Since nobody responded to my question, I will assume that you are all okay with Sekirei romances. While some of you might have hoped for Minato to have more than one romance, this is a universe with monogamy, so while he won't have too many romantic interests, his and others' Sekirei will have romances to make up for it. Also, to prevent any criticism later on, Tsukiumi might be OOC and I won't write her dialogue any differently than anyone else. As she is not a key character, I'm using her to do some things in the plot, at the expense of her being OOC. Thank you to those who reviewed chapter 2, it means a lot.

Chapter 3

"So you came." Tsukiumi whipped around, trying to find the owner of the voice. She was currently standing in an abandoned warehouse near the edge of Tokyo. She was standing under the sole light of the warehouse, allowing the owner of the voice a perfect view of her.

"Come out!" She cried out.

She took a step backwards and felt herself hitting flesh. She whirled around to see who she had been looking for.

"I wasn't sure if you would come." Homura said with a smirk.

"Of course I did." Tsukiumi said with a smirk as well, "I know that you can't live without seeing me."

Homura pressed up to her body with his own and gave her an intense kiss. He could feel her trying to wrap her hands around his shoulders and quickly pulled away. She was clearly disappointed by the loss of contact.

He chuckled, "Looks like you're the one who can't live without me."

"No way, you're nothing special." She said stubbornly. Although she knew she was lying, she would never concede defeat to him.

"Oh, I guess I should just leave then." Homura walked away dejectedly, feigning defeat.

"Wait." Homura stopped in his tracks and smirked. He knew she had fallen for him. After all, he had pulled out every trick in his arsenal. He had worked as a host for a few weeks before Tokyo went into a lockdown and had learned all of the tricks quickly.

He felt her hand on his shoulder. He turned around and put his sad expression back on.

"You know I didn't really mean that. You are special to me." Tsukiumi said as she gave him a chaste kiss.

"Then why don't you come with me? We could just run away together and forget the Sekirei Plan." He pleaded.

She didn't want to tell him no, after all, he was clearly in love with her, but she couldn't just leave Tokyo and risk having the Discipline Squad chase after them. "You know I can't. My job is keeping me here."

"Screw your job! If they don't understand that we're in love, then that's their problem." Homura said as he pulled her tight.

She sighed, he never really thought ahead, "It's not that simple. If we leave, the Discipline Squad will be after us."

His face lit up as he made a realization, "Come join us at Izumo then! Miya could keep us safe from the Discipline Squad."

She had to admit, Miya really was strong enough to protect the two of them. It was still risky though.

"I really hate not being able to see you every day. And it kills me when I have to fight you. I know that I always miss with my fireballs, but it still kills me to even be throwing them at you. Every time they even come at you, I feel like a little part of me is dying inside. Please promise me, just think about it." Homura begged.

Tsukiumi nodded, "I'll give it some thought."

"Can I get one more hug before you go?" Homura asked. Looking at the anticipation on his face, Tsukiumi was powerless to say no and hugged him in a tight embrace.

He smirked. He knew how loyal Tsukiumi could be. Once he heard about how bad of an Ashikabi Natsuo was, he knew that he would be able to get Tsukiumi's loyalty. She was attractive, he had to admit, but he didn't love her. Right now, she was nothing more than an asset. Although he felt bad about using her, Takehito needed any help he could get to fight Minaka. And if they could beat Minaka, that meant that Chiho could leave Tokyo. Although Chiho was treated by MBI already, he still didn't want her around such a stressful situation. He knew that Minaka had treated just so she could entertain him, the thought of her being used so callously made him clench his fists in rage.

He would do anything to help Chiho to escape this madness. She was the ideal Ashikabi for any Sekirei, and although he had no romantic feelings toward her, she was the most important person in the world to him. All he wanted was to see her to safety. She was too fragile to help them fight, but that only motivated him more. He desperately wanted to help her lead a normal life, and he didn't care who he would have to hurt to make that happen. Even if that meant that he had to manipulate the feelings of Tsukiumi.

