" "- Dialogue
( )- Thoughts
~ - Inflection
[ ]- Action
Important Update! I'm hit with a bit of the block and am still not done with the next chapter. My apologies for this break in the schedule, but I will be back with the new chapter on the 26th next Monday. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Pitch Black.
A familiar sight for Minato at this point. (I wonder what'll attack me this time. Damn dreams.) Minato has become somewhat lucid in them by now. A sort of evolution to combat the mental stress of some of the more stressful nightmares.
However, as he stands there waiting to be attacked something peculiar appeared before Minato. A grand doorway that looks like it belongs to one of the castles of old. Wooden and painted red, it has the insignia of a hanya with four identical dragons bowing to it from either side. This imposing door is chained shut.
"Is something supposed to burst from this?" Minato thought aloud in a blase tone, but the more he looks at it the more interested he becomes. Just as he considers approaching it an unfamiliar voice answers him.
"Not burst out as much as enter. And it is not something, but rather someone...You of course." A disembodied male voice speaks calmly, as if what he was saying was as clear as day.
"Y-Y-You're new. I'm used to getting a lovely maiden of murder. S-So what do you have to do with this dream?" Minato's completely surprised by this new presence and loses his calm as his brain scrambles to try and put together what this means.
"No need to worry Minato-san, I am here to help you not hurt you. This reality will no longer be one you have to fear." The voice spoke in a warm manner and, for some reason, Minato feels completely at ease with it. (Wait how did he do that?)
"How did you calm me just then? There's no way I'd actually trust something here so easily!" What is this being to be able to calm Minato's nerves with only words? As Minato looked around curiously he could only find more darkness.
"You could say I am a seasoned veteran of this reality. You could sense it in my words easily enough on a subconscious level, even if you are not aware of it. I am truly here to help Minato so listen to what I have to say." To Minato this is beginning to make some sense, in a wacky dreamlike high sort of way. (Usually I'm attacked without hesitation, with only a few hostile words and no real warning. Whatever did that, did it for seven straight months on and off, so why would it try and change tactics now; especially since it was beating me soundly every time.)
"Go on."
"I'm glad you are beginning to understand this place, I am here to speed that progress up however. As you may remember from previous experiences, this isn't a place as much it is a state of mind. The state of one person's mind in particular. Now that you have winged another sekirei, you have unlocked a sort of power over this place however minute it may be; the power to see this door." The voice's speaking of this reality as a state of another person's mind seemed to clear out some of the cobwebs of Minato's memory as he starts to remember his first encounter in this place.
"This place is someone's subconscious... a woman."
"Yes that is correct. Though I am not at liberty say who. Although what attacked you wasn't her or of her own conscious will. Rather her past self, which she has locked away into this section of her mind." This leads to another epiphany for Minato.
"So you're saying this subconscious we're in is where all of this lady's repressed memories and feelings end up? If so then why am I here? And why can't you say who it is either? Who are you to begin with?" Minato can feel his grasp on this dream weaken as his body starts to naturally wake up. He uses all of his will to stay in the dream, forcing out all the questions he can muster in an attempt to speed the exposition along.
"You'll see me again Minato so you do not need to worry about having your questions go unanswered. Now to answer a few of those questions. Yes we are in a repressed part of her consciousness. Who 'she' is, is better left unsaid as I want to see you figure it out yourself. You are brought here as you are drawn to each of your sekirei; by fate. Finally, I am someone who wants to see our host, so to speak, truly live happily again." The voice pulls off an extraordinary feat in providing Minato with all of the answers he seeked, and somehow creating more questions.
"You know about sekirei?!" Is the first big question for Minato.
"Why of course. I was intimately tied to the sekirei in my past life. Such wonderful creatures they are, both scientifically and philosophically!" The voice sounds like it's about to go on and hour and a half tirade about sekirei that, while interesting and enlightening, Minato doesn't have time for.
"So you had a special relationship with our host in the past before she...changed?" Moving ahead before the voice can go on, Minato is beginning to piece a few things together.
"Yes, although I'd rather not speak of that." The voice says in a forlorn way.
A small awkward silence fills the air as Minato feels regretful for bringing it up.
(I probably should just move past this before it gets worse.)
