Clark had landed after his flight and was honestly dreading the return flight. He could have made the trip under his own power in minutes and he wouldn't have had to deal with snooty businessmen and rich people. He appreciated Lex putting him in first class but it was almost as bad as the fact that his super-hearing couldn't block out the crying baby back in coach.
He had passed through customs quickly and was checked into the most expensive hotel in the city and he had the penthouse to himself. The looks he got as he walked through the lobby and checked in were making him uncomfortable. Emma and Loki had forced him into an expensive suit, it was important that he not stand out and a young man in blue jeans and a red jacket checking into the penthouse of Tokyo's most expensive hotel would definitely raise eyebrows.
A well-dressed western businessman would easily blend in. Except Clark was quite handsome and his walk held a little bit too much power as he imitated Lionel Luthor.
It was important that he had the penthouse for the same reason he and Harry had the Penthouse in Gotham, he needed to be able to exit at night without arousing suspicion, which meant flying.
He had two missions, the first was to investigate MBI, find out all he could about the man Harry was accused of being, Takehito Asama, and what MBI did. The second was to track down Logan. Scott said he was supposed to be in Tokyo and that he was investigating the King of Terror Bruce had mentioned and MBI, Logan had called Harry urgently and had disappeared with Harry. There was also something about a Ship of the Gods, but there was even less information on that.
According to Thor, finding Logan would be like finding a specific piece of straw in a haystack. The man was just that illusive.
He spent his first day walking through the city and getting to know the immediate area. That night Superman revealed himself in the city. Tokyo's business districts and entertainment areas were just as busy at night as any other city. He stopped the usual array of disgusting crimes that Metropolis and Gotham had in spades. But as he was heading home to get some sleep he noticed a huge disturbance to the east of the city. It was like huge explosions, but what was weird was the fact that he could see water and fire in equal amounts flying around but no buildings were on fire.
He sped towards the scene to find two individuals using what seemed to be magic to try and kill each other. One seemed to be a lean young man with silver hair dressed in an all black get up of trousers and a coat with a mask over his mouth. The other was a woman… definitely not Japanese as she had long flowing blonde hair and bright blue eyes that held a haughtiness that instantly made him think of Emma.
The woman wore a short white silk dress that barely covered her butt and somehow defied gravity to contain her large breasts, over that she wore some form of black dress coat.
Clark's main problem was that he had no idea why they were fighting or who the bad one was.
He decided he needed to get their attention, the best way to do that was to make an entrance. There was already plenty of damage in the area so he didn't think his contribution would be noticed as he flew up to around two hundred feet and then shot down to the ground punching the concrete and creating a shockwave that knocked the fighters to the ground and… accidentally broke every window for two hundred metres.
Clark winced. "Oops." He muttered as he stood up and brushed the jeans of his costume down.
He saw the two combatants start to get up.
"Why are you two fighting?" He demanded in his flawless Japanese.
He was surprised when the woman started berating him using an older more traditional variation of the Japanese language, fortunately Omoikane gave him more than Japanese, and he knew every language of Asia.
"What means this?" The woman demanded. "This is a battle between Sekirei and you have no place in it!"
"Battle? If you want to fight do it outside of the city. Stop causing so much damage everywhere." Clark snapped. Later Clark would grimace as he realised he had caused the most damage.
"You are a fool, you speak of things you do not know!" She said as she crossed her arms and stomped her foot. "We will continue this another time Homura." She declared before she turned and leapt so high into the air that Clark thought she was flying until he saw her begin a descent and have to keep jumping.
Clark shook his head at the sight and turned back to 'Homura', he hoped he might get some answers.
Unfortunately Homura had vanished.
Clark gave the area a quick scan to see if there was anyone injured or if there was some damage that needed dealing with that might injure someone. Finding nothing he headed home to get some sleep.
"Lionel Luthor has vanished from the system." Emma scowled as she stomped into the common room the following day with Loki behind her. "He hasn't been released in any form he has simply vanished."
"I only like it when Harry makes people vanish." Xander sulked. "He has such a permanent way of doing it." He added with a grin.
"I do not like being unaware of that creatures location." Emma declared as she sat on the sofa next to Scott on the other side from Jean.
"Neither do I. We could easily follow him though." Jean suggested.
"Too dangerous." Scott shook his head. "If it was Harry or Laura then sure. But we still don't know enough about the different energy forms used in this world. Take the Green Lantern energy or Kryptonite. If they have Luthor somewhere hidden then we can't risk being caught."
"Luthor is irrelevant." Loki assured them. "He doesn't know anything that could disrupt what we do directly. We are simply his rivals in business."
"How was your first day back on this side of Death?" Lana asked Xander.
"Interesting. Especially as I have technically gone back in time as well."
"Hey! You knew Harry growing up!" Chloe said pointing at Xander accusingly.
