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Speech: "Hello"
Telepathic speech: "Hello"
Demonic & LOOOOOOUD NOICES!: "HELLO!"
Abilities and Attack exclamations: "Hello!"
Norito: "Hello!"
MOCKINGBIRD
OPENING SONG:
THE BEGINNING by ONE OK ROCK
=Chapter 2=
=Unmei No Hito (運命の人) / Destined Person=
Part 1: Fallen...
-Shin Tokyo Park, nighttime-
I'm currently wearing an ugly scowl as I grit my teeth together from both anxiety and frustration. My knuckles were already turning white from how hard I was clinching my fists. All this distasteful emotion only from the mere sight of the little cunt before us...
Mikogami. One of the two characters in the franchise I genuinely hate with passion; one for being a spoiled not to mention annoying AF motherfucker, while the other, Higa... Honestly words can't even describe the amount of loathe towards that vile man. Though to point out the best reason for all the hate... Uzume... Her name alone should be more than enough of reason for the entirety of Sekirei fanbase to go on a full riot and have Higa's head on a pike!
And there right beside the flamboyant fuck; stood his butt-body, Mutsu... I personally have no qualms against him, but him choosing Mikogami as his Ashikabi can still be considered enough of an offense to me! To be clear I have nothing against gay relationships (if that's what the Sekirei-Ashikabi bond between those two suggests. Can't really remember how it really was between those two), but it's just that Mikogami is an annoying, whiny little fuckboy, who treats his Sekirei (most of which I can easily admit are absolutely gorgeous), living, sentient beings like toys for God's sake! Now after my personal experience with Akitsu (as brief as it may have been); such uncaring mindset fills me with nothing but disgust!
I shook my head to rid myself from the excess anger I felt, before giving the two newcomers a calculating look to re-evaluate the situation. Luckily there were just the two of them. Either the brat has yet to wing any other Sekirei, or he simply felt confident (read: arrogant) enough to leave the rest of them behind, bringing only Mutsu, his first Sekirei, along...
But still, while I'm well aware of Akitsu's prowess as Sekirei; but it's unclear to me whether or not Akitsu's is even capable of taking Mutsu on right now! Sure Akitsu got a lot of power in her, but Mutsu on the other hand has both skill and combat experience in spades in comparison, while Akitsu has only just gotten out of MBI HQ!
This situation is bad. Like, Really. Fucking. Bad!
I could try and pull a gun on the little shit with hopes he would chicken out of this, however... I glanced at Mutsu's direction and felt cold sweat trickling at the back of my neck. I highly doubt the brat's guardian mutt over there would be all that appreciative at such gesture... And he's probably fast enough to fuck me up in hundred ways over before I could even think of taking an aim with the weapon! Add that to the fact that the gun wasn't even loaded right now, since I pussied out of having a loaded killing tool in my pockets!
On a hindsight it may've been a poorly made decision to disable one of my only means of self-defense by unloading the gun without knowing for sure whether the surrounding environment is hostile or not. But then again it was only until I met Akitsu, that I knew what I was in for and what I was gonna be dealing with in the future. So with that being said, whether the gun was loaded or not; I highly doubt firearms would even prove to be of any practical use on beings that can demolish entire armies with a flick of sword... And Mutsu just happens to be one of the top (and first) five in the whole Sekirei roster...
So either way (as far as I'm considered) I'm already fucked six ways to Sunday...
I then took a deep breath to calm my nerves, before I finally opened my mouth. "What do you guys want?" I inquired with narrowed look.
Mikogami addressed me with a curious look, though the clearly smug demeanor behind that supposedly friendly facade of his, only gives me the urge to rush in and punch him... "I asked if you could kindly step away from the scrapped number. Seeing as you're kinda in the way, blonde Gaijin(1)-san."
A tick mark appeared over my forehead. Really? First he literally called me Mr. blondie, now this fucker just went and pulled the stereotypical (not to mention biased) Japanese way of; Oh he has blonde hair so he must be either foreigner or delinquent! Though then again to be fair; blonde hair ain't exactly common among Japanese people... And— wait hold on! Why the hell am I even getting riled up from the Gaijin remark for!? I'm not even a legit Japanese (in soul)! Gah! It's literally not the time to think about that!
"Since you're being so polite about it—!" I began my piece in the most sarcastic tone as possible, before I outright deadpanned at him. "I refuse. In fact how about you two kindly back off and mind your own businesses. We're bit in the middle of something here and YOU... are kinda ruining the mood..." I shot back, giving heavy emphasis on specific words Mikogami himself used during my retort.
