Thank you to everyone who gave a suggestion. To address your concerns, GrievousHollow, I wouldn't say that the Sekirei aren't compatible with each other. In the manga, the offspring of Sekirei and humans became Ashikabi, so it's clear that human-Sekirei relationships don't create Sekirei, so I have to imagine that the Sekirei reproduce with each other, but in the story, it's not as big a concern to reproduce as it is to find their Ashikabi. Also, not every strong relationship is romantic. I think there are plenty of fulfilling relationships that are not related to romance.
I apologize if this chapter's really choppy and separated into too many story arcs, but this chapter is mainly for set up.
Chapter 4
Yukari had been running for too long. She just wanted to collapse and give up, but she couldn't. Not when her brother had sacrificed himself for her to get away.
"Come back here. We promise we'll be gentle, at first that is." The gang member cackled. She had run into them a few blocks back, and they seemed intent on catching her. She saw an alley and quickly ducked inside.
"Get away!" Yukari said, kicking him in the balls. She turned to run again, but was met by a wall. She realized that the alley she had run into was a dead end.
"You're going to pay for that." The man groaned.
Yukari turned around to face the men. She was going to die before she let one of them rape her. To her surprise a silver haired boy jumped down in front of her.
"Get away from my Ashikabi." He warned.
"Why should we be scared of you? You're just a kid."
"Suit yourself." The silver haired boy grabbed the man's arm and began to focus. To Yukari's horror, the man seemed to age rapidly before he quickly dissolved into dust.
"He's one of those Sekirei!" Another man yelled out, "I'm out of here." He quickly ran off, followed by the rest of the gang.
"Who are you?" Yukari asked.
The silver haired boy's expression quickly turned to joy as he saw her. She studied his boyish face, which was just adorable when he smiled. Although she knew that she was in a serious situation, she couldn't help but think that she was lucky to stumble upon a real life bishounen.
"Shiina."
Karasuba tried not to laugh as she cut down a blond Ashikabi. Although she loved killing, she didn't want Mutsu to think that she was insane or anything. There was a very good chance that he would be scared off if he knew. But still, the way that the helpless humans screamed out for mercy was so exhilarating.
"Looks like they're not coming out, let's just go." Tsukiumi said nervously, her eyes darting to the dead Ashikabi and his disemboweled Sekirei, who was not just terminated, but dead. She knew that Karasuba was a little off, but she had never realized what a crazed sadist she really was.
Karasuba looked at her suspiciously, "Exactly why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
Before Tsukiumi could answer, a fireball torched the ground in front of Karasuba. Mutsu quickly pushed her out of the way as another fireball came flying at her face.
As she fell on the ground, she couldn't help but admire how brave Mutsu was and how strong his arms were. But she had no time to dwell on that. She pushed Mutsu off and leaped at Homura. She began hacking away at the silver haired Sekirei, who began dodging her attacks.
"Tsukiumi! Can I get a little help?" She cried out as Homura continued to dodge her slashes. Homura quickly gave Tsukiumi a look before he returned to his current task.
"What am I supposed to do?" Tsukiumi whispered softly to herself. As she saw the fear in Homura's eyes as he dodged yet another aggressive move from Karasuba, she made a choice.
"Water Celebration!" Tsukiumi cried out as a stream of water shot out of her hand and ran into Karasuba's side.
"I knew I couldn't trust you!" Karasuba screamed. While she was focused on Tsukiumi, she didn't notice that a certain pair of twins had also arrived at the battle.
"Watch out!" Mutsu yelled as he saw a bolt of lightning and a fireball fly at Karasuba. He quickly dove in front of her and felt his body seize up as electricity coursed through him. Smoke filled his lungs as he desperately tried to put out the fire singing his skin by rolling around, but he slowly felt his strength fading away as the fire was finally put out.
"This is not good! Karasuba is going to kill us." Tsukiumi yelled out. Homura nodded and the group quickly disappeared.
Minato and Benitsubasa were relaxing on the roof after they had patched up their window with some wooden planks.
"Am I useless?" Minato asked.
"No! What makes you ask that?"
