Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 4 here.
As some people missed the list of Minato's Sekirei from the Poll, here is a complete list.
Tsukiumi
Akitsu
Kuruse
Musubi
Matsu
Yashima
Uzume
Kazehana
Hikari
Hibiki
Benitsubasa
Kuu
Yahan
Kaho
Yomi
That's all of Minato's Sekirei, present and future.
Just to let you all know, I do not really bash characters. Yes, Seo is going to be a douche in this chapter, but that is not indicative of him being bashed.
Read, Review and check out my other stories!
Disclaimer: I do not own Sekirei. If I did, the manga would be released in English already.
"Minato." - Regular Speech
'Musubi' - Thoughts
"Kaminari!" - Sekirei Incantation
Chapter Four: Taking out the Trash
"Huh?" was all Minato could say as the rough-looking man glared at him.
"Don't 'Huh' me!" the man growled, "You Winged my Sekirei!"
"Uh…girls?" Minato asked, "Any of you know this guy?"
"Never seen him." Yashima replied, fingering her large hammer nervously.
"Nope." Musubi said with a shrug.
"He…was the person we reacted to initially." Hikari admitted.
"As we said, our reaction was very mild." Hibiki added quietly.
Seo gaped at the Raiden Futago in disbelief. "But…but you reacted to me, not him!"
"Seo, Sekirei can react to multiple people." Hibiki sighed, "It just so happens that Minato-sama is a bonfire to your lit candle, compatibility-wise."
"A kid like this is more compatible than me?!" Seo wasn't looking happy at this, not to mention a little disbelieving.
"Yep." Hikari shrugged before she and her sister draped themselves on either side of Minato and snuggled in to him, making him flush at the close contact, "Of course the compatibility issue is just one reason we chose Minato-sama. Another reason is that any Sekirei Winged by you has their MBI Cards cancelled."
"That bastard Minaka!" Seo snarled, fists clenched and shaking in fury.
"Anyway, we've been Winged, so there isn't anything you can do about it." Hibiki said as she cuddled her Ashikabi.
"Tch." Seo glowered at Minato for a moment before stomping off, "I'll just have to Wing another Sekirei then. If I come across ya then kid, all bets are off."
The next thing Minato knew, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and a pair of lightning bolts shot from the outstretched hands of the pair of enraged Sekirei attached to him, reaching out to strike Seo in the centre of the back, electrocuting him to the point Minato could swear that he could see the mans skeleton as the electricity danced across Seo's body.
"Don't. Ever. Threaten our Ashikabi." the twins spoke in unison as Seo collapsed to the ground, burnt and twitching spasmodically.
"How the hell didn't I get shocked there?" Minato asked as he patted down his hair.
"You're our Ashikabi; our powers cannot hurt you." Hibiki explained, "Actually, our default is that you cannot be hurt by our abilities. Musubi there can't punch or kick you, nor can Yashima-san hit you with her hammer. By applying a considerable amount of power, we can bypass that if we want, but it is draining to do so."
"Useful to know." Minato remarked as he eyed Seo crawling away looking like an overcooked BBQ rib, "Now…Yashima-chan, we ordered our beds earlier and the shop's closed now, so would you mind sharing with Musubi-chan until we can order one for you?"
"Hai, Minato-sama." his newest Sekirei nodded shyly.
"All to the good." Minato sighed, "Now girls, while having you hug me is nice, I do need to be able to walk properly so we can finish our shopping…besides, it's Musubi and Yashima's turn."
"Hai." the Raiden Futago replied a bit sulkily and reluctantly removed themselves from Minato, making way for an enthusiastic Musubi and shy Yashima to take their places. They perked up when Minato told them to take the idiot who tried to forcibly Wing Yashima to the nearest kōban(Police Box) and not to be gentle about it.
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One Hour, 45 Minutes Later
Master Bedroom, Minato's New House
"That's everything." Minato said as he straightened up from setting up his futon up in his room, "Kaa-san should be here in about an hour."