In truth I was a nervous wreck inside, courtesy of Mr. "I've killed a fuck-ton of people before" Mutsu over there. I hid it the best I could under my snarky facade and luckily the immense distaste I felt over Mikogami sorta helped me to keep my nervousness at bay and my sarcastic bastard demeanor at front, funnily enough.
Anyway it seems the two finally took the note of the intimate proximity between Akitsu and I, with my body aligned so that my back was facing them and Akitsu mostly hidden from view sans her head peeking over my shoulder.
Mikogami frowned, either at how Akitsu was held in my arms or my answer... Perhaps even both... "Hmm... Neeh, Mutsu~? Wasn't there supposed to be a tattoo or something on the scrapped number's forehead, showing its status? This is different than what we were told." He half-complained and half-inquired.
From the corner of my eye; I saw Akitsu flinching from deep emotional pain from her loathsome title, which alone was enough to cause my scowl deepen as my anger began to surface quite visibly. But what made me absolutely livid with the pompous brat was the way he regarded the Ice Sekirei...
It...
Mikogami. Called. Her. Fucking. IT!
Mikogami didn't even treat Akitsu like a human being! (While technically correct, her being an alien and all, but you get the point!)
Oh it's on motherfucker (in his case I wouldn't be surprised of that term being literal)... I will make sure I get at least one good punch in on his smug-ass face, before this so called game is over and done with!
Also judging by the frown on Mutsu's visage; he too wasn't all that approving of his Ashikabi's phrasing either, but other than that he didn't comment on it. "So I noticed Mikogami. From what I can sense from her; Number Seven's core seems stable." Hearing his words helped my scowl to soften slightly as I regarded the guy with a barely noticeable nod for thanks. While addressing a Sekirei with a mere number still leaves a sour taste in my mouth; it's still a hundred times better than being called an IT or by the title that the poor woman is most sensitive about in a harmful way. So with that being said; Mutsu (for now) is still cool in my books.
Mikogami on the other hand scowled at Mutsu's words, before he kicked a random pebble lying on the ground. Throwing a hissy fit "Eeeeeh~? So the blondie got the dibs on it?" I grit my teeth at the pronouncing. "So we came all this way for nothing!" Okay this time he was outright whining...
I let out a breath. Good, it seems he thinks Akitsu is already emerged by me. Hopefully he would now simply give up and walk aw—
"Actually Mikogami... Number Seven, while not a scrapped number; her Crest only lies dormant." My eyes slowly begun widen at what Mutsu was about to suggest.
"Eh?" Mikogami blinked, not understanding what his Sekirei was saying.
The said Sekirei sighed, before he elaborated. "She's yet to emerge. Meaning she should still be Wingable and that boy; he's no Ashikabi. Yet at least."
My eyes went wide with rage, with my previous scowl returning full force this time all of it aimed at the Earth controlling Sekirei. THAT MOTHERFUCKER OF A SNITCH! And who are you calling a boy!? I'm in my mid-twenties asshole!
Oh right my outward appearance changed to that of a late teen...
"REALLY!?" Mikogami exclaimed excitedly, before he turned towards our way and looked at Akitsu akin to a greedy brat seeing a new toy. "Then I still got my change to add it to my party~!" He was literally jumping in place from excitement. "Oi~ Kinpatsu-san? If you know what's good for you; kindly move away from the scrap— OH right it's been hotfixed!" I sweatdropped a bit. Did he just regard Akitsu as if she's some broken game character that'd just gotten its balance fixing patch!? "Pardon, move away from the Lucky Seven so I may add it to my collection!"
Lucky seven... how original. I thought sarcastically, before I finally turned my body around to address the two fully (with Akitsu just behind me). I then practically snarled at him. "You are really starting to piss me off kid... Just what do you think Sekirei even are!? You're speaking of her— her race in general; as if they're some special edition figurine models to be collected!" I heatedly remarked. At this point I was barely holding myself back from acting on my fury and blindly jump in.
Then Mikogami the arrogant little shit stain, made a thoughtful pose. "Hmm~ that's a pretty accurate definition actually. I would definitely consider the former Scrapped Number as a Premium piece in my collection! Especially now that it's a legitimate single digit~, which are extremely rare!"
God his face and that attitude makes me want to punch his nose in so fucking bad! I know I'm not a violent person at heart and I've always considered myself a levelheaded and friendly individual with just about anyone, stranger or not. But this brat manages to push all the bad buttons within me without even trying, bringing my most ugly self into surface!
I gave Mikogami a withering glare. "Don't speak of her like she's some fucking object! She's a sentient being with human emotions! And HER name is Akitsu!" I heatedly declared.
With you were to look closely (despite his aloof demeanor) Mutsu seemed to be giving me a more appraising gaze, likely seeing me in a slightly different light.
As for Akitsu, while I couldn't see what kind of expression she was wearing with her standing behind me; I could however hear quiet sobs escaping her lips...
