Chapter 7 - The Reckoning
Yomi absolutely detested the other Sekirei in her master's possession.
All of them, from the very most senior in No. 05 Mutsu to the most recent addition in No. 38 Mitsuha, annoyed her at every turn. The whole lot of them were vapid, stupid, sniveling, and whorish excuses of Sekirei and yet all of them posed the biggest threat to her achievement of the main purpose in her life - Mikogami Hayato. It wasn't that they were out to get him or wished him ill, quite the contrary. Each and every one of the tittering idiots threw themselves at him at every opportunity, but she had to thank the spirits and every single one of the deities out there listening to her prayers that he never even noticed any of them or she might have had to do something quite drastic.
Of course, she didn't have much better luck either. Try as she might, he always seemed to be more interested in his video games and his collectables than any of his Sekirei, really. Despite being one of the first ones winged by him (probably only Mutsu and No. 15 Himeko could claim to be earlier), she still hadn't really had a good grasp on what made him tick just yet. She had once tried playing one of Mikogami's games with him but her master quickly tired of it and changed to a single-player only game after a while. She had to admit there were days she did feel like just another piece in his collection, but she would always mentally scold herself for it. She reacted to him for a reason, and he had chosen her for a reason. She was special, even if all of the other bitches and whores in his possession were not.
When she actually thought about it though, the only one who could claim the particular honor of somewhat understanding their Ashikabi was that vile homosexual Mutsu. He denied it at every turn, but she saw how he looked at their master, how he answered to his every beck and call with that nauseatingly soft smile of his. Filthy liar, oh how she wished she could drive the pommel of her scythe into his emotionless face and watch it contort with pain before it punched straight through.
But that didn't mean she would just roll over and give up trying to win his heart and attention. Absolutely not, her master was hers and hers alone. She simply had to think of other ways to do it.
There was a time when Yomi had briefly considered simply murdering the competition and leaving her alone with her master, but had changed her mind after she saw how distraught he had been after Mutsu had brought home one of the stupid sluts who had gotten herself injured in a scuffle in the city. He had whined and moaned about how irreplaceable his Sekirei in his collection were to the point where Yomi had no choice but to scrap her plans entirely. There was no point in spending the rest of her life with him if he was just going to be miserable about the missing Sekirei for the whole time. Besides, it was better for her to win and beat out the others while they still drew breath to witness her victory.
With that in mind, she never hesitated to volunteer to perform the various tasks and duties he so infrequently asked of his Sekirei. It seemed like the most straightforward way to work her way into his heart. Of the few times he chose to interact with them, Mikogami mostly demanded playmates or food but that flaming cocksucker usually took care of his needs. However, any time she heard him ask for specific things to be done, she was always be the first to leap at the chance to do it. Yomi would always hope he would finally recognize her usefulness, patting her on the head with an affirmation of his love or telling her warmly how much he appreciated her. Instead, he would always offhandedly thank her and throw himself back into whatever it was he was doing previously. She never gave up hope he would change though, figuring it was only a matter of time before he truly noticed her.
She had almost blown her painstakingly acquired goodwill with him on a botched Sekirei recruiting mission but only the mercy of Mikogami spared her the ignominy of her failure. Her Ashikabi had sulked all the way back to their estate about "the one who got away" but he threw himself back into his video games before long, seemingly forgetting all about what had literally just taken place that day. As luck would have it, a golden opportunity for redemption practically dropped into her lap out of the blue.
When that madman Minaka made his announcement and interrupted her master's gaming session, she saw the best chance she would ever have to both redeem herself and secure her spot by his side. The same little slip of a Sekirei they had failed to retrieve before was now being offered up as a prize to the first Ashikabi able to wing her. If she could bring such a high-profile target back to her master, she would undoubtedly prove her worth as the most important Sekirei of his collection. She could secure that everlasting fame, fortune, glory, and power Minaka had spoken about on the television for her Ashikabi, redeem herself for her past failure, and he would have to recognize her abilities. He would have to praise her and rely on her as his right-hand woman. Yomi could finally win the sole attention and love of Mikogami for herself.
As soon as the announcement finished playing and the power went back on, she ignored the inane chatter of those other stupid cunts in the mansion and quickly made her way to the Arboretum indicated on the map. Alone.
Fortunately, none of them were intelligent or ambitious enough to think of a plan like hers themselves. Even if they had, they all were too reliant on their master for direction to do anything on their own initiative. And best of all, that ponce Mutsu was too busy coddling him to dare think about leaving him alone to accomplish this either. The whole plan was hers to fail, and failure was not an option for her.
Mikogami Hayato was hers, and hers alone. No one would stand in her way - not Mutsu, not any of the other Sekirei in his possession, not anyone.
Once the initial shock and horror had roiled through her system, Akitsu fought desperately to wrest control back over her emotions as she madly ran through the forest.
