Takami sat numbly at her desk, shuffling through papers and filling out forms. She really did have a lot of work to do and a small amount of time to do it in, but she just couldn't muster the energy. After all, how is one supposed to feel when they've handed in their two weeks resignation to a company they helped found? Takami might have said it as a threat, but when Minaka simply shrugged it off, well… what else was she to do? The company she created had slipped out of her control, and now she could see no way of getting it back. There was no place for her here anymore.

The white haired woman let out a sigh, and without meaning to she glanced over at one of the pictures she had hanging on her wall. It was an old picture of Takami and Minaka when they had first found Kamikura Island all those years ago. God he looks stupid, Takami though to herself as she looked at Minaka's outfit. Seriously, who models a hiking outfit on the Kamen Rider uniform? Still, the sight of it brought a small unconscious smile to her face, mirroring the one she had in the photo.

Takami grimaced as she realized what she was doing and shook her head. Now was not the time to be thinking about better days. She may be leaving MBI, but that didn't mean she could waste time like this. In spite of what Minaka said, she was very much needed in several parts of the company's operations, both in managing personal and actual scientific research. Her team was already working overtime to try and distribute her work load and she needed to do everything she could to make that process smoother. Which brought her to the task at hand: cleaning up loose ends.

The scientist once again shuffled her papers around, cursing herself for not properly recording all of the projects she had been responsible for over the years. Admittedly she was able to keep track of all of her work in her head without much of a problem, but in all that time she never figured she would have to leave the company and hand it off to someone else. She now had to pay the price of her hubris and fill in the proper paper trail (both physical and digital) for the past twenty years so that her underlings could carry on her work. Of course, that was to say nothing of whether or not they could understand the science behind it all. Takami was the only person in the bloody company aside from Minaka who had in depth knowledge of the Sekirei genome and how it worked.

Not for the first time, Takami found herself missing Takehito. If there was anyone she would have been able to trust with carrying on her work, it would have been him. It was apparent from when they first hired him that the man was a genius, and she believed that in his time at MBI he learned more about the Sekirei than she did. Of course, it was because of that genius that he was the one who was called in when something started to go wrong with the Jinki. Takami still wasn't sure of all the details to this day, but apparently someone had been tampering with them and it would have resulted in the deaths of all the Sekirei. Takehito went into the lab and fixed it, but it cost him his life.

Things had started to go from bad to worse since that day. As much as Takami had liked Takehito, it was nothing compared to how hard Miya took his death. It was a testament to how friendly and personable the man was that he managed to melt Miya once cold and distance demeanor enough that he convinced her to marry him. Once he was gone, Miya isolated herself from pretty much everyone. It was years before she even really interacted with people, and even then she's kept her distance. What Takami wouldn't give to have that man back.

Her thoughts cut short when something caught her eye as she looked at an expense report form a few years ago. There were a number of projects listed, the largest of which of course being the Sekirei Plan. There were other things though, such as Crystalline Biology Research, Project Daedalus, the Archimedes Array, and a number of other smaller projects. At first she couldn't tell what was bothering her about it until she grabbed another report from several years earlier and checked the two against each other. She then got a third report and compared that as well.

As far as Takami had known, the only project that had lasted for several years in a row was the Sekirei Plan, and for good reason considering how convoluted the whole thing was. However, now that she looked at the records she saw that was not exactly the case. Project Daedalus had popped up in the budget reports several times, though it seemed that it was never continuous. Not only that, the project seemed to bounce around between several departments. Takami raised an eyebrow at this, not quite sure what to make of it. Compared to the travesty that was the Sekirei Plan, she doubted that this oddity could be anything of real importance…

A frown crossed her face and she turned to her computer, pulling up whatever information she could about the project. I only have two weeks left here. Screw leaving rocks unturned, she thought to herself. For all she knew whatever Daedalus was could be related to whatever Mr. Black was up to, so she owed it to herself to at least look it over. It took her a few moments to pull up the information as all the bits of it were scattered across all the departments of MBI, but eventually she managed to get the full picture. And she was a little disappointed in it. It's just a bunch of Minaka's vanity projects, she realized.

When she and Minaka had first found the alien spacecraft, the avenues of research that had opened up for them were numerous. Seeing as how they were both experts in biology, the pair had focused on the medical and biological discoveries that could be gained from the Sekirei, and from the decision Mid Bio Informatics was created. In addition to what they focused on though there was also a wealth of alien technology in general; they just never had the manpower or resources to focus on it that much. That wasn't to say there hadn't been gains on those fronts (The Archimedes Array was made possible by their research into high energy density storage), but they were definitely a lower priority.

However, Minaka had on occasion funded at particular idea or research on his own whims every now and again, even if nothing much came of him. Takami had known about this for some time, though it was only just now she was learning that he had put all of his pet projects under the title of Daedalus. Flipping through the material, she saw projects relating to super strong ceramics, advanced quantum computers, numerous biomedical chemical trials, some fledgling cybernetic research, and a project to increase Sekirei Genome Expression in Ashikabi. Takami actually remembered that last one as she had been called in to consult for it. The project was canceled when it was determine the gene therapy would take years to take effect, and that the Sekirei cells would be incompatible with human ones, gradually killing the recipient.

As Takami wondered to herself if there was more to this she was seeing, she saw a notice that she received yet another email. She sighed as she realized that she had been ignoring those as of late due to the business with her resignation. She opened up her inbox to make sure that there was nothing of critical importance that she should be aware of.

Ten seconds later Takami was running out of her office and down the hall.


Takami found him standing in the hallway in front of a vending machine of all places, frowning as he tried to feed the machine a bill which it repeatedly spat back out. She strode up to him, but for once she was so angry that she didn't bother hitting him. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she seethed.

Minaka turned to look at her, a confused expression on his face. "…Well that's a rude way to start a conversation. And need I remind you that you were the one that handed in her resignation."

"I'm not talking about that!" She yelled at him, and then she did lash out with her first, hitting the vending machine in the side. The device made a number of noised that didn't sound mechanically friendly, and Minaka gave it a nervous look, but she ignored it. "I'm taking about how you had Karasuba kill over a dozen Sekirei and Ashikabi!"

