Trauma For Truth: Part IV
"Having been responsible for not only the demise of #108, but also that of countless other lives as well, both of human and Sekirei, she needed to be tested accordingly. As much as it pains me to work beside one such as her, Karasuba's assistance is vital in ending the Sekirei Plan; but I also needed to keep MBI's dog under control with a leash of sorts."
On cue, the television in front of the chair hisses to life, making the Demon Ashikabi jump along with the already uneasy contents in her stomach. On screen, not much had changed since the last time it was on. Natsuo was still there, disoriented and drugged out of his mind.
Yukari now had her hands cupped over her mouth in shock.
"The man before you on the TV is the leash; Natsuo Ichinomi, Ashikabi of the Discipline Squad. His life and freedom depends on Karasuba's cooperation, for if he were to die, she would as well."
Swallowing, Yukari stayed silent, and allowed the man to continue.
He rested his palms on the chair's armrest."The device we are standing before could have been escaped without effort if the leash was not put in place to subdue the animal, but don't think the decision to incorporate her Ashikabi in the game wasn't taken lightly. Mr. Ichinomi is a cold individual. After the demise of his male lover, he has condemned the world and everyone in it. His callous hatred for humanity has led to not only the stability of the Sekirei Plan, but the neglect and lack of appreciation of all those who care for him as well, including his own Sekirei; Benitsubasa in particular…"
...
"…those who do not appreciate life, do not deserve life."
...
This was almost too much for Yukari to take in at once. But as her reasoning stewed within, she realized just how fortunate she and her brother were. John could have easily put Minato in the same situation that Natsuo was in, and used it to blackmail and scar her even further. But Minato hadn't done anything as cruel or deceitful deserving of such a fate…in John's eyes at least. She could even see her brother, embrace him as he slept. Karasuba had no such luxury,
'...and she doesn't fucking deserve it either!', she thought. 'Not her or her neglectful Ashikabi!'
The knives now drew out a pang of morbid satisfaction from her as they remain dripping. As much as the droplets of all that blood made her queasy, just knowing that the bitch suffered for her crimes and her beauty was carved away forever made Yukari smile on the inside. Said smile grew bigger like the heart of a grinch on Christmas. Perhaps John wasn't all bad after all… Oh he was still bad, but...a lesser evil in the scheme of things. A choice between two devils while the angels but observed the chaos eating popcorn.
But that still left one question lingering on her mind.
"Karasuba referred to you as her Ashikabi, and how little the game actually affected her outlook on things. I have to assume there is another element keeping MBI's dog in check, correct? Something you can give her that no one else, not even her Ashikabi, can give her?"
He nodded."I promised to reunite her with an old friend…an old friend she'll never be able to see again without my assistance…and her cooperation."
"Someone she has a score to settle against, I assume?"
"Among other things."
"Other things you're probably not going to tell me about, I guess?"
"Karasuba is working with us whether she likes it or not, and precautions have been taken to ensure it stays that way. If she steps out of line and does harm to anyone unjustly, her game will be over and her life forfeit."
XXX-Atop The Lair-XXX
Karasuba stood atop John's lair, gazing into the dusk sky as the sun faded beneath the city's landscape. It was fun spoiling the Sahashi girl's reunion. It was at times like this, that she would sweep the streets below in search of more potential targets; virgin blood that had yet felt the sting of her carnivorous nodachi. So many little cherries just waiting to be popped…yet she couldn't do anything about it. Shame.
In spite of bearing the title of MBI's dog, it was only yesterday that she felt what a leash truly felt like. John was able to tame her…for now. It was strange holding back her bloodlust when she had previously exercised it so freely. It was like chronic masturbation to her. You don't realize it's a habit until you can't do it anymore and the urge to do so again hits. But sacrifices needed to be made. He was her Ashikabi after all, whether he accepted it or not. Natsuo may have winged her, but he was but a puppet in her eyes, a simple pawn. He had no grasp on her like John did.
#04 slid her fingertips down her cheek, savoring each moment they glided over the soldered flesh, like plucking the strings of a guitar.
'He can never hope to leave his mark the way John did.'
She then leapt from rooftop to rooftop, cackling as her silhouette disappeared into the night. Although the sun had set, Yume's return was on the horizon…and she would kill to see her again.
XXX-Jigsaw's Workshop-XXX
"Is there anything else that you may deem 'important' for me to know?" Yukari asked.
"Quite." he exhaled."Tell me, Yukari, has your mother ever elaborated on what her occupation was?"
Yukari jumped back at John's statement. Given Minato's presence as well as her own, she knew exactly what this meant. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize what John was about to segue into. "Don't you dare drag my mom into this! I'm already committed with Minato being here! Leave her out of it!"
