Updated, finally. Ugh. It's a bit unpolished in places, enjoy.

I did a few things in this chapter that are probably unique, some people might not like this. SO LET THE HATRED COME! COME AT ME BRO'S!

My dispenser of fucks has been empty the last few days so pardon if I come across as pissed at the moment.

Fic'o the day: Fate's Gamble by Lupine Horror This was a story that I didn't read at first because it's premise was laughable. I mean I read the first chapter like an hour after it was posted and went 'Naahh, I think I'll pass.' Fast forward like a couple months and I start reading this because i had nothing else at the time and i was like. *Forms the finger pyramid of evil contemplation* "Mother of God, this is like... an orgasm of the mind!" It starts off kindof sketchy, premise wise anyway, and the grammar gets funky in a couple places but after about 13 chapters in the guy gets a beta and the beta learns how to work with the authors style, so things start to get interesting.

If you are a fan of harry potter OR Fate/stay night, then give this bad boy a once over at least. Hazard gives this thing a 9.5/10 because nothings perfect and I still have gripes, but if you want a read where the main character is a badass magus/wizard/monster combo then this is the story for you. Also, do not question the sueness of the main character, simply bask in the amusing/badass story line. The sueness becomes a single dot on a polka dot canvas, barely noticable, and even if you do see it, it's buried under the epicness of the rest of the story.

Ok enough pandering and sucking of dick, next!

Song/vid of the day: RWBY Theme - Red like Roses Part II I've been fanbonering RWBY the past couple months and if you haven't watched it, then go watch it, because it is awesome.

Word/s of the day: Fanboner i Because for some reason that word made me chuckle today, so I thought I'd include it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Sekirei. I do however, own one (1) bottle of Great Value brand bleach and a three (3) inch tall wooden wagtail carving. Make of that what you will.

-ooo-

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Flashback

Narration/machines talking

"Hollow talking"

'Hollow Thinking'

-ooo-

Chapter 8: Interlude

Insufferably hot.

That was what was going through Ichigo's mind as he sat next to Homura. It had been three days since the rescue and the unconscious flame Sekirei was living up to his namesake as his ambient body heat rose the temperature of the room he was currently laying in. Even with Akitsu constantly applying ice to the silver haired Sekirei's body, or that the window was open, allowing the room to ventilate. It didn't help that whatever was causing this overheating was also harming it's user in the process. Ichigo couldn't even begin to explain the way the Sekirei's body seemed to be breaking down from the inside. His use of a small diagnostic technique he had created to check his injuries had come back with a horror story of internal injuries, it was as if Homura was being cooked from the inside out.

And Ichigo was irritated because there was nothing he could do about it. Miya had come in just a few hours before and explained that a Sekirei body's -Homura's body in particular- were different than a human's and because of that his powers were extremely unstable. The landlady had mentioned that Homura had often said that if he could find his Ashikabi his powers would most likely solidify and become more controllable.

That left Ichigo in a bit of a quandary. He could wing Homura, true... but the thought of kissing a guy was a bit... ugh... and the chances of him actually finding the Sekirei's true Ashikabi were slim to none on top of that. On the other hand he couldn't just leave the man to die from his powers going haywire, if they did reach critical it would probably destroy half of Maison Izumo in the process so that was definitely out.

The Fullbringer stood, giving Akitsu a quick order to keep Homura on ice while he got a drink. It was too damn hot in that room to think straight.

Ichigo made his way to the kitchen only to find the fridge occupied by Yomi. The woman appeared to be digging through the crisper in search of something.

...

She was also in nothing but a matching pair of black lace panties and bra with a very sheer, very baggy white nightgown over it. Apparently, she had liberated one of them from Akitsu's growing collection of risque clothing -courtesy of Ichigo's shrinking back account of course.- 'Speaking of.' Ichigo thought dully. 'Probably a good idea to search for a job, my wallet can't handle these girls for much longer.'

And on the subject of money. Ichigo in a moment of foresight had decided to analyze the MBI card he was given when he winged Musubi. Analyzed it, then completely destroyed the thing when he found a tracking chip in it, along with a receiver for something. What that something was, the Fullbringer didn't want to find out.

Ichigo averted his eyes as he made his way around Yomi's rear, which she was shaking to some little tune that he could hear her humming. Maybe she wouldn't notice him as he grabbed one of the -hrk.

