Chapter 21: Hunt
Ayanami woke from her slumber with an idle blink, the state of deep sleep to alert attention so seamless an observer could be forgiven for believing there was no difference between the two.
Amber eyes scanned the minimalist and dimmed barracks of the Disciplinary Squad, the other members absent aside from the room's one other occupant...currently playing the big spoon to the girl's smaller form.
Locking a sigh behind her lips the Sekirei gently extricated herself from Karasuba's grasp, padding towards the kitchen in order to make them breakfast in preparation for the coming operation and patrols they would be taking part of later in the day.
She tried to ignore how the grey-haired Sekirei visibly shifted in displeasure and unease at the action, clearly ill-at-ease with her sudden disappearance.
…
A decent night's sleep seemed to be forever denied to Ayanami's mentor and leader for as long as she had known her.
Resigning herself to not being able to do anything for her fellow Sekirei the smaller of the two woman settled for simply continuing her morning cooking and preparations, going about the kitchen with mechanical efficiency, a simple pair of omelets filled with vegetables and meat soon sizzling in a pan as a pleasant aroma filled the room.
"Shit-"
Ayanami didn't so much as flinch as Karasuba sat upright with sudden alertness, combat knife clenched tightly in her fingers from where it had been stuffed into the waistband of her shorts, hair frazzled and messy as bagged eyes rapidly darted around the room, snarl of imminent violence pulling at her lips.
"Good morning, miss Karasuba."
The taller Sekirei gradually lowered her blade, tiredly knuckling her eyes as she watched her coworker go about the kitchen with her usual economical and efficient movements...naked as the day she was born.
"Shouldn't you at least wear an apron or shirt while doing something like that? Don't come complaining to me when hot oil or grease lands on your boob."
"I'm careful."
Karasuba didn't make any visible response to the bland retort...and eventually huffed out a resigned breath, stalking off to the shower without further comment, features locked into a scowl as Ayanami carried on her work.
"...It was a bad night, then."
The Sekirei's quiet words were mostly for her own benefit rather than anyone else's, features slightly more pinched and concerned than usual. Her leader had been in a good mood yesterday after meeting that Alesandro Rastus person, enough so that Ayanami had dared to hope she would actually sleep well for a change.
That particular hope didn't seem to have panned out all that well. If anything Karasuba seemed more listless and out of it than usual.
The Sekirei put the eggs onto a pair of plates while moving on automatic, mind still racing with a swirl of thoughts that wouldn't be guessed at given her lax expression.
"...Unicorn and her sisters found an Ashikabi. I'm happy for them."
She tried to not think about how such a revelation had been both shocking and slightly...unsettling.
The whole reason Ayanami and Karasuba got along so well compared to most other Sekirei was that they were both a bit...off. The taller of the pair was a loner by nature, despising the idea of relying on another for strength and being naturally inclined towards blood and battle. The shorter had just never quite gotten the idea that her life could be devoted to the concept of love and affection, always seeing herself as a tool and weapon and never once experiencing the reactions most Sekirei underwent during their exposure to various Ashikabis.
Two outliers among their entire species had naturally gravitated towards the other, a match made in the fires of exclusion and isolation.
"...But I think I felt something yesterday...miss Karasuba did too."
For the briefest of moments she had felt heat course through her lithe body as the emerald gaze of Unicorn's Ashikabi had met both her and Karasuba's own. It had been just that—a moment—but the girl was...curious. Curious enough that she hoped the man survived the confrontation between him and her leader.
"You need the shower? We're leaving soon."
Without preamble Karasuba left the bathroom, tying her damp hair into its preferred ponytail as she passed by the kitchen, Ayanami shaking her head as she quickly got dressed, having showered last night.
"I'll get us today's routes, you eat breakfast."
Pausing as she pulled on one of her stockings Ayanami turned a mildly reproachful gaze the other Sekirei's way.
"You're not going to eat?"
"Not hungry."
Pausing only long enough to grab an apple from the basket of fruit they had on hand the taller woman swept from the room, the amber-eyed girl staring blankly at the pair of omelets...before quietly sighing, packing the meals into a pair of sealed lunchboxes before clipping them onto her waist opposite her sword, pausing only long enough to grab a couple nutrition bars before running after her leader.
