A lot of people have been saying that I overpowered the Sekirei or underpowered the Shinigami.

I'd like to say that I did nothing of the sort. Let me put this as simply as possible. If an advanced captain level Sekirei fought an Advanced captain Shinigami, the Sekirei would get raped. Simple, right?

I never said that the Sekirei were more powerful than the Shinigami. Just that most of them had raw power (Reiryoka/Spiritual power) that coincided with similar ranks as the Shinigami.

Let's compare here. Kuu has 4th seat level Reiryoka. She has unseated fighting ability, if any.

But beyond that, Sekirei aren't extremely fast or extremely versatile. They are flesh and blood when a Shinigami is anything but, their spiritual body is all around better than a Sekirei's and anything short of a decapitation is hard pressed to kill them. Sekirei are also adjusted before the series even starts so that they wont kill their Ashikabi, this limits the ability of a Sekirei but it doesn't change the amount of Reiryoka they have in their body. They also only have a core group of attacks that coincide with their style/motif and that's about it, rarely are these attacks usable short of straight up 1 on 1 battles.

Compare Shinigami who are (3rd seat and above) Faster (via Shunpo and other high speed movement techniques) More Skilled in Zanjutsu/weapons (specifically their katana and whatever their Shikai and Bankai turns into, plus they've been training with said weapons for dozens if not hundreds of years) and more versatile (Through all of the above plus Kidō, Hakuda Hohō and whatever their Shikai and Bankai abilities are.) Shinigami aren't limited to just one set of skills like Sekirei are.

Take Musubi for instance, she's basically just fists on feet. She's not really that fast or that versatile and she uses fist based attacks much like Chad does.

Let's recap shall we? Chad got his ass handed to him by unreleased Zanpakuto Shunsui. Chad got his ass handed to him by Yammy (Who is about as strong as a low level captain at the time) Chad got his ass handed to him by an unreleased Nnoitra. (Who is basically an advanced captain in power until he releases.) So in summary, Chad is around low to mid lieutenant during the SS invasion and high lieutenant to low captain in power during the Hueco Mundo invasion. Which is much like Musubi is right now. And the only reason her power is around low captain at times is because of Yume's Tama sending Reiryoka through her system at regular intervals, which is why it 'fluctuates' as I've said.

Simply put, Sekirei will get their shit kicked in if they ever fought any similarly ranked and skilled Shinigami of 3rd seat or above because Shinigami are almost always faster, sometimes stronger, Usually more durable due to being a soul and more versatile in that most of them know Kidō and their Zanpakuto have abilities that a Sekirei can't match or counter. Like Wabisuke's special ability for instance. If Kira were to use that against Miya's sword a few times she'd be all but disarmed with her lethality potential cut in half, much more if he managed to nick her limbs or clothing in the process.

I CAN say that fourth seat level Shinigami may have trouble with their Sekirei doubles since there's usually a severe drop off of power between 3rd and 4th seat, same with both 3rd and Lieutenant and Lieutenant and Captain. It's like multiplied by a factor of 5-10 for each rank up :/

Now, let's compare Ichigo and Miya. Both are fast, both are mainly sword users with some hand to hand and they can launch energy attacks with their blades that cause untold amounts of damage. There's literally no difference to them except in SPEED, which Ichigo is FASTER than her even though he also has a physical body, he makes up for this by using his fullbring to amplify his speed. Although I could also say that Miya is more skilled with a sword than Ichigo is (Which she is unfortunately) Which would allow her to fight on equal footing with him regardless of his speed. The Ichigo in MY story, not Transcendent Ichigo, not Vizard Ichigo, not even Shinigami Ichigo. Fullbring Ichigo. My version of Fullbring Ichigo tops off at the high end of low to Advanced Captain level as well. So Miya, Karasuba, and pretty much anyone from the original Disciplinary Squad (sans Matsu) could hold their own against Ichigo. Which was honestly the whole point of comparing the Sekirei to the Shinigami in ways that people could understand.