Mutsu paced outside of Kazehana's room as he debated whether he should go inside or not.

"Can't sleep?" He was surprised to see Yume up in the middle of the night.

"Just got a lot on my mind." He replied.

Yume walked him over to the bar, "Same here."

"What's on your mind?" Mutsu asked as he took a seat. He never really talked to Yume, but he did know that she once tried to rescue two Sekirei, but had failed to rescue one of them and blamed herself ever since. Karasuba had told him, as they were the only ones who went on that mission.

Yume sat down next to him, "The same stuff. I really wish I could do more to stop the Sekirei from fighting each other. But in the Discipline Squad, I feel like I'm forcing them to fight more than anything. I honestly think that I shouldn't stay here. I should just leave and go help our fellow Sekirei."

Mutsu nodded, "I feel that way sometimes too."

"You know, you and I are more alike than I had thought."

"I guess so." Mutsu replied, Kazehana forgotten.

"Well, I better get to bed now. I've got a lot to do tomorrow." Yume said as she stood up and disappeared into her room, leaving Mutsu alone. He stared out of the window once more. Were the answers he was looking for out there after all? He didn't know, but what he did know was that he had a better chance of finding his answers out there than he did in the Discipline Squad. And apparently Yume felt the same way.

"I saw that." Mutsu almost had a heart attack when a voice rang out behind his head. He jolted up and fell out of his seat. He felt Karasuba helping him to his feet.

"You did?" Mutsu replied shakily, his heart still beating incredibly fast.

Karasuba nodded, "What were you doing with Yume this late at night?"

"We were just talking." Mutsu replied, not understanding why Karasuba cared. She wasn't suspicious of him or anything, right?

"That's good."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Karasuba responded quickly.

Mutsu was suspicious, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Are you having a hard time sleeping too?" Mutsu asked.

"Yeah, I've got a lot of thoughts in my head."

"Well, since I already shared my problems with Yume, you should share yours with me." Mutsu said.

"Oh, I guess I should." Karasuba said, slightly disappointed that Mutsu chose to confide with Yume instead of her.

"So what's bothering you?" Mutsu asked.

Karasuba thought for a moment before she answered, "I'm a little concerned about my next mission. I'm supposed to go and force the rebels to come out, but I don't know if I can trust Tsukiumi to have my back."

"Oh, well, if you need any help, I could come along." Mutsu said. He agreed, there was definitely something odd about Tsukiumi.

"Oh really? That would be great!" Karasuba said, uncharacteristically excited.

"Sure, I do have to help out my friends." Mutsu responded.

"Yeah, friends." Karasuba suddenly seemed to lose her excitement. Mutsu was now confused, one moment Karasuba was excited, the next, she was depressed. He wasn't exactly sure what was causing her mood swings, but before he could ask her, she was gone.

Shiina's face bore an expression of worry as he dashed along the rooftops of Tokyo. He had spent all night looking for his Ashikabi, and was beginning to think that he would never find her. As he felt the cool wind whip through his hair, another feeling overtook him. A sense of dread filled every inch of his body.

"She's in trouble!" He quickly realized as he instinctively changed routes.

"I'm totally fine, Benitsubasa." Minato said as Benitsubasa inspected him again. They were walking in the parking lot of the nearby mall. The parking lot was eerily silent and completely devoid of cars. When MBI took over the city, a lot of families took their cars to the city limits to leave. As a result, downtown Tokyo had almost no cars remaining.

"That was a hard fall you took." She replied as she stopped inspecting him. However, she made sure to keep a close eye on him.

"I'm doing a lot better than those guys you killed." Minato replied. While the bodies were removed by MBI, the blood splatters remained as a constant reminder of what had taken place in the streets.

"Let's not talk about this right now." Benitsubasa was a little distraught. She normally didn't mind killing, but the fact that a bloodlust had overtaken her was a little unsettling. Minato had not witnessed it, and she was thankful that he didn't. He was already concerned about her killing of gang members. She had no idea what Minato would have done if he knew that she had brutally killed that Sekirei.

