Yukari had agreed to meet them tomorrow, she didn't want to go to Izumo Inn as she was aware that Miya didn't like her mother and wasn't sure why. She wasn't supposed to know her mother worked for MBI but she had accidentally discovered that out when she was a small child when she discovered Minaka Hiroto was her father. Tomorrow she would take them to meet Seo.
This left Harry and Musubi standing in front of the doors of Izumo Inn waiting for someone to answer. Clark kept glancing at the large tree in the corner of the grounds. He felt a distinct pull towards it.
It became too much and he walked over, feeling the pull get even stronger and his chest get tighter. He placed a hand on the trunk of the tree and everything changed.
He found himself in a large forest; everything was tinged with a haze of green. In front of him on the ground was the small girl from his dreams with deep golden hair. She wore a simple off-white dress with sandals. She was sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her knees snuffling softly.
Despite this, it appeared to be more of a dream or memory.
"Hello there." Clark said softly as he slowly knelt down in front of the girl. She seemed to be scared and frightened.
"Are you my big brother?" She asked as she peered up at him through wet eyelashes.
"I don't think so. Do you know where your mommy or daddy is?"
"I don't have anyone. Takami told me to run and now I can't find anyone." She said in distress.
"Don't worry, I'll find you." Clark promised her. "You just need to do one thing for me. I want you to shout 'Big Brother Clark' over and over again until I find you. Can you do that for me?" He asked as he cupped her cheek and rubbed her temple with his thumb just like he knew Mindee liked as a child.
The girl nodded.
"Be brave for me and I'll be right there with you." Clark assured her.
The little girl climbed to her feet and clenched her fists with a determined expression. "I will be very brave."
"Good girl. Now start shouting."
"I have to go Miya, Minaka sent out a text to all the Ashikabis. The bastard is using 108 as- oh… hello."
"Hi, I'm Musubi!" She said happily as the door opened to reveal a woman in white and purple Japanese garments and what appeared to be a slender man dressed all in black.
"What can I do to help you?" The woman asked with a kind smile.
"Oh, Clark wanted to speak to you about Takehito. But right now he is talking to that tree." She said matter-of-factly as she pointed at the motionless Clark who still had his hand on the tree.
"Talking to a tree?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is the tree talking back?"
"I can't hear it, but Clark is very special. He's my Ashikabi." She said proudly.
"Ahh." The man nodded.
"He is just talking to the tree, right?" The woman asked worriedly.
The man peered closer. "Yes, he is." He assured her with a smirk.
The woman just glared at him. "Don't you have somewhere to be Kagari?"
The man shivered and walked off down the path and out of sight.
Clark suddenly collapsed to the ground with a groan.
"Clark!" Musubi cried as she hurried over with Miya on her tail.
"I'm ok. Musubi, can you wait here? There's a young girl in trouble. Is it ok if she waits here?" He turned to Miya.
"You would trust your Sekirei with me so easily?" She frowned.
"You loved Takehito?"
"With all my heart." She nodded, her frown getting deeper at the personal question.
"And he loved you? Told you who he really was?"
The frown darkened this time. "Who are you?" Miya demanded.
Clark gave her a small smile. "Death's Apprentice. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Miya and Musubi watched in amazement as Clark shot into the air and out of sight.
"Wow, he can jump higher than I can!" Musubi smiled excitedly.
"He isn't jumping." Miya said quietly. "He's flying."
Clark hovered over the city of Tokyo with his eyes closed as he listened for the phrase and the little girl's voice. Laura had taught him how to focus on a specific area and he decided to start with all the parks. It didn't take long to before he picked up the girl screaming for him.
Within seconds he was standing at the entrance of the city arboretum. At the gates there were several MBI armoured vehicles in flames and the man who had shot flames the other night was fighting a woman shooting ice. Clark didn't have time for them at the moment as he had to get to the girl. He zipped past them and through the gates; he stopped on the other side and began searching the area with his x-ray vision.
"You another one of those punks come for the Green Girl?"
