On An Eagles Wings

by A Salty Archer

The war is over. The Dawn never found Requiem. Cortana made the ultimate sacrifice for her protector and friend. Forced into retirement, John is struggling with life. But when he finds himself in a battle royal with strange, humanoid aliens, he continues to fight. But even if the eagle is broken, a flock can still help him spread his wings and fly once more.

11. Feather 11

On An Eagles Wings

((Author's note:

Another long time before an update… my fault…

The cool thing, though, I moved to Japan for my job. Even if they did kind of blindside me with the whole transition, I'm here and currently under 14-day mandatory quarantine before I can freely explore.

Yey

…

Seriously though, my bad guys for making you wait so long. Quite frankly, this chapter went through development hell for a while since I couldn't become satisfied with it; hell, I'm still not happy with it. I didn't want another chapter full of 'nothing' to happen again, but… I dunno…. I just don't like how this chapter came out.

The cool thing, though, is that now things are going to be in full swing, which means the next chapter is gonna be an Action Chapter!

Yey

Thanks, those who are still supporting me!

On a side note: I'm a little surprised at what most of the flames are upset about. That I'm making MC a bitch or something, but never go into detail on how I'm doing so? Like, what am I doing that's making you think so? I need feedback, y'know?

He's human too, y'know?

((SPOILERS!)) Avoid if you don't want to!

Yume & Karasuba: Rereading the manga, I realized that the relationship they had, or rather, how Karasuba held it, was more in-depth than most realized. Karasuba's insanity and hatred against the world all stemmed from Yume's death in canon, with the case being otherwise in this story. I'm trying to find a balance since Karasuba's always been something akin to a Blood Knight, always ready to kill with a smile on her face, and she hates weaklings. How their bond might be since they both stayed in the Disciplinary Squad, that Karasuba would refuse to leave someone like Yume behind, even if she did get winged.

I dunno, but I hope I did it in a way that readers might be pleased with.

Homura: Yeah, sorry those that wanted a monogamous relationship between John and Karasuba, but this is Sekirei after all, and with what I have planned for the former, a 'harem' of some sort is almost inexplicably implied.

I tried to work in their sense of duty and purpose and how they could work with one another. While at the same time, having Homura react towards John's more volatile habits such as killing, along with his brutal honesty.

Not much to say here, really, as it's all relatively self-explanatory in the scene itself.

Soren & MBI: Nnnngggg. This is part of why I hate this chapter so much, as this is the way I've always intended it to go, but I feel like the execution could've been better. And before everyone goes off the handle with the death of the family, saying, 'how does the public not know of this?! Why isn't the government doing anything!?'

Seriously, how many homicides happen on a daily that no one reports or gives a shit about. And with how Japan works with deaths, which people that expire in their houses and won't be found for months at a time or going crazy from overwork, it would efficiently work in favor of MBI towards making a relatively easy cover-up story.

But aside from all that was John's unwillingness to work with them. Now, I get that everyone, including myself, believes him to be a BAMF, which he is, but he's also a guy that would instead follow orders to the T then to go out of his way to do things if he had a choice. He's military, after all, and regardless of what most media portrays soldiers as, that's the sort of mental training and indoctrination that most go through, to not think for themselves and to accomplish the mission with whatever orders have been given to them.

Of course, there are exceptions when depending on the situation, like when he saved Cortana and stuff, but that's the beauty of it, ain't it? That when he goes out of his way for something, it's because he believes in it or thinks it's the better option.

I dunno, just my two cents on the issue.

Also, a little surprise at the end of the chapter.

With things the way they are, I hope all of you guys and your loved ones are staying safe.

Please read and review. If anyone has any questions/comments/concerns, please PM me so we could discuss it (without any spoilers, of course).

And above all else, please enjoy the story!))

Feather 11

"So, there were no issues with Akitsu?"

Dr. Euan Barker swallowed as the Head of Researcher, Takami Sahashi, stood in front of him, her frigid gray eyes boring holes into him.

"N-No, Dr. Sahashi. As soon as I told her the possibilities that may happen to her chosen Ashikabi, she stepped down." He replied, keeping his voice steady enough.

His palms wouldn't stop sweating, no matter how many times he ran them up and down his lab coat.

"Right, because she can end up 'killing' her Ashikabi. Improbable, but no lie is worth fussing over if it works. Good job, Barker."

Euan could feel relief flood him from the satisfaction he could hear in her voice. "Thank you, Dr. Saha-"

"Still, you haven't shown any viable results with Akitsu in- how many months was it? Seven?" Sahashi's sharp words stopped him in his tracks, leaving him gaping at her.

"….."

"There's many, including myself, that are starting to believe you just aren't suited for the job anymore."

"Now w-wait a minute Dr. Sahashi, I-"

"-Have been tuning Akitsu for the past two years after Dr. Takehito Asama passed away. And now, she is the last single digit still being tuned; why is that? After all, we were even able to release Homura near the beginning of the plan, and we all know how badly that whole process went."

"….."

"What? Nothing to say for yourself?"

"…I just need more time, I-"

"You're out of time, Barker. The deadline's been extended for far too long, and if it was my decision, then I would've had you yanked and placed in a janitor position in one of our other facilities. Fortunately for you, someone above me is willing to give you one last chance. One week, that's all you have to finish tuning Akitsu. After that, she'll be transferred to another tuner, your incompetence will be noted, and you will be suspended from this department."

"Wh-Where will I go?"

"Dunno, but I heard that we need extra hands in our pharmaceutical departments. Who knows? Maybe you'll be a better pill bagger than biochemist."

"...You… Y-You can't do this to me-"

"I can, and I will. There's nothing you can do anymore, nothing that the board and I don't already agree on. So, instead of wasting your time here, you should probably start focusing on your work while you still can."

"P-Please, Sahashi. I need this job, I've got a family- a wife and kids, just don't-"

"You're dismissed, Barker."

"…Yes, Dr. Sahashi…"

Takami pulled out a cigarette when the man walked out, lighting it, and taking a small puff from the stick. "…Tch… Talk about amateur hour…"

---

Clear, blue eyes flashed in her mind. They were stern yet had a fiery strength to them that warmed her to the core.

At the same time, underneath those azure pools of his, laid a gentle sadness within them.

Akitsu sighed as she shifted on her bed, trying to stare at the television in the upper corner of her room. A show was on it, a somewhat sappy one, where the main couple just had gotten together and were kissing under the rain after a misunderstanding occurred with the man and one of his female friends led to the woman running away. While the man chased after her and eventually confessed to her.

Usually, watching a show like this would put her into a good mood for the rest of the day, eagerly awaiting the day when her Ashikabi would sweep her off her feet like in these shows.

Piercing blue eyes. Thin lips. A rugged face finished with a well-sculpted jaw.

Only now that fantasy had finally become a reality, as she now had an Ashikabi of her own…

…Granted, she would've, had she actually been able to wing herself to him.

Her last doctor, a kind one that stopped showing up one day after an accident happened in one of the labs a few years back, had been making steady progress with adjusting her for the plan. He had explained that she was one of the 'few special cases' when it came to the Sekirei, supposedly having more power than what her number should've been afforded.

Things had been going well until his accident, of course. Afterward, she was prescribed a new tuner to take care of her adjustments for the plan.

…For the past two years…

Sekirei, all far younger than her, being double digits or higher, had come and gone with almost no fuss. Hell, she was even aware that the Sekirei Plan has been in full swing for the past month or so. Just about all her brothers and sisters, slowly being trickled out into the bigger world outside, no longer confined in laboratories or capsule dormitories any longer…

…While she stayed in the lab, having barely any progress since the switch…

Akitsu had taught herself to be patient after the constant hurdles she had to go through with the dense, simpleminded doctor that took over her tuning for a while now. The man spent more time bragging about his 'intelligence' and his ability to 'solve just about anything' than actually doing work most of the time.

For the most part, Akitsu could drown out his babble, letting it flow into one ear and out the other.

Then the other day had occurred, and as she was pulled away from her Ashikabi- Stark-sama-, Akitsu felt something beyond her usual indifference.

For a few hazy moments, she felt raw, unadulterated anger towards the man that pulled her away from her Ashikabi as he loudly scolded her for her 'impatience.' Telling her not to be 'selfish' and to 'think of others but herself.' As if it was her fault that she wasn't adjusted yet. As if he was the one being hurt by her finding her Ashikabi.

For the first time in her life, she had wondered: what would happen if she were to, say…

Freeze his hand, the one that had gripped her wrist at the time, all the way to his elbow? Perhaps freeze his feet up to the ankles so that he would stay attached to the floor? Or maybe up to his knees?

…What would happen should she push him? There wouldn't be much force to it, just a slight nudge at the most.

Would his legs continue to hold firm? Or would they collapse from under him? What if she pulled her wrist away from his frozen hand? Would his arm come with it, or just a few fingers?

…Would he scream as he fell apart? Or simply pass out without a sound?

Whatever would've happened, it'd give her the chance to go back to her Ashikabi and finally spread her wings after suffering from one's incompetence for so long. To be with her destined partner for life. To finally be whole with her other half that's been missing her entire life since the day she was born. To finally be…

…Happy…

With the one she would devote all her of mind, body, and soul to...

"…Stark-sama…" Akitsu fervently whispered to herself, as if the words themselves were hallowed, like some sort of prayer.

To her, there was no lesser way to treat the name of the man she was destined to be with. To love with all her heart.

Akitsu wistfully sighed; Of course, those brief emotions of anger with the incompetent doctor were gone as fast as they came. She wasn't stupid, contrary to how that particular doctor may believe. She wouldn't kill her Ashikabi should she have winged herself to him; her powers weren't that unstable.

But she still didn't turn back to do so, the stray thought of what if festering in her mind. While she firmly believed the winging process wouldn't kill her Ashikabi, what if it instead hurt him in some way? Crippled him? It didn't have to even be from her powers, but could it stem from the bond itself? All because she wasn't appropriately adjusted?

…Fear and uncertainty were things that could severely cripple the mind of just about every living being in some fashion. Even Akitsu, as calm and indifferent as she was, subconsciously became a victim of the insidious whispers of doubt that took place in the far reaches of her mind.

…After all, if she were to somehow hurt her Ashikabi… Her Stark-sama…

Akitsu sighed, closing her eyes as to stave off the growing frustration bubbling in her bosom.

'It just wasn't fair…'

To distract herself from her thoughts from its downward spiral, she raised a dainty hand, palm facing upwards, and focused.

Slowly, frost formed around her hand, becoming thicker as the temperature in the room slowly dropped.

Akitsu inhaled and exhaled slowly, needing complete and total focus for her task.

Blue eyes. Short hair. Thin lips. Firm Jaw.

The frost began to come together, the water particles in the air bending to her will and freezing. The ice that was created, however, was not shapeless. The particles molded, shaping contours, legs, a body, arms, before the icy creation finished by forming a head.

And so, her miniature ice sculpture of her Ashikabi was complete. Akitsu breathed out slowly as she ceased her concentration, taking a moment to marvel at her creation.

She gently smiled as she examined the sculpture made of pure blue ice, which was no bigger than her hand.

With her powers being as potent as they were, it was tough for her to focus and form it in such a tiny shape. Whenever she actually used her ice abilities in the testing rooms, she would end up calling complete tidal waves of ice with a simple wave of her hand, leaving every inch of the space inside encased in ice and frost.

She would often wonder how long it took them to get rid of all the ice before they were ready to examine her again.

Still, the more she stared at the miniature sculpture, a frown found itself creeping on her full lips as she slowly found herself become dissatisfied with it. The figurine itself was extremely detailed, almost lifelike in its design, but to Akitsu, it lacked a few minute details that her Ashikabi had.

The length of his hair. The broadness of his shoulders. The thickness of his musculature. All of these were near-identical but were lacking in their exactness.

For most, it wouldn't mean much, as the sheer artisan beauty of the replica would be enough to appeal to them while overlooking such small slights.

For Akitsu, it almost felt disrespectful. Any form of tribute to her Ashikabi should be nothing less than perfect.

…Problem was, it was harder and harder to recall those small details when she'd only seen him once. While she was able to imprint his image in her mind, the fine details began to fade from her mind.

…It was becoming hard to accept that fact when she didn't even know when the next time she would see him would be.

And that's if he wanted her by then… if she would even be able to take part in the Sekirei Plan…

Letting out a deep, mellow sigh to hide her disappointment in herself, Akitsu flexed her palm and allowed the ice figurine to dissipate into microscopic water particles.

"Ah… Stark-sama…" She whispered the man's name who, in one meeting, caused her to react with the possibility to become whole with his sheer presence alone.

Akitsu's lips gently curved upwards, and she closed her eyes as she thought of-

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT!"

Her eyes snapped open when she heard the scream from the other side of the one-way mirror in her room.

"WHO DOES THAT FUCKING BITCH TAKAMI THINK SHE IS!? THINKS SHE CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK SHE WANTS JUST BECAUSE SHE WAS FUCKING THE C.E.O!? FUCK HER!"

Akitsu's eyes went flat when she recognized the voice of her tuner going on another rant.

A small bang was heard.

"I'M NOT THE PROBLEM! IT'S THAT STUPID WHORE'S FAULT FOR BEING A GODDAMN DEFECTIVE PRODUCT!"