"Sorry... So you're saying the hanya, the red humanoid, the oni, and the others were all from her past self trying to get rid of me. Why?" If he was brought here by fate, then how does this repressed persona expect to get rid of Minato?
"While she is a completely different personality to what our host is now, she is still an integral part of our host and her soul. One cannot make it far in life if they do not improve their person, and to do that one must have an introspective and look upon their past self for improvement. In that way she cannot leave, and in that same way she is a sort of guardian of this reality. She wants what is best for our host, and to her you are something of a pest." The voice seems to have been around awhile with the way he knows the ins and outs of how this place works. But if he knows this, why doesn't the hanya?
"So this hanya wants me out, does that mean she doesn't understand that I'm brought here by fate? Or does she not fully understand this place like me?" Minato asks as he continues to fight the pull of waking up.
"She simply thinks you've forced your way in here, even if there is no real way to do that. I believe that it is a way for her to justify to herself that you aren't brought here by fate." The voice hypothesizes, although all of this knowledge on this reality leads to one more question from Minato.
"You want to stay anonymous, but can I ask how you know all of this. And if you were someone special to the host then how you ended up here?" Minato can feel the pull intensify as a fog enters the sides of his vision.
"I am here because I died and our host could not fully accept it." The voice states bitterly, after a brief pause he continues. "It may sound a bit paradoxical, but while she loves me and thinks of me often, she suppressed many of her memories of me as a way to cope with the loss. When I died, I woke up in this place. I have spent years piecing together how this place works, and what is happening outside of it through this door. Occasionally I can peak inside and see what's happening in her active consciousness, but those moments are few and far between. I believe that I will be stuck here unable to rest, until she moves on from my death." This is a lot to take in for Minato.
(You can be trapped after death by someone you love?! What? How deep does your connection have to be to do that, and how is it possible? Is it just a thing for family members or this from a sekirei? This is too much.)
As Minato reels from all of the new information he feels himself begin to lose the tug-of-war with is his consciousness, looking back at the door. "Then whats with the door?!"
As light begins to creep into his vision, Minato can here an echo from two voices. The voice of the dead loved one, and an all too familiar sweet voice.
"The stronger the flock, the weaker the lock Minato-san." And with that he's gone.
In the darkness as the door fades away, a venomously sweet voice chimes in finally. "All this time and you are still the worst joker. I don't know what's worse. That terrible rhyme, or the fact that you think he can change us. To think you really believe anyone other than yourself can change us Takehito!"
Takehito replies. "...Absolutely, he's the one that will save not only you, but all of our feathers as well."
Minato's Bed
Minato wakes up to a weight on his left side and in an unfamiliar room. (Whaa? Where?... That's right. I'm sharing the bed with Taki-chan in Izumo Inn.)
Looking to his right, Minato can see Taki's sleeping form completely cuddled up to him. Her legs wrapped around his own left leg. Her arms thrown over his chest and the pillow. His pillow to be accurate. Although she doesn't really need it seeing as his shoulder appears to be more than serviceable enough for the job.
As her light snores kiss his collar and the nape of his neck, Minato looks back up at the ceiling.
(I should probably take note of what happened in the dream before I forget)
Reaching over to the nightstand, Minato wrestles the sleeping Taki for another few centimeters of space in order to grab his phone. After a minor struggle, Minato finally catches his phone between his index and middle fingers and pulls the phone from the charger chord; immediately unlocking it and lowering the brightness so as to not disturb Taki.
As he types in what happened on a note Minato hears a rumbling of thunder, shortly accompanied by a crescendo of rain. In only two minutes it's a full downpour.
As he finishes up the note and sets his phone to the side, Minato can't help but enjoy the lulling sound of the downpour on the roof of the Inn. Supported by Taki's snoring, this incredibly cozy atmosphere sends Minato off into slumber once again.
MBI Tower
In his office, Minaka is currently attempting to formulate a plan to inform Takami about the No. 3 situation without provoking her. With the storm outside picking up, the swirling winds that are battering the upper floors of the MBI tower seem to appear as a parrallel to the many ideas and scenarios swirling through Minaka Hiroto's mind at the moment.