"And what are you doing Ashikabi-sama?" Yomi whispered in his ear.

"Getting a glass of water." Ichigo froze, hand inches from the cabinet that contained the Inn's glassware. "Why?" Valid question, it was even more valid because the woman behind him was pressing her breasts into his back and was groping a certain part of his body.

"Oh, no reason." She released her hold on the Fullbringer and walked away, a little sway in her step.

Oh that was so tempting... and it was blatantly obvious what she wanted. Such a perverted woman, sexually starved by her previous Ashikabi... Ichigo stood there for a moment more before his brain kicked back in and he got his drink. Really, it wasn't bad enough that when Yomi had found out about his sleeping arrangements she had dived into the pile and taken her place near his crotch. No, now she was actively groping him, trying to get his attention.

Sighing a bone weary sigh, not for the first time both cursing and thanking his luck that he had found himself in such a un/enviable situation. Walking out onto the porch, Ichigo's ire rose as he found his other cause for worry playing in the grass.

A tall curvaceous woman with a body that rivaled Musubi and Akitsu, green hair that reached to her back and green eyes, though they had lightened to an earthy olive in light of the woman's change.

From child to adult...Kusano...

It had started last night, when the young girl had decided for herself to be his Sekirei after finding out it was Ichigo who had saved her life. A short kiss on the lips was all it took for her to become his -Ichigo could think of a few of his friends who would have a field day with that little thought- but that's where the pedo thoughts ended and swirled into a confusing flash of light.

Apparently, Kusano's abilities were uncontrollable before that point. After Ichigo had injected well over the girls natural limit of his own energy, her powers seemed to... mutate was the easiest way to explain it. It was as if she had reached a plateau and adapted to the next level of power, much like a soul reaper before and after learning their Zanpakuto's name and subsequent release phrase.

When she had kissed him, he could feel a massive amount of spiritual energy leaving through his lips. Like a vampire feasting on blood, the girl drew in his energy and much like her powers, had accelerated her growth into what was playing in front of him. Like her hair, there was a certain green tinge to the girls body where it had grown, giving her skin exotic olive tan lines. Miya had noticed the change this morning and again mentioned that Sekirei physiology was different and in some cases radically so, this only proved her correct.

"Itsygo!" A running tackle had the Fullbringer on the ground.

Though the girls personality remain unchanged, the lisp had developed because of a lack of appropriate muscle control going from a small body to a large one, even now she had a hard time not stumbling and had more or less fell into him. The fact that both her appearance and mannerisms were similar to Nel's didn't escape Ichigo. He didn't know why, maybe it was fate making fun of him, surrounding him with Sekirei who were so similar to his old friends and acquaintances.

Whether this change was permanent or not remained to be seen...

Ichigo sighed, rubbing his bruised chest. "Kusano, could you not do that please?" Her head was just as hard as Nel's it seemed.

"Sowy..." Kusano mumbled, falling back on her thighs and sitting cutely... or at least as cutely as a woman of her beauty could anyway.

"Ugh..." Ichigo shook his head lightly. 'Mind of a child, body of a seductress, it's like Musubi but worse...' Needless to say Kusano had claimed her spot on the Ichigo dog pile as well... space was becoming rather limited at night.

"Is Itsygo angwy?" The girl turned woman poked her fingers together a couple times, looking rather guiltily at the Fullbringer.

Sighing for what seemed like the millionth time these past few days, Ichigo dusted himself off and stood. "No Kusano, I'm not angry, just try to tone it down a bit, now go play and I'll see if I can get Musubi to join you.

The girls eyes lit up, the orbs twinkling like little starlight's before she broke out into a loud hooting yell the likes of which only a little girl could make as she dove out into the yard and immediately started chasing after a butterfly. Ichigo blinked, shook his head then walked off to find Musubi, maybe she could understand what just happened...

