And here we go.
read, review, enjoy
Disclaimer: I do not own Sekirei; if I did, the situation with certain characters would've turned out very differently and we'd have more than two seasons of the anime. It belongs solely to Sakurako Gokurakuin.
Later that night, Tamotsu snuck out of the apartment and lingered outside, staring up at the skyline. Sleep wouldn't come to him; all he could think about was that phantom touch, and the words he still couldn't make out that night.
It was maddening. Every time he got close, it slipped away just like that lingering feeling.
Soft.
Something so comforting had quickly turned into something driving him to the brink of insanity. Something happened that night, something he couldn't explain.
The last thing he remembered was Kei about to shoot him and then that touch – then nothing until he found Shijime, Kujika and Kuzuri all staring at him.
He sighed.
'Maybe I have lost my mind,' he mused with a bitter chuckle as she pushed himself off the railing. 'If that's the case, then a walk will just be another for the list.'
Making his way out onto the street, Tamotsu found it eerie just how quiet it was during the night. One would think that a city like this would be as busy – if not busier – during this time than anything. But apart from a few other night owls, there was hardly anyone else. Occasionally a car would roll by and then disappear behind the corner, with another one not coming by for minutes at a time.
It was odd. It reminded him of his home and how deserted it'd become at night.
'It was the perfect chance to sneak into the castle that one time,' he reminisced, chuckling at old memories.
Turning the corner, he came into view of the gigantic MBI building, towering above all other skyscrapers in the city. The looming giant was almost like a monument to MBI's influence over the country – why not the world at this point?
'Just what is the point of all this,' he thought, gazing up at the company's seat of power. 'All this effort, all this procedure – to what end? Why lock down the city? What are you planning, MBI?'
Of course, nobody was there to answer his thoughts and he didn't expect there to.
He huffed. "I really am losing my mind. Insomnia is not how I'd want to go, no thank you."
Tamotsu turned to head back…
…and collided with a yellow and black blur, slamming right into them – and something soft too.
"Oof!"
"Ow!"
"Do you mind?!" a shrill voice snapped at him.
"S-sorry, my bad-" Tamotsu's voice failed him as he found his victim.
Words wouldn't come as he gazed upon the blonde twin-tailed beauty sat before him, clad in a black form-fitting cocktail dress with a single yellow stripe down the center. Her legs were veiled in a pair of midnight black stockings and matching high heels, sharp enough to puncture an apple. Finally, one purple eye glared out at him as she rubbed her head with a white-gloved hand.
Tamotsu's breath hitched.
Gods… she was radiant.
"Quit staring at me, pervert."
Tamotsu flinched, "E-excuse me! Are you-?"
"There she is!" a gruff voice hollered.
Tamotsu's eyes widened, spotting a pair of shadowy figures racing towards them.
"Tch," the blonde clucked her tongue and rose to her feet with a grace he could only gape at. "Get up!"
"E-eh?"
Her eyes narrowed at him as she lashed out a gripped his collar, "Do you want them to get us?"
"No, but-!"
That seemed good enough for her because the next second, she grasped his hand and took off down the street with him.
"Wait, damn it!" the goons yelled.
"What part of I'm not interested do you creeps not understand?!" the blonde shouted back. "Come on, keep up!"
"I'm trying!" Tamotsu fired back, doing his best to keep up with the blonde's pace. But he might as well have been trying to keep up with an Olympic triathlon runner because his steps couldn't make any purchase on the sidewalk.
Just before he felt his legs nearly give out, she yanked him to the side and behind a building. Something warm and soft covered his mouth, followed by a hiss in his ear.
"Shh!"
Her grip was firm but apart from that, he was still very much aware of the things sticking into his back. It was all he could do not to let his libido get the better of him.
Their pursuers quickly caught up and came to a stop just a few feet from them, panting. They hadn't noticed them yet, thankfully.
"Damn that bitch! How are they so fast?"
"Forget it. Higa-sama isn't going to be happy about this but we're not exactly equipped to hunt down Sekirei."
'Sekirei?' Tamotsu echoed, eyes widening.
That word sounded familiar…where had he heard it before?
"I'll make the call. With any luck she'll be able to track her down. Now let's get out of here. This place will be a warzone soon enough."
The two went about their way, never looking Tamotsu's way once which was a huge relief.
Well, it would be if he wasn't still being held like he was.