Even though she tried to ignore him, frost began to unconsciously form around Akitsu. "…I'm not defective…" She muttered.

"I'LL SHOW THAT DUMB WHORE! IN SEVEN DAYS, I'LL HAVE THIS CUNT READY! THEN THEY'LL SEE THAT THEY'RE THE FUCKING IDIOTS FOR WANTING TO REPLACE ME! ME!?"

Akitsu perked up at that piece of information; He was going to be replaced? Did that mean that she would get a new tuner? Someone that could likely help her so she could meet Stark-sama?

She sure hoped so…

While unamused by the doctor's choice words for her and his coworkers, she felt a slight giddiness form in her chest at the thought of actually getting tuned by someone competent.

Despite herself, a slight smirk formed on her lips as she heard the man's shrieking.

…What a pathetic person…

"…Wait for me, Stark-sama… We'll be together soon…"

Akitsu felt like her day couldn't get any better.

---

Miya sneezed, daintily covering her face with a hand as she did so.

Immediately, I pulled out a facial tissue from my pocket and handed it to her.

She took it graciously. "Ah, thank you, Stark-kun. Are you sure, though? I don't want to take it if it's your only one."

"It's fine," I replied, moving my jacket to the side to show the packets of facial tissues in the side pocket. "I've got plenty to spare."

Miya blinked owlishly at me before raising an uncertain eyebrow. "Ah…? You certainly like to come prepared…?"

I shrugged, letting go of my jacket as we continued to walk down the fresh produce aisle. "Someone gave them to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

---

I sneezed, barely able to cover it behind my elbow before-

I sneezed three more times.

I rubbed my nose in irritation. A few people walking beside me gave me small looks before they began to provide me with a wider berth. I ignored them, instead slightly sniffling as I groused about the action that seemed to be a slowly growing trend since I arrived in Japan…

There was no way I could be getting a cold, right? I never got sick after my augmentations, so it wouldn't make sense to start now…

I gave an uneasy glance at the crowd of people around me walking down the street.

…Unless someone was talking about me…? I read an article online that told me that it could be a reason for sneezing, and they can have different meanings depending on the number of sneezes.

"…" For the life of me, I couldn't remember the specific meanings right now.

…Well, no reason to think about it too hard…

"Here you go, sir! Stay well!" A voice cheerfully said, and I craned my head to see a man handing what seemed to be facial tissues, a mask on his face. He wasn't the only one, as other, similarly masked men and women stood every other block or two, giving their own handouts.

My nose twitched, causing me to rub it a bit.

Might as well grab one myself.

I walked over to him, but as his back was turned towards me, I had to tap his shoulder to get his attention. "Excuse me..."

"Yes, si-" He turned jovially towards me, only to freeze when he came face-to-sternum with me, slowly looking up with wide eyes. "Y-Yes?" He gulped.

I raised a brow when I noticed a bead of sweat crawled down his face; Must've been hot with that mask on, huh?

I motioned towards the packs of facial tissues he had in his hand. "Can I have one?"

"H-Huh?" He blinked harshly; Was he beginning to shake? Was he okay? "Wh-What…?"

Seeing his unwell state, I decided to go a bit more slowly with my request and punctuate every word sternly. "Can. I. Have. A. Tissue?"

The man seemed to flinch at my words and began to sputter. "T-Towels? Y-You…? Th-Them? I-I…"

I raised a brow, genuinely beginning to feel a little bit of concern take over for his wellbeing as he began to pale. I took a deliberate step towards him. "Hey-"

The man let out a high pitch squeak when I moved closer, all but throwing the whole stack of facial tissues into my hand. "T-Take them! I-I'm sorry f-for wasting your t-time!" He cried, before, to my embarrassment, he began to bow a few times profusely, before running off.

I blinked a few times, a little confused at what happened as I scratched my cheek. "…Er… Thanks…?"

Taking a glance at the handful of tissues I currently had in my hand, only one thought went through my head.

…The Japanese were remarkably generous…

---

I frowned when Miya began to giggle after listening to my tale.

What was funny about that? While I didn't particularly care for that guy, I just hoped nothing bad happened to him…

I had to wait patiently until Miya's fit of giggles finally began to lessen that I asked. "…What's so funny about that?"

"Ufufufufu. Apologies, Stark-kun. Ufufufu." She replied through her giggles. "I-It's just- why do you think he gave them all to you?"

"Because I asked?" I said slowly, feeling like there was something I was missing here. "Why else?"

The amusement dancing in her eyes made me feel like I misunderstood something here. "Are you sure? Or maybe, it's because a huge, scary man with even more menacing eyes told him to give him his tissues?"

Furrowing my brows, I tried to make the connection. "… I'm not scary at all…" I muttered with a shake of my head, causing Miya to start giggling.

My looks were perfectly normal, thank you very much… It's not my fault when people decided to stare for too long… Or ran away when I moved in their direction…

…Okay, maybe my looks might be a little intimidating, but it can't be that bad…

"Ara? Did I strike a nerve? Don't worry, Stark-kun, I'm sure they'll be more understanding once they see how much of a struggle it is for you to figure out the difference between a pickle and cucumber." She smirked, and I sighed in an attempt to cover my embarrassment with the reminder.

"That was one time…" I grumbled, and Miya raised her hand towards her mouth to cover it, eyes crinkling slightly.

"Of course~, of course~. After all, you've grown well under my tutelage, my young student."

This time I didn't resist the urge and did roll my eyes at her slightly condescending words. Personally, I would like to think that I've been doing quite well when it came to learning the culinary ways from her, but she didn't have to act so loftily about it.

"Of course, it might be a little harder to convince that man after you robbed him."

I paused.

Robbed him? Isn't that illegal in the civilian world? Wait, so I committed a crime…?

"…I'm not going to jail, am I?" I wondered out loud, only to blink when Miya seemed to stumble for a millisecond before her shoulders started to shake. I frowned when I realized that she was laughing at me again…

I didn't understand what could possibly be so funny; getting arrested and going to jail seemed like a severe offense, along with being detrimental to my involvement in the Sekirei plan…

Miya's laughter died down again after a little bit, leaving her smiling at me. "Oh, Stark-kun, I doubt you have to worry about anything like that."

"…Really?"

"Of course! I doubt any police officer can hold you down long enough to arrest you after all, much less be bold enough to try."

My eye twitched at the remark. "…That's not really helping…" She did have a point, though.

She giggled, and I let myself relax, deciding to trust her judgment as we continued our grocery shopping.

On the way, I made sure to stop at the fruit section to grab a few bags of blueberries.

Miya gave my cart a curious look as I placed the bag with the other six. "Ara, I didn't know you like blueberries so much, Stark-kun."

I grunted. "I do." Personally, I enjoyed them more than most fruits. I remember often having quite often whenever I could when I found a bush of them during my survival training in Reach's mountains.

However… My eyes wandered towards the apples nearby for a moment, my mind struck with the odd thought of getting several bags worth.

…What a weird thing to think of so suddenly…

"Ara? Then why do you look troubled? You know the whole robbery thing was a joke, yes?"

"I figured."

"Oh, but you've had that look for quite a while now, Stark-kun. Did something happen? Did you meet… somebody interesting recently?"

I froze for a fraction of a second at the terse deduction, taking note of the slightly… colder tone when she mentioned that 'somebody.'

I carefully glanced at her from the corner of my eye, watching her as she picked up one of the apples I had been eying earlier and examining it.

Did she know…?

"No… I…" I averted my eyes when she looked at me, wracking my brain for a usable excuse.

Even though I knew Miya was a Sekirei, she hadn't taken any steps or shown any interest in the plan itself. She seemed content to live her own life on her own terms, seemingly uncaring at the thought of her species fighting one another to the death in some type of battle royal ran by humans.

Maybe Miya was a particular case? It seemed as if she had little to no involvement in the plan. Perhaps Miya had an indirect involvement with it? She was married to a scientist who worked there when he was still alive; maybe she was able to buy her freedom, or she was only involved with it to a certain point?

In any case, I didn't want to cause her to be reinvolved with the plan by mentioning my Sekirei if I could help it. Since there weren't that many of them, she would likely know who I was talking about. Miya was a… good friend, in a way, and I wouldn't want her to get involved nor possibly worry herself with any situation I had gotten myself caught up in.

She deserved better than that.

So that was why I decided to be a bit dishonest. Unfortunately for me, that was something I wasn't too well versed in.

"I..." I glanced around as I thought about my lie, my eyes landing on the pet aisle just across from us, on the bags of dog food, to be specific. "I got a… dog?" I held back a wince at the weak lie, feeling a bit like an idiot at how obvious I was being.

Miya tensed up, her shoulders squaring, eyes going wide, and her eyebrows shooting upwards.

Damn it, doesn't look like she bought it.

I swallowed, mentally preparing myself to either stick to my lie or find a way to quickly apologize to her when she suddenly slammed a hand to her mouth and started…. Laughing?

"Ufu- Ufufufufu!"

…What…?

"Heheheh a-snrk-dog heheh!" It wasn't even one of her usual soft giggles; it sounded like she was really trying to hold herself from bursting with how pink her face had become as she leaned forward slightly.

Hesitantly, I reached out a hand towards her but let it hover, unsure what to do. "Uh… Asama-san?" I stepped back a bit when she raised her hand my way as she turned away from me, desperately trying to hold herself together.

We received some looks from some passerby's at the commotion we were causing, to which I responded by giving them a dead-eyed stare, causing them to hurry along. I just stood there, waiting quietly for Miya to regain herself, which she did after almost two minutes of laughing, though a few giggles did escape her here and there.

"A-ufu- Apologies, Stark-kun. I was… surprised, is all." Miya said as she finally went back to her usual composed self, giving me a closed-eye smile. "I didn't know you liked dogs."

I raised a brow. "Do you like dogs, Asama-san?"

"Not quite, but," She let out a small giggle. "…A dog, yes… that's exactly what she is…ufufu." She whispered to herself.

I did a quick double-take when her tone gained a malicious edge towards it, but all I found was her smiling calmly at me by the time I looked back.

I blinked as she smiled at me, a bit nonplussed.

What was that about?

"So," Miya began as we began to walk once more. "Is this -heh- dog, causing you any trouble?"

I pursed my lips in thought, thinking of my interactions with Karasuba so far. They hadn't been bad, per se, but I didn't know her well enough yet. As aside from her apathy, I had plenty of time to figure her out better as we worked together. Still, the warnings from Halsey and Soren left me slightly unsure of her control...

"…I'm not sure… how to deal with her," I allowed myself to rub the back of my neck as I continued to tell her half-truths. "It's my first time… having one... a dog, I mean."

Miya brought a finger to her lips as she looked upwards thoughtfully, but I could see the corner of her lips twitching a bit into a knowing smile. "Ara? Let me think… maybe you can try those virtual pet dog training manuals they have on Waypoint?"

I furrowed my brows as she seemed to be holding back a chuckle after her suggestion. Must've been another civilian thing that went over my head that amused her.

Still, training manuals for animal pets? I felt a bit unsure of how to proceed with my small lie, feeling more and more guilty at how helpful Miya was being at the idea of getting a pet.

"Here, let me show you where to get them." At Miya's insistence, I pulled out my phone and handed it to her. After a few taps, she gave it back to me, one of the training manuals displayed on the screen for purchase. "You can choose one or a bundle of them to get the full training for your… pet. Whatever you think would be necessary."

Was it me, or was Miya beginning to smirk a bit?

Well… at this point, I had no choice but to finish what I started, I suppose.

With a small tap of the screen, I purchased the bundle of training manuals. "…Thanks for the help…" Still, I couldn't shake off the guilt I felt at lying to a friend, even if it was for her own good. Honesty was the best policy, after all.

Miya just gave me one of her gentle, closed-eye smiles as we continued our shopping. "It was my pleasure to help, Stark-kun. Though, please do make sure those manuals are put to good use, ufufufufu."

I earnestly nodded; it was the least I could do after all her help. Still, how would I be able to apply it to a Sekirei? Would it even be possible?

'…Mad dogs wouldn't care for what happens to their master anyways…'

….

….Maybe it would be good to have these manuals on hand, just in case.

"Ara, looks like they're starting to hand out samples. Shall we go and partake, Stark-kun?"

I perked up slightly at that information, unconsciously licking my lips in anticipation of free food. "Sounds good to me."

Miya giggled a bit at my enthusiasm as we began to walk up to the first vendor, the smell of cooked food wafting throughout the store as more patrons followed suit behind us.

"Come then," Miya cooed as we grabbed our own bite-sized pieces of shrimp tempura that was offered. "You're secret's will be mine."

Having eaten my sample in one bite, I just tried to stealthily snatch another piece off the tray while under the watchful eye of the store employee.

The employee narrowed his eyes at me, having caught on to my intent, and I stopped.

Then he looked away to politely smile at a customer as she came with her child, and I took advantage of the small distraction.

Miya smiled in amusement as I ate my prize, already on the move to try and… tactically acquire more samples.

What can I say? Free food was always the best.

---

"…I tell you, Stark-kun, the rates these so-called 'professional repairmen' charge are just flat out robbery at this point! The thief wanted to charge me double to fix the damage that happened on the air conditioning unit in one of my tenet's room after they had a small accident with it. The nerve! Like they have anything better to do! Hmph!"