-ooo-

A computer screen booted up in the dark.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Age:26. Hair:Orange. Eyes: Brown. Height:6'2. Weight: 180 pounds Occupation: Unknown. Previous Occupation: Unknown. Current Sekirei in possession: 5" Glasses gleamed, reflecting the light in their lenses. "You're quite the interesting specimen aren't you?" Another screen to the voice's left booted up, showing Ichigo watching Musubi and Kusano playing in the yard. "Ufufufufufuuu, let the experimentation begin~"

-ooo-

"Ugh... that's the last time I wrestle with a Sekirei." Ichigo groaned as he sank into the bath, letting the hot water relax his muscles. It had been a rather rough and tumble day as a game of tag between Musubi and Kusano had devolved into a small spar, the fist type showing off a few skills to her newly grown sister. Kusano had followed along but the game/sparing match had been taken a bit too far when a few vines from Kusano had yanked him into the middle of the match... at Musubi's request. It seemed that after watching him fight off Mutsu, the fist type had been a bit antsy to try her luck against him again. Who knew that she was just as good a grappler as a fist fighter? And Kusano's vines didn't help any on top of that.

Tickling was sooo cheating.

"Rough day?" A feminine voice asked.

"Yeah." Ichigo agreed, not really paying attention. Wait... Ichigo's eyes shot open to see...

Breasts... large breasts... large breasts inches from his face... what...?

Ichigo blinked. "Ahhh." He fell back out of the tub, desperately covering himself with a towel as the woman -it could only be a woman- slunk over to him, muttering 'Ufufufufufu' to herself.

"Oh, don't be like that Ichi-tan, Matsu will be gentle."

Oh hell no! He was NOT having his first sexual experience be at the hands of some strange woman... well she was kind of ho- NO! Think with your head, not your dick! Shaking himself loose of the hypnotizing jiggly bits, Ichigo backed against a wall, using it as a prop to get his feet under him.

"I don't know who you are lady but I'm not interested in what you're selling." He took a second to secure his towel, once his modesty was assured, the Fullbringer fell into a comfortable crouch, preparing for anything this crazy woman could throw at him.

She blinked, stared down at herself, then looked back up through her glasses. "But Matsu isn't selling anything?"

Ichigo frowned, really looking the woman over for a moment; Huge breasts, lack of modesty, odd verbal tick/speech pattern, strange hair color; red. -not like he could really say anything about that- Something about this seemed oddly famil- The Fullbringer facepalmed.

Sekirei.

Freaking Sekirei.

They were showing up in the bathroom now? What's next? Will they show up in his morning cereal bowl?

Ignoring the insanity for a moment the Fullbringer actually gave the woman a once over with his senses.

'Low captain. Maybe more, but something feels odd about her.' Ichigo stared into the woman's eyes. "You're a Sekirei, right?"

The woman nodded. "Matsu is Sekirei number zero-two."

'A single number? And this one's the second Sekirei in the line-up? Interesting.' Ichigo cleared his throat, getting the girls attention again. "If it isn't a problem, could you tell me why you are in the bath with me?"

She flashed a small sultry grin. "Matsu is experimenting."

'Ex...perimenting?' Ichigo's eyebrow twitched when he noticed the deep flush of the woman's skin, her breathing coming in small ragged breaths. 'Oh hell, she's reacting isn't she?' Ichigo raised his eyes upward, silently cursing whatever power was toying with him. Really? Who end's up in these kinds of situations? The Fullbringer sighed, lowering his eyes-

Matsu was inches from his face, her body pressing into his.

"Ahhh!" Ichigo flinched back, slamming into the wall in the process. Matsu didn't seem to notice, she simply pressed her body tighter into Ichigo's.

"Mastu really want's Ichi-tan to be her Ashikabi." The woman purred in his ear, running a teasing finger down his chest.

'Ok.' Ichigo's brain rebooted, frantically mashing the F8 key to enter safe mode. 'Think about this rationally. She only want's you to be her Ashikabi, nothing else... but she also said something about experimenting... Ok, now is not a good time to panic.' Silently reining in his breathing, the Fullbringer calmed himself further, taking slow and measured breaths. "Why exactly do you want me to be your Ashikabi?"

Matsu's face scrunched up in confusion. Really, she hadn't expected a hot blooded male to be able to keep it in his pants? "Matsu wants Ichi-tan as her Ashikabi because..." She pouted cutely, struggling for an explanation. "Because Ichi-tan is Ichi-tan! You're such an amazing specimen." Here she ran her fingers over the Fullbringer's abs, their tips tracing the rock hard muscles as the woman's eyes seemed to rove his entire body.

'Ok, she wants me for my body...a valid reason...And I did promise I'd protect as many of them as I could...' Careful to make sure said woman wasn't doing anything funny with Ichigo-junior. The Fullbringer pushed Matsu out to arm's length. "Alright, if you want to be my Sekirei, I won't stop you." Matsu's eyes lit up. "But!" Ichigo stressed. "You can't be sneaking into the bath with me."

