"Y-Yeah, I guess it did." Said Uzume as she was still a bit taken aback by Chiho's sudden boldness to deliver a good morning kiss to her beloved but wasn't too surprised to notice how much of a different woman Chiho was becoming.
"Hmph!" Kuu exclaimed with her folded arms as she pouted, catching the attention of Chiho, Uzume and Antonio before the young Sekirei hopped off the couch and grabbed Antonio by the hand. "No fair, I want a goodmorning kiss too!" Said Kuu, not wanting to be left out as Antonio slowly got off the sofa, alerting the ears of his Sekirei nearby.
"I'm sorry Kuu." Replied Antonio. "I didn't mean to make you feel.."
"Sorry shortstuff." Antonio was cut off when Hikari entered the conversation and took Antonio's hand away from Kuu and grasped it herself. "If any Sekirei is gonna get the first good morning kiss it should be me." Hikari said confidently.
"Why because you're an old lady?" Kuu replies back as sparks of irritation crackled around Hikari as she bent down to be a bit closer to the youngling.
"What was that?! I'll have you know that I am still very much a young, beautiful woman, as you can clearly see." Said Hikari with nothing but confidence in her voice.
"All I see is a few wrinkles starting to take form." Replied Kuu. As Hikari's short fuse was lit, Kuu stuck her tongue at the Older Sekirei before taking off, causing Hikari to have multiple veins appear on the side of her head as electricity crackled off her body.
"What was that shrimp!? Get back here!" Said Hikari as she took off and chased Kuu around the living room area. "When I get my hands on you, you are going to be sorry!" Hikari had then seen Kuu look behind her and stuck out her tongue once more, infuriating her further.
"Oh goodness." Antonio sighed to himself as he slowly sat back down on the couch before noticing that Miya had handed him a tea cup. "Thanks a lot Miya."
"You are quite welcome dear." Replied Miya as she gently bowed to Antonio. As light and hearty laughter erupted, Miya took the chance to examine Kuu, who was dodging Hikari with somewhat ease. The Goddess's eyes had examined Kuu's body and had seen that Kuu's small tama was brimming with such bright and positive energy that it was filling every inch of her body in a green light in which only she could see. As Kuu's face emerged in a smile, Miya's eyes reverted to normal, grinning to herself before returning to the kitchen.
"Ahhh, nothing beats morning tea." Said Antonio in a relaxed tone of voice after sipping his morning Tea but before he could take another sip, one of his Sekirei swiped his cup of tea.
"Thanks for this, I was getting thirsty." Said Karasuba as she calmly took Antonio's cup out of his hands and brought the cup to her lips to take a drink.
"If you were that thirsty, how come you didn't get your own cup." Antonio said Softly as Karasuba slowly ingested the tea from Antonio's cup. As she took the cup away from her lips, everyone in the living room had to squint their eyes as suddenly Karasuba's gray wings of light emerged from her back.
"Hmm? What was that?" Karasuba asked curiously as she smiled at Antonio, which sent a cold chill down his spine as the light from her emerged wings faded.
"N-Nothing." Replied Antonio, causing Karasuba to fix her hair before handing him his own tea cup back.
"That's what I thought." Said Karasuba in her usual tone of voice, causing Antonio's right eye to twitch. As Antonio was getting ready to say something, everyone had seen Musubai dashing into the living room.
"Karasuba!" Said Musubi with her usual burst of energy. "That light, your wings had just emerged but you didn't kiss Antonio."
"There's a logical explanation for this Mu-chan." Replied Karasuba, causing Musubi's head to tilt to the right after a few seconds.
"There is?" Asked Musubi. She had then noticed Karasuba using her right index finger to point to Antonio's teacup. "His teacup?"
"That's right Mu-chan." Replied Karasuba "His Teacup, to be more specifically, where his lips touched the teacup, has his dna left on it. Think of it as what humans call an 'Indirect kiss'." As Karasuba finished speaking, Musubi thought about it before nodding her head.
