Heritage
She felt warm. Comfortable, even. She was content to lay there for a while. But then she began to remember. Sairiko was in trouble!
Rini's eyes snapped open and she sat up. She wasn't sure what she expected to see, but the familiar walls of the MBI building weren't very high on the list. She was in the infirmary, the same place her mother had been not long ago.
She looked around, to other beds nearby, but they were empty. A wave of panic hit her. Where was Sairiko? Where were Nariko and Moetatsuka?
"Hey! Dad? Mom?" Rini called out. Someone had to be nearby, if not her parents then someone who could fetch them.
It didn't take long before footsteps approached. It was her father. It didn't surprise her that he'd been waiting nearby.
"Rini, good. You're awake," Madoka said. A moment later and Nariko, Moetatsuka, Kaie, Benitsubasa, and Avaron joined them. Her mother still had gauze taped over her left eye, but at least she was back on her feet.
"Where's Sairiko?" Nariko and Moetatsuka looked fine, but her own sekirei was nowhere to be seen.
"She's fine. Well, alive anyway. She was worse off than you, so we put her under more intensive care. She's at an actual hospital," Madoka explained, putting her at ease. "She'll recover."
"Heh, the hospital. We ended up there a few times, eh? Like father like daughter?" Benitsubasa chuckled, but Madoka didn't seem amused.
"Did we win? What happened to Sadashi?" That was the last mystery that Rini needed solved. Actually, there was one more. "Wait, what happened to me? Why don't I remember anything?"
"I think Nariko's gonna have to answer that one for you." Madoka glanced at his younger daughter.
"Right! So, Moetatsuka and I were bravely fending Sadashi off-"
"I was struggling to survive." Moetatsuka said deadpan with a sigh, cutting off Nariko before she could over-embellish what had transpired.
"Ugh." Nariko rolled her eyes. "So anyway..."
. . . A Few Hours Ago . . .
Nariko was beginning to panic. She'd fully expected to have Moetatsuka blow Sadashi away, but apparently that wasn't an option! Well, it was, but it wasn't.
Fuck it.
"Moetatsuka! Ignore Rini, just blow her up! We're more important than the trees!" Nariko shouted. She'd rather live to regret burning the place down than not live at all. Moetatsuka looked back to confirm that Nariko meant it and then nodded. Her body began to glow and heat up, and Nariko saw Sadashi take a step back in apprehension.
A panicked voice distracted all of them. "Rini? RINI?!" Nariko looked over to find that her sister had collapsed and Sairiko was on her hands and knees, worrying over her. "What... WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Sairiko screamed in fury. The enraged sekirei rose to her feet and grabbed her sword. Her right eye was glowing blue and her chest heaved with each breath.
"Nariko, get back!" Moetatsuka forgot about Sadashi and dashed back to her ashikabi, tackling her to the ground. The next thing Nariko knew, she heard Sairiko roar and a massive gust of wind buffeted her. It sounded like the world was falling apart. Debris flew by overhead and she could hear trees and more come crashing down.
When it finally subsided and Moetatsuka let her sit up, every tree that had been before Sairiko had been cleaved in half and Sairiko herself had collapsed once more from the exertion. Lastly, on her knees before them was Sadashi, gritting her teeth and clutching the bloody stump that used to be her shield arm, now cut short at the elbow. She didn't move, only taking deep, gasping breaths.
"I assume you will come quietly now?" Moetatsuka approached her, not seeming sympathetic. Sadashi didn't answer, the pain seemed to have consumed her. "Nariko-sama, I will watch Sadashi. You should call your father and have them come collect us. I can't carry this many people... or rather they're too injured for me to move safely."
"R-right." As Nariko began digging through her pockets, Moetatsuka took another step toward Sadashi, but then paused, hearing something. A newcomer suddenly dropped into view, and numerous projectiles popped into existence before shooting toward her, their target seeming to be her eyes.
She raised a hand, super-heating and melting them before they could hit their mark – but they kept coming. It was inevitable that one would sneak by. She felt one strike the side of her face, grazing by her left eye. The force it struck with didn't seem to match the size of the object. It spun her around, dropping her to a knee. As she clutched at it, she felt blood.
She turned her head back, not wanting to leave her back exposed, but the attack was over. Her assailant was gone, and so was Sadashi.
. . . The Infirmary . . .
"Hyoushi again..." Rini let out a long breath. "He took Sadashi. We failed then."
"Yeah. All we got was an... arm." Nariko pursed her lips.
Rini grimaced. "Exactly how much damage did Sairiko do?"
"Well, aside from injuring Sadashi, apparently about half the trees in the garden and a few buildings were... flattened. Fortunately, the shrine wasn't in the path of destruction."
"I screwed up. I'm sorry." Rini grit her teeth. There had been so much collateral damage in the end. The only thing she had to be glad for was that everyone had survived. She'd wanted to bring Sadashi home but instead they'd just ended up hurting her. Even if they found her again, could they ever get her to forgive them? "If Nariko hadn't come with Moetatsuka..."
"That's a good point." Madoka looked at Nariko. "How did you end up there with Moetatsuka?"
"Well, I went upstairs, grabbed Moetatsuka, and then followed Rini," Nariko explained in short order.
"Yes, but how did you get Moetatsuka?"
"I took the elevator."
"Well, yes, but-"
"No one stopped me." This left Madoka and Nariko staring at each other silently while her father processed this.
"Come to think of it, we never officially placed Moetatsuka off limits," Avaron said. "We've been... distracted."
"Ugh." Kaie shook her head. "Moetatsuka, thank you, but let's go. I can't have my daughter running off with you again." Moetatsuka didn't move though, only looked conflicted.
"No! She's staying with me!" Nariko grabbed Moetatsuka's arm. "We can help!"