"It's just, I'm powerless to help you, and you always seem to be protecting me. I would like to be able to protect you too once in a while. I don't want you to get hurt because I can't defend myself."
"Is it because of what happened with Kaho and Oosumi?"
Minato nodded.
"Kaho only got a scratch from defending him. Look, you've already saved my life before against Kuruse. Don't worry about it." Benitsubasa reassured.
Minato was about to respond when they noticed smoke rising from a nearby street from their vantage point on top of the firehouse.
"Is that a smoke signal?" Benitsubasa asked as she stood up to get a better look.
"Should we check it out?" Minato asked.
"Yeah, I guess we should." Benitsubasa replied as Minato grabbed a hold of her waist.
Karasuba was in shock at what had just happened. Her mind slowly registered the scene before her and she quickly crawled over to Mutsu's side. He looked badly injured and was in a lot of pain. As she looked over his body, she barely noticed footsteps coming at them.
"Mutsu, you're going to be okay." She reassured, even as she heard the familiar whir of helicopters.
"What happened?" She heard a voice say. She looked up to see a black haired boy and his pink haired Sekirei kneel down next to Mutsu. All of a sudden, she felt the temperature rise as she looked back at Mutsu. How could she be flustered by him at a time like this?
"Get away from him you monkey." Karasuba snapped.
"But he looks badly injured." The boy responded.
"You don't think I know that?" Karasuba screamed.
"What can we do? The MBI copters are coming."
"You can wing him. If you wing him, his core should be strengthened. His Sekirei crest hasn't disappeared yet, so there's still time." Benitsubasa offered.
"No, there's no way that Mutsu will be winged by such a weak human." Karasuba said firmly.
"He doesn't have much of a choice." Benitsubasa replied. She motioned for Minato to do it. Minato nodded and pressed his lips to Mutsu's singed ones. Instantly, light shone from behind his back and Mutsu's eyes snapped open. His body seemed to heal before their eyes. His blackened skin began to return to its natural pale color, although it was clear that the change was more cosmetic than anything, as Mutsu was still clearly in a lot of pain. He tried to sit up, but was forced back by searing pain.
"Just go to sleep, it'll all be alright." Karasuba reassured him in a surprisingly gentle voice.
"Let's get back home before MBI decides they want to take him." Minato said.
Karasuba gently stroked Mutsu's silver hair as he slept. His face looked at peace for the first time in a long while. His injuries seemed to have healed thanks to his accelerated healing ability that was bolstered by the fact that he was winged. She looked over at Mutsu's Ashikabi, who was busy making food with his pink haired Sekirei. He had not looked like much back on the streets, but she had realized that he was the Reaper.
It had surprised her. After all, she expected someone that infamous to be at least a little intimidating, but she had no doubt once she saw Benitsubasa, he was definitely the Reaper. She decided that he probably was much more intense in battle. After all, every Sekirei that he terminated looked like they had been through Hell and back. Not to mention the fact that he was insanely efficient in battle. He had left absolutely no survivors in either of his fights. Even the Sekirei that he had fought were beyond terminated. They were dead. The only hope they could have would be for someone to restore their cores with the Jinki, and even then, there would be no guarantee that they could be brought back due to the damage they had taken.
She had actually admired him a bit. He seemed to be the only person who understood what it would take to win the game. Not to mention, she liked his policy of leaving no survivors. Her inner sadist loved that about him. He actually would have been a much better candidate to be her Ashikabi than Natsuo.
If Mutsu was going to be winged by someone other than Natsuo, she was glad that it would be by the most feared Ashikabi in the land. Although, now she almost didn't want to go back to the Discipline Squad without him.
Karasuba hated all of them. Well, almost all of them. She was envious of Miya. The purple haired Sekirei was so strong that Karasuba legitimately feared her. Matsu was annoying. The redhead was easily the most perverted Sekirei she had ever met. Kazehana was weird. She had to be to be throwing herself at Minaka. And now she was a drunk. Mutsu was an entirely different story.
The five of them had made up the Discipline Squad. They were tasked with protecting their brethren at Kamikura Island from prying governments. Although she didn't really care what happened to the other Sekirei, Karasuba was not one to pass up a chance for killing. Still, that wasn't the only reason she defended the island.
