Pizza, it turned out, was something that Akitsu liked very much. It could have been that she just had little exposure to flavors beyond the bland-tasting food that MBI provided for her, but Shirou could still see something similar to childlike joy on her face while she happily nibbled on a slice of culinary delight.
It was a sight to behold.
It wasn't really that good, to be honest. They had picked a place that did mostly take outs, with only a few metal tables for the rare customers that would consume their meal right away. The owner barely greeted them and went back to dish out more pizzas for delivery after he served their order.
Shirou didn't have the money to spare to take her anywhere fancier than that, not to mention that they probably wouldn't let them in, dressed as they were.
Shirou still had the dirty clothes he had used at work that day, and Akitsu wore the same kind of cheap, convenience store clothing that he did, although much cleaner. There was something to be said about the way she wore them as well, though.
He didn't think there were more unflattering clothes than those, yet their sheer plainness didn't seem to be able to detract from Akitsu's beauty, whether natural or supernatural. He could probably dress in her in a burlap sack, and she would still make heads turn.
He knew that because that's more or less what had happened on the way to this place. Akitsu seemed not to notice or not to care, taken as she was by the sights around her. The city lights seemed to arouse a powerful curiosity in her, making her stop at every shop window.
This wasn't really obvious, of course. Akitsu body language was very subdued, and her expression was barely noticeable if one didn't look closely. He wouldn't be wrong in calling her an Ice Beauty, but it was just the surface. He had seen her tears. He had held her trembling body while she cried for her inability to be Winged.
Akitsu had plenty of emotions to express, and quite frankly Shirou preferred those she was showing him at that moment. The simple joy of a satisfying meal.
"Ohayo! Shirou! What's for breakfast today?"
He squashed down that memory before it could fully form in his mind, but the taste of his own pizza had already turned sour in his mouth. He firmly refused to think how he could make a better dough in his sleep least he brought forth another string of unpleasant memories.
The owner of this place wasn't even trying.
He swiftly put away his mental complaints when he picked up the presence of yet another Sekirei in the vicinity. This one was nowhere similar to Akitsu, or that other one he had run into previously.
Although both shone strongly to his supernatural senses, their presence was neutral, so to speak. This one leaked enmity, so thick and potent that Shirou's mind conjured the smell of fresh blood. He couldn't actually smell blood, but the association within his mind was so strong that he couldn't help imagining it. The same way in which, sometimes, specific scents could trigger old memories.
This new Sekirei reminded him of blood-soaked battlefields.
"Is something wrong, Shirou-sama?" Akitsu asked, which was weird. Shirou had long since learned to keep his emotions from showing on his face. A necessity, in his line of work. Yet it seemed that Akitsu had seen through it. Perhaps she was keeping a close eye on him as much as he did her.
"Not really. Well, maybe. Can you tell when other Sekirei are nearby?" he asked.
"No, I can't do that. I'm sorry," she replied, dipping her head in consternation.
"That's nothing you should apologize for," he told her. It wasn't weird that she couldn't. Generally, humans couldn't sense the presence of their own similars either. It was something that could be learned, to be sure, but it was a skill, not a natural talent.
There was no reason why Sekirei should be any different on this particular front.
"Anyway, I think one of your kind is getting closer. No, it's really possible that they are coming here, and that's either a coincidence or they are coming to get you."
Akitsu stood even straighter on her seat.
"Master I… I don't want to go back," she said in a small voice.
Shirou frowned. Akitsu was powerful. He could tell as much. Perhaps not as powerful as this Sekirei that was slowly coming closer, but at least powerful enough to get away if so she wanted.
But not without leaving him behind, something which seemed to terrify the Sekirei in his care more than anything else.
"I already told you that I wouldn't send you away. The only way you'll be leaving, is by your own decision," he declared firmly. The circumstances of the Sekirei captivity couldn't be helped, but there was a stark difference between raising them in seclusion and forcing them somewhere against their will.
As long as Akitsu didn't pose a threat to others, he'd protect her the same way he would anybody else.