"Nothing to report, miss Karasuba."
"Yeah, nothing here either. I hate patrols."
Ayanami elected not to comment as the pair of Sekirei rested atop a moderately sized hotel-
-and a low growl could be heard, wet gurgles briefly added to the mix before silence once more fell, Karasuba's bored expression turning ugly.
"...Fucking dammit."
An irritated flick of a pebble she found on the ground earlier sent the stone through a fancy cars windshield, cracks spiderwebbing out from the impact zone as a wailing alarm filled the air.
The smaller Sekirei wordlessly unclipped the food packages from her belt, handing one to her leader as the older Sekirei sent Ayanami a raised eyebrow...and huffed out a sigh, grousing, "What are you, my mother?"
"You're not you when you're hungry."
Popping open the lid and digging into the omelet with no discernible enthusiasm—the other Sekirei reciprocating the action—Karasuba idly commented, "That's from a commercial...a candy bar or something. Didn't take you as one who watched a lot of television."
"Miss Tamaki suggested I try to understand and indulge in more Human media in a bid to understand them."
The amber-eyed girl tilted her head a fraction, staring out over the cityscape as she stated, "I don't think it's working."
An amused chuckle left her leader as she playfully poked Ayanami in the face, saying, "Don't listen to that nosey woman, Humans are weak and not worth your time, little Ayanami. People like us can survive and thrive just fine on our own."
The smaller Sekirei affixed Karasuba with a blank stare, replying, "Is that why you ignored how you reacted to Unicorn's Ashikabi yesterday?"
The flinch was almost unnoticeable, but still present.
"Pretty much, yah. I have no intention of tying myself down with someone weaker than me."
"And if he was stronger than you, miss Karasuba?"
A scoff left the grey-haired woman.
"No matter how strange or skilled he may be...he's still from Human stock. And a Human will never be able to best a Sekirei in a straight fight."
Ayanami thought about her next words carefully, trying to decide how best to state them.
"Do you think he is fully Human, miss Karasuba?"
Steely grey eyes locked onto her amber ones, a single eyebrow raising in confusion.
"I reacted to him. You reacted to him. And he's really tall. Really tall."
"Humans can grow tall on their own, little Ayanami."
"...He smells like water. Rain and the ocean. Not like other Humans."
Karasuba released a huff of irritation, retorting, "Fine, fine...yes he's different. Not sure how but that's without a doubt the case. What about you, little Ayanami? Finally thinking about indulging in all that tripe about love and bonds?"
The smaller Sekirei gazed out over the cityscape, a minor but noticeable expression of conflict on her flawless features.
"I don't know. It feels...strange. And unusual, to have someone hold influence over my mind and body. But..."
Ayanami shifted from foot to foot, eventually stating, "It wasn't unpleasant."
A scoff left the taller woman.
"That's how they get you, you know. Flowery words and descriptions, promises of love and affection...then one day you're life is shackled to a weakling's, no way out except death or permanent maiming."
The amber-eyed Sekirei elected not to comment, the conversation petering out as Karasuba wolfed down the remainder of her meal, handing it back to her comrade as she stated, "Thanks. Let's get back to work, little Ayanami."
"Understood, miss Karasuba."
The pair of Sekirei jumped down from their perch, idly striding past the shocked and bewildered well-to-do man who was at a complete loss at what had happened to his car.
"This day can't end soon enough..."
Ayanami decided her leader's comment didn't require a response, the taller Sekirei grumbling to herself as they lazily hopped from building to building, glancing at the city below in a vain attempt at finding anything vaguely suspicious enough to draw their attention, focusing their search on the general area where the Sekirei and Ashikabi had gone missing.
"Miss Karasuba, would the perpetrators stick around in an area where they committed the crime? Or would they instead choose to move to a different location?"
"How should I know? Forensics still doesn't have anything other than trace genetic samples to suggest that our sister and her Human leash were actually there at all. We're basically throwing shit at the wall and hoping something sticks."
