Sakura moved along the edge of the clearing, her aura of shadows enveloping her like a warm cloak as she pursued her target. Tendrils of blackness lashed out from her person in an attempt to seize or simply dissolve the woman, but Nero was too fast and skipped out of reach. Sakura gave a growl of frustration, but as she made to peruse her, the woman slipped several heavy balls of metal into her hand before she flung them at the white haired woman. Sakura let out a cry of surprise and pushed her Reinforced limbs as hard as she could to dodge the attack. Normally her aura of shadow would be enough to counter almost any physical attack, but those balls were cored with lead, and given their densities and the speed at which they were travelling she would not have been able to disintegrate them before they plowed into her body.
Fortunately, there was nothing but trees behind the white haired woman for the balls to collide with. The two women had adjourned to a park some distance away from the inn for their skirmish, and Sakura already had sufficient training to set up a basic Bounded Field which warded away civilians. She would have liked to do her combat training somewhere closer to where she lived, but then she ran the risk of Shirou or Rin finding out, which would no doubt result in unnecessary concern on their part. Still she had managed to find a relatively isolated place where she and Nero could be alone (well, save for Akitsu who was stand off to the side observing).
Sakura grimaced as Nero stayed out of her reach. She could of course just extend the range of her power if she wanted, but she was already on the edge of the amount of power she could control reliably. Since she did not want to reduce the entire park they were in to dust, she would need to use a different approach. As the barrage of bullets continued Sakura started to actively deflect the projectiles with her shadow, trying to push them aside with dark tendrils. Exerting a physical force the rather insubstantial element was spotty at best, but combined with the increased contact time the bullets dissolved enough so that they would miss her, if barely.
Sakura then attempted to surprise Nero by launching an attack at range. She focused and gathered her power into a ball in her palm, which she then thrust out at her opponent. Unfortunately, the ball of darkness didn't get far away from her before it fell apart and fizzled into the air. Sakura bit back a curse at this, but before she could do anything about it Nero sudden moved, picking up one of the many wooden practice swords which she had planted around the battlefield. As the woman came in straight, Sakura instinctively raised a wall of shadow in her path to block her. Too late she realized that it was a feint, as Nero changed directions and suddenly she was coming at the white haired woman from the side.
The was barely any time to react, but as the blade came down ribbons of black and red formed from her body, and one lashed out to wrap around a nearby tree. Sakura was pulled back hard by the ribbon, and the bokken missed her by inches. Still, the pull was not quite as precise as she would have liked, and she found herself slamming into the tree she had used as an anchor. Sakura grunted at the mild pain, but was still pleased with the result. The ribbons were a compressed form of her Shadow combined with Projection, making them useful for manipulating physical objects and as extra pseudo-limbs. And they had just proved they could be useful in providing locomotion if she put her mind to it.
Sakura let the ribbons grow out more, and they writhed around her like living things. A few planted themselves in the ground, giving her extra balance or an extra push if she needed it. Sakura stood ready for Nero's next form of attack.
Nero picked up speed, as well as picking up another bokken with her other hand as she closed in. It was unorthodox in terms of style, but Sakura's defense meant it was a good idea to have spares. The woman became a red blur, striking at one side of Sakura then the other, moving so fast that the shadows around Sakura had little time to work. The ribbons helped defend pull Sakura away when things got intense, but the strain was starting to mount.
The white haired woman pushed herself harder, trying to react faster and extend her reach. It came to a head when Nero moved in straight and a wooden blade came straight at her head. Sakura felt a surge of panic run through and her control slipped. She let out a scream and darkness surged outwards from her, ripping through the air and the ground. Nero managed to jump back from the onslaught, and as quick as the wave started Sakura exerted her control over the shadows. The darkness quickly dissolved away, but when they did she could see that everything within 30 feet of her was nothing but ash and dust.
From her position some distance away, Nero was still for several long moments, waiting to see if anything else happened. Finally, she straightened up and said "That is enough for today."
Sakura grit her teeth, but she let her body slump a little, and as she keyed down she could feel the weariness in her body. Even if her prana reserves were massive, continuously channelling it did put a strain on her body, not to mention all of that running around. Nero hummed a little as she approached. "I must say, in spite of what just happened I am impressed. You have shown that you have the will to fight and you picked up the basic principles of combat quickly. I would say that what is holding you back most at this juncture is that you still do not have a solid grasp on what your magecraft is capable of, and I have no doubt that will come to you in time."
Time I do not have, Sakura thought to herself. It had only been a day since they had found out that MBI was being run by a Dead Apostle Ancestor, but there was less than a week before the Church made its move, and that was if they were lucky. The group had still received no word from the vampire boy if the Executors were to be mobilized earlier due to the severity of the threat; she could only assume that they were still debating how serious a threat they considered Miya in case she took umbrage with their actions. Regardless, a few days was not enough time for her to fully understand what she could do. "I don't think that anyone has a firm grasp on what I can do." Sakura replied.
"Fair enough, but that only underlines the importance of the discovery." The blonde's head tilted to the side. "Though if I am to be fair, I would advise you not to partake in the assault on MBI tower. Though you may have potential, that will be a battle for only the most hardened of warriors."
A scowl formed on Sakura's face, in spite of the fact that she hadn't seriously considered going on the assault herself. "Almost all of the Sekirei in the inn are going, and in spite of the Sekirei Plan I don't believe they are much more experienced at combat then I am." To be fair, when she had left the inn that day, both Homura and Tsukiumi were trying to remedy this fact by doing their own training with Miya. "Besides which, I probably have more raw power than any of them."
Nero pressed her lips together. "Perhaps, but this battle will likely decide the very fate of the Sekirei, so it would be a disservice to them if they were not allowed to participate. I know that the Church will at least attempt to keep them out of the more significant danger. There is no need for you to get involved in this however. The only reason Rin is going is to watch over her own Sekirei."