"Takami-sensei is a nice person." Yashima offered shyly, "She was always nice to all of us while she was adjusting us in the Lab."
Yashima had volunteered to help Minato move things to his room while the other three put the groceries away and set up the rice cooker.
"Glad to hear it." Minato said with a smile, "Yashima-chan, I've been wondering. Is that large hammer your specialty?"
"Well…" Yashima paused before answering, "All Sekirei are stronger than humans -more resilient, faster, more agile- and some of us can use the elements, like the twins. Others have been trained in the use of a weapon. I am one of the few who can only channel an element through a weapon. I can manipulate gravitational forces through my hammer, making it as light as a feather or increasing the strength of the blows. My Norito is an enlarged version of that."
"Norito?" Minato asked in confusion.
"A Norito is a Sekirei's ultimate weapon, a prayer that is unique to each individual Sekirei, to them and them alone." Yashima replied, with a blush, "By…kissing…our Ashikabi, we get a strong power boost and a unique attack. My own is 'Gravity Hammer', which expands the size of my weapon's hammerhead and the Area of Effect that my gravity can touch. Any Sekirei caught in the epicentre will be defeated, even a Single Number."
"Wow…that's some ability." Minato said admiringly.
"I-It's nothing, really." Yashima's blush grew deeper at the obvious admiration from her Ashikabi, "I've…always been indecisive lacked confidence. That's why that…man…was able to disarm me so easily. I hesitated to attack an ordinary human and almost got forcibly Winged."
"I think you were just being cautious." Minato said thoughtfully, "I mean, when you have more strength than other people, it's natural to think before you act. You were just taken off guard by him grabbing you so suddenly. If it happens again, I think you'll react quicker. Once bitten, twice shy, right?"
"Minato-sama!" Yashima hugged him, "Thank you for being so kind!"
"Easy now!" Minato chuckled, patting the excited Sekirei on the back, "Let's go see how the others are doing."
As Minato made his way down the stairs with Yashima in tow, he heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. Which meant that Musubi was arguing with either Hikari or Hibiki, likely Hikari.
"-ust because your boobs are the size of cow udders doesn't mean he'll sleep with you first!" Hikari snapped at Musubi, who had a mulish expression on her face as Minato hurried into the room.
"Musubi doesn't get it, but he will!" the Miko look-alike retorted stubbornly.
"Oi!" Minato called, "What's this about?"
"Minato-sama, this girl wants to bed you first!" an outraged Hikari exclaimed, "It isn't right! We're your First Sekirei!"
"Musubi's a wife just like you two!" Musubi retorted.
"Oh dear." Minato sighed, "Hibiki, how did this get started?"
"I have no idea." the more level-headed twin replied, "One minute I'm putting the rice away, the next minute these two are arguing about who is going to bed you first, us or her."
"I see." Minato pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stave off the incipient headache that he felt coming on, achieving only middling success.
He had a premonition that as he Winged more Sekirei, the headaches would be more frequent and increase appropriately.
"Musubi, wait until my Kaa-san has told you what sleeping with someone as a wife is before you make any decisions about that." Minato attempted to channel King Solomon as he mediated between his Sekirei, "Hikari, insulting your sister-wives is not acceptable. Please apologise to Musubi for insulting her."
"…Sorry." Hikari said sulkily to Musubi, who nodded in acceptance of the begrudging apology.
"Good girl." Minato gave her a peck on the cheek, making her flush happily, "Now, is everything put away?"
"Hai, Minato-sama." Hibiki nodded, "The rice was the last thing that needed to be put away and I set up futon for Nee-san, myself, Musubi and Yashima."
"Well done Hibiki." Minato was impressed with the younger twin, "Now let's have a seat. I want to talk to you all about the Sekirei Plan before Kaa-san gets here."
Once they were all seated at the kitchen table, Minato started to speak, "Right…now, Kaa-san has told me the bare bones of the Sekirei Plan; that it's a survival tournament involving the Sekirei. It is highly secretive and involves multiple stages, of which we are in the First Stage. Have I missed anything?"