Minaka blinked at this. "What?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about! I just got a report that I have several new bodies to take care off! Most of which are going to the morgue rather than the Termination Ward!"

Minaka looked at her blankly for several long seconds, and Takami swore that she saw the corner of his mouth twitch. A second later though his eyes widened and he nodded in realization. "Oh right… that! Sorry, slipped my mind for a second."

"It… slipped your mind."

The man waved his hand dismissively. "Oh you know, have a lot to think about these days. In any case, that was my way of kicking off the Third Stage. Have to let all the players know that they can't just hide from their destiny."

Takami looked at him incredulously. "We have the access to every Ashikabi's phone. Why in god's name couldn't you just give them an ultimatum that way?!"

"Err, well, I didn't think it would be as effective." Minaka said before he brushed it off. "Now, I understand that it's probably not fair to you to have to process more terminations right as you are about to leave, but this is something we're all going to have to suffer through. Look on the bright side though; this will hurry things along and bring us one step closer to the Age of the Gods!"

Takami start to feel her rage build, at the man's sheer disregard for the suffering he caused. Red started to seep into her vision and she wasn't sure just what was going to do next. However, as quickly as it came, the anger suddenly left her, and in its place she felt an empty void. She just couldn't do it anymore. She just couldn't let herself have any attachment to this man anymore, even if that attachment was one of hatred. She had to let it go. In an emotionless voice, Takami said "You're a monster."

Minaka didn't reply immediately. He simply looked back at her with an unreadable look for a long moment before he said "I'm what I have to be."

"…Goodbye, Minaka." Takami said, and she turned and walked away, intent on never speaking to him again. However, she only made it about 5 five steps before she heard a loud crash followed by a blast behind her. She spun to find Minaka recoiled back from the vending machine, the display panel of the device now a shredded mess of metal and sparks.

The man looked back and forth between her and the offending machine before he tucked a hand behind him and said "Oh! Err, well, it looks like it was even more broken than I thought, and your little punch was all it needed. The bloody control panel just exploded on me! I… think I'll order lunch today." And with that he spun on his heel and quickly walked away.

Tamaki looked at this confused for a few moments before she should her head. She was about to dismiss this final bit of nonsense when she noticed something odd; droplets of blood on the floor, trailing after Minaka. She tilted her head to the side and looked at the vending machine, which was when another thought occurred to her.

If the panel exploded, then why does the metal case look like it caved inward?


Homura was having a bad week. Well, it wasn't bad per se, but it was certainly very tense and tiring. Tsukiumi had been forcing him to train non-stop ever since that day when Shirou told them what was really going on in the city, and needless to say he was starting to feel the strain. And it wasn't any better when Merem finally got back to them that morning and told them what the Church had decided: they had four days. Four days until the Church laid siege to MBI. Matsu assured them that she would be ready in time, and it was good to know that the Sekirei were going to be in any more danger than they already were, but the prospect was still a bit harrowing.

As such he felt a little bit of relief when Nero called a gathering of sorts to unveil something she had been working on for a while, if only to have a little respite. Most of the resident of the inn found themselves in the backyard, standing near what appeared to be a free standing, red velvet curtain. Homura had no idea where it came from, be he had a feeling that he didn't what to know. He imagined that Miya might have a comment or too about clutering up her backyard, bbut she wasn't there at the moment on account of this being the day she vists her husband's shrine. In any case, while they wait for whatever they would be seeing, Homura decided that it would be a good idea to ask his Ashikabi for general information on those Ancestor vampires in case he needed it.

He quickly started to regret that decision.

"Ok, let's go through this one more time…" Homura said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Number 27?"

"Sapient padlock trapped in a maze." Shriou replied simply.

"Number 24?"

"Currently a weaponized stomach being used by the head of the Burial Agency."

"Number 11?"

"Actually dead, but petulantly refusing to acknowledge it."

"Number 7?"

"Sentient forest." He gave a small smirk. "That thing hates me."

"Number 5?"

"Alien life form from Mercury."

"Wait, I thought all vampires were from the moon."

"Indirectly, yes."

"Then how in the hell is a an alien from Mercury-"

"Look, I don't fucking know." Shirou interrupted, tossing up his hands as he did so. "The Church just points me at things and I set them on fire. The extent of my Crypto-zoological knowledge is limited to how easily I can make them combust. "

Homura looked at him flatly. "…what about things you can't light on fire?"

"No such thing."

Homura rolled his eyes and sighed. "The more I learn about this world the more I hate everything in it." The man said with exasperation.

"Careful now, you're starting to sound like me when I was a teenager." Shirou remarked. "In any case, you won't have to worry about any of that. Blackmore… well, I suppose he's about as 'normal' as you can get for one of the 27, but to be honest a lot about his abilities are unknown. We know that he likes to keep a lot of familiars and minions, but personal power wise he's a mystery. No one has ever seen him fight, and all who have opposed him in combat have… vanished. With no trace of damage left behind."

The fire Sekirei was silent for several long moments before he said "And that's what you and Nero are going to be fighting in four days?"

"Yep!" Shirou said with a grin. "It's going to be awesome!"

Homura's eyebrow twitched as his Ashikabi expressed his delight at fighting such a monster, but it was more out of habit than anything else. Ever since the sewage plant, Homura had been feeling… less protective of Shirou. Before he would have been horrified at the thought of his Ashikabi throwing himself into danger like that, but after what he saw…

He shook his head to get rid of the image that had popped into his head. No, fighting monsters was what Shirou was born to do, was what he had to do. It was an ironic reversal on the old Nietzsche quote, but Homura was worried what would happen if Shirou ever stopped fighting monsters. Regardless though, Homura still wasn't convinced that he would be useless in such a fight if it came down to it. Whatever the case, his life was still bound to the other man's, and he intended to see those that had messed with the Sekirei pay for their crimes.

As if reading his mind, Shirou said "By the way, how is your training going? Feeling up to fighting the forces of darkness?"

