Chapter 24: Run and Gun

"You two are the experts here, where do we go to find the Jinki or Hitoto?"

"We could always just follow the sounds of destruction, that seems like a decent enough plan."

Karasuba's words were accentuated by the cacophony of crashing, explosions and other noises of less than calm happenings occurring right above their heads, shouts and screams of alarm along with howls of gusting wind putting the proverbial nail in her statement's coffin.

"Fair point. Uncle, you got any additions to that plan?"

The grey-haired Sekirei calmly met the concealed head of the towering figure that Alesandro had called 'Uncle', a muffled voice asking, "How deep does MBI headquarters go? I doubt it's all above ground construction."

Shrugging languidly as they approached a flight of stairs Karasuba replied, "About its same height above ground."

A muttered curse left the man as he turned to face Alesandro, stating, "Ambrosio is heading up, you and your flock take him down while we'll go low, if they have any brains at all that's where they should be hiding the Jinki."

"Got it, uncle. Good hunting."

"Same to you, kiddo."

Bursting through the emergency stairwell they group went their separate ways, armored and gun-toting figures running deeper into the bowels of the building while the rest of them ascended upwards, Karasuba asking, "And who were those people? Sekirei with modern weaponry?"

"More along the lines of something like me. And you'd be surprised at what good deals you can get from military surplus as long as you don't want the latest stuff."

For a few seconds they only focused on running, the male leading the way before Illustrious abruptly asked, "What shall be our plan be to combat Ambrosio, master Alesandro? He's proven to be incredibly powerful and dangerous, would a direct confrontation not be a poor idea?"

The gathered Sekirei perked up at the question, anticipating the coming strategy as their Ashikabi said, "We'll keep it simple and straightforward. Illustrious, Formidable and Victorious? We'll apply your Noritos before engaging, Unicorn will be on backup duty. Ayanami, Karasuba? You follow me in and here's what we're going to do..."

Taking a deep breath as they approached the now almost deafening sounds of a desperate battle Alesandro spared a final glance to check and see if his flock along with their two allies of the moment were still present and ready, a series of nods confirming that that was indeed the case, his four Sekirei glowing with barely contained power as their crests and wings surged with energy.

"Alright...here we go."

Approaching a slightly askew door the male summoned up a tendril of water, the shimmering whip striking outwards-

-and with a screech of metal the thing was blown off its hinges, the group rushing through with rapid glances around the tableau before them, taking stock of the situation at a rapid pace before moving to enact their plan.

A hallway of what had once been cubicles—perhaps intended to house customer support representatives—had been turned to splinters and broken piles of rubble, splashes of blood and fabric decorating the wreckage where MBI security had tried to make a stand only to be summarily executed.

And amidst the carnage walked the calm and unperturbed figure of their target, Siren only beginning to turn around to face them as currents of air swirled around his body-

-and Alesandro didn't hold back, sending a blast of compressed water that would have torn steel directly at the other male, the stream of liquid careening off the wind-shield with a loud hiss of deflected force and containing enough leftover energy to snap the leftover wood and plastic of the cubicles in half.

Not letting up on the assault the air inside of the building became noticeably dry, water coalescing in a roaring sphere around the Siren that hid him from view, the swirling orb of liquid bulging and shivering as it tried to contain the currents of air fighting against it.

"Now!"

At his words Karasuba and Ayanami moved to their assigned positions, the rest of Alesandro's flock taking up flanking positions around him-

-and the sphere of imprisoning liquid burst apart in a spray of glistening droplets, impacting skin with enough force to sting as Ambrosio was once more visible, arm upraised towards the Ashikabi.

A grunt left the man as invisible winds lacerated his flesh, only a desperate side roll saving his life before a solid wall of glowing shields courtesy of Illustrious protected him from the follow up attack, Unicorn instantly at his side and sealing his freely bleeding skin and innards before a scowl decorated Ambrosio's features, a ball of compressed air gathering in front of him that was launched at the shield, panes of flooring and ceiling being physically ripped from their mounting due to the force of the assault.