It was difficult to shut out the Twins and Karasuba from the bond, but she had to close their overwhelming input out of her mind lest she lose herself to insanity. Logically speaking, the very fact that she was still drawing breath and even attempting this was proof enough that Minato-sama still drew breath. She knew she would have been instantly terminated if he had… passed on. Finding his presence in the bond was a near impossible task, especially through the screaming maelstrom of feelings pouring from the others, but it still was a very faint presence nonetheless when she focused every fiber of her being into sensing. It felt terrifyingly similar to a flickering match in the wind, like it would snuff out at any moment, but at least it was still there. She now had to race against time to get to him before it was too late.
Akitsu didn't know if there was anything she could do to help him, but she would be damned if she wouldn't be by his side in possibly his last moments. She would rather die together in his arms than face-down in this forsaken forest by herself.
Homura still didn't know exactly what was going on. Between the frenzied response of Akitsu and his own unsettled heart, he didn't exactly have a good feeling about the circumstances.
He suspected something wrong had taken place, something to do with Sahashi. It was silly of course, there was no way he could know for sure, and it wasn't as if he was r-reacting or anything. Simply from observing Akitsu, he could reasonably draw that conclusion, right? And he was only following after in order to lend his support, he was the Guardian Sekirei wasn't he? It wasn't like he was particularly worried about the Sahashi boy - he was practically a grown man, he could take care of himself! He was only on the way there to make sure nothing had gone wrong.
Maybe Akitsu had simply overreacted! The Sekirei bond was a mysterious construct no one really understood, except for maybe No. 08 Yume or Asama Takehito and neither of them were around any longer. It was easy to misinterpret things like that, right? They'd probably run into Sahashi chuckling awkwardly about a scraped knee or a twisted ankle, and that would be the end of that. For the sake of his own conscience, it would be best if he confirmed that with his own eyes. Takami would probably never forgive him if he let anything happen to her son if he could help it, even if it did turn out to be nothing.
But he just couldn't shake that awful feeling of unease and fear in the pit of his stomach. The faster he and Akitsu got there, wherever there was, the better.
The sun had begun to set over Tokyo, and the waning light cast eerie shadows in the Arboretum. Wind whipped through Karasuba's hair as she ran faster than she had ever before. A feverish urgency coursed through her body, driving her ever onwards.
What remained of her reason and logic screamed at her, trying to get her to realize the very fact she still drew breath meant Minato had not yet died. That side of her was smothered, drowned in a sea of unthinking primal rage. It consumed her mind and left nothing but anger and profound agony in its wake. She was simply unable to process anything but the fastest way to her Ashikabi's side.
Just ahead of her, she spotted a small group of humans loudly making their way through the forest. She instinctively slowed to speeds not uncommon to a human runner to assess the threat level. No doubt they were would-be Ashikabi hoping to score on the hapless little girl they saw on television, but Karasuba was in no state of mind to consciously process that. Nothing but the most vital sensory information pierced the veil of her rage. As they saw her approach, they began to catcall and whoop at her.
"Oiiii! Where you running off to, ojou-chan?"
"Why don't you stick around and play?"
Their sneering faces filled her with revulsion. How dare they call out to her as if they were on her level? Without even pausing in her stride, she flashed through the lot of them in a flurry of strikes and leapt onward into the forest. Their brief cries of surprise quickly turned to gurgles of horror when their slit throats filled with blood instead of air and their dismembered limbs fell with wet thumps to the floor. She didn't need to turn around to inspect her handiwork or confirm her kills - the smell of the pile of bloody parts left in her wake alone was proof enough that her blade flew true.
On and on she ran, lungs burning with what felt like molten lava in her chest. She couldn't stop to breathe, couldn't pause to take a break while her Ashikabi bled out on the forest floor. There was revenge to be had, and none would deny that from her, least of all her own mortal weaknesses. A roaring echoing of her thoughts and those emotions reverberating within the bond drowned out most of her conscious thought.
Like a vengeful goddess of destruction, she flew through the arboretum. She no longer cared about her own well-being. Almost pure instinct drove her at this point, whipping her into a wild and feral frenzy. Her feverish mind changed every shadowy figure she encountered into a snarling enemy, someone to strike down and eliminate from her path. No one was spared the swing of her blade - not men, not women, not anyone. Karasuba cut a bloody swathe through the forest, felling humans, animals, and trees alike. Death itself had descended upon the forest.
Finally, as her body screamed for relief, she burst into a small battle-scarred clearing. Her instincts had brought her here, and now that she had arrived, the haze began to clear from her mind ever so slightly. On a reflex borne from countless fights, she quickly scanned her surroundings. Several trees were toppled from what looked like massive gouges in the ground from a cutting instrument. Two Sekirei engaged a third, fighting wildly in the center. Closest to her were a cluster of Sekirei, all surrounding the still body of her Ashikabi.
The sight of it hit her like a physical blow, and she could feel herself reel with pain. Numbly, Karasuba began to stagger her way towards him. She could faintly hear the sobbing of several people, but it seemed to come to her through a thick separation like she was underwater. Seeing the reality of the situation for herself in her own eyes was difficult to believe. No, she didn't want to believe Minato had been stabbed near fatally or that he was possibly on the verge of death.
