030 - How to line up your dominoes and set up fireworks
Life has gotten strange for Yukari ever since that close call with the Disciplinary Squad. Considering she was already a bona-fide urban fantasy teenage heroine sticking her nose into a secret alien battle royale, that's saying something.
She got the hint. Geez, the Disciplinary Squad's Ashikabi, Shimada-sam— Shimada-san was about as subtle as a baseball bat to the kneecaps with her 'roundabout suggestion'. To the point where some small and fiercely independent part of Yukari's heart rebelled at the very idea of following along. Simply because nobody tells her what to do.
But… The right thing to do is the right thing to do, no matter whether you figure it out on your own or it was spelled out to you by (scarousing) suspicious office ladies. Ignoring the woman's words out of pettiness would be like cutting your own nose to spite your face. Something Yukari (barely) obviously wouldn't do.
And so, she tried. Ramping up her patrols over the Southern area of Shinto Teito -Not the whole city, Shinto Teito is huge and Yukari knows her limits- and doing her best to keep unsightly pieces of human trash from forcing themselves into unwilling Sekirei. She wasn't going to go around killing people like a (hot and sexy) deranged psychopath, but she could still stop them.
She even managed to catch a group of thugs in the act! Though the Sekirei they were harassing fled the scene before she could have a chat with her, so that was a bit of a downer. Most of the time though… most of the time she just wandered blindly. And accomplished nothing beyond getting sore feet and getting relentlessly teased by Yahan.
That woman is going to be Yukari's death. (But what a way to go.)
And then it was today's whole…. Bullshit realization thing. She didn't even want to think about it, but… ugh!
The Izumo Inn is a nest of Sekirei. Onii-chan has been surrounded by hussies for weeks now! What's worse, he's been an Ashikabi for weeks too! That needlessly well-endowed airhead he calls a girlfriend actually was his Sekirei! All along! How did she not see it coming? And how dare he keep it a secret for him!? Nevermind that Yukari never intended to tell him the truth about Yahan either. Or, in fact, that she still hasn't said anything out of spite. That's clearly not the point here!
No, it's not hypocrisy if it's Yukari doing it.
What's worse, Tits-for-brains Musubi is only his first Sekirei! He's got a flock (before she managed to get one on her own) and that's just (not fair) worrying. Yukari knows her Onii-chan. He's a spineless limp noodle who can't say no to a pretty face. Or a big pair of breasts. Or a good ass. Or a small pair of breasts. Or a mediocre ass. Or a frowning face. Or just about anything, really.
Onii-chan has some good points, but he's utterly hopeless when it comes to asserting himself, especially around women.
He clearly needs Yukari to (administer the harem) keep order and ensure nobody takes advantage of him, but she can do nothing about it when the hussy armies outnumber her own forces. According to Yahan, the (thoroughly insufferable blonde bitch) token Tsundere was one of the strongest Sekirei around. And the (glasses pervert) glasses pervert was the fucking Number 02!
A veteran of the first Disciplinary Squad! That means she's gotta be worth, like… a hundred Shimada-sam— Shimada-san.
… That's a very scary prospect, she's willing to brave the odds like any valiant and plucky heroine, but there's no point in sticking your face into a woodchipper and calling it bravery.
At least, she reflects as they take a last turn to finally reach their destination, something good will come out of today's flusterfuck. Because Yahan -That teasing, annoying, wonderfully sexy and surprisingly competent Sekirei of hers- has finally managed to find her an informant. This means no more blind patrols around the area, but real purpose in their steps and actual goals behind their actions.
Yes, now that they got—
"Yahan?"
"Yes, Yukari-chan?"
"This is a host club."
"I know! Isn't it great?" Yahan nods with a wide smile before it turns into a (sexy) pouty frown, maybe finally realizing what's wrong with this picture. "Or maybe you're jealous? Don't worry, Yukari-chan! You'll always be my number one!"
"What? Of course I'm not–!" Yukari hurries to deny, before realizing she's letting herself get thrown into Yahan's pace. Again. "I mean, that's not the point! You told me we were going to meet an informant! Not a… Whatever do you call a male escort?"
"Wait, they aren't just called 'male escort'?"
"Not the point! This isn't what you promised!"
"Oh, but this is exactly what I promised!" Yahan counters mischievously, already (sashaying) walking towards the main counter. "Yo, Akari, got anything for me?"
One of the suited men in the bar turns around at the greeting, revealing an absolutely flawless bishounen face and dark orange eyes that seem to glow like coals, framed by short and well-groomed ashen hair.