"She's quick." Xander smirked at Neville.
"What was he like? Do you have any juicy stories on him?" She asked with a manic gleam.
"Juicy stories? You mean like the time he created the Lilly Charm? Or when he competed in the Tri-Wizard Tournament? How about when his girlfriend walked in on him cutting his own hand off repeatedly?" Xander said with a chuckle.
"You think that is bad?" Neville scoffed. "Dobby woke up to find me about to chop Harry's legs off with a chainsaw. He was not pleased."
"How about the time he turned the warheads of all the worlds nuclear missiles into containers of blue jello? He turned Armageddon into a kids party." Xander laughed.
"Hermione never forgave him for that." Neville grinned.
"She never forgave me either! You should have seen the look she gave the Queen of England!"
"She never seemed to disapprove of me being involved though." Neville frowned.
"You're a Phoenix, she was still hung up on you being the embodiment of goodness." Xander waved his hand dismissively.
Chloe, Lana and Kyla just stared at the two men, gobsmacked.
"You haven't even begun to touch on what he did in our world." Jean smirked.
That night Clark had some weird dreams. As any red-blooded teenager would, he often dreamt of the women in his life… even Emma. But the women in his dreams that night were different. Several were Japanese and at least one was a mere girl of maybe five years old. Both the woman and the man from the previous night had also been mixed in with them. It didn't help that they were all naked. Clark was pretty thankful that the man seemed to have his 'parts' obscured somehow.
He showered and dressed for the day before heading for the MBI tower. He wanted to get a feel for what they did and was hoping to see if he could get a tour. To that end he dressed in black casual trousers, a light blue dress shirt and a light black jacket. Casual yet smart.
His first shock of the day came when he was met at the doors.
"Mr. Kent-san. Welcome to MBI towers." The man said in heavily accented English. He was a thin man of average height in his late twenties. "I am Nutsuo Ichinomi, I am an assistant to Minaka Hiroto-sama." He bowed as he reached Clark.
Clark greeted the man in flawless Japanese. "It's good to meet you, I didn't know you were expecting me."
"You speak wonderful Japanese, Mr. Kent. No accent what so ever." Nutsuo said, he was clearly highly impressed. "We heard you were coming to Tokyo as we track all who fly to our great city."
Clark suppressed a frown at that. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. "I was hoping to get a feel for what MBI does, you recently sent men to my home town claiming that my friend, Harry Potter, was another man. I was making a trip to meet with another friend and thought I might try and find out why you thought Harry was this, erm… 'Take' something."
"Takehito Asama." Nutsuo supplied. "We too found it interesting that no one recognised that name, especially as Harry Potter seemed to be fairly well established after so many years, but the resemblance is uncanny!" Nutsuo led him to the receptionist's desk where he commandeered a computer from one of the girls working there and brought up the file on Takehito.
Clark was not too surprised to see Harry's smiling face in the profile picture. "If I hadn't known where he was personally I could definitely see myself thinking that was Harry Potter." Clark nodded.
Clark was positive that Harry had been back in time. He now had to figure out what he had done, this was good as it gave him a place to start looking for Harry.
"Do you have anymore details on Takehito Asama? I'm interested in meeting him myself, I want to see if he is anything like Harry, or even sounds like him."
Nutsuo winced. "Ah, that might be a problem. Takehito died several years ago. Or so we believe. The President of MBI witnessed it himself and was shocked when he saw images of Harry Potter. We thought he might have faked his death to abscond with company secrets."
"Now that doesn't sound like Harry." Clark assured the man.
"Agreed, Harry Potter seems to be a man who prides himself on being an honest."
"Well, I was wondering if you could tell me what MBI does? You are definitely responsible for some of the more advanced technologies that have come out of Japan."
Nutsuo smiled happily. "Of course, let me show you are lower floors, upper floors are restricted but the lower floors are just as interesting."
The phone rang at nine that morning in the Castle.
"Potter Castle, Lana speaking."
"Moshi, Moshi. Lana Ohayou."
Lana looked at the handset set. "Clark is that you?"
"Hai Lana."
"Clark… are you aware you're speaking Japanese?" She asked warily.
"Oh… sorry Lana, I didn't realise."
She could practically hear Clark blushing on the other side. "Have you spoken a word of English since you landed?" She giggled.
"I honestly don't know. I know someone spoke to me in English today, but they had a strong accent and were a bit broken, so I used Japanese. They said I didn't have an accent though." He offered.
"Glad to hear it. Any news?"
"Yes, but I would prefer not to tell you yet, can you ask Emma or Jean to contact me with their special methods?"
"Immediately?"
"As soon as possible, I was about to go out and patrol."
"In the middle of the- wait… time differences… never mind. I'll go and find one of them now. Talk to you later Clark."
"Bye Lana."
"Mushi mushi!" Lana giggled.