Would you honestly continue reading this if Ichigo did to every Sekirei what he did to Junichi? Basically curb stomping everything while drinking their blood from the skulls of his enemies? That would get very dull, very quickly (Like many godlike stories do) Ichigo has some 'very serious threats' to 'slightly less serious but still a concerning level of serious' threats to face in the Sekirei plan. Anyone who is low to advanced captain level in the Sekirei Plan can give Ichigo a hard time if they hit him hard enough and fast enough. Also for those interested I'd like to compare Yashima (who is around 3rd to Lieutenant seat) to the Lieutenant of squad 2, Ōmaeda. (who is one of the weakest Lieutenants and has a similar weapon with that giant flail Shikai of his.) Both she and he are not the strongest of their rank but they're still a credible threat if given a chance.

Alright then, long AN is long so lets get on with the story.

Fic o' the day: Naruto's BFF by Lucillia "Due to an unfortunate choice of words, Madara gets a little stalker before the Massacre." Aka Naruto. This story is awesome and I give it a 9 outa 10 on the lulz scale.

Song/vid of the day: DJ Delinquent - Deff Note 2 This song will make your balls BIGGER. Not really, but it's epic enough to if we lived in a world where music contained mystical powers. This is An instrumental rap song by that samples the Death Note main theme. You know the one, the one with the Latin chanting that happens during the penultimate point of an episode or when something amazing happens. It's the 19th track from the first OST I believe. Good song to ball hard and write harder to.

Word of the day: Penultimate Because that word is just awesome. adj. 1. Next to last n. 2. Linguistics Of or relating to the penult of a word

Disclaimer: I dont own shit. Bleach, Sekirei and just for the heck of it Naruto can blow me, preferably Naruko, because he/she is a sexy he-bitch. Don't even care.

-ooo-

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Flashback

Narration/machines talking

"Hollow talking"

'Hollow Thinking'

-ooo-

Chapter 5: Mending Broken Snowflakes

Green lights danced over the northern end of Shinto Teito. To a casual observer it looked like shooting stars. For Ichigo Kurosaki it was a brisk jog through the neighborhood. As soon as a foot would touch a surface a single circle of green light would appear and shoot him off in a random direction, the small green light following along behind him. He had come out to clear his head, to wipe away some of the anxiousness he still felt after what had happened today. It still ate at him, even now while he was partaking of one of the few vices he still had left. An adrenaline high. It was the one thing that allowed him to just bask in the wonder of using his fullbring. After he had lost his Shinigami powers he had understood fully, just how weak he was without them. Now that he had something similar he had never taken it for granted again. Ever since the day he had regained his ability to fight on par with some of the best in soul society, he had cherished those abilities.

After another hour of the light show Ichigo landed in the comforting embrace of a nearby forested park, where he could rest without anyone noticing him.

He felt tired, on top of what had happened earlier in the day. But more than that he felt sick.

He hadn't been able to get what he'd done to Yashima out of his mind, he had felt horrible for committing what was essentially rape to save her life. It wasn't even a rape of her body, it was a rape of her mind and soul. What only made things worse was he had to deal with the link between them the entire time as it sent her emotions through. To plainly put it Yashima's emotions were fucked, a complete jumbled mess. It was like a tug of war between Junichi's memory and his reality. At some point something had to tip and start affecting him. Flipping around and doing quote-unquote "stupid acrobatic shit" with his fullbring didn't help his stomach any.

The Fullbringer quickly ducked behind a bush and quietly emptied his stomach of it's contents. After a few minutes of relieving the queasy feeling, Ichigo walked out from the brush and took a deep breath of the cold night air.

Even now he could feel the ghostly connection to Musubi and Yashima, tickling at the back of his consciousness. If this was what it was like to wing multiple sekirei then Ichigo was beginning to regret making that promise to protect as many Sekirei as he could. If the only way for him to protect them was to wing them and if the current state of his emotions were anything to go by then he'd either be schizophrenic or an emotional wreck by the time he got around to four or five of them.

It really put into perspective how emotionally devoid most of his life had been, it was kind of humbling actually, to feel the vibrant, powerful emotions flowing through him, given to him like a gift.

'Or a curse' Ichigo rolled his eyes as he took off at a comfortable walk through the park. It wasn't like he wasn't dealing with one of those already anyway. More likely he considered the link to be more of a double edged sword than anything else.