"If I manage to get the soreness out of my muscles." Homura said as he rolled his shoulders "I suppose I should have suspected that Miya would be a strict trainer. I've thought about asking her to ease up, but then Tsukimui would never let me hear the end of it."

A small chuckle escaped Shirou's lips. "Regardless, it's good that you're taking this seriously."

"After that last fight, how could I not?" Homura paused for a moment before his expression turned grim. "Then again, I don't think I'm the one that's taking it the hardest."

Shirou caught on to what he meant, and he cast a glance at Musubi. The woman was currently talking to Rin, and it wasn't hard to see the change the woman had gone through. She wasn't depressed or sulking anymore, but her bubbly personality had been replaced with something more intense. Her expression was neutral but her eyes had an unhealthy shine to them. Shirou grimaced at this. "I'm honestly not sure what to do about that. Far be it from me to tell anyone that they shouldn't fight with fury, but I doubt that woman knows how to properly channel her anger. It's liable to get her killed more than anything else."

Homura internally questioned what Shirou thought was 'properly channeled fury', but he instead said "I suppose this means that the whole inn is going to be mobilized for this, huh?"

"…For the most part." Shirou said with some hesitation. "I'm still not quite sure where Sakura stands. At the very least my sister is in no way going to be involved with this. That's probably a safe bet for Uzume and Chiho too." Shirou paused and shook his head. "Of course, that hopefully means we'll be able to pry my wife away from the women when the time comes."

Homura snorted at this remembering when the blonde woman first met the now healed girl…

The weary pair of Ashikabi and Sekirei made their way back to the inn from the shed, no doubt wanting nothing more than to rest after the day of ordeals they had just went through. However, there was one more obstacle they had to overcome, and it came in the form of a certain former Emperor. "Everyone, I have returned from my latest conquest in the fields of consumerism." A voice called out from the hallway, and footsteps quickly made their way to where everyone else was. "You may begin to appreciate my-" Nero cut herself off as she came into view, her arms laden with shopping bags. The woman paused as she looked at Chiho and Uzume.

The room was silent for a moment, and Chiho felt the need to respond. "Ah… hello. I'm Chiho, please take care of me." She said politely with a bow. She then looked at the other woman shyly. "A-ano, and who might you be?"

Nero didn't respond to this, and instead her eyes widened and the bags in her arms dropped to the floor as she looked at Chiho. Homura wasn't sure what to make of this reaction, but it seemed that Shirou did as a look of worry crossed his face. "No, Nero, don't you-"

That was as far as he got, as a moment later Nero leaped forward, and with a sound of wordless glee she wrapped her arms around Chiho in a hug. The poor girl gave a squeak of surprise and embarrassment as she suddenly found herself being handled like a giant teddy bear. "Shirou!" Nero said as she turned both herself and the girl in her arms towards her husband. "We're keeping her!"

"Damn it Nero, no!" Shirou yelled in exasperation. "How many time have I told you that you can't abduct moe girls you met just because you want one?!"

"But she's so moe!" The woman responded, as if that was somehow a valid argument. "If we don't then someone else will snatch her up instead!"

"Yeah, well, you're a little late, because Uzume already did." Shirou said flatly. "She's Uzume's Ashikabi."

Rather than being dissuaded, this only caused Nero to perk up even more. "That's even better! That means if we get Chiho, Uzume will be ours too!"

It was at this point that Chiho actually decided to object to the nonsense that was occurring. "No!" The girl exclaimed, surprising everyone present. Nero was surprised enough that Chiho managed to wriggle her way out of the woman's grasp, and the girl promptly moved to latch possessively on to Uzume. "U-Uzume's mine! No stealing!"

The room was silent as everyone was caught off guard by this outburst. Eventually Shirou looked at Uzume. "So… should I take this to mean that my overly elaborate plan to add you to my harem is all for not?"

Even with her current exhaustion, Uzume managed to let out a tired laugh as she wrapped her arms around her Ashikabi in kind. "Sorry to say, but it looks like it bro. If it comes down between you and Chiho I'm afraid she'd got a little something you don't."

"Curses. Foiled by my only weakness: breasts." Shirou said with mock severity as he clenched a fist in front of him. He then stood up straighter and spoke with all the fake gravitas he could muster. "Very well. Let it never be said that I am ungracious in defeat. Chiho Hidaka!" He said, causing Chiho to jump at little at being addressed so forcefully. "You have achieved a great victory this day, securing the heart of one such as Uzume from me. Many have fallen prey to my charms, but I was no match for your skill. So, remember this day well Chiho! For this is the day you have defeated Shirou, King of the Har- Ow! Ow! Stop it stop it stop kicking me in the shins!"

Shirou had broken from his speech because Rin had started kicking him in the shins.

"…I'm still surprised that Uzume still had enough in her to help Nero finish whatever it was she's showing us." Homura remarked.

"Well, Nero had almost completed it anyway. She just needed a few finishing touches. Though she also needed my sister's Sekirei's help for reason's I've yet to determine, but-"

"Onii-chan!" The two men turned to see said sister emerging from the inn and heading towards them, the little plant Sekirei in tow holding a potted plant in her hands.

The two men nodded at each other to put talk of the secret world on hold for the moment before turning back towards the approaching pair. "Hello, my imotou." Shirou said. "You know, considering we live in the same house we haven't been running into each other much."

Yukari gave a small huff at this, and as she got close she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, you keep secreting away to Matsu's room or going out to do 'church things'. This wouldn't be a problem if you let me join you like I asked."

"It's… work related stuff. You wouldn't like it." Shirou said dismissively before turning a critical eye on his sister. "Besides which, you have also been spending a lot of time out and about yourself. Were you perhaps trying to participate in a certain morally dubious battle royal?" He asked with a frown.

Yukari flinched a little at this and looked off to the side. "I-I wasn't gonna hurt anyone… that didn't deserve it." She said in a small voice before she turned back to him. "There are a lot of bad Ashikabi out there who don't treat their Sekirei right! Someone has to set things right in the name of justice!"