"Oh, but Yukari," John began."Miss Takami was the one who dragged herself into this; not me. From her lies and deceit, she put your lives, as well as every life in the capital at risk."
"What are you talking about?" Yukari knew her mother was secretive, but what could she have done to capture Jigsaw's attention? Well, despite being a Sahashi, of course.
"You know your mother works for MBI, correct?"
"I do," she answered. "I kinda found out by accident when I was a kid."
"But do you know the specifics of her occupation?"
Those words made Yukari's mind backtrack. "Come to think of it…no." Something told her she wasn't going to enjoy what Jigsaw had to say.
John shook his head. "So many years of living in a sheltered perspective...this will hurt more than I intended."
"Just what the hell are you talking about?! What do you want with my mom?! What did she do?!"
John exhaled. "Everything."
He gestures to the barstool and countertop. "Please, have a seat. What I am about to show you will be rather…difficult to absorb."
She did as asked and planted herself onto the leather stool.
She crossed her dangling legs, watching her captor walk behind the counter she was seated before. He knelt down to a filing cabinet, pulling open the second to last drawer. The entire thing was loaded, but he had no quarrel finding the file he needed. 'Well he's organized, I'll give him that much,' she thought.
File in hand, John cocked a glance over his shoulder. "Before I show you this, there are a few details I need to elaborate on."
"What is it? My mom's a whore? Out with it!"
"That among other things."
She would have none of it. "Get to the point already. What's in the file?"
"Evidence."
"Evidence regarding what?"
"Evidence revolving around your mother's careless decisions involving the Sekirei Plan's participants."
"Wait," she paused, hushing her tone. "Are you saying my mother is involved in the Sekirei Plan?"
"More than involved, Yukari," John answered."Your mother is a very high-ranking MBI scientist, only outranked by The Game Master himself."
"Wow…" she stammered. "I knew mom's job had to be important, but damn. "Then again, she was Minaka's wife at one point, so maybe the high rank is The Game Master's way of trying to bribe himself back into bed with her.
"There is more to it, Yukari," he revealed."You're mother isn't just involved in the Sekirei Plan. She is the Sekirei Plan."
The Sahashi girl read through the lines. "I take it that you mean she's in charge of it; or Minaka gave her the responsibility?"
John nodded.
She presented her hand, gesturing him to hand her the evidence with the curl of her fingers. "I'll believe it when I see it."
Yukari flipped through the evidence, trying to be as thorough as possible. Some of the things present were hard to look at, but she knew there would be no sense getting worked up over it all if it were simply a sick attempt at blackmail. It could have been forged for all she knew.
But the more she skimmed, the more accurate and spot-on the information became.
She was dumbfounded.
Not only were there implications of her mom's family life, but the lives of her children as well. The information here was too personal to have been faked. It was something only MBI would have access to. Something her mother had to have archived.
"Your mother is one of the heads of MBI, Yukari," John said calmly as her wide-eyed glare grazed over the text. "She is also the head and overseer of the Sekirei Plan itself."
"B-but…she said she worked for a medical c-company," Yukari said, tilting her head.
"MBI is a medical company, among other things." John said. A part of him wanted to criticize her for not noticing that, but that would be rude, and knowing Takami, she probably would have found a way to trick her kids into thinking she worked for a different medical company if they ever got suspicious.
"Takami was with Minaka when he found the Sekirei ship," John continued, taking out a small manila folder and opening it. "She was in on it from the start."
He handed another folder to Yukari, who reached into it and pulled out several photos. "She oversaw everything, from monitoring Sekirei once they found their Ashikabi to picking up the bodies of any terminated Sekirei…including #108."
"No…no," Yukari insisted as she looked at the photos, many having Takami in them. One photo made her cringe severely. Takami, a cigarette in her mouth and a sour look on her face was standing next to an MBI goon, judging by his uniform-who had a little girl with long blonde hair tucked under his arm. It was Kusano. In the background, an image of Minato can faintly be seen on his knees in tears with an arm reaching out towards the helicopter she was in.
Tears welled up in the eyes of the 'Demon' Ashikabi as she beheld the photo that exposed the reality of her mother's true coldness. John looked at her pityingly and motioned his hired muscle to approach. He slipped an SD card out from under his thick garbs and handed it to his aging superior.
"This was taken on the night when a fight on a bridge occurred between the Discipline Squad and an escaping Ashikabi and his Sekirei," he said. "I believe you should take a look at it, as nothing can further describe my motivations behind ending the Sekirei Plan than this."
