-ise of the Warrior

I do not own Sekirei or any of its characters. I own only Tetsuya.

Chapter 4- The Chase

Tetsuya barreled down the stairway of Maison Izumo with his Sekirei hot on his heel. Higa was attempting to leave via a bridge on the south side of the the city. Which meant he had very little time to stop him before he escaped. He was on his way out of the front door when he was stopped by his mother,

"Tetsuya, take this." his mother said as she stepped out of her room holding what appeared to be a katana in a black sheath. He could tell it wasn't her normal katana she used for training. Which meant it could only be one other sword.

"Mom, are you sure?" Tetsuya asked as he unsheathed the katana to examine the still battle-ready blade.

"Yes Tetsuya, I'm quite sure. That blade hasn't really belonged to me since I left MBI. I think it's only right that it should be your inheritance if you intend to kill Minaka one day."

"Thanks mom, gotta go." Tetsuya said as he sprinted out the front door onto the driveway as he saw an MBI APC rolling down the deserted, darkened street towards the inn.

"Don't forget what I showed you earlier." Miya called after her son, referring to some of the swordplay she had demonstrated to him earlier that night.

"I won't." he called back to her as the APC slowed to a stop and Tetsuya piled in with his Sekireis into the armored vehicle.

"Sir, we received a report that Higa and his Sekireis were spotted at checkpoint twenty-eight in the southern half of the city. We stopped him for questioning but we lost contact with the checkpoint shortly afterward." the driver reported as he slid into the passenger seat.

"What did you say your name was?" Tetsuya asked as he turned to look at the driver. A man of about 25 dressed in all black MBI tactical gear with short, messy black hair.

"Daisuke Sato, sir" the driver replied

"Okay. One question Daisuke."

"What is it, sir?" the driver asked as he turned to face his boss.

"WHY ARE WE NOT MOVING?!" Tetsuya roared at the driver.

"So sorry sir, here we go." the driver sputtered as he put the armored vehicle in and took off for the southern part of the city as Tetsuya grabbed a radio off of the dashboard as he pressed the button to speak.

"Checkpoint twenty-eight, this is the head of the Disciplinary Squad, Tetsuya Asama. What's your status?" Tetsuya barked into the walkie-talkie before releasing the button.

"What's the situation?" Karasuba asked as she poked her head into the front half of the vehicle, with Yume following close behind.

"I'm finding out right now." Tetsuya said before there was a burst of static on the radio followed by,

"Sir, we are currently engaged with- *static*... PMC's- *static*... GK Sierra." the radio said before going silent.

"Any of you catch any of that?" Tetsuya asked the other occupants of the APC's cockpit.

"PMC mean private military contractor. They're effectively the same thing as mercenaries, they also usually have better gear than most countries do. All of MBI's security forces are composed of PMCs." Yume replied informatively from behind him.

"Okay, what about GK Sierra?" Tetsuya asked as they rounded a corner.

"They're a PMC corporation. I remember from some of the attacks on Kamikura Island that Minaka told us they routinely did work for the US Department of Homeland Security and CIA." Karasuba said from her seat.

"Checkpoint twenty-eight, do you still have eyes on Higa right now?" Tetsuya asked into the walkie-talkie. There was nothing but static in response. He was about to ask for a status update when he was interrupted by Yume asking,

"Tetsuya, did you call for air support ?" Yume asked cautiously as she looked out the window at something Tetsuya couldn't see.

"No, I don't think I've got that kind of authority." Tetsuya said as he went to press the button on the walkie-talkie once more.

"Then, maybe you wanna explain why there's an Apache helicopter following us?" Karasuba asked as she looked out the window Tetsuya turned to see that there was, in fact, an Apache helicopter following them on their right side, all whirling rotor blades, chain guns, and Hellfire missiles.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Tetsuya shouted as he bolted towards the back of the APC.

"Tetsuya, what's going on?" Benitsubasa asked as she stood from her seat in the back of the APC with the rest of his Sekireis.

