Chapter 26: Picking up the Pieces

"What a fucking mess."

"I had nothing to do with it."

Alesandro averted his eyes as his father and mother shot him stern glares, the young man losing his flippant attitude at the drop of a hat.

Maceo Rastus, while not as tall as his son, was nonetheless an imposing figure, cut as if he was chiseled from stone with a dour frown on his features. Palmira Rastus, while not as severe, nonetheless carried herself with a predatory air, eyeing her son with a raised eyebrow that hinted she was less than satisfied with his conduct and handling of the mess with MBI along with the ensuing fallout.

All while his six Sekirei nervously—although one would be hard pressed to tell that was the emotion Ayanami and Karasuba were sporting, what with their poker faces being rather accomplished—stood slightly behind him along with the other Custodes members who had been involved with the Shinto Teito disaster, Lander the only other one who was standing front-and-center alongside Alesandro.

"You engaged one of the most prolific and wealthy corporations in the world in open battle in broad daylight for anyone and everyone to see. Not only that, you also managed to expose yourself to about every possible news source there is."

Lander cleared his throat, carefully remarking, "In the kid's defense that was the Sirens who started that whole mess-"

Maceo's volcanic glare at his brother quickly silenced the man, Alesandro uneasily glancing about as the stern disapproval of his parents caused him to shift uncomfortably.

"...And you gave no thought to what would happen if you merely left the city and aforementioned company in a state of such panic?"

"Well what else was I supposed to do? My understanding of business is limited to our front company, not a national corporation. Any decision made on that front would be a shot in the dark. Besides, Ambrosio and the other two forced our hand, the initial plan was to wait for the Pillar and her informant to keep searching for any usable or worthwhile information we could make use of to craft a better plan."

An uneasy silence descended upon the room, Karasuba's eye twitching at the mention of Miya...before both leaders of the Custodes Avem huffed out sighs, relenting somewhat as the tension in the room went down a notch.

"Fair points, fair points...let's recap, make sure we understand everything as it is as well as any further comments you wish to make, the floor's open. First up: the Jinki."

Lander fielded that one, stating, "Currently under lock-and-key, as per the Pillar's request."

"Right, we'll speak to her a few months from now about actually outright destroying them, see if she's more amenable to that course of action after some of this has blown over."

While they had fully intended to destroy the artifacts without delay their brief bit of communication with Miya had ended up with a swift compromise. She would ensure that her ship was thoroughly destroyed or hidden so the rest of the world could never retrieve it and they would hold on to the possible WMD's at her request.

The Custodes hadn't been in any real hurry to go against the wishes of a Pillar—partly out of respect for the position and partly out of practicality—and the agreement was carried out without delay, aforementioned Sekirei peacefully residing within a slowly recovering Shinto Teito.

"Second subject...the remaining Sekirei."

Stepping forward Alesandro stated, "A bit spread out but ultimately they're safe, for now. Most are still under watch by MBI, at least the portion of the company under Sahashi Tamaki's control and while their movements are restricted they'll be safe. The rest residing within the city confines have come together to form a loose community centered around the Pillar's inn and Matsu, the Informtaion-type Sekirei as she keeps an eye on things through the web. For the moment they're also safe and unbothered but that'll probably change once the proverbial waters calm and other factions start sniffing around for scraps of MBI's blood...I doubt they're willing to let this opportunity slip by, at least not for long."

"Agreed. We'll keep in touch with the Pillar and her information gatherer, offer what support we can if it'll help things."

Another silence fell as Maceo and Palmira shifted through the scattered notes and documents spread across the desk before them.

"And what about MBI in general?"

Lander scratched his chin, stating, "That's...a bit of a loaded question. On one hand they didn't fall apart like we thought they would. On the other it's more like three distinct factions of MBI than a single unified corporation. Sahashi and her eggheads are one group—they're the ones with the technology and brains—while the original shareholders are another. But a few groups who were not friends with MBI also scooped up a few bits here and there, citing it as acts of charity disguising corporate espionage. They'll be too busy arguing and dealing with each other to really start bothering the Sekirei for...I dunno, actually. But, again, for the moment we have a bit of breathing room."

Rubbing his temples in clear exasperation Maceo nonetheless let the matter drop, turning to his son before dryly stating, "This conversation isn't over but for the moment we're finished. We'll call you in later. Dismissed...and good job making the best of a lousy situation, people."