Mikogami however... frowned in confusion and perhaps even in some annoyance... Like a child who was just told that Santa ain't real... "I don't see what you're raising a fuss about... She's just a piece of the game. A strong piece, but piece nonetheless."
My eyes narrowed in further anger at the brat's words, before I turned to address his sole male Sekirei. "How can you of all people even stand following a guy like Mikogami around?" I inquired him in highly incredulous tone.
I kinda said that in the heat of the moment, though it was kinda justified from all the stress, frustration and vexation I'm feeling right now; but the moment I noticed how Mutsu narrowed his eyes at me in heavy suspicion I immediately I realized I fucked up with my wording and let the proverbial cat out of the bag, indicating I knew of him...
"Oh? The way you put it made it sound as if you know of me." That was not a question...
I made a poker face trying to play the fact I've actually made slip-up (funny fact; people who knows ME always knows somethings up when I do that), before I shrugged in faked nonchalance. "Not personally no, but I know enough if that's what you're asking."
Mutsu's eyes narrowed further on my person. The way how his presence demanded attention right now, made Mikogami feel like an insignificant extra in the background.
"And how would you know of that? You're no Ashikabi (yet) and that information isn't exactly made for public ears."
"How do you two know of Akitsu being here and of her... status?" I retorted back. Perhaps not the brightest of ideas towards someone who literally destroyed armies before...
Mutsu raised an eyebrow (perhaps in mild amusement) for having his question shot back at him, before he too shrugged it off, seemingly taking my reply in stride. "Fair enough I suppose." He said as he ruffled his messy ashen grey hair with his free hand. "But to answer your previous question; all I'll tell you is that you get used to his antics after some time."
"I see..." More like numbed to it no doubt...
"Oi, Mutsu?" The tense silence was then broken by the certain pansy of the South. "I think something's wrong with the Lucky Seven." Mikogami suddenly called out. Is the brat seriously going to refer Akitsu as Lucky Seven from here on out...? Wait, what did he mention about—
*Gasp!*
Hearing the startled, feminine gasp behind me; I immediately spun around to see what's wrong with the woman behind me. "Akitsu!? What's wrong!? Eh..." I then took a notice of her hunched over posture and how both of her hands were grasping her chest as if she's having a cardiac arrest... But I knew better and was well aware what was happening to her...
She's...
"Akitsu... You—"
"Oh? It appears that she's reacting to someone." Yeah no shit Mutsu! But to whom—!? "And from the wavelength I sense from her; it appears she's reacting towards you, Mikogami. Congrats." He finished in an aloof tone.
Eh...?
My heart dropped.
I slowly craned my head over to look towards the opposing party...
No... way...
This... had to be a joke...
"Truly!? So that's what the odd tingling in my chest was! It's almost like the time we met Mutsu~!" Mikogami excitedly exclaimed. "Haha~ I didn't know this game was in an easy mode!"
Mutsu sighed in exasperation, before he began rubbing the bridge of his nose from his Ashikabi's statement. "Mikogami..."
She's... She's reacting for Mikogami... From what I can remember of canon; Sekirei reaction is indeed a two-way street. In other words, when a Sekirei begins to react to the Ashikabi they're most compatible with; that Ashikabi should also feel some form of a magnetic pull towards the Sekirei in question, which most of the time takes a shape in the form of dreams if the two are too far apart from each other...
However... now that Akitsu is reacting... I felt none of that... There was no pull or anything of sort that would indicate that Akitsu was reacting for me...
I couldn't help a wry smile from forming in my lips.
So even without her broken status... That brat would've actually been her destined Ashikabi regardless...
But still... Through the unfairness of it all, I couldn't help but question it. "A-and what makes you say that? How can you tell she's not reacting for me?" Hell even my voice had gotten shaky, uncertainty and hurt palpable in my tone.
Mutsu merely raised a brow, though I think there was some sympathy behind it. "Trust me, kid. As a fellow Sekirei I would know. And I'm not just saying this to get you off of this case either. You may call it an innate sense each Sekirei has to tell our kin apart from humans, which also includes whom one is reacting towards." And now Mutsu pretty much confirmed it... As a Sekirei, he can probably sense stuff like that far better than some human... And I have a strong feeling that lying was not in Mutsu's nature to do either...
Force is strong with this one, eh? Is that what he's trying to tell me? I thought in a highly sardonic manner.
I grit my teeth. It honestly felt like Gods were pulling a cruel joke on me... Despite my heroic endeavor and heartfelt speech aimed for Akitsu; she still ended up reacting towards the one person the whole fandom hates with near equal passion compared to Higa...
Seriously what the hell is it with this universal "nice guys come last" bullshit!?