The group (Akitsu, Kusano, and Homura) looked up at her as they finally registered her presence, disbelief and denial written all over their tear-streaked faces. Before she could take another step forward, a sharp blade of wind barely missed her and left a thin cut on her cheek. She touched a shaking hand to the cut, holding her bloody fingers to her face in mute disbelief. Karasuba looked towards the source, an unfamiliar Sekirei who seemed to be wielding a... scythe...
"She's the one…!" The whispers began. "Kill her…!"
A colossal wave of killing intent exploded from her body as she brought the full weight of her aura to bear. It staggered the nearby Sekirei as they gasped for breath. But the one she focused all of her rage towards, the scythe-wielder whose weapon she could still clearly see her Ashikabi impaled on, she brought her to the ground with a glance.
"What are you waiting for, tear her apart!"
Karasuba drew her nodachi, the ringing of the blade as it rasped against the sheath echoing through the air like the toll of a bell, and stalked toward the terrified Sekirei. She clung to her scythe as if it could ward off the impending evil.
"Rend! Slash! Maim!"
"Is that your scythe?" Karasuba asked her, her voice eerily calm.
"W-Who are you?!" The Sekirei babbled near hysterically, frozen with terror written all over her face.
"Is that... your scythe?" Karasuba asked once more, flaring her aura for emphasis. She was being uncharacteristically patient, but she wanted to make absolutely sure she had the right culprit.
"Y-Yes!"
Time itself seemed to slow to a crawl as the words lodged in her mind. She was the culprit…?
"KILL HER, MAKE HER PAY." They howled in her head. "TEAR HER TO SHREDS."
Any shred of mercy or pity that might have still lingered in her heart shriveled and died at that very moment. For the first time in a long time, Karasuba wanted nothing more than to do just what she was told. No more games, no more pretenses. She had no one left to hold back for, to pretend to be anything but the monster she knew she was. This bitch had taken her one reason for living, her one reason to want to change for. And she HAD to pay. As soon as she made that conscious decision, something in Karasuba's mind snapped and a blank look settled over her eyes.
"DO IT!" The voices in her mind bellowed at her, demanded blood. Karasuba was all too happy to oblige.
In real time, no sooner had the words left her mouth, did the Black Sekirei's arm flicker out of sight. A spray of blood burst from the stump that used to be the Sekirei's left arm, and the scythe in question slipped out of its twitching fingers. The cloying scent of rusty iron permeated throughout the clearing even as a horrible scream filled the air. The Sekirei's senses had finally caught up to reality.
"KILL! KILL! KILL, KILL, KILL, KILLKILLKILLKILLKILL-"
The Sekirei howled with pain as she attempted to scramble backwards with her remaining three limbs, pain infusing renewed energy and agency into her body. She clutched desperately to the stump of her arm in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Karasuba stalked after her, pausing only to grab the fallen scythe from the ground where it had fallen. The Black Sekirei gazed upon her scrabbling body as if she were some kind of vermin crawling in the dirt, then abruptly stabbed the point of her blade into the girl's shoulder. It pinned her to the ground like a butterfly on display. Another terrible howl echoed through the air.
"F-Fuck you!"
The Black Sekirei slammed the pommel of the scythe into the thick part of the Sekirei's thigh, leaving her a blubbering mess writhing on the ground. She had nowhere to run and where to hide from Karasuba's wrath. The girl must have soiled herself sometime in the process, the acrid smell of urine beginning to mix with the scent of her blood in the way Karasuba had become so familiar with in the past.
The Black Sekirei merely gazed impassively at the quivering girl. Releasing her iron grip on her nodachi and the girl's scythe, Karasuba crouched over her body and abruptly plunged a knifehand into her stomach. There was no time for her to react, to attempt to brace herself for the pain. The Sekirei screamed, a blood-curdling cry of agony bubbling from her lips as Karasuba's entire hand dug into her flesh and buried itself into her torso. There was a distinct sound of someone throwing up behind her but it, like practically every other response thus far, gave her no pause.
The Black Sekirei looked at the girl with an impassive stare, a completely unreadable expression on her face. Slowly, mechanically, she began to twist her hand in the girl's body cavity. Earsplitting howls of agony tore through the clearing, the constant pain keeping her from slipping into merciful unconsciousness. Karasuba knew just exactly how much threshold of pain the body, whether Sekirei or otherwise, could take. Everyone was different of course, but sooner or later they all cracked in some way. It was only a matter of time.
Karasuba was determined to extract her pound of flesh, nothing else mattered to her at this moment. Sensing the girl slowly go into the tell-tale signs of shock, she ripped out hand out, still in the shape of a fist, with a terrible squelching noise. The girl's face, covered in dirt and tears and snot, seemed carved permanently into an expression of agony. She hacked up blood with every gasp and moan of pain, voice raw from screaming the whole time.
"P-Please... p-p-please! Mercy... MERCY!" She begged finally.
"Mercy?" Karasuba asked in return, a mask of blank emotion on her face. "Mercy, like the mercy you showed my Ashikabi?"
She tore her blade and the scythe from the Sekirei's shoulder and leg respectively with vindictive wrenches of the arm.
"Squirm." She commanded softly. "Crawl in the dirt. Cling to life as hard as you can before I snuff out your miserable existence."