"You're too young. I don't even like Rini being involved! I can't be worrying about both of you!" Madoka argued, not having it. "And you can't be dragging Moetatsuka around, she's dangerous!"
"She's not dangerous, she's mine! She'll do whatever I say and she won't hurt me!" Nariko glared back defiantly.
"She's not even re-" Madoka stopped mid-sentence, his face going blank.
"Oh my god." Kaie's jaw dropped, having put it together. "You winged her?"
"Rini did it too!" Nariko accused, pointing at her sister.
"Don't drag me into this!" Rini hissed, pulling her bed covers over her chin to hide.
"Well, it's not the worst thing. Doesn't this mean Moetatsuka is officially on our side?" Avaron tried to look on the bright side. Madoka and Kaie just immediately glared daggers at her. "Eep!" Avaron shrank back and made a zipping motion over her mouth, choosing not to intervene further.
"How could you be so reckless!" Kaie scolded her daughter. "This isn't a game-"
"I KNOW! I was there! She took them right in front of me! I'm not going to let them get away with that!" Nariko began yelling.
"Look, Nariko, you weren't there Minaka started this whole mess the first time. I don't want you to be involved in this, it's too much." Madoka told her.
"Yeah? Well... you can't stop me." Nariko's face darkened. She stepped backwards, putting Moetatsuka between her and her parents.
"Excuse me?" Madoka stepped forward, but Moetatsuka, while surprised, quickly raised an arm to block his path.
"I have Moetatsuka! If you won't let me help then I'll just figure it out myself!" For a moment they were all stunned silent, jaws agape.
"Nariko, you little shi-" Benitsubasa recovered first as her temper flared, but Madoka placed a hand on her shoulder.
"And what are you going to do?" Madoka stepped forward, ignoring Moetatsuka. "Have her attack me if I try to stop you? You don't even know where to begin!"
"I-I-" Nariko began to falter.
"Get out of my way, or are you going to kill your ashikabi's father in front of her?" Madoka stared down Moetatsuka, pure ice in his eyes. The sekirei flinched and quickly backed down, looking shaken. "Nariko, come here."
Trembling, the girl shuffled toward her father. The man stared down at her, but then reached out and pulled her close.
"I'm sorry. It's a lot, I know. You shouldn't have to deal with all this at your age." Madoka clenched his eyes shut. He let out a long breath. "All right, fine. You're already involved anyway, huh?"
"Madoka!" Kaie exclaimed in shock. "No!"
"The way I see it, no one is more invested in bringing the twins home safe than her." He sighed. "Besides, quite frankly I think we'll need Moetatsuka's... firepower."
"That better not have been a pun..." Benitsubasa glowered.
"I'm a dad, I'm entitled to dad jokes," Madoka said wryly with a half-smile.
"Why the fuck did I marry you?" Benitsubasa grumbled under her breath.
"Th-thank you..." Nariko sniffled.
Madoka let go of his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm letting you help, but you're going to have to listen to us and follow Rini's lead, got it?" He then looked to Moetatsuka. "And if she gets hurt out there, I'm holding you responsible."
"I won't let anyone touch her!" Moetatsuka nodded, standing tall.
"And... boop!" Benitsubasa reached out and poked Nariko's nose before looking Moetatsuka dead in the eye. "You failed."
"W-wh-... I-... Uh-" Moetatsuka stuttered in bewilderment.
"So this is how Sukaime feels all the time."
. . .
They forced her to stay in the infirmary for quite some time. She had no idea why, she felt fine, but unfortunately it was her parents who were in charge, so logic wasn't the main factor for keeping her in bed.
Finally, though, she was released the next morning. Her first stop was the hospital to see Sairiko. She needed to check in on her sekirei. Her father said she was OK, but Rini needed to see for herself, and so her father drove her to the hospital himself.
The second Rini walked into Sairiko's room, the sekirei became frantic.
"Rini!" the girl shot up in her bed, only to immediately flinch and grab her side where she'd been stabbed.
"Hey, hey, relax!" Rini rushed over to the girl's side to gently push her back down, but the second she was within arms' reach, Sairiko grabbed her and pulled her into a crushing embrace. Rini supposed she should be glad the sekirei was still in control enough to not turn her to mush.
"I-I was s-so worried! I w-woke up and you w-weren't moving!" Sairiko was in tears. "I-I... I couldn't keep you safe!"
"Oh, c-come on." With considerable effort Rini was able to extract herself from Sairiko's grasp. "It's not your fault."
"It is! All I could think about was what would happen if I lost! I knew if I lost that you'd be in danger, but I still couldn't win!" Sairiko hiccuped, balling up her sheets in her fists. "They already sent someone after you once before! I... I'm no good! Whether or not I'm there to protect you, I'm no good!"
"I-I-..." Rini swallowed hard. Sairiko felt useless and suddenly Rini could relate. She didn't know what to say.
"Ahem." Rini jumped as her father walked into the room, getting there attention. "I hate to interrupt your tearful reunion, but we need to talk."
"O-oh, um, about what?" Rini had to say she welcomed the distraction. Even Sairiko's tears turned to curious sniffles as she looked up at Madoka.
"Well, it's like Sairiko said. When she woke up, you were out like a light. Why?" Madoka asked, but it was a rhetorical question. "As far as we know you were never touched. Sadashi was nowhere near you and Nariko says she never saw her hit you. Did anything happen before she arrived?"
"Uhh." Rini traded a glance with Sairiko and then both shook their heads. "Not to me, no. She threatened me, but she never touched me. I-I... I guess I thought I just passed out because I was panicking."
"Don't be ridiculous," Madoka scoffed. "You took on Sairiko alone and watched Saki get punted through a building without passing out."
"Th-then... what?"
"Well, Avaron has a theory. We reviewed out satellite footage and found something. Think about it, you pass out and at the same time Sairiko gets back up? Something happened. Even if we suggest that Sairiko got back up because she thought you were hurt, that doesn't explain you passing out in the first place. Look."