As he paces up and down the sides of the bulletproof windows Minaka can only find one possible outcome no matter how he delivers the news. After hours of throwing her various busywork and distractions, he finally decides on his plan of action.
"Looks like there's no way around it. I'll just have to be blunt. [Sigh] I'd better inform Natsuo to order a new desk and furnishings for when she finds out". As Minaka starts to prepare for the incoming rampage his computer's messaging alert starts to go off.
Walking over and plopping down into his chair, Minaka opens the company messenger. In it reads a portent of doom for Minaka.
"Sir, I regret to inform you that Sahashi-sama woke up from her power nap and stormed the Sekirei Tracking Network control room. She somehow talked Karasuba-sama into breaking the door down and taking the security hostage. Probably as a form of payment knowing the Black Sekirei. She forced us to reveal the records of the current wingings and bonded sekirei. That was 3 minutes ago. I fear for the security gurads as Karasuba-sama dragged them off to who knows what fate and..." Before he could finish reading the message, Minaka hears the stomping feet of Takami approaching the door.
With a single kick the door is off its hinges and lands nearly 3 meters away from Minaka's desk.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING ABOUT MINATO WINGING NUMBER 3!!! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT DRAGGING MY CHILDREN INTO YOUR GAME MINAKA!" Takami is seething as she storms her way over to the desk and grabs for Minaka. When Minaka rolls away from her grasp in his office chair, Takami reaches to her right and grabs the side of the desk. With a hulking grunt, Takami tosses the desk with all its contents to her left. The bullet proof glass being the only thing keeping the desk in the building.
"Now now Takami-kun~, that's zebrano wood! You can't just flip it around like it's a coin! And if you must know, I had no way of knowing that Number 3 would wing herself to our boy like that back then. We didn't even have the tracking system in place yet. I only found out about it recently like you." This didn't seem to help as Takami ran up and lifted Minaka by his collar.
"Don't say 'our boy'! I raised Minato and Yukari on my own, you are no family of theirs!" Takami finished this statement with a punch to the stomach before continuing.
"And there's no way Kazehana could react to Minato anyway. That whore only wants crazies and Prince Charming, not some spineless nobody like Minato! It's clear that you knew I got him that job at the Wakamatsu in Narita, and sent her there with orders to wing him just to spite me! [Punch] Well I'll tell you what, I'm just going to have to wing Karasuba and have her kill Kazehana to settle the score [Punch]." With that Takami let go of Minaka and started for the door, but before she could leave Minaka caught her attention.
"That will not be happening." He stated as if it were a matter if law.
"If you attempt such a thing you can consider both Minato and Yukari's lives forfeit." With that Takami is back on Earth as reality comes back to her frenzied mind.
Minaka continues.
"The only thing that brought Number 3 to Narita was Fate. She genuinely reacted to the son you speak so ill of, and seems to have flourished since winging herself to him. I had a hand in neither her, nor Number 65's reactions and subsequent wingings. Of this you have my word. If you want to continue and try to damage my plan, I will return the damage in kind to your children." Takami's mind is raging as she holds back on rushing Minaka again. She knows that he'll go through with his threat, and despite his despicable personality he isn't one to break his word.
With a sigh Takami seems to calm down. She then turns her head for one last retort.
"You're better keep Yukari out of this Hiroto." With that she exits, lighting a cigarette as she walks to the elevator.
Chuckling to himself Minaka mutters lowely, "That's entirely up to fate my dear Takami-kun." With that he walks over to his secretary's desk in order to put in for a new desk and computer.
Elsewhere
Lightning is striking everywhere in an equally terrifying and dazzling display as two goddesses seem to argue over something.
What it is they are arguing over is a mystery to Minato as their words are nearly entirely drowned out by the cracks of thunder. But what cannot be mistaken is that they are arguing, and fiercely at that. Minato also can't see them anywhere, but the two bitter alto voices quarreling can only be characterized as goddesses in this place as the storms bend, break, and attack by their will.
Minato can't quite feel his body. He definitely can't control it. It's as if his mind's eye is on a trippy roller coaster ride through either the worst dystopia or the ultimate rave. All he can see is dark clouds above that are overflowing with lighning, and a bottomless void below. He doesn't realize it, but he has lost all lucidity in his conscience. He can only feel the buzz of the electricity in the air and the waves of heat from every subsequent streak of light. There is no sense of time as Minato just floats through this maelstrom of light, colors, and noise.