Clark spun around and saw an older man with long sideburns. He was wearing a leather jacket and a cowboy hat. In his mouth was an unlit cigar. The hat was pulled down over the man's eyes, the brim hiding them from view.
What really caught his attention were the two scantily clad girls standing on either side… Hikari and Hibiki.
"I don't know who the Green Girl is. I'm looking for a scared little girl, I suggest you stay out of my way, your friends can assure you that it's a good thing."
"He's right Seo, our powers are useless against him." Hibiki whispered loudly.
Clark heard it though. "You're Seo? I've been looking for you. I'm Clark Kent, I was-"
"I know who you are kid. How do you know about the girl?"
"I spoke to her. She called to me through a tree."
Seo just chuckled. "Sounds like little Ku. Ok kid, let's go, maybe she'll actually let me through now that you're here." He said as he began to lead the way.
Clark looked at the girls who just shrugged and headed off to overtake Seo. Clark jogged up to Seo. "Why wouldn't she let you through?"
Seo just chuckled. "Do I look like the type of guy kids like? Especially little girls? Nah, Kusano is a good girl and she wouldn't associate with ruffians like me."
"How far away is she?"
"Just a few hundred metres. Who are the other Sekirei you've got? Smells like Musubi… you been playing with little Yukari?" Seo growled menacingly.
"How-"
"The nose kid. You should know by now that you can't fool it."
"How did you know Takehito?" Clark asked.
Seo smirked. "I'm his adopted brother."
"Neville?"
"His other adopted brother… aside from you of course." Seo lifted the brim of his hat, revealing his whole face to Clark.
"Logan?!"
"One and the same kid."
"The others have been trying to contact you!"
"I figured as much, but Minaka's got the city locked down. I didn't want to reveal my true identity, that would make me an even bigger target."
"Musubi is with Miya. There are two other Sekirei at the gates fighting, I think one is called Homura, he shoots fire, the other was shooting ice."
"Akitsu." Logan said sadly. "Harry's own Ashikabi. Minaka and his bastards messed with her badly. But that's a story for later. Kusano is in there." He said as he indicated what looked like a cave made from trees and plants.
Clark looked with his x-ray vision. "Damn, there's someone else in there."
He sped forward into the cave-like plants quickly knocking the strange woman with a scythe to the ground.
He stood there glaring at the woman.
"You really came for me."
Clark looked down and saw the girl, Kusano, staring up at him with wide eyes. "Of course I did. You needed me." Clark said as he knelt down in front of her.
He smiled as she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his neck.
"Get away from her! That Sekirei belongs to my master." Clark looked up and saw the woman with scythe bearing down on him Kusano. Clark swung around so that Kusano was huddled in his chest and allowed the scythe to hit his back.
Clark screamed in pain as the blade dug deep into space between his left shoulder blade and spine.
"Stupid human. You should have never touched her." The woman sneered as she backed off.
Clark carefully lowered Kusano to the ground. "Stay very small and keep your eye closed, ok?"
"Kusano, come here, girl." Kusano and Clark looked up to see Logan and the twins standing a few feet away.
"Go to him, he'll keep you safe." Clark assured her.
She looked at him with complete trust before struggling to her feet and padding over to Logan who picked her up and held her at his waist.
"Beat her until her crest vanishes on the back of her neck. She won't die but she will be put out of commission." Logan instructed. "Until Harry gets back at least."
Clark just nodded as he watched Logan leave with Kusano and the twins.
His back was killing him, but he could feel his body healing itself. He really wished it was daylight as that would speed things up, as it was he intended to fly out of orbit for a few minutes after he had dealt with the scythe girl.
"Don't go too far Seo. My master will have that girl." The woman taunted.
"I'll give you one chance. Surrender and I won't hurt you."
"There's only one human I answer to and it isn't you." She spat.
She charged Clark again with her scythe, but this time Clark slipped to the side and pushed her forward, snatching the scythe out of her hands as she passed and sending her crashing into the walls made of plants.
"My scythe!"
Clark snapped it over his knee and tossed the handle away before throwing the blade at the ground with all his might.
It disappeared with an explosion of dust, but the weapon that could hurt him was out of reach for now.