The Sekirei wailed and flipped over with a groan. A hand was pressed tightly to the deep wound in her stomach, so she could only propel herself forward with a half-dragging, half-writhing motion as she pushed her legs into the forest floor to move. She was weak from loss of blood but still tried to take her wreck of a body as far away from Karasuba as she could.
The sound of her miserable struggle was the only thing anyone could hear, nothing but the groans of agony and the hasty breaths of panic filled the air as even the very forest itself held its breath in fear. The No. 04 Sekirei strode after her like a shadow of death, waiting, observing the pathetic specimen at her feet. She raised her arm, blade pointed at the back of the Sekirei's head, as the tears she could not shed softly, unconsciously, trickled down her face.
"Give Minato back to me..." she whispered as she slammed the cold steel down.
A cough, barely audible, arrested her downward stab just before the tip of the blade made contact with her. It shook incredulously as Karasuba turned with a hope she dared not feel. There, in the arms of Hibiki and Akitsu, her Ashikabi struggled to draw breath. It was a tenuous rise and fall of his chest, but they were still tell-tale signs of life. How could she have forgotten his presence here? How could she not have noticed? How could she have lost herself in revenge instead of being by his side?
She sprinted to his side, and swept him into her arms, smoothing the bangs of his hair with a trembling hand. Waves of guilt and self-revulsion threatened to spill up out of her mouth but she forced it down with an iron grip on her emotions. She had to be strong now.
"Minato?" She forced her voice to be as steady as she could manage, gripping one of his hands in one of hers as tightly as she dared without hurting him. The other bloody appendage she hid behind her back, not wanting to soil him with her taint.
"H-Hey," he wheezed back. "Took you... long enough.. to get here..."
Karasuba couldn't help but choke back a laugh even as she blinked away her tears.
"There was some traffic," she managed to say with a strained smile.
He coughed up blood, specks of it landing on her cheek. She made no effort to wipe it from her face. Instead, she wiped the corners of his mouth for him and mopped up the sweat at his brow. He smiled weakly, moving his lips to say something but nothing could come out or be heard. Minato reached a shuddering hand up to her face, wiping away the blood from the cut she had gotten earlier. His eyes slowly closed as his hand fell limply at his side and he laid still. Karasuba screamed in despair, not willing to believe her eyes.
"Minato? Minato! Don't you leave me, not you too!" She lightly slapped his face and held her ear to his mouth, desperately hoping to hear his breath.
A faint, almost nonexistent wisp of air brushed against her ear, and she thanked every spirit and deity who was listening. She shakily stood up with Minato in her arms and gently passed him to Akitsu, who had hastily joined her as soon as she noticed her begin to rise.
Without another word, she quickly followed the drag marks and blood trail towards the Sekirei girl who still gasped for air as she dragged and pushed herself away. She was honestly surprised that she hadn't bled out yet. As much as Karasuba would have wanted to prolong her miserable existence and torture the life out of her wretched body, she knew there was no time left to spare. Minato needed medical attention as soon as possible, and he'd likely never forgive her for leaving the Sekirei in this state. Karasuba dug her heel into the small of her waist, pinning her in place on the ground, and roughly tore the back of the dress on her body open to reveal the Mark.
"Blade of my pledge, go forth and exterminate the bonds of this Sekirei." She murmured hastily, placing her palm flush against the Mark.
The Sekirei Crest flashed brightly, drawing a gasp of shock, then disappeared as quickly as it came. The girl laid still, not moving a single inch further. She was lucky Minato would have been more merciful than Karasuba was. Losing the Sekirei Mark somehow put the body into stasis, no matter how catastrophically injured the individual was. Perhaps it was some small mercy that madman put into the Plan in order to give relief to the victims. Or maybe it was the final blessing of the Ashikabi protecting the Sekirei one last time. Karasuba didn't know, but that Sekirei would not die just yet. MBI would pick her up and bring her back to the labs for healing - they might even be able to reattach her arm if they came fast enough.
Karasuba would have stayed until they came to medevac the Sekirei and then force the medical crews to help Minato, but she didn't think they would make it in time to save him. His condition was far more grave than she could have imagined. She trusted the strength of her own legs to carry her faster than the MBI response time. For that reason, she ran back to Akitsu and, as gently as she could muster, took Minato back into her arms. She wouldn't leave him to anyone else, not again.
"Let's go." She told the assembled group. "Someone grab the youngling."
After a slight pause for the group to rouse themselves out of their stupor, Karasuba tightened her hold on Minato and ran towards the city. She didn't know where she was heading, but the nearest hospital would be her best bet. A brief look at his pained face laboring to breathe gave her all the motivation necessary to push her exhausted body to its limit. She just had to, the price of failure was too much to think about.
Hikari and Hibiki were crushed by the abject truth that Minato was injured, almost fatally, under their watch.
They had been trusted to keep their Ashikabi safe and they had failed miserably. Neither of them could look up and meet anyone's eye, certainly not Karasuba's. Hikari was privately glad No. 04 had taken the lead so the judgment of the Black Sekirei wouldn't be bearing down upon her head on top of the crushing guilt they already felt.