"I see, I see." Musubi said softly to herself before slowly rubbing her chin but not before she felt Karasuba patting her head.
"Try not to think about it too much Mu-Chan." Said Karasuba. Miya looked on to see the different Sekirei interacting with each other, Hikari still chasing Kuu, Saki appearing out of nowhere as she took position sitting on his shoulders as the other residents filled the living area little by little before giving off a little sigh to herself.
"Ok everyone, let's sit down and have breakfast." Said Miya.
"Oh I'll help Miya." Said Kaho.
"I call dibs on sitting next to Antonio." Said Benitsubasa in a confident tone of voice, causing Haihane to scoff.
"Ppfft. Like anyone cares that you called dibs." Replied Haihane. "If you aren't quick enough, the seat is going to be t.." Before Haihane could finish speaking, she could see Benitsubasa somewhat 'zoom' over to a seat and had patted her hand on an available seat for Antonio to sit in next to her.
*I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE MENTIONED ANIME NOR ITS CHARACTERS*
Speech: "Home is where the heart is."
Thoughts: 'Can I really go through with this?'
Whispering: "I will do anything and everything I can do to help."
Chapter 28: A Momentary Time Of Peace
-Later-
Whenever morning comes at the Kawakami Temple, the Monks who are there would begin their early morning in the courtyard.
"Morning everyone!" Said Kazuko to everyone who was either in the middle of their stretches or had just got done with them. After receiving many hand waves in return, Kazuko kept going with her traditional morning run she does every morning. As she was keeping her breathing steady while pulling the tire weights behind her that were attached to her waist by a rope, she was coming up on the Kawakami Dojo where sounds could be heard emanating from within. 'Big sis is giving her all, so I got to do the same!' Kazuko thought to herself before continuing her run. Inside the dojo, Momoyo has stumbled backwards before falling down on her bum.
"Keep this up and you'll eventually manage to land a hit on me. Well almost." Said Tesshin before he let out a hearty laughter as Momoyo slowly got back up to her feet. "Still, I'm still impressed."
"With what?" Asked Momoyo.
"That you have been keeping up with your training consistently versus long ago." Replies Tesshin before rubbing his long beard. "Before you would just brush off training, now you are being very attentive and listening to the advice I give you and you aren't letting the title of 'Strongest' inflate your ego. Antonio must have quite the impact on you." When Momoyo heard Tesshin mentioning Antonio, her face instantly lit up.
"W-Whatever!" Momoyo promptly replied "I'll land a solid hit on you, just you wait." After speaking Momoyo and Tesshin bowed to each other and she turned and started to walk away towards the exit of the dojo. Tesshin just examined her entire being before taking in a breath
"Momoyo." Said Tesshin, causing Momoyo to stop in place. The old man had just simply smiled as silence ensued between them for a few seconds before he finally decided to speak. "I'm proud of you, you'll make a fine future grandmaster." As those words escaped Tesshin's mouth and made their way over to Momoyo, she was silent with her back still facing him but a smile formed on her face. "All I have to do now is thank Antonio for getting you back into wanting to train." Teased Tesshin, causing Momoyo's face to turn bright red. She then swiftly left out of the dojo and proceeded to her room at the temple. After letting out a hearty laugh, he sighed to himself. "Ahh, I remember what that was like. To be so young and in love." A few hours later, after taking a bath to relax from the mornings training session, Momoyo was relaxing the best way she knew how, on her bed wearing a black tank top and solid black panties.