I felt some amusement as Miya continued to vent to me about her household troubles as we walked out of the store, bags in hand. Still, having some experience with how pricey repairs can be with the landlady back at my apartment, I did what came naturally. I offered to help. "I can take a look at it if you want."

Miya gave me a curious look. "Oh? Are you some sort of part-time repairman, Stark-kun?"

I shrugged. "I have some experience with machines and plumbing. I also help around the apartment complex I live in when the landlady asks."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to bother with it if you already have prior engagements."

"It's not like that exactly. I get asked to repair the damages if I can. If not, I just report the extent of the damage, so the repairmen don't overcharge."

Miya hummed thoughtfully. "Well… if you insist, Stark-kun. I'll take you up on that offer if it's not too much of a problem." She accepted with a small bow in thanks.

I waved off her thanks, a bit unsettled by her gratitude. "It's fine, you don't have to do that. I'd be glad to help." Besides, we were… friends, after all. If someone had an issue, I couldn't just ignore it if I could help it.

"When would be the soonest time you can check out the damage, Stark-kun?"

"I can come by sometime next week if that's alright."

"That it is. Thank you for lending a helping hand, even though you didn't have to."

"Well, someone once told me the value of never looking away from lending a helping hand towards someone who needs it." I shrugged innocently at the amused look Miya sent me in response. "What can I say? They stuck with me."

The alien scoffed good-naturedly at my jest. "So I see. Well, it's good that the wayward student learned something from their teacher. Even though some of his culinary ideas could use some work."

I thinned my lips into a firm line at the jab, causing Miya to giggle softly.

We exchanged numbers and bid farewell to each other as we went our separate ways. However, as I walked, I glanced at the new number on my phone that was just added to my measly collection of contacts.

".…" My lips began to twitch upwards into a-

A new number appeared on the screen as my phone began to ring loudly. I frowned, not recognizing the unknown number and hesitating to answer it. After a moment, I decided to accept the call, bringing the phone to my ear. "Hello…?"

"…" The other end of the call was quiet, but I could make out the sound of someone's raspy and labored breathing.

After a few moments of silence, I decided that I was just wasting my time. "…You've got the wrong number."

"W-Wait!" A familiar voice cried out suddenly as I went to hang up, causing me to flinch and pull the phone from my ear a bit. "S-Sorry, I- Uh-"

"Who is this?" I recognized the voice, but I couldn't put a name to it. Maybe it was someone I met in passing? Either way, it didn't seem like this person was another telemarketer, and I didn't give out my number to just anyone. "How did you get my number?"

"I-" The person on the other end breathed deeply before releasing it rather shakily, likely an attempt to regain control of their senses. "This is Kagari… Yasaka's friend from the host club. Do you remember?"

"Yes," I remembered the ashen haired alien vividly. After the scene he made by storming out the bar after our brief contact with one another just the other night, it would be a challenging event to forget, especially with what came after. He hadn't answered my other question, though. "How did you get my number?" I reiterated, still feeling suspicious.

Kagari sighed in frustration. "L-Listen, that's not important right now. I really need to talk to you, are you free anytime soon?"

I narrowed my eyes at the rushed tone he spoke with. Something wasn't right. "We can talk about it now." With the involvement of the Insurrectionist in the Sekirei Plan, I had to be extra cautious. For all I knew, this could be a trick to get me isolated for an ambush.

Kagari began to cough harshly into the phone, causing me to pull mine away as he got over his sudden fit. "No," He rasped, and a slight bit of concern washed over me at how terrible he sounded. "No. This has to be face to face. I'll send you the address where to meet. I'll be waiting on the roof."

With that, the line went dead before I can get another word out.

I sighed, unsure of what to make of the conversation and how to proceed. I still was more than uncertain of the male Sekirei's intentions, but part of me did want to find out what he wanted.

My phone vibrated as I received his message, an address followed by a time to be there.

Putting away my cell phone and adjusting the bag in my hands, I made to continue walking towards my destination, only for a figure a few blocks away from me catching my eye. Looking back towards the figure, I watched them look away from me before quickly taking a turn down the corner of the road, out of my sight.

"…." The uneasy feeling inside me became more prominent.

Looking left and right, I noticed the lack of people around me. I brushed my hand against my right hip, feeling the cold steel of my sidearm protruding from there.

I was too exposed out here, I figured grimly; Best to get home as soon as possible.

---

I carefully chopped the squid, following along with the man on the tablet.

"After chopping your meats, put olive oil on a pan on medium heat, followed by placing several pieces of crushed garlic cloves. Make sure to spread evenly." The chef spoke.

Following the motions onscreen, I placed the massive pile of chopped squid, prawn, and octopus tentacles onto the frying pan. Stirfrying the ingredients together afterward.

The sound of the door unlocking and two sets of footwear thudding into the house alerted me of my Sekirei's arrival back to my home.

"Tadiama," I heard two voices, one a tired drawl, the other energetic, call out.

I held back a sigh.

"Hm~, something smells good." I heard Karasuba dryly comment as I heard two small thuds. Likely her kicking off her boots at the doorway without a care in the world as she often did. I glanced at her when she saddled next to me, leaning onto the counter as she watched me cook. "What are you making tonight?"

"Seafood fried rice and steak," I grabbed the bowls of overnight rice I had placed to the side, tossing them into the frying pan and stirring the mountain of ingredients together. When I was done, I threw in a few tablespoons of butter, mixing it in, then adding shiso wakame into it.

The entire time Karasuba never left my side, the small smile on her face growing when I sent her an irritated look.

"What do you want?" I muttered as I put several splashes of soy sauce into the rice.

"Nothing much, Jo-chan~," She purred. "It's just that- aren't you missing something?"

I sent her a cautious look, feeling confused as I continued to stir the rice. "What do you mean? I have everything I need to cook here."

Karasuba gave me a lidded look as Yume came around as well, giving the food an appreciative glance. "I think she means how you ignored our- or her, call." She sidestepped the elbow Karasuba sent her way.

Their call? Oh, did she mean the greeting? Did they want a response?

I racked my head for the right words, falling silent and slowing my stirring as I thought. "Ok- Okaer- Okaerinasai," I finally replied, feeling a bit satisfied with my growing fluency in the Japanese language.

Karasuba gained a satisfied look at my response, while Yume just giggled at us.

"Speaking of which," Karasuba pointed to Yume, and I saw a small duffle bag slung across the busty Sekirei's shoulder. "Yume's gonna move in with us, hope you don't mind, Jo-chan."

I moved my eyes upwards, connecting with Yume's for a moment before she turned towards Karasuba in alarm. "Wait, I thought you said that you both were okay with me staying-"

"We are," Karasuba cut her off, and I felt her nudge my side. "Aren't we, Jo-chan?"

Yume turned towards me, and for the first time since I've met her, she looked unsure. Lip lightly bit, eyes flickering to and from mine; it was different from how she often acted. It was almost… pleasing to look at.

I supposed my permission was more important to her.

At least someone cared about what I thought.

As if reminding me, I felt another firm nudge, this one pressing harshly into my ribs this time. I had to hold in the urge to strike the offending appendage.

"…It's fine," I muttered as I looked back towards the seafood fried rice, lowering the heat and putting the pot to the side to cool. "Dinner's almost ready. I'll call when it's done."

"You can take a bath till then," Karasuba added with a small gesture. "It's over there, next to the bedroom."

Yume glanced between Karasuba and me a few more times, still looking slightly unsure, but she quickly replaced it with a bright smile as she bowed towards us. "Thank you. Sorry for the intrusion."

And with that, she was off to the bath.

"…Thanks," Karasuba said after a moment as I turned back towards the stove, grabbing another pan and splashing some oil on it.

"I'm guessing you two have a history together?" I asked as I pulled out the packs of steaks I had to the side, searing them on the pan before laying them flat.

Just like Miya had told me.

"You can say that," I glanced at her when her tone shifted a bit. Karasuba just stood there with her arms crossed, staring blankly towards the front door. "She's someone that stuck by me for a very long time. Would've felt… weird to suddenly leave her behind like that after getting my Ashikabi." She threw me a small smirk, eyes glinting. "Hope you don't feel too jealous, Jo-chan~."

I just shook my head in response. I could empathize a bit, though. If any of my Spartans had been around, we would've likely shacked up altogether as we had back in Australia. After receiving our augmentations, we had a tendency to gravitate towards one another if we were around the area, even when we were posted on ships. Hell, when I had shacked up with Blue Team for my retirement process, we never even used our separate bedrooms to sleep. Instead, we all slept in the living room together.

I held back a sigh as a pang of longing shoot through me at the memories.

…I miss them…

…Anyway, maybe she had similar feelings regarding Yume? Being of the same species or because they were both apart of the Disciplinary Squad? Either way, I won't get in the way of a bond like that if that was the case. Even if we were bonded Ashikabi and Sekirei.

…Hell, this might make things easier for me if I don't have to worry about the bond too much. Cut my work out for me.

"By the way," Karasuba began, leaning her elbow against the countertop. "Has Soren told you anything new yet?"

I shook my head, flipping the steaks on the pan. "I haven't agreed to anything yet."

She scoffed. "Really? After all the things I'm sure he's told you that's happening? With the way you acted the other night, I would've thought you'd jump at this opportunity."

"It's a bit complicated…"

"What's so complicated about it? Join us, help us kill a few terrorists sticking their nose in places they don't belong, all while the weaklings are kept nice and safe. I thought soldiers types like you were all about that of stuff. It doesn't get more simple than that."

She was correct, but she wasn't right. Personally, I felt like I would be selling myself out to an organization that didn't hold itself to the same values the UNSC had.

Loyalty. Duty. Respect. Selfless Service. Honor. Integrity. Personal Courage. These were the tenets that I tried my best to live by. I had been chosen at an early age to be part of something greater, and I tried to do my best to pay back that opportunity the best I can. To be with beliefs and a way of living that I can agree with, that I can honor to the best of my abilities.

It felt like I would cheapen these beliefs if I joined a corporation like MBI, making me nothing more but an mercenary fighting for a company's self-interest. I could understand why someone like Soren could do something like that, given his past, but I found myself hesitant to follow.

If things were becoming as bad as they were, why wouldn't ONI be informed, given their apparent partnership with MBI? There should already be HUMINT units and counter-terrorist agents on the ground, doing their best to prevent others from getting involved.

Then again, with how much information MBI was controlling, it could be possible that they might no one else might be aware of the situation unfolding in Shin Tokyo.

My palms began to itch, causing me to dig my fingernails into them.

While a large part of me wanted to agree to Soren's proposition, the possibility that I might end up fighting for the wrong side made my stomach churn. Our wayward Spartan had an intense dislike for the UNSC, ONI, and anything to do with the UEG in general. An aversion that I could see hadn't been tempered since the last time we met. So, to see him again, willingly working for a company who's methods had been so far questionable, left me with doubt.

Not to mention that the last time I trusted someone I just met, I almost ended all life in the galaxy in a misguided attempt to find a way to destroy the Covenant and the Flood.

And to think that I was really beginning to feel that Guilty Spark was something akin to a friend that I hadn't seen in a long time when we first met. If one that talked too much.

Then the stuff with Kagari…

"Just give me some time," I told Karasuba as I removed the sizzling pan from the stove. "I'd like to make sure of a few things before I make my choice."

Karasuba hummed before shrugging. "Understandable. Make sure you can believe in a cause you fight for and all that useless moral debate. Not like I can understand, heh," She let out a dark chuckle. "Just don't take too long. I'd be incredibly disappointed if I found out my Ashikabi is someone spineless. Very much so that I might do something… drastic."

I narrowed my eyes at her toothy grin, her gray eyes opening just enough to see that edging bloodlust hidden within them.

"Noted," I curtly replied before I began to grab the plates and silverware. "Help me set up the table."

She took them with an amused look. "Hm. Gotcha."

Seems like I would have to start reading those training books that Miya had helped me get sooner rather than later, after all.

---

This was getting ridiculous.

This thought ran through my head as I laid there in bed with my two new housemates, having just woken up.

With the new addition of Yume into my home, I had decided to give her and Karasuba my futon to sleep in while I would take the couch in the living room. Unfortunately for me, they gave exception to that idea. Despite my protests, I soon found myself in the rather cramped futon with them, Karasuba having been sandwiched between Yume and me. I had a hard time falling asleep that night, having to take three doses of my sleep medicine before I could go to sleep with some time.

Oddly enough, sometime during the night, I must've turned to my side, something I rarely, if never, do. Sleeping on my back has been almost ritual for me; the only times I change such a thing was when I fell asleep while seated or standing up.

This time, however, along with me sleeping on my side, my right arm had also found itself in someone else's grasp.

Karasuba murmured a bit in her sleep, my hand laying flat against her belly. Her hand was laid on top of mine, our fingers threaded. It didn't help that while she had been sleeping, her -my- shirt had ridden up her body, crumpling up towards the bottom of her breasts, allowing me to see much more than I needed.

Though it did show me that the scar that started by her collar bone went a bit lower than I initially imagined

Unfortunately for me, whenever I tried to remove my hand from her grasp, hers would tighten over it. If that wasn't bad enough, a strange, tingly feeling would course through my body whenever she did, making me feel almost breathless.