The white haired woman's face remained unpleasant. "In case you have forgotten, I too have a Sekirei of my own." She said, pointing behind her where she knew Akitsu had moved as soon as the training ended. "If she wants to go, then I go as well."
"Ah," the woman in the kimono said. "I hadn't really thought about it."
Sakura spared a glance back to give her an exasperated look. Nero let out a sigh. "While I still think it is an inadvisable course of action, I do not have the right to refuse you if you do choose to aid in the liberation. However, you still must inform Shirou about this, and I am sure that response will be overwhelmingly negative."
"Then what is the point of all this?!" Sakura suddenly yelled, frustration overcoming her. "What is the point if Shirou will just treat me like doll to be protected, like some fragile flower to be hidden from the world, and not like… like…" She struggled as she tried to find the words.
It was Nero who found them first. "Like me." She said, a hint of melancholy in her voice.
Sakura had to grit her teeth as the dark whispers from the back of her mind rose to the front once more. She took several long moments to calm herself down and focus. No, I do not want deal with this right now, she thought to herself. How I feel about this woman is irrelevant, and she certainly wouldn't want to-
"Sakura, perhaps it is time that we address the issue that we have been avoiding since our first encounter." Nero said
…Or we could deal with it right now. Sakura thought as she let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh really? Fine; I hate you. Everything about you rubs me the wrong way, and yes I hate the fact that you are married to the man I love. Is that what you want me to say?"
Nero was not very surprised by this. "Your feelings are perfectly reasonable considering what has happened. However, the situation with my husband is not as untenable as you might think, because-"
"I know he loves me back!" Sakura interrupted. "And I know that you are… flexible in certain regards! But I told you before that I'm not! I don't want to share him! Shirou is supposed to be with me alone and I don't care how selfish you think I am because of it!"
The woman turned and started stalking away. "I'm going for a walk. I don't think it would be a good idea if we went back to the inn together."
Sakura didn't pay attention to where she was going. She was too busy brooding to herself. The current… situation between herself and Shirou hadn't exactly gotten better, even if Akitsu had given her confirmation that her feelings were reciprocated. What was she supposed to do, ask Shirou to leave his wife for her? As much as she enjoyed the thought, she knew how much that would hurt him.
And then there was the matter of her sister, who was in much the same predicament as she was. And she supposed Matsu was to, but to be honest she didn't give the Sekirei too much thought. As cruel as it was, Shioru had already told her the consequences before she was winged. Nevertheless, there was still a giant knot she had to sort out, and while just cutting the damn thing (i.e. killing everyone else involved) did hold some appeal deep in the smallest black corner of her heart, she knew it wasn't a real option. Plus it would probably make her sad. Probably.
Maybe I shouldn't be thinking of Shirou so much.
Sakura suddenly stopped in her tracks, surprised at the thought that popped into her head. It didn't seem right at first, but after a few moments she realized there may have been something to it. She had already mulled over how she didn't know what to do with herself since she woke up, but since then she had still focused on being with Shirou, not much avail. Maybe she should take up a hobby, or something she might find enjoyable, if just take her mind off things for a while. She didn't have a lot of hobbies growing up due to her family's abuse, but she was fairly proficient in archery back in high school. Maybe she could take that up again.
It was then, after her emotions had finally settled down, that Sakura finally took note of where she had walked to, or to put it more accurately, realize that she had no idea where she was. She blinked and looked around, but other than the fact that she was on the edge of downtown she couldn't tell where her aimless wandering had brought her. She could see an MBI helicopter flying through the air some ways away, but that wasn't any real indication because those had been in abundance all day. Sakura wondered if that meant there were a lot of terminations occurring, but she hadn't heard of anything that would have changed the status quoi so that the Sekirei would start terminating each other now. Either way, she let out a sigh and fished out her phone, glad that Shirou had the foresight of getting her one. A few moments later she looked up her position on the map application and found that she had wandered dangerously close to the Eastern District.
She frowned. The group hadn't yet heard if the area had become safe since the Church had taken care of the nest of Dead Apostles there, but there was no reason to tempt fate. Sakura made to turn around and head back for the inn.
Suddenly, she noticed a blur of motion from the corner of her eye, and she looked up and across the street. On the roof of the building opposite her on the street she saw that there was a trio of women running between the air vents. One was dressed in a yellow and black jumpsuit, another was in a kind of sleeveless kimono, and the last was in the strange combination of jeans, long gloves and a bikini top. The last one had a pair of tonfas on her belt and was leading the other two.
Judging by their attire and speed they were Sekirei and the fact that there were so many of them surprised Sakura. She had only been paying cursory attention to the Sekirei plan, but she knew that it was rare for someone to have more than two bound to them. These three looked like they were working together, so they must have belonged to one of the 'Great' Ashikabi's as they had pretentiously called themselves.
The three slowed down to a halt and started looking around, and it wasn't long until one of them spotted Sakura and Akitsu, drawing the attention of her two compatriots. Sakura narrowed her eyes at this, and she could hear Akitsu's chains click and her body shifted. If these three were looking for an easy elimination they were going to be in for a very rude surprise. After the day she had been having the white haired woman was not in any mood to humor them.
However, before anyone made a move, the one with the tonfas barked out something and the trio began moving again. Sakura blinked as the three moved out of sight, not sure what to make of that. They seemed to be looking for something , but I wasn't it? She thought to herself. Considering Akitsu's attire, it wasn't like they could have mistaken the pair for anything other than Ashikabi and Sekirei. But then, what were they looking for?
Her musings were cut short when she heard a shout and a crash, and her attention was drawn to a convenience store not too far away. A white blur crashed out of the window and rolled, revealing to be yet another Sekirei as the woman in white strips of cloth got to her feet. Her attire was comprised of a sort of skirt, straps crossing over the breasts and a hood over her head. Her arms were carrying a number of food items, much to the anger of the store clerk currently shouting after her. The woman turned her head to look back, and as she did her hood fell back. Sakura drew back in surprise as she found the face to be familiar.