Madoka held out a tablet and it showed a few blips on a map.
"That dot is Sairiko and the other is Sadashi. Watch." He hit a button and the two dots moved about and clashed. It was the fight the two had had. A third dot joined in and Sairiko's and Sadashi's dots separated – Moetatsuka's arrival. Madoka paused it here. "Now look at this." He pointed to a few squiggly lines to the side of the map. "These are their signatures. Around here, Sairiko's begins to weaken."
"Because she got hurt?" Rini guessed.
"Correct. Sekirei are tough, but when they get hurt, especially internal damage, the energy output of their cores starts to go down," he explained. "Now, here is when it gets really interesting." He hit play again and suddenly Sairiko's frequency spiked, becoming absurdly energetic for a few seconds.
"What?" Rini had no idea what was going on. "Well, she must have pushed herself, right?"
"Perhaps, but look more closely." Madoka pointed at Sairiko's dot. Rini tilted her head but soon she saw it. It looked like there was a second dot beside her, but Sadashi and Moetatsuka were already accounted for.
"There was another sekirei? Who?" Rini ripped the tablet from Madoka's hands.
"Sairiko, did you see anyone?" Madoka asked, but the sekirei shook her head. "That's what I thought. Rini, you were the only one that close to her."
"OK?"
"Rini, that dot is you."
". . .WHAT?!"
"Calm down." Madoka sighed. "I'm not saying you're a sekirei. As an ashikabi you have a similar kind of energy in you, but no sekirei core. The thing is, that energy signature shouldn't be strong enough for the satellite to pick up like this. Especially when it's not even looking for ashikabi."
"Then what's going on?" Rini didn't know what to make of everything he was saying.
"I don't know, but clearly something happened between you two. We're... going to have to run tests. This could be very important."
"O... OK..." Sairiko hung her head, not looking pleased that she would be stuck in a lab again.
"Not on you," Madoka corrected her.
"M-m-me?!" Rini's pupils became terrified pinpoints.
"Sairiko was out of action. That suggests you did something, even if it was unintentional. Avaron's theory is that as Benitsubasa's daughter, you're... different from most ashikabi. Benitsubasa's tuning was severely messed up. We're thinking that while she was pregnant with you, she sort of... irradiated you with sekirei energy. Well, that's probably a pretty unscientific way of looking at it, but it's the best way I know how to put it so you'll understand." Madoka looked positively exhausted. Inside he was probably having a nervous breakdown. "Anyway, we need to get both of you back to the tower. We'll be looking over Sairiko too, just in case."
"What... what do you think you'll find?"
"Honestly? I have no idea."
. . .
When they got back to the tower, they were led to one of the upper floors. Sairiko was in a wheelchair since her injury was still fresh. They were up on the floors where the sekirei tuning used to take place. The room they entered had lots of large, electronic equipment that even Rini couldn't put names to.
What surprised her was to see that her siblings were there. Not just Nariko, but Katsurou. This meant that Kaie and Saki were there as well.
"Dad?" Rini looked at Madoka questioningly.
"We figure if there is something different about you, there might be something going on with them as well," Madoka told her. "Hopefully we'll know soon enough."
"You just had to be weird, didn't you?" Katsurou scowled at her, clearly not pleased to be dragged into the whole mess. Rini didn't appreciate his attitude, but she couldn't blame him either.
Mess was the best word for it, after all.
. . .
The testing took hours. Thankfully aside from one or two blood samples, most of the testing was non-invasive and mostly involved lots and lots of scanning. Her anxiety grew every time no answers came to light. She tried to guess what was happening based off of their faces, but in the end she gleaned little. They just looked permanently perplexed and worried.
Finally she and her siblings were sat down and it was time to see what they'd learned.
"Well, from what we can tell... Nariko, you're normal," Avaron told them, looking down at a clipboard.
"Damn it!" Nariko was actually disappointed.
"Which suggests we're not," Katsurou grumbled and crossed his arms.
"That's correct-" Avaron didn't get to finish her answer.
"Wait, I'm the only one? DAMN IT!" Nariko was very disappointed.
"Well, what we can extrapolate from this is that this is unique to Rini and Katsurou because of their mothers. Sukaime's children and any children Oriha has should also be normal, relatively speaking," Avaron explained. "Minaka's last ditch effort with Saki was to try and copy what had happened to Benitsubasa, so I'm guessing this is linked to their ability to draw directly from their cores at will."
"So what exactly is different about us?!" Rini asked the obvious question.
"Well, the good news is that it's nothing bad. It seems you have an unusually high concentration of sekirei energy within you. It's natural for ashikabi to produce a small amount of energy, and they can resonate with some of the technology like sekirei, though usually in less than ideal ways. You two, however, seem to be generating energy almost exactly like a sekirei core," Avaron told them, sounding quite fascinated.
"Umm... what?" Rini was less fascinated and more completely fucking confused.
"You kids are like tiny sekirei batteries," Benitsubasa put it as simply as possible.
"That's not a bad way to put it, honestly," Madoka chimed in. "We're thinking you transferred that energy to Sairiko and between her anger and the boost you gave her that's how she was able to launch that final attack. This kind of thing isn't entirely unheard of. Another ashikabi had an ability during the original catastrophe. His name was Seo. Apparently any sekirei he touched was rendered effectively powerless as long as he remained in contact."
"Although, admittedly, this still seems rather different." Avaron bit her lip, seeming to still be wrapping her own head around it all.
"Wow. Cool. Can I go now?" Katsurou clearly hated the revelation. Unlike she and her sister, Katsurou seemed to have a distaste for all things sekirei. It wasn't hate, obviously, for his mother was a sekirei, but beyond that he'd pulled away from it all as he got older.