I just chalked it up towards it being something alongside the bond.

Though I did find myself wondering if she would even wake up should I forcibly remove my hand, given how tightly Yume held her.

Yume, who had slept in a pair of bear imprinted pajamas that clung snugly against her shapely body, had her arms wrapped tightly around the ashen haired woman. While that wasn't an issue in itself, the buttons to her top, strained as they were, were put to the test when her breast were squished firmly against Karasuba's side.

I had to admit, those buttons were struggling valiantly, a testament to the sheer craftsmanship of the clothing.

I sighed before giving another try at trying to work my hand away from Karasuba.

Karasuba let out a small snort in her sleep, her fingers tightly lacing around mine, as she jerked a bit, her shoulder digging further into Yume's breas-

My eye twitched as the buttons finally gave way, almost flying off the brunette Sekirei's chest with an audible snap. I watched them sail past my face, just narrowly missing, before ricocheting off the wall.

Well…. That just happened…. I didn't know it could… but it just did….

I blinked before turning away from the scene of the crime, about to give another try at my escape, when I came face to face with the aftermath of Yume's wardrobe malfunction.

The sight of her exposed breasts and nipples had me promptly clearing my throat before tearing my hand away from Karasuba's grasp. Getting up onto my feet, I ignored the grumblings and whines of the now awake Sekirei's, deciding to make breakfast instead.

The smell must've woken them up, as they soon walked out of the bedroom just as I was setting the table. Karasuba had muttered her discontent with me leaving, telling me that I 'really was an old man' just because I wake up early.

I just replied by calling her a 'lazy slob,' which had us passively-aggressively bickering until the food was served.

Still, breakfast was a relatively quiet affair, with all of us watching television as we ate. Yume had excitingly called out when she saw something that had interested her as we watched, with Karasuba wryly commenting on her disinterest in them. I had deflected the best I could when they asked me about it.

Curiously enough, I could feel myself relax as we continued our morning. Seems like Karasuba rested on her irritating jokes and teasing whenever Yume was around, deciding to focus that attention on the brunette herself.

Not like I had any problem with it, but I quickly found myself wondering if having Yume around would be a good foil towards Karasuba's… particular personality.

Maybe having Yume here would be a pro for me.

Still, that would mean I would have to work harder to keep my fridge stocked.

Thank you, MBI card.

Still…While it was nice to use money that wasn't mine, I probably should check how much funds my MBI card had that I could use. I wouldn't want to exceed that goodwill they extended towards me…

"Haa~," Yume, fully dressed in her Disciplinary Squad uniform, sighed as she polished off the last of her breakfast tea. She passed the cup towards me with one of her bright smiles. "Thank you, Stark-san. You make wonderful tea!"

I took the cup from her, placing it in the sink with the other kitchenware I was washing. "It's just tea with milk," I replied, ignoring the oddly satisfying feeling surging through me at the compliment.

"Still," She gave me an insistent look. "Thank you. For everything you did so far."

What? For breakfast and a place to stay?

I sighed, my lips twitching slightly.

Not like I had much of a choice on that…

"…No problem." At least she was grateful for it. Less could be said about the other one, though.

She paused, looking as if she wanted to say something more.

"Ready, Yume?" Karasuba called out as she walked out of the bedroom, tying back her hair into its usual ponytail.

"Hm!" Yume nodded before going to put on her boots by the doorway, while Karasuba came to the kitchen to gulp down her tea.

She handed the empty cup to me, which I quickly took and began to rinse down. "What are your plans for today, Jo-chan? Feel like giving Soren-bouzu a call yet?"

"Not yet," I grunted. "Somethings come up, so I want to take care of that first." I still had to meet Kagari soon. Hopefully, I can get some questions answered by someone that didn't seem to be directly affiliated with MBI.

Karasuba raised a brow, leaning against the counter and towards me until our eyes met. "Oh? Like what? From what I've seen, you seem to be a guy with a lot of time on his hands."

I shrugged, placing away the last dish into the dishwasher and drying my hands. "Things change on occasion."

"Hm," She scoffed before she shrugged and pushed herself off the counter. "Well, you can tell me what's going on after. If we're late, Soren-bouzu is gonna give us an earful. God knows I don't need to hear that snake hissing at me first thing in the morning."

Walking off towards the front door, she put on her boots and exited the apartment with Yume. "Ittekimasu," They called out as they left.

"…Itterasshai…" It still felt really odd for me to say that.

I sighed as I unrolled my sleeves and began to get ready to head out.

It wouldn't hurt to show up at the meeting spot Kagari put out a bit early. It's not like I had anything better to do.

---

He's late…

I looked away from my watch to glance around the meeting area—the sixteenth floor of an under-construction skyscraper, with about twenty or so floors left above. Seemed like the workers were off today since finding my way inside and getting on one of the elevators was uncomplicated. Several pieces of wood and other materials were laid about, as well as hardhats and gloves, likely where the workers left them.

I leaned against one of the beams and adjusted my cap a bit. Standing there for a few minutes longer, I sighed and took a swig of my bottled water.

…I know I told myself I had nothing better to do, but I was slowly feeling this entire thing was becoming a waste of my-

My thought was cut short when a sudden mass of black and smoke suddenly landed near the edge of the floor, skidding across it before halting to a stop when it collided with one of the beams.

Blinking a few times, I walked up to the hoarsely coughing heap of smoke, feeling the sheer heat emanating from him as I did. "Kagari?"

The heap of smoke just sputtered and choked in response.

I could feel a line of sweat creep down the middle of my back as the heat became a bit more intense, the heatwaves becoming visible.

"Kagari?" I tried again, only to get choked sounds as a reply.

Frowning, I opened my bottled water and emptied its contents on the combusting alien. Vapor hissed as the water touched his clothes and skin, but it seemed to do the trick, as Kagari began to heave in air like a man starved.

I brought up a hand to touch his shoulder- nothing more but a concerned gesture, but I held back, letting it hover in the air. Probably wouldn't be a good idea to touch him while he's like this. Much less after what happened the last time I did.

Still, I offered my hand towards him. "You alright?"

Kagari, having regained some semblance of composure, gave my hand a wary look before shaking his head and standing on his own. He leaned against one of the beams with a heavy sigh. "Thanks for that. As you could probably tell, I've been having a rough couple of days."

I pocketed the empty bottle with a small nod. "Seems like it. You sure you should be up on your feet?" Seems like he could use some rest in a cryopod just about now. Probably would help him cool down a bit.

Kagari grunted as he slid down the beam to sit. "Don't have much of a choice right now. Trust me, would've preferred to take you to a karaoke bar than here. It would've been a lot more comfortable for me." He spasmed in pain for a moment, grasping his chest, before choking out. "Wondering why here?"

I glanced toward the edge of the floor, seeing the open space and the nearby buildings, but keeping the Sekirei in the corner of my vision. "Area's isolated and abandoned for the moment. No CCTV's. No eyes. No witnesses. Even satellites can't see us." I looked back at him. "It's just us."

"You make it sound ominous when you say it like that," Kagari grimaced behind the black cloth covering his face. Why did he even wear that? It's not like he could hide his identity with his gray hair. "But that's the gist of it." He paused. "I'm guessing that how you're not panicking, you know what I am?"

"Sekirei. Not human." His brow creased a bit at my curt answer, and the air became warmer. "Incomplete on your own, so that's why you need an Ashikabi. Choosing one after reacting towards them for their compatibility. I'm guessing that's why we're here?" I gave him a pointed look. "You're reacting to me, aren't you?"

Kagari grimaced and began to scratch at his chest. "Don't mince words, do you? But you're right. The thing is, I don't find the idea of winging myself to another man to be appealing, amongst other things. No offense."

Why would I be offended? "None taken," Still, what he said made me curious. "I'm guessing most Ashikabi-Sekirei bonds are with those of the opposite gender?" It would make sense since it would allow the species to breed and expand their race if they could crossbreed with other species.

The thought of them being able to do so with Humans sent a small shiver down my spine.

"Yeah," I raised a brow when Kagari sent a disdainful look my way. "They usually are."

"Understandable," I eyed his shoulder as it began to smolder. "But it doesn't seem like you'll last long with those reservations."

"It's not usually like this," Kagari grimaced before coughing. "I've always been a bit of a special case amongst the Sekirei when it came to my powers. Control of them has always been a problem, not to mention being able to find an Ashikabi." He wheezed a bit, pulling down his mask as another coughing fit hit him. "It's why I got a job at the host club, as it allowed me to expose myself to as many different people as possible so I could find my Ashikabi. And it worked, it seems." He gave me a rueful smile. "Just not the way I wanted it."

"Hm, is it really that much of a problem?" Even if Ashikabi and Sekirei's were often paired with the opposite gender, it didn't justify his unease. From what I can understand, all it took would for us to share a simple kiss, and he'd no longer be in agony. Now, I had my reservations on kissing another man if I could help it since I wasn't one who appreciated contact with others, but with Kagari in the state he was, it seemed justified.

Though, I wondered if I could have more than one Sekirei. I wouldn't be breaking any rules of the Sekirei Plan, right?

"I'm…" Kagari's face twisted, almost bitterly. "I'm… nervous. Scared, okay?" He gritted. "Sekirei's imprint themselves onto their Ashikabi when winged." He coughed a few times. "As you can see, my body has been reacting worse than I could have ever thought. Just look at me." By now, several parts of his clothing were smoldering, the heat damage growing with every moment. "And you, I barely know anything about you aside from that your Karasuba's Ashikabi and that your prior service."

I narrowed my eyes. "You were able to access my files?"

Kagari gasped painfully. "Only the ones MBI had on you, which didn't say much. For all I know, you could be the lowest scum on the Earth, even with your military background. Maybe the only reason I'm even reacting towards you is that you're an extraordinarily powerful Ashikabi, and your not my true destined one."

My brow creased at that revelation. "Has that ever happened before with other Sekirei?" The implications of me messing up the Sekirei's chances of bonding with their proper partners made me feel a bit queasy for some odd reason.

Kagari clutched his chest, his breathing heavy. "I don't know, I'm just throwing some theories out there for why my Ashikabi is another man. But Stark," His eyes focused on me with sharp intensity. "I'm not like most Sekirei, as the moment I'm winged, I'll have no choice but to be absolutely obedient to you. Whatever you desire from me, I'll become, and I don't think I can let that happen."

I clenched my jaw, finally understanding that this wasn't as simple as a simple kiss to get more power for him like the rest of his species.

The way he was explaining it, he'll become something similar to a slave to his Ashikabi. Not even I can condone something like that. I don't know the extent of the obedience, but something like that would be dangerous if the wrong person would wing him.

With the weight of the newfound information, I asked. "And if you don't get winged?"

Kagari smiled wryly. "I'll likely die," He said bluntly. He was probably right too, given his slumped position on the beam. Even from where I stood, I could see the beam he was leaning against become heated around the area his body was pressed against. The shakes that wracked his body were becoming more and more noticeable by the second. Not to mention the heat emitting off from him was similar to being a few feet from a raging bonfire.

This really might be the end for him if he didn't get help soon.

And to think that if we had never met in that bar two days ago, he wouldn't be in this type of situation.

In some ways, you could say that this is my fault.

And I didn't like how the thought made me feel.

I blinked away the sweat that fell into my eyes, ignoring the slight sting I felt. "So what do you want to do?" I ignored the way he looked up at me, taking my jacket off my drenched body as the heat was beginning to become unbearable. "Do you want to become my Sekirei, or do you prefer to die?"

"That's not much of a choice," The alien snapped at me, looking angered at my words.

"I know, but it's all you have," I replied patiently, folding my jacket before placing it on a nearby table, my cap going next to it. "It doesn't seem like you're going to get better anytime soon, and if you're that averse at possibly becoming obedient, you're probably better off dead." Unfortunately for both of us, we didn't exactly have the time to get to know one another. Even more unfortunate was that the way he was now, he would be a threat to those that may get in his way should he continue on.

Which meant that he could accidentally hurt civilians with his instability. That was something I could not allow.

"If you want," I added before gesturing towards the revolver in my shoulder holster. "I can do it myself here and now. So you won't hurt anyone or have to suffer."

Kagari gaped at me. "W-Wh-What…? Y-You… You're serious, aren't you?" He said in shock. "You'd really think I'd be better off dead than to wing you?"

I furrowed my brow in confusion. "You just said you don't want to be winged by me, didn't you? Then this would be the next best option."

"You'd really do it," Kagari whispered. "You're not going to tell me you're a good person or try to convince me that I'm better off with you. You'd really kill me here if I wanted to."

I nodded sincerely. "Yes."

He leaned back against the beam, the back of his head making contact with a dull thud as he stared at the ceiling above us quietly.

"Kagari?"

"…You know," He spoke, still staring upwards. "If you really wanted to, you can wing me right now. I wouldn't be able to fight back."

"…Yeah."

He stared at me as he came to his decision, and I said nothing else. I made my offer, live or die, it would be his choice in the end. With his rapidly deteriorating appearance, though, he would only have perhaps thirty minutes to an hour to come to terms with his decision. Either way, I would do my best to help him in accordance of his decision.