Uzume? She thought incredulously.
Before she could do anything about it, the Sekirei bolted for the nearest alleyway, and Sakura saw her bounce up to the roof before moving off again. Sakura wasn't sure why, but she started to run after the woman, trying to keep her in sight. She didn't know much about the woman other than that she happened to stay in the Inn were her, but the whole situation had made her curious. Uzume hadn't been seen in a few days, and while the woman often spent time out of the inn, the rest of the resident had started to wonder where she went. Granted, the impending assault took precedence on everyone's mind, but given this opportunity Sakura decided that she wanted to know just what was going on.
It was a little difficult, but Sakura eventually managed to find the wayward inn resident. Her search took her to a blind alley way, and she and Akitsu crept along until they ran into the first corner. It was then, press up against the wall, that the heard the conversation.
"There, feel better now?" Sakura heard Uzume's voice ask.
"Yes, I'm fine." Said a female voice that Sakura didn't recognize. "Uzume… you stole this, didn't you?"
"W-what? What are you talking…" The Sekirei's voice trailed off after a moment and Sakura heard a sigh. "Ok, maybe I took out a tab… without asking first. Oh don't give me that look, everything will be fine. I'll pay it back when things have settled down."
Sakura decided to sneak a glance around the corner, and as her head came around she was greeted by the sight of Uzume standing over a smaller woman, who was sitting cross legged on the ground. She was a frail looking thing with long brown hair that went down to her back, and a second look revealed that she was surprisingly young. She probably hadn't reached her twenties yet.
Unfortunately, none of the training Sakura had received as of late pertained to being stealthy, and as she moved her foot to balance herself she ended up kicking a discarded can. As the aluminum went tumbling, Uzume's head snapped towards her and she shouted "Who there?!" as she moved forward, and more cloth appeared from behind the woman, flowing around her like water.
Akitsu, ever faithful, noticed Uzume's sudden aggression and jumped out into view, intent and defending her mistress. The air in the alleyway suddenly dropped a few degrees as the stoic woman stood tall, glaring at the other woman. Sakura of course had no intention of fighting at the moment, so she stepped out herself and said "Akitsu, don't!" Thankfully, the pale woman's posture relaxed, but she still didn't take her eyes off of the other Sekirei.
"Wait, Sakura?" Uzume said confused, and Sakura turned to face her. Now that the white haired woman finally could get a good look at her, she saw just how miserable she looked. She had bags under her bloodshot eyes and even through the nervous tension that ran through her body she could tell that she was exhausted. Uzume blinked dully at the two of them. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"
"Coincidence." Sakura replied honestly. "I just happened to see you as I was out for a walk. Uzume, what are you doing out here? You haven't been to the inn in two days. Everyone is starting to worry."
Uzume grimaced and her eyes flicked back to the woman behind her. "It's… kinda complicated."
Sakura's eyebrow rose ever so slightly. "Would 'complicated' involve being chased by three other Sekirei around town?"
Uzume flinch a little. "I guess you saw them, huh? Yeah, they've been hounding me pretty good. We've been at this since yesterday. I was kinda hoping that they would have given up by now."
"Uzume…" the woman on the ground said as she observed the conversation with concern. "Who are these people?"
"Oh. Well, uh, this is Sakura and Akitsu." Uzume said awkwardly as she looked back at her. "They live with me in the inn. They're cool. I think."
The woman on the ground looked back at the newcomers with a thoughtful expression, and Sakura got the impression that she was being carefully considered by the other woman. After several long moments she seemed to come to a decision and said "Hello Sakura, Akitsu. My name is Chiho Hidaka."
"…Hello Chiho." Sakura said with a slight bow, not quite sure how to behave in this situation. "If I am not mistaken, you are Uzume's Ashikabi, correct?"
The brown haired girl nodded. "That's right. I first met her when she came by the hospital." The girl smiled. "She's always made sure to visit me often."
"Hospital?" Sakura said with some surprise, giving Chiho's frail body a worried glance. "What were you doing there? Are you sure you should be leaving it?"
Chiho shifted uncomfortably, and Uzume filled the silence. "Look, I said it was complicated. I'll you the short version: me and Chiho are in some trouble, and we need to ask the Church for asylum."
Sakura blinked, not expecting that particular response. "Asylum?" she asked. "Do you mean from the Sekirei Plan?"
"…Sure, let's go with that." The Sekirei said evasively. "In any case, Shirou told me that he'd help me out, and the Church has a reputation for taking in strays, so I've been trying to get to him. Unfortunately, the trip from point A to point B wasn't quite as smooth as I hoped." She said, gesturing down at her sullied self.
The white haired woman hummed as she considered this. It was an interesting idea, and one she doubted many of the other Sekirei considered since they were all trapped within the Shin Tokyo. The Church was probably was the only organization with a presence in the city that could safely shelter the two. But… "How can you know that the Church will be able to protect you? They are a large organization, but I doubt they can protect you from a multi-national corporation with their own private army inside their home city." Of course, the Church was also moving a small battalion of Executors into Shin Tokyo at that very moment, but there was no way that Uzume could know that.
However, Uzume gave her a sly look and said. "Well, let's just say that your roguish deacon happens to be keeping a few interesting secrets. I don't think he'd want me saying more than that."
Sakura's eyes narrowed at this. Does she know about magic? She thought. Uzume was supposed to be the last Sekirei in the Izumo House who was unaware of the supernatural, but that statement implied otherwise. She considered asked her flat out, but then she remember how cross Rin had been with her the last time she blurted it out. A thought occurred to her. "Wait, if you're in such a predicament, why haven't you simply called the Inn? Surely you have its number."
The other woman shifted awkwardly. "I, uh, lost my cellphone." It was certainly not the best lie Sakura had ever heard. There was more to it than that, and Sakura was honestly wondering how much she should trust her inn mate. She was being evasive, clearly involved in something shady beyond the Plan itself. Sakura was considering just walking away and leaving the women to their own devices rather than risking bringing whatever trouble that was following them back to the inn. However, at that moment Uzume looked back at her Ashikabi with a look Sakura know too well.
