Author's note:

Given what's going on in The Land of the Free, the chapter title is as much a reassurance to my readers as it is a reference to a W.A.S.P. song.

Also, I'm now open for commissions! Details on my profile page. Special thanks to Natsu is Awesome for answering my questions about how best to set it up. Check out their profile and works; you might find something you like.


I'll Be All Right

Inside the luxuriously carpeted hallways of the Mikogami manor, Juusa was startled by a crash of shattering pottery.

"Well FINE!" her master shouted. "Stay away, for all I care! I don't want you in my collection anyway! After all that I did for you…"

Juusa couldn't complain. Her crumbling mental state matched her master's ever since Akitsu left them. No amount of fight practice, in real life or Tekken, could fix the nausea clenched in her gut.

She found Nanami in the kitchen. Her stress-eating was getting worse, her mighty tuning fork-spear reduced to impaling a frozen cupcake. Another bad sign: this meant she'd finished off the remaining sweets in the walk-in fridge and was raiding the freezer for goodies. Not just one, either, for Nanami had a whole two-dozen plastic platter of cupcakes in front of her, most of them reduced to just wrappers.

Juusa rapped her staff on the doorway. "Nanami?"

The golden-blonde turned to Juusa with teary eyes. "Akitsu… She came back."

Juusa's eyes widened. "She did? When?!"

Nanami sniffled. "Just to get her phone…"

Juusa was stumped. Not enough to wound everyone, now Akitsu had to salt it?

Juusa pulled up a chair and sat down next to Nanami. "Gimme one of those vanilla ones."

Several days later...

"Hurry up, Akitsu!" Uzume called as she snagged a water tower with her veil and banked a hard right turn. Her skirt came up, giving anyone who looked a money shot of her white thong. "You don't wanna lose them!"

Akitsu didn't answer but remained close behind, conjuring an ice bank to turn her leap into a curving slide off the corner of a roof. Below them, Musubi and Tsukiumi were nearly neck-and-neck, blowing down the sidewalk with the contents of their baskets held in by sheer wind pressure.

"Is this really so important?" Akitsu asked as she caught up to Number 10.

Uzume whipped another coil to latch on to a fire escape, slingshotting herself over the building with Akitsu conjuring a series of ice platforms to follow her.

"Just because we're Sekirei," she replied, "and sexy by default, doesn't mean we shouldn't exercise!" She twisted mid-flip, spying the upside-down duo flying over a crosswalk, literally, skipping every painted strip to land on the opposite side of the street. "Besides, if Matsu's right and Kagedansu really is a brain-type, that means he got those big, hunky muscles by busting his ass and putting in the time! Why can't we?"

"I don't want to have bulging muscles," Akitsu lamented.

"That's why we're running, not lifting weights!" Uzume said, vaulting over that same street, rooftop-to-rooftop. Though it was frustratingly irritating, Akitsu's willingness to go along with anything she was told definitely had its advantages. "We do enough of this, and we'll get thick, toned legs like a fitness model's! Plus, don't you just love feeling the wind?"

"But I remembered my underwear," said Akitsu.

Uzume almost lost control of her flight on account of hysterical laughter. She had to tuck and roll to avoid hip-checking a building's ledge.

"Gah… Heh heh… What's the point of being a Sekirei if you can't enjoy it?" Swerving left, and yup, Uzume still had a bead on Musubi, who by this point was emerging as the leader of the race.

Uzume slowed down enough to let Akitsu catch up, though she knew it was her enthusiasm that dimmed, not her stamina. "That feeling you get when you jump in the air, close your eyes and ride the vertigo? It's a rush you'll want to get back to over and over, almost better than sex."

Akitsu seemed to ponder this as she ran, her pace wavering like her clutch wasn't in gear. Faster, slower, though the fact she maintained her average pace was something, considering Uzume had to go full-throttle to keep up. Ducking a clothes line, the Ice Sekirei on her next leap closed her eyes and cast her arms wide. Uzume was beside her the whole time, watching her head loll back as she lost sense of direction, gravity taking her while the wind rustled her dress.

Feelings like that were why Uzume had worn her battle attire. Now that she was free from Higa, she was free to indulge in her discovery: tight-knit shirts and jeans were sexy, but loose, flowing clothes were the way to go when challenging the wind. Ironically, the only person who didn't seem to realize this was Kazehana.

"Open your eyes, Akitsu!"

She obeyed as the landing zone, for both Sekirei and helicopters, rapidly approached.

Sprinting across the pad, no doubt drawing a few curious looks from the hospital people, Akitsu turned to her. "You were right. I like it."

"Of course you do!" Uzume laughed. "Who wouldn't? It's like free rides on a rollercoaster, and the track is never the same!"

Akitsu nodded. "I've never been on a rollercoaster, but I imagine I'd like that, too."

Sighing and smiling, Uzume shook her head. From their previous encounters, she'd pegged Akitsu as a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. The reason was clear: she was depraved from being deprived.

"But why would you want thicker legs?" Akitsu asked.

"Oh, you poor thing," Uzume said. On their next leap, she twisted and grasped Akitsu's hands mid-flight. "Girls go crazy for thick, sexy man muscles, right? Well, guys go crazy for thick, sexy lady legs."