Matsu's pout grew more pronounced as Ichigo set a few more ground rules to keep his sanity from nose diving off the cliff of shenanigans.

"Are those terms agreeable?" Ichigo finished, throwing on a bit of embellishment.

"I...guess so." The glasses wearing Sekirei frowned, why couldn't she do any of the fun things she'd had planned for her Ashikabi. It just wasn't fair!

Ichigo nodded. "Good." He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her in close, an action that drew a deep red blush and a perverted grin from the red haired Sekirei.

"Can Matsu experiment during the bonding?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, only a Sekirei could make a kiss sound so weird. "Oh, alright. Just don't grab anything you shouldn't."

Matsu giggled evilly.

-ooo-

Homura's eyes opened blearily, squeezing shut a moment later with a groan as the ceiling light glowed like a white hot sun in his vision. How long had he been out for?

"Three days."

The Fire Sekirei started, surprised that he hadn't felt another presence in the room with him. He opened his mouth to ask but his throat constricted as a thick film of phlegm built in his throat. At least he knew who it was now.

"Here." Ichigo handed the flame Sekirei a glass of water, which the man greedily downed. After he had swallowed all the liquid, he focused back on the man in front of him. Noting with some surprise that he wasn't alone and that the man's Sekirei were scattered around the room, each staring at him as much as he stared back.

"Three days" Ichigo repeated, gaining Homura's full attention this time. "That's how long you've been out for." The Fullbringer rubbed his head a bit sheepishly. "That's usually the first thing I want to know when I come out of a long sleep like that. You're actually lucky to be awake now, for a moment there we thought you were gonna burn yourself out, but then your internal temperature lowered and whatever it was that was cooking your insides, stopped."

"Thanks" Homura ground out, still sore from said near burn out. Then his eye's widened. What had happened to Kusano? Was she alright?

Sensing the man's panic, Ichigo grabbed his shoulder. "You alright?"

"Kusano! Did she-?"

"Kuu is jus fine!"

Homura stopped for a moment, a small frown on his face as he noted that Ichigo's current flock had doubled while he was unconscious. Was that Matsu over there in the corner? And why did that one with the scythe seem so familiar? He blinked when his mind registered the giggling green haired woman sitting off to one side, playing with Musubi.

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, that's Kusano and yes she wanted me to wing her, so don't get all burn happy over that."

Well that covered one of the newest individuals. That left the scythe girl and Matsu who was smirking and flashing Ichigo a few seductive and predatory looks. She had probably reacted to the strawberry, knowing the craziness that seemed to follow the orange haired idiot around.

"The other two are Matsu, who I assume you know and Yomi." Matsu waved absently, too busy watching Ichigo's backside. Yomi on the other hand stared at Homura with a hint of distaste, like she had swallowed a lemon or something.

Homura matched her glare. "What's your problem?" He growled, not backing an inch. The feeling that he had met the woman before only increased as she stared him into the ground.

After a moment holding his glare, Yomi sniffed once before turning away from him.

"What's her problem?" This time he directed his question at Ichigo.

"Don't know." Ichigo shrugged. "She's been glaring a hole in you for the past three days though."

"I have not." Yomi huffed, turning even further away from the pair.

That's when something seemed to click in Homura's brain. The girls weapon which was set off to the side, her mannerisms, her appearance, even her name pointed to only one individual. One whom he knew for a fact was bonded with Mikogami, that spoiled little brat that had called the Sekirei Plan a 'game' of all things.

If that was the case, why was she here?

"Can we go now?" Yomi huffed. "You said we could go after fireball woke up."

Fireball? Homura's eyes narrowed, that only clenched it, he'd only been called that by one person.

It was a few weeks ago after he had shot off a dozen of said fireball's at her while she was trying to capture an unwinged Sekirei for that bastard Mikogami. She had mockingly called him that name after coming awfully close to burning the woman's hair, probably why she was giving him the evil eye. Regardless, this was definitely the same person from before.

"Sekirei Number 43: Yomi?" Homura watched the woman twitch slightly at being recognized.

"Yeah, what of it?" She bit back.

"Ashikabi; Hayato Mikogami?" Homura watched with interest as Ichigo subtly put himself between him and Yomi, most likely remembering his reaction to Akitsu from before. But what really got his attention was Yomi's rather vindictive denial of her Ashikabi.