The assembled Sekirei and Custodes were all too happy to vacate the stifling premises.

"How rude of them! Whether they are your parents or not, Alesandro, the least they could have done was offer you more congratulations than condemnations!"

Smiling at Victorious's indignation on his behalf the male replied, "I appreciate the sentiment, I really do...but how would you feel if Illustrious suddenly dumped a crisis on your hands that could end in everyone's lives being uprooted when you simply asked her to go to the grocery mart?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, Formidable lightly stating, "I do not believe the grocery comparison is an apt one, master."

"Okay it's not perfect but you get the gist, right?"

Ayanami nodded, calmly remarking, "Like that one time miss Karasuba said she was going to get fucked up but only brought bottles home instead of men."

A light thwack echoed through the hallway they were traversing as aforementioned Sekirei gave the smaller one a mild bonk on the head, cooly saying, "We don't talk about that in public, right, little Ayanami~?"

"...Yes, miss Karasuba."

Shaking his head at the display the Ashikabi stated, "Slightly tortured wordplay aside I will say it's nice to be free of imminent crisis for a change, never mind being back home."

"Unicorn thought big brother's house would have been in a country related to older Greek things..."

The male nodded as they cleared a tasteful and modestly decorated hallway, walking out onto an open-air cobbled path that offered a sweeping view of vibrant vineyards and shining sun, a few drifting clouds and light breeze perfecting the calming scenery.

"True, but we figured that would be a bit too obvious. Call it paranoia but having our company be located in South America, our name origins from Ancient Greece while most of us live in North America seemed a decent bit of confusing misdirection for any that did try to track us down over the years."

Karasuba snorted, remarking, "That is pretty paranoid."

"Also worked for centuries and counting so who am I to judge?"

Conversation died, the group content for the moment to simply make their way through the sprawling mansion at a sedate pace, eventually arriving at Alesandro's room as he strode inside, the assembled Sekirei curiously looking around at their Ashikabi's residence.

There was surprisingly little to be found, actually. A few pictures on a dresser, soft carpeting, an expansive desk, relatively large bed and bookshelf with a variety of volumes covering a wide range of topics upon it, from martial arts booklets to business manuals.

"You do not set down particularly deep roots, do you, master Alesandro?"

Illustrious's words caused the man to smile as he went about dropping off the small bag of supplies he'd brought from Shinto Teito, replying, "Well I was always on the move as a child, most of my memorabilia would either get lost or become too unwieldy to carry. I suppose that transferred over to my interior decorating sense."

Victorious sat on the edge of the expansive mattress, remarking, "Well no matter, I'm sure we can offer a thought or three on how to make a proper room, Alesandro."

"I'm already losing privileges on decorations, aren't I?"

Formidable smiled, saying, "Rest assured, we shall take your suggestions and wants into consideration, master."

"Don't worry, big brother. Unicorn and her sisters will make sure the room looks nice."

Wryly smiling at their words it was with a tremendous yawn that Karasuba lazily leaned against the wall, sleepily asking, "While this place is nice and all isn't there anything fun to do? You were mentioning stuff about your people being a warrior culture..."

Knowing exactly how to mollify his latest and no doubt most temperamental Sekirei he hiked a thumb over his shoulder, telling her, "Follow the vineyards that way, there'll be a warehouse over there where most Custodes go to relax, spar or any other kind of physical messing about. You'll find your entertainment over there. Don't kill anyone, they'll kill you in turn."

Rolling her eyes at the reminder the steel-eyed Sekirei drolly responded, "Yes yes, no killing or anything like that, I remember. Come along, little Ayanami."

The amber-eyed girl moved to follow...and Unicorn clutched her hand before she could leave, tilting her head in such an adorable fashion that even Karasuba had to look away before she instantly capitulated.

"Big sister Karasuba, Unicorn wants to go exploring with sister Ayanami...can she have her?"

Clearly caught between two unbearably strong forces Ayanami dithered on the spot, Karasuba's eye twitching as Unicorn innocently gazed up at her without so much as a hint of guile...and she swiftly turned around, lazily waving over her shoulder as she said, "Sure, no problem. You know where to find me."