I rapidly blinked my eyes as more sweat stung them.

I was the patient sort, a bit. I could wait.

"…" Kagari's lips parted. "Stark, before I agree to anything, I have to ask something."

I leaned back against the beam and folded my arms across my chest.

He took that as to continue. "I… I know that you've already winged another Sekirei, No. 04, Karasuba. The Black Sekirei. MBI's Dog alongside the Chief of Security."

"Yes," I affirmed but noted that particular nickname she had. "Is that a problem?"

"How about you?" He questioned. "Are you with MBI too? Do you work for them?"

I didn't see how that should matter, but I replied nonetheless. "They offered me an opportunity to, but I declined." He seemed to relax a little before tensing when I finished. "They told me to get in contact with them should I change my mind."

Kagari stared at me, cautious. "And are you? Going to accept?"

I looked away from him, staring at the nearby buildings. "Are you aware of the Insurrectionists trying to interfere with the Sekirei Plan?"

He looked confused. "The terrorists? I thought they were in the Outer Colonies? How could they get into Earth? What are they doing in the Plan?"

"From what I know, they're trying to blackmail and manipulate the Ashikabi's to access their Sekirei's abilities to make them do whatever they want them to. Kidnapping loved ones, or holding information over their heads to make them submit." I paused. "The incident two nights ago was one of their attacks through the Sekirei as their proxy."

"When we first met," He muttered. "I heard the bar we were at got attacked that night, probably after I left, which meant they were trying to get to me."

I stared him down. "And why would they do that?"

"…When I found out of my irregularity, I figured I would never be winged. So, I decided that I would protect all Sekirei until they can get winged. Since then, ever since I was released from the labs in MBI, I would stop anything or anyone that would threaten any unwinged Sekirei. After that, I was called the 'Sekirei Guardian' for my actions." He sighed. "It seems like that doesn't mean much to them, though. Even the winged ones are still in danger."

The 'Sekirei Guardian,' huh? I shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But if things get out of control any further, then I'll do what I can to make sure collateral damage is kept to a minimum."

"Take it from me, MBI is not the way to go." Kagari scoffed. "So I'm guessing that the Disciplinary Squad got to the Sekirei who were attacking. Makes sense; only Karasuba would do something as savage as committing Level 5 terminations."

"No," I shook my head. "I'm the one who terminated them."

"….."

"….."

Kagari looked at me slowly, his eyes smoldering. The temperature, already uncomfortably high, rose higher, making me take a few steps back. "That's not something you should joke about, Stark. Normal Humans can't match Sekirei in ability and physical strength."

I blinked a few times, the heat evaporating the fluid in my eyes rapidly. "I'm not joking. And I'm augmented."

Kagari stared at me before snarling, his sleeves bursting into flames. "…A-And why would you do that?! What's wrong with you?! H-How can you just kill them and act s-so flippant about it?!"

"Calm down," I sighed as I watched him immolate himself further. "Breathe-"

"No! Don't tell me to call down!" He hissed at me. "What possessed you to think that would be the best option?!"

I just watched the fires climb up his shoulders, having eaten away at the materials of his clothing, leaving his arms and shoulders bare. If he kept this up and didn't relax soon, it seemed like he would be meeting his end earlier than we both expected.

…And likely take me with him.

"…It happened after you left," I began, beginning to pace around Kagari. "Even though you weren't there, I guess they decided to attack the other one that stayed, the bartender- Hibaki-"

"Hibiki," Kagari snapped.

"Hibiki," I amended. "Unfortunately, they got the patrons involved in the attack, injuring a few, while nearly killing Yasaka."

Kagari paled, making his already sickly appearance worse. The flames receded a bit, though—a welcomed change.

I continued. "One of attacking Sekirei had thrown a knife, and it would've hit him had not one of the hosts pushed him out of the way and took it to his own heart. If I had to guess, he likely died a few seconds after." I stopped pacing, feeling my body beginning to dry up as it struggled to produce more sweat. I cleared my throat. "They took the battle outside, leaving them behind. That's when I found out they also killed the bouncer, Downes, by ripping his head off."

"Wha-"

"Karasuba had already told me," I cut him off. "That it was against the rules for Sekirei to hurt Humans. Yet it still happened." I gave him a hard stare. "You know a bit of my past, that I'm a soldier. I couldn't let them run wild the way they did. So I took matters in my own hands."

"Still," Kagari rasped. "You didn't have to kill them."

I shrugged. "I'm a soldier. I did what came naturally." I frowned. "Dr. Halsey told me that they could still save them, though. Something about 'not reaching their 'deaths' as living creatures.'" I shrugged again at the confused look I got in return.

"…So," Kagari hesitantly began. "They're not really dead?"

"For the moment, yes," I affirmed. "And I promised not to do such a thing to the Sekirei again. I wasn't aware of the Sekirei Plan at the time, along with your limited numbers as a species."

Kagari fell silent for a moment, and the heat emitting from him calmed slightly. "…So what are your plans then? What are you after?"

I shook my head. "I just want to make sure no innocents are hurt in this Plan, and with whatever the Insurrectionists are after."

He stared at me for a few moments, saying nothing. I swallowed, my dry throat making the action harder than it should be.

After what felt like a minute or two, Kagari spoke, voice strained. "…You're an honest guy, almost painfully so."

I remained silent.

He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the beam, breathing ragged. "…I need you to make me a promise…"

I eyed him, beginning to feel a little wary; it didn't seem like he had the time to ask me for that, with his flushed skin, ragged breathing, and his minuscule sweating. He was likely moments from cooking his own organs to the point of no return if he didn't face brain trauma beforehand from the heat.

Still, I nodded. "What do you need?"

He swallowed, or at least attempted to. "M-My job as the 'Guardian S-Sekirei,' if I let you wing me, I want you to never interfere with it. N-not until all the Sekirei in the P-Plan are w-winged."

"How many are unwinged are left?"

"S-Sixty-one," He answered immediately. "The rest are either winged, t-terminated, or haven't been released yet."

I removed my glasses, the lenses warning me of the extreme heat being placed on them, and put it next to my jacket. "How long do you think it'll take for the rest to be winged."

"I-I would guess, s-six more months if the I-Insurrectionists are dealt with first."

"And if not?"

"Two to t-three, probably." Was the weak response.

I stared at him quietly as I considered the deal. While I did want to help the alien, one way or another, with his pain, there was more to it than that. I considered the tactical advantages to it. While it would be simpler to eliminate him right here, that would mean that the unwinged Sekirei would be likely left unguarded. If the Insurrectionists changed their targets to unwinged Sekirei in addition, the situation would probably get out of control fast.

But if I were to wing him now, placing aside my reservations with the idea- would make our situation with the unwinged Sekirei better. With someone protecting them and acting as a deterrent, Soren and I can focus more on the Insurrectionist threat. Not to mention that it could prevent any possible Ashikabi's in their ranks from attaining a Sekirei of their own.

The more I thought about it, the more I found myself agreeing with the idea. Kagari was better off alive than dead in the long run.

I nodded. "I promise not to interfere with your duties as the 'Guardian Sekirei.'"

Kagari smiled weakly at me. "G-Good enough for me." He made to stand up, only to immediately wobble and crash back against the beam, groaning as he slid back to the floor. "Ugh, I-I don't think I c-can move a-anymore." He gasped.

He was close to the end.

I blinked, registering that I was no longer producing sweat, and a lightheaded feeling attacked me, making me nauseous. My orifices felt like they were on fire.

It seemed like I didn't have much time either.

Raising my hand in front of my face in a feeble attempt to stave off the overwhelming heat, I began to approach him. "Last chance," I warned as I kneeled next to him. "Are you sure about this?"

"Y-Yeah," He wheezed. "It m-may be because I'm reacting, b-but I t-trust you, Stark."

I grabbed his shoulders, gritting my teeth as my palms felt like they just grabbed two overheated plasma rifles. I also realized, with me being so close to him, that familiar feeling whenever I got close to a reacting Sekirei: Shortness of breath, flushed skin, the odd compulsion towards the being in front of me.

But between the overwhelming heat and that, it was hard to tell which one was affecting me more. I could only imagine what the alien in front of me was going through.

Kagari placed his hand on my chest, and pain flared as it likely blistered my skin. "I-I am No. 06, Homura. I hope the f-flames of my soul, w-won't become your pyre."

Before I could think any further on what he said, he tugged on my shirt, and I leaned forward until I felt his lips connect with mine.

I felt it again, the prodding of my mind, the invasion, the melding. It rushed unrelentingly, causing my head to pound and my mind to become muddled, forcing my body to relax as if it were some anesthetic. And just like before, it became harder to think and harder to reject.

So I accepted once more.

Kag- Homura released a muffled groan as his back arched away from the beam.

Fire roared around us, matching the blood pumping through my ears. It launched away from him, stretching into two great winged from his back. They were hot, the feeling reminding me of when stray plasma bolts would hit my armor, the heating emitting through the layers regardless of the protection. They flapped once before furling around us, caressing us in its flames.

Determination.

Focus.

Anger.

Hate.

Protectiveness.

Fear.

Concern.

I was a bit more prepared for the emotions to hit me before they did, but they still hit like a truck as I squeezed my eyes shut. Like before, an itchy and comforting feeling spread around my body, causing me to feel flustered.

This time, I recovered a lot quicker, separating my lips from Homura's and releasing him as I dizzyingly pushed myself away from him before I could collapse on his much smaller body.

I furiously wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Homura just blinked, almost deliriously from his position as the wings flapped one more time before receding into nothingness.

The new presence in my mind pulsed timidly as if to remind me of its existence. Instinctually, I clutched it.

I controlled my shuddering with a few quick breaths as I released it, but it took Homura a moment to get his composure.

Once he did, we stared at each other for a few uncomfortable moments as we came to terms with what we just did.

He looked away in embarrassment while I scratched my head. I just shrugged before putting back on my jacket, glasses, and cap now that the area was rapidly cooling from the outside air.

I adjusted my glasses before looking at the confused looking alien. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah," He muttered as he stared at his bare arms as if noticing them for the first time. "Better than before, actually. I've usually had control of my powers, but this…" As if to prove it, he snapped his finger, and instead of an orange flame, it was pure dazzling white.

Hm… Seems like one hell of an improvement to me.

"Good," I said as I put my hands in my pockets. "Let's go."

"Yeah," He agreed as he stood up and began to walk towards the edge. "I'll need to get new clothes but-"

I quickly reached out and caught him as he stumbled, holding him close.

He still felt dangerously hot. It seemed like his body still needed to cool down first. I swallowed, the simple action becoming an uncomfortable effort from how parched my throat was.

It looks like we could both use a moment to recuperate.

It's a good thing there was a café nearby.

"…How about some water first?" I offered.

Homura sighed before nodding tiredly. "Sounds like a plan." He eyed me a bit. "You can let go of me, though."

I shrugged but ignored his words as I began to walk, supporting his weight as I did. "Drinks first."

He looked a bit miffed and was about to say something but held himself back.

We entered the elevator, turning around to hit the button while revealing to us the damage we had done to the floor.

Some of the wooden tools sitting around had caught fire, while multiple beams had either begun melting or had scorch marks on the material. Scorch marks also littered the floor and ceiling where we had been. The beam Homura had been leaning against had all but been melted.

I hit the button as I heard Homura mutter something under his breath, likely embarrassed by his handiwork.

As we descended downwards, I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander.

I really kissed another man, albeit an alien, but that didn't make the situation any better.

…I wonder what Karasuba would do… How Kelly, Fred, and Linda would feel… What Dr. Halsey would-

I felt a cold chill run down my back.

Probably nothing good to dwell on.

Speaking of which…

"Homura," I called as we made it to the bottom floor. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" The alien leaning heavily against me hummed.

"Is it against the rules to have more than one Sekirei?"

"…Huh?"

---

After a refreshing beverage or ten at the local café, small and quaint, we began to talk further about Homura's job as the 'Guardian Sekirei.'

"So you're not on your own?" I asked as I placed an ice cube into my mouth to chew on, having finished my drink but still feeling the winging effects. "Who else helps you?"

Homura, dressed in my jacket to cover up his tattered appearance, took a sip of his mocha-la-chino something- his cold coffee. "The Lightning Twins, No. 11 and 12, Hikari and Hibiki, along with their Ashikabi, J.D."

I chewed thoughtfully on the ice cube. Lightning Twins, huh? "How about this J.D? You know his name?" That must've been the sleepy-eyed man I saw with the twins that night.

Homura shook his head. "No, just his initials. He keeps to himself mostly, but he was prior service with the UNSC. Retired now. Heard that he used to be one of those crazy guys that launched themselves out of space into the battlefield. OSTD's or something."

"ODST," I fixed for him. How did someone like that find themselves in a situation like this? Just the wrong time and place? Or did he have a reason to be in Japan? Perhaps he was a retiree receiving medical treatment from MBI or one of the other pharmaceutical companies here?

"Yeah, that's the one," Homura confirmed. "Something about getting injured in the field and was forcibly retired afterward. He doesn't get too much into it, but he can't speak because of it."

I raised a brow. "He's a mute?"

"Yeah, speaks in sign language. Don't really know it myself, so usually, I just talk to the Twins for information."