"I'll kill you for that."
Clark couldn't help but snort at that comment. "You mean you weren't trying before?"
Her face turned red before she screamed and charged him.
Clark had been unsure on just how much force would take this woman out. She was very strong and his previous moves had been meant to knock her out. But then he remembered that Logan was nearby and he was a wizard.
He once again side stepped but this time he aimed for her lower back and slammed a knife handed hit at her lower back.
There was a sickening crack followed by a horrifying scream as the woman fell to the ground in agony.
Clark walked up to the paralysed woman and flicked the back of her head hard.
The screaming stopped.
Clark felt sick as he turned and walked outside to where Kusano was sleeping in Hibiki's arms, her head nestled on her breasts.
"She's out. I broke her back, do you think you can fix it?" He asked Logan.
"Sure kid." Logan nodded. "Hikari, you take credit for the win." He instructed. Hikari nodded and followed Logan into the cave.
"Did she hear any of the screaming?" Clark asked Hibiki worriedly.
"No, Seo made her fall asleep as soon as he picked her up."
"Good." Clark said in relief.
"What are you?" Hibiki asked curiously. "Not even Seo can handle our lightning like you do."
Clark just smirked. "I'm the Norse God of Thunder."
Clark thought he was definitely getting closer to finding Harry. Logan and Miya knew each other and they both knew Harry. Miya seemed to have trouble accepting that Harry, or Takehito, was actually Death.
"He told me he was Death, the Master of Magic and an Avatar of Love." Miya said with fond smile of remembrance. "I thought he was trying to make me laugh. It's what drew me to him. He taught me to laugh."
"And I told you he was telling the truth. He's out there somewhere, either we find a way to bring him back or we wait for him to get to us on his own." Logan said.
"I realise now that he was speaking truthfully." Miya admitted. "He told me of you as well, Kal-El."
"Probably so you would trust me when we met." Clark nodded. "Look, none of us know what happened to Harry. Do you have any ideas?"
Miya and Logan shared a look. "Takehito went into work one day and never came back." Logan shrugged. "The next day Miya received notice of his death. I waited but he never returned."
"Why didn't you contact us?"
"Harry has strict rules about time travel. I couldn't do anything until I synced up to the right time again. By then all my calls were being monitored. Jean and Emma couldn't contact me because Harry put mental protections on us so we wouldn't stand out and cause problems with the time stream."
"Couldn't you have just teleported over?"
"Yeah, not that simple. There is something over the city. I bet it's something Minaka did but we can't teleport in and out."
"Do you think a Phoenix could do it?"
"Possibly. Jean can't flame to me because of the mental protections."
"Neville and Xander have both arrived, as has Thor from your world."
"Just cause Harry's vanished?" Logan scoffed.
"Apparently this is the biggest thing to have ever happened. The other Aspects have even begun to take more direct action."
"Damn… we better work fast then."
"Hold that thought… Jean is contacting me."
Logan just nodded as Miya looked confused. "I didn't hear his phone ring."
"Mental communication. Jean is a telepath and a Phoenix, remember?"
There was a flash of fire and Jean was standing next to Clark.
Miya, Musubi and the twins were on their feet instantly and in a defensive position.
"Stand down. All of you." Logan ordered. "Jean is a friend."
"Greetings Miya Asama." Jean said with a low bow in perfect Japanese. "I apologise for intruding in your house but it was the only way I could reach Clark and Logan."
Miya was still wary but she gave a very small bow in response. Her eyes never left Jean's though.
"Hey Jeanie. Been a while." Logan said as he stood and gave Jean a long hug.
"Too long. We all missed you. Are you done with your latest trip?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Might as well be. But I need to stay here until we find Harry. There is some sort of field over the city preventing teleportation. Oh, these are my girls, Hibiki and Hikari."
"Twins Logan?" She smirked.
"It's worse than you think. I helped raise and train them. But the Sekirei bond is unusual in that respect. They are happy enough though."
Logan noticed the twins were glaring at him. "They are a bit possessive and jealous though." He whispered.