"...I understand," Akitsu replied. Her pace outstripped Uzume's when they landed again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The front door flew open so hard the knob might've smashed through the wall, if not for the rubber door stop.

"I win!" Musubi exclaimed, the frills of her pink maid outfit bouncing along with her body.

"Zounds!" Tsukiumi panted, her basket of groceries slipping through her fingers to thud to the floor. "I'll have my place yet, Musubi!"

"But for now," Musubi teased, presenting her basket, "your place is putting the groceries away. 'Loser's lot,' remember?"

Grimacing, Tsukiumi stood straight and strutted into the kitchen. Her blue maid outfit was sure to turn Minato's head, once she'd put everything away. The meat's place was at the back of the top shelf, out of Kusano's reach. The child, halfway to a troublemaker, was liable to steal a prime cut and wheedle Akitsu into anti-freezing it for a snack.

Tsukiumi was thankful such a skill required time and concentration, lest a bolt of insanity cause Akitsu to reject her husband. Boiling alive in one's own skin was a horrid way to face termination.

Tsukiumi's eyes widened and her fist slammed the counter top. "What madness hath struck me?! Share my husband with another woman?"

"Not as appealing as it once was," said a voice.

Tsukiumi brushed her hair behind her shoulder, for over that shoulder and in the hallway stood Kazehana, bottle clutched between limp fingers and slothful look dragging her gaze to the floor.

"Surely thou jest," Tsukiumi replied, then resumed putting the meat away. "I recall thy proclamations of being the true wife. Mistaken as thou art, I know thee as one who'd share my disdain for further competition."

Kazehana half-heartedly shrugged. "I never minded sharing Minato with anyone. I just liked the way 'my husband' rolled off the tongue."

Tsukiumi rolled her eyes and braced for the lewd remark to follow, but it never came. Strange.

"And now?" Tsukiumi inquired.

Kazehana sighed. "Now..."

The meat was away, so next came the vegetables. No fear of Kusano there: she despised eating vegetables. "Now? Yes? Out with it."

She heard Kazehana take a swig from her bottle; by the hollow sound, it was nearly half-empty. "Tsukiumi, do you trust your Sekirei core or your judgment more?"

Tsukumi paused. "Thou art the second to ask me that. His Sekirei core's betrayal prompted Homura to ask, but thee? Doth doubt beset thy mind, truly? Thou wert the first of us to bond with him."

"Humor me," Kazehana wearily replied.

"I'll tell thee as I told him: while 'tis true a Sekirei core can be wrong, as was the case with that… weed who fell to her Ashikabi's ire, my core hath not led me astray. It drew me to Minato, and had I listened, lonely nights may instead have been spent with my husband."

"I see," said Kazehana, who then took another drink.

"However," Tsukiumi said, standing up and closing the fridge, "my judgement hath served me well outside of marriage. It hath kept me safe, guided my hand, and tempered my wrath. Beyond the Sekirei Plan, in matters of the world, my sense steers my course, not my Sekirei core."

"And what does your judgment say about Kagedansu?"

"He is guilty under duress, or perhaps hubris," Tsukiumi answered immediately. "The peacock is far too warm and far less devious to mastermind the spider's web we find ourselves in. The night of the bridge escapade, he had me at his mercy but spared my life. His motive for the hidden knife, I know not. Perhaps he plays the role of Faust, or merely another fly in the web, but that he could craft such convoluted schemes on his own? Preposterous. Now..."

She pivoted on her heel and strode past Kazehana. "Where is my husband? This servant's attire demeans me; I would have it serve a purpose."

"I think he's out with Ku," Matsu said, popping in from the stairwell. "They went to Seo's place."

"What?!" Tsukiumi raced upstairs, then downstairs, keeping her French maid outfit as she ran out the door. "I shall have thee, Minato..."

Kazehana watched her go. "Does she actually know where Seo lives?"

Matsu sighed. "Well, if she doesn't, hopefully she took a cell phone with her."

Kazehana took another swig, interrupted by Matsu shaking her shoulder. She must've zoned out; when did Matsu come downstairs?

"I heard what Tsukiumi said." Matsu beckoned Kazehana to follow. "It's something I want to talk to you about."

"Can it wait?" Kazehana slurred, though not from the booze. "I can't seem to get drunk."

"This won't take long," Matsu assured her, "but it concerns me."

Sighing, Kazehana lowered the bottle and proceeded upstairs to Matsu's room. Once inside, Matsu sat down amidst the glow of her monitors and brought up a video, so old it was in 4:3 format. It depicted a much younger Tsukiumi; they wouldn't have recognized her in the plain MBI robe she wore, but for her wavy blonde hair. She was in a tiled room, even along the walls, a middle-aged black-haired woman standing behind her with a clipboard. Kazehana wondered if she might look the same in a few decades.

The young Number Nine was lifting water out of a bucket, congealing it into a warbling sphere before it splashed back down, droplets scattering against the camera lens.

"Again," said the woman, "but this time, separate it into equal parts."

"Y-Yes, baba," the young Tsukiumi said fearfully.

Matsu paused the video. "Recognize her?"