"That old man has no idea what he's talking about.." Momoyo said softly to herself as she looked up at the ceiling before changing positions where she would be laying on her stomach with her face in her pillow. Later, images of Antonio's face filled her mind, causing her cheeks to heat up and when the image of his warm smile came across her thoughts, she was silent for a few seconds before pressing her head into her pillow and letting out an adorable girly girl squeal. She heard her phone go off due to a notification which caused her to instantly raise her head from her pillow. She looked over toward her right and grabbed her phone and once she looked upon the screen, she had a smile appear on her face. After a few quick taps on the screen, she laid her phone back down on her bed before grabbing one of her pillows. While still having a smile on her face, accompanied with a light blush on her cheeks, she pressed her pillow to her face gently and squealed like a schoolgirl once more. Outside, Wanko stood outside her door, scratching the back of her head.
"S-Should I let her know I'm here." Wanko thought to herself as she began to contemplate on what to do without incurring her sisters wrath for listening to a rare sight of her. Later on at the Kawakami Hideout, Cookie was doing it's usual tidying up while Yamato & Miyako, Chris, Mayuzumi, Gakuto, Takuya and Gen-San, along with Capt.
"So how's everyone been holding up?" Asked Capt. The room is silent.
"Good for now at least." Replied Gakuto.
"Yeah." Chimed in Gen-san. "Still this whole thing doesn't feel real. Takuya then raised his head from a manga he was reading.
"Gen-san's right. With all the monsters and stuff that was on the news, it doesn't feel real. Almost like this manga I'm reading." Silence once again filled the room.
"How's your dad doing Chris?" Asked Yamato with curiosity as Miyako sat next to him.
"My father is holding up well." Chris Replied with confidence in her voice.
"What about you Mayucchi?" Asked Yamato but before she could speak, Mayucchi was interrupted.
"Ah boo hoo! Let's not talk about depressing things!" Said Matsukaze who randomly appeared on Mayucchi's right shoulder. "Instead. What about you and Miyako? It seems that you two finally decided to tie the knot."
"Matsukaze! That's rude!" Mayucchi chimed in, causing Miyako to close her eyes and smile as she placed her hands on her cheeks.
"Well we aren't married yet." Miyako Replied. "We decided to take things one step at a time, though I wouldn't mind if he got down on one knee and proposed to me right now. Right Yamato?" Miyako asked Yamato.
"Yeah. Though I'm not so sure about the getting married part just yet." Replied Yamato, causing Miyako to suck her teeth. Though at that moment, she had felt Yamato gently placing his hands in hers which caused her to smile immensely.
"Hold on, did we miss anything? When did you two become a couple?" Asked Capt, causing Gen-San to sigh.
"We didn't miss anything. You just so happen to not pay attention at times Capt." replied Tadakatsu, causing Capt to scratch the back of his head.
"He's right you know." Gakuto chimed in
"We've been knowing they've been dating for sometime now Capt." Said Chris with Mayucchi nodding in agreement.
"You know you are sometimes forgetting stuff Capt." Said Yamato, causing Capt to scratch the back of his head.
"You got a point there." Said Capt after he sheepishly laughed. "Hey Cookie! Got anything to drink In there?" Asked Capt. The egg shaped robot then seemingly scurried over to Capt, revealed the interior of itself and with its mechanical arm, it handed Capt an Ice cold Cola. "Thanks a lot Cookie."
"It's my pleasure Capt." Replied Cookie after closing itself to resume its egg shape. "Speaking of which Capt, didn't you say Momoyo was on her way."
"Yeah I did, Wanko, Antonio and Momoyo are supposed to be here." Replied Capt. When Yamato looked down slightly, Miyako saw this and held his hand tighter which caused him to look in her direction. As the two made eye contact, Yamato felt a little better. "They should be here any.."
"We're here!" Announced Wanko as she made herself know when she entered the room with Momoyo and Antonio behind her. "Hey everyone! Heya Cookie!"
"Hello Kazuko, Momoyo and Antonio." Replied Cookie as the robot scurried to the entrance to greet the three who just entered the hideout. "Would anyone like a beverage?"
"Three water bottles." Momoyo simply replied and without hesitation, Cookie opened its upper compartment and one by one, used its mechanical arm to extend three cold water bottles to Momoyo, Kazuko and Antonio. "Thanks Cookie."