"You're right, we're not here to talk about death, we're here to find something to patch up our window." Minato said as he opened the door to the mall.

As he walked inside, he took a look around. The sun was poking through the large holes in the roof, illuminating the various stores. The mall was much cleaner than he had expected. Whereas most of the city was filled with debris, the mall seemed to be completely clear. It was almost as if the mall was simply closed, instead of being deserted.

However, what Minato and Benitsubasa did not realize was that the mall was not deserted.

"What do you think?" Benitsubasa asked as she held up a panel with a floral print.

"What is it with you and flowers?" Mianto asked as he inspected a solid blue panel.

Benitsubasa sighed, they had been disagreeing about panels for about an hour.

"Let's just get some planks of wood and cover up the hole."

Minato looked at her quizzically, "Are you sure? That probably won't look as good."

"We really shouldn't be concerned about how it looks, it's more important that it will keep us safe."

Minato nodded in agreement, "I guess that makes sense." However as he talked, he noticed that Benitsubasa wasn't listening.

"What's wrong?" He asked by he was shushed by Benitsubasa.

"There's someone here." She whispered. She grabbed a nearby cash register and effortlessly held it up with one hand. Minato kept his ears open so hear could hear any movement, but his ears were not as well trained as Benitsubasa's.

"Got you." He heard her whisper. Benitsubasa quickly whipped around and tossed the cash register into a rug hanging on the wall, eliciting a scream. She quickly sprinted at the brown haired girl who appeared from behind the rug and tackled her to the ground.

"Hari!" Minato saw a brown haired boy in a white polo shirt and blue jeans run inside the store.

"Benitsubasa, get off of her." Benitsubasa heard Minato give the order and complied.

Kunimitsu quickly ran to his Sekirei's side, "Please leave us alone." He said fearfully. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he got a good look at Benitsubasa, "Oh my God, it's you."

Minato was very confused, "Wait, you know us?"

"She's the Harbinger Sekirei, which makes you the Reaper."

"Wait, what?" Minato was confused.

"He means that we apparently have a reputation." Benitsubasa explained.

"Wait, then why am I the Reaper?" Minato asked.

"You guys killed nine people in one hour." Kunimitsu answered, "Anyone who would order that has to be the Reaper."

Minato buried his head in his hands as he tried to register what he had heard. Obviously, he was becoming infamous.

He decided to try and salvage the situation, "Well, those are just rumors."

"We did kill nine people." Benitsubasa interrupted.

"But they attacked us first. And that's not who we are." Minato finished, "Look the point is, we won't attack you."

"So are the rumors true or not?" A black haired man in a black polo asked as he entered the store, followed by two Sekirei.

Minato had really painted himself inside of a corner, "They're true, but we're not as ruthless as they make us out to be."

"Sorry, but you'll have to be ruthless." A black haired man said as he also entered the store.

"Who are you?" Minato asked.

The man hand held out his hand, "Oosumi Orihiko." Minato took it and the two shook hands.

"Like I was saying, regardless of whether the rumors are true or not, we need your help right now." Oosumi motioned for the group to follow him.

"We've managed to stay out of trouble by using this mall as our home, but now someone's launching an assault on us. We didn't want to fight, but now we have no choice." Oosumi explained to Minato as they ran towards the mall entrance, which had been reduced to dust by thirty armed men and two Sekirei. For such a dire situation, Minato noticed that the man had stayed rather calm.

"It's the pink haired Sekirei and her Ashikabi." A blond Sekirei with knives attached to whips informed the others. "Number 31 Sai at your service." She said rather impatiently.

"Number 40, Shi." The black haired Sekirei in a kimono said shyly.

"This has been pretty boring so far, let's hope you can entertain us." Sai said as she rushed at Benitsubasa, who quickly flipped over her.

"You're too impatient." Benitsubasa observed before she punched the exposed Sekirei in her back. Before she could punch again, whips beat her back.