Kazehana nodded. "Miyajima. The only person as crazy as Minaka. Sounds like Tsukiumi got a full blast of her personality growing up."

"Maybe, but that's not what I wanted you to see," said Matsu. Three clicks dismissed the vid and brought up a new one, with virtually nothing changed save for its subject and its definition, now in 16:9. This one had a skinny Kagedansu, malnourished like his early stage photos, hunched over like he was trying his damnedest to push out a fart. Kazehana might've laughed, if not for… Well, everything.

The video played, and Kagedansu's boney cheeks puffed out with exertion, making whistling noises through his lips instead.

Truly, it was the same place, for standing behind him was Miyajima, clipboard in hand. For some reason, she nodded at his exertion. "Now take two steps forward."

Yellow eyes… Yellow? Kagedansu said they only turned that color when he was anxious or something. He took those two steps, then breath exploded out of his mouth and he fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"Owww…"

"Again!" Miyajima snapped.

"Okay," he mumbled, and obeyed.

Kazehana frowned. "What's happening here?"

Matsu didn't answer, for the video did for her. This time, despite nothing different, Kagedansu made those same two steps to a nod of approval. Then he collapsed to his knees.

"So the cloak can be maintained with mobility now," she remarked. "Progress has been made. More tuning should ease the burden."

Kagedansu jolted up and made a break for something off-camera. A splash saw him cast back in-frame, knocked on his butt, water dripping from his nose, ears and sleeves.

"Thou art less than me, brat, so thou shalt endure as I did!" said a familiar voice.

Kazehana's eyes widened. "No… It isn't."

Matsu nodded as the feed ended. "It is."

Kazehana sat down, thoughts jostling in her head like clothes in a tumble dryer. "So, then, Tsukiumi can't be trusted."

Matsu let out a ragged sigh. "So much for better judgement."

"Thou hast no right to cast stones in glass houses."

The two women turned into an emerging light, fighting a third had joined them.

"I thought you went to Seo's," Kazehana idly commented.

"Indeed," said Tsukiumi, holding up a commandeered cell phone. "Till sense returned to me."

Flipping it open, she held off on dialing. "Need I remind thee, for thou hast clearly forgotten, that thou vagrants attached thyselves to the first sign of life and stability thou happened across, simply because thou hadst a reaction and found a man acceptable. I spend days, nay, weeks probing his mettle before wedding myself to him, so bite thy tongue if thou art to accuse me of unstable grounding!"

Kazehana slowly rose to her feet, the sake bottle slipping from her fingers as Tsukiumi turned and stormed down the hall. She was fair, so gave fair warning by knocking Tsukiumi off her feet with a gust of wind.

"There are only three people who can talk to me like that," Kazehana said, her hand held before her. "In case you forgot, you're not one of them."

Matsu felt a stone hit the bottom of her stomach as Tsukiumi got up off the floor and faced Kazehana. Wild, storm-like fury swirled in her blue eyes, coming to life in the waters that coiled and twisted in the air about her. A similar coil of wind surrounded Kazehana, ruffling her long black hair into a roiling plume.

Splaying her fingers, Tsukiumi's hand drew back, her power concentrating around the limb as she prepared to answer Kazehana's challenge. A vein bulged beneath her blonde hairline; the skin around her nose wrinkled into a hateful scowl, beyond furious at the transgression she'd endured.

The muscles in her arm tensed and her fingers jerked and curled into a fist. One of Tsukiumi's eyes twitched as she leveled daggers down the hall at Kazehana. Waters swirled into a jagged orb above her hand, churning and white compared to its usual crystalline sheen.

Then it was gone, all of it.

Tsukiumi screwed her eyes shut and sucked in a breath, sinews in her neck bulging as she let it out again. She was shaking; her anger hadn't left with her desire to fight, if even that. Keeping her head down, she pivoted on her heel and stomped downstairs, for her fall had carried her to the other end of the hall.

Kazehana, for her part, let her power ebb. "Didn't see that one coming."

Swallowing, already fearing what Miya might do still, Matsu nodded. "That's… one way to prove a point, I guess."

"Thanks," Kazehana replied, before going to retrieve her bottle. "Glad she remembered who was stronger."

Downstairs, Tsukiumi hurriedly sent a text to Minato. A bit difficult, since anger made her fingers barbarous.

Hurry home, husband. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Pay attention, Minato!" Tsukiumi said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Thou canst ogle my breasts at a later time."

To be fair, the way the wind sifted through her blonde hair, and sent it sliding and crawling across the wooden fence, only made Tsukiumi look better in that maid outfit. Light indigo was a good contrast to bright gold, especially over wood brown.

Minato felt a hand push his hip. It seemed Ku was annoyed by his staring, too, though likely because he wasn't staring at her.

Minato regarded Tsukiumi again. "So, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Naught but remain wary," Tsukiumi replied. "I fear Kazehana hath taken leave of herself. Musubi remains my fiercest rival in battle, but only one doth challenge for the title of wife. That Kazehana would risk thy wrath, after thou madest clear thy edict of peace, unsettles me."

Tsukiumi took Minato's hand in her own. "Do not punish her. Their vendetta hath robbed them of sense."