It was a look of desperation for the thing that you love, the worry that that something would happen to it and you would be unable to stop it. The fear of helplessness and loss.
The white haired woman gave a sigh and let the tension bleed out of her. "I have my cell on me," She announced as she pulled said phone out of her pocket. "I'll call the inn and let them know what's happening, and we'll see what to do from there."
Uzume gave her a relived look, and Sakura dialled the number for the Izumo House. It only had to ring a few times before it was answered, and fortuitously enough by Shirou himself. "Hello, Izumo House." He said.
"Shirou, its Sakura. I've run into something of a… situation."
There was a pause before he responded "What kind of situation?" his voice filled with trepidation. Given the lives they had lead that statement could mean anything from she had missed the bus and would be late for dinner or that there was legion of monsters ransacking the city.
"I found Uzume and her Ashikabi. The two of them are being chased by a trio of other Sekirei."
"Wait, what?" Shirou said incredulously. "Why? And isn't that exceedingly dangerous for Chiho?
Sakura blinked at this. "You already know about this?"
"Uzume told me about her Ashikabi once." He said quickly. "Now, are they just being chased for an easy elimination? And who's Sekirei are they?"
Sakura's mouth formed a thin line. "She will not say, but she insists that she has to get to you. She wants to request asylum from the Church, and said that you would help with that."
"Seriously?" Shirou said, surprise clear in his voice. "I mean, I said I'd help her out if she needed it, but I didn't know she needed that. Things are... complicated at the moment, but I see what I can do."
The white haired woman hummed at this and looked over at Uzume and Chiho. "You'll see what you can do? Good." She could see the relief spread across the Sekirei's face as she said that. "We need to get them somewhere safe, so I'll be taking them to the inn."
"No, stay put." Shirou said. "You said that you're being chased, so if you in a safe spot right now, stay where you are and I'll come to you first. What's your position?"
"We're in an alley just shy of 14th street and 6th avenue, in the Eastern District." A sudden shout got her attention and all those assembled looked up. The three Sekirei that she had seen earlier were standing on the roof looking down at them. The one with the tonfas pointed and yelled "Get them!"
Sakura pursed her lips "Though our position is not quite as safe as we hoped."
Several things happened at once. The enemy Sekirei jumped from the roof to descend on their target. Uzume snarled and cloth whipped up above her and her Ashikabi's head to form a protective barrier. Sakura yelled out "Akitsu, protect them!" There was a sudden flash of ice and movement, and a ceiling of ice spanning from the walls of the alleyway appeared between them and the attacking women. The was a crash as the three landed hard on the icy barrier, and a spider web of cracks fanned out from the points of impact, but the ceiling held. The was a brief pause on the part of the attackers, both in surprise at what had just happened and a little stunned from the sudden impact.
That pause was all Uzume needed, as in that instant the wall of cloth that she had set up split and turned into several linen spears before quickly lancing upwards at ice above them. As the ice was already fractured, the attack caused it to shatter and the force of it tossed the trio into the air. With no time to lose, Uzume scooped up Chiho and and bolted towards Sakura and Akitsu, and as she ran passed them she screamed "Run!"
The lot of them then started running out of the blind alley and back towards the street, Akitsu still following Sakura's last order and keeping close to the other two. Unfortunately, this meant Sakura was the slowest of the group and ended up being in the back just as they all reached the mouth of the alley. Sakura's instincts told her to look back and as she did so, she saw that the Sekirei in yellow and black had managed to get to her feet faster than the others and was already bearing down on her, fist cocked back and ready to bury itself in the back of her skull. Sakura couldn't outrun her, and she didn't think Akitsu could get to her in time.
Screw it, she thought to herself before she planted her feet and spun, thrusting her hand out as the Sekirei's fist arced towards her. Just before the two met there was a massive pulse of shadow from Sakura's arm, and darkness enveloped the Sekirei. The woman let out a blood curling scream of pain and managed to jump back, but not unscathed. As the woman stumbled back in pain and shock, Sakura could see much of her outfit (as well as her skin) had dissolved, leaving long swatches of bloody tissue exposed. That was not the most shocking thing though.
The arm that had almost struck Sakura was grey and lifeless. As the Sekirei lifted it up to look at it, the limb began to crumble into dust.
Sakura didn't have much time to focus on the screaming that followed however, as the other two attacking Sekirei were not far behind their crippled companion. Sakura turned and ran, covered by several bolts of ice which Akitsu fired as cover. The group finally made it out onto the street and ran, though what she had just done was still looping through Sakura's mind. That was the first time since she had woken up that she had so seriously harmed someone, and the first time she had ever done so of her own volition. She should have been horrified at what she did, and yet…
She was snapped out of her musings when she realized that she still held the phone in her hand, and that Shirou's was voice was shouting from the speaker. He must have been able to hear some of what had happened and started panicking. The woman held the phone to her mouth and said. "The Sekirei found us and are pursing." She said, a quick glance up and behind confirming that they were indeed following on rooftops, even the one she had maimed. "We're making out way back to the inn now."
Without missing a beat Shirou yelled back "I'll be right there just hold on!" And with that the line went dead. Sakura stashed the phone away and focused on running.
That is, until Uzume spoke up from beside her. "So… I guess you're magic too, huh."
This caught Sakura by surprise for a moment before she realized she hadn't exactly been subtle with her display of power. "Well, yes." She said, figuring now was not the time for evasion. "And I suppose that you found out that Shirou is as well, but how?"
"I was spying on the sewage plant the night he burned it down." She replied. "Sorry about being so evasive, but I wasn't sure if you were in the know."
"We can discuss such thing when we are not running for our lives." Sakura snapped back, and the group once again focused on getting back to the North.