Shirou looked at her blankly for a moment before he let out a sigh and moved closer to her. "That very well intentioned of you, but you're barely out of high school and your Sekirei hasn't even hit puberty yet. There are a lot of dangerous people in this city and I don't want you getting hurt." He reached out and gripped her shoulders. "Don't worry, it will all work itself out soon, I promise."

Yukari blushed a little at the contact, but before she could say anything Kuu-chan decided that they weren't paying enough attention to her. "Look Onii-chan!" She said, raising the flowerpot up towards Shirou. "Look how big it's gotten! You got me the best soil ever!" Indeed, the pot contained an exceptionally large orchid, with petals a brilliant array of oranges and reds that mirrored a sunset. Shirou gave the small girl a smile and tussled her hair affectionately.

Homura arched an eyebrow at this interaction, remembering how the girl was scared of the deacon's appearance when they first met. It looked like some time to get to know him (and probably the help of both his wife and his sister doting on the little blonde constantly) had softened Kuu-chan's disposition enough that she started to view him as her older brother. Though the apparent gift may have also had something to do with it. Curiosity got the better of him and Homura reached out and ran his finger through the soil of the pot to see for himself, and he was surprised by what he found. "Ash?"

Shirou just gave a knowing smile before he turned back to his sister. "Well, we have a moment now. Why don't we catch up a little?"

The two began to talk about the various little things they had been up too, aside from all of the secret war between non-human things. After a few moments Homura started to feel like a third wheel and moved off, though he still cast a curious glance at the pot of ash in Kusuno's hands.

"Not what you would expect, is it?" A voice suddenly said next to him, causing the man to jump a little. He turned to find Matsu standing there, a knowing smirk on her face. "It seems there's even more to our Ashikabi's 'abilities' then we thought."

"What?" Homura said in confusion.

"What would you expect a battlefield to be like after Shirou was done with it?" The woman asked cryptically.

Homura shrugged. "I don't know, a desolate wasteland scorched of life?"

Matsu didn't reply, instead bringing her tablet out from behind her back and tapping a few things before handing it to Homura. Still a little confused the man found that he had been given an article on the destruction of the sewage plant. It seemed that the city wasn't sure was caused it in the first place, but they were more surprised by what was found in the rubble. "It's… becoming overgrown?" The man said incredulously, looking at pictures of grass and weeds springing forth from between concrete rocks.

"Shirou's powers have a rather interesting side effect." Matsu explained. "Any ash he creates is extremely fertile. The sewers have been having problems with overgrown fungus of late as well. I also suspect that he may have hand in the creation of the Fukuyi City Gardens. After all, the land was mostly filled with dead trees before a sudden fire cleared the area out."

Homura as looked at the pictures of plant life on the tablet, he felt something odd. He was reminded of the conversation he had with Shirou about how he sometimes regretted his powers and their destructive nature, whereas Shirou was much more at ease with it. Was this why? What if… what if there could be more to fire than just destruction? What if it could be used to make something new?

For whatever reason, the fire Sekirei felt a bit more at ease with himself.

He didn't have time to comment on it though, as at that moment heard a voice call out "Attention, everyone!" The gathered people turned to find Uzume standing next to the curtain, still a little tired looking but a smile on her face. "May I present to you the fruits of many nights' labor! A piece of beauty, art and a statement of such… uh, of such… ah crap. Sorry Nero, I can't remember the rest of what you said. Anyway, check this out!" The woman said as she pulled on the rope next to her.

The curtain lifted to reveal Nero wearing what Homura could only guess was what she had been working on for the past week or two. It was a tight fitting dress with a V neckline so steep that it actually plunged all the way to her waist, showing both her stomach and a generous amount of her breasts. It covered the outside of her shoulders and all the way down her arms, and the skirt portion was made out of several irregular overlapping pieces, looking nothing so much like petals of a flower.

Which was quite apropos because the dress was made entirely out of roses.

Homura's eyes widened at the sight of the thing, truly having been taken off guard by the sight of it. Its color of course was mostly the brilliant crimson that only roses can give, but he could also see a few white roses in choice places to add embellishment where needed. The torso and skirt were lined with full rose heads, whereas the sleeves simple were lined with the petals to keep it thin and easy to move. As the woman strut forward, rose petals fell off of the dress and made a thin trail behind her. Well, I can guess why she wanted Kuu-chan's help now, Homura thought to himself.

"Behold the fruits of my labors!" Nero said as she swept her arms out (causing more petals to fly out from her). "Is it not a glorious work of art?"

"It is… interesting." Tsukiumi said after a pause, her expression clear that she wasn't quite sure what to think of it. "Still, it is rather impractical. Those flowers will die off in a matter of days."

Nero was not discouraged by this fact however. "That is true, but not all art is meant to be permanent. Like the flower this dress represents, the beauty of this dress is only meant to be experienced for a short time." She paused for a moment. "Just a well, the photographic technology of today is such that this moment can be recorded with excellent clarity!" She then pointed at Matsu, who was already recording a video of the blonde with her tablet.

"Oh, wait right there! I have a better camera in my room!" The Sekirei said before she scurried off.

Nero simply made a pleased nose from her throat before she turned towards Shirou. "Well my husband? What do you have to say about my beautiful work?"

Shirou didn't say anything as he was still too busy openly gapping at Nero to answer. Though it became clear that the man wasn't going to stop ogling her to bother responding, Nero just gave a pleased smile to herself and sashayed over to him. When she reached him, she reached up and closed his mouth for him with audible click. "Sometimes silence is the best applause of all." She said softly.

Sakura shifted a little at this, and her mouth twisted a little as she looked off to the side. "You look… good, I supposed." The woman said, though she wasn't very enthused about it.

Rin noticed her sister's discomfort and said "Well sure, because that is a fantastic dress, if a little risqué. I'm sure that anyone wearing something like that would be a draw the attention of a room." She gave a huff and gestured. "Why, just think how I might look in such a thing."