"How did you all meet?" If this J.D. was a possible ally, then it would be best to figure out how to get on his good side, or at least not accidentally offend him.

Homura chuckled a bit. "Well, believe it or not, but I was actually defending an unwinged Sekirei from his Sekirei."

"I thought-"

"We're not ally's, not really at least. He hunts down unwinged Sekirei with Hikari and Hibiki so he can terminate them, thin out the competition for later in the Plan. The thing was, he started noticing the same thing I did, how some Humans were trying to take advantage of the unwinged Sekirei, especially with their naivety."

I furrowed my brows, not liking the sound of that. "Take advantage of them, how?"

Homura grimly pursed his lips. "There are people in the city who's learned of the Sekirei's existence and have started trying to find them, so they forcibly wing them."

I narrowed my eyes, my nostrils slightly flaring. "What? People are doing that? Forcibly imprinting themselves on Sekirei despite not being their Ashikabi, for what reason?"

Homura stared at his cup. "Greed. Lust. Jealousy." He gave me a wry look. "Not really for any good reason."

I grounded my jaw, crushing the ice cube in my mouth with my teeth. I felt a wave of uneasiness mixed with displeasure at the thought of people doing something as disturbing as that. Not because they were bonding with aliens, but they were essentially taking away the Sekirei's ability to choose.

What happened to me was a thing that was done for the greater good, to become something greater than myself. For the most part, the Spartan-II class I was raised with thought the same way: that we lost our right to choose for the better part of Humanity, and we embraced the fact, becoming their staunchest protectors during the war.

This, however, was completely different. It sounded nearly identical to slavery, with how it would forcibly bond the two together. From what I've seen, the Sekirei weren't soldiers. It sounded no better than the Flood taking control of sentient beings to be one with their Gravemind.

The image of a near broken AI flashed through my mind.

I felt my lip slightly curl in disgust.

…Horrible. Absolutely horrible.

"Stark?" I looked up at Homura's call, who looked a bit unnerved at my cold anger. "You alright?"

"…I know I said I wouldn't interfere," I slowly began. "But if you need help with your duties, then don't be afraid to ask."

Homura looked a bit surprised at my offer before looking a bit pleased as he nodded. "…I'm beginning to see why I reacted so strongly towards you." He murmured gently, his hand coming up to scratch his chest. "Don't worry, though. I'm usually on top of these situations. Though I can't do too much to the offenders because of the rules, I still make sure to give them a good scare."

I nodded, glad that he wasn't hurting Humans, even if they did deserve it. "The offer's there." I reiterated as I placed another ice cube in my mouth. "So, J.D. and his Sekirei help you with these types of situations?"

"For the most part, they let them go if that's the case." Homura looked curious. "It sounds like you'd like to meet him?"

"Yes," I nodded. "I would like to." If I can understand the man and his intent, I could probably make an ally out of him. If he's as active in the Sekirei Plan as Homura makes him out to be, then he could be an extra set of eyes that I could use in the city for anything unusual. Also, if the man was also prior service, he likely dealt with Insurrectionist before and would know what to look for if made aware.

"Well, I don't have his number or anything, but I'll make sure to let him know."

I nodded; that sounded good to me.

"Speaking of which," Homura began, a bit hesitant. "Just want to know, but… you're not, ya know, like Yasaka, right?"

I blinked, confused. "What?"

"Um, you know, someone who drives on the other side of the road?"

"…Huh?"

Homura was wincing. "Batting for the other team?"

I stared blankly.

"The type who rides the baloney pony?"

"…"

"An undercover brother?"

"…"

"A guy that goes after the Heat-Seeking Love Missile?"

"…" I leaned forward, feeling concerned. "…Are you okay?"

Homura flushed, looking exasperated. "Are you gay?" He asked in a hushed voice.

I raised a brow. Was I gay? Gay?

…..

…..

…What did gay mean? I remember that a lot of soldiers, sailors, marines, and pilots called one another that during my service, but I didn't know what it meant. Was it a form of insult? But there were many who said that while laughing at one another? A term of endearment?

I scratched my head. "…No?"

Homura paled.

I sighed. "I don't know what that means."

I received a disbelieving look in return. "Wha-? How-?" Homura pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you a homosexual?"

Homo… sexual? Homosexual? Homo…? Homo…

I rubbed my chin in thought as I put two and two together. "Are you… asking if I'm attracted to males?"

Homura groaned but nodded, looking embarrassed.

Why didn't he just say that instead? "No." Why did that matter, though? "Are you attracted to males?" It would be a bit awkward if he was, given our bond as Ashikabi and Sekirei.

"What?!" Homura fell quiet quickly as many eyes landed on us, face flushed pink as he continued in a hushed tone. "No! I'm not! I'm straight! I like girls, okay!"

I just placed another ice cube in my mouth, not understanding the big deal. "Okay?"

Still, I felt some surprise about what Homura had to say about Yasaka. Of all things to learn about the kid, I sure wasn't expecting that.

"I'm serious," He snapped before sighing. "So I'm guessing you're the same?"

I shrugged. "I dunno? Never really had the time for things like that." Trying to save humanity is a goal that requires most of your focus and dedication. But still… "Though, I find some people to be appealing, I'm not attracted."

It became easier to control those kind of thoughts after the augmentations. It had been so long since I'd thought about it, I'd wholly forgotten the existence of such an attraction. Sitting across the table from Homura— his slender, almost feminine form only partially hidden beneath my oversized jacket— I was reminded of Margret and Otto, and why I kept such feelings in check in the first place.

"Uh, okay?" Homura scratched his chest. "I didn't mean to offend you if-"

I had to hold myself from rolling my eyes. "Don't worry about it."

We both blinked as we heard a nearby explosion, the patrons of the café murmuring worriedly to one another.

"I'm guessing that's for you?" I muttered as I watched the purple lightning dance across the buildings. I brushed my fingers against the handle of my revolver.

"Looks like it," Homura muttered as he finished the rest of his cold coffee drink. "I'll keep in contact." He stood up before pausing. "And Stark, thank you." He said genuinely.

I nodded. "Best get to it, 'Guardian.'"

Homura nodded, slipping on his mask and quickly making his way out the café.

I watched him go until he disappeared in the crowd before I realized…

…He still had my jacket.

"Damn…"

---

I was nearly home after that whole fiasco when I received a call on my phone. Looking at the ID, it was a number I wasn't familiar with, but I decided to answer it anyway. "Hello? This is Stark."

"What are you doing right now, John?" Soren's voice asked on the other end, making me tense from how grim he sounded.

"On my way home, what's going on?"

"Change that then, we have a situation, and I would like to have you here right now. Karasuba and Yume are already with me at the moment."

"Soren," I tightened my grip on the phone. "What's going on?"

"…It's better if you see it with your own eyes. Dropping a location on your phone, be here ASAP."

And with that, the line went dead.

Frowning, I removed the phone from my ear just as it let out a small ping, having received a message. It was an address in what seemed to be a residential area a mile or two from where the apartment I lived in was.

I focused a bit, and the lenses on my glasses went to work, attaining the location on the address and dropping a waypoint.

It took me about twenty minutes of brisk walking to get to my destination. The first thing that made me realize that I may have stepped in something darker than I initially thought was the flashing police lights. There were multiple police cars in front of a house, along with two ambulances and a heavily armored M650 Mastodon with the MBI logo imprinted on the side of it.

There was tape surrounding the perimeter of the house with several heavily armed MBI soldier in front alongside five noticeably lacking police officers.

On top of the house's roof stood Yume, who gave me a small wave when she noticed me. I returned the gesture as I walked.

"You can't come inside, sir, this official federal business-" One of the officers that saw me approaching began before one of the MBI troops cut in.

"John Stark?" He asked, ignoring the sharp look he received from the officer.

I nodded towards him.

"The boss is inside, sir. In the living room." He reported as he opened up an opening in the police tape.

"Hey!" The officer protested. "This is an official crime scene! You can't just come in without proper identification-"

"Bad news," The MBI trooper dryly replied as I walked past them towards the entrance of the house. "We just let him."

"Bullshit! First, you stop me from coming onto my own crime scene, now you just let some nobody come in! When my supervisors get here-!"

I tuned out the angry officer's ramblings as I opened the door, greeted with a modestly decorated entranceway that led to a hall with more rooms. Soren stood in the hall, still dressed in his black three-piece suit, leaning against the doorway to what must have been the living room.

He glanced at me as I closed the door, lips pursed in a grim line. "You might want to look at this," He paused to glance at my shirt. He raised a brow. "…You've been busy, I see."

I looked down, only to see the palm print burned on my chest when Homura touched during his winging. I shrugged. "I try."

"Yeah, well," He moved to the side, allowing me to go past him. "So have our enemies."

The living room must've been finely furnished at one point, with what could've been a warm atmosphere to allow the inhabitants to relax. A few sofas surrounded what must've been a modern virtual entertainment center, with a small table surrounded by several mats in the middle of it all. The walls were littered with décor and what must've been family pictures, the common theme being the same man, woman, with two children, one male, one female.

Unfortunately, the once peaceful scenery was marred with the five bodies on the floor, wounds littering the four of them, blood having been splattered onto the floor, the walls and furniture nearest to them. The small table had been smashed in, splintered wood splayed across the floor, and the sofas had been flipped over. Each of the bodies was restrained, their hands and ankles being bound by some plastic zip ties.

There had obviously been some type of struggle that occurred here.

I was able to identify four of the bodies at a glance as the family that lived here, but the fifth one, a woman, was the only inconsistency of the entire scene. Judging by her peculiar outfit, the halberd in the corner of the room, her lack of bonds, and her more than average looks, she could only be one thing.

"A Sekirei?" I muttered as I turned towards Soren. "What exactly happened here?"

I was pensive, but I still wasn't sure what was going on.

"As I said, it seems like our enemies were busy." He replied as Karasuba walked into the room through what must've been the kitchen area, given how she was snacking on an apple.

"That's pretty obvious," She said as she bit into the fruit. "Gotta admit, I can appreciate the heart, but not the mess."

I sent her a sharp glare at that comment, to which she returned with a small smile.

It didn't look happy, though.

"Jo-chan! Glad to see you again, just couldn't stay away, couldn't you?" Her nearly closed eyes opened slightly, letting me see the coldness in them as her free hand fell towards her sword. "Then again, I've heard you've been out having a good time on your own, haven't you? Got tired of me already?"

I blinked in confusion. "No? There was another Sekirei I met today, and I winged him to save his life."

Soren's brows shot up.

Karasuba's eyes opened completely to give me a bewildered stare. "Him?"

I nodded. "No. 06, Homura was his name. His reaction to me caused his body to self-immolate, so I winged him to save his life. Also, to continue his duties as the 'Guardian Sekirei,' as his work can help aid the security of the Sekirei's." I gave them a curious look. "How did you even know that I got another Sekirei?"

Soren sighed, rubbing his forehead. "We got the update on the way here. We just hadn't checked who it was." He lowered his hand and gave me an approving look. "Nice thinking, though. We can use as many eyes on the Sekirei as we can." He nodded towards the bodies. "Case in point."

Karasuba eyed me a bit. "…So you're not a homo?"

Geez, what was everyone's deal with this homosexual business? Why did it even matter?

…What? Did they expect me to breed with aliens of the opposite sex or something?

"No," I deadpanned before gesturing towards the scene in front of us. "Can we get back to this?"

She eyed me a bit further before shrugging and taking another bite out of her apple. "Go ahead. I'm gonna go patrol with Yume, tell her the good news."

I gave her a confused look as she walked out. Good news? About what?

I looked at Soren, who just shrugged in exasperation. "I dunno. Aliens, John." Was his answer.

I scratched the back of my head. I guess?

Why can't things just be simple? Like the good days.

"Anyways," Soren began, taking me from my thoughts. "It looks like this was an attempt at blackmail gone wrong." He pointed towards the male body on the floor, an average looking man who couldn't be any older than thirty. "That's Hisashi Kamiya, Ashikabi for No. 30, Midorino. Employee supervisor at AMG Transport Dynamics. The woman is Mika Kamiya, his wife. The kids, Shouta and Miri. His family."

I frowned. "They were attempting to get to his Sekirei through his family?" I guessed.

Soren nodded. "And it seemed like he didn't budge, so they began to torture his family before torturing him. A call came in almost two hours ago, a noise complaint from one of the neighbors, talking about how they heard yelling and screaming from the house. An officer was dispatched, but before he could've made it here, the Sekirei was terminated. My guess is that someone tipped our attackers off, so they decided to cut off the family by executing them before running. Once the Ashikabi was dead, the Sekirei followed suit in termination."

I fell into a familiar sense of calm, dispassionately noticing the gunshot wounds in the head each member of the family had. "They didn't even spare the children," I muttered, taking note of the smaller bruised and battered bodies

Not the worst thing I've ever seen.

Though, it appeared that more innocents were getting caught in the growing crossfire.

"Likely got spooked when they were tipped off. The whole thing is a mess, so the blackmailers were likely amateurs compared to the others. Perhaps hired thugs."

"Do we have any clue on their identities?"

"Nothing concrete yet but," He approached the Sekirei's body, kneeling and motioning me to come closer. "Look at her hand," Soren said as I crouched next to him.