"No, you have outlined everything pretty accurately." Hibiki replied, "What is it you would like to discuss?"
"When I Winged each of you, a crest of some sort emerged from your backs, shortly followed by your, rather beautiful, wings." Minato smiled as his Sekirei uniformly preened at that comment, "What I would like to know is what it is."
"The Sekirei Crest is a Sekirei's weak point." Yashima said quietly, "Of the two methods of defeating Sekirei, it is the quickest and least painful to the target Sekirei. By placing a finger upon an enemy Sekirei's Crest and reciting our Norito, we can remove the Crest, shutting down the Sekirei and removing her from the Sekirei Plan."
"It kills them?!" Minato yelped.
"No, no, no." Hikari shook her head adamantly, "It places the Sekirei into a kind of suspended animation, a coma until they are recovered. I have heard rumours that there is something that can reactivate a deactivated Sekirei, but I have no idea if it is true."
"All of you are to watch each others backs." Minato ordered, slightly pale from the shock of the information, "Yashima-chan, you mentioned that removing the Crest is the easiest method of defeating a Sekirei. Are there any other methods?"
"There are two." Yashima replied quietly, "The first is to cause a certain level of damage to the Sekirei, which activates a safety mechanism, automatically removing the Crest and sending a signal to MBI HQ. The other…isn't a pleasant one to consider."
Hibiki took up the tale at this point, "The final method is to kill a Sekirei's Ashikabi, which automatically deactivates all Sekirei Winged by that Ashikabi. This is strictly forbidden in the Rules of the Sekirei Plan, but some Ashikabi might be…callous enough…to order it done."
"Message received; be careful about other Ashikabi's Sekirei." Minato said seriously, a trickle of sweat falling down the side of his face. His Sekirei's lives were literally depending on his continued existence. Talk about pressure!
"Please do." Hibiki replied equally seriously, "Now, when was Takami-sensei supposed to arrive again?"
"Right here." Takami answered as she strolled in with a large bag of Chinese Take-Out in one hand, "I wish you hadn't told Minato about the Sekirei Failsafe, but there you are. Let's eat, shall we?"
"'Failsafe'?" Minato frowned.
"Musubi could punch your head off." Takami remarked conversationally, "The twins could torture you to death with electricity; Yashima could smash you to death with her hammer. Without a pressing reason to keep you alive, a few of the Sekirei wouldn't care what happened to you. By tying you to their own lives, it means that they cannot be careless with you and must protect you. One of Minaka's less ridiculous ideas."
As his mother doles out the food, Minato was thinking about everything that had transpired today and came to a conclusion: his life was not going to be anything like easy or simple until this 'game' was over, and it probably wouldn't be afterwards, what with being 'married' to a gaggle of gorgeous alien women.
Yukari was going to kill him, if his grandmother didn't beat her to it.
"So." Takami said after they finished eating, "Yashima-chan. Nice to see you again and welcome to the family."
"A-Arigato, Takami-sensei." Yashima replied with a blush.
"Not '-sensei'." Takami corrected, "'-Okaa-sama'. Say it with me 'Takami-Okaa-sama'."
A furiously blushing Yashima muttered the words while doing a close examination of the tabletop, making the grey-haired women laugh.
"Now then…were you injured by the scum who tried to Wing you?" the Head of the Sekirei Plan asked as she examined the brunette Sekirei critically.
"N-No…Minato-sama stopped him before he could do anything more than grab me." Yashima replied with a grateful smile at Minato.
"It makes me wonder how he knew you were a Sekirei from the get-go." Takami mused, "We might have a mole…other than Seo, of course."
"Speaking of Seo, we ran into him just after Minato-sama got off the phone to you." Hikari said and outlined their confrontation with Seo Kaoru, including the man's subsequent threat.