"I guess you know about Musubi, but this is Miya. She's Harry's latest wife, just legally married to his Takehito persona. Harry was waiting until we synced up the timeline to bond with her."
"She isn't the missing soul mate?" Jean asked.
Logan's face fell to one combined of anger and sadness. "No, that would be Akitsu. She's been different since Harry vanished."
"And she's not in a coma or screaming in pain." Clark added.
"That's strange." Jean mused as she sat down next to Clark. "Maybe Harry managed to protect her before whatever happened to him… happened."
"Why is she out there fighting other people? Why isn't she staying with either of you two?" Clark asked Logan and Miya.
Miya scowled as Logan sighed. "Akitsu was tricked into making Harry her Ashikabi, but Miya" He glared at the purple haired woman, "still holds it against her."
"You do know that Harry has quite a few soul mates that have been with him for over one hundred thousand years?" Clark asked worriedly.
"Akitsu was foolish. She should have known better." Miya spat.
"She was a small girl! She didn't understand what was happening!" Logan snapped. "That bastard, Minaka, he tricked her. Blame him."
"You aren't bound to Harry yet." Jean said softly. "If you truly want to be bound to him I suggest you think about what sort of person Takehito is and whether he will appreciate the way you treat his other mates."
"I've seen a king of the gods cast out his own son and condemn him to death because the son attacked Death and insulted him. Right now every god in existence is just waiting for me to find out who is responsible for what has happened to Harry so they can torture the man before they hand him over to Harry for sentencing. Do you really think the gods will appreciate your attitude to Harry's family? Especially as you are a goddess yourself." Clark challenged.
"What?" Jean asked with wide eyes.
Clark just nodded. "I can feel it. I've felt it before with Thor, Loki, Aphrodite and others. But I never realised what it was until I met Omoikane. I think the gods and goddesses can sense each other. Miya here is a goddess, just like the Guardians of Oa."
"Well I'll be damned." Logan smirked. "Harry always said there was something special about her, never told me what it was though."
"Is this true Miya?" Jean asked.
Miya looked at her with a stern expression. "What I am is none of your-"
"Pack that attitude in girl." Logan said dismissively. "Clark here could take you without breaking a sweat. You're a baby compared to us. A superior attitude just earns you a superior butt-kicking."
"It is true, I am what some would call a goddess, but I prefer not to broadcast that fact." Miya said unhappily.
"Relax Miya, now that the timelines have synced up and Clark is here, old Take will be back soon." Logan smiled.
"Can we get Kusano out of the city?" Clark asked. "I don't want her at risk."
"Who's Kusano?" Jean asked.
"That four year old Sekirei that Clark here just rescued, and no Clark, she has to stay with you now. At least until her bond has settled." Logan answered as he pointed at the little girl sleeping in Musubi's lap.
"What bond? There wasn't a light show like with Musubi and I felt that one."
"You need to kiss her, exchange some spit."
"She's four!"
"It doesn't have to be romantic kid." Logan rolled his eyes. "You telling me that when the trips were growing up they didn't kiss you goodnight before they went to bed? Harry told me plenty of stories over the past few decades."
"What will she think about it?"
"Takami will have told her what the kiss means. She called our Ashikabis our Big Brothers." Musubi answered. "It wasn't until we got older that she told us they might be our mates."
"Miya, I'm back!" A voice sounded from the Inn's entrance. "I stopped Akitsu but someone took out Yomi and made off with the Green Girl. I just hope it was Seo or the girl's Ashika-" The voice stopped as the silver haired man Clark had seen twice now stood at the door.
"Kagari, these are apparently friends of Takehito's." Miya answered.
"I thought your name was Homura?" Clark asked.
"Kagari is the name he uses in public, like a secret identity." Logan explained.
"What part of secret don't you get Old Man?" Kagari demanded angrily.
"I get it plenty, but you'd think I would know who is trustworthy. Clark and Jean are the best allies you can get."
"Just how many stories did Harry tell you about me?" Clark asked. Logan was acting pretty familiar.