Still, the blistering pace she set was difficult to keep up with. Everyone understood the need for haste, but they all had to push themselves to the utmost limits to just to keep running. No one wanted to be left behind, to have to say "I couldn't do it." The thought never even crossed either of their minds, at least. They wouldn't dare speak out about it even if they had an opportunity to. It was merely a small part of their continued penance.
"Hikari-onee-chan, where are we going?" Kusano asked from her spot on her back. "Is Onii-chan going to be okay?"
"Minato's going to be fine!" Hikari replied bravely. "We're going to get him some help is all, he just needs to rest a bit."
"Yeah!" Hibiki chimed in from the side. "Minato's a tough guy, you'll see."
Both Twins realized his life was now essentially a ticking bomb. So long as he drew breath, ragged and pained breaths but breaths nonetheless, they too would be able to live. As soon as his heart stopped and he passed from this world, they would join him right after. They tried to remain optimistic, but if he wasn't getting medical attention soon, he would inevitably succumb to his wounds.
Kusano seemed satisfied by the answer for now, but Hibiki was sure despite her youth, she wasn't naive enough to blindly believe it. She looked as old as a 13 year old girl and certainly was at least as perceptive.
Overhead, the roar of helicopters flying past them briefly caught the party's attention but no one would stop to gawk if Karasuba didn't. No doubt they were headed for the carnage inside and out of the Arboretum. Hikari and Hibiki had to hide Kusano's eyes on their flight towards the city - no child, Sekirei or otherwise, needed to see that forest strewn with bodies or that killing field littered with pieces of corpses. The Twins had nearly stumbled and tripped over it all themselves. They had to force themselves to keep running, to not let their eyes linger too long lest they be overwhelmed by the sights and smells themselves.
Hikari was thankful for the fact they had protected little Kusano from the worst of it back at the clearing. The Twins had just barely returned to Minato's side when Karasuba's crushing killing intent slammed down all around them. Kusano nearly passed out from the pressure, and it was all they could do to stay conscious themselves, let alone protect the youngest among them. The three clung to each other for comfort and protection as The Black Sekirei demonstrated first-hand how she earned her gruesome reputation and monikers. Kusano had buried her face into Hibiki's bosom while Hikari did her best to block her ears from the horrific sounds of torture.
The Twins certainly wished someone had been able to do the same for them. Even now, the very memory of what Karasuba did to Yomi made them physically ill. Hikari and Hibiki knew the sound of her screaming would haunt their dreams for a long while. Everyone knew the stories of The Black Sekirei's brutality, her viciousness, and her unbridled power, but experiencing it in real life was a far more gruesome reality than any tale could capture. Kusano was spared the majority of it all, but the Twins didn't think they could see the No. 04 the same way anymore. Not until they had a moment to decompress on their own.
Suddenly, a series of bright spotlights shone down on them, freezing the entire party in their tracks. A near deafening roar of whipping winds and mechanical whirring filled the air. Around them circled a pair of helicopters with the MBI logo emblazoned on the side. An amplified voice rang out over the din as they began to land.
"DON'T MOVE. GIVE US SAHASHI MINATO."
"Takami!" Karasuba roared back, somehow recognizing the voice. "I'll never give him up to MBI, not now and not ever!"
The helicopters fully touched down on the wide street they were on but didn't stop their rotors. A grey-haired woman leapt out of the lead one as soon as she was able to, striding with haste in her step towards the group. A glowing tablet computer was clutched in one hand as she approached. Karasuba stood her ground, not making a single move one way or another.
"Don't be stupid, Karasuba!" Takami shouted over the din of the whirring helicopter blades. "I've been remotely monitoring his condition, you know just as well as I that at this point, MBI's medical facilities are the only ones equipped to help Minato!"
"I'm not letting him out of my sight!" Karasuba shouted back. "I don't trust MBI or you, not after the last broken promise you made me!"
Takami growled, running a frustrated hand through her messy hair as it whipped back and forth from the wind currents.
"We're wasting time here! I know you have good reason not to believe me, but every second we spend not taking him to medical assistance, the closer he comes to dying! Can't you see that?!"
"I'd rather take my chances elsewhere!"
Takami got right up into Karasuba's face, a look of frustration and anger emblazoned all over her own.
"Damn you, Karasuba, do you really think I would let them do anything to my own son without my direct supervision?!"
Karasuba seemed to hesitate slightly but made no effort to acquiesce.
With a huff of frustration, the grey-haired woman activated the tablet in her hand and quickly began to make some kind of calculations. The screen flashed with complicated-looking diagrams and charts, none of which seemed to stay on for longer than the briefest of moments. Takami paused briefly to light a cigarette with practiced hands, not interrupting her rhythm in the slightest. Only mere seconds passed as her hands flew across the surface of the tablet, a look of concentration and urgency all over her countenance. Her screen flickered with the completion of her computation and Takami snarled under her breath at its display. She only took a split second to analyze the results before spitting her cigarette out and stomping it out under her heel.
"Fine, have it your way!" She gave in finally, signalling to the helicopters. As soon as they saw her hand go into the air, several teams raced out of them and immediately began setting up a makeshift medical tent. The rotors wound down as the pilots shut off their helicopters. "We've enough equipment for a field operation here, but nothing more. Quickly, bring my son."