Without so much as a backward glance the grey-haired Sekirei was on her way, Unicorn eagerly smiling as she made to leave with Ayanami, the more reserved Sekirei gazing at her Ashikabi in a clear request for permission that was granted, Alesandro stating, "Go have fun you two, just be back before nightfall, we'll be eating dinner then."

"...Okay, mister Alesandro-eh?!"

Unicorn was off like a rocket, rushing out of the room with a gigantic smile of happiness on her fairy-like features, no doubt excited beyond belief to spend time with her thought-lost friend.

"I think you may be spoiling our youngest sister, master Alesandro."

"After all the chaos of the past few days I'd say she's earned it. What do you three want to do, anything in particular?"

Victorious threw herself onto his bed from where she had been sitting a moment ago, arms spread wide as she sighed in contentment, sleepily stating, "Are you not liable to be called in by your parents at any moment, Alesandro?"

"Sure, but I'm fairly certain that won't be for quite some time to come, they've got a lot to talk about. So in the meantime..."

Illustrious and Formidable hummed in enjoyment as their Ashikabi suddenly grabbed their taut asses, kneading the soft flesh as he pulled them close, dragging them onto his lap as he sat next to Victorious, roguishly stating, "How about we enjoy ourselves a bit of private time? It's been a busy few days and-"

KNOCK KNOCK!

The male's features morphed into a glower of thwarted desire, his Sekirei fighting back giggles at the sudden shift in attitude.

"Kid? They're ready for you now."

Lander went on his way as Alesandro huffed out a sigh.

"I stand corrected. They're quick on the uptake today."

"You wanted to speak to me in private, father? Mother?"

Standing at attention Alesandro faced down his two parents, keenly feeling the complete absence of any other individual that may be able to distract them from their target...said target being him.

To that end he remained as still as possible, hoping that their attentions were activated by movement and not scent because quite frankly he hadn't had a chance for a shower yet-

"Alright, you can stop squirming now."

Blinking at the sudden remark from his father Alesandro belatedly realized the pair of them were wearing smirks upon their faces, staring at him as if he were the butt of a joke-

-and his palm met face.

"I'm not actually in trouble, are I? Or at least too much trouble."

Maceo gestured for him to take a seat, Palmira also taking up position at the end of the desk as he poured them all a glass of wine, the family taking an appreciative sip before the young man's father spoke up with reassuring tones of, "We mostly raked you over the coals in order to make sure the others aside from Lander get the impression that even a mission success doesn't mean everything is a-ok. To that end you'll need to look miserable for the next few days. Also, we're assigning you as the official liaison to the Pillar still within Shinto Teito. She's familiar with you and will hopefully pave the way for convincing her that the Jinki are better off destroyed."

Alesandro nodded in acceptance, replying, "So you're saying I did an overall good job—circumstances being what they were—but I could have done better."

A sharp nod from his mother as she stated, "Yes. You let your temper get the better of you towards the end of the assignment. It would have been far smarter to attempt to kidnap Hiroto and bring him to us so that we may perhaps find a way to reverse the changes his company have wrought."

Wincing at the rather obvious oversight Alesandro sheepishly nodded, his father sighing before saying, "Hindsight is 20/20, remember your failings and learn from them and you will be all the better for it...also, slip-ups aside, I'm quite proud of you, son. You thrived in an unexpected and accelerated situation where most others might have faltered or had to take things slow. And besides all that..."

Palmira smirked, pointing her wine glass at him as she teased, "Six Sekirei? I had no idea I raised a pimp for a son...and they are quite the varied bunch as well. Karasuba in particular seems like she's quite the handful."

Blushing slightly at his mother's words the young man rubbed his elbow, replying, "She is, but she's also much more stable and sweet than initial impressions might give off. For all her bloodlust she's quite protective and caring of those that worm their way past the thorny exterior."

Taking a contemplative sip from his drink Maceo mused, "While you're acting as our representative within Shinto Teito make sure the remaining Sekirei are aware they have the option of spending time among our borders and people...a number of our younger generation would no doubt leap at the chance to meet the original members from our heritage and you can't keep all of them for yourself."

That last bit was said with a joking tone, Alesandro raising his hands in mock defeat as he said, "In my defense there was no shortage of extenuating circumstances to be had during all of those Wingings. Not that I would change it, mind you..."