Minato nodded solemnly. "This merry-go-round with Hametsu is getting to everyone. I haven't even done that much about him, not since Akitsu arrived. If it wasn't Kagedansu that sent her, I'd think she was meant to distract us."

"Maybe she is," Ku suggested, leaning on Minato's leg. "He told me Kagedansu was sleeping. That's how he made him steal the Jinki. Maybe he made Kagedansu fight Akitsu, too?"

Tsukiumi shook her head. "The peacock may be of unsound mind, but his morals are consistent. 'Tis more likely Hametsu yoked his feelings and pushed him to commit thievery, citing fair battle, or lack thereof, in our ownership of the Jinki."

Minato was about to say that it made sense, when his college-prepped brain started a thought. His finger tapped his chin, as if to mimic the sound of ticker tape printing out the results of his mind.

"You think Hametsu could've done that to Kazehana or Matsu?"

Tsukiumi's eyes widened. "It… is possible. However, 'twould be unwise to accuse them of thus. Their arguments, while thoroughly incorrect, are nevertheless sound. I need not tell thee what 'projection' entails, yes?"

"No," Minato agreed. He felt his eyebrow raise. "Or are you telling me it might be better…"

Tsukiumi's eyes did not narrow, yet their look changed from revelation to jealousy. "Put not words in my mouth, husband."

"I won't," Minato said cheekily. "But I will say that, if I can't confront them on it, I should just kiss them on the lips-"

"RRRGH!" Tsukiumi spun on her heel, fist clenched at her hip. She needn't have bothered: Minato knew exactly what she looked like when jealousy got the better of her, especially when she knew there was nothing she could do about it.

"I shan't affirm anything!" Tsukiumi squalled. "Thou knowest my feelings on others feeling thy lips! I cannot stand it!"

To think, Minato had been fearful of Tsukiumi the night he'd winged her. Now he knew better: beneath all of that pride and bluster, she was a woman who simply wanted to enjoy a monogamous life with the man she loved. She just had the misfortune to fall for a polygamous Ashkabi.

Minato now knew what manner of animal the temperamental blonde was, so he knew that what she wanted, and frankly what he wanted, was to sidle up behind her and loop an arm or two around her waist. Her arms crossed under her bust, but lifted to allow his embrace to slip beneath. He didn't need to tilt her head: she did so willingly, still indignant, allowing him free access to her slender neck.

"I know, Tsukiumi," he said, gently kissing her jawline. "So I'm glad you're willing to put up with it."

She heaved a heavy sigh, covering his hands with her own. "Never forget that I love thee, Minato, and the sacrifices I make for our marriage."

He kissed her again, this time on the cheek. "And I promise: I'll make it up to you, once this whole thing's been dealt with."

"Hey! No fair, Big Brother!"

Minato looked down at Ku, who had taken both Tsukiumi's skirt and Minato's belt loop in her hands and was yanking them like a bell rope. "I don't like it when you kiss her! When are you gonna make it up to me?"

Tsukiumi scoffed. "When thou surpassest a meter in height, girl!"

The blonde stiffened, though, when she felt her husband's hands leave her body. Whirling around, she saw to her horror that Minato had squatted down to kiss Kusano on the cheek.

"There you go, Ku," he said with a smile, before ruffling her hair. "I'll make it up to you, too."

Then he straightened and headed back inside, leaving lightning to fly between the two jealous blondes.

He didn't actually make it inside, but rather past the front gate. He quickly located Kazehana, lounging on the roof with a bottle of sake in hand, so loosely grasped that it looked ready to slip from her fingers and slide down the tile.

"Kaze-... Hup!" Long arms finally packing some muscle, he jumped up and hoisted himself atop the front awning. "Kazehana."

Kazehana's eyes flashed when she noticed him, until feminine uncertainty caused them to dart hither and yon, eyelashes flicking as she seemed to ponder whether to answer him. Then, like a timid doe, she rolled off the roof and into the back yard.

"Hey, wait!" Minato felt so lame, literally chasing a girl, no, a woman, who by all rights should be throwing herself at him for how often she put her body against him, and how long it had been (entire days!) since they'd had a clothing-optional grope-off.

Kazehana's flight stalled in the yard. Miya was there, otherwise alone, practicing her battojutsu on her knees, trimming bushes with her sword.

"Kazehana," Minato repeated, catching up to her. She rubbed her arm with her hand; was she feeling guilty? What about? Well, maybe she'd feel less so once she stretched her wings.

He approached and trailed a finger up her back. "You look a little down. How about a kiss to make you feel better?"

She immediately stiffened and pulled away. She spun, fear in her eyes as she looked into his own, before that same uncertainty scattered her gaz.

Minato frowned. "Still nothing to talk about?"

Kazehana bit her lip. "It…"

Silence followed. Minato gave her as much time as his patience would allow, but frankly, if she was being poisoned by Hametsu, he wanted to get her off that poison and back to her bouncy, fun-loving self as soon as possible.

Stepping forward, he took her by the shoulders and leaned in for a kiss. She pulled away, wriggling out of his grasp, which caused her luscious melons to shake.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

Minato smiled and grasped her again. "Testing a theory."