Of course, supposing he had the strength to back up his word. He had yet to witness what they could do, but if his impression was right, even a single Sekirei would be a tough opponent to deal with. If he added the backing and influence of MBI, then he was probably way over his head.
He might have to resort to some dirty tactics to get Akitsu out of the city. The chances of survival for himself would be extremely low though. Not that it had ever been a factor when he made a plan.
"Let's not get paranoid, just yet," he told her. "I don't think they're going to start anything in front of a crowd, but do get ready to run."
"Yes, Shirou-sama," the Sekirei replied, eyes alert and pizza entirely forgotten. Shirou took a moment to notice how she didn't question his decision, or his ability to know there was another Sekirei approaching. Akitsu seemed to take everything in stride.
Judging from how slow they were approaching, Shirou assumed they were on foot, which was a bit weird, but that made him optimistic about the circumstances. If this was a snatch and grab operation, there would be suitable vehicles in the vicinity. So either it was a coincidence, or this wasn't the setup of a kidnapping.
At least not yet.
A few minutes later, two figures arrived in front of the pizza parlor. Both had slightly gray hair despite their youthful appearances. One wore a white lab coat over plain-looking clothes. Only her hair color was eye-catching.
The other one was an entirely different beast.
She wore a short, black dress that she wanted to make it pass as some sort of uniform. It reached a little too high on her thighs to be considered proper, showing a section of her pale legs before thigh-high, skin-tight boots with short heels took over.
Even with the added boost of her footwear, she was a rather petite and quite slender thing, very much unlike Akitsu. She wasn't any less beautiful for it though. She possessed a refined face and sharp, almost fox-like eyes. Finally, she wore a thin smile that no one in their right mind should consider anything short of a subtle baring of teeth.
Even without the oozing bloodlust coming from her, anyone with even just a shred of sanity left to them would keep a safe distance from this creature, if they valued their lives.
So, of course, Shirou remained sitting right where he was, even when next to him Akitsu sucked in a sharp breath. "Karasuba-sama."
Said Karasuba stepped inside the parlor, followed closely by the woman in the lab coat.
"Emiya Shirou," the human woman said. It was not a question.
Shirou inclined his head in acknowledgment. He remained sitting in a perfectly natural manner, but the hammer of the gun inside his mind had already been lifted. He did not expect violence to happen at this time, but that didn't mean he wouldn't prepare for it. He clutched the plastic knife he had used to cut his pizza a little bit tighter.
"You have me at a disadvantage, Miss," he told her. "Please, have a seat, then we can discuss whatever business MBI has with me."
He half-expected her to refuse, but she surprised him by pulling back the chair and sitting in front of him. Karasuba remained standing, her eyes firmly affixed on him while her fingers brushed against her hips, almost as if she expected to find something hanging there.
'Sword user,' Shirou assumed. 'Forced to leave her weapon behind.'
"My name is Sahashi Takami. Head of R&D at MBI, and this is Karasuba. Chief of the Disciplinary Squad."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance," said Shirou out of politeness and not because he actually felt that way.
"Akitsu, how have you been?" the newly introduced Takami asked, turning to the less belligerent Sekirei on-premise.
"Ah. I've been doing fine, Takami-san," Akitsu replied forthrightly. First name basis and casual conversations. They knew each other fairly well then.
"Has your host been treating you well?" she inquired.
"Yes. Shirou-sama has been most kind to me."
"Common courtesy must seem something exceptional to those who have never received it before," Shirou snorted.
That comment drove the focus of the woman named Takami back to him.
"Considering your words, I trust that Akitsu has already explained to you her circumstances, as well as her nature."
"That she did," he admitted. "That's quite the situation you've got on your hands here. One hundred and eight extraterrestrial aliens that look precisely like humans must be something interesting to deal with. I suppose your xenobiologists have been scratching their heads for quite a while, but it's plain to see that it wasn't trouble without benefits."