"Lana, you just said 'bugs' twice."
"Oh… why did you say that when I answered the phone?"
"Ask one of the others, it might be easier to understand without telephone static." Clark chuckled.
Clark was putting his clothes in the laundry hamper when he heard Jean's telepathic call in his head as she used the Cerebro unit to boost her power.
"Hey Clark, I hear you've forgotten how to speak English." She teased.
Clark rolled his eyes as he sat down on the bed in his costume. "That was not my fault, I didn't exactly learn Japanese, Omoikane simply made me know it instinctively." He responded mentally.
"Well, we straightened Lana out on the whole bugs thing."
Clark laughed. "Did you tell her why the Japanese say Moshi Moshi as a greeting?"
"We did, she found it interesting, we found her in the Torch after school engrossed in Japanese culture."
"It is nice here, even if it is a little lonely."
"Remember what Kyla said, make friends. Aphrodite seemed to expect you to find someone, maybe multiple someones." She smirked.
"Speaking of finding someone, I interrupted a huge fight last night. There was a man and a woman, the man was throwing fire and the woman was using water, it was a lot like how you use magic. The man was Japanese with silver hair but the woman was blond with blue eyes."
"But they only used fire or water?" Jean clarified.
"Right."
"They could be elementals, or magicals with a special gift. Harry's gift is healing whilst Neville's was plants. Incidentally, Xander and Neville have both arrived here to help out whilst Harry is missing."
"The Phoenix and Harry's dad? Isn't Xander dead?"
"He got sent back in the flesh by the powers on the other side. Apparently whatever has caused Harry to vanish has upset all the other Aspects and the Afterlife. They all want Harry back and are a step away from pulling out all the stops to do so."
"That sounds like a very bad idea."
"It could be, which is why they only sent Xander and Neville. Xander warned us that the other Aspects are choosing their own Avatars as Harry is unable to protect them as he usually does."
"I hope they're as nice as Aphrodite."
"As do we. Now, do you have any word on Harry or Logan?"
"Harry was definitely at MBI as a lead scientist. For whatever reason he went back in time and changed his name."
"He would have had to. Harry Potter couldn't exactly be seen to be in two places otherwise. What about Logan?"
"I have absolutely no idea where to start." Clark admitted with a sigh of defeat.
"Track down all you can about Harry's other persona. If Logan also went back in time he may have changed his name as well."
"Ok, that helps. I was going to start that tomorrow."
"Why did you want us to call you telepathically?" Jean asked curiously.
"MBI was expecting me. I was met as I walked through the doors and greeted by name. There was a report on the local news; they have been buying up every building and business in the city including this hotel. I'm worried they might have bugged my room."
"Ok, good call. Either Emma or I will contact you at this time everyday to catch up, ok?"
"Thanks Jean. I'm heading out for a patrol, I'll talk to you later."
Clark's patrol was much quieter that night. There were no magical battles to worry about, just the standard crooks. Many seemed shocked to see Superman in their city… even more were surprised when he spoke in perfect Japanese and dropped them off at the local police stations.
His dreams were once again filled with images of the same men and women.
His morning was ruined when the door to his hotel room was blown off its hinges by a torrent of water that drenched him.
"Where art the foul monkey that thinks he can be my master?"
Clark stared at the blonde woman in disbelief. This was the same woman from the other night who had been fighting and was in his dreams. He had no idea how she had tracked him down or why.
"Can I help you?" Clark asked as he hopped out of bed and pulled on his soggy trousers.
"You! You can die human!" She snarled. "WATER DRAGON!" She shouted as literal dragons made of water shot out from behind her.
Clark ducked underneath them and moved in closer.
"Look I don't know who you are but this is a private hotel. Now I suggest you behave yourself whilst we wait for the police."
The woman was shocked when she found Clark less than a foot from her. Which is what Clark was aiming for as both combatants from the night before were only using ranged attacks.
"Away from me monkey!" She said as she danced back quickly.
"You came to me!" Clark exclaimed. "I was just sleeping. If you'll excuse me I have to go and see if the police have arrived yet." He said as he pushed past her and into the hallway.
The woman stared at him, stunned before her face grew red with anger. "Do not turn you back on me boy!"
Clark rolled his eyes as he hit the button for the elevator. This woman might actually be bi-polar; she couldn't seem to make up her mind.
Down in the lobby the police were streaming in.
"There is a strange woman who has just blown the door off my room, she has also threatened my life." Clark informed the lead officer.
The man shared a look with the Hotel Manager. "We were told that you caused the damage and brought the woman here."
"Who told you that?"
"There are several witnesses Mr. Kent." The Manager said snootily.
"Well why don't we just check the security recordings and key card records." Clark suggested to the officer.
"The cameras were down for maintenance over night."
"And the cameras on the streets from the other buildings?"