Logan just smirked. "Harry showed me the memories of all your adventures, from the flight lessons to your first trip to Themiscyra to you getting some nookie from the Goddess of Love."
Jean laughed as Clark buried his face in his hands.
"What's all the commotion about? Oh… hi guys."
This time the new arrival was a girl a bit older than Musubi dressed in nothing but silk underwear.
"Uzume, what did I tell you about wearing clothes around the house?" Homura demanded.
"Relax, I'm wearing panties this time." She smirked as she walked in brazenly and sat down next to Miya who just glared at her.
"Uzume, meet Clark and Jean. The older girl is Musubi the younger is Kusano, Clark's Sekirei." Logan introduced. "This is Uzume, Sekirei Number 10."
"Number 10?" Jean queried.
"All Sekirei are given a number as they are 'born'. I'm Musubi, Number 88, a fist type Sekirei." Musubi announced proudly.
"Yeah, Ku there is the last at Number 108, the Sekirei of Life. Hikari and Hibiki are 11 and twelve respectively, Lightning types. Homura over there is number 6, fire type, Miya is Number 1 and Number 2 is upstairs." Logan explained.
There was a loud snort from the large alien at the table. Clark looked horrified at his slip. "I'm so sorry, I spend way too much time around Harry and Dani."
Jean just started laughing.
"Are you sure it's smart to reveal all our secrets?" Homura asked.
"Look kid, Takehito is just going to tell them when he-"
"Takehito is dead Seo. When are you going to stop tormenting Miya like this?" Homura demanded angrily.
"You can't kill him. Not anymore than you can kill me." Jean told him calmly.
"A demonstration is not a good idea right now Jean. We already have most of the Castle incapacitated right now, we don't need to be dealing with a baby as well." Clark said quickly.
Jean looked very unhappy. "Fine, but after this crisis I am offing myself. And I am going to attend school with you and the Cuckoos."
Clark looked a little out of his depth.
"Don't worry about it kid. All the Phoenixes get like this after a while. It's called a burning day, it doesn't do them any good to put it off." Logan assured him.
"Fine, I'll stab you with a sword myself, happy?"
"Very." Jean said snootily.
"Right, one last Sekirei for you to meet." Logan said as he didn't bother hiding his smile at Jean's attitude. "Matsu, get down here." He ordered as he stared at a corner of the ceiling.
There was a few moments silence. "Don't make me come up there and get you girl." He threatened.
There was more silence before Logan got to his feet and walked to the corner and shot into the air, phasing through the ceiling. There was screech of fright as Uzume and Homura gasped.
"Did the Old Man just fly through the ceiling?" Uzume asked.
"I haven't seen him do that since Takehito died." Miya said with a soft smile.
"What the hell is he?" Homura asked in quiet awe. "He can heal from anything we do to him, he can keep up with us… he taught most of the single numbers."
"The technical term is 'mutant'." Jean said. "That's what lets him heal and ups his stats as a human. But he is also a wizard. He can do magic, as seen by his flying and phasing."
"He uses it for other things as well." Hikari smirked.
"That dirty old man." Jean responded with a similar smirk. "It was Harry that taught him that stuff."
"Put me down you dirty old man!"
"See, she agrees." Jean laughed as Logan floated back down with a red head in a form-fitting white dress and a pair of glasses.
"Do you want Takehito back or not? You are the one who witnessed what happened; you said you wouldn't tell anyone but the God of Thunder. Well he's here." Logan grumbled as he plopped the red head down.
"Still have a thing for us red heads Logan?" Jean teased.
"Only a special few, your daughter still pisses me off.
"This is Matsu, Number 2. She witnessed what happened to Takehito. But she refused to tell us as she claimed he ordered her only to tell the God of Thunder as he was taken. Which is why I've been waiting for you, Clark."
"That isn't Raijin, that's a human. I know that for a fact." Matsu stated.
"If there is one thing Clark isn't… it's human." Jean said.
"How do you know, Matsu?" Miya asked.
Matsu blushed.
"Is he your Ashikabi?" Uzume asked with a grin.
"If that's the case then I might be Homura's Ashikabi too." Clark sighed.