Thankfully, that run had calmed his nerves a bit and helped him concentrate on what he had come out there to do. To relax and to think.

Not that he had much to think about except his interactions with his Sekirei and the occupants of Maison Izumo. During diner he was surprised to find out that the three Sekirei of Izumo Inn were actually quite sociable.

Miya was a calm and collected individual with a sense of honor that matched his own. But she also held a deep sadness close to hear. Maybe it had to do with her late husband? Whatever it was, it wasn't any problem of his, if Miya wanted to tell him it would be her decision.

Kagari... Kagari was... Ugh... Ichigo still wasn't convinced that was a dude, It was just too unreal. He looked like he was ripped right from the pages of one of the yaoi manga that Lisa was always reading while he was working on his Vizard training. The guy was just too damn bishie to be a man.

Uzume. Heh, Uzume was the party girl, always fun to be around. She had a good sense of humor and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind, something Ichigo respected greatly. Too many people nowadays were habitual liars to conform to society and it was nice to see a rebel once in awhile.

Musubi. She was still Musubi. Dense as a stack of bricks but honest and loving to a fault. He really couldn't think of anything that better described her now that he was well and truly alone with his thoughts out in the middle of nowhere.

And the one hundred million yen subject of the evening. Yashima. She was quiet, too quiet. He really needed to find a way to get the girl out of the shell she had placed around herself. He couldn't stand the constant swirling emotions that the girl was feeding him and he had to figure out some way to either make her forget about the asshole or focus more on him. Maybe he could do something for her? Take her out on a date? Nah, that would just be awkward for the both of them. Treat her like a Sekirei should be treated? He was already doing that. Have sex wi- HELL NO! He wouldn't even think about doing that with her until she had opened up to him more and even then only if she wanted it. He still wasn't even sure if he wanted to do that with either of them yet.

Some days Ichigo really hated being a virgin.

The Fullbringer rubbed his temples softly as the headache known as Yashima continued to pound in his skull. Aside from those three ideas he didn't really have enough to go on. He didn't know enough about her to give her a gift, and despite them being almost blindingly loyal to their Ashikabi, he couldn't just order her to forget Junichi and be happy. That would make him no different than Tsukishima and he'd sink even lower on the scum totem pole if he tried that shit.

Dragging his hand's from his temples to run his fingers through his hair back down to rub a kink in the back of his neck the Fullbringer knew he'd just have to play it by ear then. Get her to open up to him by being as he always was.

A Guardian. The comforting presence he was known for.

His next step was stopped when he noticed a woman sitting at a park bench along the concrete pathway on which he was walking.

The first thing he noticed was that she was nearly nude, wearing only a simple white button up t-shirt and what appeared to be a lab coat to cover her modesty... or lack thereof. Her state of dress wasn't nearly as bad as the state of the clothing itself. From the light of the few lamps that littered the walkway, he could see that the clothing had several deep red bloodstains on them, most of them in places that could be fatal if the girl didn't have the presence of mind to go to the hospital for it.

Speaking of presence... Ichigo blinked once before letting out a small groan of annoyance 'Another Sekirei!?" If it wasn't mortal danger it was something else. It seemed that the universe loved messing with the Strawberry far more than it liked helping him. 'Best to get this over with now, at least I can make sure she's ok.' Sighing, the orange haired man approached the brown haired woman in front of him. 'Brown haired and beautiful' He amended quickly, as he got a good look at her up close. She seemed to have a curvy figure to match her exotic features as the bloody clothing she wore almost didn't cover her breasts. "Are you alright?" Ichigo walked closer, trying to get her attention. The woman remained silent but her eyes rose to meet his. The Fullbringer stopped in his tracks.

She had a large Sekirei crest on her forehead and the most striking slate gray eyes he'd ever seen. Those eyes seemed to bore right through Ichigo in a look of such deep despair that it froze him solid.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise?" A voice spoke up behind Ichigo.

The woman's eyes fell back to the ground, cutting off his view from that near crippling feeling of despair this woman was giving off.