"Indeed," Takami agreed. Only a moron wouldn't make the connection between the presence of an alien species on Earth and the technological leaps made by MBI in the last couple of decades. Although not just anyone could reverse-engineer alien technology, it explained why MBI was so ahead of the curve compared to its competitors.
"So, what can I possibly do for you? Since we're having this conversation, this can't possibly be a breach containment."
"How do you know it's not?"
"You would have brought a lot more people if that were the case. With an entire squad at your disposal, it would be foolish to take just one Sekirei to subdue another, not to mention ordinary troops to handle the civilians and make an encirclement for me."
"Oh, spoken from experience?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Please," he snorted, "with MBI's means there's no way you don't already have every single bit of information about me there is to find. At the very least, you know which parts of the world I've visited. You should be able to make an educated guess."
"We did. Although it's never stated anywhere clearly, I suspect you were a private military contractor. Or a mercenary, if you prefer that term."
"I don't. If you really must label me, I'd rather you use private security or bodyguard. I was never in the business of harming people for money and I don't plan on starting."
"Hm," Takami acknowledged, inclining her head. "In any event, you admit to having experience with PMCs, so I will ask only once. Who do you work for?"
"I'm self-employed," he replied, flatly. "In fact, I'm trying to go back to my roots and leave all the violence behind."
"What's wrong?" the Black Sekirei asked. "Scared of a little bloodshed?"
"Yes," Shirou had no problem admitting. "I'm not fond of people getting hurt, which is why I tried to protect them, for a time."
"Is that why you took in our Akitsu?" Takami inquired.
"No, I took her in because I found her bloodied and half-naked in a public park after she broke out from the laboratory where she has been kept prisoner for her whole life. You know, the decent thing to do."
"Do not presume to judge our actions. If MBI did not protect them, they would have fallen prey to organizations far less scrupulous."
"Ah, did I make it sound like that? Then I apologize. It was not my intention. Captivity aside, Akitsu doesn't seem to have been mistreated, nor she seems to resent you. Is that right, Akitsu?"
"Yes," the Broken Sekirei nodded. "Takami-san and the others have always been kind to us."
"Knowing that, the only natural conclusion is that you expect something from me. So, what could I possibly do for MBI?"
Takami eyed him from head to toe one more time, reassessing him. There still was a peculiar gleam in the way she looked at him, almost as if she expected to see something in him, but couldn't.
"If you have spoken with Akitsu, then you should be aware of her inability to have an Ashikabi."
"She told me that, yes," Shirou nodded.
"And I assume, Akitsu, that you have chosen him all the same, is that right?"
"Yes," the Sekirei nodded meekly. "I wish for him to be my Ashikabi, even though I cannot fly with him."
"As I thought," Takami sighed. "In that case, Emiya Shirou, do you intend to take upon yourself the responsibility of being her partner, forever and ever?"
Shirou blinked. "That sounds awfully like a marriage proposal."
"Yes," the MBI representative nodded. "I suppose that it's like that in many ways. Let me rephrase that. Are you willing to support her until death?"
Now, Shirou's eyes narrowed. Although death had been mentioned, it didn't sound like a threat.
"I will support Akitsu until the day she decides she no longer needs it," he replied her flatly. "I already told her that I would not send her away. I'm not in the habit of going back on my word."
"Very well. Then from here onward, you will be considered the same as an Ashikabi, and as such you are now an official participant of the Game."
"Game?" Shirou blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"You can call it a contest if you prefer. A battle between Sekirei to be fought until only one is left standing," Takami explained.
Shirou's heart skipped a beat and not just because of the very real prospect of violence and bloodshed. The feeling of a bad omen started to take form in his chest.
"Are you crazy? Why would you set up something like this? What's the point?"
"To determine which one is more worthy, of course," said Karasuba. Her voice carried a hint of mocking at having to explain something so basic. "Isn't that the point of all competitions?"
"Don't speak in riddles," he hissed. "If there's a competition, then there has to be a prize. What is it?"
"Anything you want," Takami replied. "Anything at all. Whatever wish you have, it will become a reality. That is the prize."