"I don't know if you realised this but I'm a man!" Homura said angrily.
"You're no more a man than I am a woman." Logan snorted. "You aren't anything yet."
"What?" Clark asked.
"He's gender neutral until he finds his Ashikabi." Logan explained.
"I'm a defective Sekirei, I can't bond to anyone." Homura said with disgust at himself.
"That's what Minaka told you. Remember what Takehito told you." Miya said sternly.
"What? That I'll one day meet the person who will be my Ashikabi… well hey, it's a man!" Homura said sarcastically.
"Why do you hate men so much?" Clark asked.
"I don't hate men, I just can't believe that of all the luck I have to have a guy as an Ashikabi instead of a woman… that's how it usually works."
"Hey! My Ashikabi is a girl." Uzume objected.
"What sort of bonds are these?" Jean asked Logan.
"Harry says they are a form of soul bond. But it's one way. The Sekirei attaches to the Ashikabi and they gain power from the Ashikabi."
"Can't it go both ways?" Clark asked.
"It can, but there has to be love in the bond. The Ashikabi's soul can recognize the bond and create it's own attachment to the Sekirei just as a regular soul bond does."
"Ok… let's get Harry back and dump this on him." Clark decided.
Logan just grinned his agreement. "Matsu, that is the God of Thunder that Takehito wanted you to confide in. Now spill." Logan ordered.
Clark just raised a hand, the room ducked as a loud clap of thunder split the air outside and the room was lit up by the brilliant sheet lightning that exploded into the night sky of Tokyo.
"Maybe a little too much power, Clark." Jean winced.
"I doubt Raijin will mind. If I don't get Harry back soon Tokyo… Japan… let's face it, Earth might be destroyed by the gods." Clark shrugged.
"You aren't Raijin?" Matsu asked nervously.
Clark shook his head. "Raijin is the Japanese God of Thunder. I am the Norse God of Thunder."
"I thought that was Thor."
"I am Kal-El, Norse God of Thunder. I defeated Thor Odinson the previous Norse God of Thunder when he attacked my Master. I was bestowed with his divinity and position by his father, Odin Borson, The All-Father." Clark said formally.
"Kal-El." Matsu whispered with wide eyes. Suddenly she was on her kneeling with her face in the floor. "Forgive me Lord Kal-El, I didn't know it was you."
Clark, Jean and Logan shared a look of confusion. The others weren't too far behind.
"Stand up Matsu, I'm a young god and I don't like people kneeling before me unless we are doing something official." Clark said.
"What made you so scared?" Jean asked.
"I know you are the Su-Sssss… I know you are Sssssuuuuu… I can't say the name!" Matsu said as she began to panic.
Clark just sat there smiling softly. "I, Clark Kent am also known as Superman."
Uzume, Miya, Homura, Hibiki and Hikari's eyes widened in surprise.
"How didn't we see this before?" Homura asked.
"Magic. Takehito put a protection on me so that no one would be able to place me as Superman unless I specifically told them."
"Takehito told me and he isn't bound by those protections." Logan added.
"Why would Superman scare you, Matsu? He hasn't done anything evil." Jean asked.
"Africa… I know what he did in Africa."
Clark shivered in disgust at himself as the memories resurfaced.
"Did he kill the innocent, Matsu? No. You aren't evil so why would that make you fear him?" Logan asked sternly.
"I thought… because I knew his secret."
"Those people were murdering, torturing and raping… and I was… drugged. You haven't heard any other stories of me killing people, right?"
"You said you killed Thor." Homura pointed out.
"No, he said he defeated Thor. I was there." Jean corrected. "For his punishment he was reborn as a little girl… or at least he will be as soon as we get Harry back."
"We need to get down to the important stuff." Clark said as he sat forward. "I need to know what happened to Takehito so I can get him back, I don't know how long the gods will wait before they take matters into their own hands."
"Matsu, what happened to Takehito?" Jean asked.
"Minaka killed him." She said quietly.
"Details girl. We need details." Logan said firmly.