Like the crack of a whip Ichigo's head snapped towards the voice, breaking whatever connection the two had at the same time as she did. Behind him and across from Akitsu was what appeared to be several Sekirei and their Ashikabi. From an initial power scan the girl on the left with the scythe was around third seat, the blonde girl in the back felt closer to lieutenant but wasn't much of a threat overall. But the final one, the one that stuck closest to their Ashikabi and looking like the oldest of the group was the strongest of the three Sekirei. A very strong, low captain class Sekirei and from the way the man stood in a calm and relaxed but ultimately battle ready stance left little doubt in Ichigo's mind that he was a skilled warrior.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Ichigo asked the boy who had spoken. And yes, he really did seem to be a child, barely fifteen at most. True, it was about the same age as when he had entered the world of Shinigami but something about this kid just seemed to set his bastard senses off. Maybe it was the way he held himself, his body relaxed in a self entitled and arrogant manner. Or maybe it was the smug smirk the boy had on his face. Either way, the kid was trouble plain and simple.

"My name is Hayato Mikogami, it's a pleasure to meet you." A smile spread across the young man's lips, though from the way he seemed to sneer at the same time it turned the normally genuine smile into a plastic an artificial insult " As for what I want, it's the woman behind you. My dear Akitsu there was injured earlier today and in a panic she ran off, we've been looking for her all day and I've just been worried sick." The boy laid the emotion on thick for this little performance, gesturing subtly with his hands and body to maximize the impact of his speech, a fairly basic tactic that was taught to actors to fool a crowd and make yourself seem more impressive than you normally were.

Ichigo wasn't fooled for a moment. "That's cute." Ichigo scowled, stepping backward a step to put himself closer to the woman he now knew as Akitsu in case Mikogami tried making a grab for her. "Now what do you really want with her?" He asked. It was kind of obvious what this kid was after, Akitsu was a Sekirei and a fairly powerful one at that by the feel of her Reiryoka. But his haughty attitude and rich clothing was a dead give away that this kid had money.

Money and children rarely ever mixed well and by the way the kid acted, it looked like he was as spoiled as Ichigo assumed he was. So used to getting his way that he'd ignore anyone and everyone telling him 'no' and just did it anyway and saying to hell with the consequences. He had the money and influence to make the events and anyone connected to them 'disappear.' if he wanted it to. Spoiled, selfish and corrupt and it was plain as day because Ichigo had seen it before, doing work for the less than reputable employers of Japan tended to show you the worst side of humanity, and Mikogami wasn't even close to being the worst that he had seen.

"Oh?" The boy seemed surprised but not overly concerned with the way Ichigo was scowling at him. "And what makes you think I want anything but to help Akitsu? She's very important to me."

Ichigo felt more than heard Akitsu's head lift up at those words as she regarded Mikogami with a withdrawn stare.

Hoping to stop that train of thought before it began he walked in front of the girls view of the man and scowled again. "Aside from the fact that you're an arrogant little brat that lives in your parent's wallet? Not much." Ichigo pointed to the three others behind the boy. "And you coming here with three Sekirei to just 'help' another Sekirei just reeks of foul play."

"Oh, The boy knows who were are?" The woman with the scythe chuckled. "You must be an Ashikabi then?"

"Quite." Mikogami agreed with her. "Are you after Akitsu as well then?"

Again Ichigo felt the girls eyes shift, but instead of locking onto Mikogami, she instead stared curiously at his back. However a look of anger found it's way on Ichigo's face. "You say that like you'd actually forcefully wing a Sekirei..." Ichigo's anger sharpened to a fine point. "You already have haven't you? How many?"

The boy across from him seemed strangely amused by Ichigo's reactions. "How many Sekirei do I own? Or how many have I taken?" The man's plastic grin returned "More than four, I'll let you guess the number of the rest of my collection"

'Collection?' A shiver of disgust went up the Fullbringer's spine. Ichigo sent his gaze skyward, looking for something to blame for this travesty. 'God, Kami, Soul King, whoever the hell is up there. Do you enjoy sending these bastards my way? Do you WANT me to kill indiscriminately today or something? Because this is really starting to piss me off' Ichigo's eyes dropped back to ground level and focused back on the main threat at hand. He really REALLY didn't want to fight a three on one battle.

