Chapter 22: Battle

BANG!

Ayanami blinked, distantly noting that she was still alive.

Hexagonal shields of bright blue floated in front of her, battered and cracked but succeeding in halting the killer ball of air that would have turned her into a mangled corpse.

The rest of the alleyway behind her wasn't so lucky, sporting deep gouges and upturned stone as the strange man hesitated for a moment, cold eyes widening in surprise at the interruption before Karasuba was upon him, sword streaking for his neck-

-and the surprises didn't stop there, the mystery fellow rolling to the side with a Sekirei's natural agility before turning to face the snarling form of Karasuba bearing down on him, neutral disinterest now the only expression he wore.

Then Ayanami's view was partially blocked by a spray of purple hair, mouth falling slightly agape as she was greeted by the sight of none other than Unicorn openly fretting over her, worriedly saying, "Ayanami, hang on! Unicorn is here, don't move!"

Emerald energy began to ensconce the girl's freely bleeding wounds, amber eyes locking onto her friend's purple ones as she disbelievingly asked, "Unicorn...what are you doing here?"

"Our Ashikabi wished for us to aid and retrieve you. Unicorn dear, ensure she won't bleed out and then let us depart, we were not meant to-"

WHAM!

Ayanami's ears popped and she was almost flattened into the hard ground as a blast of air sent a grey blur crashing into the wall of a nearby building, Karasuba barely managing to get her feet beneath her as a look of pure shock—with a small amount of fury—dotted her features, clearly not left unscathed by the attack if the stiff way she prepared for another round was any indication.

"MBI's dog, withdraw! This foe isn't one our Ashikabi-"

"Big sister, look out!"

Illustrious apparently forgot her apprehension and fear of the Disciplinary Squad's leader as she grabbed her arm, yanking her behind her as she formed yet another series of shields...and this time they barely held for a second, another howling gale tearing apart solid rock and concrete as Ayanami felt herself thrown further down the alley, this time around managing to get her working limbs beneath her and halt her tumble, instinctively catching Unicorn within her grasp as her fellow Sekirei also got caught up in the attack.

...Neither had she escaped unscathed, the amber-eyed girl's eyes widening in alarm as a giant tear in her friend's blouse leaked crimson, the other female tenderly exploring the wound with tears in her eyes.

"What the fuck is up with this weirdo, is he a Sekirei?"

Karasuba snarled as she rose to her feet, bleeding from heavy lacerations across her body but still mobile, Illustrious also matching the action albeit far more slowly, a weeping gash covering her scalp and left leg also badly injured, the man stalking forward with a cool and collected expression, as if out for a morning stroll.

Resolution steeled Ayanami's spine, giving her injured friend a quick squeeze before she forced herself up onto one leg, sword in hand since Unicorn's brief stint of healing helped quite a bit in slowing the bleeding and dulling the pain of her injury, Karasuba smirking at her even across the blood dotting her form.

"Still up for more, little Ayanami?"

"Of course, miss Karasuba."

The pair of Sekirei prepared themselves for a desperate defense against a foe that had clearly caught them off guard with his power-

-and a pall of grey mist fell upon him, the man's eyes widening as another blast of air left his hand...only to be absorbed by another woman with shining blonde hair, her pale skin and dress ripped and lacerated brutally as a cry of pain slipped past her lips, but not before a harsh punch of her hand sent a wave of equal—if not greater—force back at their assailant.

...There wasn't much of the alleyway left after that, only a vague outline of a man standing unharmed amidst the destruction, moving far slower than he was previously as the grey material clung to his skin.

"Sisters, we run now!"

"Run?! Like Hell I'm-"

"Then by all means stay and fight, mad dog!"

Ayanami felt small but firm arms wrap around her waist, Unicorn ignoring her wounds despite the clear pain it caused her in order to carry her properly, who she recognized as Formidable grabbing both Illustrious and Victorious as Karasuba wavered, obviously loathing the idea of retreating in the face of battle-

-and she snarled, turning tail and retreating alongside her fellows as the man walked out of the wreckage, raised an arm towards their fleeing forms...and the distant sound of helicopters caused him to scowl, quickly disappearing into the depths of the city without a backwards glance.

They'd meet again, he was sure of that.

"Okay, you have some explaining to do. Talk."

Alesandro tried—and failed—not to look smug as Karasuba laid on his home's couch, a blushing Unicorn healing up her injuries after yet another application of Norito she had been happy to be a part of, everyone else's wounds sealed and fixed as if they never happened.

…

Not that the male wasn'tgoing to murder Ambrosio if the opportunity arose, for daring to harm his flock.

"I almost had a fucking heart attack when they showed up half dead..."

Shaking off the traumatic image of his Sekirei bounding back towards him with blood freely flowing down their forms he instead turned to face the steely-eyed woman doing her level best to burn a hole though his head, smiling irreverently at her cold tone.

"What are you saying, Karasuba? You're the one who apparently ran across something out of the ordinary, not me-"

"Bullshit. You feel just like that bastard, whoever he was. Weaker, sure...but neither of you are Human. Some kind of Sekirei offshoot?"

Leaning back in his chair as Unicorn finished her work the purple-haired girl retreated to stand by Ayanami who was at attention behind the chair Karasuba was lounging in, tentatively holding the amber-eyed Sekirei's hand as she seemed to relax a fraction, nodding to the other alien with an almost imperceptible smile.

Unicorn's expression of happiness was far more open.

"You seem quite certain you may demand answers of us, MBI dog. Quite the bold attitude to hold, wouldn't you agree?"

Victorious's scathing comment was summarily ignored by the grey-haired woman, the blonde scowling as Alesandro and the recently healed Sekirei stared the other down.