"Everybody, get out, no time to explain!" Tetsuya exclaimed frantically as he pushed open the rear door of the APC.

"Hold on, what's going on?" Benitsubasa asked as she followed him to the rear of the vehicle.

"Higa's hired a private army to help him escape the city. Or maybe to kill me, I don't know. There's an attack chopper heading for us right now. So, I say once more: EVERYBODY. OUT!" Tetsuya shouted as he shooed his Sekirei out the door. His Sekireis didn't argue with him after that as they all hurried out of the vehicle out onto the street. Tetsuya hopped out onto the street as soon as all of his Sekireis were out of the vehicle. As soon as his feet hit the pavement he whirled around to face the rapidly approaching sound of chopper blades. The Apache helicopter had decided to cut them off and cut down a nearby intersection and was bearing down on the now stationary APC. Tetsuya could hear the subtle whirring of the chain gun beginning to spin up as it continued its menacing advance on them.

"Everybody, down the alleyway!" Tetsuya exclaimed as the chopper continued its advance. Without waiting for an explanation, his Sekireis ducked down the nearby alleyway that ran between two buildings.

"Alright, get down." Tetsuya said as he pulled himself, Tsukiumi, and Uzume down into a crouch as the rest of the squad followed his example.

"So... what are we waiting for?" Uzume asked quietly as they remained crouched. Tetsuya was silent until suddenly, the ground was rocked by a tremendous explosion as the APC was consumed in an enormous fireball as the helicopter's missile hit its target. Tetsuya was shielded from the majority of the blast's effects by his robust physiology and the cover provided by a lone dumpster in the alleyway.

"That's what we were waiting for." said as he glanced up between the buildings to see the helicopter beginning to do a sweep of the area, probably to check for survivors.

"Woah, are you guys okay? What was with that explosion?" asked a young man who had run into the alley to investigate the explosion. He had dark skin of average height with messy black hair. He had a lean build and was dressed in typical biker gear. Three girls followed closely behind him Tetsuya recognized Sekireis 48 and 106, Kujika and Shijime. Tetsuya did a quick head count to make sure everyone was okay. Then, in a single moment of infinite clarity, an idea occurred to Tetsuya...

"Hikari, Hibiki, come here, everyone else form a line. You boy, I'm gonna need your bike." Tetsuya said as he turned to face the Ashikabi of the West...

Ten minutes later...

Tetsuya tore out of the alleyway atop Sanada's motorcycle as he made for the southern sector of the city. There was only one bridge in the southern sector of the city that allowed civilian traffic and he'd had Minaka move more of MBI's forces to the bridge checkpoint to stop Higa's PMCs. Now the only problem left was the helicopter...

Tetsuya hit the bike's brake as he hit the corner and went into a power-slide. Sanada's bike was a cruiser versus the Kawasaki Ninja he was used to, which was a sport bike. His bike was faster and built to corner better than Sanada's was. But, he didn't have time to complain. His bike was too far away for Minaka to airlift it in any timely manner to him. He thought for a minute that his problems were over until he heard the sound of rotors behind him. He checked the mirror to see the Apache helicopter bearing down on him from behind.

"Come on girls. He's getting a little close for comfort" Tetsuya said as he gunned the engine as he heard the helicopter's chain gun begin to spin up. He could swear it was two seconds from turning him into confetti when he heard Hikari and Hibiki call out,

"Kaminari!(God's Song)" The Thundertwins exclaimed as Tetsuya saw an enormous lightning bolt lance from the nimbus that floated atop a nearby building before striking the helicopter on it's side. Smoke spewed from the helicopter's engines as its rotors began to make a high-pitched whining noise as it spun in the air before plowing into the side of an office building before it was engulfed in and enormous fireball.

Tetsuya had no time to worry about the damage as he headed toward the final checkpoint at the edge of the city. Thankfully Hikari and Hibiki hadn't been in the building the helicopter had crashed into.