Now Shirou's blood turned to ice. 'She doesn't mean that. She's just saying that MBI will pay for whatever the winner wants. There is no way it's something like that.'
But however much he rationalized, it didn't make any sense. Why would MBI throw away the Sekirei in such a way? What was their angle, their profit in all this? Shirou didn't know, and that worried him more than anything he could name.
"I see," he replied, even though he didn't see at all. His mind was running a mile a minute, going through possible scenarios, one worse than the other.
"It goes without saying that you are forbidden from leaving the city. I'm sure you understand the consequences of not complying."
"I can imagine," he replied sarcastically. "What other rules are there? It's obvious that you want this matter concealed from the general public. When and where are fights supposed to happen? What constitutes a victory?"
"It would be appreciated if you could keep any fighting out of the public eye, but if that weren't possible, MBI will take care of containing any information leak and give reparation to offended parties. Combat between Sekirei is strictly one-on-one. The victor has to guard the fallen Sekirei until a unit from the MBI comes the retrieve them. Lastly, Sekirei are forbidden from harming an Ashikabi. Fights will happen whenever you meet another Sekirei."
Shirou heard all of those rules and wondered how many would bother following them. He'd be willing to bet not many unless the violations weren't punished swiftly by the Disciplinary Squad.
"Akitsu should be able to answer any other questions you might have about the abilities of her species, even though she wasn't originally meant to take part in the competition at all. Also, you can have this," Takami said, sliding a black plastic rectangle with MBI's logo over to him. It took him a moment to recognize it as a credit card.
"What's this for?" he asked without picking it up.
"To cover for expenses. All Ashikabi are given one, to provide for their Sekirei."
"How thoughtful. MBI is sparing no expenses, I see," said Shirou. That only compounded his worries. Sending their very limited alien specimen to fight against one another, but giving them a mean to see to their basic needs muddled the picture he had in mind even further.
As if coming across a brand new alien species wasn't reason enough to be worried out of his skull.
It seemed that he had been pulled into this thing up to his neck. So much for sneaking under MBI's nose. He would be right into their sights for the foreseeable future, and he had no clue as to what their ultimate goal actually was.
All of his plans and all of his preparations were in ruins and he had a brand new crisis on his hands to deal with.
'My luck is worse than Lancer's,' he lamented inwardly, but there was nothing he could do about the circumstance now, other than figure out more the current situation.
"I said what I came for, so I'll be taking my leave," said Takami as she made to stand up.
"Not so fast," replied Shirou. "There are still things I need to ask."
"As I said, Akitsu can fill you in on the details. Consider yourself lucky that I came in person. The regular Ashikabi only got a phone call."
"Not that! I need to know more about Sekirei biology. Can I just treat Akitsu as a regular human? Does she have special needs or things that she can't eat? Are they allergic to anything? Do they suffer from any illness or ailment?"
That string of questions seemed to pause Takami.
"You are the first among the Ashikabi to ask those questions. Most just assume that looking like a human is reason enough to treat them as such."
'Yes, well. Don't try that with a Dead Apostle, lady.'
"Anyway, you don't need to worry about any of that. Sekirei are completely immune to viruses that affect us, and they are not allergic to known substance on Earth. Both their bodies and metabolism are much stronger than a human's. You'll find out that by yourself pretty soon anyway."
Shirou nodded. That was far from good news. It simplified taking care of Akitsu but it also meant that should it come down to it, killing a Sekirei would be a much more brutal affair, even assuming he actually could. He knew they were powerful beings, but he had no idea exactly how much.
A gap in knowledge that he would have to fill as soon as possible. As he thought that, his eyes were drawn to the Black Sekirei.
"What?" she asked. "Seen something you like?"
"Hardly," he replied. "You smell too much of blood for my tastes."
That comment made the gray-haired alien crack an eye open. However, far from being insulted, her lips stretched into a thin smile.
"You say some interesting things," she said. "We'll see if your actions turn to be just as interesting."