Mutsu might have had something to do with it. She didn't know what it was about silver haired men that was so attractive to the Discipline Squad in general, but all of them fell for a silver haired man, except for Matsu, who fell for every man or woman she met. Mutsu was cool, calm, chivalrous, and quite attractive. Karasuba really had no choice but to fall madly in love with him. Just his presence had made Karasuba feel like she was sitting in a sauna. He had reduced her from a killing machine to a lovesick teenager. And he was blissfully unaware of the effect he had on her.
She sighed, but she knew Mutsu didn't feel the same way. He didn't seem interested in being anything more than friends, and she knew that the only person who ever brought a smile to his face was Kazehana. She gently cupped her breasts and wondered if Kazehana was really that much more attractive than her.
Homura smiled underneath his mask as he led the group back to Izumo. He had managed to make Tsukiumi desert the Discipline Squad and had terminated Mutsu, who was another feared member of the Discipline Squad. It was not a part of the plan to engage him, but he wouldn't complain about the results.
He quickly glanced behind to see Tsukiumi staring at him.
"Good, she's not regretting her decision." Homura whispered to himself. He landed in front of Izumo Inn and was greeted by Takehito and Miya, who was wielding her sword. Izumo Inn looked no different than any other building in the area, yet it was vitally important to the resistance. Minaka had not and would not be able to discover that this ordinary inn was the home of the rebellion that was threatening to topple his regime.
"How did you manage to do it?" Miya asked.
"Don't underestimate my hosting skills." Homura whispered back as he made his way inside to check up on Chiho.
"Homura, you're back." Takehito said jovially. The scientist then walked over to Tsukiumi, "Nice to have you here. It's a shame that we lost another Ashikabi, but if that's the price to get you, it was worth it. I'm sure you can provide us with enough information to stop Minaka's madness."
For some reason, she felt inclined to trust this man much more than she had trusted Minaka or Natsuo, even though he was just as human as either one. She shook his hand, "I'll try."
Kazehana was once again chugging an impressive amount of sake as the other members of the Discipline Squad looked on in a mixture of horror and interest. No one besides Kazehana noticed that Karasuba had exited the elevator and headed straight to her room. Realizing that Mutsu had not returned with her, Kazehana stumbled over to her room.
As she entered the room, she quickly glanced around. She had never seen Karasuba's room. Other than the stand which held her sword and the futon that she slept on, her room was completely bare.
Karasuba was currently curled up in the corner, but instantly stood up once she realized someone else was in the room. Karasuba was not one to show any weakness.
"Why so sad?" Kazehana asked as her body quickly sobered up.
"None of your business." Karasuba snapped.
"What happened to Mutsu?"
"Oh, so now you care." She had enough with Kazehana, who was completely ungrateful towards Mutsu. He would do anything for her, and she never even seemed to notice his affections.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Karasuba stabbed an accusatory finger into Kazehana, "All of these years, he's loved you, and you wouldn't even give him the light of day. Every time I try to say something to him, his eyes are always glued to you. But instead of accepting his love, you had to go chase after Minaka. Do you know how much that hurt Mutsu? He was devastated, and you still didn't care. You don't deserve someone like him."
Karasuba began to walk out of the room when she felt a gust of wind knock her to the ground.
"I see now, you love him, don't you?" Kazehana smirked. She usually loved romances, but not when they involved psychotic killers.
"It doesn't matter, he'll be fawning over you if we ever see him again." Karasuba kept her eyes pointed to the floor. She didn't want Kazehana to see her cry.
Kazehana had enough with Karasuba as well. The gray haired Sekirei really got on her nerves, and now she knew her weakness. She already did think Mutsu was pretty hot, but now, the fact that Karasuba loved him made Mutsu much more desirable.
Kazehana began to walk out of the room, but she stopped for a second to whisper into Karasuba's ear.
"I'll make sure he does."
Meanwhile, Minaka was watching over everything in interest. His office was lined with monitors so he could watch over everything in the city. He really had to hand it himself, leaving it up to a battle royal was very entertaining. Everything was going according to plan, well, almost everything.