They didn't quite make it, as given all of the physical activity which she had been through that day, running full tilt from one part of the city to another was just not something Sakura could do. The four of them found an office building and broke into it, trying to find a place to hide. Even as they entered the building Sakura could see their pursuers not far behind.
After a few minutes of jumping around floors the four of them found a sufficiently large storage closet they could fit in and they all piled inside to catch their breaths. Sakura was the worst off, but Uzume was not in much better shape quite frankly. "How long do we have to wait here?" The woman asked.
"Until I can run again." Sakura replied between breaths. "Or until they move off. Or if Shirou manages to get to us. Don't worry though. Even if they find us it's not like we're helpless." She said, and held up a hand cloaked in darkness to demonstrate.
"So, magic is really real?" Sakura blinked as Chiho spoke up, and realized that the girl was staring at shadow element with a strange sort of wonder.
Uzume gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, it's real." She then gave Sakura a look that was half pleading. "And I'm hoping that we'll be able to see a cleric sooner than later."
The white haired woman was not sure what she was referring to, so she kept silent. Several minutes passed before she faintly heard voices from the other side of the door. "…has to be in here somewhere! We can't go back until we find them!"
Another voice spoke up, this one softer and pained. "I-I don't care anymore! Look at me! I don't want to go near that monster again! Whatever Higa might do is-"
There was a sharp crack and the woman let out a cry before the first woman said "I don't care if you're a coward! I'm not going to disappear like the rest of them! Now get searching!"
The four in the storage closet held their breath as they heard movement from outside their little haven. Eventually, the sound of footstep grew louder, and was clearly coming towards their hiding spot. Sakura grimaced and looked back at Akitsu and Uzume, giving them a nod as she got to her feet and stood ready. The Sekirei nodded back as they adjusted their posture, ready to strike at anything that was going to open that door.
They never got the chance. Before the door opened they all heard the shattering of glass and a loud crash. One of the Sekirei started yelling something, but that soon devolved into screams and the sounds of combat. "Wh-what the hell is that?!" Uzume said in shock.
Sakura let a small smile cross her face. "That would be Shirou." She said.
"Um… who is Shirou?" Chiho asked, her tone implying that she wasn't sure if she wanted to meet the man causing the ruckus outside.
Sakura turn to the girl, a comforting smile on her face. "He is one of the greatest men I know. Don't worry, he only hurts bad people."
It was at this moment one of the Sekirei he was fighting screamed out "Oh god, not my other arm! Please don't-AAAAAAA!"
Sakura kept her smile but her eyebrow twitched. "Even if he is a little violent at times."
"That's not supposed to bend like that! You're ripping off my-GRAAAAAH!"
Her eyebrow twitched more. "Even if he is very violent at times."
"Oh god why are you doing this? Please I just want to live-GRUK!"
"… could you excuse me for one second?" Sakura said as she turned and pushed open the storage closet door.
"Shirou, that is-" Sakura cut herself off and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw in the room. The mangled and cut up bodies of their pursuing Sekirei were strewn about the floor, and blood was splattered over all of the office furniture. Despite the horrific nature of the scene before her though, that was not the thing which gave Sakura pause. It was the fact that the only other person still standing in the room was not Shirou.
It was a woman, who back was currently turned towards her, had a grey overcoat with the Sekirei emblem on the upper back cast over her shoulders and grey hair done up in a ponytail. As the woman languidly turned towards Sakura, the white hair woman saw a black, leather dress of some sort reaching down to mid-thigh, and gripped in her hand was a katana covered in blood. "Oh, who are you?" The woman said, small streaks of blood visible on her face. "Wrong place at the wrong time I guess. Too bad."
Sakura spared a glance at bodies on the floor, a small amount of regret filling her. Yes, they may have been trying to capture them, but they hardly deserved this fate. She turned her attention back to the grey haired woman. "I am assuming you are Karasuba, correct?"
The other woman blinked and her eyes focused on Sakura. Whether she was more surprised by Sakura knowing her name or her calm response to the scene before her, Sakura couldn't tell. "Well now, it looks like you're not just a bystander." Karasubu looked past her, and the telltale clinking of chains told Sakura what the Black Sekirei was looking at. "Ah, so you're the one who's been holding the reject's leash. That does explain a bit, but how do you know about me?"
Before Sakura could answer, Uzume's voice came from the doorway. "Sakura? Who are you talking to? Is it safe to- oh fucking shit!" She could only assume that Uzume had just walked out to see the carnage that had been wrought, as something told Sakura that it was a very bad idea to take her eyes off the woman in front of her.
Without turning her head, Sakura said "Uzume, you and Chiho need to stay back. I'll take care of this." She heard some shuffling and Uzume telling Chiho in a low voice not to look. Satisfied, she told Karasuba "You have something of a reputation."
"And you are either very brave or very stupid." Karasuba remarked, though she seemed more amused by Sakura than anything else. She then gestured to the carnage around them. "Then again, I haven't met many humans who could see something like this and not shit their pants."
Sakura gave a thin smile at this. "I ran out of fear a long time ago. Now, not that I don't appreciate you solving our problem, but just what are you doing here?"
The grey haired woman ignored the question, humming and swaying back and forth like she had an idle thought on her mind. "There's something about you, something important I remember reading in the person of interest files." After a moment's pause a light went off in Karasuba's head and a vicious grin split her face. "Oh now I remember! You're one of those girls living with Koto-kun!"
Sakura mouth formed a thin frown. She had hoped the woman wouldn't make that connection. Her obsession with her sempai was not something she cared for one bit. "I don't see how that's relevant to our current situation."
"Oh, it's simple really." The woman said as she rolled her neck. "After I kill that Sekirei of yours to see just how strong a Scrapped really is, I'm going to let Koto-kun know I have you as my pretty little captive. If I can't go to see him, then I'll just have to make him come to me."
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "And what makes you think I'll just let that happen?"