At that moment, Shirou felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees. It wasn't just his imagination, this time. The water in his glass had begun to frost and he could see his breath in front of his face.
Just like one could feel a source of heat, one could also feel one of cold. And in this case, it originated exactly from where Akitsu was sitting. Her power had also flared accordingly, so there was little doubt as to what had caused this phenomenon.
"Stay away from my Master," said Akitsu. The following threat needed no vocalization. Karasuba's other eye opened as well and her smile stretched a bit further.
It was not a pleasant sight, no matter how pretty she looked.
"Karasuba," said Takami in a warning tone. "We're leaving."
The Black Sekirei let out a snort through her nose and turned to follow after Takami without a complaint.
"Take good care of Akitsu, Emiya-san. She deserves it," the woman said as a way of farewell. "They all do."
Then they both left the establishment, taking the stench of blood away with them, but leaving behind too many unanswered questions. For someone who sent them into a Battle Royale, Takami seemed genuinely concerned about the Sekirei's individual well being.
He couldn't make sense of the entire situation and that was his foremost reason to worry. How was he supposed to act without any decent intel to work with?
Shirou did not move from his seat until he could no longer feel Karatsuba's presence. Next to him, Akitsu remained dutifully seating in her place, while the temperature slowly went back to normal.
"Akitsu, let's go home."
"Yes, Master," the Sekirei - his Sekirei - answered. This time he did not object to her use of that title. It seemed that he would have to act as such once more, after all.
[br]
"So, what do you make of him?" asked Takami, once they had climbed back into the car.
"He's not insufferable like the other one. This one has a little bite to him."
"You say that because you never had the chance of seeing him pissed off. He was all sunshine and rainbows right until you did something to make him mad at you. Trust me, he had more in common with the old Miya than you'd think."
"Oho? Shame I didn't see it then. He might have given me an excuse to run him through."
"Since when do you need one?"
"You know what I mean," Karasuba replied. "Don't get cute with me just because you are at the bottom of my list. It isn't written in stone."
"Yes, but Karasuba, you forget one detail."
"Which is?" the Sekirei asked.
"Nothing at all is written in stone."
Karasuba narrowed her eyes at Takami, wondering if she really meant what she thought she did.
"Takami, what did you do?"
"Hm? I don't know what you're talking about, Karasuba."
"Fine. Play coy all you want, but you know the price for going against that man, right? He won't go easy on you just because you used to let him fuck you."
"Is that concern I hear in your voice?" Takami asked, lips twisting in a hint of a smile, which caused Karasuba's own lips to take a downward turn.
"Don't make me laugh, Takami. I'm just annoyed that all the people I want to kill personally get themselves killed on their own."
"Ah, my bad. Sorry for the misunderstanding," the researcher snorted. "Still, he is pretty interesting, isn't he?"
"He is," Karasuba agreed. "And he's dangerous."
"Why do you think so?"
"He was ready to kill us both at any time," the Sekirei explained. "It was in the body language. He could have carved your neck open with the plastic knife in less than a second. For all his claims that he hates violence, I'm willing to bet anything that he's pretty good at it."
"Why didn't you warn me earlier?" Takami asked, paling slightly despite her aloof demeanor.
"You told me I had to wait for him to give me an excuse before I could kill him," said Karasuba with a devilish grin. "I wasn't about to stop him from volunteering it."
"Why in the name of God did I take you with me as a bodyguard?"
"Beats me. It doesn't look like you are any good at picking people for any task I'm afraid. You should probably pass HR duties on someone else. Free up your schedule a little bit. Spend time with your kids while you still can."
"You know what? I'll probably do that."
"Good. Clock's ticking. There isn't much time left. For anyone."
Takami leaned back into her seat and let out a tired sigh. Karasuba was right. Time was running out. Soon the first stage of the Sekirei plan would be complete and the second would begin.
When that happened the true gauntlet for the Sekirei and their Ashikabi would start. Would her small play of hands work out for the better or would it amount to nothing?
She could only wait and see.
[XXX]