Each goddess's power surges and wanes as they go back and forth. Purple and pink lighting tangle an innumerable amount of times as advantage in the argument sways between each side.
After some amount of time floating through this, Minato begins to see the silhouettes of the two goddesses through the clouds. As if they are shrouded by the storm. Upon noticing this, he gains cognizance over his once dulled senses: feeling, smell, taste, as well as thought. This happens just as his body rejoins him in this reality, (Or was it there all along and I didn't notice?)
As Minato ponders the limitations of this place the two goddesses seem to notice him. The lightning stops as the clouds break to reveal two stunning twins. Standing on a cloud they seem to be wearing some SM gear, but Minato is too enthralled by their beauty.
"..H-Hello there." Minato stutters out.
"You're the one? Our ashikabi?" The goddess in pink leather asks. Her twin in purple leather seems to be torn as she steals the occasional glance at Minato in between staring at the void below her cloud, a feint blush crawling across her face the longer they wait.
"...If you need me to be...then I will gladly take you in and protect you." Minato is honestly still a bit confused and possibly dizzy from waking up from the fever dream, but upon realizing the two goddesses are in fact sekirei reacting to him, he's ready to do whatever it takes to keep them happy. Becoming self-aware to this leads to an interesting statement.
"And if I'm being honest, the reaction's mutual." Minato says looking up with what Kazehana has dubbed his 'boyish charm smile'. Before immediately realizing what he said and becoming a blushing mumbling mess. "W-W-Wait did I j-just s-s-s-say...m-maybe I?" What he was saying wasn't really heard however, as the twins were still too shocked by what he said.
The twin wearing pink is the first to react with a noticeable blush now present to match her oufit. "Well that only proves me right doesn't it Hikari?" She inquires, hoping to shift the speaking responsibilities to her sister until she can calm down. (He's really reacting to US? Deep breaths. Slow. Deep. Breaths.)
The other twin is looking at Minato with an annoyed scowl that is immediately discredited by the raging blush that has appeared on her face.
"Alright already, he's kinda cute and kind or whatever. But what type of idiot joke was THAT?! HIM reacting to us...it's just absurd." The last part she murmurs in a hush that somehow speaks louder than anything they had screamed in their argument previously.
The pink leather clad twin jumps in after finishing her breathing exercises. "Well it seems fate chose you to be our ashikabi for a reason. While you don't look particularly strong or dependable...I have faith in you ashikabi-san." She is clearly let down by how Minato looks. This non compliment snaps Minato out of his embarrassment and replaces it with brief annoyance.
(First you say you're reacting, then you're critiquing my looks and what you perceive me to be?! Arrggghhhhh make up your mind! So damn picky... Huhhh. Patience Minato, you don't exactly look like anything special so why take offense to it. They're probably just hopped up on the reaction anyway.)
"Thank you, and I'm sorry that you got the short end of the stick ashikabi-wise. But I promise I will do everything in my power to win the game and prove you wrong about me being unreliable." Minato says with an earnest smile.
"I-I did not mean to insult y-you, it j-just kinda s-s-s-slipped...My-my-my apologies ashikabi-san. I spoke out of turn." The pink leather twin sputters out as she frantically bows, realizing she might have just offended her future ashikabi. The bowing is more than enough of an apology for Minato as he steals a glance at the well endowed sekirei's bouncing breasts. The other twin just watches this interaction quietly, trying to get a beat on what Minato is like.
"Ah don't worry about it, I don't really put off a super masculine air to begin with. I understand that. Besides you probably didn't even mean it in a negative way, like you said it just slipped out. Getting past that, my name is Sahashi Minato. What would yours be?" Minato asks, hoping to get past the previous exchange.
The purple leather twin interjects finally. "I'm Number 11 Hikari, and that's my sister Number 12 Hibiki. As you've seen our power is lighting, but I'm more interested in how you know about the Sekirei Plan to begin with."
This catches Minato off guard for a second. (Wait they don't know how I? But they know that I'm an ashikabi. Oh wait no, they just know that I'm THEIR ashikabi.)