Looking away from the photos, Yukari shook her head. "No," she whispered tearfully. "I-I believe you." She sniffed, then added, "Why would mom lie like this? Why?"
He grabbed her attention along with her shoulders and shook. "Yukari, look at me," he said sternly. "This is something you have to see. To fully understand why your mother must be tested."
Her head slumped into her hands, her breathing became more off pattern and jumpy. "F-fine," she said. "Show me it."
"Let me see your phone."
"Okay." She extracted her phone and handed it to John.
He inserted the card, and fiddled with the touch screen. He handed the phone back as the video begins to load. "What you are about to see is the bridge escape, archived by Dr. Gordon himself."
XXXXXX
The footage ended, and Yukari could barely breathe. Her facial nerves twitched as the phone slipped from her grasp and onto the floor, the SD card ejecting on impact.
"Minato…why?"
"The Sekirei Plan has brought you and your brother nothing but sorrow, and your mother took part in putting it all together."
"I can't believe this," Yukari stated, still shaken. "Minato never did anything to hurt anybody!"
"You were wronged, Yukari. Would you like answers?"
Yukari looked at the man and, after a moment's hesitation, nodded. "Yes," she whispered, but with conviction. "I want to know why she did this."
"Very well." Bending his knees, John rose from his seat. "Then there is one more thing I must show you."
He turned his attention to his hired muscle. They nodded to each other. Mathis extracted one more manila folder from his robe, and slapped it on the table before Yukari's eyes and trudged out of the room without a word.
The Demon Ashikabi flipped the document open, doing her best to analyze the information through her tearly eyelashes.
It was a tournament bracket of sorts. It was a few months old, if the date was anything to go by, as many of the participants on the card had been terminated by this point. A red circle supposedly marked by Jigsaw encircled the match-up-–if you could call it that-between #04, Karasuba, and #108, Kusano.
She took a brief glance at John. "What is this?"
"The documents you now hold are the final renditions of the Sekirei Plan's tournament bracket," he said. "Everything you see there had been looked over AND APPROVED by the Sekirei Plan's head observer."
"N-No way!" Yukari said as her speech staggered briefly. "The-there's no way mom would ever agree to put Kusano against that monster! There is just no way!"
She looked at the bracket again, and sure enough, her mother's signature was right there at the bottom, in her own writing.
...
"Oh, and be sure to give your mother my regards next time you see her. I've yet the chance to properly thank her for offering me such…" she exhaled an orgasmic sigh. "…easy prey."
...
"That...that is what she meant. This is what that monster meant..."
"I'm afraid so." John lamented, in disheartened relief. "Before it was signed, your mother had every opportunity to make changes in any way she deemed fit…"
"But she didn't!..." She wept as she wheezed. "She let Kuu die...allowed Minato to experience such pain...and did nothing to put a stop to it when she could!"
Her chest began to heave in and out as the emotions took over, their intensity clamoring past climax with every syllable. "God, Minato…how could mom do this to you? To us?! To Kusano?! To everyone?!"
Jigsaw reached out to the grieving Demon and gently clasped his rough palm on her shoulder, which was more emotional support than Takami had given her or Minato over the course of well over half their lives let alone after the tragedy that occured all those months ago. The tears dripping pitter pattered onto Kuu's innocent picture their warmth causing the red ink to run down her bubbly face.
He spoke the ultimatum as her enlightenment reached its completion. "How much trauma must be inflicted to get to the truth, Yukari? Make your choice…"
"That whore is going to pay! She will fucking pay!"
XXX-Takami's Game-XXX
"S-signed and approved by Taka-"
Yukari tightened her grip on her mother's hair, yanking back. "Signed and approved by WHO, mom?!" She forced her head back towards the document, slamming her head into the desk again. Yukari was in a whole other world now. The Demon Ashikabi finally was. "Who's signature is it?!" She snarled.
"S-signed a-and approved by…T-Takami Sahashi… MBI lead researcher and head observer of the Sekirei Plan."
She slammed her skull harder into the desk. Speaking one word from each: "YOU!SENT!KUSANO! TO! HER!DEATH! YOU! FUCKING!CUNT!"
"Please Yukari!" The Sahashi matron pleaded, face bruised and busted open. "Let me explain!"
Her daughter would have none of it. "What's there to explain mom?! The proof is right there in the folder!" She slammed her face into it again. "You have no fucking excuses!"
"Yukari, you listen to me!" Takami's visage distorted into that of a hannya mask, the one that terrorized Minato and her so long during their upbringing.
But it no longer had any effect.
*WHACK!