"Yeah, sure, fine," Saki breathed out, a hint of annoyance in her voice. If Katsurou noticed, he ignored it and headed for the door. "But stay in the building, you can't walk home alone."
"Why not? We all know you can't protect me anyway ," he scoffed. Nearly everyone in the room went deathly silent and just stared.
"Katsurou!" Madoka, in contrast, was incensed, but Saki just waved him off.
"True, but you can't protect yourself either. I'm at least a decent distraction. Now wait for me or I'll chuck all your shit in the ocean." Saki didn't really show it, but Rini could only imagine that Katsurou's words had stung.
"Yeah... all right." Katsurou shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled off quietly. It seemed even he may have regretted his words as he didn't argue further.
"Anyway." Madoka pinched the bridge of his nose. Rini was starting to worry that the stress of everything was going to kill him. "Rini, I want you to work with Avaron. We need to see if you can control this little ability of yours. It could be the edge we need to end this mess."
"What should I do?" Nariko asked, probably feeling horribly left out.
"You and Moetatsuka can come with me to make up for the fact that I can't protect my son on my own." The slight squint of her eyes was the only indication that Saki was upset. As the three left, Benitsubasa pulled out her phone.
"Y'know, it'd be real unfortunate for him if Sukaime found out Katsurou was being a shithead." It looked like she was texting. Mercy had never really been her strong suit...
"Right... I know it's a lot to take in, but we should begin as soon as possible. Once you've rested, please come see me again," Avaron told Rini.
"Umm, do you have any idea how we're going to test this? Sairiko was hurt last time." Rini hoped her sekirei wouldn't be their test dummy.
"Please don't stab me again." Sairiko seemed to have the same train of thought.
. . .
Rini stood before a white, metal sphere. It had a hexagonal pattern on its surface, like a many sided die. It was glowing faintly at the seams.
"Umm, what's this?" she asked. It was the day after she learned a strange new fact about herself. She'd decided not to waste any time.
"An artificial sekirei core," Avaron told her. "Well, that's not quite right. All sekirei cores are artificial constructs. This is our best replica of one, though greatly scaled up in size and quite frankly far less powerful. However, it'll do for our purposes."
"So, what's the plan?"
"Well, you were touching Sairiko at the time, yes?"
"Yeah." Rini nodded. She'd been holding the injured sekirei in her arms.
"Right. So, place your hands on the core and we'll simulate an injury by draining power from it. With any luck, this will draw out your energy. If we can get you to do it at will, you'll have another option in a fight."
Rini did as she was told and touched it. It felt warm and vibrated ever so slightly beneath her hands. Every hair on her body stood up on end.
"Ready?" Avaron asked, standing before a computer console. Rini took a deep breath and then nodded. After a few moments, the vibrations from the core began to weaken until she couldn't feel it anymore. "Anything?"
"No." Rini pursed her lips. This was going to be difficult, wasn't it?
They continued for a half-hour, with Rini trying various ways to focus and trigger the transfer of energy. It was still early, but the lack of even a hint of progress was quickly demoralizing her.
"This isn't working." Avaron's words gave voice to Rini's doubts. "I'm trying something a little different." With Rini's hands still on the core, she felt the life from it vanish almost instantly. And yet her hands tingled as if being shocked and she jerked away.
"Um?" Rini looked at Avaron with some alarm.
"OK, that's what I thought. As with just about everything concerning sekirei, emotion is involved. In this case, a sense of urgency. I'm going to do that again. I need you to do two things. First, don't let go this time. Two, I want you to try and remember how you felt when Sairiko was injured."
"Yeah, OK." Rini didn't exactly relish the thought, but if that's what was necessary...
She shut her eyes and did her best to remember the moment. It wasn't easy. It wasn't something she wanted to think about. It reminded her of how helpless she'd felt, so close to losing her sekirei. She felt her nails scratching against the core as she forced herself to face that pain.
She felt the energy drain from the core again, and she felt the tingling in her hands. She didn't let go this time, but still, nothing more happened. "Dammit!" She opened her eyes, glaring at the inert core. Why couldn't she do it? What if Sairiko needed her again and it didn't just work again? Sairiko was miserable, doing all the real work and still feeling worthless while she herself couldn't even do this one thing! "DAMMIT! JUST WORK!" She snapped, shouting at it.
She saw a bright red flash and then...
. . .
"Rini? Ah, good, you're awake." Rini found herself back in the infirmary.
"Ugh, my head..." she groaned.
"Yes, you, uh, hit your head when you fell. Perhaps we should conduct further tests from a seated position." Avaron averted her eyes in embarrassment.
"S-so... I did it?"
"It would seem so. You nearly overloaded the core. It wasn't really intended for such... intense surges of power." Avaron nodded. "You'd certainly be able to give Sairiko a considerable boost if necessary. Although, if you pass out every time that's less helpful. We should keep trying and see if you can't manage the process more efficiently."
"Right. So do we stand a chance now?" Rini felt a tiny spark of hope ignite. Maybe she really could do this.
"Well, actually, that's something I've been wondering about." Avaron pulled up a chair to Rini's bedside and sat. "Sadashi is powerful, yes, but Sairiko should have been able to win. Winging her should have given her a considerable advantage. After all, she was able to unleash an attack that forced Sadashi to retreat... I just don't understand how things got so dire in the first place."
"I-I don't know. I mean I thought Sairiko was winning. It was kind of close. I guess Sadashi just caught her off guard. I mean, we weren't trying to kill her, but Sadashi didn't care about things like that, so-"
"Even so, it never should have been 'close.' You had every advantage. Norito, for example. And you two have been close for years, so you should be in sync." Avaron looked at a loss.
"R-right... I don't know..." To be honest, Rini hadn't even remembered norito was an option.
"Is something wrong?" Avaron caught on quickly.