He had not expected Minato to gain the reputation he now had, but he was impressed by how indifferent he was to killing. He had expected Minato to be vehemently against killing, but it seemed as if he had the opposite reaction. A smile came over his face as he watched Minato wing Mutsu. Although he had planned to have Natsuo wing the Discipline Squad, he wouldn't complain about having Minato involved.
"Well Minato, you've forced me to change my plans, but I'm adaptable." Minaka said devilishly. Things were really starting to get interesting now.
"To think that I was winged by another man." Mutsu shivered a little at the thought, "But I do thank you for saving my life. I am in your debt."
"No problem." Minato replied sheepishly. As he said that, Benitsubasa walked over with a tray of pasta.
"Here you go, you need to eat." Mutsu took a good look at her.
"You're 105, aren't you?" He asked.
Benitsubasa nodded, "I'm 105, Benitsubasa."
Mutsu took a look at Minato, "That means you must that Reaper Ashikabi that's been causing a stir lately."
Minato laughed, "That name isn't really accurate."
"Well, you have left 38 humans and 3 Sekirei dead." Mutsu replied casually, "In fact, the Discipline Squad was almost sent out to stop your killing spree yesterday, but we decided that the rebels were a more important target." He finished before taking a bite of pasta.
"Oh, that's nice to know." Minato said, relieved that the Discipline Squad had not come after them. He had heard the rumors about how ruthless they were, and knew that he would be dead if they came after him, "So why are you a part of the Discipline Squad anyways?"
Mutsu sighed, "Honestly, I don't know. I feel really guilty sometimes for what I'm doing, but I can't bring myself to leave. I've thought about it, but something always makes me second guess myself. I guess I've gotten too used to the whole thing. I've been a part of it for as long as I can remember, and I guess I can't see a life outside of it. Being a part of it gives my life purpose, even if I don't find it all that fulfilling."
Minato nodded in agreement, "I know what you mean. I don't think I could ever readjust to life without Sekirei. I've really gotten too used to this life. In here, I have a purpose, and I feel important. Out there, I would probably be stuck at some dead end job with no clear goal in sight. Even if I'm not feeling fulfilled, I do have something to work towards, and that makes all the difference."
Before Mutsu could respond, the sound of glass shattering interrupted their conversation. An MBI helicopter was hovering above the hole in the wall. Two MBI solders came in through the now pulverized window.
"The Chairman wants to speak to you."
Higa smirked as he watched his Sekirei lay waste to the mall. He had been outraged when he found out that not only had thirty of his men been killed, but two of his prized Sekirei were terminated. He made it a point to demolish the place where this had happened. He didn't want it to stand and be a memorial to his failure.
He had stumbled upon two Ashikabi who were dumb enough to stay behind. Although it wasn't sportsmanlike, he had captured the Ashikabi and forced the Sekirei to surrender. Well, the ones who survived anyways. He made a mental note to punish Oriha for terminating one of them right off the bat.
"Now then, will you learn your lesson and give up?" He asked the two bound Ashikabi, who responded with nods.
"Then you will do exactly as I say. And let me tell you, I don't take to failure very well." Higa informed them as he pulled out a pistol and inspected it.
"I don't know who you are Reaper, but I will have my revenge."
First off, I don't know if winging a Sekirei could prevent termination, but I feel like Mutsu would work on Minato's team, and I didn't see him joining Minato any other way. At this point, I think that Karasuba would fit onto Minato's new team better, as his team is known as a merciless killing squad in this universe, but what do you guys think? I did drop a few hints that Karasuba could be reacting to Minato, but nothing is concrete yet. Also, I am leaning towards a Karasuba and Mutsu romance because I think that Kazehana has a considerably less serious view on life than Mutsu does and that could cause some problems, but the fact that Karasuba is an insane sadist comes with a whole new set of problems. Please leave your thoughts. I would really appreciate any help!
Also, in my last story, people asked for a Sekirei crossover. Go to my profile and please contribute to the poll to decide which crossover I should do, if you guys want to. Thanks for reading!