"There was a city wide power failure." The officer said, but he was clearly nervous.
Clark frowned at them. This was clearly a setup. He had a feeling that someone wanted him out of the hotel and that the Manager and the police were both working for that person.
"I am afraid I must ask you to come with us sir. We will need to question you at the station." The officer said.
"Fine, let me get my coat shoes and ID."
"We will need to search your belongings and take them as evidence."
"For being accused of trashing a room?"
"MBI reports that you also vandalised their building as well."
That sealed it for Clark. MBI had to be behind it. They already owned most of the city after all.
"Would it help if I just left the hotel and promised not to come back?"
"I'm sorry sir, we need to take you in for questioning."
Normally Clark was ok with helping the authorities and happy to cooperate. But he didn't think he would get out of this easily, or at least not legally.
Clark pushed the lead officer lightly causing him to fly into the other five officers behind him, he then ran at human speeds for the staircase. He then sped up to his room where he saw the woman was gone and packed his stuff. He transformed into his costume and placed his belongings into his cape that Harry had enchanted to act as a storage area similar to how he was able to hide his hammer his hammer like Thor did.
He then sped out the window just as the police were picking themselves off the floor.
Clark Kent was officially a fugitive in Tokyo.
"Do we know anything about the blonde woman?" Scott asked. The group was having an emergency meeting at lunch. Just Scott, Emma, Jean, Neville and Xander.
"Clark didn't seem to think she was actually with the police or hotel." Jean answered. "He also thinks she might be an alien as she referred to him as a human."
"At least his secret identity is still intact." Scott said with relief. "What's his plan?"
"He wants to stay under the radar, he's just asked us to try and clear up the legal side of things. He doesn't want to get involved with the police in case MBI has a way to deal with him."
"I'll get Loki on to the Tokyo Police." Scott nodded. "School ends this week so we will have more free time."
"Especially as Lex and Helen have insisted on postponing the wedding till everyone wakes up and Harry and Clark are back." Emma added.
"I might see about heading over to Japan myself and seeing if I can't help out in some minor way." Jean said. "At the very least I can see if I can sense Logan."
"What's Clark doing about accommodation?" Neville asked.
"We have a house available in Tokyo. It's registered under a fake name. Clark knows about it and is going to stay there."
"Fidelius?" Xander asked.
"And every other protection Harry and anyone else can come up with." Scott confirmed. "In fact the only thing missing is the blessing and protection of the gods."
"I will see if Loki would be willing to go over and teach Clark what she taught Thor."
"Speaking of Thor, what are we going to do about Odin's daughter?" Jean asked suddenly. "She's nearly ready to be born into the world but only Harry can retrieve her."
"I'll go and speak with Odin myself, see what he suggests." Neville offered as he vanished in a flash of flame.
Xander stared fondly at the now empty chair. "Seems like only yesterday he was making Minerva pale at the realisation that there was such a thing as a human phoenix."
The house was not a house.
It was a mansion.
Or at least the Japanese equivalent of one.
Walls divided the rooms and sliding doors made of wood and paper. The lighting was electrical and the bathroom facilities were divided in to the traditional rooms. Outside, the grounds were at least 300 acres. There were all the standard amenities including a television and computer system along with a phone. Clark wasn't sure about using the phone but he would try it out later.
He stashed his belongings in one of the smaller rooms, as far as he was concerned this was Harry's house and he was just housesitting. He then headed out to continue his research.
Clark's next task in discovering what happened to Harry was to investigate the address listed on the profile Nutsuo had shown him. A place called Izumo Inn located in the North of the city. That was annoying as he was actually in the outskirts of the city to the west in the Nishitama District. Fortunately there was a car available to him with GPS so he wouldn't have to spend all day on public transport… just most of the day.
The drive was long and boring, the radio station kept him informed of local news… although the music wasn't exactly his thing.
He was driving past a railway station when everything came to a crashing halt. Literally. The window shattered as a girl fell through his windshield and onto his lap, the car swerved as Clark lost his grip on the wheel and the car smashed into a lamppost.
"Are you ok? Can you hear me?" Clark asked frantically as he began checking her vitals and scanning her with x-ray vision.
He was shocked when the girl groaned and started moving on his lap where she was lying, her legs still halfway out the window. "That hurt." She moaned.
Clark was unsure how she had managed to survive without breaking any bones, especially as she had ripped the steering wheel off its column when she landed. She didn't seem to have a scratch on her.
"I'll bet." Clark muttered. "Listen, we need to call an ambulance and get you properly checked out."
The girl's eyes snapped open at that point. "Oh no! We have to run!" She said frantically as she scrambled to get out of the car using the windshield exit she had just created.