Not only would he not be able to protect Akitsu which he had no doubt that he'd have to do to keep her out of Mikogami's grubby little fingers but he'd also have to use his full power to do so, which was overkill for a situation like this.

And killing the brat was out of the question since he really didn't want the blood of four or more innocent Sekirei on his hands. He may kill scum and monsters but the innocent was something he'd never stoop low enough to kill.

"Do you really intend to stand in my way?" The boy asked curiously as the captain class Sekirei placed a hand on his blade. "Do you really think a human like yourself can take on three Sekirei at once?" Mikogami seemed amused by that notion. "Move aside or Mutsu here will move you for me, Akitsu WILL be apart of my collection." There was little humor in his tone now, or that plastic smile on his face. Now he looked and sounded deadly serious and he wouldn't be denied his prize.

Or so he thought.

Ichigo took one step to the side, which surprised everyone there, including Akitsu. Before he took another, which put him right next to Akitsu, but also allowed Mikogami to approach her if he wished.

The boy blinked, surprised that Ichigo had actually conceded with his demands, not that he didn't think he wouldn't but it was a pleasant surprise regardless. "Are you really giving up that easily, from the way you talked to me before you seemed insistent on a fight?"

Ichigo scoffed. "I'm not a complete idiot. I know I can't fight you and your Sekirei alone, It's one of two reasons why I'm not going to fight you."

Mikogami smiled. "So you're not going to fight me because you're outnumbered? Smart, but what's the other reason?"

A crooked smirk appeared on Ichigo's face. "The second reason is something a certain shrimp of a woman said to me once back when I was still a brat like you."

The boy's smiled fell. "And just what did this woman say? Not to pick fights with your betters?"

"Hehehehee." Ichigo breathed a small laugh. "She might have told me that once or twice when she kicked my ass. But no, this was something she said before we even met, which she told me later on." A green light sprang to life around Ichigo's feet, growing in brightness as it built up speed. Ichigo's voice rang out low and even. "We stand in awe before that which cannot be seen, and we respect with every fiber that which cannot be explained." The light around Ichigo's feet started to hum as Ichigo reached a hand to grab Akitsu under the arm, which the woman didn't try to fight seeing as she was staring at the light around Ichigo's feet in wonder. "let's see a little awe and respect as you try to explain this Mikogami, now you see me" A wicked grin momentarily flashed across Ichigo's face.

The boy's eyes widening in realization. "Mutsu!" A blur beside him rushed forward to intercept.

"Now you don't"

The Sekirei's drawn blade struck home, only to pass through an after image as the green light around Ichigo's feet took off into the sky and shoot off into the distance.

Mikogami watched the light speed off in barely controlled rage, realizing angrily that the man had escaped him. "How dare that bastard steal from me?" The boy's face contorted in a snarl. "I WILL have Akitsu for my collection, mark my words." He knew that Ichigo was most likely long gone if that light was some special ability, maybe he was a Sekirei rather than an Ashikabi then? Pretending to be an Ashikabi to avoid people winging him? Whatever the case, Mikogami would not be denied his prize, he'd make damn sure of it.

-ooo-

The blur that was Ichigo leapt from building to building, Akitsu held in his arms and hanging on for dear life as he pin balled himself around. He had put almost two miles between himself and that bastard Ashikabi when he finally stopped and landed only a few blocks from Izumo Inn.

As soon as they touched down, Ichigo fell to a knee. 'I really need to stop putting so much energy into my Bringer jumps' he thought numbly, rubbing the back of one of his thighs for a moment trying to get the feeling back into it. After the fight earlier in the day, his own 'stroll' around the neighborhood and now this, it put a large strain on his human muscles to keep up that high level of speed over a long period. It just so happened that he had packed a bit too much Reiryoka into that last jump and it had cramped his muscles up.

Akitsu, who had been silent since their meeting landed more gracefully than Ichigo had, landing in a small crouch before standing to her full height, to watch the strange man who had apparently protected her.

"Why?" She asked, her voice still quiet and sad. "Why did you protect me, I am broken."

Ichigo stopped rubbing his leg to stare up at the woman. "What do you mean broken?"

The woman turned her head, eyes squinting just slightly as she nearly spat out the words. "I...I cannot be winged, I can never find my Ashikabi. As I've said... I'm broken."