She wriggled free again, once again looking dee-licious in the process.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Minato," Kazehana protested, backing up against the fence.

"My feelings aren't a game," he said, leaning close. "Neither is this."

She leaned away and pushed him back. "Then what are you doing?!"

Minato approached her, putting his hands above her shoulders, leaning on the fence. "You've been acting strangely, Kazehana, and I think I know why."

Her eyes widened. "You… You do?"

Minato nodded, leaning in again. "I think Hametsu might've gotten to you like he got to Kagedansu. If that's the case, then one little kiss-"

SMACK!

Minato recoiled. He was speechless. His eyes opened and shut with robotic slowness, double- and triple-checking that he was awake and this was the same Maison Izumo he'd been living in. Unfortunately, it was, so the only explanation lie in the fact that Kazehana, his first Sekirei, the woman who'd been with him through thick and thin, through battles and rescues and hell and back, who practically worshipped the ground he walked on, had just left a handprint across his left cheek.

"I can't believe you!" she scolded. "How could you be so self-centered?"

"Self-...?" He couldn't believe it himself. His brain had yet to catch up. "What are you talking about?"

Her hand made a fist; she looked more nauseous than angry. "The fact that I have to tell you, when you were there… Ulgh! I can't believe you!"

Kazehana shouldered past him in a huff, and as if the contact pushed a button, Minato's confusion turned to anger.

"That's it?!" he barked back. "Real mature! You know what the problem is but don't want to fix it! You want to keep being right and I keep being wrong, is that it?!"

Kazehana lurched to a stop, clutching her stomach.

"Well?!" Minato shouted. "You wanna talk about it or not?"

"Not now!"

"Then WHEN?!"

Kazehana faced him. She looked ready to throw up. "TOMORROW, OKAY?!"

When she stormed inside, she happened to shoulder past a towel-clad Musubi in the doorway. Shocked and slightly bemused at the sight of Kazehana in a huff, Musubi trotted out to Minato and said-

"Musubi, dear, did I not make clear my rule against bath towel parties?"

Minato felt it, too: that cold shiver down his spine, conjured by the fanged hannya mask floating in the edge of his peripheral vision. Musubi's face turned pale, and his own felt cold as the blood drained from it.

Musubi nervously chuckled. "I, um… Whoops."

"Heh, hey," Minato replied, hugging her against himself; at least she was open to some affection. "No harm done, rrright?"

Shaking, both his breath and his body, he closed his eyes and put on his best smile before directing it at the landlady, the same one who currently held a drawn katana. "Probably just wanted to take a bath."

"Y-Yeah!" Musubi stammered, before her fear popped like a balloon. "Oh, I know! Uzume and Chiho haven't taken a bath with me yet!"

Pecking Minato on the cheek, and turning with a quick "Love you, Minato," Musubi darted back inside. Minato followed, once his legs unfroze. At least he'd found a silver lining: he wasn't angry anymore, and tomorrow, he'd finally get some answers from Kazehana.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Homura stood atop the roof, keeping vigilant on any sign of Kagedansu. So far, Uzume and Akitsu had been the most recent arrivals, Uzume carrying a pair of iced coffees in her veils. Before that, the occasional car or pedestrian had broken the monotony of Homura's watch. While Matsu assured him she'd know if Kagedansu approached, having finally attuned her MBI satellite system to his face and overhead look, Homura had a feeling the bastard had already figured out a workaround.

Beneath him, his ears picked up what could've only been Uzume, going through her old room, rummaging through Kagedansu's things. He took pity on her: she really wanted him to be innocent, but the only place such naivete would lead was an early grave.

Take away the paaaain…

Homura sighed. Not to mention she was indulging in Kagedansu's music.

Inside my so-ooooul…

He heard Chiho's girlish giggle; she was fooling around near the first-floor bathroom.

And I'm afraaaaid…

"Cut it out, Uzume!" Chiho laughed.

"Whaa-aat?" Uzume teased. "It's just a hug."

Homura's breath hitched.

So all alo-oooone…

Jumping down from the roof and bolting through the front door, Homura skipped all thirteen stairs on his way to the second floor.

Take away the paaa-aaa-aa-a-a-ain…

He reached the door and wrenched it open.

That's burrrnin' in myyy sooooooul…

There were two people in Uzume's room. The first was Kagedansu, fully clothed, lying down in the corner beneath his Segata Sanshiro poster, eyes closed as he silently mouthed the lyrics.

'Cause I'm afraaa-aaa-aa-a-a-aid...

The second was "Hametsu," inked in black and leaning against the wall. His yellow-white teeth also mouthed the words.s, his eyes closed as the music soothed him.

That III'll be all aaa-loooooone…

Homura sighed, irritable. "Really? You're still trying to convince me?"

One yellow eye opened, and that eye belonged to Hametsu. "The truth cannot contradict itself, nor does it care what you think of it."

The Fire Sekirei stepped inside, and instantly turned his gaze to Kagedansu. "And I'm supposed to believe this?" he said, knowing the "sleeping" Kagedansu could hear him. He gestured to 'Hametsu'. "That this is real?"