Just as Minato looks up to answer, the twins see a strange cloth snake around him forming a cocoon, sealing him away. Both of their eyes grow wide in fear before unleashing a barrage of lightning on the cocoon as they scream demands for their ashikabi back. What can't be heard by them is the strange giggle in the background.
Inside the cocoon of what looks like curtains to Minato, a familiar sensation pushes up against his back. Arms snake around his chest as someone's head rests on his left shoulder.
"Looks like I found my ashikabi-kun, and with other sekirei no less. Mmmm~ I hope you plan to protect me too, ashikabi-kun~." This new sekirei purrs as she starts to rub all over Minato's chest and lower body.
"U-Um hi there, I'm M-M-Minato...and you would be?" Minato attempts to introduce himself as one of her hands starts to wonder pretty far south.
When said hand slides over Minato's manhood and starts to rub it, the new sekirei speaks again; whispering directly into his ear. "Well Minato-kun, I'm Number 10 Uzume and as soon as you wake up from this dream, I'm gonna find you and wing myself to you. Until then, why don't we have some fun?" She ends the sentence by nibbling on Minato's ear.
Meanwhile Minato's mind is reeling. (What is with all of these sekirei?! Why can't they be normal and not completely thirsty. I don't even think this is her real reaction!)
With that in mind, as Uzume's hand rubbes the length of Minato's erection, Minato feels the sweet embrace of safety as he finally gets pulled from this dream.
The last thing he hears is Uzume, "Aww, and it was just getting fun."
As her ashikabi leaves the dream, Uzume takes away the protective veils to look upon the lighning twins with a look of triumph.
When the cloth opens, the twins see the familiar face of Number 10 with a smug look on her face as well as her battle clothing; which consists of just white cloth wrapped around her breasts, hips, and the back of her neck.
Hikari is the first to speak, or yell. "YOU, what did you do with our ashikabi!? Answer me now!."
Hibiki chimes in as well, "Whatever reason you are here, if you hurt Minato-san you will have hell to pay." A deadly glare is mirrored between the twins toward Uzume.
"Woah! Chill girls! It's me Uzume, I just woke up here like the two of you did. I'm here because I'm reacting to my ashikabi." Uzume says with her hands up in a surrendering fashion as she keeps her usual care free smile.
Hibiki calms down slightly as she gains a more perplexed look. "So you're saying all three of us are in the same dream because we're all reacting to Minato-san?"
Hikari adds, "I still want to know what you did to him! Where is he?!"
Uzume puts her hands down and begins to relax. "He woke up. This is a dream after all. Why do you think you saw you're ashikabi just float up to you like fate itself was delivering him as an entre on a silver platter?" She chuckles while saying the last bit, before leveling a teasing look at Hikari.
"For someone who was talking about already having an ashikabi, you sure are set on another one. Considering Minato-kun is nothing like the guy you were always talking about." Uzume's teasing smirk transformed throughout this statement, ending in a shit-eating grin.
Hikari keeps her furious look, but gains a small blush of embarrassment. "Well fate decided otherwise! The other guy was just trash and Minato is my real ashikabi!"
Uzume, seeing that she might have struck a nerve, gains a sympathetic smile. "Well I'm glad that you're reacting to Minato-kun, unless he's the world's most talented actor, he seems to be very kind and genuine. And with all of us together, we're sure to win the plan!"
Hibiki answers this time. "While we would have rather been the only sekirei our ashikabi had, it seems like we'll be working together in the near future. I just hope that Minato-san is ready for what the plan entails, he seems too gentle for his own good." A look of worry casts a shadow over Hibiki.
Uzume gains a cat-like grin as she raises her hands to her chest and puts a good hand length and a half space between them. "Oh you don't have to worry about him being too gentle."
The twins just look back and forth between her hands and her visage for a second.
And then it clicks.
Both Hikari and Hibiki practically glow crimson as their eyes nearly pop out of their heads with the what Uzume is implying.
Hikari is the first to respond, this time in a nonagressive manner. Instead more of a scared manner. "T-There's no way you had time to do that in there! There w-wasn't nearly enough t-t-t-time!"