"I... I'm just worried I'm not cut out for this. We handled Moetatsuka together, but I feel like that was just luck. Sairiko wasn't even supposed to be there and then we just winged it. Now that we're trying to do it on purpose... I... I don't know." Rini lay back and stared up at the ceiling. "I don't know if we really are in sync."
"Why not?"
"I mean, she's in love with me! And... I wasn't really ready for that. I only winged her because I thought we were out of options. I kind of wish I hadn't."
"So you don't love her then?" Avaron raised an eyebrow.
"Not... like that."
"I see. And does she know this?"
"I think so." Rini bit her lip nervously. Did this make her a bad ashikabi?
"Well then. That would certainly do it." Avaron sighed. "She's pouring herself out for someone who won't return her feelings. I'm sure that's exhausting, not to mention horribly distracting in a fight. After all, this isn't her battle. She's only involved at this point because of you."
Rini flinched. She hadn't thought about it like that. "Th-then what should I do? I can't make myself love her, can I?"
"Well, you've been friends for years haven't you? Just because she's lost some of those memories doesn't mean you have. You must care about her to some extent."
"Of course, but it's not the same thing!"
"It's something. She's doubting herself right now. You have to remind her that you still care!" Avaron shook her head. "Look, it's not exactly the same, but I was in a similar situation with Masukagami. She gave her everything to me and I felt I couldn't return that. My guilt was doubled because at the time I wasn't quite in my right mind so I was truly awful toward her. I kept trying to push her away and so both of us suffered. It only got better when I finally gave in."
"Yeah, and now you two are like... together. What if I can't just do that?"
"That's just it. It didn't immediately become that, not really. I told myself I'd love her in whatever way I could. Perhaps it's nature of our bond that let it become more. As an added bonus, that bond has given me a lot of peace. Otherwise I'd be medicated until I was numb." Avaron smiled. "All that matters is that she knows you love her, in whatever way that's true."
"I... I guess." Rini wasn't sure how she felt about that. It almost sounded like giving into some sort of brainwashing that would eventually make her fall in love with Sairiko.
"Rini." Avaron looked at her suspiciously, her smile gone. "Tell me, what exactly did you say to Sairiko?"
"Ugh..." Rini still felt bad about that. "I... I told her I wished I hadn't winged her and that I could undo it." She immediately felt uncomfortable when Avaron didn't answer and instead shot to her feet and stared at her, expression having gone cold.
And then Avaron struck her. A slap across the face.
"Stupid child!" Avaron hissed. "How long have you lived with sekirei? How could you say something like that?"
Rini trembled and shrunk back. She'd never seen Avaron like this. She looked wild.
"I-I-... b-but-"
"SHUT UP!" she snapped. "You have no excuse! How do you think your mother would feel if Madoka said that to her? Or any of them! If I ever said that to Masukagami it would destroy her! I nearly did destroy her in the past! The fact that Sairiko isn't a useless lump on the floor is a miracle!" Avaron raised her hand again, but then clenched it shut and sucked in a sharp breath. "That you dragged her into a fight after saying that to her makes me sick."
Rini hiccuped. She'd never been hit before either, not in anger, not like this. Every word made her feel like trash.
"Get up!" Avaron barked her order and Rini scrambled to obey, trembling legs barely holding her up. "Go home. Don't come back. I don't want to see you until you've fixed this." The viciousness in her words truly terrified Rini. She felt Avaron might actually hurt her if she disobeyed.
"I-"
"GO!" Avaron screamed and Rini didn't try to speak again, she just scrambled from the room as quickly as she could without falling over.
. . .
Having heard Avaron's banshee-like screaming, Madoka hurried into the infirmary. In the distance he saw his daughter hurrying away, albeit somewhat unsteadily.
"Avaron... the hell was that?" he asked looking at Avaron as she took deep, heaving breaths.
"Nothing that wasn't necessary." Avaron let out her next breath slowly, trying to steady herself. "Though... I may have overreacted. Also, Rini isn't my favorite of your children anymore."
"Wh-. . . you were picking favorites?"
"Of course. They're not my children."
. . .
She didn't trust herself to drive, so she had one of their employees drive her home. The benefits of being part of a large corporation she supposed.
She made it about six steps into her house before she fell against a wall and slid to the floor, curling up into a tear-stained ball. She wasn't sure how long she lay there before she heard the door open.
"Ah! Rini-sama! I was worried, I couldn't find you and then they said you went home!" It was Sairiko. The sekirei rushed over to her side and knelt down, looking worried.
Rini looked up at Sairiko and then began shaking even harder, bursting into tears once again. She'd just been screamed at for basically being a terrible ashikabi, and then she'd gone and abandoned her sekirei. Again.
"Rini-sama, what's wrong." Sairiko reached for her, but Rini swatted her hands away. The lasted for about two seconds before Sairiko decided to just overpower Rini and pull her off the floor and onto her lap. "Rini!"
"Why?" Rini hiccuped. "Why do you care? I said I wished I hadn't winged you, so why?"
"Well... you don't hate me, right?"
"Huh? N-no!"
"Yeah, because you were worried about me even then. And now you're going through all these tests and working hard to help me." Sairiko smiled. Rini couldn't believe it. Even after what she'd said, Sairiko was only looking for the best in her. "So I have to try harder so I don't let you down again."
"Let... me... down?" Rini shook her head. "No, I'm the one who's letting you down! I'm just... a bad ashikabi. I don't know what I'm doing!" She lifted her head up to meet Sairiko's eyes. "It's my fault you got hurt."
"But I don't blame you-"
"That's the problem! I winged you and now you're following me into all this danger and all I'm doing is holding you back! And you're just letting me! I don't understand!"
"Because I'm your sekirei," Sairiko spoke with absolute certainty. "And you need my help. I don't want anyone to hurt you!"
"How much... do you remember?" Rini asked. "You know, from before all this?"