Nero's head snapped over to look at Rin, and her face split in an excited open mouth smile. Rin looked at her in confusion for a moment before she realized why and a look of distress crossed her face. "Wait, no, no that's not what I-"

Her protests were for not as Nero quickly grabbed the woman's arm and started dragging her back to the curtain. "I can have this off and fitted to your size in no time at all! All it will take is a few minor adjustments to alter the style to match your pallet and frame and it will look gorgeous!"

Rin continued to protest, but it was to no avail as Nero dragged her back behind the curtain. Uzume had the presence of mind to drop the curtain back down before the blonde started to unceremoniously strip the raven haired woman, though Rin's squawks of protest could still be heard. Homura blinked, not really sure how to respond to this. Eventually he said "Are… we really just going to let Nero force Rin into a risqué outfit?"

"So it would seem…" Shirou said slowly, not taking his eyes off the curtain.

"This seems kind of unethical." Homura said with a frown. "I think we should-"

"If what you're about to say remotely involves stopping this, I will set you one fire." Shirou said intensely, without even turning to look.

"…never mind."


Rin stood awkwardly behind the curtain, her hands cupping her chest because she had nothing else covering them at the moment. She had tried to put up a fight when Nero had all but stripped her, but she was quickly remembering how impossible it was to change the woman's mind when she was focused on something. And so, the magus decided to suffer through this until it was over. Even if the blonde woman as getting a little more handsy then she should have while taken her measurements.

"Hmm," Nero hummed as she measured Rin's shoulders with a tape measure from behind. "You've gotten bigger." She said with a hint of approval.

Rin looked at the woman indignantly. "W-what?! No I haven't! I'll have you know that I take great pains to stay in shape!"

"And it certainly shows." Nero replied. "But you misunderstand what I meant. I was saying that you got… bigger." To emphasis her point, Nero reached around and put her hand on the back of Rin's, pressing them against her assets.

Rin let out a squeak as she shed away from the other woman. "J-just get this over with already!"

Nero let out a theatrical sigh and she got back to work, starting to affix the lower part of the outfit. "The people of this nation are so timid when it comes to the body. I insist that your nation is woefully repressed, but Shirou says that it is a 'cultural difference'. I still have to wonder if things would be easier if she-" Nero paused for a moment before she changed the subject. "So, you seem to be getting along better with your sister as of late."

Rin gave the other woman an odd look at the change in subject, but she said "I suppose so, but I hesitate to call the relationship friendly. She… has issues." Rin settled on. "My helping her with magic and looking into Akitsu's condition is helping, but to her the War is still fairly fresh in her mind. It's going to take time before…" she trailed off.

Nero let out an annoyed hum, and though Rin couldn't see her face at the moment, she could imagine the woman puffing out her cheeks. "That is true, I guess. Still, I would prefer that things were better now, if for no other reason for her to become more comfortable and accept her current position in Shirou's life."

She could have meant a number of things by that sentence, but Rin had a suspicion that Nero was referring to some specific. "Nero, are you taking about Sakura becoming part of a harem?" She asked flatly.

"…What else would I be taking about?"

Rin let out a groan and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't even know where to start with that. Ignoring most of the common sense reason why that's a stupid idea," Mostly because Nero was impervious to such things, "I don't really think Sakura is a harem kind of woman."

"As she had made clear." Nero remarked as she started closing the torso up along the back. "Perhaps you could have better luck changing her mind. After all, you are more open to the current situation."

Rin blinked in confusion at this statement for a moment until the other woman's meaning became clear, at which point her head snapped around and she started to sputter "W-wait just a minute! I'm not- we're- that's not what's happening!"

Nero arched an eyebrow at this and a bemused smirk crossed her face. "Oh really?"

"Don't you take that tone of voice!" Rin snapped before she took a few breaths. "Look… Shirou and I are… complicated. Just because he implied that he feels… certain thing about me doesn't mean it's like that. That could just be Shirou being Shirou."

Nero looked surprised at this statement and was silent for a long moment. Eventually she said. "Do you remember back when Matsu first asked to be winged by Shirou, how we spoke off to the side for a moment?"

Rin didn't know where she was going with this, but she replied. "Yes, what of it?"

"I conversed with my husband about his growing harem, though he was also reluctant about it at first. I suggested the idea if he did partake of such an arrangement, it was only natural that you would become his mistress."

Rin blushed a little at this, though she could hardly say she was surprised. "Just like you to assume that I would be consenting to such a sordid thing."

"Point of fact, he objected to this as well."

"What?!" Rin said indignantly. "Why?! Am I not good enough or something?!"

Nero smirked and leaned in close and whispered into Rin's ear. "He said that you mean so much to him that he would never be able to think of you as 'just' a mistress."

Rin's face turned beet red at this and she started to sputter. "That- he-!" She said before she took some deep breaths to calm down. After a few moments she said quietly "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"We all are. It's known as life, my dear." Nero said pleasantly before she walked off to the side. "The only course of action is put on the most brilliant performance possible. Starting now!" The blonde then reached through the curtain and pulled on the rope, causing the red fabric to rise quickly.

Distracted as she was by her own inner thoughts, Rin was caught completely off guard by this. "Eh?" She said in surprise as she found herself staring out at the various inn residents whose attention was now focused on her. She then looked down at herself to actually see what Nero had done to her and found that yes, she was now dressed more or less that same as Nero had been a moment ago, and that her neck line really did go down that far. She looked back up to see that Shriou was looking at he so intensely there was a not unreasonable chance that she would literally catch on fire. Normally Rin would start blushing profusely at her current situation, but as she had been doing so for the past several minutes already, there really wasn't much else to do. At least it can't get any worse, she thought to herself.

Click. A flash of light filled Rin's vision, hand her head snapped towards Matsu, who now had a very high end camera pointed in her direction. "Fufufufu!" The bespectacled woman chuckled perversely.

"…Just kill me now." Rin said in defeat.