"He was just spouting tough words." Takami dismissed Seo's threat casually, "He and Takehito talked about this kind of thing a lot, so now that he's calmed down, he'll likely of remembered about it and will feel pretty sheepish about it. Don't worry about Seo; he knows better than to mess with you guys."
The twins huffed indignantly as they muttered, "He had better know better!"
Takami took Yashima into another room to do a more thorough physical exam and warned Minato not to peek, resulting in the boy turning bright red and denying the intention ever crossing his mind in a high-pitched voice that held mingled tones of outrage and embarrassment in it.
"Well, she's as fit as a fiddle." Tamaki announced once she finished her examination and led the blushing Sekirei back to the others, "Just give her some TLC and she'll be fine."
"TLC?" Musubi asked in bemusement.
"Tender Loving Care." Minato explained, "Yashima-chan was almost subjected to having her choice taken from her and she needs time to get over it."
"Ohhh." the Fist-type Sekirei nodded.
"By the way Kaa-san, do you think you could give Musubi-chan 'The Talk' at some point?" Minato asked, "She's been asking about sleeping with me."
"Ahhh. Right. I'll tell her all about the Birds and the Bees before I go." Takami nodded, "How was the shopping?"
"Expensive." Minato sighed, "If it wasn't for the fact the MBI cards are the next best thing to unlimited, I would have hesitated to buy half of what we did today. By the way, do you know any good kimono shops in the Capital?"
"No, but I can find out." Takami replied as she smiled crookedly, "Taking your girls for kimono and yukata?"
"Yes. I think Musubi looks nice -very nice- in traditional clothes, and the others will look good in them as well." Minato replied honestly. His four Sekirei all restrained the urge to kiss him into submission.
"Good. Now, I'm going to give you a warning." Takami said seriously, "There are a group of Sekirei working for MBI called the Discipline Squad. They are the enforcement wing of MBI and report to Minaka himself. Do not get caught breaking the rules or they will terminate your Sekirei, especially the leader of the Squad…Number Four, the Black Sekirei, Karasuba."
"Karasuba-sama?" Musubi asked in surprise.
"You know her?!" Hibiki asked in shock.
"Karasuba-sama helped to save my life." Musubi replied with a smile, "Along with Yume-sama."
"True." Takami acknowledged, "But she hates humans. Even Ashikabi are little more than vermin in her opinion. Be very, very careful if you as much as suspect that she's nearby."
"Got it." Minato nodded, "I'm curious Kaa-san. How many Stages are there in this Plan?"
"Minaka hasn't been explicit, but he has alluded to at least four, possibly as many as six." the ash-haired woman replied.
"And…what's the prize for the winners?" he continued.
"The winning Sekirei and Ashikabi are allowed to remain together forever." Musubi replied for his mother.
"Definitely a good prize." Minato smiled at his Sekirei, who nodded back with smiles of their own.
"Well, I'd better explain the facts of life to Musubi before I head out." Takami sighed, "I have to visit a friend nearby in a while, so let's get this over with. Just to warn you Musubi-chan, this will be very embarrassing for you."
The brunette looked puzzled as she followed Takami into the next room. There was a muffled sound of talking for a few minutes, swiftly followed by a loud 'EEP!' followed by a thud.
"Min-chan?" Takami called, "Musubi's fainted."
Minato facepalmed.
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Ten Minutes Later
Izumo Inn
Takami strolled up to the Inn's door and rang the bell, a small grin still on her face as she recalled the scarlet-red face of Musubi as she was told the basics of what sex was. She had managed to retain consciousness until the end of the basic lecture, but Takami suspected that she would have to go into more depth at a later date.
What fun.
"Takami-san." Miya greeted her when she opened the door, "I'm pretty certain I made it clear that no one from MBI was allowed in Izumo Inn…"
The giant purple Han'nya mask phased into existence and loomed over her, leering down at an unaffected Takami.