"Bits and pieces. I remember things all the time."
"I spent a lot of time with all the sekirei. My mothers' stories were fascinating, so I wanted to know what all the other sekirei were like. But you, you always followed me around. They always joked and said you were like a dog, following me because I fed you." Rini lips twitched into a smile, if only for a moment. "Sometimes I'd stay there overnight, because you'd cry when I left. My parents hated that."
"I was afraid you'd forget me," Sairiko whispered, as if just remembering it. "You... you wanted to to know every sekirei, but there are so many. You'd get mad when you forgot one... I didn't want you to forget me. I wanted you to know who I was."
"And you barely had any friends because you were so obsessed with me. I don't even know why."
"There were dozens of us, but only one of you. If you paid attention to me, it meant I was special... because you were special." Sairiko squeezed her affectionately. "You let me stay with you, all that time. I'm not leaving now when you need me the most. I don't care how badly I get hurt or how many hits I need to take for you." Her expression hardened. "You gave me what I wanted the most, so now I'll fight to keep it."
Rini couldn't take anymore. She couldn't form words. She wrapped her arms around Sairiko's neck and buried her face in the sekirei's shoulder, hiding while at the same time seeking comfort.
"Rini..." Sairiko sounded nervous now. "You said before that you couldn't feel anything towards those people. Um... is that how it is with me?"
". . . no."
. . .
Avaron was hard at work in the MBI labs. They only had one, tiny lead that might not lead anywhere: Sadashi's arm. Even if it came to something, she wasn't sure Rini and Nariko would be ready, but she needed to focus on something. On top of everything else, her outburst at Rini the night before was eating away at her. After calming down, she'd felt terrible.
She was interrupted by the sound of the lab door sliding open.
"Avaron, I'm ready to try again." She recognized Rini's voice. She took a deep breath. Guilty or not, Rini needed to fix things.
"So, have y-" Avaron turned around to see Rini there with Sairiko, hand-in-hand. With a gasp she hurried over, embracing the two of them and spoke with a shaking voice, "I'm glad."
. . .
Rini sat up in bed and groaned, "Ugh, not again." The infirmary bed, to be specific. Apparently attempt number twelve had also ended in her passing out.
"Sorry, kid." It seemed her mother was waiting for her this time. "Good news is you're recovering faster each time. Pretty soon you might make it to three times a day."
"Yeah, and while I'm doing my best fainting goat impression, Minaka is still out there experimenting on the twins," Rini grumbled, not feeling particularly encouraged.
"Well, if it helps, Avaron thinks she might be able to find a way to get the satellites to find Sadashi despite whatever method Minaka is using to hide," Benitsubasa told her.
"Yeah, but if I can't help-"
"Stop. This little trick is just a trump card. A last ditch effort. Your dad and I never had something like that. As long as I knew he was behind me, I never let anything stop me. You and Sairiko just have to trust each other."
"I'd feel better if I could actually do something, though." Rini's eyes fell to her hands where they lay on her lap.
"Heh, I guess your father had the same problem once. He was so distraught he cheated on me." Benitsubasa pursed her lips.
"WHAT?!" Rini's jaw dropped.
"Eh, it was with Sukaime so it worked out, but anyway." Benitsubasa waved it off. "Point is, you're not a fighter. You're there to be moral support and a quick kiss if needed. More importantly, you can't doubt her. I got up after some serious ass beatings and still won because Madoka didn't give up on me."
"I just... hope that's enough this time."
"Hey." Benitsubasa sat on Rini's bedside, putting an arm around her. "I'm sorry you have to deal with this. It's not your fight, I know. I'd like nothing more than to do this for you." She grimaced. "Seriously, I'd give anything to shove my fist up his smug ass!" She stopped to take a breath, calming down a bit. "But you and Sairiko have something your father and I didn't. You've known each other for years. Your bond runs a lot deeper than ours did back then. Use that."
"How?"
"Do you love her? Do you get scared when she's in trouble? Do you hurt when she does?" Benitsubasa jabbed her finger into Rini's chest, over her heart. Rini's face flushed, but she nodded. "Then don't hide from that and never look away! If she gets knocked down and it hurts so much that she doesn't think she can stand, you tell her to get up anyway! Never accept that she can lose! You can't give up and you can't let her give up, because if you do, then she's gone!" Benitsubasa stared into her eyes. "Just as much as you want her to come back to you, she wants to come back to you. You make sure she can, and you be waiting with open arms. She'll give every ounce of strength as long as you're there to hold her up when it's over!"
Rini felt her heart starting to pound, it was all starting to feel too real. "OK." She tried to take a breath and steady herself. "O-OK..." It didn't help. "Mom... I'm scared."
It was a rare moment where her mother's tough facade cracked. She looked pained and she pulled her daughter close. "I know. I... I wish there was something I could do. But I believe in you, and you're not alone."
. . .
Rini awoke with a start. Her face had been practically plastered against the false core, her drool running down it. "Ugh." She shook her head to clear it. "You couldn't have sat me up? My face hurts..."
"Sorry. At least you're waking up faster. No need for me to lug you to the infirmary anymore," Avaron told her. "You should be safe to try again in about ten minutes."
"So I guess I'm getting better, but how long until I can do it without passing out?" Rini asked.
"Impossible to say unfortunately. You're improving steadily, but-"
"If there's a but, then it's no good, is it?" Rini sighed in defeat. She could do the math. It would take her at least another week, assuming it was even possible to retain consciousness during the transfer. She wasn't going to give up yet, but she wasn't holding on to much hope.
At least she had a chair now so she wouldn't smack her head every time she fainted.
She heard the door slide open and had to wonder who was looking in on her this time. It was getting tiring honestly. Someone or another, usually her parents, kept popping by to try and encourage her. It might have been more helpful if their words didn't feel so hollow and forced.