The Demon Ashikabi busted out some of the mask's fangs, as well as mommy's with a balled fist. It faded to nothing as it fell to the concrete floor along with some of her teeth.
On her knee, Takami grazed a palm on the newly deformed welt on her cheek, her bottom lip starting to swell.
The moment passed, and Yukari finally spoke, her voice now having a much more serious and tearfully heartfelt demeanor. She grabbed that cunt by the collar and pulled her into the warped expression all the events she made led to. "How dare you think that trick would work on me at a time like this!"
Her mother stayed quiet, taking only shallow breaths. She trembled in terror, scared shitless and unable to look away from the daughter she wronged. The daughter she could no longer control.
"Just who the fuck do you take me for? How submissive do you think I am?" she shook her, pulling her in further. "I can understand you being away on business, I can forgive you not being there for us, I can sympathize with wanting to keep Minaka under control…" The tension in her fists intensified the grip nearly suffocating Takami. "But approving the death sentence of an innocent child…someone Minato loved so dearly and having no nerve to even drop what you were doing to even try to console him when he needed you?! Unforgivable!"
"Yukari…I understand why you're upset but-"
"BULLSHIT!" she snapped sending a knee into mommy's gut. "You didn't see the blood! You didn't see what she fucking did to her!"
Yukari threw her bloodied elder to the ground and she landed in a heap, mangled and helpless with no one there to save her.
"Right before Minato's eyes Kuu was murdered and he hasn't been the same since! That girl called him "onii-chan"
mother! MINATO WAS HER FUCKING ONII-CHAN AND SHE WAS SLAUGHTERED BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"I KNOW!"
Yukari trembled, the adrenaline in her veins igniting her need for the cunt to just reveal what a lying bitch she's been this whole time. How much trauma must be inflicted to get to the truth, indeed. "I've been living at Maison Isumo since the incident, trying my best to be emotional support for Minato, and where the fuck were you?! Sucking the game master's cock?!"
Takami couldn't say much of anything at this point. Her thoughts were scrambled, and not just from the savage beating her daughter gave her. "I didn't want this."
"Neither did Minato. Minato did your job for you. He was my caregiver and was there for me all the way while you were off enslaving a group of people meant only to love and care for some crackpot maniac. Don't let your provision of material goods, food, and a roof over our heads fool you. You offered us nothing else emotionally but pain and misery. You are a terrible mother and I hope you fucking rot for what you did to us."
Takami hung her head in shame. "Yukari…"
"I want him back."
"What?"
"I said I want him back!"
Yukari leapt onto her mother, tackling her to the ground with murder in her eyes. She grasped her mother's neck, and began to squeeze…
"I want him back! I want him back! I WANT MY BROTHER BACK! GIVE ME BACK THE MINATO I GREW UP WITH, THE ONE YOU TOOK FROM ME! I WANT HIM BACK! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARHHHH!"she cried, slamming the back of her mother's cranium into the concrete again and again. A broken neck or a cracked skull, which would happen first?
This had gone on long enough. Mathis immediately trudged to action, rushing over, and dragging the enraged girl away before she would take a second life. Now wasn't the time for it, at least not yet. She screamed and cried incoherently as she squirmed for freedom, not wanting playtime with mommy to end just yet.
Takami regained her bearings, and gasped for breath. "You…let go…of my daughter…this instant, you repugnant beast!"
She pulled herself back to the table, the throbbing in her head unbearable.
Yukari's body began to exhaust itself. Mathis let her go, and she dropped to her knees, broken, not wanting things to ever come to this. She desperately wanted to go back to being in the dark about all of this. To live in the blissful ignorance she once knew before John opened her eyes to reality. But that wasn't what being an adult was about.
Takami looked on as her daughter cried her eyes out and finally spoke her peace.
"Yukari…here's the truth." Her mother took a deep breath. "I…tried to help the situation. While I was planning the brackets for the tournament, I did my best to match Kusano up with the fairest competition. I originally wanted her to face #106, Shijime, as they were of similar age…but after she passed away in a bicycle accident involving her Ashikabi's reckless driving, I was forced to find another opponent for her to face."
"Unfortunately, it had slipped my mind that a rule was set in place, stating that the Ashikabi with the most Sekirei would have to face at least one member of the Discipline Squad, and since Minato's other Sekirei were locked in against their opponents, and Benitsubasa and Haihane were locked in with theirs, that only left me one option…"
"I begged Minaka to allow me to make the changes…"
...
"Minaka, please!" Takami pleaded. "Kusano will die unless we do something! The Black Sekirei won't show mercy! I am literally begging you right now, allow me to substitute Kusano with one of the others!"