"OK, 1) If Takehito couldn't make me flinch with that, you don't stand a chance." the Head of the Sekirei Plan said casually, "And 2) I'm here as a mother, not as a member of MBI. Now if you are quite finished grandstanding, we have a lot to discuss."
"You haven't changed much, Takami-san." Miya sighed, the Han'nya dissipating instantly, "Come on in, although I have a pretty good idea what it is you are here to say."
The landlady of Izumo Inn led Takami into the dining room, where a petrified Matsu was cowering behind Uzume, looking as if she were about to faint with fear.
"Miya-tan! Why'd you let her in?!" Matsu whimpered.
"Oh, keep your skirts straight Matsu." Takami sighed in irritation, "I'm not going to tell that idiot Minaka where you are. I'm actually glad you took the Jinki (God Vessel) as it means one less that Minaka has."
"Matsu peered around Uzume suspiciously, the Veil Sekirei rolling her eyes at the Wisdom Sekirei's antics. "Really?"
"Yes." Takami gave her an exasperated look, "I have no idea what he's been up to because he's kept me running off my feet until recently doing both my job and Takehito's old job at once, so the less advantages he has, the better."
"Is that why you manipulated your son into the Sekirei Plan?" Miya asked pointedly.
"It would have happened without my interference; all I did was give it a nudge." Takami replied with a shrug, "Minato is a good kid and having four-plus Sekirei around him is going to make him grow something of a spine, although when he stood up to his old Landlord, that was unexpected. Maybe he was developing one…before the little bastard broke his arm again."
"Someone broke your son's arm? Again?" Miya asked sharply.
"Yep. Same person, with a grudge against MBI." Takami scowled at the remembered wrath she felt when she heard, "That's one reason I sent the Raiden Futago; nothing more painful than electrocution. I take it you know about Min-chan's new Sekirei?"
"Yashima, Sekirei Number Eighty-Four." Matsu said promptly, "Winged by Sahashi Minato approximately two and three-quarters of an hour ago after he defeated someone attempting to Wing her by force. How's she doing?"
"Shaken up and nervous, but unharmed." Takami replied, "And how are you and Uzume doing? Reacting to Min-chan yet?"
Uzume and Matsu flushed.
"Ummm…yeah…quite a bit." Matsu said as she fidgeted slightly.
"Whenever he passes the house, neither of us can ignore the heat." Uzume added.
"Looks like Min-chan is more powerful than I thought." Takami mused, "You both have my permission to Wing yourselves on him if he accepts."
"Thanks, sensei." Uzume nodded, "What's he like? Matsu pulled his school files, but nothing tells me anything about who he is, other than the fact he's really easy to pressure."
"My fault, I'm afraid." Takami sighed, "Me, his sister and his grandmother are really dominating women. We barely gave him any room to grow. The instant he had his own opinion, we usually stomped it back down fairly quickly. The only time he ever stood up to us was when he insisted on coming to the New Capital for University. That was a shocker."
"He seems very intelligent." Matsu mused, "He just needs to practice exam conditions and he'll be fine."
"That reminds me, the Entrance Exam is next week." Takami realised, "I should remind Min-chan to study for it once the furniture is delivered tomorrow."
"He's bought furniture already?" Miya asked mildly, "Has he spent a lot of money?"
"He got gulled." Takami shrugged, "A lot of the stuff he bought is overpriced, but not absurdly so. MBI's footing the bill, so it doesn't matter. Minaka will laugh the expense off like always."
Uzume shook her head in disbelief. "Is he that dismissive of how money is spent?"
"No, but he understands that anyone paying with an MBI Card is going to be gouged price-wise by our competitors as an act of spite against the company." Takami replied with a shrug, "As it is, this is just giving Minaka ammo to build a case against his rivals for overcharging MBI. He'll give them more than enough rope to hang themselves with."
"Sneaky and underhanded." Matsu commented.
"Yeah…speaking of that, I assume Matsu has told you about the other three who have multiple Sekirei?" Takami asked.