Homura sighed and listened to the music playing throughout the bar, sipping on his drink and consumed in his own thoughts. It was only two days before the assault now, and the tension in the inn combined with his own training had caused the man to decide that he needed some time away from everything. He had spent so long wrapped up in the world of monsters and Sekirei that Homura had actually been neglecting his mundane job. He was sensibly taking time off from being a host until everything in the city had been settled, but he was now finding that he was actually missing it a bit. A little strange considering he only got the job in the first place to increase his chances with meeting his Ashikabi, but now he found that he missed the normalcy, and interacting with people who weren't just shy of crazy.

So, he took the night off to head to a bar for some time to himself. The bar was more upscale than most, so there were less people and the music was quieter than most bars these days. It was the perfect sort of place for the man to just sit and think about the state of things and how he got there. It had started with him trying to protect the unwinged from being abused by humans and other Sekirei, and now he was trying to protect all the Sekirei and possibly the human race from the undead and vampires. He knew he probably didn't have the right to complain as he was alien, but he still felt like he deserved a bit of normalcy.

He shifted in his seat and looked up at the ceiling, feeling the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. Homura knew that if he really wanted too he could just walk away. Shirou wasn't the type of man to think someone a coward because they didn't want to fight. However, Homura knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he wasn't a part of this. He had declared himself the "Protector of the Sekirei". He couldn't run away just because the monsters were greater than he imagined. The Sekirei deserved to live, deserved their chance at happiness, and by God he was going to give them that chance even if he had to burn everything in his way to ash.

Homura blinked as he had that thought before he grumbled and downed the rest of his drink. That was a very Shriou thought to have, his own thoughts remarked dryly. He briefly wondered if he should ponder about that as well, but he shook his head. Analyzing his own possible mental restructuring was not something he cared to do just yet. Of course, if he was going to stop being introspective for a moment, he supposed that he could see about that… other reason he had wanted some time to himself. The idea still felt strange for him as Sekirei, but it couldn't hurt to at least try-

"Must you go back to brooding as soon as you slink away, Homura?" The man jumped at the voice and spun in his seat to find none other than Tsukiumi standing behind him, her arms folded under her chest and giving him a critical look.

"Tsukiumi! What- what are you doing here?" Homura said.

The woman let out a huff. "When I asked that deacon of yours where you went, he told me that you wanted some time to yourself to relax. I wished to see why my rival feels he needs some time to relax to being with."

Homura looked at her flatly. "Maybe it's because I've been training nonstop for several days and I needed a break?"

The woman was unconvinced and waved her hand dismissively. "Anyone I would choose to call a rival would hardly be worn down by that."

Homura was about to reply with a few choice remarks before he paused and noticed something. "Tsukiumi…" He said slowly. "What are you wearing?"

The woman was wearing a formfitting sleeveless blouse along with a pair of dark slacks, and she wore heels on her feet. The outfit itself wasn't particularly extraordinary. Hell, it was even more conservative than her usual attire of tunic and longcoat (though the blouse did nothing to hid the curve of her chest). It was just that Homura had suddenly realized that this was the first time he had even seen Tsukiumi wear something remotely casual before. His question caught her off guard and she looked down at herself, and as he looked back up she became self-conscious. "W-well, I decided that while I was here I would see what it is you do to relax. At which point Nero informed me that I would need to dress correctly if I was to partake of such things."

Homura blinked. "And that's what she suggested for you?"

"Of course not!" Tsukiumi snapped. "This was the only remotely respectable thing she had that I could wear! Everything thing else was completely shameful and indecent!"

Homura looked at her for a few moments before he let out a chuckle. He then pushed out the seat next to him in invitation, figuring that it'd be rude to ask her to leave. Tsukiumi accepted and sat down next to him, and Homura went ahead and ordered her a screwdriver. She frowned at this but said nothing. A minute of silence passed between them before Homura realized that Tsukiumi was not exactly relaxing. She sat up straight and fidgeted in her seat, unsure of what to do with herself. This is probably the first time she's ever been to a bar, the thought popped into Homura's head. Has she even ever had alcohol before? He got his answer when she got her drink and her mouth twisted into a grimace on her first sip. "It's an acquired taste." He said.

"This is how you relax?" Tsukiumi asked, eyeing the drink suspiciously. "This hardly seems like a worthwhile activity."

"Well, some people enjoy a quiet moment or two rather than constantly fighting or training to fight." The man replied, mildly annoyed that he had to explain this. "Honestly, what exactly are you planning to do when all this is over and there's no one left to fight?"

The question caught her off guard, and Tsukiumi floundered for a moment. "I, well… then I'll find something else to test my strength against!" She declared. "If nothing else we've learned in the past few days that this world has much to offer in the way of powerful creatures. I shall have no trouble finding a new opponent!"

Homura grimaced as he swirled his glass. "That… sounds completely unappealing. And exhausting." He paused for a moment. "And lonely."

The woman frowned at this. "It won't be. You will be there too, of course."

"Wait, what? Why? I just said that sounds like a terrible thing to do. Why would I want to do that?"

Tsukiumi blinked at this. "Because you are my rival. Of course will we be traveling together." She paused for a moment as an idea came to her. "Our rivalry still must be settled someday, and since you are averse to finishing it directly, we will settle it by proxy. The one with the largest number of victories shall be the winner." She said with a nod.

Homura looked at her in amazement at this leap in logic before he said "That's… a nice alternative, but to be honest after everything is settled here, I doubt I'll be fighting again."

"What?" Tsukiumi said incredulously. "What else would you possibly be doing?"

"I don't know, not getting myself killed?" Homura said, his annoyance coming back. "Watch some TV, read some book, Do what I'm doing right now."

Tsukimui grumbled. "And just what is it that you are doing right now other than lazing around and drinking foul tasting beverages?!"

Homura snapped back "Looking for a woman to settle down with!"

This struck Tsukiumi completely silent, and her mouth fell open in surprise. "W-what?! Why?! You've already bound yourself to one human, why would you want the indignity of a second one?!"

The man's tone became sharp. "I know this might be a foreign concept to you seeing as how you want nothing to do with them, but healthy human relationships are based on mutual attraction, trust, and respect. Just because you can't think of anyone that fits that criteria doesn't mean that they don't exist."