"Yeah thanks as always Cookie." Kazuko chimed in as she patted the top of Cookie.
"I can't get over how impressive you are Cookie, you are one cool robot!" Antonio complimented. Causing Cookie to spin around in a circle.
"Thank you all for your kind compliments." Replied Cookie before going back to cleaning. After Antonio cracked open the sealed water bottle, he took a sip of cold water before putting the cap back on.
"Hey Antonio!" Said Miyako as she got up from her seat to greet her friend.
"Hey Miyako." Antonio responded back. His eyes then motioned over to Mayucchi who instantly got up and bowed towards him with Matsukaze on her shoulder. Chris did as well with all the guys waving towards him, when his eyes fell on Yamato, he had watched him get up from his seat.
"Hey Antonio." Said Yamato as he raised his hand and waved towards him.
"Hello Yamato." Replied Antonio the guys couldn't tell, but the ladies could tell that the room was getting tense and for a reason that the ladies, along with Yamato and Antonio knew.
"So what do you guys wanna do?" Asked Capt who broke the silence like he usually does.
"Well we could play some card games." Suggested Moro.
"That actually doesn't sound bad." Chimed in Gakuto. "If we wanna play something different, we can throw out a suggestion."
"Sounds like fun!" Wanko agreed. As she, along with Momoyo sat down on the loveseat, Antonio followed and sat down next to Momoyo after averting his eyes from Yamato.
"Ok what are we playing first?" Asked Capt, as talks about what game everyone would play first, Miyako nodded her head towards Yamato.
"One step at a time, right?" Miyako whispered to her lover.
"Hey! What are you two love birds whispering about over there?" Matsukaze blurted out, causing Miyako to cuddle closer to Yamato.
"Oh we were just talking about how we should play Uno! first. We have plenty of games here that we don't play, so might as well."
"She's right. Well then, all in favor of playing Uno! say I!" Said Capt.
"I!" Shouted everyone, except Gen-san which is usual.
"All right, the I's have it." Said Capt. "Who wants to deal out the cards?" Hours later, the Kawakami Group along with Antonio was enjoying not only Uno! but many other fun games & of course Cookie was there to provide plenty of snacks and beverages so no one would have to get up to leave and get something. Later, when it was getting close to the sun setting, everyone was headed to the rooftop. The abandoned building that they called their hideout has an absolutely beautiful view of when the sun sets.
"Everytime I look at this sunset, it just looks even more amazing as the days go by." Said Miyako. As she leaned against the rooftop guardrail.
"Yes, it's truly a beautiful sight to see!" Said Mayucchi. As everybody was quietly gazing at the sunset, Momoyo looked towards her left to see Antonio looking at the sunset and had a slight smile on his face.
"Welp that's enough sightseeing." Said Capt as he backed away from the guardrail, I'm gonna head out. Make sure you guys get to where you are going to safely. Alright?" Everybody nodded their heads.
"I hope everyone has a safe journey home or to whatever your destination may be." Said Mayucchi as she bowed before heading back downstairs to leave and one by one, everyone everybody started to head their separate ways, leaving Momoyo and Antonio along with Miyako and Yamato being the last ones on the rooftop.
"Hey Antonio.." Said Yamoto, catching Antonio's attention, along with Momoyo and Miyako who stood directly next to Yamato. "I uhm, I'm glad you decided to come today. It was really fun to have you around. I know we aren't on the greatest of terms, so I just wanted you to know that I had fun with you today." Antonio was silent until he turned around to properly face Yamato.
"I'm glad I came over as well. I had fun." Replied Antonio. "I'll probably come back another time."
"That'll be awesome if you did." Said Yamato.
"See, One step at a time honey." Miyako whispered in Yamato's ear as the couple held each other's hand. "See you guys later!" Said Miyako to Antonio and Momoyo before walking over to the door that leads to the downstairs, leaving Antonio and Momoyo alone on the rooftop.