Karasuba scoffed at this. "Please, don't even bother acting like you have any say in this. Now just go and sit in the corner like the useless little girl that you are so that my Koto-kun will come," Her gaze became distant and a smile etched itself on her face. "And then we can paint the town with blood and ash before I ram my sword through his heart."
Sakura's heart beat spiked at this, and rage at the woman in front of her surged through her body. She bared her teeth and she all but growled as she tried once again to get her anger in check. However, at that moment she realized something, and her expression changed to a smile. The Black Sekirei looked confused at this, wondering what had happened to the white haired woman's anger. What she didn't know that that Sakura's rage was still there.
She simply realized that she didn't have to hold it back anymore.
"You know, the past few weeks have been trying on me. I've had to adapt to a new life, deal with people who are trying to take it away, and trying to create and sort out some semblance of a reasonable relationship with the people around me. And an old, dark part of me has been causing nothing but trouble in that respect." She started to take slow steps forward. "Which is why it is such a relief that I don't have to fight it right now. I don't have to hold back from telling you that you're a miserable pile of feces not worth the clothes you're standing in. I don't have to hold back from slowly taking you apart piece by piece, watching you writhe impotently on the ground like the worm you are." Shadows began to leak from Sakura's body, and soon she was covered in an aura of shadow as black ribbon tendrils coiled around her. "And a certainly don't have to hold back from etching into that little bauble in your chest that carries your sorry excuse for a soul that Shirou is mine."
Karasuba's eyes widened at the blatant display of magic, and she actually took a step back from Sakura as she advanced. She looked down in shock and found a slight tremor ran through her sword arm. However, the shock slowly turned into something more manic and giddy. "Hehehe ahahahahaha! Oh you are so much more interesting that I gave you credit for! Are all the women Koto-kun knows so damn fun?! This day just keeps getting better and better!"
Sudden a crash came from one of the windows. Head snapped around to see a dark red blur tumbling through the air amid shards of glass before it landed with a thump. Shirou rose from his crouch and Black Keys slid smoothly into his hands, though he held his ground when he saw the scene before his. For a long moment, the room was silent.
"Best! Fucking! Day! Ever!"
Well, until that.
Shirou's lips pulled back over his teeth in something of a snarl, and as he advanced toward the group the air around him started to ripple with heat. "Karasuba… what the hell are you doing here?"
"They let me out to play!" She said in an excited tone, and Sakura saw the woman's breathing becoming quicker. "Oh, you have no idea how good it feels to just cut loose and wipe out some worthless pieces of trash after being cooped up in that tower for weeks. I guess the Director thought that things had gotten a little too stagnant, so he let me fix it!"
"And so you just happened to run into us first?" Sakura asked.
"Nope! There were several others!" The woman said gleefully. "But those were boring. They all keep saying things like 'oh god stop' or 'why are you doing this' or 'please I love her so much'. But don't worry, things are going to be so much better this time!"
That's why there were so many helicopters, Sakura thought to herself. They were picking up the bodies of this woman's little 'outing'. Her contempt with the woman grew, and judging by Shirou's expression she was not the only one who felt that way. "Just how many innocent people have you killed?" The man growled.
Karasuba simply grinned at this. "Had I known that this would have gotten you so riled up I would have done it ages ago. Ah well, on the plus side this means I get to play with you and your little girlfriend here and WILL YOU SHUT UP?!"
The sudden shout from the Black Sekirei caused everyone else to flinch back in surprise, but the reason for it became clear as she clawed at her ear with her free hand. An earbud fell out of her hand and landed on the floor, and the object was quickly crushed underneath her heel. "Sorry about that, the dogs back at the tower were barking some nonsense at me. But I'm not going to let anything interrupt my fun this time."
Shirou didn't move, but his body and the heat pouring off of him spoke of tension. "Sakura, take Uzume and Chiho and get out of here."
Sakura was about to refuse him before a particular sound reached her ears: the sound of helicopters approaching. "Shirou, we both need to get out of here." She said instead. "MBI is approaching and we're not ready yet."
Karasuba did like that statement however, and her gaze shifted to Sakura. "That's too bad, because I am ready," she said, her body crouching low and he grip on her sword tightening. "And I am- GRAHAHAAA!"
The grey haired woman's body suddenly spasmed and she fell to her knees. Again, the rest present were struck with confusion at what was happening. For her part Karasuba screamed in both pain and rage, though she didn't seem to be addressing them. "No! No! Don't you dare take this away from me! I will kill all you pathetic insects for this, do you hear me?! I WILL KILL YOU!"
I took a moment for Sakura to realize what was happening. Her implants. MBI is trying to restrain her from fighting us. But why? Nevertheless, the sound of helicopter blades grew steadily louder, and they weren't going to get another chance to get away cleanly like this. "Shirou, we need to go, now." She said as she let her aura of shadow dissipate and walked back to the storage closet. She was greeted by the sight of Uzume standing protectively in front of Chiho, her stance telling that she was ready for anything. Sakura said "We're leaving."
Uzume didn't question it, instead quickly spinning and sweeping Chiho of her feet into a cloth hammock (who gave an eep at the sudden motion) while saying "Whatever you do, don't open your eyes until I say so."
Sakura turned back and walked back into the office and saw that Shirou was standing in front of Karasuba, a strange frown on his face as he looked down at her. She looked up at him, her teeth bared and an unreadable look passed between the two of them. "Shirou!" Sakura shouted, and the man's head snapped to her. Lights burned in the back of his eyes, and she could tell that he was fighting some kind of in battle. One of his blades was dangerously close to Karasuba's throat, and in her current state all he had to do was flick his wrist to end her.
And yet, he didn't. He looked at his hand for a moment, confusion on his face. He then shook his head and moved to join Sakura, and the lot of them made a hasty exit.
The last thing Sakura heard from Karasuba was laughter.
"You should have ended her."