Uzume busts out in a laughing fit, grabbing her aching sides as she floats in the void. "Ahahahahahahaha, you-you shoulda seen your faces. Hahahaha I only felt him up until he was erect in there. But-But you guys thought we...Bwahahahahaha!"
As Hikari is about to retort with her usual angry fervor, she feels the pull to consciousness. Hibiki feels it as well and decides to say her farewell.
"It looks like we'll be waking up, so we'll see you around Uzume-san." As they leave Hikari passionately adds, "You're not aloud to do anything with him before us!"
Uzume, feeling that same pull, simply chuckles to herself. "Kekeke I can't agree to that at all Hikari-chan.
And with that the void is empty once again, save for another strange giggle.
Minato's Bed
As Minato wakes up, he feels the same weight on his left side that he did earlier in the night. The only difference is thatthat Taki is nibbling on Minato's ear, just like Uzume was in the dream.
"Huh? Don't tell me!...Oh, it's just Taki-chan." Said sekirei is still sleeping peacefully as she continues to nibble on Minato's ear. Minato didn't even need to turn to check who it was as he recognized her sleeve as it lay across his chest.
Minato looks up at the wooden ceiling and ponders if the dream was an indicator for whats to come, or just another wild dream.
(All those sekirei couldn't have been real could they? I mean how many am I gonna actually attract anyway? I guess I can only really find out with time, better just get up and get ready for breakfast. This can wait for later.)
As Minato sits up, Taki moans slightly as she is awoken by the movement as well as the lack of Minato's ear. "Mmmm good morning Minato-kun." Taki says groggily as she wipes the sleep out of her eyes.
Minato moves to the right side of the bed and stands up before looking back. "Good morning Taki-chan, you sleep well?
"Yes very well. Say, where are we Minato-kun?" Now that she's awake, Taki notices that they are in a bedroom that she doesn't remember entering.
"Ah that's right, you were asleep when we arrived so I just carried you up here and let you rest. We are in our new home, Izumo Inn. We're going to be sharing it with a few other people, normal people. So be on your best behavior and make sure not to mention anything about sekirei or the plan." Minato then starts to look around the room, and really take in how his house mates arranged it while he was away.
The bed is in the center of this six tatami mat room, and takes up most of the space in the process. The headboard is also blocking the window. The TV is on its stand in the left corner of the room, leaving just enough room for a walkway as it is perpendicular to the two walls that form the corner. Leaving a triangle of space behind it where the lone standing lamp now lives. On either side of the bed are the two tiny night stands with matching lamps. While the left wall has nothing but a painting of red, lip glossed pair of lips about to bite into an apple, the right wall has the dresser that Minato keeps his clothes in. On it, is a few pictures of Minato with Yukari and his grandmother, as well as a few of Minato and Kazehana.
The bed is aligned to where theres a good sized walkway on either side, even accounting for the dresser.
(I'm gonna have to thank the Landlady and the other tennants for doing this for me.)
As Minato looks back at Taki, he sees her giggling to herself. "Fufufu, Minato-kun carried me all the way here. I wonder what else he did to me last night?"
Minato immediately gains a small blush before waving his arms in a 'no go' pattern and denying anything else happened. "I didn't do anything but lay you down to rest last night Taki-chan, I swear! All I did was carry you here, lay you down, take a bath, and go to sleep!" Minato rebuts.
"Too bad, I wouldn't mind my ashikabi-kun getting a little forceful with my body while I was defenseless. It would've been sooo hot." Taki says with a blush as she starts to get up as well.
This scares Minato slightly, (Is Taki-chan, a masochist? Please just be a joke. I have enough weird things happening as is), Minato prays.
Just as he thinks that, the door opens to reveal the landlady with her usual genteel smile. "Ah you're both awake, perfect. Breakfast will be served in 10 minutes, so please get ready to head down stairs." She turns to go to the next room, but Minato stops her.
"Um landlady-sama, if I may, can I introduce you to Taki-chan?" Minato asks cautiously, not wanting to bother the Miya too badly.