It doesn't matter how invulnerable to attack you are, getting kicked in the balls unaware is going to hurt… and Clark was experiencing that right now thanks to an errant knee from the girl trying to get out. He felt like he was about to throw up as he managed to get the door open. Other people were milling about looking at the strange girl standing on the bonnet of his car as the westerner groped himself.
Clark was vaguely aware of this as he took deep breaths and let the shining sun heal him up. That's when he realised the girl was shouting at someone high up. He looked up just in time to see two other girls in tight binding outfits, almost like bondage wear; throw a bolt of electricity at the girl.
He grabbed her round the waist and pulled her out of the way and to the ground.
"You saved me!" The girl said as she looked up into Clark's eyes, she looked to be very flushed as her chest heaved with her panting breath.
"Who are they and why are they attacking you?" Clark asked as he helped her up and looked up at the rooftops for the two girls.
"Just fight us!" One of them shouted down. "It'll be much better for you."
"I can't fight you! At least… not yet." The girl responded. She then grabbed Clark by the hand and hauled him off his feet causing him to fly through the air as she ran at an incredible speed.
Clark found his flight interesting, he was used to flying thanks to someone else what with Scott and Harry throwing him off the tower all that time. But this was the lowest he had ever flown. He took the time to measure her speed; she was managing around five to eight seconds per 100 metres. He didn't want to give away his own powers so he simply buoyed himself up with his own flight capabilities until she came to a stop at the river. He let himself fall to the ground with a thud.
"I think we lost them." She said as she looked around carefully. Then she saw Clark getting to his feet. "Oh my! I'm so sorry, I just dragged you, a stranger, like that!"
"How about we start with names?" Clark suggested as he brushed his jeans to get the dust off. "I'm Clark Kent."
The girl blushed. "I'm Musubi."
Clark finally got a look at the girl, she was about 5 foot 3 with brown hair cut to below her chin but with a long braided ponytail that went to the back of her knees. She wore a white shirt with flared sleeves embroidered with red thread and a very very short skirt.
"Nice to meet you Musubi. Now, why were those girls attacking you?"
"Because we are Sekirei. It's what we do." She explained matter-of-factly.
"You're a bird?" Clark asked, the literal translation for 'Sekirei' was 'wagtail' a small bird.
Musubi giggled. "No silly, I'm a girl, a special girl. There are 108 of us and we are all unique and special."
"And some of you can shoot lightning out of your hands?"
"Uh huh." She smiled as she nodded and bounced on the balls of her feet. It didn't interesting things to her impressive bust. "I'm a fist type Sekirei."
"Meaning…"
"I fight with my fists?" She offered questioningly.
Clark had a sudden thought. "Can some of you shoot fire or water?"
Musubi just shrugged. "I don't really know any other Sekirei, Karasuba fights with a sword. Kaho fights with a long pole with a sword on the end."
"A naginata?"
Musubi gave small smile and a shrug. Clark couldn't blame her; he blamed Omoikane for knowing that one.
"Ok, I'm still not sure-" Clark stopped as the girl collapsed onto the grass.
"Hello, Potter Castle."
"Erm… hi, who is this?"
"Xander Harris, at your service!" Xander grinned as he sat back in the armchair next to the phone. Everyone was sleeping and he was catching up on various TV shows… he could sleep when he was dead… again.
"Oh, right. Harry's dad… it seems weird that Harry actually has a dad."
"I take it this is Clark?" Xander smirked.
"Sorry, yes. Are Scott, Jean or Emma there?"
"I really don't think you want me to get them." Xander warned.
"Why?" Clark asked worriedly. There was no telling what horrors had turned up in Smallville.
"Check your watch and account for the time difference."
There was a moment's silence. "I am really sorry for waking you!"
"No worries, I was already up, just catching up on some golden oldies on the idiot box. Now what has you forgetting the time difference and calling now?"
"A girl landed on my lap… through the windshield of my car. She's fine but two other girls who could shoot lightning were chasing her. They call themselves Sekirei."
"Isn't that a bird?"
"That's what I said, but I am guessing it's a codename." Clark agreed.
"Ok, it's weird, granted… but that doesn't explain you're call."
"She kissed me-"
"Ah, you want to brag."
"No!"
"You want to make your girlfriend jealous."
There was another pause. "I think I see why Harry is insane." Came the dry response.
"Mission accomplished." Xander said smugly. "Ok, Clark, what happened with the kiss?"
"She began to glow and wings of light sprouted out her back. Now she is calling me her Ashikabi and saying we are bound together forever."
"Ashikabi? That's a new word, my Japanese is rusty though." Xander mused thoughtfully.
"It seems to mean something along the lines of Master or a specific part of the bond. The thing is I was dreaming about this girl and several other people I'd never met as soon as I landed in Tokyo. These Sekirei were sent out by MBI to find their Ashikabi."
"MBI? Ok, now we're getting somewhere." Xander said as he sat up eagerly. "Did she say anything else about MBI?"