"Fuck no! That bastard can rot for all I care." She stood up and walked with purpose over to Ichigo. "This man is my Ashikabi now!" And with that she crushed her lips to his, as if to put a very definitive exclamation point on her words, which also brought on the usual light show.

Needless to say that Homura was stunned by this turn of events. "How is this possible? I know for a fact that you were already winged." He looked back and forth between Ichigo and Yomi, confusion clear on his face.

Ichigo straightened a bit as Yomi backed away from him, a small smile and a visible sway in her step as she walked back over to the chair she'd been sitting in. The Fullbringer turned to see the look of shock on Homura's face, clearly he wasn't prepared for something as obviously groundbreaking as this. Better put it out there as quickly and plainly as possible. "Well, you see...the thing is, I'm able to rewing Sekirei."

Homura jerked back as if struck. "W-what?"

Ichigo nodded. "If the Sekirei is on the edge of termination or their Ashikabi is killed I can save the Sekirei by rewinging them."

The Flame Sekirei stared in shock for a moment before he sank back against the wall his bed was leaned against, too tired from his near death experience and this revelation to voice his opinion. So there was someone who could rescue Sekirei from termination or an abusive Ashikabi? He didn't really know how to take that. On one hand, what Ichigo did was essentially stealing the mate of someone else, in which case that was utterly deplorable. On the other, Mikogami was scum of the worst sort and he honestly didn't mind seeing him lose a few of his Sekirei to someone who -while not entirely trustworthy- at least seemed genuinely honorable.

Homura was torn, tired and really, all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep for awhile. Idly he scratched an itch on his chest, sighing quietly as he sank back into his bed. "You know what? I don't care enough right now to burn you. Let me sleep some more and tell me when dinner is ready." With that, Homura turned over on his side and placed a pillow over his head, effectively ending the conversation.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the dismissal but didn't say anything as he turned back to his Sekirei. He noted that Matsu had a rather curious gleam in her eye -which most assuredly didn't bode well for anyone- Kusano also had a look of curiosity about her but lacked the devious gleam that set her apart from Matsu. The rest of his Sekirei already knew of his abilities and were rather unfazed by it, especially Akitsu who viewed it as a chance for other Sekirei to know a truly wonderful Ashikabi like her's

As one, the group left Homura to think, the man in question tense as he felt Ichigo leave the room.

And dammit, why was his body tingling?

-ooo-

Uzume blinked, chopsticks inches from her mouth, the noodles being held by said utensils falling back to her plate limply as she stared at the image in front of her.

Ichigo was trying and failing to accommodate six Sekirei sitting at the end of the table, one of which happened to be Matsu, whom she knew for a fact was supposed to be hiding. Why was she-?

Oh... Now she was sitting in the Fullbringer's lap, trying her hardest to seduce the man. So she got winged by Ichigo too then? Hot damn the guy move's fast. Uzume eyed the Fullbringer's muscles through the thin shirt he was wearing and -unsurprisingly enough- licked her lips. If she wasn't already attached to an Ashikabi, she wouldn't mind being the Sekirei of this hunky specimen of a man either...

Maybe Chiho wouldn't be that opposed to a possible threesome... Uzume let out an unladylike ufufufufu, which was matched seemingly by Matsu and Yomi at the other end of the table.

Pervy minds think alike after all.

Homura was sipping on his tea, quietly ignoring the group, hoping beyond hope that his small, comfortable world view wouldn't be shattered like glass in the face of Ichigo's ability to give logic the middle finger.

Miya also noticed the behavior of Ichigo's little harem, particularly her secret tenant. Silently she was happy for her fellow Sekirei, vocally however she was quite irritated that Matsu was doing things that were...

"Matsu-san, you know as well as Ichigo-san that illicit behavior at Izumo is...Prohibited."

Matsu froze, as well as the rest of the Sekirei in the room. Ichigo continued eating as the Hanya mask that was Miya's trademark came into being behind the woman's back.

Ichigo continued to ignore the shell shocked room. "Can you pass the salt Uzume?" Said woman's hand numbly wrapped around the condiment and passed it along, too shocked that Ichigo was seemingly ignoring the...the... THING!