"Finally," his captor muttered, dropping her head to his. "Oh, right." She relinquished her hold on him and let him stumble forward. "Thanks for keeping quiet."
"No…problem," Tamotsu panted. "But why were they chasing you to begin with?"
The blonde scoffed, shutting her eyes. "Trying their luck when theirs had long since run out, no doubt," she sneered, crossing her arms over her ample bosom.
It was so hard not to stare.
"Mind if I ask one question though?"
"Depends on what it is," she replied, opening one eye to regard him.
"What were they talking about back there? What's a Sekirei?"
The blonde shot him a look that made him feel like the dumbest person on the planet, "Are you kidding? You really don't know?"
"That's why I'm asking," he shot back, frowning. "And considering you roped me into whatever all this is, I think you owe me at least an honest answer – starting with your name."
She eyed him for a moment and somehow he felt like he were a gazelle being sized up by a lioness. "...Mitsuha."
"Eh?"
Her eyes narrowed, "My name – that's what you wanted, right?"
"Well…yeah," Tamotsu replied, and idly worked over the name in his mind. Considering her wardrobe choices and the way her barbs came off, "bee" was quite suitable for her. "Mitsuha…"
Suddenly, he realized she was still staring at him and…was she blushing? "Are you sure you're ok? You're face is pretty red."
"N-no it's not!" she stammered, guiltily. "I just got a little heated from the run, that's all!"
"Of which you still haven't explained the reason for," he reminded her, setting her obvious embarrassment off to the side for the now.
Mitsuha scowled at him, "You know it's not rude to demand things of a lady, right?" she told him haughtily.
"It's also rude for said lady to drag along random strangers on the run from mysterious kidnappers," Tamotsu deadpanned.
Mitsuha flinched at that, her scowl deepening. "Fair enough," she grumbled. "Look, I'll tell you but you have to promise me you'll forget about it afterward if you don't understand."
"Promise what exactly? You haven't told me anything!"
Her eyes suddenly sharpened and she stormed up to him in record time, gripping him by his collar once again.
"Promise," she said slowly and deliberately, her eyes boring into him.
"Ok, ok! I promise, Mitsuha-san."
She held him there for a few moments before letting him down – gently, at least – before turning away from him. Silence reigned for a few moments, the sounds of the city being the only thing filling the air.
"Do you believe in Fate?"
"Huh?"
"Answer the question!" she snapped at him, not once turning to face him.
Tamotsu thought over his response, finding the question to be quite odd but considering what he just went through, this whole situation was odd. "I don't know. Truth be told, I've never held a lot of stock in things like fate or destiny. Everything just happens, you know?"
"That's a rather bleak way of looking at things."
Tamotsu just shrugged, "Who can really say what is what's not? It all depends on your perspective. When you've lived a life like I have, you tend not to take things at face value or," he paused as Uzume's smiling face came back to haunt him, "you find out the hard way and come away less than you were before."
"So, you don't then..." Mitsuha's voice sounded lifeless, as though she were disappointed for some reason.
"I didn't say that." Ignoring her gasp, he pressed on. "I said I don't hold much faith in it; it's not that I don't believe in it. There are things that play out in this world that fit just a little too perfectly, things humans can't explain. Some would call it fate, or destiny or whatever."
"Then, what would you call it?" came Mitsuha's quiet answer.
The thought hadn't really occurred to him before. All his life he'd seen things play out, things he thought he could change or at least alter so that some good could come of them. Often times it never worked, and people ended up hurt even for the attempt.
But, there was a light to every shadow. His grandmother taking him in for instance; she had been there for him right when everything had been ripped from him. Perhaps she'd known all along what would happen...
"An eventuality, something that was bound to happen no matter what anyone does," he finally answered.
Mitsuha was uncharacteristically quiet for a few moments before she let loose a scoff. "Idiot. You just described destiny."
"I call things as I see them – you have your beliefs, and I have mine," Tamotsu said with a small grin.
"I see…"
"Well, isn't that just darling~!"
Tamotsu felt as though a bucket of ice had been poured over him, his heart nosediving into his stomach at that sound of that voice.
And he wasn't the only one, either.
"Shit," Mitsuha cursed, glaring up above.
Tamotsu followed her gaze…
He paled at what he saw.
Perched atop a fire escape, a young woman in a black striped alternating top and shorts held up by a leather belt peered down at them with a wide grin. "Awww, look at the cute little couple. Shame I don't have a camera to capture the moment."