"This all ties into MBI." Clark said. "There are 108 of these Sekirei with varying powers. They were released into the city in groups to find their Ashikabi and then seek each other out and engage in one-on-one duels. It's called the Sekirei Plan, there is supposed to be a prize at the end for the Ashikabi and the Sekirei who win. All of this was set up by Minaka Hiroto, the President of MBI."
"Damn." Xander whispered. "Listen Clark, you should probably devote a bit of time to this, you are connected to these people somehow so you need to track down the others from your dreams. It sounds like the sort of thing Harry would get involved in to try and stop. But as he had to go back in time he would have been bound by various constraints to not change the overall future or standout."
"That's what I was thinking. I was on my way to the last known residence listed on Takehito's work profile when the girl landed in my lap. I'm going to try again today."
"Good plan. I'll let the others know in the morning. For now I have to get back to America's Next Top Model, Tyra's about to lay into some- hello? Clark?" Xander just grinned as he hung up his end and got back to Two and a Half Men.
When Clark made it to the kitchen the next morning he found Musubi standing at the counter making breakfast and wearing one of his tight white dress shirts.
Just his tight white dress shirt.
"Musubi, I think we need to take you shopping today." Clark said as he quickly zipped back upstairs to retrieve a dressing gown that he could use to cover the practically naked girl.
"Oh… why?" She asked as she took the dressing gown and placed it on the back of a chair.
"Because you only have the one set of clothes… aren't you going to put the dressing gown on?" He asked, he was used to seeing Emma walk around half naked, but that was the top half… not the bottom.
"I thought you wanted it cleaned." She asked with slight confusion.
"Musubi… you are practically naked, you should really cover up, especially if we have visitors."
Musubi blushed slightly and looked despondent. "Does my lack of modesty displease you?"
Clark had no idea how to respond to that. She was a beautiful girl but he was raised to respect people, especially women. Musubi seemed upset that he didn't want to see her body.
Clark decided that if he could handle Emma then he could survive Musubi… but he'd remember to buy Emma something nice. She provided good training.
Clark decided that they would head to the store for clothes for Musubi on the way to Izumo Inn. They found a decent one in a shopping district near the Inn. It was a standard store and Clark just told her to pick what she liked. He then had to amend that to what fit her as she came back with several outfits that were too small.
Clark decided they should probably change tactics and took her over to his worst nightmare… the lingerie section. He knew what breasts were (thank you Emma) but he had no idea how to pick a bra based on cup size or what all the measurements meant. Musubi knew her own measurements but she had never bought her own clothes and was just as lost.
"Maybe we could ask someone for help." Clark suggested.
"That's a great idea!" Musubi agreed enthusiastically. She immediately turned around to a nearby girl of about eighteen. "Hi, can you help me choose a some bras and panties, please?"
Clark covered his face with his hands. "I meant a shop clerk." He muttered behind his hands.
"Oh." Musubi blushed.
The girl just laughed. "I can help your girlfriend." She said easily. "My name's Yukari, Yukari Sahashi."
"Hi! I'm Musubi and this is Clark Kent. He's my Ashikabi." Musubi declared.
"Ashikabi? What's that?" Yukari asked.
"I wish I knew." Clark sighed. "But honestly, if you're willing to help Musubi out then that would be great."
Clark was a little worried when Yukari stared at Musubi's chest. It was a lot like how Dani would stare at Amara, or Mindee would stare at him.
"Come on Musubi, let's go and find some outfits that will make your boyfriend drool!" Yukari said as she grabbed Musubi by the hand and dragged her off.
Clark breathed a sigh of relief.
Then he noticed an old lady glaring at him.
Then he realised he was standing in the lingerie section.
He quickly bolted for the door.
It was around two in the afternoon. They had spent the better part of the day travelling into Tokyo just to get to the clothes shop. The journey was long and arduous and Clark was glad to stretch his legs. He took note of the various shops and restaurants on the street as he planned to take Musubi and Yukari to dinner as a thank you to Yukari for helping them.
He noticed two girls in some sort of maid costume handing out balloons and flyers so he approached them to see if he could get some local info.
That's when he realised who he was staring at. The two girls who had attacked Musubi. And one of them noticed him.
"Hibiki, look! It's that idiot who rescued that Sekirei yesterday." She said to what appeared to be her twin sister.
"You! Where's the girl?" Hibiki demanded as she stomped towards Clark who started backing up and looking for an exit off the street.
"Clark! We forgot to ask how much to spend."
Clark winced as he turned to see both Musubi and Yukari jogging up behind him.
"Looks like we get to finish off from yesterday." Hibiki smirked.
"Girls… run." Clark instructed as he grabbed them both by a hand and started running just as a bolt of lightning flew past his ear.
"Oh my god! Are they throwing electricity around?" Yukari gasped as she tried to keep up with Clark.