But then... I heard a whisper, full of distress...
"No...!"
Before I knew it; all of sudden I felt Akitsu's whole body was pressed against my left arm, her arms wrapped around the said limb with her delicate fingers digging into the fabric in a desperate way... almost as if it was her lifeline...
Whoa... her body is heating up like hell! I could literally feel her heat AND her irregular heartbeats through my shirt!
"Mas— *Pant* A-Arata-Sama..." My brows jumped past my hairline, when she called me by my name. "P-please... M-make *Gasp!* make me emerge!" Akitsu then looked up to meet my eyes, showing her tear-filled eyes full of desperation. "Please!"
My eyes widened in outright shock, the moment she begged me to Wing her, despite not reacting towards me. "A-Akitsu? B-but isn't he your—"
"I don't want him!" She snapped at me, causing me to recoil and would've forced me to take a step back if it wasn't for her grip keeping me in place. From the corner of my eye; even Mutsu and Mikogami had widened their eyes in shock (the former only in minor surprise).
Soon Akitsu's eyes softened, before she gave me a pleading look. "I was a scrapped number... Broken Sekirei... B-but despite that... despite being broken... A-Arata-sama wanted me... Even if I couldn't be Winged... you still wanted me as your Sekirei... Saying how you'd be the lucky one to have me... And t-then you... y-you even fixed me..." Akitsu's tears were freely flowing down her cheeks. "A-after doing so much for someone like me... H-how can you expect me to... t-to just disregard it all for someone w-who doesn't even care for me...?"
I made a sharp breath as my eyes went wide at her sentimental confession, flabbergasted. And I immediately felt like the biggest idiot on Earth...
"Akitsu..."
I've been thinking too much on what Akitsu AS a Sekirei would want... Thinking she would typically beeline for the one she reacts the strongest towards...
But Akitsu... Akitsu was different... She's actually going as far as outright rejecting what her instincts were telling her to be with one her mind and heart desires...
Man, I'm such a hypocrite... To think I've always ridiculed those typical dense as fuck harem protagonists, and I was practically almost no better here... Only almost; because I'd rather bite my own tongue than stoop myself on the same level as the certain dense-ass motherfucker from one specific Mecha-themed anime franchise, who always made me want to pull my hair out. (I'm looking at you Ichika!)
With resolve filling my eyes; I turned around to fully face her, gently removing her hands clinging onto my arm before taking her hands in my own. "Is this truly what you desire?" I asked of her, waiting for her confirmation.
Akitsu gave me a firm nod. "Yes... I want to be yours..."
I gave her a nod, before smiling gently down at her. "If you're certain about it, then; So mote it be." I declared and was going to wrap my arms around Akitsu and attempt to seal the deal for what had to be like third time by now, however... Practically in every situation such as this; there had to always be this one dickhead to ruin the mood for all...
"Stop them Mutsu! Don't let the gaijin Wing my Lucky number!" Mikogami screamed in an autistic fit...
Mutsu sighed at his Ashikabi's order. "As you wish." With that he darted forward and was in-between us in a heartbeat, startling both me and Akitsu for this sudden interference and his speed. "Nothing personal, kid." Mutsu apologized in a half-hearted manner, before he performed a full roundhouse kick...
On me...
"Oooooff!?" His steel plated boot dug into my mid-section of my right side, right beneath the rib cage and the force of his blow alone was enough for him to send me literally flying across the park (my mind barely registered Akitsu's screams of concern for me in the background). Then—
*SLAM!*
"Ghaaaah~!" My brief flying session came to forceful halt, courtesy of a trunk of the tree that my back had slammed against; forcing me to wheeze the remaining air right out of my lungs. I slid down the trunk's surface, landing on my bum on the grassy ground soon after.
Oww... I'm definitely going to feel that in the morning!
That... That earth bending motherfucker! Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of rule in place that prohibits Sekirei from attacking humans!?
Sure he may have had held back, otherwise I would've been but a smear all over this tree behind me, but still!
I lamented that from my spot against the tree behind me, I glanced around me (my vision all blurred out), ignoring the taste of copper on my tongue; I took a note that I landed on a spot adjacent to the bush where I first woke up when I got here.
I heard sounds of scuffle just a little ahead of me; I sluggishly tilted my head up to see what was happening in front of me. With my vision kind of blurry (hopefully not from concussion from hitting the back of my head slightly on the tree trunk) I narrowed my eyes, trying and hoping to clear my sight (which luckily worked to some degree).