Without pausing to see if Karasuba complied, she turned on her heel and ran towards the tent with orders yelled at the frenzied workers. To her credit, the No. 04 Sekirei immediately ran after her, careful not to jostle Minato in her arms. She disappeared into the tent as the rest of the group made to follow, but as soon as they neared it, Takami emerged to stop them from entering. Now clad in scrubs and a medical mask, she raised a gloved hand and glared at them all.
"One stubborn Sekirei is more than enough, I don't need the whole lot of you cluttering up my work space." She barked. "Wait outside."
Hikari and Hibiki slumped weakly outside of the tent and leaned heavily on each other as they led Kusano by the hand away. The twins crumpled with exhaustion on a nearby bus stop bench. Akitsu joined them as well, looking nervous and pensive. Only Kagari remained aloof, choosing to perch on top of the bus stop's roof rather than sit with Minato's Sekirei.
"Um, was Takami-nee onii-chan's mama?" Kusano spoke up suddenly.
Now that they thought about it, that Takami woman had said "my son" in reference to their Ashikabi. Was she really his mother? They didn't know for sure.
"Ah. Yes…" Akitsu replied softly. She ran a hand through Kusano's hair in a comforting gesture, drawing her into her arms. "Takami-sama is Minato-sama's mother."
Kusano nestled into her bosom sleepily and yawned. It had been an exceptionally long day, and with little chance to rest, there was no wonder she was exhausted.
"Oh… Okay… That makes sense..." She said before she slowly dozed off.
Hibiki and Hikari did their best to stay awake themselves. They wanted nothing more than to go to sleep as well, but their Ashikabi's life was still on the line. They couldn't just rest that easily, not after what they had done. Or rather allowed to happen. No, the only thing their troubled consciences would allow them to do now was keep vigil with Akitsu and hope for the best.
Higa Izumi was not a patient man.
Patience hadn't let him survive the assassination attempt on his life when he was younger. Patience hadn't helped him discover it was ordered by his own flesh and blood to eliminate him from the Higa Pharmaceuticals inheritance. Patience hadn't seized control of the company by the age of 23. And patience certainly hadn't exacted revenge on those responsible for crossing him.
No, it was a driven and results-focused mindset that brought him his successes, and it left no room for being "patient." He held everyone around him to those same standards he held himself to, which is why he found himself most irritable and decidedly impatient to hear some kind of report from his Sekirei.
They had left hours ago, almost as soon as Minaka's announcement finished playing, with eager promises of bringing the little Sekirei girl to him. He had yet to even hear back from them and he was quickly losing his temper at the delay. Incompetence he could somewhat tolerate - not everyone was as gifted as he, so it was his own responsibility to properly allocate the right tasks to their appropriate skill level. But liars and those who over-estimated their own ability aggravated him the most. Better to accept one's own mediocrity than make promises one could not or would not be able to keep.
A uncharacteristically timid and hesitant knocking on the doors to his office had him suppress a groan aloud. The only one who he trusted to directly report to him was his right-hand man Kakizaki, and if he wasn't approaching with the usual self-assured confidence Higa hired him for, there was nothing but bad news awaiting.
"Enter."
The door swung open as a tall, dark-haired man slipped in. He wore a sharply tailored black suit that befitted his status and spectacles that he nervously pushed up with a finger. On the surface, Kakizaki looked calm and poised but Higa could see right through his front and read all of his tells. Behind him was his Sekirei, the No. 22 Kochou.
"Higa-sama." Kakizaki greeted neutrally.
"I take it you're here because you have news for me?"
The suited man started to sweat slightly and cleared his throat.
"Yes, Higa-sama. I just finished debriefing the Sekirei who have returned from your mission." He hesitated, swallowing deeply before continuing. "All seven are injured, one severely enough to require immediate medical assistance. Estimated time of recovery is about a week and a half via standard Higa Pharmaceuticals protocol, or about six days if we use the prototype medical recuperation tanks that have recently been green-lit for use."
Higa said nothing, deciding to let his ire speak for itself. His displeasure and irritation showed clearly on his face and Kakizaki was no fool to not see it.
"The mission?"
"The Sekirei failed to retrieve No. 108, Higa-sama."
Higa had to resist the urge to throw the nearest object on his desk at something, someone. As much as he wanted to, he knew losing his cool wouldn't be productive. Better to channel that energy into action.
The pharmaceutical CEO turned on his computer with a tap on the surface of his desk. A screen raised from a slot in the wood brought up the docket on all of his active Sekirei, their files updated to reflect their after action reports. Just as Kakizaki stated, the majority of his Sekirei had an entire laundry list of injuries ranging from broken bones to concussions. What had happened out there for them all to have been put out of commission so heavily?
"Use the tanks, spare no cost. I want them back on their feet and ready to sortie as soon as possible."
"Understood, Higa-sama."
"Do we know anything about who did manage to wing 108?"
Here Kochou stepped up and bowed deeply at the waist.