"What?! How dare you- but you- but I'm-!" The woman gibbered in response, for some reason having been rendered incomprehensible but this statement. Eventually she managed to get herself under control and turned away from him in a huff. "Fine! If you want some human hussy then go get one! What do I care what you do?"

Homura looked at her bewildered for several long moments before he let out a groan and rubbed his eyes. I really don't understand this woman sometimes, he thought to himself. Regardless, he glanced around sheepishly to see if there were any women around that he might be interested in. He managed to spot one at the other end of the bar sipping on her drink alone, a statuesque woman with a sharp face, glasses, and dark hair done up in a bun. Definitely a working woman, probably a high power job with a lot of stress. Likes the finer things, typically in control of herself and knows what she wants, Homura thought, his instincts as a host analyzing what the best approach would be before he even realized it. Ah, what the hell, seems like a nice place to start.

He ordered a drink for her and waited, and when she got it and looked in his direction, Homura gave her his best smile, confidant but not overbearing. The woman raised an eyebrow in response, and her lips quirked into something of a smile. She wasn't entirely flattered by the gesture, but she did seem curious enough in Homura that she wasn't outright rejecting it. The man stood and made his way over to her, mentally going over how to play this. This was clearly going to take some skill on his part, but he had charmed women like this in the past. It had been a while, but he remembered those ones fondly as they had been some of the best human interaction he had before Shirou entered his life.

As he slid up next to her he looked her in the eyes, his smile still on his face. "Hello-"

"No, no, completely unacceptable!"

Homura nearly had a heart attack and spun, finding Tsukiumi standing right behind. "W-what?! What the hell are you talking about?!" The man said, his cool completely ruined. And how the hell does she keep sneaking up on me? He thought.

"Any potential mate you choose must be of the highest quality!" The woman declared imperiously. "I will not accept anything less!"

There… there were just no words for this. Homura just held his arms out in front of him, his expression one a man adorns when confronted with absurdity. Eventually, the woman he had been planning on speaking decided to fill the silence. "Your girlfriend has high standards, doesn't she?" He looked back at her to find the woman looking at the scene before her with an odd sort of amusement rather than being offended.

Regardless, Homura felt the need to apologize. "I'm sorry about this, I just wanted to speak with you and-" He then realized what she said. "Wait, girlfriend?"

The woman shrugged. "Girlfriend, lover, whatever complicated thing you two are. Though I have to say, I think Miss Tall and Imperious there is a little too wound up for her own good. Not to mention that she's selling me short by a not inconsiderable margin."

As it was becoming a reoccurring theme for that night, Tsukiumi found herself off balance by this comment. "Y-you have no idea what you're taking about!" The woman stuttered out. "And I am not too wound up!"

Homura knew better than to remark on that and let out a sigh. He didn't feel like correcting the glasses wearing woman would make the situation any better, so he decided that he should just cut his losses here. "So… I probably should just go now…" he started.

However, the woman said "Now, hold on a second," as she leaned back in her chair and she eyed Homura up and down with a sultry look. "I didn't say no…" she said slowly, before her eyes drifted over to Tsukiumi and gave her an equally smoky look. "…and I can definitely work with this."

I took a few seconds for Homura to understand what the woman was hinting at. And then his jaw promptly hit the floor.

Tsukiumi however was still confused. "What do you mean 'work with this'? Are you implying that you think you can handle me?" Tsukiumi gave a huff. "Please, I am the strongest in this city. That idea that someone like you could best me is laughable. You are of course welcome to try, but I promise that I will finish you off in a matter of heart beats."

"Oh my…" The other woman said slowly, a foxlike grin on her face. "I think I might just hold you to that promise." She said with a motion of her eyebrows.

Homura didn't know whether to find Tsukiumi's misunderstanding of the situation to be hilarious or terrifying. Probably terrifying because he knew how the water Sekirei would react if things got too far, and that would involve property damage. Still, getting propositioned for a threeway on my very first try is an encouraging start. Even if I can't actually do it, he thought to himself with a sigh. Regardless, got out of his chair and stepped next to Tsukiumi, and proceeded to whisper in her ear.

A moment later the woman let out a shriek. "Th-that's what you were talking about!?" She yelled as she pointed at the other woman. "What is wrong with people in this city?! I want no part of this perversion!" And with that she stormed out of the bar.

Homura groaned, and spared a glance back at the bespectacled woman. "I'm sorry, but I have to go handle this."

The woman let out a sigh of disappointment, but said "I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus. I didn't think she was that uptight." She turned back to her drink. "Very well, go attend to your lover."

"She's not my lover." Homura said as he started to walk out.

The man heard a sarcastic voice behind him. "Yeah, sure she's not."

Homura stepped out the door into the night, and he didn't have to go far to find Tsukiumi pacing back and forth on the sidewalk, muttering angrily to herself. He was a little surprised that she was still here and had not taken to the roofs already, but he said "Tsukiumi, are you alright?"

She whirled on him and said "Of course not! I should not have to stand for lewd propositions, especially from a woman! It doesn't matter that she's beu-" The woman suddenly cut herself off and he face turned a shade redder (which was impressive, considering how red it already was) before she looked away.

Homura frowned at this. "Alright, I get that it's not your thing, but you didn't have to storm out like that. You could have just said no. Why are you getting so worked up about it?"

"I- it's just-!" The woman struggled for a few moments, and Homura prepared himself for her to get too frustrated to answer and storm off like usual. However, this time her shoulders slumped, and she looked down at the ground. After a moment, she said softly. "I've been having… thoughts."

"Thoughts?" The man asked in confusion?

"Thoughts!" She said with an angry gesture. "You know… like when I was reacting! Thoughts about…"

A flash of understand came to Homura "About women?"

"…Yes." She said, and a hint of shame crossed her face. "I don't want them! They just happen and I hate it!"

Homura was silent for a long moment, processing this information and realizing that Tsukiumi's... intense reaction to what just happened made more sense. A thought then occurred to him. "Tsukiumi… have you ever asked Rin… well, have you asked her if she's bi?"