Akitsu and Mutsu was right in the middle of an intense CQC (Close-Quarters-Combat) session and after observing their back and forth for about a minute I could immediately tell something was wrong... In terms of combat experience I'm well aware that Mutsu has Akitsu beaten in practically all fronts (the spectacle before me confirming my earlier fears), putting her in heavy disadvantage already. But even so; Akitsu is still a fellow single digit Sekirei... which pretty much are considered to stand at the very top of the Sekirei pecking order, so this fight (if it could even be called as such) should NOT be this one-sided to this extent in Mutsu's favor!
My biggest question however; WHY was she not using her elemental powers against her opponent?
Right now Akitsu was simply weaving her body around to avoid Mutsu's advances, even blocking a hit or two using her own arms when evasion was not possible. All this while trying but utterly failing to land a counter attack of any kind...
However, as I observed; throughout the whole battle... Akitsu hasn't used her ice for even once... Which didn't make any sense! Her ability allowed her to conjure her ice out of thin air in the matter of seconds, which to my understanding shouldn't require her the type of concentration where she had to be standing still to do! While Akitsu is definitely physically far superior to any human and perhaps most of the Sekirei even, but that pretty much comes with her falling under the single digit category and all that. However against Mutsu; if Akitsu keeps limiting herself in close-quarters-combat only (which she probably only has the very base knowledge and training of)...
At this rate, she will lose...
My face twisted into a grim expression.
Was it because of her reaction? No, that cannot be it. I mean sure, fighting while reacting may certainly do no favors with Akitsu's performance against Mutsu, however that shouldn't be enough of a factor to lock her powers away! For example; in canon Tsukiumi had been chasing after Minato all around the city, fully intent on killing him, while throwing her element left and right in full power, all the while reacting towards the latter during the entire manhunt of hers...
My eyes then widened slightly, when a thought came to me.
C-could it be... did the removal of her Crest have something to do with it? Did that perhaps put her powers on some type of cooldown period until her Tama has stabilized completely? Like some kind of protective bodily reaction to prevent Akitsu from inadvertently harming herself by using her Sekirei abilities?
I shook my head. Either way, the reason for Akitsu's lack of use in utilizing her powers aside; I couldn't let this go on like this, if I didn't want to lose her to that spoiled fucker looking smug across the other side of the park.
I HAVE to help her!
I glanced behind me, down over to my waist region to look at the small black plastic grip peeking out from the back of my pants' waistband.
My expression got grim, but it soon became hard with resolve.
To think I'd actually have to use it this early on... Or at all in that matter...
One may be asking; how the hell was the gun in my possession, considering I had put the weapon back in its holster, inside the coat I've lent to Akitsu earlier...
Well...
-Flashback-
-Not too long after Mikogami's arrival-
*ziiip~*
Akitsu eyebrows jumped past her hair line with some surprise at my sudden and daring move, when I suddenly began lowering zipper of the coat I gave her earlier, though other than that her facial expression didn't give up any other emotion. At the same time; I kept my eyes on Mikogami's party the whole time, being extremely discreet about this maneuver.
"Ah... Ma—"
"Shh...! Don't address me or they know something's up..." I hastily cut her off with a whisper, (the duo were far enough from hearing distance and I had my head aligned in a way to prevent Mutsu from possibly reading my lips) before continuing. "Please, I need you to trust me..."I pleaded her, while never breaking the eye contact with the interlopers.
From the corner of my eye; I saw Akitsu blinking at me first, but fortunately she followed my lead and played along, as she simply turned her head to fully address the enemy group. Ignoring my actions entirely that went unnoticed by the other duo with the perfect poker face on her visage... Basically showing her usual expression...
With that cleared up; I went back to my mission and once the zipper was lowered down enough for my hand to fit through; I slowly reached inside the coat with my right hand, past Akitsu's left hip and towards the gun holster...
-Present-
When the two arrived the first time; I had my body angled in a way so Akitsu's front was mostly hidden from view, allowing me to pull the gun out as discreetly as I could (tucking it into back of my pants, under my shirt, as I turned around to face Mikogami's group), which luckily went unnoticed by Mutsu; literally the only individual worth worrying over. And once I got myself batted to the side; all I had to do is draw the gun and loaded with the clip I stored in one of my pants' back pockets.
Now here I am; staring down at the M9 Beretta pistol I held in my (visibly) shaking right hand.
Just holding the damn thing was enough for my heart to go nuts!
I took a deep breath to regain my resolve and faced forward where the one-sided fight was taking its place. With grit teeth I pushed myself off of my ass and up to my feet, as I reached behind me with my left hand and placed it against the wooden bark to support myself on my way up.
"Ghh!" My eyes shut close when the pain shot through my spine.
I can only hope I didn't break anything, considering how my body was practically screaming for me to stop moving around and sit the fuck back down...