Rin was once again finding herself in a strange and complicated situation, though by this point she was just rolling with it. For instance, normally she would have been perplexed if when she walked into the living room she found Uzume indecently covered by only a few straps of cloth fretting over some strange girl on the floor while Miya was glaring at an apologetic Shirou for some kind of slight. However, Rin had achieved a state of Zen about the current absurdity of her life and instead simply stood off to the side next to Sakura and Akitsu until she understood what was happening.
Shirou shifted uncomfortably under the woman's gaze. "I guess so, but it just didn't feel right for some reason."
The landlady looked unconvinced. "Forgive me for my assumption, but you do not strike me as the type who would spare an enemy just because she was helpless."
Shirou frowned and looked down at the ground. "Yeah, your right." He said, though he seemed to be speaking half to himself.
When the man didn't offer anything more to say, Miya sighed. "Well, we can discuss your lack of judgment later. For now we have other matters to see to." She turned towards Uzume and the other woman. "Now, I suppose you'd like to get your… friend here a room."
"Thanks Miya, and yeah I do, but there's something I have to talk to Shirou about first." Uzume said as she stood.
"And what is that?" Miya asked, clearly interested in the circumstances that resulted in this situation.
"I can't really say." The woman said as she shifted uncomfortably. "It involves some things I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want get out."
It was then that Sakura decided to speak up. "She knows about magic, Uzume." She said. "Pretty much everyone in the inn knows about magic at this point."
Rin tossed her hands up in the air. "Honestly, are even bothering to keep the secret of magic anymore?! Why don't we just start posting it on the internet while we're at it?!"
Uzume blinked in surprise at this. "Eh? Seriously? Damn, and I thought I discovered something secret there. So, are you magic too, or…"
Rin gave an exasperated sigh and walked forward. "Yes, I am 'magic', although we prefer to be called magi." She spared a glance at Shirou and Sakura, who looked at each other awkwardly. Rin had to force her eyebrow to not twitch. "Well, at least most of us do. So, just how do you know about this and why is it so important?"
"Well, I found out about it cause I happened to see Shirou and his little prayer group torching that building down by the water. As well as the bodies you guys dragged out. As for why I was there to begin with, well, that's a bit of a tale."
Uzume then proceeded to tell her story of how she was blackmailed to work for Higa Izumi, the Ashikabi of the East. Apparently her Ashikabi Chiho (The woman sitting on the floor), had some kind of degenerative disease and had to spend her life in a hospital. The hospital was owned by Izumi International, a pharmaceutical company which Higa owned and was the only one capable of producing the treatment that kept Chiho alive. Once the man became an Ashikabi himself and learned of the Sekirei plan, well, it was easy to figure out what happened after that. Since then, Uzume had been doing the man's dirty work as well as espionage on the other players of the Plan.
"But things have been getting weird lately." Uzume continued. "I've been in contact with Higa himself less and less, and a number of his Sekirei just kinda vanished. Combine that with the nearby zombie outbreak, and I figured that it was now or never to defect."
Rin hummed at this, briefly wondering if the Dead Apostles in the city really had been taking care of one of the biggest problems they had been facing as far as the Plan was concerned. It certainly seemed to match up as the plant had been in the Eastern District, but something about it didn't sit right with her. Still, she focused on the matter at hand. "That may have been the best course of action, but what are you planning to do about her illness?" She said as she looked at the girl sitting on the floor. "I hope you managed to take some of her treatment as a severance package."
Chiho herself was the one who responded to this with a shake of her head. "Unfortunately, it's a little more complicated than just medicine. My vials have to be monitored carefully so that I'm given the correct dosage at the right time. It's one of the reasons I had to stay in a hospital rather than a home; they need equipment to run blood screening and physical scans." The girl gave a smile, though there was something sad in it. "It's ok though. I didn't really like it there much. I'm sure I'll be much happier here."
For however short that may be was left unspoken, though everyone in the room could read between the lines. "Chiho…" Uzume said before biting her lip nervously, too full of emotion to respond to that. She instead turned back to Shirou. "I was hoping that you would be able to help with that. Healing magic has to be a thing, and well, it's the clerics that always have it in video games. So… do you think you can help?" She asked, her voice filled with desperation.
Shirou's expression tightened. "It the Church capable of healing magic? Yes. Can Chiho be cured? Possibly. Will they actually do it? I… am not sure."
"What do mean?" Uzume asked, fighting to keep down her panic.
"Things are complicated right now." The man said with an angry sigh. "It turns out that one of the most powerful vampires in the world is actually a part of or controlling MBI. The Church is gearing up for a full on assault as we speak, and quite frankly, I'm not sure if they care how many Sekirei might get hurt in the process. I've advised against it, but when it comes down to it the Church is putting humanity first. I doubt they'll reject you outright, but at the same time I can't guarantee they'll heal her strictly out of the kindness of their heart."
Uzume caught on to what he was saying. "I'll do whatever they want me to." She said firmly. "If they heal Chiho, I don't care what it is."
"Uzume, no!" Chiho said in distress. "You just escaped from that! You don't have to go right back to it for me!"
"Sahashi-kun," Miya said as she eyed the deacon. "The Church would not be as cruel as to ask Uzume to do anything dangerous or harmful, would they?" The silence they man gave to that question was not heartening.
Sakura suddenly strode forward and grabbed Shirou's shirt. "Shirou!" She said as she looked directly into his eyes with a pleading yet forceful expression. "You're going to help them!"
"Blurk!" The man responded intelligently, unable to do much else under Sakura's gaze for several moments before he said "O-ok! Of course I'm going to help them! That was never not a thing! But what am I supposed to do about it? My pull with the Church at the moment is spotty at best, and my magic is pretty exclusively in the realm of burning things."
"Well…" The white haired woman replied slowly, looking off to the side a bit. "You might be able to try… the method you used to cure me-"
"No." The man said it with such viciousness that Sakura flinched back. "Not again. Not. Ever."