I looked at her hands, noticing her wrists' redness, causing me to figure that she was also bound at one point and likely broke out of them. The other thing I noticed was her right hand and the residual blood left on the knuckles.

I also noticed the dried tears on her cheeks.

"She was able to attack them?"

"Looks like it. It could've been before they were restrained by the blackmailers or after her Ashikabi was killed. It does take a moment for the termination to occur." He pursed his lips in thought. "It makes sense if she did the latter, as she had nothing more to lose by then." He stood up."We have our people analyzing the blood right now. They should be able to give us a positive lead on whoever did this, assuming this is their blood, of course." He frowned. "For a bunch of amateurs, they're pretty good at covering their tracks. This is the only solid piece of evidence we have so far, and we can only hold back the local police from this scene for so long."

As if to solidify the point, a soft beep came from his wrist. Soren pulled back his sleeve a bit, exposing tiny bits of his mechanical augments and revealing a device strapped on it. "This is Leto. Send it."

I raised a brow; Leto?

"Boss, the Feds are here, and they don't look too happy. You're gonna have to wrap things up in there. Over." A voice spoke from the device, likely one of the MBI troopers outside.

"Copy that, get a body bag in here so we can extract No. 30. After that, we'll RTB."

"Rog, we're moving. Out."

Done with his conversation, Soren blinked when he noticed my stare. "What?"

"Leto?" I simply asked.

He shrugged. "Our last names weren't exactly necessary for our training, but we still need one for the civilian side of things. Turns out numbers don't exactly qualify."

I rolled my eyes; I understood that part. But considering what Halsey pointed out with my surname, I wondered if there was some type of wordplay in his as well.

The front door opened, and two MBI troopers rushed inside quickly before entering the living room, black bag in hand. They quickly kneeled next to Midorino's body and began to gently place it inside.

I turned when I heard shouting from outside, rapidly coming closer from the sound of it.

Soren moved towards the living room entrance just as several men in suits and badges barged into the house.

"What the hell are you people doing!?" The lead suit barked at Soren as he blocked them. "Don't you know what you're doing is highly illegal? Interfering with officers of the law? Not to mention you're contaminating the crime scene doing this!" He tried to barge through him, only for Soren to be unmoved. "Stop! Stop what you're doing to that body! That's evidence!" He yelled angrily as the MBI troopers finished up packing the body away, zipping it up.

"That body," Soren began as he gave the federal officer a sharp but gentle push. At least by Spartan standards, considering how the man almost ricocheted off the wall from the force behind it. "Is the property of MBI. We have a nondisclosure agreement with the Prime Minister of Japan regarding the reacquisition of all MBI's assets. Breaking this will be in violation of the Interstellar Business Regulation Act, and will subject offenders to scrutiny under both colonial and national court." He stared him down. "You will not win. Step aside."

"…Oi, Ishikawa." One of the officers whispered to his livid colleague. "Just drop it. You know how these big companies are. They won't even let you keep your socks if they wanted to."

The officer, Ishikawa, just glared at Soren for a few more moments before stepping aside. "Just get the fuck out of my scene, asshole." He sneered.

"With pleasure," Soren quickly signaled the troopers, who picked up the body bag and quickly made their way out of the house. "Let's move, John."

I nodded, letting some of the tension that had been building within me to bleed out a bit. I followed Soren out of the house as he approached the Mastodon parked outside, where the remaining troops went to after the Midinori's body was secured inside of it.

Soren began to talk to the device on his wrist again once the APC's doors closed. "Rover 1-1, head towards the first regroup point outside the residential area to regroup with Rover 2-1. They'll escort you back to base from there. I'll be tailing from behind with Bear and Crow providing overwatch. Over."

"Wilco, Kingpin. Rover 1-1 on the move. Out." The Mastodon took off, quickly disappearing around a corner.

"C'mon," I followed Soren as he approached an M552 Sandcat pickup truck. "We can't fall behind."

We climbed in the truck and buckled in before heading out, soon catching up behind the APC and tailing a few meters behind them at a sedated pace.

From the corner of my eye, I could see figures jumping to and from rooftops near the small convoy, their gray coats giving them out as Karasuba and Yume. Were they the Crow and Bear Soren talked about?

We rode in silence for a few moments before Soren broke it, voice heavy. "John, this is starting to become a bigger problem than we originally expected. It's one thing to keep it in the game, probably hurt some people, but ultimately not crossing the line. Children got involved this time around, and aside from the public outrage once we get a story going, this situation is obviously getting out of hand."

I leaned my head against the headrest of the seat. "Yeah."

"John, MBI may have the resources to deal with this, but we're becoming a bit spread out. Almost a month ago, I had to deal with an Insurrectionist uprising in Sigma Octanus IV after they tried to destroy the MBI facilities we had been establishing there. I had been able to deal with it before it got too bad, but I'm starting to get the feeling it might be a lot worse here than I thought. The Insurrectionist could be using other organizations that don't like us in order to further their agenda, and there's only so much I can do myself when push comes to shove due to the political Hoola hoops I'd have to deal with in the Inner Colonies with my position in MBI."

He threw me a sidelong glance. "The Inner Colonies like to think that such violence that happened when the Covenant found Earth would never happen again, but it seems like they forgot that domestic threats can be just as dangerous as foreign. Everyone in the Inner Colonies is so focused on making an 'Era of Peace,' it's almost like they forgot what was going on before the war happened."

"The Insurrectionist," I muttered.

"Exactly, they seemed to have forgotten that not all Humans agree with each other and are willing to kill to get their points across. You may have not seen it much from how much of a recluse you've been since you got to Japan, but the people in the Inner Colonies are sheltered, especially on Earth. All they see is the next technological upgrade, the next paycheck, the next useless temporary pleasure or trend that'll make them feel better about themselves."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "It sounds like your not that fond of the Inner Colonies."

"I'm not," He admitted. "If anything, the Insurrectionists were right on some points, that the everyday people in the Inner Colonies can't think for themselves. They're like spoiled children who throw a fit whenever they don't agree with something and turn a blind eye to their government when it suits their own needs. The UEG is just as bad, calling themselves a democratic government that works for the people yet oppresses those same people when they desire their own freedoms with an iron fist."

I stared at him. "If you think that way, then why come back to the Inner Colonies and work for MBI then? Why didn't you just rejoin the Insurrection after the privateer group you were with got destroyed?" I didn't care too much for his views for the system I fought for, but I was more confused than anything else. If this is the way he thought, why protect the same people he holds nothing but disdain for?

"I already told you, John. I work for Minaka Hiroto. Not for MBI. Not for the UEG. Not for Democracy. And certainly not for the UNSC and its interests. The Insurrectionists wave a different flag, but the methods are the same as the UEG, if not more extreme at times. Minaka's different than them, so when he asks for something, then I and the rest of MBI's private security corps gets it done."

I shifted in my seat. "You told me Hiroto gave you a second chance, but that isn't all, is it?" There had to be more to it than what he initially told me. To get such devotion from a Spartan like Soren, he must've done something above and beyond for him that changed him so.

"It's simple. He did the same thing to me that he did for the rest of the soldiers he hired." He replied as we regrouped with the rest of the convoy, two up-armored chaingun Warthogs with a Falcon overhead providing air support waiting for us.

"And what's that?"

"He didn't leave us behind."

---

The rest of the drive was uneventful, with the two of us being silent as we left the convoy when we arrived at Shinto Tower to enter the parking garage meant for civilian vehicles.

Soren parked in an available parking spot, turning off the vehicle and unbuckling himself. I followed suit.

Then we just sat there, not making any motions to exit the vehicle.

During the time it had taken us to arrive, I had been slowly feeling a sense of guilt blossom within me as time passed, along with a growing realization.

That if I kept to my current path, trying to do things my way, in a way that I felt comfortable with, more people were going to die or get hurt. At the pace I was going at, with the resources I currently had, it would be too long before I could get enough momentum to start truly defending the people I've sworn to protect.

I was being too passive to do anything meaningful.

A Game… That's what I kept everyone refer the Sekirei Plan as…

…I was very good at winning games…

…Frankly, I've had my answer in front of me the entire time since that night I winged Karasuba, as joining MBI would be the perfect solution to my current dilemma. But still, there was still that modicum of hesitance, that slight unsureness that plagued my mind when-

"John," Soren broke the silence and my train of thought. "The reason I really want you to join us is because I have faith that you can do a better job than me. You have more of a reason to protect the people in the Inner colonies than I do. For whatever reason, you care about them, and that's the type of mentality we're gonna need to make this Plan happen without a hitch, and we both get what we want." He looked at me, face inscrutable. "I have a feeling this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

I was silent for a moment. "…Why?" I asked. "Why do you want me to join you so much? After what happened between us back on?"

"Because, regardless of our past, I still trust you and your judgment. You were acting out of orders back then, and I'm the one who made it personal in the end. Besides," Soren smiled faintly. "Having Humanity's Hero backing us would be one hell of a boon."

I shook my head at my 'nickname.' "I'm not a mercenary-"

"Then don't consider yourself a mercenary. You don't have to work for MBI; just be an associate of ours, a freelancer."

I frowned. "That's the same thing."

"Does it really matter in the long run what you're called, John? You're a soldier through and through, and you still have a duty to the people you've sworn to protect. Tell me," He glared slightly. "Is that what happened today?"

I averted my eyes, clenching my jaw. "No."

"Then what other reason do you need?"

"I'm…" My voice was uncertain, unconvincing. "I'm retired."

"'Retired,'" Soren scoffed. "Do you really believe that?"

Ah, damn. He was right, wasn't he?

I know there's a reason why I held myself back, but with the events happening recently, I couldn't even remember my original reasoning, if there was any real one in the first place. I kept construing logical excuses, kept holding myself back, and for what?

In the end, I was just doing what I was told, wasn't I?

"So, what's your decision, John? I need to know now."

It was a relatively simple one, wasn't it? One I should've made much earlier. Yet, the more I came to terms with my final decision, the more tension and exhilaration I could feel building inside of me at the thought of fighting once more.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the headrest. My memory wandered to Homura's vehement dislike at the thought of working with MBI.

"Well?" Soren asked.

Inhaling forcefully through my nose, I opened my eyes and stared into his.

Sorry Homura, but…

"Let's go to work."

The duty of a Spartan was to win, at all costs, after all.

End Chapter 11

---

((Author's note:

So, I realized that with how much everyone wants Blue Team to join the story- and they will don't worry, that if I just put them in the story without any explanation on how they changed since 'retiring,' it might trigger some people.

Hence, I decided to provide tidbits on Blue Teams' journey, so when they are introduced, it can feel like a more organic progression instead of a sudden.

People change, especially military, after they 'retire,' in some ways.

Let me know what you guys think, yeah? So, I can either continue or get rid of it depending on the feedback I receive.

---

Omake: Blues Clues (Part 1)

Fredric-104

ONI Holding Facility

April 3, 2556

(3 Years before present events)

Fred opened his eyes to a dull gray ceiling that was rapidly becoming familiar to him, staring at it for a moment as he blinked away the remaining grogginess he felt.

It was the seventh time he had woken up to it, after all. Since he and the rest of Blue Team were apprehended after foiling a terrorist plot against the Human-Sangheili peace talks planned out by Sapien Sunrise. Fortunately, their intervention had ended with little collateral damage, having killed the nineteen undercover terrorists that had been part of the plot almost flawlessly.

Almost.

Unfortunately, the little amount of collateral damage that had occurred had come in the shape of a fatal wound on the Human delegate's, an Outer Colonies ambassador by the name of Richard Sekibo

Fred remembered as he held the dying man when he collapsed after Blue Team had gotten him and the remaining delegates into safety. The way Sekibo stared at him as he desperately clutched at his gauntleted-clad hands as he slowly passed.

They had done what they could, but the stray gunshot at his side had nicked an artery, and they had no biofoam on hand to clog it up.

The way Sekibo had muttered 'thank you' for his efforts before going limp in his arms still haunted him a bit. All that time and effort, wasted by a single piece of metal.

Fred had gotten used to death; he had to so he could stay sane during the Human-Covenant War. The deaths, be it ally or civilian, as long as they were under his watch, still affected him deeply regardless.

He still wondered how John was able to deal with it so well.

Didn't help that they were apprehended afterward by ONI and UNSC forces before they could thoroughly explain themselves. Left in their cells while ONI conducted an official investigation on the matter.

"Ngh," He grunted as he sat up in his cot, bringing his arms above his head to stretch out the muscles in his body.

He was beginning to overthink again. Not like he had much else to do while detained, though.

Dropping his arms, he let his droopy gaze wander around his little 'room.'

It was a simple setup for a 'convict' like him, a simple-sized cot, a metallic sink with a mirror, a toilet, and a desk with a chair. Concrete walls covered three of the four corners of the room, with the entrance being a wall of reinforced glass with a few air holes in it.

All in all, it was one of the damn best setups he had in a few decades. Three hots and a cot for seven days? If he wasn't already aware of his circumstances along with the guards restricting his movements, then he would've thought he was taking leave, if such a concept existed for Spartan-II's.

Fred reached down and slipped on his grey slippers, flexing his toes a few times before standing up with a sigh. He glanced towards the door, listening carefully.