"Lightning." Clark corrected absently as he scanned the streets. He saw and alley and immediately changed course.
"Clark, this was not a good move." Yukari said nervously as she noticed the alley was a dead end.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you both." Musubi stated as determinedly took a defensive position between her friends and the entrance of the alley.
"Musubi, let me handle this." Clark said as he put a hand on her shoulder.
"But this is a Sekirei battle." She said in confusion.
"No, this is two individuals attacking someone weaker than them." He moved in front of them as the two girls chasing them rounded the corner. "Ladies, I suggest you turn around and leave."
Hibiki laughed derisively. "Are you hearing this Hikari?" She asked her sister. "This boy thinks he can order us around. Well listen up brat, this is between us and that Sekirei, unless you want to get fried… get lost."
"Please leave." Clark repeated calmly.
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" She threw out her hand sending a bolt of lightning at Clark.
Clark raised his hand and caught the bolt causing all four girls in the alley to gasp in shock. "I warned you." He said sadly as he hurled the bolt straight back at the two girls, infusing it with his divinity as Thor had taught him. The blast sent the girls flying into the air to land at the end of the alley.
"What the hell is he?" Hikari asked blearily as she struggled to her feet.
"I don't know, but if he can send our lightning back at us maybe we should regroup." Hibiki winced as she rubbed her bruised backside.
"Agreed." Hikari turned to glare at Clark. "We'll finish this another day!" She declared before both girls leapt into the air and onto the adjacent rooftops and disappearing.
Clark sighed and turned towards Musubi and Yukari only to find them staring at him with open mouths.
"What the hell are you?" Yukari asked in awe.
"God of Thunder?" He offered weakly.
"You're Raijin?"
"Norse God of Thunder." Clark corrected. Both girls frowned. "Vikings? There are gods for various cultures and I'm a western god." Clark tried.
The girls looked even more confused.
"Just call me Clark. I can control thunder and lightning."
"Ok." Musubi said happily as she skipped up to Clark and grabbed his arm.
"You ok Yukari?" Clark asked the still gawping girl.
"Oh… sure. Just been attacked by lightning throwing girls and saved by a guy who can catch it and throw it back. I'm perfectly fine." She said with a hint of sarcasm.
Clark just smiled. If she could pull out that attitude he knew she'd be fine. "Come on, let's finish shopping and then I'll buy us all some dinner."
Clark and Musubi found they had a new friend in Yukari who found his secret identity and the Sekirei business both interesting and disgusting… the Sekirei fighting, not the Sekirei themselves or Clark being Superman. Yukari was actually a huge Superman fan and pestered Clark for an autograph.
"I don't have a Superman signature." Clark shrugged.
"Well make one up!" Yukari ordered as she pulled out a pen and notepad from her bag. "What are you going to do when little kids meet Superman and want an autograph? Are you going to disappoint them?"
"It's not like I actually stroll down a red carpet greeting people. I find and stop crooks and criminals, hand them over to the police and then leave."
"So if you dropped off a criminal at a police station and walked outside to find a bunch of young school kids who saw you and wanted an autograph… what would you do?" She challenged.
"Leave out the back way?" Clark tried.
"Sign hero." Yukari glared.
Clark reluctantly picked up the pen and signed 'Superman'.
"Date it."
Clark glared at her but did so.
Yukari took it back beamed happily. "I have the official first ever autograph from Superman."
"Harry will never let me hear the end of this. Nor will Dani. Oh god! What if Kyla finds out?!" Clark began to panic.
"Is Kyla your girlfriend? I thought Musubi was your girlfriend."
"I'm his Sekirei." Musubi said as though it explained everything.
"Kyla is… well yes, she is my girlfriend. She's also my soul mate… well one of them anyway."
"How many soul mates can you have?" Yukari asked incredulously.
"Lots. But I only have one at the moment, my friends and family think I might have a few though."
"But Musubi isn't one of them?"
"Not at the moment… I don't know for sure. Something happened when she bonded to me and the person who can confirm it is the one person I am in Tokyo to find."
"Oh? Who's that?"
"A man by the name of Harry Potter. But when he was in Tokyo he went by Takehito Asama."
"Takehito?!"
"You know him?"
"I knew him. He was friends with my mum."
"Huh, maybe it wasn't pure chance Musubi and I ran into you."
"Takehito was an adjuster. But I never really got to meet him." Musubi confessed.
"I was really young when he died. His best friend, Seo, taught me how to defend myself." Yukari admitted
"Do you still know how to find this 'Seo'?" Clark asked eagerly.
"Sure, he works at the city arboretum."
"Can you introduce us?"
"You want to go now?"
"Tomorrow. We still need to get to Izumo Inn."
"You want to see Miya, Takehito's widow." Yukari nodded in understanding.