"'Real'?" said Hametsu. "Reality is what you make of it. Truth, by contrast, is absolute, like how close I am to victory."

Homura ignored him and conjured a fireball, aiming it at the sleeping Kagedansu. "Would you still be close if I burned you to ash?"

'Hametsu' snapped his fingers in Homura's direction. "I'm over here, and you know that wouldn't work on me."

Only now did Homura address the figment. "You aren't real. You're nothing but a glorified stage prop."

"Mmmmmmmweeellll…" 'Hametsu' slurred, pushing off the wall and walking forward. Clever of Kagedansu to put on music; then he wouldn't have to account for footstep noises.

The figment stopped and raised a hand. "You see, the thing to realize about props?"

Its other hand came up. "They tend to be solid."

Hametsu palm-shoved Homura's forehead out the door and slammed it behind him. Homura's body followed his cranium, and both went crashing through the paper wall and tumbling into the yard..

Ooooh nooo... Don't let me go

'Cause all I am, you hold in your haaa-aaa-aa-a-a-and.

His sprawled position awkward from the landing, smoke began to rise from Homura's body. "I'll kill him."

The flat of a blade lay across his shoulder. "You will do no such thing, Homura."

Homura's fire phutted out and he stiffened. "Yes, Miya."

And I'll be all right…

Miya sheathed her blade. "This has gone far enough. I won't have this matter destroying my inn."

Hooold ooon…

Hold on to my heart.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The dinner table felt like a court was in session, but no one was sure who was on trial.

Miya sat at one end of the table, the judge and jury, casting a stern gaze over the gathered peers. Kusano sat at the other end, between Kagedansu and Minato. The former, leaning on his elbows, kept glancing up at Minato and Tsukiumi next to him. On Tsukiumi's other side was Musubi, then Akitsu, then Homura. Round Miya's end came Kazehana, then Matsu, and Chiho sat next to Uzume, who sat next to Minato.

This placement was no coincidence: Miya had assigned seats to ensure, or at least encourage, no outbursts or violence towards adjacent persons. Scary as she was, momentary madness had just punched a hole in the second floor and she was taking no more chances.

"I can't vouch for everyone's honesty," she began, looking at no one in particular, "or their transparency. Many of you have reason to mistrust someone else, and so I have no intention of playing a guessing game."

Miya folded her hands in her lap. "Instead, I believe the time has come for everyone," she said, glancing at Matsu, "to understand what they're chasing."

Musubi raised her hand. "Are we talking about Hametsu or the Jinki?"

"The Jinki," Miya assured her. "If I knew the mystery behind Hametsu…"

Now she glanced at Kagedansu.

"...I wouldn't keep it to myself."

Kagedansu sniffed and went, "Hmh," dispassionately.

"So, where to begin..." Miya pondered for a moment.

"Where did they come from?" Kusano asked.

"An excellent idea." Miya smiled at her, making the little girl giggle with glee. "Though, perhaps a better question would be, 'Where did we come from'?"

Miya looked around, as if waiting for an answer. "We Sekirei are the children of an ancient alien race, sent away to escape a great catastrophe that befell our space-faring parents. Our parents were not Sekirei, but they were as close to human as we are. The Sekirei cores were, at first, artificial, but I remember they were designed self-reproducing, just like us."

Kazehana cocked an eyebrow. "And you know that because…?"

Miya smiled. "My mother told me."

Nine pairs of eyes shot open.

"You had a mom?!" Musubi asked excitedly. "What did she look like?!"

"Was she nice like you?!" Ku asked.

"How do you remember her?" Kagedansu inquired, the only one unmoved by the revelation.

Miya chuckled. "To answer all three of you, I see her whenever I look into a mirror."

Musubi frowned. "She lives in a mirror?" There was an awkward silence, before Musubi's mind clicked. "Oh, that's what you meant."

"Indeed I did," said Miya. "But to return to the subject at hand, the Jinki were among the tools used to create and power the Sekirei cores. The red substance within the crystal, as Yume could have told you, is identical to the physical substance of a Sekirei core."

It was subtle, but Kagedansu's dulled eyes momentarily brightened when she said "physical substance." Then he lost the spark and leaned back, his elbows leaving the table.

Musubi put a finger to her chin. "I don't remember Yume telling me that."

"No one tells someone everything, Musubi," Kazehana said.

She smiled at her sister-wife. "I know Minato does!"

While Kazehana rolled her eyes, Miya continued. "These Jinki were sent away along with the 108 Sekirei; for what reason, I couldn't say. What I do know is that, in addition to powering Kouten, these Jinki provide the mass-activation switch of all 108 Sekirei cores."

Minato swallowed. "Mass activation?"

Miya nodded. "If collected, the eight Jinki can be used to re-activate all terminated Sekirei… or deactivate the remainder."

Musubi, Ku, Minato, Chiho and Uzume all eyed one another, worried. Kagedansu, Homura, Kazehana and Matsu were unreadable. Tsukiumi remained stoic and composed as usual, before a thought occurred to her.

"No," she said, her eyes wandering over to Minato's.

"No what?" he asked.

"Thou wouldst restore our terminated foes, yes?"

Minato nodded.