I was gasping for breath, when I was finally standing straight (albeit) with my back still leaned against the tree behind me. I took a few seconds to gather my bearings, before I snapped my eyes open, pushed myself off the tree and leveled the gun (with its safety now off) at Mutsu's direction with the gun held by both of my hands as I took a more appropriate pose to aim... And for the first time ever; I was fully prepared to deal lethal harm to someone, if only to protect Akitsu from being Winged against her will by the very person who... she ironically enough is reacting for... In a way it was kinda similar situation to the certain tsundere, water user who as well initially rejected the one she reacted towards, but unlike Akitsu; Tsukiumi, in a fit of blind rage and naivety, tried to murder Minato outright just out of biased assumptions, without bothering to at least check first if her Ashikabi was worthy or not...
Back to present however; in a hindsight, what I did next may've not been the smartest thing to do...
"OI! YE SCARF-WEARING NINJA REJECT, FUCKNUGGET!"
I basically announced myself for all world to hear, successfully earning my intended target's attention away from Akitsu and stopping his advances towards her for the time being.
And once the said reject's (peeved) gaze shifted over my way; his eyes widened slightly when he saw and recognized the item held between my hands—
*BANG!*
"Kyah!"
*Clang~!*
Mutsu reacted in a blink of an eye, easily deflecting the incoming bullet with a flick of a wrist using his scabbard.
Mikogami screamed like a bitch hearing the gunshot.
Meanwhile with Akitsu; she took the change to get herself some space by leaping away from Mutsu, now that his attention was on me. (Though she was too far for me to see her exact expression right now.)
Mutsu narrowed his eyes at me and from his body language (while discreet) I could tell he was finally taking my presence a bit more seriously for possessing a firearm.
I returned his stare with equal intensity, before I shifted my aim slightly to my right, which resulted with a rather intense reaction from Mutsu if his shocked look was anything to go by.
My gun was now pointed straight at Mikogami, getting a startled look from the kid (which gave me an odd sense of sadistic satisfaction to see the pompous fucker squirm).
"You..." Mutsu lowly growled at my actions, even with his aloof demeanor; I could tell he was pissed by my action, however despite my racing heart and shaking body; I didn't back down.
"Stay right where you are Number Five!" If he won't bother calling Akitsu by her name, then why should I bother with such courtesy with him? "And maybe, just maybe I won't have a reason to put a bullet in the middle of your Ashikabi's smug little mug... This ALSO includes you Mikogami!" I gave the two my warning, making the pseudo Earth-bender grit his teeth slightly, but other than that; he seemingly kept his cool enough to not go ballistic on me... yet at least... And where Mutsu stood now (both the situation and in physical distance); Mutsu should be far away enough from Mikogami, giving my threat an actual backbone even against a Sekirei of his caliber and there's no doubt that even he would be hesitant to risk his Ashikabi's life to race a bullet from that distance with him basically standing on the other side of the park with Akitsu from where Mikogami stood at (who by the way seemed to be a mere second away from pissing himself, no doubt from the shock that he was being held in a gunpoint in real life).
Again in hindsight; I should've shot Mikogami right there and then, when Mutsu's attention was wholly elsewhere; duly ridding this franchise from one of its most infuriating antagonists and terminating all his Sekirei in one sweep, sparing me all the trouble later on. However... there's one problem with that...
I'm no murderer... and no matter how fucking irritating the brat was; he was still a fucking kid for Christ sake! Unlike Mutsu who was already a battle-hardened veteran and who I knew for a fact could never be brought down by a mere gunshot...
Though I will still punch Mikogami in the face the second I get a change to, no doubt about that.
With the situation somewhat in my control (for now). I regarded Akitsu with a side-glance, but made sure Mutsu was in my field of vision at all times.
"Akitsu!" I called out, getting the said woman's full attention. "I need you to get out of here!"
"A-Arata-sama?" Akitsu (while she took a breather from finally having a pause from Mutsu's relentless advances) turned my way in confusion.
"Head to North! Search out for Izumo Inn! The landlady there; she can help you!"
"Ah..? Bu... I..." She looked completely lost. "I can't do that! I won't leave you!" She vehemently argued.
"You must, Akitsu!"
"I can't!"
I was now starting to loose my patience, in any other scenario I would've been deeply touched of her relentlessness to stay by my side; BUT can't she see they're after her ONLY!? With the no-harm humans rule in place (well at least no-killing rule, considering how Mutsu already broke that by sending me literally flying over dozen meters!); in best case scenario all I'd get is some bruises here and there and few broken bones at worst... But HOPEFULLY nothing that would end up lethal. Then again I'm literally gambling on my life here, betting it all on the mere chance that these two would follow the rules... And funnily enough; Mikogami does play by the game rules as far as I could recall (to a degree at least) of his competitive spirit during S-plan.