The two began to argue about it, and Rin felt frustration build in her. Why the hell was it that something that should be so straight forward is so damn complicated? Chiho didn't deserve her poor health. Uzume didn't deserve to have to essentially prostitute herself kept her beloved alive. A magus knew that everything in the world had a price… and yet at the moment she hated that fact. Hated that even the Church would probably stoop to finding a use for the two. Hated that there was no one that one that would help them simply because it was the right thing to do.
And then she realized she was wrong. She could think of one.
Rin strode forward towards Chiho, and she crouched down in front of her. "Could you please give me your hand?" She asked.
Chiho looked confused, but did as she was asked. Rin took her hand and muttered a quick spell to get an analysis of her body and health. After a moment Rin's mind flowed with information, telling her about the girl's fragile bones and atrophied muscles. She nodded to herself and turned to Miya, who was looking at her quizzically. "Miya-dono, we have some milk and meat in the fridge right?"
"I'm not supposed to have that much solid food." Chiho said as she shifted uncomfortably, her hands on her stomach. Her comfort was probably not helped by the fact that she was laying on her back in a wooden shed, but that was where Rin's Formulacraft circle was, so there was not much to be done about it.
"Don't worry," Rin said. "The discomfort should pass soon. Besides which, your body is going to need raw materials to repair itself."
"So, you're sure this will work?" Uzume said as she looked on nervously.
"Pretty sure. At the very least it won't hurt to try." Rin said as she knelt down next to Chiho and pulled out an emerald she kept in one of the more secure pockets on her belt.
"How much is in that one?" Shirou asked, familiar with how Rin's style of magic worked.
"About a year's worth." She replied, and Shirou raised an eyebrow in response. She frowned at him. "What? It's my gem and I can use it how I want."
"Um, what are you talking about?" Uzume asked.
Shirou answered. "Rin has been charging that gem with magic power for a year. It has a not inconsiderable amount of power in it."
Uzume may have said something in response to that, but Rin began to focus on the task at hand. "Just try to relax." She muttered to Chiho as she pressed the gem to her chest. After a few moments the gem started to glow green and prana started to flow into the girl's body. Healing magic was not exactly a forte of Rin's, but she had studied enough on every kind of magic she knew about that she had a passing proficient at the art. Still, it was only a very general sort of healing, one that restores wholeness to the body, and as such it was much less efficient than more specific healing magic. Rin did not care to leave a job half-done though, so she had decided to use one of her stronger gems to accomplish the task. It was significant, but not overly so considering all she had saved up over the past five years.
Rin could not say for certain how long the process took, but eventually the emerald ran dry and the glowing ceased. The magus leaned back and stretched a little, feeling the light burn in her magic circuits. All of the power for the spell came from the gem, but she still had needed to regulate the flow lest it all flow into Chiho at once and burn the girl to a crisp. "There, all done. How do you feel?" She asked.
Chiho herself looked to be in a light daze, and blinked a few times in confusion. "Huh? I feel… different."
"Well, you've been bedridden for a long time so that's to be expected." She said. "Get up and move around, see how you feel then."
Slowly, Chiho pulled herself to her feet. She looked surprised, almost bewildered to be standing on her own feet. "It's… so easy." She said. She then gave a little hop, which caused her to giggle. "Am, am I cured?"
"No." Rin said frankly, causing everyone in the room to look at her with surprised expressions. "I don't specialize in healing magic. I don't even really understand what the source of your ailment is; let alone how to cure it. However, what I can do is fix all the damage that had built up in your body over the years. How long did it take you to go from healthy to bedridden by the way?"
"Several years. The better part of a decade really." She replied, still not sure how to take what happened to her.
Rin nodded. "Well then, you have at least that long before this becomes a problem again."
"But- but you can heal her again, right?" Uzume said, her eyes wide. "It only took you only one year to make that that stone, right?" Rin nodded, but before she could continue Uzume cut her off by suddenly kneeling at Rin's feet saying "I will do anything for you if you keep healing my Chiho. I don't care if I have to be indebted to you my entire life, but I'll do it."
Chiho made a distressed noise, but Rin said. "Normally, I would jump at the chance at having a member of an alien species to do my whims… but at the moment I actually think I have enough of those." She shrugged and reached down, pulling Uzume to her feet. "I don't need anything from you, so don't worry about it too much. I healed Chiho because I wanted to and nothing more. I'll keep doing it if it comes down to it, but I suggest you find a more permanent solution before then."
Uzume blinked, as if she didn't understand what she was hearing. "Then… that's it?"
"That's it." Rin said with a smile.
A shudder ran through Uzume's body, and what must have been years of grief and worry started to bleed out of her in the form of tears. She turned towards Chiho, her body shaking. "Chiho… I…"
In turn, Chiho's eyes started to water. "Don't cry, Uzume. If you start crying then I'm going to start crying."
Unfortunately, this only made it worse for the cloth Sekirei. "Chiho!" She yelled as she rushed forward and wrapped her Ashikabi in a hug. The other girl broke down and tears started to flow down her face as she gripped on to Uzume just as tightly. The two held on to each other, oblivious to the rest of the world out of sheer relief and joy that they could be together.
A smile worked its way onto Rin's face at this. This was not the magus thing to do… but it did feel like the right thing to do. And for a moment, in spite of the madness that had become her life, in spite of the pain and horror lurking in the city, she felt that just maybe things would turn out alright. And judging the expressions of every else in the room, maybe they thought the same.
All except one that is. Rin blinked. "Shirou… are you-"
"Damn it woman, my heart isn't made of stone!" the man yelled as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve.
A/N: Thanks again to Destrark for Betaing.
So, a couple of things to get the plot moving along after that large bits of exposition, but mostly this chapter was to get things resolved with Uzume before we got any farther. I know this is a little quickly handled considering how big a deal it was in canon, but to be honest considering the set up of this fic I couldn't think of a reason to really dive into it. I'm trying to keep things as tight as possible and the story would have only been bogged down by a 'Save Uzume and Chiho' arc. So yes, Rin fixes everything with magic. On with the show.
Till next time.