Mere seconds before the chaotic mass of swirling wind would have hit the shield Victorious leapt in front of them, buxom form alight with golden illumination-

-and while a pained cry escaped her as the sound of breaking ribs and sight of torn muscle caused her sisters and Ashikabi to violently wince...a brilliant smile never left her features as she raised her staff high, the Siren's eyes widening as she swung her weapon with every ounce of force she could muster...and the entire floor of the MBI headquarters was shattered to pieces, the ground giving way while the ceiling collapsed on their heads due to the returned power.

Granted, Ambrosio—with his immaculate control over air—fared better than everyone else, managing to stay aloft and relatively unscathed with only a few bruises and cuts to show for Victorious's efforts...but that was fine because for a few crucial seconds, while everyone else tumbled to the floors below, he was distracted and vulnerable.

An opening Formidable took full advantage of, suffusing her surroundings with the grey haze of her Norito and slowing the Siren's actions and thought processes.

Even as he held a wounded and dazed Victorious close, Unicorn healing her while Illustrious protected them from falling debris with her shields Alesandro grinned at the sight above, Ambrosio clearly caught off guard by Formidable's powers...and two figures leapt downwards from on high, swords raised and prepped to skewer their prey.

While they had demanded the Siren's attention, throwing everything they had at him and making it seem as if that was their strategy Ayanami and Karasuba had scaled the outside of the tower, staying out of sight and risking the dangerous climb while the structure around them collapsed and shook to pieces in order to get above their target...and now that he was slowed and disoriented, attention focused on opponents either even with or below him-

-two lengths of steel pierced his flesh with wet scrapes, Ayanami's thicker and hardier blade ruining his heart and lungs while Karasuba's slimmer sword rammed itself down his neck, the man's eyes widening as he turned to face the dual Sekirei that favored him with looks of calm satisfaction and bloodthirsty glee respectively...and the air under his control wavered before dissipating, sending the pair of females and male corpse to the ground below, heavily impacting it as they tore their blades free, Ambrosio wetly rasping for air as he breathed his last.

Karasuba fixed that, a clean swing of her blade relieving him of his head with a liquid scrape and lazy trickle of blood.

"Well then...that plan of yours worked out rather splendidly, Rastus."

Offering Victorious a grateful kiss on the forehead that the blonde happily accepted as Unicorn continued her work Alesandro rose to his feet, facing Karasuba as Ayanami moved to sit next to Unicorn, Illustrious and Formidable as they reunited with the group, all eyes focused on the staredown between the pair, Alesandro tapping the headpiece in his ear.

"Matsu, Sirens are dead and all that's left is Hiroto. Know where he is?"

[Yeah, top floor, not too far from where you are. You should probably hurry it up if you can, MBI forces are starting to return even if they are kinda confused on what to do.]

"Understood, on our way."

Alesandro nodded, stating, "Keep an eye on things here and make sure nobody interrupts us. I'll be back in a moment."

"Understood, master Alesandro."

Moving to what remained of the elevator shaft—the top floors of the building barely held together by scored and damaged support pillars—the Ashikabi prepared to summon up a column of water to carry him upwards...and found the flat of a sword barring his way, Karasuba affixing him with a friendly grin.

"Before you do that...how about we settle things, right here and now?"

Fighting down his annoyance at the Sekirei's less than ideal timing the male simply huffed out a sigh, the emotions of his flock instantly shifting towards aggression and frustration as they prepared to attack, at least until he held up a hand.

"So you really want to do this now, huh?"

Steel eyes glittered with lethal intent.

"Hiroto technically is my employer...if you want him dead, you'll have to go through me, Rastus~!"

"As if you care, he's just a convenient excuse."

"That he is. I saw you fight earlier and now...I really want to kill you, since I can barely contain myself."

The pair stared each other down, neither so much as blinking-

-and Alesandro smirked, replying, "Alright, let's settle this...but if I win you become my Sekirei, no ifs or buts about it. Maybe you'll feel a bit differently about love once you've indulged in it a little."

"Hah! That will be the day."

The pair walked a few paces away from the other, Alesandro's flock looking as if they were on the cusp of saying to Hell with this duel and simply killing the mad dog of MBI...but a stern look from their Ashikabi caused them to settle, even if clear signs of protest were written all across their lovely features.

"All right, Karasuba...at your ready."

Blades of compressed water hissed to life around Alesandro's arms, Karasuba holding her blade ready at her side as she grinned wildly.

"After you, Rastus."

A moment of tense anticipation grew between them...and then the pair moved.