"Matsu, I am a telepath. Would you mind if I found the memories of what you saw and showed them to everyone?" Jean asked.
The eyes of everyone not friends with Jean Grey widened in fright.
"She doesn't read minds without permission, just like I don't use my x-ray vision on people." Clark sighed.
Every woman not familiar with Clark Kent's abilities covered their chests.
Clark rolled his eyes. "That's another thing, I just told you I had x-ray vision, the ability to see through solid objects. What exactly makes you think covering your breasts with your arms would stop me if I wanted to look?"
Jean and Logan just chuckled.
"Ok Matsu, can I take a copy of those memories and share them?" Jean asked again.
"You won't take anything else or make me forget?"
"Only what you let me take." Jean said as she began to stare into Matsu's eyes. Suddenly Matsu began to blink as if a light had been shone in her eyes and she shook her head. "All done."
"You didn't do anything." Uzume said.
"The mind is very quick." Jean smiled. She waved a hand at the wall and an image appeared of what Matsu saw that day through her eyes.
She was on top of the MBI tower on the large balcony area below the clock; there was some sort of artwork on the floor with strange pointed crystals on the floor. Standing in the middle of the circular artwork was Minaka Hiroto.
"That looks like a seal of some sort." Clark mused.
"Agreed." Jean nodded, their eyes fixed on the display.
Then they heard a familiar voice. "Alright Minaka, what do you want now? I'm not letting you near those Sekirei, not after what you did to Homura and Akitsu."
They saw Harry/Takehito storm on to the balcony.
"That's the problem Takehito, you aren't in charge. I am." Minaka snapped. He then stopped and plastered a manic smile on his face. "Besides, I've decided that this 'S - Plan' is too boring. It needs more… action. Which is why I am implementing my greatest idea yet!
"The Game!"
"These children are not your toys Minaka." Takehito snarled as he moved forward towards Minaka.
"I found them. I used my resources to bring them to life. So they will fight each other and entertain me!" Minaka laughed maniacally. He turned and walked to the edge of the balcony and looked out on the city of Tokyo. "You have become too much of a problem, my friend. I've been meaning to try these little doodads out and you can be my first test subject."
"This is the end of the line Minaka Hiroto. I've held off acting against you but I can't let you continue. Today you die."
Minaka spun around grinning at Takehito. "You first!" He then held up his hand revealing a device with a button that he pushed. A dome of energy sprung up from the crystals at the edges of the seal on the floor that Takehito was now standing in. The dome and crystals began to pulse in increasing speed.
"You have made a very big mistake, Minaka."
"No, I am correcting one. Although I am still stunned that I made one in the first place." He mused egotistically.
They watched as Takehito turned to look straight at Matsu before they heard him speak. "Wait for the God of Thunder to come to you. Tell him everything."
Then the pulses became so fast that they were just a blinding light to all but Clark who could still see the pulses. The dome exploded in light and vanished leaving nothing behind but the glowing crystals.
"They don't call me the Super Genius for nothing fool." Minaka muttered to himself.
They then saw the image begin to move as Matsu broke from her hiding place, grabbed one of the crystals and dove off the balcony to the open air. The memory then stopped.
"Your ability is flight?" Clark asked Matsu.
"No, my ability is to do with accessing and hacking systems."
"She is a formidable fighter in her own right though." Miya added.
"Ok, let's focus here people. What the hell was that that happened to Takehito?" Logan demanded.
"I don't know. I've searched the MBI databases but couldn't find anything." Matsu said agitatedly as she played with one of her long red pigtails.
"Those crystals seem to be key. Where is the one you stole Matsu?" Jean asked.
Matsu's eyes widened and Uzume was instantly on her feet in defensive position between them and Matsu.
"No, Uzume, they are here to help." Miya said. "He is Takehito's apprentice."
Matsu gave Uzume's hand a squeeze and the brunette in lingerie simply moved to stand behind Matsu.
"It's upstairs, I'll go and get it." Matsu said as she left the room, Uzume right behind her.