"Well at least he is trying." Said Momoyo. "He's starting to turn back into the old Yamato, at least in my eyes."
"It'll be awhile before I can fully trust Yamato again." Replied Antonio, causing Momoyo to look at the side of his face. "I appreciate the fact that he is sincerely trying to mend what he did. I have to respect that." After Antonio got done speaking, he felt the soft smooth sensation of Momoyo's lips as she kissed him on the cheek.
"I appreciate you giving him a chance." Replied Momoyo. The couple both had a blush on their face as now the couple stood face to face with each other, & before they both knew it, Momoyo had gently wrapped her arms around Antonio's neck and he gently wrapped his arms behind Momoyo waist. The couple had looked each other deep in the eyes before letting their soft, gentle lips connect with each with the scenery of the beautiful sunset behind them. As the two separated from their kiss, Wanko peeked her head out of the door that led to the rooftop.
"Are you two done yet, I'm ready to go." Said Wanko, causing Antonio and Momoyo to look at each other and having shared a light laugh between the two.
"Be patient doggie, here we come." Said Momoyo as herself and Antonio walked towards the door that led downstairs but not before Antonio could look back and admire the sunset one last time.
-Kanzaki Residence-
"Ugh why do you continue to sit here and watch these dumb girly girl movies Benitsubasa?" Asked Haihane.
"They are not dumb girly girl movies Haihane. They are cinematic masterpieces." Replied Benitsubasa. "You just don't want to broaden your cinematic horizons."
"If the movies are as sleep inducing as what you are watching then I'll pass and stick with my anime." Said Haihane.
"They aren't that bad I think." Chimed in Kaiha.
"Finally a Sekirei with some sense." Said Benitsubasa, causing Haihane to scoff.
"Yeah cause we all know you don't have any as the majority of us know." Said Haihane softly, causing Benitsubasa to have veins of aggravation appear on her head. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Miya was prepping dinner with the help of Kuroka and also teaching her how she prepares dinner for everyone.
"Ok Dinner should be ready in a little bit." Said Miya. "Thanks for helping Kuroka."
"You don't have to thank me." Replies Kuroka. "It's part of the agreement that I help & honestly, I'm amazed how you are able to cook & do so much and not break a sweat." Kuroka then saw Miya placing her right index finger on her right cheek.
"Well I guess after doing it for so long it doesn't really bother me." Replied Miya before both Kuroka and herself looked over to the other Sekirei and housemates. "Plus, everyone pitches in to help do the chores so it doesn't feel like I'm doing much whatsoever. As rowdy as everyone can get, we help each other. That's what a family does."
"Yeah. I guess you are right." Replied Kuroka. Causing Miya to grin.
"Of course I am." Said Miya confidently. "Can you grab the plates and set them on the table please?"
"Ok." Replied Kuroka, but before she opened the cabinet that held the plates, Antonio walked into the living room area.
"I'm home." Announced Antonio. Miya had then grabbed a towel and dried off her hands before walking up to her husband.
"Welcome back. Did you enjoy yourself?" Asked Miya, Antonio nodded his head in response. "Great. Dinner is about ready so go wash your hands."
"Ok sounds good." Antonio replies before Miya turned her head to the couch.
"That means you ladies too & also let the others know it's dinner time." Said Miya before she saw Haihane rising up from the couch.
"Finally, a reason not to watch this dumb film anymore." Haihane said after stretching as she rose up from the couch to go to the restroom.
"Bullshit Haihane, it's not dumb & you know it!" Responded Benitsubasa as she shot up from the couch following Haihane, but not before she jumped up and hugged Antonio passionately.
"Pfft. Fangirl.." Haihane whispered to herself as she left the living room, causing Benitsubasa to grow a vein of irritation on her head from Haihane's statement due to her excellent hearing. To Antonio's surprise, the pink haired Sekirei calmly took a deep breath and then exhaled.