Miya watched Ichigo salt his food, seemingly unaware of her mask's presence. Ichigo took another bite of his food

Her eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance, somewhat put out that her best compliance tool didn't seem to be working. And she had put quite a bit more power into it this time, there was no way that Ichigo couldn't feel her mask's power

Ichigo felt Miya's gaze on him and looked up to regard the woman and her mask. "What?" Seriously, why was everyone so quiet? It was just a mask, hell half of them had seen it several times before so it shouldn't be that shocking the Nth time around. Hell, he'd felt worse facing down Ullquiorra, that man was a living personification of Nihilism and despair, some concentrated spirit energy mixed with killing intent just didn't match up.

Miya pouted, actually pouted, allowing her Hanya mask to fade. "Kurosaki-san, would you please restrain your Sekirei from acts of illicit behavior in the future, especially at the dinner table?"

"Sure." Ichigo agreed without missing a beat. "I wasn't really doing anything, they-" He pointed to Matsu and Yomi. "Are the ones who were trying to get in my pants."

"Be that as it may." Miya smiled, though it was rather strained. "I would appreciate it if you could reign them in a bit."

"I'll try." He responded. "Though sooner or later we're going to end up sleeping together, just giving you fair warning." He took another bite of his food.

Miya froze, a look of shock on her face. Matsu, Uzume and Homura looked to be seconds away from a heart attack.

After the initial shock wore off, Miya's smile returned, though it was as strained if not moreso than before. "Would you care to repeat that Kurosaki-san?" The use of Ichigo's family name was not missed by those in the know.

'Oh shit, Miya's pissed!' That though passed through the three original tenants heads as the slowly and silently backed away from the table, in case they had to make a break for it.

"I said that eventually, I and one of my Sekirei are going to have sex." Miya twitched. "From what I gathered through Musubi's explanation along with what I've discovered on my own, Ashikabi are in essence a Sekirei's destined one or 'mate.' Correct?" Not waiting for them to reply to the obvious, Ichigo continued. "So it stands to reason that there will be a 'honeymoon night' at some point." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'm actually surprised that it hasn't happened yet, given the attractiveness of my Sekirei." He rubbed his eyebrows in annoyance, pointedly staring at Yomi. He then moved his gaze to his newest Sekirei; Matsu, including her because of the woman's love of the word 'experiment.' "Or the fact that two of them are perverted lecher's..." He then stared blankly at Musubi and Akitsu. "Or that another two lack any sort of modesty..."

The Sekirei around Ichigo blinked owlishly at the Fullbringer's deadpan tone.

Kusano looked from Ichigo to Miya and back again. "What's sex?"

Without missing a beat Ichigo replied in a similar deadpan tone. "It's something adults do when they love each other very much, no I won't show you what it is, I'll tell you about it when you're a bit older."

Ignoring the stupidity that yet again reared it's ugly head, Homura actually thought over what Ichigo had said and was surprised when it actually made a lot of sense -dare he say it?-

"You know, he -and I can't believe I'm saying this- has a point." Everyone turned to stare at Homura, who had an unreadable look about him. "Miya, you're a bit too strict when it comes to what you consider 'illicit behavior.' Some of us actually have reasons for our behavior." He shoved a thumb at the panty-less pair. "Uzume and Akitsu chronically lack underwear, I work at a host club -don't read too much into that- Matsu's a dirty old man in female form and like Ichigo said, the rest of his flock lacks any sort of modesty."

The Flame Sekirei threw his hands up in exasperation, now that someone was standing up to Miya, he might as well get his grievances out of the way. "Throw us a bone Miya, we can't all be blushing virgins." He pointed an accusing finger at her. "And on that matter, I know for a fact you and Takehito have slept together, in that room no less." He pointed down the hall to Miya's room.

Miya's cheeks flushed a faint red. "I..." She tried to say 'I have no idea what you're talking about' But what came out was a small, cute cough, like she had tried to cover up the fact that she was caught red handed at something and was now trying to divert attention.

Ichigo glanced back and forth between the two before finally landing on Homura. "Feel better?" He asked the man, who was slightly out of breath.

"Immensely." Homura sighed. "You have no idea how hard it is to do business with Miya breathing down your neck. Especially when it's MY kind of business, I DO take private calls for my services and those can become rather explicit. Do I get to stay in my room and do this? No, I have to leave and find a hotel." He scowled. "To take a freaking call! Arrg!" He roughly scrubbed his hands through his hair, which ruffled the silver mess into an even worse tangle.