"Higa-sama," she greeted before she waved a hand towards his screen. Three drone-taken pictures appeared of the small blonde-haired girl in the arms of several other women labeled with their Sekirei numbers: 11, 12, and 8 respectively. "No. 108 'Kusano' was last spotted in the possession of Ashikabi Sahashi Minato and his Sekirei heading towards the North."
Almost before he could ask the question, another wave of Kochou's hand brought up a dossier on the aforementioned Sahashi Minato. It seemed that most of the information on him was either restricted or sparse, neither of which he particularly liked. The only things accessible at this time were basic line items about his physical attributes, several pictures of him, and a list of his known Sekirei. Nothing substantial Higa could use.
"Find out more about this Ashikabi. With the addition of No. 108 to his collection, he has five total Sekirei at his employ." He contemplated out loud. "That makes him a threat, and threats are to be mitigated or eliminated. I want to know everything - his date of birth, his credit score, known associates, locations of his family, how often he takes a shit."
"Understood, Higa-sama, but-"
The very temperature of the room felt 20 degrees colder as the pharmaceutical CEO had a hard time understanding what he was hearing. It sounded to him like his subordinates were talking back.
"But?" He raised an icily neutral eyebrow. "But, what, Kakizaki?"
"A-Apologies, Higa-sama, but the Sahashi boy... One of his Sekirei is the No. 04, 'Karasuba...'"
Higa was beginning to lose the remains of his already frayed patience.
"And?"
"A-And it would be unwise to provoke the Black Sekirei needlessly, Higa-sama... Not to mention he's in the Northern Sector. Rumors say that the 'Hanya of the North' has made her base of operations in the vicinity, so-"
A loud crack rang through the air as Higa slammed a palm on his desk, making the two people standing in front of him nearly jump out of their skins. Kochou especially looked pale as a sheet and ready to bolt at any moment.
"You're telling me you refuse to cooperate because of rumors about some bogeywomen?"
"N-N-No! Absolutely not, Higa-sama, I just-" Kakizaki stammered in a panic before Higa interrupted again.
"You should be more afraid of my immediate wrath than that of some tale who, if you do your job properly, won't even realize you were there to begin with."
Kakizaki took a shuddering breath to pull himself together.
"Yes, Higa-sama."
He and his Sekirei beat a hasty retreat after deep bows. Higa didn't bother watching them leave. Instead, he got up and stared out of the windowed wall behind him. The vast city skyline gleamed below but he wasn't filled with wonder or inspiration or any of those other useless emotions. His eye turned to the MBI Tower even as his fists balled up unconsciously. Drive and purpose filled him with the desire to tear it down around Minaka's head for the role he played in the assassination attempt.
Higa would win this so-called Sekirei Plan and carve out Minaka's heart from his own body like he had done the rest of the conspirators.
One of Mikogami Hayato's favorite things to do was play video games. He loved the freedom of diving into a new world, becoming a new person, and performing feats of strength and wisdom through them. The 2D world was full endless possibilities unlike his own dead-end 3D world.
"Urgh, this stupid level is so annoying! Whose idea was it to put that spike trap there?!"
It wasn't until he met the No. 05 Sekirei Mutsu that he began to open up a bit to the real world. His life had turned around almost immediately - after all, who wouldn't be enamored by the idea of collecting cute boys and girls like in his video games and taking them out to beat up bad guys? Of course, it wasn't exactly easy for him to express how he felt about the whole thing to them. He still felt awkward and unable to say a single word to anyone but Mutsu most of the time, so he preferred to just sit there and watch them go about their day. It was just like playing one of those silly mobile collection games or even simulation games. Things were simpler when he could just go back to his video games where he wouldn't have to worry about offending anyone or making a fool of himself.
"Almost got it, almost got it…!"
Speaking of which, he hadn't heard anything from his Sekirei in a while. They had all been excited by the strange announcement that Minaka fellow made suddenly, even if he had interrupted his gaming session right in the middle of a grueling boss fight, and they all clamored to go recruit the No. 108 in the arboretum. Right when he was about to muster up the scraps of his courage to leave his bedroom, Mutsu had said Yomi left to do it already. He had to be honest, he heaved a heavy sigh of relief when he heard that. Not only because he wouldn't have to set foot outside his comfortable home, but also because someone was already doing it for him. Now all he had to do was wait and see.
"FINISHED! Take that xAsanagi!"
It had been almost forever and a half since Mutsu told him that though. He set his controller down and paused his game. Mikogami checked his watch again for the umpteenth time in a row - 9:46 PM. He remembered reaching the last checkpoint in his game at around 6:21 PM when Mutsu first made the announcement so he had been waiting for over 3 hours and 25 minutes. He glanced at his watch again, 9:47 PM, so over 3 hours and 26 minutes now!
A soft knocking at his door stopped him from the impending tantrum building up in his breast. He absolutely hated waiting around for people to keep their promises, especially since his parents had broken so many to him growing up. The young boy smoothed his shirt and shouted "Come in!" without a hitch in his voice this time. He was getting better at this with practice!
"Ah, Mikogami. You're still awake?"
"Of course I am, I'm too nervous to sleep. Where's Yomi? You said she snuck out alone right? Why is she not back yet?"