Anyhow, with my patience running low; because of it I made fatal mistake by taking my eyes off of Mutsu in favor of Akitsu... "Listen to me! You must—!"
The very second I took my eyes off of Mutsu; he dashed forward and with pure speed, where he now stood between my gun and Mikogami almost in an instant, then with a spin of his heel; he was already heading straight at me!
Crap! In panic I shifted my aim at the incoming Sekirei and shot at least 4 more bullets at him, but he deflected them without even an effort and before I knew it I was already within the reach of his weapon!
Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!
In the back of my head I could've swear I heard TFS Piccolo(2) screaming "DOOODGEEE!" which I full-heartedly obliged, by diving sideways down to the ground, just barely evading the hit (HELL, I literally felt his scabbard tickling the tip of my ponytail)! I rolled on the ground a few times, before I managed to take knee mid-roll and twist myself around and extend my weapon-holding arm straight at the enemy Sekirei, but before I could even get a single shot in—
*SMASH!*
For a moment I simply stared ahead wide-eyed while blinking stupidly, until I finally woke up from my stupor and slowly (almost mechanically) withdrew the extended arm back, holding it before my eyes so I could inspect the gun I had in my grip... Well... the remains of it...
All I literally had left of the gun was its GRIP...
The slider, barrel and everything above the handle; gone... turned into smithereens if all the shrapnel I somehow managed to spot here and there on the ground was any indication...
Considering the comical way the gun got demolished; I honest to God felt like a Looney Toon character as I stared down at my, now rather dysfunctional, weapon and for a second could've swore I saw these cartoonish white lines popping up, showing the outline of the pistol's very missing barrel... Though what weirded me the hell out (and dare say fascinated me even) was the fact how I still managed to hold onto the leftover parts, without them being sent flying instead along the rest of the fragments and with my wrist fully intact! The amount of force Mutsu put into that strike to outright pulverize the metallic object the way it did, should've (realistically speaking) at the very least broken my wrist from the shock alone!
I looked up and swallowed nervously when I met Mutsu's cold gaze. Still holding onto the grip (don't ask why), I reached up with my free hand to scratch the back of my neck with a sheepish smile on my face. "C-can we talk about this?"
Mutsu merely deadpanned. "No."
"Hehe, thought so..."
But before Mutsu had the change to put me out commission; his body suddenly tensed up, before he twisted around, bringing his scabbard to bear to block Akitsu's attempt sideline him from the back with a kick. Her kick still had quite deal of oomph in it, considering how Mutsu slid back a good distance away with his feet leaving trails on the ground.
"Arata-sama! Are you okay!?" Akitsu ran to my side, it was then I got a good look of her condition... Akitsu... She definitely looked worse to wear; her soft-looking hair was a mess. Her unblemished pale skin was covered in bruises. Her face was all red as she gasped for air in almost desperate manner (The lattermost no doubt from BOTH exhaustion and Reaction). The thing that baffled me the most however was that the coat I lent her was STILL in a perfectly pristine condition...
Either that thing was made out of some bloody sturdy stuff or I've simply gotten too accustomed to the anime bullshit where girls typically ends up with all their clothes shredded off if you were to so much as sneeze in their general direction... Which in one specific anime franchise that I still had recollections about; happens quite literally...
I shook my head internally; Akitsu's state of clothing aside; there's a bit more important things to deal with!
I looked up and met Akitsu's eyes with an agitated look. "I told you to run!" I argued to her heatedly as I stood back up, while finally disposing what I had left of the gun on the ground.
"I-I'm sorry, b-but I couldn't do that..." Akitsu told me, looking away while biting her lip from my scolding, as if ashamed from disobeying me.
My eyes softened considerably seeing her expression, but before I could utter another word to her; in the corner of my eye, I saw something that made me turn paler than sheets.
Mutsu was crouched down, holding onto his scabbard with one hand while the other held the sword's handle...
I know that pose... Is he seriously going to—!?
"Hasaiten(Smashing Point)..." Mutsu quietly exclaimed, lowering the end of his scabbard towards the ground...
TAD BIT OVERKILL DON'T YA THINK!?
The second the tip of the scabbard made contact with the ground; the whole park began shaking with a miniature earthquake, then all of sudden a shockwave (that visibly deformed ground's surface) ran through the ground in single wave straight at Akitsu and I!
On a quick note; fortunately he seems to be using far more underpowered version of his iconic move, considering how the entire park wasn't a rubble already with the attack heading towards us in single line. But...
"Tch!"
THIS IS STILL GONNA HURT LIKE HELL REGARDLESS!