"That's it! No one touches me but Hig… I mean Master!" Sai cried out angrily.

"So, Higa's behind this." Oosumi deduced as his Sekirei, Kaho, quickly stabbed a man with her naginata, and deftly decapitated another with a quick swing.

"Oosumi, please get out of danger." Kaho pleaded with her Ashikabi even as she easily sliced another intruder in half. As she did, she left herself open for an attack by Shi, who nervously slashed at her with a blade hidden under her sleeve.

Benitsubasa and Sai were busy exchanging blows, inadvertently killing many of Higa's solders. Neither could gain the upper hand. Every time Sai whipped her, Benitsubasa managed to counter with a punch. Then the roles reversed, Benitsubasa punched Sai, who countered by whipping her.

"I've had enough!" Benitsubasa yelled out as she unleashed a temper even more explosive than that of Sai. She delivered a powerful kick to Sai's gut, forcing her to bend over in pain. As she did, Benitsubasa grabbed her and held her struggling form over her head.

"I'm going to break you right now!" Benitsubasa yelled as she brought the helpless Sekirei down on her knee. Sai saw her vision quickly get fuzzy as she barely registered the crack that her back made.

"I failed Master." She whispered in a calm voice as Benitsubasa tossed her aside and dashed over to assist Kaho, whose naginata was locked against Shi's blade. Using her momentum, Benitsubasa grabbed Shi's midsection and brought both of them to the ground.

"Please, don't." Benitsubasa ignored Shi's pleas and began unloading into her body. Every punch made Minato cringe as he saw the genuine fear in Shi's eyes being replaced by pain.

Minato grabbed Benitsubasa's arm, "Stop, that's enough, she's done."

The pink haired Sekirei stopped and looked over her work in horror. Shi's face was already swelling up from the various blows there. Blood flowed freely from her lip and down the side of her head. Her clothes were torn and splattered by blood. Part of her top had been torn off and it was easy to see that her ribcage was broken. The unconscious Sekirei's face was contorted into an expression of pain.

"You really are the Reaper." Kunimitsu breathed out as his Sekirei Hari cowered in fear behind him.

Minato looked around and realized that Benitsubasa and Kaho had killed all of the intruders, whose bodies lined the entrance and whose blood stained the formerly clean floors of the mall.

"We can't stay here anymore." Oosumi decided.

"What are you talking about?" Mutou asked.

"Look around, Higa is going to retaliate for this." Oosumi answered with worry in his voice.

"He knows not to mess with us, we've got nothing to worry about." Mutou retorted.

"Fine, suit yourselves, but I'm not going to sit around waiting for my death." Oosumi said as he motioned for Kaho to follow him.

"Let's get out of here too." Benitsubasa whispered to Minato, who nodded in agreement.

The two quickly followed Oosumi's lead, leaving Kunimitsu and Mutou behind.

"Fine, when you guys realize that you're overreacting, you can come back here!" Mutou yelled out.

"There won't be anywhere to come back to." A voice startled the black haired Ashikabi.

"Who are you?" Kunimitsu asked nervously.

"I'm Kakizaki, and I'm here to represent Mr. Izumi. Unfortunately for you, he doesn't appreciate those who interfere with his plans. As he said that, a bladed disk came out from behind him and embedded itself in one of Mutou's Sekirei.

"Mimi!" He cried out as her lifeless body fell to the ground.

"You will soon find that Mr. Izumi is capable of being far more intimidating and heartless than the Reaper." Kakizaki said with a smile.

I love Mass Effect, so yeah, Minato and his group will be known as the Reapers. To prevent questions later on, yes, Chiho is the Ashikabi of Homura and Uzume and yes, she does live in Izumo Inn, although she is not as involved in the rebellion as her Sekirei are. I'll admit, I think that Mutsu deserves a romance, but I was wondering whether you guys think it should be with Karasuba, who I think needs someone to accept her for who she is, or with Kazehana or possibly with someone else. Please leave your thoughts, if you can. Any reviews are always appreciated.