His very first Sekirei hesitated and Mikogami knew by the carefully neutral expression on his face that there was bad news. He had seen that expression time and time again on his parents, his tutors, his maids even, when they were searching for the "appropriate" words to use because they thought he was either unable to or incapable of understanding. Tears filled his eyes at the prospect of it.
"Yomi... has been deactivated. The mission was a failure."
Anger and frustration dripped down his face in hot rivulets. She had... left him, left him like everyone in his life had eventually did and would inevitably do. This is why he preferred to lose himself in video games and his collectables. The 2D world would never betray him. The plastic figures would always be there waiting for him to come back to them, not the other way around.
"U-Useless! She was useless!" Mikogami managed to choke out from behind his tears. "How dare she?! I never gave her permission to go and get deactivated!"
"..." Mutsu said nothing, only stood there with a carefully neutral expression on his face as he watched his Ashikabi's tantrum.
"Who did this?!"
Here, the No. 05 Sekirei's face paled slightly and his normally calm reserve cracked a little.
"The Black Calamity, No. 04 Karasuba."
"She'll pay for this! I swear it!"
Mutsu started forward, placing a warning hand on his Ashikabi's shoulder to urge restraint.
"Mikogami, I-"
The boy angrily shrugged his hand off and slapped it away, his rage provoked even more by what he felt was a patronizing gesture.
"Shut up, Mutsu! Go away!"
He felt his Sekirei stiffen and nod his head once. Bowing slightly, he excused himself with a soft click of the door behind him. As soon as Mutsu left, Mikogami let out a strangled scream of impotent rage and loss. He picked up his controller and flung it at the television in front of him with a crash. Staring back at his distorted reflection in the cracked screen, he bit his finger in the comforting way he did when stressed.
Yomi was useless to him now that she had gone and gotten herself removed from his possession. He didn't have the energy to truly mourn her loss, that part of him had shriveled and atrophied years ago. Instead he felt the pang of irritation one would feel towards a toy abruptly taken away and confiscated against one's will. Mikogami seethed impotently as he drew his legs into his body on the couch.
"Useless things can all go and die."
With an odd sense of detachment, Minato determined he was captive in his own body. Nothing felt or looked like it was supposed to, and his mind felt cold and numb. A great deal of unseen pressure weighed heavily upon his limbs. Try as he might, only the bone weary ache in his very essence seemed to respond to his commands. He was laying at the bottom of some unfathomable ocean trench, and all of his sensory input felt muffled and distorted as if underwater.
"...nato! ...wi... Don't you dare... Mina...!"
Bits and pieces of dialogue someone or someones, he didn't know for sure, wafted into his ear. Minato couldn't understand a single word that reverberated around him into the meaningless void of white noise. Bursts of blinding light filled his vision, searing shadows into his eyelids.
"...sion ASAP! ...lost a lot... ...od!"
Faces hovered just out of arm's reach. They faded in and out of his sight, the names and memories of them just on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to call out to them but it felt like his mouth was wired shut, unable to make a single noise.
"...2, 1... ...ear!"
A surge of lightning ripped its way through his body, jerking him out of his stupor. Wordless screams wracked his limbs with tension and forced what little air was left in his lungs out. His eyes widened with sight unseeing even as the light gouged into them. Pain bloomed in his chest and pooled there like liquid fire before diffusing throughout his very fiber of being. The blaze consumed his mind and every sense until he couldn't even remember a time without its presence.
Suddenly, an echoed chorus of whispers cut through the thick veil of his agonised paralysis and filled his ears.
"Please don't leave me."
As if a lock was finally undone, Minato jolted upright with long, shuddering breaths. A fresh wave of torturous pain lanced through his chest and laid him low again, but he was alive. He took in ragged gasps of air but he was alive. The last thing he could remember was being... impaled by that Yomi Sekirei girl, and then... Nothing. Flashes of light and pain, sure, but not much else.
"Minato?"
The room filled with the surprised and startled cries of his Sekirei rousing from their silent vigils by his bedside. It finally hit him that he was nestled safely at home in his bedroom, surrounded by relieved faces. In Hikari and Hibiki's case, it was more of a tearful relief, and Kusano cried openly.
He opened his mouth to speak, to say something to the girls who cared about him so much but could only manage to croak hoarsely. Karasuba quickly passed him a glass of water without a word. Minato smiled weakly and nodded his thanks before taking a sip.
"I'm home."
Gently, as to not aggravate his wounds, his Sekirei drew him into a warm group embrace. There were more faces now than the last time he remembered - Hikari, Hibiki, and even Kusano - but they were his family. And there was nowhere else he'd rather be than nestled safely in their arms.
AN:
This chapter officially concludes The Green Girl Arc! I know last time's cliffhanger was pretty ominous so I hope I've delivered a satisfying resolution for your troubles. Sharper eyed readers may notice this chapter's word count is a little on the shorter end compared to the other releases, but I decided to end arc here with the tying up of some plot threads (and introduction of several more to replace them!). Without going into specifics, the next chapter should be a bit of a breather for all of you in need of a break from some of the gritter aspects of the arc.
As always, thank you all for your continued support! Lemme know what you thought of the chapter in a review.