It was several minutes later that the two returned with the strange conical crystal. Jean had conjured a bed in the corner for Kusano so Musubi didn't have to hold her… of course Musubi felt fairly cold now and made up for it by wrapping her arms around Clark… who was fairly uncomfortable as a result.
"It's glowing." Musubi said with her seemingly natural innocence.
"It is, and I know why." Jean scowled. "Part of Harry is trapped in here. His soul if I'm not mistaken."
"That thing is a fucking horcrux?!"
*DONG*
Everyone winced as they turned to see Miya standing over Logan with her ladle embedded in his head; there was a small trickle of blood but no wound.
"There will be no swearing in Izumo Inn!" Miya chided sternly.
"Dammit girl! Where do you keep getting the ladles from?" Logan growled as he rubbed his head.
"Get hit often do you, Logan?" Jean smirked.
"Just wait till you spend an hour here. You'll be sure to break one of her rules." Logan said with a glare at the once again seated Miya. "Speaking of which, kid, you might want to stay at whatever house or hotel you were last night. You can't bond with a Sekirei properly if you stay here. Miya doesn't approve of 'illicit' relations at Izumo Inn." Logan said petulantly… and childishly.
"Kusano will stay here. She is too young." Miya stated.
"No. I give you a fair amount of lee-way but you won't be interfering with Ashikabi and Sekirei bonds." Logan scowled at her. "That is her Ashikabi." He pointed at Clark. "Unless you want a little girl to be absolutely miserable and in pain then she goes with him."
"Er… can we back up to the part about 'illicit relations'?" Clark interrupted. "I'm fairly certain you told me we only had to kiss."
"Yeah, but you need to reinforce the bond with physical contact. Ku is too young for the best type but she can still sleep with you for a few weeks till the bonds settle. Takehito found that out the hard way with Akitsu." He said sadly.
"Alright, but can you give us a lift back Jean? It's a long drive."
"I can take you." Logan waved a hand dismissively. "We can't teleport out of the city but we can do so within the bounds."
"In that case we will join you there." Jean decided. "Lana, Chloe, Helen and Tess are all going to Themiscyra for the holidays. The rest of us will come here and help out."
"The more help the better." Clark said with relief.
"This will be your mission still, Clark. We will be serving you as our god or leader." Jean warned him. "Odin gave you this charge and we intend to respect that."
Clark nodded in understanding, this was his duty.
"Before we go to bed, there is definitely something I need to do." Matsu grinned as she leaned forward towards Clark. Her lips were pressed against his and her tongue forced it's way into his mouth catching Clark completely by surprise as her own ethereal wings sprouted from her back causing the others to shield their eyes.
Eventually Matsu broke the kiss. "We definitely need to practice that some more." She grinned.
"Big brother!"
Clark had little time to relax as a golden haired missile slammed into his chest and kissed him on the lips. Little Kusano had chosen her Ashikabi and gained her wings as the plants outside flourished in the night as though the sun had made an impromptu appearance.
"Ku-"
Clark never got to finish that as a third pair of lips hit his and a second tongue entered his mouth.
When the kiss broke several seconds later he saw a triumphantly grinning Uzume in his lap.
"Uzume, you already have an Ashikabi." Homura frowned.
"So? He's hot and I definitely want some of that action." She winked at Clark.
"Harry is never going to let me live this down." Clark groaned.
"Harry? Wait till Thor finds out. He'll take you straight to Asgard to celebrate." Jean snickered.
At around the same time that Clark was having this meeting, the girls had arrived at the hidden island of Themiscyra.
Unfortunately Jonathan wasn't expecting them at this time and they used him as the target of their teleportation.
The screams rang through the palace causing the guards to come bursting into the room to find the five girls covering their eyes as Jonathan covered other parts with his hands and sank deeper into the pool that served as a bath.
"Identify yourselves!" The lead guard ordered as they held them at spear and sword point.
"Easy Anna." Jonathan called out. "These are the new students Queen Amara spoke of. They just teleported in and used me as the focus, next time hopefully they will check first before assuming the person is available." He told them with a glare.
The girls looked very embarrassed.
Anna just smirked. "Follow us whilst the Lord Regent finishes his bath."