Tamotsu felt his survival instinct flaring and it was telling him to get the hell away from here as fast as he could. This wasn't something like Kei he could face off; there was something unnatural about that woman, even if the grin on her face wasn't enough of an indication.
It got even worse when her eyes shifted to him, "Now boy, I think you should beat feet while you still have the chance. This doesn't concern you humans."
Humans? What? Did that mean that this woman was…?
"Sekirei," he murmured, unaware that both of them heard it. "You're a Sekirei, I take it. What those guys were talking about." He shot a look over at his companion and sighed, "And you're one too, then."
Mitsuha stared at him in shock, as though she hadn't expected him to come to that conclusion. "I-"
"Hehehehehe! Well, that's just perfect," the creepy woman sneered, her gaze set solely on him. "You should know that regular humans aren't mean to know of us, only a select number…and you're not it." She flicked her arms to the side, revealing an assortment of dangling daggers attached to ropes coming from her sleeves. "Only one way to fix that little hiccup I'm afraid."
Tamotsu felt the blood roaring in his ears as the woman flicked her arms, followed by a hard shove to the ground and a whistling noise over his head. He glanced behind him, stunned to find out one of those taggers plunged right where his head would've been.
He never saw it. And if someone hadn't shoved him down right then…
'Wait…'
"Mitsuha-san!" he exclaimed, finding the blonde clutching briefly at her arm. Then, she reached behind her and produced a whip, letting it loose with a vicious crack.
'What…is going on here?'
"Oho, trying to protect the little witness are we?" the woman grinned. "How cute. You must think he's your Ashikabi."
"Ashikabi?" he parroted, staring at Mitsuha. "What is-?"
"This is perfect, oh so perfect!" the woman cackled, her daggers jingling as they bounced off the railing of the fire escape. "Higa-sama will be pleased to know I dealt with one headache before it could start!"
"I won't let her touch you," Mitsuha said without looking at him. "But I need you to trust me."
He'd only just met this girl. There was so much still he was trying to understand. What the hell was going on came at the top of that list, and then right after came who she was – or what she was. All this talk of Sekirei this and Sekirei that meant nothing to him right now.
All that mattered was that when the chips were down, this girl took a risk and saved his ass.
That was more than enough in his book.
"I do," he told her, keeping his eyes on her and not the vision of impending doom upon them.
Mitsuha finally turned to him and offered him the first smile he'd seen on her.
His felt the heat flood his face at the sight of it.
"Then, sorry in advance."
'Wait, what?'
In the split second for that thought to go through, he felt the night air breeze across his skin and a feeling of nausea the likes of which he'd never experienced before.
And that was because the ground was rapidly becoming a memory.
"WHAT THE HEEEEEEELL?!"
The lip of the buildings rushed past him, standing still for a sec before gravity seemed to take hold again.
"AAAAAH!"
"Uh, uh, not through with you yet!" Mitsuha's laugh came, as the feeling of being reeled in hit him like a truck.
"Herk-!" Soon the roller coaster of turmoil finally ended, as a pair of arms wrapped around him and held him tightly. "Ugh…"
"Don't throw up on me now," Mitsuha said, earning a slight glare from him…which completely vanished as he saw her blush. "I'd rather our first kiss didn't taste like barf," she added as she yanked him close-
-and captured his lips in a searing kiss.
Tamotsu's eyes flew open as he felt her soft, petal-like lips press against his. What's more, molten golden wings like that of a bird burst forth from her back, illuminating the night sky.
'Holy- IS THIS REAL?!'
But the feeling pouring into his body, this indescribable warmth that flooded his neurons screamed quite clearly – yes lover boy, this was real so enjoy it.
What felt like an eternity passed but in reality was only a few seconds – of bliss yes, but a few seconds, nonetheless.
The blonde vixen released her hold on him, smirking at him. "For an Ashikabi, you need a lot of work, but," she hugged him close to her again, "this does feel nice."
Tamotsu could only stare back in a daze, his face burning and his heart skipping beats.
Nothing made any sense anymore and…he was strangely ok with that.
If it meant he could remain in this girl's arms, then reality could take a hike.
For the first time in her life, Mitsuha knew what it meant to fly.
This feeling, this euphoria was beyond expression, and she didn't care one whit to put it to paper. All that mattered was being in the arms of someone who made her feel complete, even if she personally found him a bit lacking.