"Rini! Are you still just sitting around?" Well, that was... refreshing. Apparently Nariko was there to yell at her.
"And what else should I be doing?" Rini twisted in her chair to look at her grumpy little sister.
"I'm sorry, Nariko, but presently this is the best use of her time. We haven't located Minaka yet," Avaron spoke up.
"Well maybe you'd have found him by now if you weren't wasting time here!" Nariko snapped. Rini was stunned for a moment. Nariko had always been mouthy, but lately she was blowing her fuse at a moment's notice.
"These things take time," Avaron spoke through clenched teeth. "If there was anything more I could do right now, I assure you I would be doing it."
"Well it's taking too much time!" Nariko wasn't appeased in the slightest. "He's had them for days!"
"Sis, I know, but-"
"But what? When you found Sairiko she tried to kill you! What if they don't remember me by the time we find them!" And suddenly it was obvious what had been eating at her. Rini should have known better. Of course it had been obvious Nariko wanted revenge and was worried about the twins, but Rini hadn't really stopped to think of what might happen if finding them took too long.
She couldn't blame her for losing her cool. She wasn't a scientist, so she couldn't help with tracking down Minaka, and she had no special powers she could spend time learning to control. All she could do was wait an slowly lose her mind as the worry piled on and grew with every day that passed with Koumi and Tetsuko left in Minaka's hands.
"She... has a point," Rini spoke, suddenly rather subdued.
"Yes." Avaron was forced to agree. "In which case, we must face reality."
"What are you talking about?" Nariko narrowed her eyes.
"You said it yourself. They might not remember you. They might try to kill you. You'll have no choice but to fight back," Avaron told them. Nariko bit her lip. It was clear the girl had already thought of that, even if she didn't want to say it out loud. "So you should know what you may be up against."
"I guess... that's a good point. So what can they do?" Rini asked. Nariko had gone silent at this point. A logical discussion on how to defeat her friends was too much for her it seemed.
Avaron took a moment to pull up the necessary information on the computer before her. "They're... interesting. We've labeled them as support types. They're most powerful when working alongside each other, and even more so with another sekirei. It seems that they're living weapons of some sort. Tetsuko is focused on melee, and Koumi's abilities are better at range. Beyond that, since we've no actual combat data on them, I can't say." Avaron sighed. "In short, do your best to keep them separated from Hyoushi and Sadashi. There are two of you, so you should be fine."
Nariko sniffled and Rini could tell she was moments from breaking down crying. "I-it's not fair. A week ago they were with me, just worrying about their homework... I don't want to hurt them!"
"I know, but you need to accept that you might have no choice-" Avaron paused mid sentence, something behind Nariko catching her attention.
"Nariko-sama?" It was Moetatsuka.
"Huh? What are you doing here?" Nariko turned around and blinked the tears out of her eyes.
"I... felt that you might need me. You seem upset." The sekirei approached her ashikabi. "I overheard a bit... the... twins, yes? I promise you that if it becomes necessary, I will bring them back to you alive."
"B-but what if you get hurt?"
"Then that's fine. Cuts and bruises heal. As... long as you can forgive the methods I may have to use, I promise everything will be OK. As long as you don't end up crying again- Ah! N-Nariko?"
Nariko hiccuped, snot and tears now running down her face. "I-Idiot, you're making me cry right now!" she wailed and began bawling outright.
"N-no! Nariko! Uh, um, wh-wh-what should I-" Moetatsuka's composure shattered and she began panicking. However, Avaron strode over and shoved Nariko into Moetatsuka's arms. Nariko immediately clung to the sekirei like a baby koala while Moetatsuka turned redder than a ripe tomato.
"Th-thank you... Moetatsuka..." Nariko whimpered between gasping sobs.
"Was my mom this uncoordinated?" Rini whispered to Avaron.
"No... and that's saying something."
. . .
They'd assured Nariko that they'd do their best to get the twins back, but they still had no leads to go on. There was only one path left open to them. It wasn't exactly a good one, though. Barring somehow getting the satellites find Minaka's hiding spot, they could only wait.
The one thing they knew for sure is that Minaka wasn't done. He would make another move.
Waiting for that move to be made all but assured that Nariko's fears would come to pass.
At the very least they were trying to prepare, and in a way that allowed Nariko to participate.
BANG!
The sound of screeching metal followed the sound of an explosion. Rini feared the tower would come down around them, but she'd been assured the building could take it. They were in a large room located underneath the tower. While most of the floors were above ground, it also had three sub-levels.
So long as they didn't really push it, they could allow the sekirei to practice before they had to fight again.
Sairiko had dropped to one knee, leaning heavily on her sword. The blade glowed red from the heat of Moetatsuka's blasts. She was panting and look exhausted. Moetatsuka, meanwhile, was barely even sweating.
"So... are you holding back or something? Not that I want you to bring down the entire tower, but last I heard you were leveling forests with nuclear force winds." Benitsubasa crossed her arms, having been observing. She didn't seem impressed by Sairiko's performance.
"Sh-she's stronger than last time... a-and I don't have my norito-" Moetatsuka pushed herself to her feet, but Benitsubasa scoffed.
"I don't have my norito!" Benitsubasa mocked the girl and sighed. "Kid I won most of my fights without mine! No excuse! I beat a guy who literally killed things by touching them with my bare hands! You have a giant sword!"
"M-mom, go easy on her. Moetatsuka's a strong sekirei." Rini placed a comforting hand on Sairiko's shoulder.
"WRONG ANSWER!"
"I-I wasn't answering a question-"
"Do not make excuses for your sekirei!" Benitsubasa snapped. "You can't let her think it's OK to lose!"
"She's not a dog to be trained!" Rini began to get riled up herself.
"No, she's a sekirei who has to fight for her life and yours!" Benitsubasa shot back.