The amber-eyed girl briefly debated asking how that became a phrase the Humans used and decided her leader was already in a bad enough mood as it was. Making her explain Human expressions would just make things worse.
"C'mon, little Ayanami. Let's walk the streets, we'll have just as good odds searching from there as we do up here. And at least then we don't have to constantly be jumping around."
Wordlessly nodding in agreement Ayanami followed her captain down the side of the buildings they had been leaping across, walking out an alley and instantly attracting a collection of glances and stares from those present, their natural beauty, odd dress and armed status meaning they were the center of attention.
Karasuba ignored them entirely, finding their gazes to be beneath her attention as Ayanami followed suit, the pair spending almost another fifteen minutes idly prowling the roads without much conversation shared between them.
"...C'mon, little Ayanami. Let's get something to eat, this is pointless."
Noting the growled and unhappy tones of her compatriot the smaller Sekirei raised no objection, Karasuba entering the first restaurant they came across—a burger joint—and striding inside as if she owned the place-
-before both her and Ayanami, however briefly, jolted in surprise.
There was something in the room alongside them, something that felt very much like a Sekirei but different.
"...Play it cool. Pretend to be looking for a place to sit."
Not outwardly showing any signs of acknowledgment Ayanami did as instructed, scanning the interior of the restaurant-
-and almost outwardly flinched as she instantly spotted what was drawing her attention so.
A tall male only a bit shorter than the one from yesterday had his back turned to her, calmly eating while a head of grey hair adorned tanned skin, body broad and muscled that the fine suit he was wearing failed to conceal.
...Most alarming was that Ayanami could feel her body heating up and reacting to the man, all while he was simply sitting and not paying attention to her, a trait the other Humans in the room seemed to share, strangely enough.
More than a few were staring or stealing glances, food forgotten or missing mouths entirely.
"What...is going on?"
Apprehensive at how she was behaving so irrationally the Sekirei forced herself to ignore the demanding and incessant need to Wing herself upon the man, instead taking the furthest spot away from him while also ensuring their backs were turned.
She didn't want to risk having their gazes meet.
For a few minutes the girl stayed like that, keeping her sword hidden beneath the table as Karasuba placed their order, trying vainly to keep the blush and fidgeting of her body to a minimum.
Her leader couldn't arrive soon enough, eyes narrowed in displeasure as she placed the meal between them, growling out, "That man...there's something off about him. That's no Human."
"I agree, miss Karasuba."
They bit into their food, spending roughly a minute in silence before the target of their uneasiness finished his meal, walking out the restaurant with unhurried motions as they continued to act inconspicuous, the rest of the employees and clientele seeming to shake themselves out of a stupor.
Karasuba and Ayanami quickly left the restaurant as soon as the man was out of sight, wordlessly agreeing that he needed to be followed and observed.
Silently and efficiently diving into a back alley Ayanami ascended onto the rooftops, Karasuba tracking their quarry from ground level with a bloodhound's efficiency.
Whether this man had anything to do with the murders was up for debate...but there was little doubt between the pair that he was an infinitely more curious and potentially lethal subject to be examined.
To that end they maintained a cautious but dogged pursuit of the individual for almost half-an-hour, silently keeping vigil as he moved to a more low-income side of the city, functional and hardy buildings that were small in size and carrying a variety of kick-knacks dotting the cityscape.
He turned into a small gap between two decently sized buildings, traveling down the length of the alleyway as Karasuba slowed her pace so as to not be noticed, Ayanami hurrying to pick up the slack so that they didn't lose him.
She was just preparing to leap for a better vantage point when her sharp ears picked up a strange-sounding breeze, a brief tugging of her skirt and top causing the Sekirei to furrow her brow in confusion...and instincts honed by a great deal of training at Karasuba's hand had Ayanami throwing herself into a frantic roll, the breeze taking a sharp upswing into a keening shriek-
-and the girl found herself tumbling into the alleyway as a result of her dodge, landing heavily on the ground as warm liquid splattered onto her skin, right arm and leg not working.
The reason for such an alarming occurrence was revealed a second later as amber eyes examined her body, finding deep lacerations along the tendons of those unresponsive limbs while the liquid was blood. Her blood.