But he had potential and come hell or high water, Mitsuha was going to pull that out of him even if it killed them.
'Till death do us part, and all that jazz,' she thought wryly.
"I found youuuuu~!" the unwanted menace made herself known again, much to Mitsuha's irritation.
She glanced back at her new master, finding him in a complete daze with a blush strewn across his face.
She might've rolled her eyes if the sight wasn't so damned enticing to her.
'I'm in trouble,' she thought but wasn't all that worried.
If anything, it filled her with no small amount of pride that it would be her that would bring out that untapped potential - and that she'd have first dibs to it.
"Hold on to me though if you grab my breasts, I'm going to drop you," she warned him, not meaning the last bit.
The guy – Tamotsu, she corrected herself – only gave a numb sort of nod and hugged her tightly about the waist, causing her heart to flutter a bit.
This was going to take some getting used to.
She lashed out with her whip, latching onto a neon sign and reeling them in towards the roof, making sure her new Ashikabi landed without any real trouble.
"Alright then, my dear Ashikabi," she called out, gripping her whip taut as she aimed a smirk at him, "let's bring the curtain down on this wacky performance! Don't you dare take your eyes off me; you got it!"
"H-hai!" Tamotsu replied shakily.
"So, you got an Ashikabi then," the menace sneered. "So what? It's not like it means much. Ashikabi are based on one's soul and that brat over there doesn't have much of one. You really scraped the bottom of the barrel with him!"
Mitsuha clenched her whip tightly, glaring daggers at her foe, "Shut your mouth and state your name," she uttered coldly.
The menace grinned, "Number thirty-one – Sai."
Mitsuha smirked, "Number thirty-eight – Mitsuha."
Sai swung out her arms, showing all her daggers, "Going to turn you into a pin-cushion, thirty-eight!" With one swift motion, she flung forth several daggers at the blonde who just smirked.
"Hyah!" Mitsuha shouted, lashing her whip across the ground, literally breaking a chunk of the roof off and knocking it into the air. The daggers struck the piece of debris instead of her, and the chunk made for an excellent projectile for Mitsuha's follow up kick.
Sai's eyes widened as the chunk of rubble came hurtling towards her, diving low as to avoid getting crushed. Sekirei or no, that would've killed her.
"Eyes on me!" Mitsuha barked, lashing her whip towards the Sekirei who leapt out of the way.
"Grrr, you little," Sai growled, swinging more daggers her way which Mitsuha knocked out of the air with precise whip strikes. "Damn it!"
"What's wrong?" Mitsuha sneered, gripping her whip with a smirk. "Afraid you bit off more than you can chew?"
"Not even girlie!" Sai snarled, lunging toward her with a web of daggers all flung out towards the blonde.
Had this been hours earlier, Mitsuha would've been hard-pressed to stand out against an assault like this. But with the full might of her Ashikabi pouring into her, she felt she could take on the world.
She'd start with Sai.
Dancing out of the way of the storm of blades, Mitsuha swung her whip out and lashed it at Sai. The Sekrei took the full brunt of the lash, throwing her across the roof in a tumble with cuts and bruises appearing all over her.
"Bitch!" Sai snarled. "Let's see how you handle this!" A storm of blades erupted from Sai's body, all snaking their way towards Mitsuha as she stood her ground.
"L-look out!" Tamotsu called out with worry.
Mitsuha shot a look at him and scoffed, "Watch and learn, Tamo-kun. This is what you've given me." Drawing the whip back to her hands, she held it taut once more and let her eyes close, concentrating.
A power once dormant awoke within her, filling her to the brim with a might that couldn't be restrained.
"With these furious whips, let my Ashikabi's obstacles be crushed!"
Her eyes opened just as the storm of blades was upon her and she was more than ready; human eyes couldn't perceive it – even Sekirei would have a tough time seeing it. One powerful swing of her whip was all it took to bring the world to a halt.
The very next second, the ground before her erupted in a series of gouges and craters, all surging toward Sai. Each strike blew past her foe with the force of a small hurricane, whipping her hair back.
Moment later, the wall behind her crumbled to dust and the neon sign erupted into a shower of sparks and fire.
"W-wha-?" Sai started to choke, spitting out a mouthful of blood that dribbled down her chin. "H-how…Master…"
Number 31 fell over in a heap, the light fading from her eyes and her Sekirei crest vanishing from her body.