He made it to the bridge a few minutes later to see that MBI's forces along, with his Sekireis, had succeeded in taking out most of the PMC's. Tetsuya had activated the Noritos of all his Sekireis to help them back up the soldiers from MBI. Several of the the enemy's APCs lay turned over on the ground. The PMCs were all lined up in a row on the sidewalk with their hands cuffed behind their backs. Tetsuya pulled over onto the side of the road before dismounting the bike and jogging over to the line of prisoners.

"Where is Izumi Higa?" he heard Yume ask one of the prisoners in a forceful tone he hadn't heard her use before. Something about the scene bothered him, this all seemed far too easy even for him and his Sekireis.

"Looks like he's not talking Yume. Looks like we'll have to get our answers another way." Karasuba said as she held the tip of her sword against the throat of one of the soldiers. Tetsuya was halfway to the line when he heard the car. He turned around in time to see the black town car barreling down the street towards the bridge, the driver obviously standing on the accelerator.

Then it hit him, it had all been a ruse. Higa had hoped to distract them from his true goal. He had hoped to make a big fuss and hopefully kill Tetsuya then if that didn't work he had hoped to escape via the bridge while they were fighting off the mercenaries or questioning them. He was about to have the MBI soldiers open fire when he saw the arm extend from the back window... The arm holding the .45 caliber pistol. He got his arms up to protect his face, trusting his armor to cover the rest. He was not expecting however, the car to continue past him towards his Sekireis which were gathered around the gaggle of prisoners.

Adrenaline flooded his system as he took off at a sprint for his Sekirei, his muscle pushing him harder than he'd ever ran before. Time seemed to slow as he gained on the town car as it slowed to let Higa take aim. As soon as he was close enough, he leaped between the car and Karasuba and Yume. He sailed through the air before he saw the muzzle flash...

Tetsuya felt three rounds collide solidly with his chest, knocking the wind from him. That was putting it mildly, he felt like someone had taken a sledge to his chest as he hit the ground hard before grunting in pain. His armor had stopped the bullets but it still hurt like hell.

"Tetsuya, are you alright?" Yume asked as she turned to face the sound of the gunfire and saw her Ashikabi on the ground. She was so concerned with Tetsuya, she didn't see Higa's car speed off toward the bridge.

"He's been shot! DAMMIT YUME I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD HAVE JUST KILLED THEM!" Karasuba roared at her former captain as she whirled around as Tetsuya pushed himself to his feet to follow the car.

This time the car wasn't slowing down though, the driver simply floored the accelerator. Tetsuya pushed himself until his calves screamed for him to stop. But he couldn't, not while Higa still drew breath. He was losing it though, the car was already on the bridge and getting farther away. He was less than 15 feet from the bridge when he saw Higa hold his arm out the window again, this time holding what looked like a detonator. Tetsuya didn't stop, not this time. He was too close, his goal too important to call it quits now. Which was unfortunate, because half a second later the C4 charges the PMCs had placed on the underside of the bridge went off with a mighty BOOM! Throwing asphalt soaring high up into the air. The underside of the bridge fell into the river, sending up an enormous spray of water, obscuring the black car from view.

Fortunately, Tetsuya wasn't on top of the charges when they exploded so he was only caught in the concussive wave. It sent him flying through the air before he hit the ground with a thud, though, knocking the wind from him again. The explosion set his ears ringing and the impact made his vision go black as he slipped into unconsciousness..

Tetsuya was only unconscious for a few moments before Yume shook him awake. He looked up to see her kneeling over him he was saying something he couldn't hear over the ringing in his ears. He pushed himself into his feet as he surveyed his surroundings to get his bearings he turned to see the town car had resumed its journey at a nice, leisurely pace, obviously confident that Tetsuya couldn't follow it. They were right too. The gap was far too wide for him to jump in his shell-shocked state. There was only one viable option left. He turned to Yume as he grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Listen Yume, you have throw me! I can't jump the gap in this state. You will have to throw me! I can't let him get away, not here, not now." he explained in a hurried tone. Yume guessed he couldn't hear her, so she did what any good Sekirei did she seized him by the collar and the belt and prepared to throw him.