"MOVE!" I bellowed and without thinking; hastily thrust my hand to my left, right into Akitsu's chest (ignoring the soft and pleasant sensation in my palm) and used all the strength I had in my limb to push her away from me as far as I could, getting a startled yelp from the woman as a result.
Time seemed to slow down for me once the earthquake wave was only two feet away. Not willing to witness the inevitable; I shut my eyes tight and clenched my asshole to prepare myself for the world of pain not even a second away.
It was at that moment my inner Captain Hindsight decided to be a dick by rearing its ugly head for the last time...
Wait, Akitsu was basically a superhuman, who could literally jump over buildings... Couldn't she've just pick me up and leap away easily, saving us both...?
...
I'VE DONE FUCKED UP—!?
*BOOOOOOOMMMM!*
.
TBC
OMAKE TIME!
Omake1:
If Arata didn't give a fuck...
"Hey you, blondie? If you were so kind to step away from the scrapped number? You're kinda in the way of my price."
At the familiar brattish, haughty tone and I turned around to see and deadpanned at the person standing there
Mikogami...
I stared at him with the eyes of a dead fish, before I scoffed and flipped the bird at the little fucker. "Yeeeeaaah~, no!"
Then I turned around and stole Akitsu's lips for the second time, not giving the two behind me even the change to interact.
With that Akitsu's wings came forth and Mikogami's party was forced to retreat after losing their change in retrieving Akitsu.
Omake2 (Dark):
If Arata was more trigger happy... IF Mutsu were incompetent enough...
The second Mikogami arrived and opened his annoying AF trap and started talking; I merely rolled my eyes, pulled the gun from the coat I lent to Akitsu (coping a feel on the way, getting a pleased hum from the woman in question) and...
*BANG!*
Put a bullet right between the little fucker's eyes, which was soon followed with the termination of aghast-looking Mutsu as a result of his Ashikabi's death.
I blew the smoke from the gun's barrel, before holstering it. I then met Akitsu's eyes with a grin.
"Now then~ where were we?" I jestingly inquired.
She only grinned back and pulled me into a liplock, making her emerge.
AN - That's a wrap and things are getting intense!
Fun fact (well not so fun for me); this chapter would've gone out much earlier with BOTH parts in a single package, but as I wrote it; there had been certain parts that I just wasn't satisfied with or they simply didn't make much of a sense, forcing me to basically rewrite this two-part chapter almost three times over until I got it to meet my standards. At some point I also wrote a whole scene in this chapter where Mutsu goes all ham with his sword DRAWN, theeeen 3-4k words in; I realized; Mutsu doesn't use the damn thing unless he's 100% serious in the fight! Soooo to the scratch we go...
The chapter also started to become quite lengthy so I decided split the chapter into two parts...
But hey good news guys!
While I normally do not hand out ETA's, due to my very inaccurate estimations; but since the second part is more or less already finished;
Next chapter will be right behind the corner, so look forward to it!
Arata's Flock Status:
#07 - Akitsu
#? - OC Brain Type (Poll ongoing!)
#Unknown
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MC's Powers
S-Mimic
Arata has the power to mimic the main ability of any Sekirei he gets into lip lock with.
When Arata kisses a Sekirei he's able to copy their power for his own use and is able to utilize the copied ability indefinitely until he swaps saliva with different (Sekirei) individual and that's where the mimicked power Arata possesses at the time gets overwritten and changed to match the ability of the Sekirei Arata had kissed with most recently.
Simply put, Arata can only mimic one Sekirei ability at a time. However if Arata were to kiss a normal human with no special powers; The current mimicked ability won't be removed in process.
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Purify
When Arata exchanges saliva with a Sekirei; this action will purify the said Sekirei's Crest from its impurities, restoring it back to normal. All [̴D̶a̶t̶a̸ ̴c̷o̶r̵r̸u̷p̶t̵i̴o̸n̶ ̸d̷e̴t̵e̵c̴t̵e̷d̴;̷ ̸I̶n̵s̷u̶f̵f̸i̶c̵i̴e̶n̵t̷ ̵d̶a̵t̴a̴ ̶a̴v̴a̷i̶l̷a̷b̷l̸e̷]̶
This action however will not bond the Sekirei to Arata right after the initial kiss, since Purify will merely return the Sekirei's Crest back to its neutral state. But if Arata were to [̴D̶a̶t̶a̸ ̴c̷o̶r̵r̸u̷p̶t̵i̴o̸n̶ ̸d̷e̴t̵e̵c̴t̵e̷d̴;̷ ̸I̶n̵s̷u̶f̵f̸i̶c̵i̴e̶n̵t̷ ̵d̶a̵t̴a̴ ̶a̴v̴a̷i̶l̷a̷b̷l̸e̷]̶
(1) Gaijin = Foreigner
(2) TFS aka Team Four Star reference