Tsukiumi exploded from her seat. "Then thou shalt take no more Sekirei to thy harem!"

Minato leaned away from her accusatory finger. "I wasn't planning to!"

"Good," said Tsukiumi, before sitting down again. "As it stands, the crimson rites of old cannot compare to the sacrifices I make for thee."

"All the more reason to keep them apart, right?" Kagedansu muttered.

Matsu leaned an elbow on the table. "You don't trust Minato to do the right thing?"

Kagedansu gestured to himself. "I trusted my life to someone else before. Look where it got me."

"That so?" Matsu glared at him. "Then what do you call all those songs and hints and light shows?"

"There's a difference between handing someone your chains and asking them to shoot the jailor."

"And even knowing how dangerous they are," Homura said, "you still won't give up the Jinki you stole?"

"Hametsu has it."

The three skeptics rolled their eyes. "Sure he does," Homura spat.

"Actually," Kagedansu said, looking him in the eye, "I have it, I know where it is, and could lead you to it right now if I wanted to."

Homura shot to his feet, eyes wide, before the fire within them dimmed. He looked as if he'd been close to saying something. Slowly, more methodically, Kagedansu rose from his own spot. His yellow eyes were full of venom as he stared Homura down.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Kagedansu hissed. "You don't trust a word I say, wouldn't hesitate to burn me alive if we weren't where we are, but the instant I say something you like…"

He glanced at Homura's feet. "If we weren't indoors, I'd spit on them fancy shoes you got, Firebird."

Homura glared back at him. "Then step outside."

It looked like the two might come to blows then and there, Miya be damned. Yet, after a moment that seemed pregnant with violence, Kagedansu shook his head.

"Ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat." He flicked Homura's forehead, then pivoted and made for the stairs. "You'll get your shot at me, Firebird, but not today."

Homura watched him leave, a small, cocky smile twitching to life at the corner of his mouth. "Good to know."

Miya stood next. "I thought I made it clear: it doesn't matter who among you has the Jinki, as you all fight for the same thing, yes? So this squabbling over who stole what will come to an end now."

No one said a word. She didn't even need the demon mask, for Miya's tone of voice was terrifying enough.

"And to make doubly sure, that there is no more of this in my house..." Miya clasped her hands. "Would anyone care for some tea?"

"I would!" Musubi said.

"Me too!" said Ku.

Minato wasn't in the mood. He lingered on Kagedansu's exit for a beat, before standing and following. As he passed Tsukiumi, he felt a hand grasp his own. Tsukiumi stared down at the table, running her thumb along Minato's hand. The dirtiest corner of Minato's mind noted how her face was at waist level, for Kagedansu and Homura as well as himself.

"Do not be long, husband," she murmured. He could see a heated blush forming on her cheeks. Maybe she'd gotten the same idea.

Hustling upstairs, he found Kagedansu in his/Uzume's room. The draft from the broken wall added some nice ventilation to the stagnant air, for no one had been inside of Kagedansu's room since he'd left. There wasn't much left of the decor, just a sleeping mat and a laptop. And there was the helium tank, of course. The posters of "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Scott Steiner, and Segata Sanshiro were nowhere to be seen, nor the black light fixtures. The unzipped suitcase on the floor couldn't account for the missing items, so Kagedansu must've made multiple trips before Matsu beefed up security.

Sixty-Seven himself reclined on the floor, fiddling with the laptop, which Minato now noticed had the words "Musashibo Izanagi" written on the lid in both Japanese and English.

Minato leaned on the inside of the door. "You didn't send Akitsu here to help her, did you?"

Kagedansu continued fiddling. "Not just her, if that's what you're thinking."

"I appreciate a good wingman," Minato admitted, "but I meant you didn't send her here to help anyone."

"Incorrect," said Kagedansu. "I sent her here to help me."

"By sticking it to Mikogami?"

"Now that is correct," Kagedansu admitted. "Besides, even if she teamed up with you…"

He hesitated.

"Yeah?" Minato inquired, taking a slight step away from him. The pause gave him a sinking feeling, like all those unfounded accusations from Homura and the others weren't so unfounded after all.

Kagedansu looked at Minato, a frog-like smirk curling his lips. "I still got my Jinki, and you're gonna need all the help you can get if you want yours."

The sinking feeling remained. It didn't grow, but it didn't shrink, either. Minato was starting to wonder if Hametsu had been a glorified fortress, where the only way forward for one of the Big Four wasn't a Sekirei battle, but a knock-down, no-holds-barred deathmatch against the single most terrifying… thing he'd ever seen.

Minato, easing away lest said thing jump out of Kagedansu's shadow again, decided to throw a line out. "I wouldn't need any help at all, if you hadn't taken it from me."

Kagedansu, still looking at him, closed the laptop. "I'm glad I did," he said, "because frankly, I wouldn't trust anyone, not you, not Minaka, not nobody, with the keys to a superweapon and a genocide switch. That's too much power for someone to have, unvetted."

"And what would you do with it, if you won?"

Kagedansu moved to the foot of his bedroll. "Do you trust me, Austin?"

"I don't need to. I know what you want."

Kagedansu looked at him again, cocking an eyebrow. "You sure? Care to put some money on that?"