"Excuse me!?" Clark asked as his eyebrows shot to his hairline.
"You didn't know he was married?"
"Yes… to several women in America… and one on an island somewhere… but not in Japan." Clark paused in thought. "But there was a soul mate around here, maybe it's her."
"I don't know Miya. I just know of her." Yukari explained. "Mum and Takehito both spoke about her, it was obvious Takehito liked her… I may have been a bit bratty about it." She blushed. "I was hoping he would get together with my mum."
"I now know I need to speak to Miya, your mum and this Seo." Clark sighed. He really hoped one of them had the answers he needed.
A/N:
Ok, so I don't usually do Author Notes but there have been a few questions raised about the origins of some of my ideas. They were reasonable questions and I figure thee is no reason I can't tell you what I was going for. Be warned, there will be spoilers but they will be at the end in a clearly marked section.
1. What am I pulling my ideas from? Comics, Smallville, movies or tv series?
The answer is all of the above. I generally use movies as major events and then pick and choose for other events. Some of you may have noticed that episodes aren't covered such as the return of Tina Greer. I didn't feel these eps were necessary and I didn't want to engineer an event for Tina to break out of the dungeon... it just seemed illogical.
So Whitney may have died in combat or not. I haven't put anything in because he may be useful later. It would be big news for a small town so lets just assume he is out there fighting and learning to be a decent human being.
You will also notice that I used Dan Turpin from the comics and not the Smallville series. He's just a character like Captain Sawyer, he doesn't play a big role and it will become more obvious further into the story why that particular episode of Smallville won't happen.
2. Aphrodite. Thor and the Amazons.
Whenever I use a character I try to research them. I have not read any of the DC comics except some of the new 52. I researched the Amazons of DC and they were created by Aphrodite to be her emissaries of love and compassion. Hippolyta made the mistake of trusting Hercules and he and his men raped the lot of them. A truly horrific story. As a result Hippolyta hated all men with her subjects.
Thor is characterised as a bit of a womaniser... I made him more brash and a bit of a drunk to boot. This was useful to me so I could bring in Marvel Thor. (And have Clark cry: HAVE AT THEE!)
3. Sekirei?
This was something I had always wanted to do with having either Clark or Harry fulfill Minato's role. Let's face it, based on their canon personalities both would be overwhelmed and confused by a bunch of women claiming him as their master.
Instead of creating a new story I came up with ways for MBI and Minaka to be a foe that could stump even Harry.
The hard part for me was including the crossover in a believable way... then I thought: Clark Kent is an invulnerable being and Harry Potter is Death... believable went out the window back in the 30's.
I tried to make fit with this story though.
Incidentally... Minato does not exist in this story.
4. Screwing around with personalities... like Joseph Willowbrook.
If people can make Snape likeable then I can make Joseph Willowbrook a bit of an idiot. It made the story work and he soon came around. I do this with several characters to make them fit my story... like Tess. Because Lorna got to Tess before Lionel or evil Lex, Tess is a decent person with a great support structure. She can be as ambitious as hell but that doesn't make her evil.
I would consider Harry as way out of character by now, but hopefully that has been explained over the course of the series. My favourite scenes of Harry Potter are from the movies when Harry is dosed up on luck potion.
******** SPOILERS ********
5. Kara, Lois and others.
Without giving too much away... Lois will arrive as she does in the series and for the same reasons... BUT CHLOE IS A PHOENIX... yes I know... just read.
Kara... I am about halfway through season 4 of Smallville and Kara is not here yet... I don't expect to wait till the events of the series so she might arrive earlier.
Kandorians... I have ideas and will probably use them unless new ones hit me. Those events will occur.
Darkseid... he may show up earlier... why? See the next section.
6. Where I will be pulling my ideas from.
I have never read any DC comics other than the NEW 52. I came in late to the game and DC doesn't have a digital subscription service like Marvel Unlimited.
You will see elements from various comics and tv shows instead of the series, as such, certain elements of the series will be dropped completely.
Eventually the story won't follow any of the series... that will probably mean it is coming to an end soon. Won't be for a while as I am only on season 4 and I have plenty in my head.
7. What do you want? The whole thing now?
Tough... I post a chapter a day... expect today because I want to post this chapter and the questions. If I posted the whole lot now you would be stuck with anything to read for months. I've been writing this since May 2012... I have no idea if I will be still going by 2014 but I hope not.
I write my stories to entertain myself... if you guys read and enjoy it that is great. My favourite review so far has been one who told me they laughed at something in every chapter. Not bad for someone who suffers from severe depression and agoraphobia.
New chapter tomorrow... if I get more reviews with questions that aren't too specific then I might do another section like this.
Also... my PM's are disabled because I struggle with social interactions... I haven't left my house in nearly a decade unless it was for a medical appointment... it isn't a slight against anyone... just my poor damaged mind.