'Oh...' The Fullbringer grimaced at the girls admission, he had felt the love and joy from Musubi simply at the prospect of finding her Ashikabi, that only increased by a factor of ten when she actually did get winged. 'Well, that at least explains why she's acting that way.' The man sighed, standing back up to his normal height. "I protected you Akitsu because it was the right thing to do." The girl glanced out of the corner of her eyes at Ichigo. "That man back there would have used you like an tool, he wouldn't have cared about you, he wouldn't have been your Ashikabi."

"But I can't have an Ashikabi." She replied sadly, walking over to a nearby bus stop bench to sit down and stare at the ground. "He would have thrown me away regardless, an Ashikabi has no use for a broken Sekirei."

Ichigo blinked. 'Wow and I thought my attitude sucked' shaking those thoughts away the Fullbringer approached the woman and sat next her. "You're not the only one whose broken you know." He replied gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The woman looked up, surprised by the gentle voice and even gentler touch.

"Hmph." A sad little smile appeared on Ichigo's face "For the past ten years, I've been running from my problems." He turned his head to look up at the full moon above him. "I was cursed. I always thought I'd be alone as well, since no one in the last ten years even tried to be more than just a casual associate. Hell, no one has even asked for my number so they could call me unless it was directly related to business." a small breathy chuckle escaped his lips as he shook his head. "That changed when my first Sekirei, Musubi literally fell out of the sky and landed on top of me." Here he cracked a bit of a larger grin at the sheer absurdity of that information. "It was entirely an accident but it led to so much more.

The woman next to him, shifted uncomfortably, seemingly becoming more depressed as he talked about...ah, better fix that...

"Even if you are broken Akitsu" Ichigo spoke up, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small piece of paper, he then neatly folded the paper into quarters before ripping along the lines, creating 8 little squares. "All the pieces that make you up are still there." He held them up to show the woman who stared down at them curiously as she listened to Ichigo speak. "All you need-" He placed his other hand over the first, cupping the paper between his palms. A small green light swirled around his hands for a moment as he pulled on the papers freshly separated soul, pulling it back together. Opening his hand's he showed Akitsu the now mended sheet "-Is someone to piece you back together." He placed the paper in her hand to let her feel that it wasn't a trick, that the paper was indeed solid again.

Akitsu stared down at the whole piece of paper in mild shock, the words Ichigo spoke echoing in her mind. Was it really possible for her to be repaired? Who could do such a thing? Who would do such a thing?

"I protected you because it was the right thing to do" The Fullbringer repeated. "Not because I'm some justice nut, but because everyone deserves the freedom to find that 'something' that they want in life and are willing to put their lives on the line to protect it." He stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. "It took me ten years to find that something, but I found it... or to be more precise, it found me..." He shook his head, mildly amused about the events that led up to Musubi's winging, it really was a random series of events that forced that encounter to happen. "What it really boils down to Akitsu is that you deserve the chance to find your Ashikabi. Hell, I'll even help you find them." He glanced over his shoulder at the woman to see her staring at him, eye's ever so slightly wider than normal. "Heh, I kinda made a promise to protect as many of the Sekirei as I could in this stupid game. That's really the only constant in my life, the fact that I never go back on my promises. That and the fact that I've been called stupidly dense for going to extreme measures to make sure I repay those I owe."

A small twitch of a smile appeared on the woman's face. "Do you really think I can find my Ashikabi?" She asked quietly.

He nodded "I don't doubt it for one second, I'm sure you'll find them someday."

Akitsu looked down at the paper in her hand a small blush on her cheeks. "Ah...I might have already found him."

Ichigo blinked owlishly at that comment... did she really just say what he thought she said? Did she really? Another one...? Well he wasn't known for doing anything half ass, might as well ask... "Do you want to be my Sekirei, Akitsu?"

The woman fiddled with the paper in her hand, seemingly shrinking into herself, her blush growing larger by the second. "Ah ...I may be broken but...maybe ...yes?" She turned away from him trying to hide her embarrassment.

Adorable, that was the first word that came to Ichigo's mind. Ichigo smiled warmly and offered her a hand to help her up. "I'd be honored to be your Ashikabi Akitsu."