"What?" The woman replied, taken off guard by the question. "Why would I- how is that relevant?"

"Because Shirou is and- no we're not like that." He quickly said, heading off the question before it could start. "And, to be honest, I've had a few thoughts about men in the same way. I think that our bond to our Ashikabi is imprinting their preferences on us."

Tsukiumi looked like she wanted to argue that, but instead she gave it a moment's thought. An angry look crossed her face and she started to worry her thumb. "I suppose that makes sense… After all, we were supposed to be breeding stock." She said slowly, bitterness clear in her voice. She let out a sigh and her tone became flat. "It's no use, isn't it? We were molded into this, first by our own kind, then by humans, then by monsters. Everything we've done, everything we are is engineered. What use is my strength if I can't even control my own body's urges? What can I do?"

She sounded so… defeated. And it sounded so wrong to Homura. This was not the Tsukiumi he knew. This was not the woman who would challenge the world expecting to win. And so, he couldn't let this stand. He reached out and took her hands in his own. "You can choose."

The woman jumped a little at the contact and she looked up and him in surprise, but she didn't pull away, so he continued. "We can't get around that we're under a number of influences, but we still have our free will. So what if our psychic bond or the runes on our bones try to exert control? If you're not comfortable with having sex with women, then damn your 'instincts' and don't do it." He paused and added. "Not that there would be anything wrong with it if you did."

Tsukiumi frowned a little at that last part, but she said "That's it? Just be strong any everything will be fine?"

"More like, don't worry about it. It's not as big of a deal as you might think." Homura said before drawing himself up straight. "Why, I haven't worried about it much at all, and my rear has remained chaste."

Tsukiumi looked at him incredulously for a moment before she did something Homura had never seen her do before: she laughed. Not one of her haughty, superior laughs, but one filled with honest amusement. It was a pleasant sound, Houmua thought. After a few moments the tension bled out of Tsukiumi's body, and she wrapped her own fingers around Homura's. "Thank you… I think I needed that." She said softly before she drew herself back up. "Now, I believe that I've intruded on your evening long enough. I can see my way back to the inn on my own."

"No." Homura said before she could leave and she looked at him in confusion. A smirk crossed his face and he said "If I let you go back on your own, you'll no doubt become morose again. I shall remain with you to ensure that doesn't happen."

"But, but what about the very willing woman back in the bar?" Tsukiumi replied.

Homura shrugged. "I can do that later. You're here now."

Tsukiumi was surprised, but a smile crossed he face. The two the wordlessly started to make their way back to the inn. Tsukiumi would reflect later on how she had felt better during that walk home as well.


I watched the sun slowly start to set behind the building in the distance, mulling over the details of the assault to myself. It was happening tomorrow, right after dawn. Normally the Church would have preferred to do such an operation under the cover of night, but it was ill advised to take on what was potentially one of the most dangerous Dead Apostle Ancestors when he was at the height of his power. Besides which, the city had already become somewhat used to extraordinary this such as super human beings fighting and the deployment of paramilitary personnel, so any questions that might be raised after the fact could probably be rolled into the other cover up story the Church planned for the Sekirei plan.

Which wasn't to say that we weren't taking any precautions involving the civilian populous. Matsu had already given us some convenient back doors into the local infrastructure to things like traffic and power grids. They would be noticed and fixed fairly quickly, but it would both give the Church an opening advantage as well as making it easy to usurer civilians out of dangerous areas. On a more personal note, I contacted my mother and told her that I wanted to meet her early next morning so we could talk. For whatever reason Takami agreed readily, so I got the impression that there was something she actually wanted to talk to me about. Unfortunately for her, that would have to wait; In reality when she arrived at our usual meet up place for brunch, she would find several Executors waiting to stand guard over her and protect her until I had finished my job.

I frowned and got to my feet, walking back into the inn. I had been meaning to tell Yukari about his 'meeting' with our mother as well, mostly so I could secure the both of them and keep them safe at the same time. However, I hadn't seen my sister all day and I was starting to get mildly worried. It wasn't the first time she had stayed out late, but it was a rather inopportune time for the girl to be so independent, especially since she wasn't answering her phone.

As I was reassuring myself that Yukari would probably show up for dinner, a scent suddenly appeared to my magical sense. It was a familiar scent of freshly dug up earth, and it was getting closer. Nonplussed, I walked over to the kitchen where Miya was preparing dinner. "Miya, it looks like Mustu is going to pay us a visit."

The purple haired woman turned from the stove and looked at me in surprise. "Really, how do you-" She was cut off by a trio of heavy knocks on the front door. I tapped my nose meaningfully and Miya let out a small huff. "I keep forgetting you can do that." Her expression became a small smile before she turned back to her work. "Regardless, it will be nice to see a friendly face before all of the unpleasantness start. Be a dear and get the door will you?"

I turned and walked away, making my way to the front door and opening it. "So, couldn't stay aw-" I stopped.

On the front step stood Mutsu, covered in blood and injuries. His outfit was torn everywhere, and his body shook from the strain of merely stating up. However, that's not what drew my attention. In Mustu's arms was an unconscious, brown haired boy, equally covered in wounds and blood. He was pale from blood loss, and his breathing was extremely shallow. The boy was also undoubtedly Hayato Mikogami, Great Ashikabi of the South and Mutsu's bonded one.

"Please…" Mutsu breathed out, his voice weak and pleading. "Help me."


A/N: You have no idea how long I've been waiting to get this part in the story. I honestly thought I'd get here sooner, but as it turned out there was a lot of set up and characterization to go through first, plus a fight scene or two to break things up. Regardless, I am putting my habit of bouncing between my various fics on hold. I don't know if I am going to plow all the way to the end of A Soul of Fire from this point, but I will say that we are now much closer to the end of this than not, and that the next part does deserve to come out relatively quickly. As such I will be doing the 3 or 4 chapters of this in a row.

Also, I have noticed that some of you at various points have expressed concern over how potentially dark a turn this story could take. I don't what could ever give you that impression. Now on a completely unrelated note, I need to go let in my pet Cerberus.

Till next time.