. It's awesome that a character I made can be so likable.
Til' Next Time