"Sanada in the West, Higa in the East and Mikogami in the South." Miya replied, a small sneer of distaste at the last two names, "Over twenty Sekirei have been forcibly Winged between Mikogami and Higa, with Sanada Winging only six Sekirei himself, all of whom reacted to him."
"Yep. Higa is CEO one of MBI's direct competitors and is treating the Sekirei Plan as an opportunity to usurp MBI's status as Primus Inter Pares of Japan's -and the world's- businesses." Matsu added, "Mikogami Hayato is the sole heir to a vast fortune. He is a game-obsessed boy who sees the Sekirei Plan as the 'Ultimate Game' and his Sekirei as game pieces, just as Higa sees Winging a Sekirei as a mere business contract. They both have subordinate Ashikabi already, and the Sekirei Plan has only begun."
"With MBI HQ in the centre, they are fairly evenly spread out among three of the four cardinal directions, west, east and south, leaving the northern area of the New Capital vacant…until now." Takami said with a small smile.
"You've deliberately positioned your son to be a major player in the Sekirei Plan." Miya summed up, her eyes locked upon the gray-haired woman, "I would like to know why."
"Minaka is an idiot. An insane idiot." Takami replied flatly, "There is only so much I can do to rein him in myself. Homura is helping to protect the Unwinged Sekirei as best as he can and Matsu has taken one of Minaka's little prizes out of play for the moment. What I hope Minato will become is a wildcard, something that Minaka will have a hard time predicting or controlling. With his sense of honour, he will do his best to stop any plans or situations that would violate it."
"A troubleshooter, one that has no loyalty to MBI." Matsu examined Takami closely, "Why are you willing to put Minato-tan in the line of fire?"
"As I said before, Minato would have become an Ashikabi with or without my interference." Takami replied irritably, "And, with or without my prompting, he would do what he felt was right in any given situation, or rather, he will do what is right, regardless of my prompting or MBI's preferences and interests in the matter."
"You seriously don't trust Minaka." Miya stated, slight incredulity evident in her voice.
"He's kept the Endgame of the Sekirei Plan from me, despite my best attempts." Takami said frankly, "For all I know, he could be planning mass genocide or a eugenics program. Only two people can stop him and one of them is dead. The other one is you, Miya. As you refuse to get involved however, I have to make best use of what I have at my disposal, up to and including my own son and my own daughter."
Miya just stared at Takami, the air around her growing ice cold with the Number 00 Sekirei's silent rage at the insinuation that she was either wilfully blind or uncaring towards the plight of the other Sekirei.
"Takehito…he wanted me to put down my sword." Miya stated coldly, "So I did. That is all there is to it."
"And if he saw what Minaka's been up to recently? The increasing power limiting of the Sekirei? The scarring suffered by Number Seven that turned her into a Scrapped Number?" Takami demanded, "What then Miya? When will it be suitable justification for you to act instead of removing yourself from the board?"
The two Sekirei at the table flinched away from the scathing tone that Takami used against Miya. They could feel Miya's power fluctuating and roiling with turmoil and anger and were quailing at the sheer amount of power that the Pillar of the Sekirei possessed. Even if they both used their Norito, they wouldn't come close to that level of power!
And yet, despite the fact that Miya could crush her like a bug, Sahashi Takami had the sheer gall to challenge Miya, to call her on her self-imposed neutrality. Part of it was because she was a human, and thus couldn't feel Miya's power.
Another, larger, part was that Takami couldn't care less about Miya's position as the Pillar of the Sekirei. She called people on their bullshit regardless of social positions. Hell, she regularly tried to kill Minaka for his many and varied idiocies.
"Well…that's what I came to say." Takami sighed, "Tell Homura I'll keep him up-to-date on any stupidity of Minaka's as I find out about it. I'll see myself out."
The grey-haired woman got up and nonchalantly walked off, leaving behind a pair of awed and stunned Sekirei and a silent Pillar of the Sekirei in her wake.
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Next Chapter: A Veil of Wisdom
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