"Oh where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself!" Miya turns back and faces Taki, before bowing. "Pleased to meet you Taki-san, my name is Asama Miya and I am your landlady. Please make yourself at home. I also implore you to follow the rules of the house during your stay. Sahashi-san will explain them to you before breakfast. Thank you again for staying in my home, and welcome to Izumo Inn." With a final bow and pleasant smile, Miya turns and walks to the next room over.
"She seems sweet, so whats with these rules?" Taki says making her way to the door to close it.
As he makes his way to the dresser and starts to pick out his clothes for the day Minato explains. "Yes Miya-sama is very kind, especially considering how lenient she was when we showed up with an extra person even though we signed a lease for two. For the rules they're pretty simple, seeing as there are only three of them. No violence, no obscenity, and no illicit sexual activity. Just be an upstanding citizen pretty much."
"No illicit sexual activity? But I wanted to have Minato-kun take me in his beddd." Taki pouts cutely as Minato switches shirts.
"We'll just go to a love hotel, it's much easier than finding a better home than this one." Minato says in a no nonsense tone while pulling his sleeping shorts off. As he puts his jeans on Taki checks him out.
"Fufu, Minato-kun has a cute butt."
With a blush Minato turns around and says, "That's exactly what you can't say!" Causing Taki to have a giggle fit.
As the both of them head for the door they hear a smack sound, causing them to open the door and peak out. What they see is the landlady walking from left to right with her usual kind smile as she knods to them. As Minato smiles back, he notices the ladle in Miya's right hand.
"You okay landlady-sama?" Minato asks in a worried tone.
"Oh it's nothing, just disciplining another tennant for indecency." Miya says as she continues toward the stairs. "Don't forget, breakfast is in 8 minutes." And with that she is down the stairs.
Minato and Taki just stare in her direction for a second before staring back at each other. The same thought crosses their minds.
((She didn't have that ladle before!))
"Did she just whack someone with a hidden ladle?" Taki asks.
"I think she just whacked someone with a hidden ladle." Minato replies.
"I wonder if she's a sekirei and ladles are her weapon of choice." Taki replies.
"I doubt the first part." Minato answers.
"But the second part is spot on, ah my head." Says a new, but familiar voice.
A well endowed brunette with her hair tied into a ponytail on the left side of her head emerges from the room to their left rubbing her head. She's wearing a pink belly tee with purple sleeves and a golden star on the front, along with a pair of capri jeans. As she steps out of the room and takes a look at Minato and Taki, a mischievous smirk crawls across her face.
Taki gains a more genuine smile as she sees who their new neighbor is. "Uzume-chan?! Are you staying here too?" She says as she runs over and hugs Uzume.
"Yup, I'm staying here too Taki-chan. More importantly though, you're staying in the same room as him." Uzume says pointing at Minato. "Would he be your ashikabi?" She asks.
"Yep! Minato-kun is my ashikabi. I think you'll really like him. He's kind, he's caring, and most importantly...he's easy to tease." Taki says while lightly elbowing Uzume.
For Minato, it doesn't take long to remember Uzume. (ALREADY?! WHAT FATE IS THIS?!!)
"He is? Well I think I might just have to see if he's ashikabi material myself." Uzume says while giving Minato a knowing look.
"Oh that'd be great! Then it would be me, you, and Kazehana with Minato. What a fun flock we're building, right Minato? Not to mention what we could do together." Taki takes the initiative with said teasing as she finishes her statement in a sensual tone and with a look that could eat Minato alive.
"H-H-Hello there I'm M-Minato, n-n-n-nice to meet you U-Uzume-san." Minato's brain is currently overloaded as he makes an attempt at shaking Uzume's hand for some reason.
Seeing an opening Uzume strikes. Taking his hand into her own, Uzume raises it up to her face and kisses it saying in the most mature and sensual voice she can muster. "The pleasure is all mine Minato-kun, I hope me and Taki-chan can be of service to you." And like that, Minato has reached peak blush as he glows a lovely crimson. Thoughts of getting 'service' from both Uzume and Taki drown out any rational thought.
This makes both Uzume and Taki bust out laughing as they start to make their way down stairs, holding each other up as they walk. Minato halfheartedly follows. (What fresh hell have I walked into, theres not a normal person here save Miya-sama)
As they make their way down the stairs, they fail to notice a hysterical giggle coming from...somewhere.