"Do you want us to lose!?" Nariko chimed in, sounding annoyed.
"What I want is for Sairiko to not get steamrolled! I could do better than her and my tuning is a mess!"
"Then why don't you try!" Rini immediately regretted it. Her mother raised an eyebrow and shook her head.
"You know what? Fine." Benitsubasa walked to the middle of the room. "Nariko, Moetatsuka, get out of the way."
"Are... you serious?" Nariko's jaw dropped.
"Yes." Benitsubasa rolled her neck, her spine popping as she loosened herself up.
". . . awesome." Nariko hurried off to the side with Moetatsuka. She actually seemed excited to see what Benitsubasa could do first hand.
"All right, now come at me." Benitsubasa motioned for Sairiko to begin.
"Go ahead," Rini also gave her sekirei permission.
Sairiko seemed hesitant for a moment, but hefted her sword and charged into battle. It was... laughable. It was like watching a dump truck try to outpace a sports car. Sairiko wielded her large blade with agility that no normal person could ever hope to achieve, but Benitsubasa was pretty much running circles around her.
"OK, this is just getting silly." Benitsubasa sighed and her left hand began to crackle with energy. She stopped moving. As Sairiko made her next attack with an overhead chop, Benitsubasa just lifted her hand and caught the blade by the edge. "Tell me this isn't it. Are you that tired?" Benitsubasa scowled in disappointment.
Sairiko grit her teeth, irked by the suggestion. She tore her blade free of the smaller sekirei's grasp and then swung horizontally. Benitsubasa ducked and hopped back.
"You're supposed to be a monster compared to me! Keeping up should be easy!" Benitsubasa began to glow and soon the whole room was bathed red by the light that shone from her. "COME ON!" In a flash the light vanished, and so did Benitsubasa. When they saw her next, she was planting her fist squarely in Sairiko's gut.
Sairiko went stiff, gasping for air. Benitsubasa removed her fist and the sword-wielder fell to a knee, choking in pain.
Something in Rini began to boil over. The way Benitsubasa looked down at Sairiko as she struggled to breath. The condescension and disapproval that she saw was too much. Did she think Sairiko wasn't good enough?
"Don't... look at her like that!" Rini clenched her fists. "Sairiko." She spoke. She felt calm and yet hateful at the same time. "Stop holding back. The building can take it..." She met her mother's eyes. "And so can she."
Her mother looked taken aback, but then she grinned. "Ha, what's this? Feeling rebellious?"
Rini let Sairiko speak for her. The sekirei stabbed her blade into the concrete and pushed herself up. She then ripped it free and let the massive blade rest on her shoulder. She suddenly seemed brimming with confidence.
. . .
"All right, round two!" Benitsubasa shot forward. She wasn't sure exactly what she expected to have changed... but Sairiko flowing out of the way of her punch like Benitsubasa was moving in slow motion wasn't it. "Eh?" She had but a moment to glance up and see the faint blue shimmer coming from Sairiko's right eye... before the back of Sairiko's left fist careened into her jaw.
Benitsubasa effectively pirouetted, spinning on her back foot before sliding to a stop fifteen feet away. Her jaw ached and she was pretty sure her lip was bleeding.
"O-OK... that's a little better..." Benitsubasa panted. "Why is the room spinning?"
Sairiko gripped her sword with both hands and swung it diagonally, one then twice, creating an X. Benitsubasa grunted as she felt a wave of pressure crash into her from both sides, sandwiching her. It took everything she had to keep it from crushing her.
"This... isn't... good..." Benitsubasa could only watch and Sairiko's blade cleaved through the floor, sending one last blast of air hurtling into her, lifting her clean off the ground. Sairiko then flew toward her, quickly closing the gap. She pulled her sword back, and Benitsubasa supposed she was glad that she spun it around, bringing the dull edge to bear. "Oh shi-" Was all she could utter before she was batted clear across the room, slamming forcefully into the wall, concrete crumbling into dust from the collision.
. . .
Rini watched her mother fall out of the crater left in the wall. Her body crackled with with energy, but it dissipated as she fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath.
"Um... Rini? Don't you think that was a bit much?" Nariko's eyes were wide and she looked a bit scared.
"N-no." Benitsubasa coughed and struggled to her feet. She staggered her way past Sairiko and over to Rini. She slowed only long enough to speak, "Remember... how that felt... and stop holding back," and then brushed past her daughter to make for the elevator.
"What?" Rini didn't understand. Isn't that what she'd just done?
"You heard me," Benitsubasa grumbled and practically fell into the elevator, leaning against the wall as she hit the buttons. "Fuck... I haven't been hit that hard since Miya."
. . .
Rini wasn't sure what to think about what had happened. A small tinge of guilt was starting to eat at her. Why had it taken going after her own mother to get Sairiko fired up enough? Her mother would be fine though... right?
She decided to just sleep on it and talk to her mother tomorrow. Hopefully there wouldn't be any hard feelings.
"Sairiko, what do you want for dinner? I think you've earned something nice." Rini chuckled. Regardless of anything else, at least Sairiko had done well in the end.
The girl's eyes lit up. She did love her food. "Um-" But before she could answer, a heavy series of knocks rattled the walls. Someone was at the door – someone angry. Before she could even get to the door, it unlocked itself and slammed open.
It was Sukaime.
"Oh crap."
Oho, she's pissed!
So yeah, this was gonna be the last chapter but then I realized the chapter lengths would have been horribly lopsided, so I'm ending this one here.
Anyway, glad to see some familiar faces in the reviews... Or rather only familiar faces. Understandable, being that this is a sequel. Regardless, welcome back! Hopefully this is at least a fun read even if it doesn't entirely live up to Violent Hearts. That's mostly what I was going for, honestly, just some fun.
And we learned that Avaron can still lose her shit! So that's cool.
Til' next time!