"Huh? You aren't going to respond?" Questioned Antonio, Benitsubasa has simply folded her arms.
"I'm trying not to." Benitsubasa replied. "I'm trying to work on myself so I won't get so angry so fast, you know." The pink hair Sekirei had then started to play with some of her dangling hair with her index finger. "So you'd be happy." Benitsubasa said softly, just managing to be caught by Antonio's ears. He just tilted his head slightly and smiled before placing his hand atop her head, causing her to gasp slightly as he began to pet her head. Benitsubasa's face because red as her lover patted her head but she smiled nevertheless.
"I'm proud of you Benitsubasa." Said Antonio, causing the pink haired Sekirei to confidently as she folded her arms.
"As you should be!" Benitsubasa replies confidently. "None of the Sekirei have my tolerance level now." Said Benitsubasa, causing Haihane to peek into the living room area.
"Says the Sekirei that still sleeps with a stuffed animal." Haihane chimed in, causing Benitsubasa eyes to widen as the grim reaper Sekirei disappears to the restroom.
"You said you wouldn't say anything Haihane, what the hell!" Replied Benitsubasa as she tried to catch up to Haihane with Antonio following behind after he sighed.
'One step at a time.' Antonio thought to himself. At dinner, everybody was enjoying themselves with conversation, great food and a family friendly atmosphere.
"Minato, h-here." Said Tsukiumi in an embarrassed tone of voice as she brought a pair of chopsticks towards Minato's mouth that held some rice and fish. Without hesitating, Minato took a bite of what Tsukiumi offered.
"Thanks Tsukiumi." Replied Minato, which seemingly boosted the water Sekirei's confidence.
"It's only natural that a wife feeds her husband. Think nothing of it." Said Tsukiumi who didn't want her happiness to be shown in front of everyone from Minato thanking her.
"Well if that's the case then, have some of mine Minato!" Said Tsurara.
"Ours too!" Said Oriha as she grabbed some fish & rice with her chopsticks as Katsuragi followed by picking up some rice and fish as well."
"Alright hold on!" Tsukiumi interjected, causing Oriha to look in her direction.
"What? Didn't you say it was normal for a wife to feed her husband?" Questioned Oriha, causing veins of frustration to appear on Tsukiumi's forehead.
"Y-Yes that's right I did say that didn't I?" Replied Tsukiumi who seemingly held her outburst in, which surprised Minato. 'What I meant to say was 'proper' wife.' Tsukiumi thought to herself.
"Are you two liking the food?" Asked Yukari who was sitting across from her two Sekirei. They both simultaneously nodded their heads together.
"Miya-san's cooking is always amazing and such a delight to eat." Replied Shi, causing Miya to smile.
"Well thank you Shi." Replied Miya. "I did have some help today from Kuroka and Rachel today. Kuroka helped season and cook the fish and Rachel helped me prep the sides."
"Oh wow really? Nice job Kuroka." Said Nanami, complimenting the Nekomata which made her cat ears twitch with all the Sekirei in agreement.
"At least she can cook better than some people I know." Said Haihane.
"Hooooo? Certainly you aren't talking about me would you?" Asked Benitsubasa.
"I wonder." Replied Haihane before she started to eat again, causing veins of irritation to slowly appear on her head.
"You two did an excellent job." Said Antonio complementing both the Angel and the Nekomata. When Kuroka heard Antonio's compliment that was accompanied by his warm, gentle smile, her face started to heat up.
"Thank you Antonio." Replied Kuroka with a smile on her face.
"Oh the pleasure is all mine. It was a very exciting experience. I'm happy that you like it." Rachel replied. Everybody had then proceeded back to finishing their meal. Later, after dinner was done and over with Antonio decided to help Kuroka, Rachel and Miya out with the dishes, along with some of his other Sekirei before taking a quick bath so that he can proceed to go to bed.