"Ah, and you as well...Ashikabi-sama." The woman's face lit up as she grabbed Ichigo's hand. The words coming from her lips seeming like a joy, like a dream come true for her.

Well, now that he thought about it ...it kind of was. All Sekirei dreamed of finding their Ashikabi, he could only imagine what it must have felt like for Akitsu to be unable to find that person.

Or maybe he could do more than Imagine... Focusing Reiryoka into his hand, Ichigo sent the charge of energy into the woman's body.

Two sets of eyes widened, one at the swirling emotions in the woman's body, the other at the hot warmth that was flowing through her hand, up her arm and spreading throughout her body.

Akitsu's pupils dilated as her breathing became irregular, she looked up to the man that had done this to her and couldn't help but notice that he looked to be in a similar state. She faintly registered a burning sensation in her forehead as she rose to her feet.

Ichigo on the other hand was receiving more than he bargained for when he opened the link to the woman's emotions. He could feel love and sadness, sure. But he also felt this intense hatred that seemed to permeate her being. Following the sensations of anger, Ichigo ended up at the mark on Akitsu's forehead, her Sekirei crest.

From what he could gather from her few memories on the thing, someone had screwed up during her adjustments and she accidentally winged herself before she reached maturity. Akitsu blamed that man for all of her misfortunes.

The Fullbringer went rigid when he felt Akitsu's lips on his own, then the sudden pull on his Reiryoka reserves forced a slight gasp through his lips. The pull that Akitsu was much more concentrated that Musubi's or Yashima's and it all went to one spot in her body.

Her forehead.

He could feel the direction his Reiryoka was traveling through her body, but it seemed to stop at the crest on her forehead and coalesce there, leeching out of the symbol like a spigot leaking water.

It was like she was wearing a chastity belt or something, keeping the influence of an Ashikabi out and away from the point where she could be winged.

And not only was that belt locked but there didn't seem to be a key for it either.

Akitsu leaned back from the kiss, a sigh of disappointment on her lips. She had still failed, even when she had reacted she still couldn't be winged. A few tears leaked down her cheeks as she lowered her head, too ashamed to look her Ashikabi in the face. Even now she waited for him to throw her away, to tell her she just wasn't worth keeping after all...

She felt a hand on her shoulder and tensed up. Here it comes. She looked up into Ichigo's eyes expecting to find anger or displeasure. She was both confused and strangely pleased that rather than having those expressions Ichigo had a look of confusion spread across his face, a small frown set firmly on his lips.

"Do it again." He ordered the woman, bringing her lips closer to his.

Akitsu blinked, but otherwise followed the orders and locked lips with him again. She felt the overwhelming warmth flow through her body again, but like last time the heat didn't seem to reach the point in which she could find release, it was so frustrating!

Ichigo wasn't paying any attention to this, or the emotions associated with it, he was ignoring all that and instead focused on the crest on the woman's forehead, watching as his Reiryoka met the lock. When he had locked lips with Akitsu again he had pushed quite a bit more of his spiritual energy through her than last time, equaling out to around a moderately powered Getsuga Tensho. Still the lock didn't budge

However.

Ichigo felt a slight give, where the lock seemed to stop funneling his Reiryoka out of Akitsu's body and instead stayed in front of the door, continuing to push against the restraints holding it there. A lock was only as good as it's shackle and seeing his Reiryoka stop for a moment and begin pushing against the lock gave the man an idea.

Rarely was he a subtle fighter, he tended to rush full throttle into a fight and just hack and slash as much as he could in the shortest possible time. Now, that mindset gave him an idea, a perfectly wonderful idea.

As soon as their lips broke, Ichigo grabbed the woman's face and crushed his lips against hers again.

Akitsu's eyes widened as she felt Ichigo take charge, a luminous blush breaking out on her cheeks. She made a small mewling sound as she felt that heat build up again, this time building more and more pressure than before.

Ichigo ignored the woman's soft cries, instead focusing another large ball of energy into the woman's body and sending it towards the lock. Removing his lips he placed another deep kiss on the woman's mouth, this time drawing out his Fullbring in the process.