"Don't tell Minaka." Tetsuya remarked before she turned on her heels, spinning in a full circle to gain momentum before she hurled him through the air toward the bridge with all her considerable might. Tetsuya flew through the air before he hit the bridge and tucked into a combat roll and stood up and turned to face the oncoming car, ignoring the throbbing pain in his limbs. The car began to speed up as Higa prepared to run him down. Tetsuya unclipped the Totsuga from his back as he took the iaido stance his mother had shown him.

"This is for Chiho, for Kazehana, for Kuno, and for all the other people you've hurt since you joined the game you monster." Tetsuya said as he took a firm hold of the katana's grip and focused on what his mother had shown him.

Breathe, plant yourself firmly on the ground, grasp hold of the world with the soles of your feet. Next: feel. Feel the strength that comes from having something to protect flow through your entire body. Feel the love of all your Sekirei flow through your body and into your sword... Tetsuya thought to himself as he remembered his mother's instruction.

"What the hell is that?" Higa asked to himself as he saw the 12 feathers of light extending from Tetsuya's back. One was white and resembled something similar to cloth, another was ice-blue and looked crystalline like a snowflake, followed by a bright red, the next was a deep indigo, next a black crow-like feather, then a crimson one the same color of blood, the next two were the bright purple like the Twins' lightning, the next was white with pink at the edge, the tenth was brilliant blue, the next was the same pink-purple color as Kazehana's, the final one was like nothing he'd ever seen before. There were no words for it...

Strike, defeat your enemy in one fell swoop. No mercy, no hesitation. If you have to draw your sword, the situation is already beyond salvaging. Now, STRIKE! Tetsuya heard his mother say to him as he drew the blade with all his might. The blade unsheathed so quickly that it caused a vacuum wave to form in the air. The wave soared towards Higa's car before bifurcating it down the middle. The car split down the middle before each half collided with the opposite sidewall. The attack took an unexpected toll on him as he fell to his hands and knees as he pulled out the radio and hit the button,

"Minaka, it's Tetsuya. I need a pickup." Tetsuya said as he collapsed on the asphalt...

Back at the tower...

"Thanks for the patch-up Takami." Tetsuya said he examined the bandages on his shoulder and torso. He was dressed only in his socks and blue jeans as he examined himself in the examination room mirror.

"For the record, I'd officially recommend avoiding getting shot. Unless you're eager to visit me again soon." Takami said as she stowed his file back in the cabinet and began to organize the files on her desk.

"Yeah, I'll try my best. I'll see you tomorrow, I gotta get some shuteye." Tetsuya said with a yawn as he left the examination room. He entered the bright white hallway to see Karasuba waiting in a chair for him.

"You okay?" she asked quietly as she stood up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. They loaded me up with painkillers so I don't feel the broken ribs from the .45. How are you doing?" he asked as he rubbed his neck tiredly.

"I'm fine... Hey, thanks for taking those bullets for me." Karasuba said, obviously uncomfortable, judging by the blush on her face.

"It's fine. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to. So what are you doing here so late?" Tetsuya asked.

"Well, I wanted to say thanks and..." Karasuba said, her voice trailing off at the end.

"And what?" he asked curiously.

"And... it's my night to stay with you. I told you before I intended to make the most of it. Remember our chat the night Chiho died?"Karasuba said as she took one of his hands in hers.

"It'd be a hard night to forget."

"Well this is for that promise you made me that night." she said as she planted a delicate kiss on his lips.

"And this is for saving my life today." she said as she led him back to the elevator and pushed the button that led to their floor...

Author's Note: Here it is, sorry about the delay. I'll try to update more frequently. I hate making you guys wait as much as you guys hate waiting. Also, I recently played Metal Gear Rising and it gave me some interesting ideas for this story. Anyways, stay tuned. Big things are coming. Don't forget to review. This is the 19th Angel, signing off...