'Today was a long day.' Antonio thought to himself as he entered his bedroom and plopped down on his bed. He sat in silence before his phone had notified him of an incoming text message. He grabbed his phone that was laying on the bed and he saw the message was from Momoyo.
"Hey Antonio, Once again, thanks for wanting to hang out with me and the gang today. It was fun being around everyone, you included, which should be obvious. I especially want to thank you for at least respecting Yamato trying to make up for what he said to you. I think it lets him know that you are acknowledging his efforts, I think. Anyways I just wanted to say thank you for today ~.~ & I 3 you.
3, Momoyo."
Back at the Kawakami Temple, in Momoyo's room, she placed her phone on her nightstand, laying down in silence in her room with only the moon being the source of lighting in her room by coming through the windows. She silently grabbed her pillow and once again, she pressed her pillow to her face and let out an adorable squeal after sending that text message to her boyfriend. After reading the message, Antonio decided to respond to the message before going to sleep.
-Early Next Morning-
As the sun had not yet risen, many members of the Kanzaki Residence were still asleep. Like Natsu for example, she was sleeping so peacefully as she was laying down on her side as her cloud-like pillow rested comfortably against her head.
"Mmm?" Natsu let out a small, gentle groan as she felt something softly touching her head. After her eyes twitches, she slowly opens her eyes & sees her Ashikabi sitting on the edge of her bed. "Hmm, Antoni.." Natsu was then cut short and she had seen Antonio leaning in and gently kissed her forehead.
"Morning beautiful." Said Antonio softly, causing Natsu to seemingly wake up instantly from the sensation she was getting from getting kissed on the forehead. "Do me a favor." Natsu slowly sat up straight before rubbing some sleep out of her eyes and tilting her head in confusion. "After you wake up some more, get dressed because we are going somewhere."
"I'll get freshened up right now!" Natsu said softly as she uncovered herself with her bed covers, revealing to Antonio that she only wore a solid white tank top and pink underwear as she had suddenly a bright smile on her face as she was trying to figure out what to wear before taking a quick bath. Later, at a nearby Japanese breakfast spot in Shino Teito, sounds of the customers and the aroma of the wonderful food filled the air, almost as if the threat of the pillars didn't matter.
"Ladies first." Said Antonio as he opened the door for Natsu as they both were dressed casually. Antonio was wearing a black t-shirt, khaki pants and black shoes while Natsu wore a simple casual ladies outfit that was modified, thanks to MBI, to conceal her ninja weapons, but most importantly, to conceal her Sekirei Crest.
"Thank you so much." Replied Natsu. As they both entered the establishment, they were greeted by an employee who quickly guided them to some available seats & handed them some menus.
"Would you two like anything to drink?" Asked a waitress who approached the couple.
"I'll take a green tea." Said Natsu.
"I'll just take a water, thank you." Said Antonio. The Waitress has then bowed before going off to get their drinks. "Thanks for coming with me today Natsu." Said Antonio as Natsu put the menu down to give him her undivided attention.
"If it means I get to spend time with you, I will gladly stop whatever I am doing to be with you." Replied Natsu, causing Antonio to smile. "I should be the one thanking you for inviting me out."
"Well that's only natural. It's just with everything going on, With the pillars and everything, I don't want none of you girls to feel left out is all." As the couple sat in silence, letting the sounds of their surroundings fill the air, Antonio had seen Natsu gently placing her left hand on his right and had seen the ring he had given her.
"After everything you have done for us." Natsu spoke softly. "Not just for me, Saki, the pervert Yomi." When this was said, Yomi had let out an adorable sneeze. "Hell, all of the Sekirei for that matter, none of us would ever feel as if we are being left out. Even if we did, you would make sure we wouldn't feel that way."
"Yeah, you're right." Replied Antonio.
"Of course I'm right." Replied Natsu in a confident tone of voice before picking up her menu again. "Now, let's pick out something to eat!"
Next Chapter: What Lies Ahead! The Eighth Pillar Part 1