As the three enter the dining area, they take up seats at the table. Kazehana is already waiting as she beckons Minato over to her side. "Minato-kun! Good morning! Come over here and have a seat next to your wife." Then she gets a good look at Minato. "Minato-kun are you getting sick? Maybe I should've carried Taki-chan last night, we would've gotten here faster."
As Minato sits down next to her, a giggling Taki sits down next to him. Just beating Uzume to the punch. "You have to be his sekirei first!" She says teasingly while sticking her tongue out at Uzume
"No fair Taki-chan, you already slept with him last night!" Uzume pouts, Kazehana perks up at this, before quickly figuring out why Minato is resembling a cherry.
"Ohhh, is Minato-kun already putting the moves on another sekirei. Is two not enough for our brute ashikabi~? I hope that the three of us can satiate Minato-kun before he finds more~." Kazehana, Taki, and Uzume all have very similar smirks as they continue their round robin of teases. Minato, however, has had enough.
With a pleasant smile and a too sweet tone Minato looks up. "Kazehana?"
"Yesss?"
"If you continue this nonsense any further I won't touch you for a month. That goes for Taki-chan as well. And if Uzume-san really wants to be winged by me...she'd better follow suite." These shades of Miya shock the three sekirei into submission immediately as the landlady herself joins them along with two others.
As she walks in, and misses everything that happened, Miya looks around to see everyone patiently waiting. With the usual smile she addresses the room.
"I see all of you have met Uzume-san, now we just need to introduce two more people before we can begin breakfast." Motioning towards the doorway Miya calls, "Come in you two."
With that, none other than the lightning twins Hikari and Hibiki themselves enter the room. "If you could introduce yourselves while I set the table, that would be delightful." As Miya walks over to the counter, Minato looks over at the twins without shock or exasperation. Instead he smiles kindly towards them, causing a healthy blush to appear on both twins.
"Hi there, I'm Sahashi Minato. It's very nice to meet both of you. This is Kazehana on my right, and on my left is Taki. The girl across from us is Uzume." While he is calm, cool and collected on the outside, Minato is a shaved hair follicle away from a meltdown on the inside.
(ALL THESE SEKIREI, IT'S LIKE THEY'RE COMING OUT OF THE WALLS!!! Ugghhhh the sekirei I dreamt about all showed up at once. This is too much. How am I supposed to take care of so many at one time. I'm actually getting sekirei fatigue.)
"Hello there, I'm Hibiki and this is my sister Hikari. P-Please take care of us" Hibiki mentally chides herself for stuttering immediately. (Damn this reaction, he's so close. But with all these sekirei and Miya-sama...we're so far away.)
As everyone settles in and Miya starts to set the table, Kazehana looks over to Minato. She's aware of the tension in the air between the twins and Minato, but more importantly she is cognizant of the discord in Minato's soul through their bond.
Reaching over and grabbing Minato's hand, Kazehana leans over and whispers into his ear. "Don't worry about it right now Minato-kun, let us take care of you and just relax. Everything isn't going to work out normally or easily, but as long as I'm here with you I'll make sure it works out."
Minato, who was initially agitated by Kazehana just grabbing his hand, takes a breath and leans slightly into Kazehana as he answers. "Thank you...I can't say it enough, but thank you." And like Minato is calm, serene even. Looking at the opposite side of the table where Uzume and the twins are seated, he comes to a realization.
(Each one of them will be with me, depending on me. No. I'll be depending on them, so the least I can do is keep it together for them. We're here for each other, and I need them just as much as they need me. The ashikabi needs the sekirei just as much as the sekirei needs the ashikabi.)
As Miya sits down at the head of the table, everyone grabs their chop sticks and says, "Itadakimasu!"
As everyone digs in, Miya can't help but feel a small but considerable warmth travel down her spine as she watches on.
(It's almost like we're a family.) With a gentle smile Miya puts her hands together, "Itadakimasu!"
Alright! A bit longer than usual to reward the wait. I hope yall like what I did this chapter. Leave any feedback, thoughts, or tips in the reviews. And have a nice day!
Also, for some reason the ampersand won't save when it's in anything other than the title. So enjoy SM lol.