'Any moment now…'

He smiled a bit when the sound of a door sliding open rang out, followed by several boots thudding on the ground.

Fred stepped away from the glass wall just as it polarized, blocking his vision from whoever was walking the halls.

He saw a shadow approach his cell, the figure hard to make out from the polarization.

"Lunchtime, 104. Step away from the entrance or no food." A voice droned from the other side.

"I know the drill." He replied, leaning against the wall furthest from the figure. The opening to his cell was pulled to the side, and a tray of food was dispensed. "Thanks."

"You have ten minutes for your meal." And then the shadow left his field of view, the wall depolarizing shortly afterward.

Fred heard sheets shuffling from the cell next to him. "What is it?" Linda's groggy voice asked.

Approaching the tray, he picked it up and examined its contents. "Dehydrated chicken, canned peas, those brown beans, mashed potatoes, a piece of cornbread, and a cup of water." He smiled. "They really went all out this time. They even left us those tiny packets of salt and pepper. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." Was the reply, followed by the sound of covers being thrown.

Taking a seat against the wall adjacent to the reinforced glass, Fred opened his pack of plastic utensils and dug into his meal.

'Delicious.' He thought as he ate the heavily preserved space food, hearing Linda tear open her own pack of utensils.

The clattering of their utensils against their trays was the only noise that reverberated throughout the empty hall.

As he ate, Fred glanced at the other occupied cell across from Linda's, where a tray of food continued to lay there, untouched.

He swallowed the food in his mouth. "Kelly," He called out, and he heard Linda sigh a bit. "Food's here, eat."

Silence. Fred didn't have a good enough angle to see what was going on in the cell, but there was no movement.

"Kelly," He tried again. "You up?"

Silence.

"Fred," He heard Linda call. "You know how she is right now."

He set his lips into a firm line. "This'll be the eighth meal she's skipped in a row. She needs to eat."

Linda didn't say anything in response, and Fred sighed when he continued to see no movement from the cell. "Kelly, please."

Still nothing.

Soon enough, their mealtime was over, and their ONI captors retrieved the three trays, two empty and one full, before leaving the Spartans to their own devices.

Left alone once more, Fred retook his seat against the wall, leaning his head against it as he stared at nothing.

It's not like he had anything better to do. None of them did, and playing word games got old after the first fifteen hours.

So he sat there and stared.

He heard sheets ruffle from Linda's cell and assumed she went back to sleep once more.

Maybe she was on to something, yet Fred was slowly getting sick of always going to sleep. He didn't meditate like Linda did, nor did he have any form of mental or muscle exercise he preferred to do like Kelly did when he had spare time.

Fred loved his knives, though. To care, examine, and polish them. Perhaps even practice some footwork if he felt like it, just something to keep his hands busy.

Unfortunately, their captors didn't even let them keep their plasticware, so all he could do was play with some lint in his pockets or mess with a stray string or two. He thought of doing some counting, but he felt like that would be close to telling himself was that he was losing his mind.

Getting tired of staring at the wall after a few minutes, Fred sighed and pulled out the measly piece of string in his pockets, wounding and unwounding it around his fingers as he sat.

'This is one hell of a way to thank us after saving their precious diplomats,' He thought with some smidge of growing resentment.

Before the Sangheili-Human peace talks incident, they had been worked to the absolute bone since the war had ended by their Higher-ups. Infiltration, espionage, saboteurs, assaults on enemy bases, a few assassinations…

…Veta Lopis…

Fred exhaled noisily from his nose.

….it just was one thing after another.

It wasn't like they didn't try to contact someone about the Peace Talks attacks before they went in themselves, but it seemed like the message they sent either hadn't arrived, or it arrived too late by then.

Fred made a call, and he was beginning to think it was the wrong one. Hell, it's why he hated being a Lieutenant, Junior grade so much. He thought of himself as an alright leader, but compared to others he knew, he didn't think he was that good.

Damn Kurt. Pulling shit out of his ass like that before going out in a blaze of glory.

He was sure if John was there with them-

'Stop it. Don't think about that. Don't think about him.'

Fred took a shaky breath, standing to his feet as he began to pace around the cell.

The string went taunt around his finger before becoming loose. The string went to another finger. Taunt, then loose.

….He was beginning to think too much again. Always too much.

"…Shit…" Fred muttered. "We need to get out of here…"

Linda's soft snoring was the only noise that replied.

---

Fred accidentally tore the string he had wound around both his index fingers in half when he heard the hallway door suddenly open. Multiple boots thudded off the floor, along with the sound of much heavier ones.

'What's going on?' He thought, confused. It was too early after dinner for them to be back so soon.

"104, 087, 058. Get up, you're being released," An ONI operative called as he walked towards his cell, pressing a few buttons and the reinforced glass wall sliding apart. A Spartan-IV escort standing behind him. "Leave your things, and follow us for debriefing."

Fred got off the bed, pocketing his broken string and making his way out just as Linda left her cell after it was unlocked, yawning as she did.

"Heh," Fred smirked when he saw the disarray her red hair was in, one half of it standing up in a cowlick, the ends of it limp and dangling, while the other half was loose, falling towards her shoulder. "Looks like someone slept well."

Linda blearily stared at him before licking the palm of her hand and attempting to flatten the cowlick on her hair into something more presentable, making it look messier in the process. "Morning to you too, Fred."

He continued to smirk, but it quickly vanished when their reclusive remaining teammate walked out of her cell. Fred sharply inhaled. "Kelly…" He breathed.

She didn't look good at all. Her brown hair was off its usual ponytail, allowing the frayed and greasy locks of hair to splay around her head and fall a little past her shoulders. Kelly's eyes were sunken in, emphasizing the blues of her weary eyes, as well as her cheeks, the bones becoming more prominent to his eyes.

It wasn't any of her facial features that had him alarmed, though, as much as he hated to admit it, but Linda and he had gotten used to it. It was her body that did so, as he hadn't seen it out of its armor for almost a year by now.

Often slender, it now looked malnourished, the skin taut around her hands and arms; he could even see her collar bones visibly protrude from the collar of her sweats. The clothes themselves, snug against Linda's body, looked several sizes too big on her now, emphasizing the lack of mass on her that worried Fred.

All that, mixed in with her already pale skin, made her features seem almost ghoulish in comparison.

Fred swallowed, the action feeling harder than it should have been. "You've…. Lost some weight." He said weakly.

Kelly glanced at him but said nothing else.

Linda said nothing either, but her intense eyes spoke more than enough for her.

"Let's get moving, Spartans." The ONI operative said gruffly as he led the way, the Spartan-IV positioning himself behind them. "Someone important up top wants to see you."

Kelly quickly fell in line behind him, not saying a word to her Spartan comrades.

Fred and Linda glanced at each other before quickly following after them, the thud of the Spartan-IV's armored footsteps echoing behind.

Of course, Fred wasn't an idiot; Kelly's behavior and lack of self-care was something that both he and Linda had been tracking for a few months already. Things such as not eating, lack of sleep, and apathetic attitude had been something they had tried to help her with, but she had not confided in neither of them, regardless of their extensive history together.

This just was the first time he had seen the results of such self-destructive habits with his own eyes, as she had rarely removed her armor anymore. It made him feel horrible, knowing he had allowed such a mentality to fester inside of Kelly as it didn't affect her battle readiness, but something even more profound that he couldn't even possibly figure out how to assist with at this point.

The thing was that Fred and Linda knew precisely why she became this way, but none of them knew how to confront her with it, as it had become something akin to a taboo in the squad.

John's death, or how ONI would officially put it, his Missing in Action report.

After they had been retrieved from Onyx after the end of the Human-Covenant War, the possibility of John's death was something they didn't stop to think about. Such an idea left them incredulous, even when some jackass decided to stencil John's service number on the Voi Memorial. All of them felt that the public and the UNSC were jumping the gun at the idea of such a thing happening, as it had barely been two months since the war had ended; John just needed more time before he would eventually return.

The public, however, found the idea of someone of John's status becoming some sort of martyr for Humanity to be absolutely lovely. They held talks on public television about him, charities were named after his rank, buildings would be built to honor him, his service number would be synonymous with luck. They were even building goddamn statues of him on several remaining planets. The future Museum of Humanity being built would feature one of these statues, along with a monument that would 'depict' John's final battle and 'ultimate sacrifice.'

It was something that got on Blue Teams' nerves every time they saw things like that. They felt it was disrespectful to their leader to be written off so quickly.

But then time moved forward, and he still hadn't returned. Two months became seven, then a whole year, then two, three. It whittled at their hope, especially with all the memorials and such being made to honor him.

While it had been hard for them to slowly accept the thought that their friend and leader might actually be dead, it was Kelly that took it the hardest. Fred sympathized for her, he really did, as while he and Linda lost Will on Onyx all those years ago, they still had one another. For her, Sam had been the first Spartan-II casualty ever recorded, being ordered to die right before her eyes and leaving her haunted. He doubted she ever forgave herself for that- he could only imagine how John felt. It must've been the realization of her being the last remaining member of their three-man team- that John had actually died saving Humanity without her to back him up, that had hurt her immensely.

Fred remembered how hard it was for him and Linda to hold Kelly back from attacking Dr. Halsey when she called them 'fools' for even imagining such a possibility when they went to talk to her about their doubts. How wide Halsey's eyes had been at the sight of one of the children she raised, raising her hand against her, left her unnerved and wary of her.

Fred figured that Kelly blamed the doctor for kidnapping her to Onyx and not leaving her to fight by John's side.

Kelly and Halsey had never talked again afterward, while Linda was unmoved and silent as usual, and Fred was still too attached to the woman he considered 'mother' to just leave her to rot in a cell.

That was a year ago, and Halsey, now considered a war-criminal, had been moved to another ONI facility that they weren't privy to.

Fred thought that Blue Team just needed some R&R for now, especially after the whole clusterfuck of a rescue at the peace talks that saw them imprisoned.

'Just for a little while, two weeks tops,' Fred thought. 'Emerald Cove sounds like a great place to be.'

After this, they would need it, as they were beginning to reach the end of their ropes as a team. If things continued on as they were, with nonstop missions one after another, someone was bound to snap eventually.

Fred glanced at Kelly.

Some sooner than others.

God, he wished John was back. He would know how to keep them all focused, to keep them calm when in the middle of a political shitstorm, even with his lack of understanding of politics themselves.

'Wish you were here, brother…'

Under careful surveillance of their ONI captors, Blue Team walked in silence.

---

Blue Team, in various states unique to each one, stared in shock at the ghost standing in front of them and her words.

Serin Osman idly smoothed out the creases of her lapels, her face ever slightly amused.

Astonishingly, or instead, unsurprisingly, Linda was the first one to regain her wits. "…What did you just say?" She asked, her typically monotone voice hardened with an edge that could've cut steel.

Serin withheld a sigh. "It's as I told you, Linda. After this incident, the UEG universally agrees that the Spartan-II program is part of a bygone age of war that doesn't align with their current visions of peace."

Fred finally spoke up, his teeth gritted. "We saved them! We did the best we could with what we had! What the hell are they thinking?!"

Serin gave him an almost sympathetic look. "Trust me, Fred, they're very grateful for your actions and all around pleased with the end results, even if they would've preferred Sekibo's survival over the Sangheili delegates." She shrugged. "But they also strongly believe that the entire situation could've been dealt with better."

"We didn't have time for that!" Fred snapped. "Once we figured out where the shipment of weapons we were tracking was headed to, it took all we had just to make it to Biko on time! It would've taken too long for a proper counter-terrorist team to be deployed before the attack happened!" He slammed his fist on top of the metal table in his anger, leaving a sizable dent.

The two Spartan-IV guards posted behind them by the door were tense, their hands inching towards their sidearms. They quickly stood at ease when Osman sent them a sharp look.

"Blue Team," She sighed. "While everyone in the UEG is very appreciative of your efforts and believe that you should all be awarded accordingly for it, they also say that this sort of unsanctioned operation is unacceptable. Storming an embassy without notice and shooting it up, causing misunderstandings left and right, that, while justified, left the Colonies shaken from the political backlash. It was a proverbial shitshow."

Fred was about to snap again, but he was cut off by Linda, who raised a hand, calmly eyeing the Head of ONI. "And what do you think?"

"…Good work," Serin answered after a moment of thought. "But it was too open, too public, though, I understand the situation you had on hand. We often have to work with the cards dealt to us, even when they're stacked against us. But the politicians don't see it the same way we do; they're too soft, too frightened. But compared to what they had initially had in mind, which was to completely deactivate you into everyday civilian life with a pension, I was able to work something out."

Fred thickly swallowed, feeling as if there was a rock in his throat. "But… that would mean that we would still have to-"

"Retire, yes." Serin finished for him, sliding the datapads on the table towards them individually. "But you can still work for us in… other ways."

Linda narrowed her eyes while Fred looked lost.

Kelly, however, just looked pissed, a far cry from her recently apathetic attitude. "…This is bullshit." She scowled, finally speaking after being utterly silent for the past seven days.

Serin was unphased, an unconvincing, cold smile on her face. "Congratulations, Spartan's, you're now going to be civilian contractors under UNSC jurisdiction."

Fred felt like the day couldn't possibly become worse.