"...I won't tell MBI. This is personal now."

Shrugging as if he wasn't concerned Alesandro responded, "Understandable. But I'll warn you now that in a straight-up-battle you'll never beat Ambrosio."

Fingers twitched, as if to reach for her sheathed sword sitting just outside of easy reach.

"Oh? And just what makes you say that?"

"The fact that even if I had the full extent of my power and we faced him together we wouldn't win. Ambrosio is a descendant of the original Sekirei colonization ships and their passengers, much like myself. However, where we differ is in how we've preserved that heritage."

"Master Alesandro, you're not honestly going to-"

Illustrious's disbelieving tone was replaced with resignation as her Ashikabi showed their all too likely foe one of the Unlockers, the clear fluid within catching Karasuba and Ayanami's curious gazes.

"Me and a few others within the city can use these to temporarily bring out the true potential and strength of our ancestors, before MBI went and tampered with you all. The ones we call Sirens—of whom Ambrosio is a member—become what we call an Elder as they age. Sirens don't live for very long because they allow their powers to run free in a body not conditioned to handle it, dying between the ages of twenty and thirty."

He met the grey-haired Sekirei's eyes with a grim expression.

"And in their old age their power becomes damn near overbearing and unstoppable. While I'm not sure he's quite at the level of a Pillar...I think you can agree that he makes far more efficient use of his power."

While Karasuba glowered at the mention of a Pillar and Ayanami gained a slight frown at the estimation of his strength it was the senior of the two who said, "Well? What's he doing here then? And what are you and your other buddies up to?"

This time Victorious couldn't restrain herself, audibly hissing in vexation as she harshly whispered, "Alesandro, you cannot possibly trust her with this information!"

"You're right in that I don't trust her. At least not entirely...but on this matter?"

He affixed Karasuba with a smirk that the woman returned with a light scowl.

"I trust that she'll keep this to herself until the Siren's are dealt with. Or am I wrong?"

A click of her tongue and crossing of her arms was reply enough, Alesandro's flock clearly ill at ease with the situation—aside from Unicorn, of course—but acquiescing to his words and Karasuba's reaction.

"Okay, wise guy...What's the Sirens plan and what are they doing here? If it gives me a chance to open up that bastard's throat with my blade then I'm all ears to whatever scheme you and your other buddies or whatever are plotting."

"Long story short, they're almost certainly after the Jinki."

This time the reaction from the Disciplinary Squad Sekirei was a visible thing, Karasuba flinching as her hand twitched violently, tone noticeably bland as she responded, "Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right."

Obviously the woman had some kind of a history with the artifacts but Alesandro was in no hurry to delve deep into that particular mess, at least not yet. Instead he asked, "So what's your current plan, then? I imagine your presence has been missed at MBI for awhile now."

She shrugged with disinterest, replying, "They can't afford to make too much of a fuss and anything I tell them will be accepted without any real argument...especially not with the release schedule of the prepared Sekirei ramping up. Your dirty dirty secrets are safe with me and little Ayanami, at least until I get my pound of flesh."

Yet again Illustrious, Victorious and Formidable seemed less than pleased at her words but the decision had been made, Alesandro smiling as he stated, "In that case what we're currently planning is-"

RING, RING!

Huffing out a sigh of frustration the male grabbed his phone...and blinked at the caller ID being that of Miya, answering it as he asked, "What's the emergency, if it's about the disturbance in the lower-end districts then-"

[Oh it's moved far beyond that, I'm afraid. Turn on the TV and flip to Shinto Teito news.]

Doing as she asked the assembled group was met with the frantic report of clearly unnerved news anchors, eyes wide and voices stuttery.

[Reports of uncontrolled freezing happening in various business districts, people and shops alike being entombed in ice while other districts are reporting cases of severe power outages as well as what sounds like whip-cracks, electricity dancing up and down the streets and leaving several people in need of medical attention-]

The room was silent, Karasuba wryly remarking, "Well if little Ayanami and I hadn't lost our phones I imagine they'd be ringing quite insistently."

Alesandro stared at the destruction, trying to suss out just what the purpose of all of this was...and felt his eyes widen as it hit.

"Miya, Can you make it to the ship where the Jinki might be kept?"

"Wait, did you say Miya?!"

Ignoring Karasuba's agitated shout the male listened for her response, a calm reply eventually arriving in the form of, [Yes, I can. For what purpose?]

"People like me—except fully powered and crazy as Hell—are using this as a distraction to draw out MBI's forces while they attempt to get ahold of them. My flock and the other Custodes Avem will head to MBI headquarters and take care of things there, but we don't have an easy way of reaching the colony ship."

[...An agreeable plan. You'll receive a call once I hang up from an informant friend of mine, she will be able to provide you with information as you go about this task. Best of luck.]

"You too, see you once this is all over."

He swiftly hung up and sent a text message to his uncle, a simple warning that they were going to war and to be ready.

"You have a lot of explaining to do as to why you and Miya seem to be so friendly."

Ignoring Karasuba's dark tone he shrugged, motioning for them all to follow as the rest of the Sekirei fell in line, stating, "A conversation that can come later. Right now we have a battle to win."

Without waiting for a response his phone chimed again, the man picking answering it as a cheerful tone piped in with, [Hiya, big guy~! Matsu the information Sekirei here, ready and willing to serve your every possible need-]

"Do you have eyes on any strange individuals trying to breach MBI headquarters? Or reports on something along those lines?"

A disappointed grumble came over the speaker but the sound of rapid typing could be heard regardless, Alesandro narrowing his eyes as they exited the house, wails of sirens and dull rumble of helicopters echoing across the cityscape.

"Well...looks like this whole debacle is going to end sooner rather than later."