"Well." Miya cleared her throat, ignoring her silver haired tenant's mild break down. "I do suppose that you have a point Homura-san. I believe I could tone down my... ahem, strictness to outside the bedroom. After all, what you do in the privacy of your bedroom is none of my business, as long as it doesn't disturb the other tenants. Also I think I shall add another ten percent on your bill for the month." Miya's smile returned with a vengeance, turning it sickly sweet "An illicit relations tax as it were." You mess with Miya, Miya messes with you.

Ichigo and Homura flinched, nodding in tandem at the more agreeable terms. "That... sounds reasonable. Speaking of business." Ichigo leaned back, already finished with his meal awhile ago. "That reminds me, I need to find a job somewhere." Homura's ears perked up.

"What kind of work you looking for?"

"Bodyguard work mostly." Ichigo made a small wishy washy motion with his hand. "Though I can be a decent repairman, mechanic or a nurse if you need one bad enough."

Homura nodded. "A man of diverse skills, I can appreciate that. The host club I work at tends to use alcohol in it's services and we need a new bouncer after the last one lost an eye in a small... disagreement with a client. Remember, women have very sharp fingernails, drunk women have a lack of compunction for using their nails. Up for the job?"

"Pay?"

Homura shrugged. "You'd have to take it up with the owner, but the pays reasonable for my work." He eyed Ichigo for a few minutes, taking in his appearance. "And after she see's you I think she might just forget the bouncer thing and let you be the eye candy to bring people in."

Ichigo snorted. Really? Getting paid to sit around and look good? While he might not be a narcissist, Ichigo was not by any stretch of the imagination ignorant to his good looks. "I know I'm going to regret this but... muscle shirt, yes or no?

"Muscle shirt." Homura nodded. "Most definitely the muscle shirt."

Both Matsu and Yomi giggled evilly this time.

-ooo-

I had a... somewhat hard time getting back into this story to write this chapter. Oh well, it's out now, so stop harping on me. I swear I get like three or four messages a week about this story.

Yes I know I have Ichigo back to back winging Yomi, Kusano and Matsu, especially Kusano whom I winged in the time skip, which some of you might consider a cardinal sin or something...

However, if you look at the anime and manga, Minato burns through like five Sekirei in short order, it only takes forever in the manga to get around to Homura because of the authors terrible pacing, She pulls a Kubo in that regard. Oh and in regards to Kusano's adult body.

Eh, I thought it would be amusing, so I did it. I have a humorous idea planned for Shiina's eventual meeting with her. I also like the fact that Ichigo is having to deal with the specter of his friends in every Sekirei he ends up with. It makes the eventual meet up with his past that much more... interesting.

Also Loli/Jailbait isn't really my thing, so Kusano gets an adult body and a childish brain to commit shenanigans with.

-Omake time-

April 2nd, 2020

'Dear Journal.

I. AM GOING. TO DIE! TT_TT

I don't even know why I'm still here but I can't think of anything else to do. I've failed my other entries twice now, if I leave now I'll...

No I can't leave... I can't just run away.

Yokai Academy, who knew the name was actually literal...?

That's right, it's a school...

For Monsters...

And Human's are killed on sight if they are found here... Ugh... I just have to last until the end of the year where I can build up my credentials, then I can transfer to a different school.

On a brighter note, I met a wonderful, yet... strange girl yesterday. Pink hair, -I know right?- green eyes, a smile that could charm the blackest soul and a body that could stop a fleet of American sailors dead in the water.

She also happens to be a vampire... And she enjoy's the taste of my blood... At least she considers me a friend now... though when her true power comes out...

Actually, I might be afraid of her true vampire form... but the way her chest and bottom fills out during the transformation... That perfect silver hair... and those beautiful crimson red eyes...

*Smear marks where what appears to be blood was wiped up*

On a less positive note, I almost died earlier today. One of the monsters here -I forget his name- Didn't like the fact that I was friends with Moka and attempted to eat me... and not in the good way either. I was lucky that I removed the rosary which limited Moka's vampire powers -again her vampire form is to beautiful for words- needless to say the big bully ended up as a smear on the pavement.

Vampire's are truly amazing... and frighteningly powerful, can't forget that...

Well... at least there's no way this can get any worse

Right...?

Minato Sahashi.'