"And miss out on this fantastic opportunity for emotional drama?!" The Game Master retorted. "Dear Takami, you of all people should know the potential the green girl has. You and I would be fools to let a chance to unsheathe her true strength slip by!"
"Dammit Minaka, don't do this!"
He wasn't even listening to her at this point. "I shall look forward to this contest with a great deal of interest! I'll see to it that the battle takes place in three days time!"
Takami scowled at her former husband as he cackled his demented pleasure. "Damn you, Minaka."
…
Takami continued her explanation, knowing this next part would be what would likely seal her fate. "When I realized my attempts at talking sense into Minaka were futile, I confronted the Black Sekirei herself."
...
The Black Sekirei smirked as the Sahashi Matron groveled, begging for mercy.
"Karasuba, please, just end it quickly."
"Very well."
...
"But I wasn't specific enough in my wording…and she murdered her instead of just terminating her." She was getting more and more choked up. "I fucked up…Yukari, I am so sorry."
As mother and daughter stared into each other's broken spirits, one of the observers removes their mask. He steps into the light revealing himself to be John. He looks at both subjects simultaneously, taking in their raw emotion, then focuses solely on Yukari.
"We have succeeded in our quest for truth, Yukari," he said. "Now your mother's fate rests in your hands…"
John slowly paced back and forth between mother and daughter, never breaking eye contact with the latter as he went about his briefing. "The woman before us has lived a life of deceit, lies, manipulation, and treachery. In her efforts to protect you and your brother, she blinded you to the truth, and in turn, caused more harm than good as a result. She took part in the enslavement of an entire group of people who only wanted to experience love, put countless lives at risk, which inadvertently led to the demise of an innocent child at the hands of a cold-blooded psychopath, and many others may follow…"
"But even in our darkest of hours…" He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a key. "There is a chance for redemption."
"The key I hold in my hand will release your mother from her shackle, and grant her a new beginning…if you deem her worthy of such a luxury. Alternatively, the three of us may simply leave and seal the door behind us, leaving her to remain here broken and alone until she succumbs to starvation or disease."
"Will Takami live or die?" He dangles the key before her eyes, dropping it into her open palm. "Make your choice, Yukari."
She stared at the key for a long moment and then heard her mother speak.
"If you let me live…I promise to help you," she coughed. "I will do everything in my power to put an end to the Sekirei Plan, and revive the terminated Sekirei. Please…let me join you…let me make this right."
The Demon Ashikabi's thoughts were spinning. Was she worthy of forgiveness? Would forgiving her mother be a mistake? But what of her knowledge? Leaving her would be scrapping a valuable asset. Who better to put an end to the Sekirei Plan than the one who put it together in the first place?
Did she deserve redemption? A second chance?
Hell no. Yukari had made up her mind. She readied herself to leave, and put this hag behind her forever, but heard one last faint sob from her mom's lips that made her think of the repercussions of it all.
Takami hung her head, with more tears joining the blood that dripped from her chin. "Minato, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
Minato.
Would he forgive her for just leaving his mom to die here, alone and devastated? Would Minato have just tossed her away as she was set on doing? Would he forgive her for going through with it?
Hell no. The shame he would feel over it might kill him if not drive him to suicide. He had been through enough after losing Kuu. Everyone had.
And for that reason, and none other, she stepped forward, key in hand.
"I hate your guts but I will not kill you. My brother would help you, and so will I…"
She stomped over and knelt down to the shackle, but before inserting the key, she looked her in the eye to do away with any misinterpretations Takami might gather from being spared.
"Don't get the wrong idea about this. I'm not letting you go because I can forgive you…I'm doing it because Minato wouldn't be able to forgive me if I didn't. He's the only reason you're alive," The tumbler clicked. Her mother was free. "and don't forget it."
Takami weakly smiled, fully expecting her own daughter to sentence her to death and grateful for her clemency. "Thank you, Yukari. I give you my word, Minaka will be stopped."
"We'll see, mom." She motioned to exit the room and glanced over her shoulder. "We'll see."
XXXXXX
A/N: I'm proud of the way this story arc turned out. One of the best early highlights the story has to offer in my opinion. But that's for you to decide.
I know the whole tournament bracket mentioned in the plot twist wasn't canon to either the anime or manga, however, this arc was written long before Sekirei had even wrapped up its jinki arc. I really had no way of knowing how Sakurako would handle going about the matchups in the later stages, so I came up with a tournament-style scenario akin to something like in DBZ. It seemed logical at the time, so I rolled with it.
Next, we return to Benitsubasa and Minato. His first bird awaits them in their next test, but who will it be?