His parents shook their heads, moving the subject along to less business oriented matters and more enjoyable topics.

"Ahh, ahh! T-this is, I'm going to-mmf?!"

Alesandro let loose a rumbling growl as Ayanami erotically moaned and panted, the normally quiet and reserved girl rather vocal and adorable in bed, especially when she was being pounded flat into the mattress.

And it's not like matters were helped by Unicorn fiercely kissing her full on the lips, slipping a great deal of tongue into her friend's mouth as the purple-haired Sekirei blushed a bright pink, both lithe females clad only in their pure-white stockings and with their hair down, Ayanami's tight ass pressed tightly to the male's groin as she was railed from behind, tiny shoulders held firmly by Alesandro.

The young man was certainly having a wonderful time, grinning as his cock was choked nearly to the point of asphyxiation by the girl's vice-like snatch, Unicorn parting from Ayanami's lips as she instead slipped her hands onto the amber-eyed Sekirei's slight bust, rubbing and massaging the slight swellings of flesh as her moaning reached a fever pitch, muscles trembling in a gradually increasing distress-

-and Alesandro buried himself as far into the girl's pussy as she could handle, forcing her much smaller form forward as he hissed in euphoria, emptying yet another load into her grasping cunt as Ayanami slumped against Unicorn with a trembling sigh, the purple-eyed girl stroking her friend's hair in soothing motions even thought her own nether lips were steadily leaking her Ashikabi's seed, slumping against the pillows of the bed as she hugged her friend close, the much taller man grinning at the sight and briefly entertaining the idea of taking the both of them all again...and a pair of lithe but muscular arms held him tight, a predatory purr sounding in his ear with, "Why don't you leave those two alone for a while and keep showing me a good time, hmm?"

A sensual lick of his earlobe caused the man to smirk, swiftly reaching behind his back and grabbing onto Karasuab's leg before dragging her in front of him, the Sekirei releasing a surprisingly girly giggle before she suddenly hauled herself upwards, making use of her greater strength to force him onto his back before straddling his waist.

"You're not done yet, are you~? I think I could get used to feeling like a woman with a cock like this inside of me every night~!"

Grinning like a madman at the slutty but affectionate words as Karasuba firmly grabbed his meat and guided it to her sloppy cunt, this marking the fourth time she would be getting fucked by her Ashikabi tonight.

"Well I'm not one to turn down a pretty woman's request!"

Powerful hands latched onto Karasuba's thighs, grasping them so tightly her skin flowed around his fingers-

-and a powerful upward buck of his hips pierced the Sekirei's pussy like a hot knife through butter, an animalistic shriek of pleasure leaving the woman as her hands flew to her modest bust, frantically pinching and pulling the turgid nubs to add to her mounting pleasure.

"Ooh, ooh! Fuck, that's the spot, fuck me until I can't walk straight, yes!"

Despite cumming multiple times in a row Alesandro found himself almost on the edge of exploding all over again at the sight of his bloodthirsty Sekirei bouncing wildly on his abdomen, eyes shut closed and ruby tongue wildly running over her lips, steely hair left unbound and cascading down her back in wild rivers in a look that the male honestly preferred.

It looked quite natural on her. Natural enough that it pushed him over his limit, spurting rope after rope of his seed into the woman as she shuddered with pleasure, seeming to finally run out steam as she allowed herself to collapse onto his chest, Alesandro's arms holding her tight as a huff of exasperation left the Sekirei.

"Feeling all affectionate and lustful like this really isn't my thing. It feels gross."

"If nothing else I can assure you that 'gross' is the exact opposite of my impression of you."

"God's that sounds sappy."

Chuckling to himself the Ashikabi rotated himself and his bundle next to Unicorn and Ayanami, pulling the pair of smaller girls into his embrace as they preened in happiness...Unicorn more so than Ayanami, naturally being more expressive with her emotion.

"Is big brother finally sated?"

"Well when I'm with you three it's hard to stay down, to borrow a fitting euphemism."

Ayanami blushed, hiding her face in Unicorn's shoulder as she muttered, "I already have one pervert friend, I don't need another."

Karasuba playfully pinched her protege on the butt, dragging a brief yelp from her lips as the steel Sekirei trilled, "That's not what I saw~!"