Minato smiled and shook his head. "No thanks, not when you control the result."

"Maybe I want two things," Kagedansu suggested. "Either one would be the right answer."

Minato smirked. "Uzume could've told me that. But seriously, I know what you want. So I know how much to trust you."

"Then what do I want, Austin?" he asked as he started rolling the sleeping mat. "Try me."

"To be happy."

"Well, you're not wrong, but the same could be said for anyone. Try again."

"To be with Izanagi again, and probably Uzume."

Kagedansu halted, his bed half-rolled. "I… I keep telling myself that he's okay, that he'll snap out of that coma eventually. However long it takes, I'll make sure to treat him right when he wakes up."

Minato frowned. The answer struck him as strange. Kagedansu had been devastated when Izanagi was rendered comatose, effectively dead, according to Hametsu. Now it was just a normal condition, same as any other coma? It didn't seem to gel. Something was wrong.

"Uzumeee!" Chiho groaned from downstairs. "I need air!"

"Then have some of mine!" Uzume teased. "Just one little kiss wouldn't hurt, would it?"

Minato remembered now: Chiho. She'd woken up from the coma. Hametsu had lied about it. What's more, Kagedansu had been there when it happened. No wonder his outlook was more optimistic.

"As for Uzume," Kagedansu continued, "I can't deny certain, umm… fantasies I've had about her, and the slight hope she'll go for them."

Minato folded his arms. "You mean there's things you haven't done with her?"

"Austin, there's a lot of things you can do with a woman, more than you can do in one night, even if you're me." Finished, he placed the rolled-up bedroll in the suitcase, before slotting the laptop beside it. "But something you haven't asked me yet, and it's bugging the hell out of me…"

He stood, walked over and grasped Minato's shoulder.

"Why am I here?" He posed the question half-rhetorically. "Why come back when there's three Sekirei, possibly four, who'd wanna pick a fight?"

Minato thought for a moment. It wouldn't just be to pack up, and he clearly hadn't come to return the Jinki. So, shot in the dark…

"It's about Hametsu, isn't it?"

Kagedansu nodded. "He's close, Austin. Whatever he's planning, I can tell you with 100% certainty that he is more excited and anxious than he's been since he got here. The Great Finale's coming, and with Akitsu being here to distract you, you've let him prepare unimpeded."

"But…" His puzzled look grew a little wilder. "But you sent her here."

"And like he always has," Kagedansu replied, "Hametsu took advantage."

Minato's eyes widened as he realized, to his dismay, that he couldn't form a rebuttal.

With that, he walked back into his now-empty room and vaulted out the window. Minato watched him go, unaware that a pair of fiery eyes had been watching his conversation from the stairs.

It seemed Kagedansu had also let his guard slip, for Uzume had been keeping an ear peeled. As soon as his window opened, she relinquished her boa-clutch on Chiho and bolted to the front door, completely missing the lurker on the stairs.

"Kagedansu!"

The Shadow Sekirei stopped on the front walk. Uzume cleared their mutual distance in a single bound, arms outstretched.

Kagedansu blocked her hug with his wrists. "No. No hugs."

Puzzled, Uzume stepped back. "Why not?"

Slowly, he shook his head. "You don't trust me. And if you do, you shouldn't. Not completely. Moreover, until this is settled, I shouldn't trust any of you to not stick me."

"I wouldn't do that to you," Uzume assured him, shaking her head in turn. "Not again."

He cocked an eyebrow. "It's that 'again' part that's key, I think."

Her hands came to her hips. "Well never mind you, I couldn't do that to myself again. Do you have any idea how much sleep I lost over that?"

"Yes."

Uzume flinched, her eyes wide.

"There," said Kagedansu, pointing at her. "Right there. I said 'yes,' and you bought it. You didn't think I was joking. There's a part of you that still doesn't trust me. Likewise, there's a part of me that still doesn't trust you. So no huggies right now."

Still a little shaken by the whiplash of the response they'd gotten, Uzume and Kagedansu both relaxed, taking solace in the visual of the other. The veils were not out, and the fists were not clenched. Neither was expecting the other to fight.

Uzume broke the ice. "But huggies later, right?"

"That is a distinct possibility."

She smiled. "Then tell your shadow to hurry up and lay out his hand. There's a few fantasies I've had these last few weeks, and I need three people to try them out."

Kagedansu nodded, grinning. "And that is why, in the wrestling business, it's called 'heat'."

Uzume nodded in turn, before heading back inside.

"One more thing."

She stopped and looked back, a little leftover smile on her cheek. "Yeah?"

"Tell Akitsu," said Kagedansu, "that the thing she's looking for? I think the best person to help her find it… is Musubi."

Uzume frowned. "No kidding?"

Kagedansu shook his head. "No fooling, either."

"I will," she said. "And you take care of yourself. You understand, you big lug? If anything happens to you, I will ride your ass about it, so hard!"

Kagedansu rolled his eyes. "Like you'd need an excuse. I'll be all right, don't worry."

He turned to make an exit of his own. As he passed through the gate, Uzume heard a sad murmur carry through the air.

"Made it this far, didn't I?"