Unbelievable.
In coming to this place, Tamotsu hadn't really known what to expect. Sure, he expected to be overwhelmed by the sheer size and scale of the city but other than that, not much else.
Even having to step in to fend off a couple of thugs from violating a pretty girl wasn't that far a stretch.
'But this… Getting flung up in the air, nearly dying, and watching two out of this world girls go head-to-head in some kinda deathmatch is way beyond my realm of imagination.'
And what was even harder to believe was that one of them had kissed him and called him "Master" – an Ashikabi.
Sekirei. Ashikabi. All of this was too much.
And that was before he had seen said girl rip apart solid concrete like tissue paper.
'Did I take a wrong turn somewhere and end up in a fantasy world or something? Maybe I got isekai'd and this is my second life. But then, why would my grandmother still be around?'
"You alright?"
Torn from his thoughts, he found himself being stared down by the blonde who, in the span of a few seconds, had proven herself to be very, very dangerous.
And yet somehow, he knew she wouldn't hurt him…not on purpose anyways.
"I suppose yeah," he muttered, trying to smile…but then shook his head afterwards. "No. No I'm really not. What is all this? What did you just do?! And HOW-?!"
SLAP!
His head shot to the side, a red hand imprint emblazoned on his cheek. He swallowed a bit, giving her a grateful look, "Thanks."
Mitsuha smiled sweetly. "Don't mention it. Now, wanna try that again?"
Tamotsu licked his lips, trying to find the words but only one thing really stood out in his mind. She wasn't normal – she wasn't human, so that left only one thing to say.
"Mitsuha-san…what are you?"
Not the first choice of words for thanking the girl who basically saved him from being eviscerated, but nothing else seemed appropriate.
Mitsuha sighed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "Look, there's no easy way to say this: I'm an alien."
Tamotsu blinked once, twice, thrice. He chuckled softly, staring at her with wide eyes and an even wider smile. "Oh…is that all? Huh...ok."
Darkness took him seconds after.
From afar, a lone figure in white observed the pair as an MBI helicopter swooped down to collect the fallen Sekirei. She'd been keeping an eye on the boy for most of the day, only relenting to grab something to eat and was right back to it.
She wanted to desperately to go to him, to make things right. And if things hadn't played out like they had, she would've had no choice but to step in.
But she was too late. Someone already claimed him as her Ashikabi and it filled her with no end of jealousy that she had been the one claim him first.
Even so, Uzume was comforted by the fact that his soul still called to hers – that meant there was still hope for them.
But for right now, all she could do was watch over him until the time was right for her to go make him hers.
'Number 38… She surprised me,' Uzume remarked, folding her arms. 'Even though Sai should've bested her, she still lost. But was that her own merit or,' her thoughts trailed off, gaze turned to the boy that was now being held in Mitsuha's grasp.
Whatever it was, another Ashikabi had been born tonight and that meant that everything was falling into place.
'It won't be long now…'
If the fates were listening, she prayed she wouldn't have to fight Mitsuha in the times to come before she had the chance - and the courage - to wing herself on Tamotsu.
As the chopper evacuated with their precious cargo, Uzume made herself scarce as Mitsuha carried Tamotsu off, watching as they faded into the distance.
She clutched at her chest, frowning a bit. "You can have him for now, thirty-eight. But sooner or later you'll have to share."
Like a shadow, she faded away into the night never leaving a trace she'd been there to begin with.
And thus, we have Tamotsu's first Sekirei: Number 38 - Mitsuha.
I wasn't sure who to really bring in for Mitsuha's first fight since her whip isn't really something used for anything other than restraining. But then I thought, if her whip is strong enough to break concrete then it must have a certain field to its tip that allows it to apply said force. Thus, I decided on Sai since she has those whip daggers of hers and could feasibly be negated by Mitsuha's whip.
Mitsuha's Norito is completely my design since she never had one in the series. Hopefully it comes off appropriate for her character.
I'm gonna take a break for a few days to let some muses play out. I need to figure exactly how Tamotsu's role in the Sekirei plan will play out. He won't be a major player like Minato and the other Four Great Ashikabi but he will be a factor to be heeded. There's also the question of whether he'll have more than three Sekirei - haven't decided on that yet, but there are a few I could throw in.
Till then,
Take care.