Shaking his head in amusement at their interplay the young man allowed himself a moment to truly relax, stating, "So you and Ayanami are heading out tomorrow, huh?"

A glint of excitement appeared in Karasuba's eyes, tone eager as she replied, "That we are...hmm, whipping a bunch of people just like you into shape over what a real Sekirei can do is going to be so much fun!"

"Don't traumatize em' too badly, okay?"

"I'll keep miss Karasuba in line. Or as much as I can, at least."

Ayanami's sleepy yet reassuring answer caused the man to give his most combative Sekirei a knowing glance, an innocent smile being her only response.

The pair of them—mostly Karasuba, surprise surprise—had expressed interest in testing her skills against a collection of Custodes Avem trainees, exposing them to what a bona-fide Sekirei could do. Alesandro's parents had been all too happy to accommodate her request and chartered a flight for the pair to their training grounds halfway across the continent in Minnesota.

"Unicorn is going to miss sister Ayanami, even big sister Karasuba."

"We won't be gone long, Unicorn. And we can always call each other."

The amber-eyed woman's reassuring tone went a long way towards mollifying a saddened Unicorn, even Karasuba seeming a tiny bit guilty at leaving her behind.

While Illustrious, Formidable and Victorious had slowly been getting used to the idea of spending the rest of their lives with Karasuba as a part of the flock they had most definitely not been comfortable with the thought of getting freaky with her in bed, no doubt worried that she would start biting them or something along those lines.

It had been Unicorn, the little minx, that had been completely okay with the concept if it meant being close to Ayanami and becoming friendlier with her new 'bis sister', a state of affairs that had clearly left Karasuba feeling a bit out of whack, that someone would so eagerly wish to become close to her.

…

"Well, what can I say? Life surprises."

"That is...truly an incredible sight..."

Unable to keep the face-splitting grin off his face at the sight of the usually composed and regal Illustrious eagerly staring out the rented car's window like a child at a candy shop Alesandro steered the vehicle into a parking spot, his flock piling out of the thing so that they could stare at the ocean without any barrier whatsoever blocking them.

With a few days left of impromptu vacation before he would begin traveling back-and-forth between Shinto Teito and his home as a liaison Alesandro had decided to take the royal sisters to the ocean so that they could finally see the body of water that had—albeit somewhat indirectly—lead to the events that would eventually provide them their names.

Even the weather had decided to grace them with a beautiful day at Laguna Beach, a few puffy clouds drifting overhead while a light breeze occasionally whispered by.

"This is...quite beautiful."

"Agreed, to be able to see such a wondrous sight..."

Formidable and Victorious's comments contained traces of disbelieving awe as their wide eyes scanned across the bright sands and roiling waters, small groupings of other beach goers dotting the expanse as Unicorn and Illustrious just seemed to drink it all in, heads scanning the entire coastline with glittering eyes of raw delight.

"Well come on now, I've only got so many arms."

Alesandro's teasing tone snapped them out of their funk as they quickly aided him with the collection of towels, chairs and ice coolers they had packed for the day, the four casting knowing glances as he admired their swimsuit-clad forms.

"How is it that they seem even sexier and bustier than usual in swimsuits than they do normally? That's outrageous."

"Oh my, do be careful, master Alesandro. Becoming too visibly excited would be something of a problem on such a crowded beach~."

"Can't help it, you four somehow manage to keep looking more and more alluring day by day."

Pleased smiles were clear to see as they made their way onto the sands, the Ashikabi making note of which groups were staring at his flock the most blatantly and suggestively.

"Hands off, amigos...look but don't touch."

"Big sister Illustrious, Unicorn wants to go in the water!"

Indulgently letting herself be pulled along by a visibly excited Unicorn Formidable and Victorious were quick to follow, the blonde yelling, "Wait, you must wear sunscreen, little sister!" as Alesandro chuckled to himself, affectionately eyeing his flock as they interacted and teased one another, Formidable applying sunblock to a squirming Unicorn as the other two giggled at her protests.

There would be busy times on the horizon, sure...but for the moment the Ashikabi and his newfound flock had time to relax and enjoy themselves, the bustle of life and responsibilities set aside for just a few wondrous days.

And that's the end of this story, I've got one final project in the archives that needs posting before I finish all the material I've got saved up over the months.