Akitsu could barely gasp out as another surge of heat built up in her body, searing her insides with it's comforting warmth, her release building in her body but not quite reaching it's peak.

Pulling back for one more kiss, Ichigo mouthed out the name of his Fullbring at the same time his lips met Akitsu's.

That's when the woman felt something snap, her mind going blank as the release that had been building flooded through her all at once. To put it into words that would make sense, It was like slowly drawing back a bow, holding it at full knock for what seemed like eternity, then letting it fly. There was little time for her to prepare herself as the crest on her forehead shattered, the pieces flaking off into dust. Then a crest on her back appeared, filled with so much power that it blew the back of her shirt and coat off from the middle of her back up

Ichigo felt his Reiryoka speed through the woman's body, striking the large swirling mass that had built around the lock. The last surge of energy had the strength of a fully powered Getsuga Tensho. And like it's namesake the surge of energy struck the already stressed lock directly on it's shackle.

It shattered.

All at once his energy surged through the now opened gate, headed for the base of the woman's neck. Similar to Yoruichi's Shunkō, the back of Akitsu's clothing blew off, revealing the newly acquired Sekirei crest between the woman's shoulder blades. Then her wings appeared. A dozen ice blue stalactite like gemstones that stretched out to encompass the entire street, the refractive bevels in the ice-like wings sending glittering moonlight scattering across the surfaces of the buildings around them.

Then it was over. The wings faded, disintegrating into the moisture that made them up and evaporating into the atmosphere.

Ichigo and Akitsu stood there, leaning against each other as they took short ragged gasps of air, both drained of energy from the rapid fire winging.

'Well' Ichigo thought numbly. 'It only took the equivalent of like five Getsuga Tensho to do it.' He stared at the woman's back, at the Sekirei crest there. 'But at least it's done' He felt the woman in his arms sob in his grasp, Pulling her out to arms length he was surprised to find her crying. "Akitsu?" He asked with concern.

"I-I found you." She sniffled a little as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I don't even know your name but... you're my Ashikabi, ." She murmured, you could hear the happiness in the woman's voice when she said 'my Ashikabi' The words rolling off her tongue with an almost reverent tone.

Ichigo breathed a small laugh, tears of happiness were almost as good as a smile in his honest opinion. "You can just call me Ichigo" He laughed, rubbing the girls back gently. "Ichigo Kurosaki. And you're my Sekirei Akitsu."

"Forever and ever." She breathed into his shoulder, before passing out completely.

"Oof." Ichigo slumped as the girl went limp in his arms. Struggling to pick the woman up in a bridal hold the Fullbringer scratched his head in confusion. "I guess the winging took a lot out of her." Shifting slightly to get her into a more comfortable position Ichigo started walking back to Izumo Inn, feeling Akitsu's link in the back of his mind much like Musubi's and Yashima's. He was almost relieved when he realized that unlike Musubi's always positive emotions and Yashima's currently jumbled, sad ones. Akitsu's mind was calm and quiet, even if it was filled with love at the moment, those emotions were surrounded by an ocean of calm resolve.

The Fullbringer shook his head. 'At least I don't have to worry about going crazy with her as Sekirei' a small chuckle of amusement echoed out into the cold night air. A cold night air that was warmed by the comforting warmth in his arms.

-ooo-

Everybody think the chapter title wasn't obvious enough? lol

That's right, back to back Sekirei winging's, big whoop wanna fight about it?

I've wanted to wing Akitsu since the beginning so back off peoples. If ya'll be butthurt then I got a little rhyme for ya'll to enjoy

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.

Some come from ahead.

Some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat I'm all ready you see

Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me -Dr Seuss.

That's right, I got a bat and I'm not afraid to use it! Like 20 of them actually... so step off yo or I'll pop a (lil) Slug(ger) in yo ass. (That actually sounds kinky now that I think about it :O )

Akitsu is one of my favorite Sekirei, so ya'll can piss off, it's not like I'm biased or anything... It's not like I have a thing for confident sexy women or anything... It's not like I love a woman who can give me a cold, sultry look that makes my blood boil or anything... It's not like ...ɪᴍ ᴀ ғᴜᴄᴋɪɴɢ ʟɪᴀʀ! (- ๏_๏-)