Ayanami stared at disbelief at the wrecked state of her body, gaze ratcheting around to stare at the man she had been tailing...and found him wordlessly approaching her, hazy swirls of wind ensconcing his form as he emotionlessly raised an arm in her direction, a visible ball of compressed air gathering at his fingertips.
"Ayanami!"
She heard Karasuba call her name—a rare tinge of concern to it as the sound of unsheathed steel echoed through they alley—but the Sekirei knew she wouldn't reach her in time...she was just too far away.
Ayanami closed her eyes, a resigned and bitter emotion spreading within her heart as a loud CRACK was heard, the noise of her imminent demise.
She had long thought of herself a convenient tool or weapon...and now she was about to die without ever having fulfilled that purpose, without ever discovering what was wrong with her when compared to someone like Unicorn.
"...What a joke."
"You sure you don't need to sit down? All this walking can't be comfortable...Unicorn and Illustrious can handle recon for a while until you're back to normal."
"Nonsense, master. We're perfectly fine."
"Indeed! A mere muscle ache is not enough to stop us, Alesandro!"
"...That would sound more convincing if you weren't walking funny."
Victorious and Formidable were indeed moving about with slight hitches to their steps. Almost impossible to notice unless you knew where to look...but it was there, a slight stiffness to their movements as if they were trying to avoid moving certain parts of their bodies.
Alesandro felt more than a little bit of guilt at the sight as they travelled the streets of Shinto Teito.
"If I was hurting or damaging you two with anal you should have said something."
"But we were-"
"Yes, I know we were all enjoying ourselves and that it was consensual but you're making me feel like an ass over here...no pun intended."
The male could hear Illustrious chuckle over the headset as she and Unicorn patrolled from their vantage point, searching for Ayanami or Karasuba with the assistance of a pair of purchased binoculars.
[Unicorn bets she could handle big brother...big sisters Formidable and Victorious are too out of shape.]
Snorting at the words of the smallest member of his flock—as well as how the aforementioned pair squawked with dismay at the burn—Alesandro replied, "While I'll freely admit you're quite the trooper, Unicorn...I'd rather not go down that route after seeing what happened with your sisters. We'll have to play the backdoor card another day."
[Oh my...apologies about interrupting this riveting conversation, master Alesandro, but I do believe I've discovered our subjects of today's search~!]
All of them perked up at that admission, the male stating, "Well I'll be...guess the Goddess of Victory is on our side, huh?"
Victorious smiled happily at that statement, giggling at her Ashikabi's statement as Illustrious mused, [Hmm...it seems they are following someone. Shall I attempt to see who such an unfortunate individual may be, master Alesandro?]
"Go for it. Just try to remain unseen and send me a photo of the person in question, maybe we'll be lucky and know them by sight."
The pale-haired Sekirei moved to carry out his orders, Alesandro rubbing his chin in thought and palming the syringe containing the Unlocker safely secured in his pocket, reassuring himself that it was there.
Sure, it wasn't exactly a fast acting bit of insurance but it was the principle of the matter.
They continued to walk in the general direction Illustrious had pointed them in for a fair number of minutes, passing into cheaper portions of the city until they received word from Illustrious, her tone mildly apprehensive.
[Master Alesandro? I believe this man may be a Siren or member of your Custodes Avem. Sending the picture now.]
Instantly on guard the male watched his phone with a clenched jaw, receiving the message with a cheerful chime as he rapidly scanned the mildly blurry image-
"Illustrious, get Karasuba and Ayanami out of there now!"
[What? Master Alesandro, I-]
"No time to argue, go! The rest of you get them out of there and run, don't try to fight him!"
For a split-second his flock gaped at his sudden alarm...and the bond convinced them of the direness of the situation, powerful leaps sending them in their sister's direction as the male snapped a needle into the syringe, ignoring the bewildered looks from the few passerby as he prepared to plunge it into his veins if absolutely necessary, trading longevity of his power in exchange for it taking effect all the quicker.
And all the while he stared into the distance, rapidly texting a warning to his fellow Custodes with a clenched jaw and nervous roil to his stomach.
"Fuck...of all the Elders among the Sirens...it had to be Ambrosio."