Yukari finds herself struggling to breathe, her heartbeat thrumming into her ears and her cheeks growing hotter. Are those cinematic pink bars framing her sight? And where did all these sparkles come from?
Oh, no! He's hot!
What's with her life lately? Her (pure) (maidenly) heart cannot deal with so much sexy thrown her way! How is she supposed to remain faithful to Onii— pure when she's constantly tempted like this? At least Yahan is a girl so it doesn't count, but this is straight out unfair!
No, not straight, bad word here. Totally! Yeah! This is totally unfair!
The totally unfairly handsome (and hopefully straight) man sends a distracted glance her way before focusing his attention on Yahan.
"You know the rules, Yahan." He says dismissively, before going back to drying glasses.
Of course, that doesn't deter Yahan -Good job, Yahan!- at all. She immediately wraps an arm around Yukari's waist -Wait, no, we're in public! Bad job, Yahan!- and pulls her even closer to the bar( and the hot guy).
"Sure, sure… Care to lead me and my girlfriend to a table?" She says with her usual confident ease. "We're feeling like some company tonight!"
At that point, Yukari's brain finally fries. What follows is a vaguely-remembered blur in which Yahan drags her to a table and they get served funnily-colored drinks. Yukari manages to hold back her first impulse of emptying her glass on her head to try and cool herself down, which is probably a good thing for her self-esteem, but doesn't mean she's coherent enough to register the conversation that follows.
Yahan is probably flirting anyway. If she doesn't register, she won't have to deal with the memories. And the drink is pretty good, that helps. By the time she's downed a couple glasses and gathered the presence of mind and courage to focus back on reality, they seem to have moved on to business.
Thankfully.
"Why am I playing messenger for you, I'll never know." The hot guy is saying.
"Because you can't be everywhere at once and we both want the same. More or less." Yahan answers with a shameless grin. "Now do you have anything for me?"
"The last batch will be released next Tuesday, you know what that means." The hot gu– Akari! The hot guy's name is Akari! "East and South will be specially hot areas, since these guys have ears inside MBI."
Yukari blinks as the words register in her poor, abused and overheated brain. Because she still maintains enough clarity of mind to realize that's useful info. Newly-released Sekirei who still haven't had a chance to learn about the outside world are especially vulnerable, that'd be true even without considering the lowlives who would specifically target them.
"Leave the South to me." She declares resolutely. "Yahan and I will make sure any Sekirei coming our way is left alone!"
She also hits the table to emphasize her determination. Which, considering she's already downed an indeterminate but definitely not small quantity of alcohol, causes her to miss her target -the whole damn table- and hit one of the bottles instead. This, in turn, sends said bottle flying into a graceless arc until it finally smashes against the floor, shattering into a million pieces.
The room grows uncomfortably silent around her.
"...Ooops?"
"... That's going onto your bill." The hot g– Akari finally declares with a defeated sigh. Ohmygosh even his defeated sighs are hot. "Anyway, you know I'm just a pointless intermediary in all this, right? I got my information from your mother."
The levity immediately drains away from Yukari. She needs some fresh air.
"Good for you, good for her. Tell her I said hi." She states flatly, already getting up from her seat. "And that the next time we see each other I might punch her in the cunt for keeping all this bullshit hidden from me."
Not bothering to check whether Yahan is following or not -of course she'll be, she's Yahan- Yukari walks out of the establishment. Reaching out to Mom… Yeah, no. That's not going to happen. It's hard enough going to her for help in normal circumstances, when it comes to all this whole urban fantasy bullshit, things get… Downright awkward. As far as she's concerned, it'll be too soon if they never have to discuss the topic at all.
"I think I want to go home now." She declares once she's walked down a couple of streets. "And remind me to never drink again, alcohol does funny things to my head."
"But Yukari-chan…" Yahan chirps beside her, in that cheerful voice that Yukari has learned to (love) fear. "You've only drank fruit juice all evening!"
"... Not a word to anyone."
High above the pair, a very different couple watches them go from a rooftop ledge.
"Why so many roundabout approaches, Momo-chan?" Karasuba asks casually from where she's sitting. "Pushing the broken bird's feathers towards revolt, baiting the water brat into getting winged by Mu-chan's Ashikabi, leading Yu-chan right into the fire brat's lap… It all sounds incredibly convoluted, if you ask me."
"Are you feeling neglected, Karasuba?" Momo-chan tries to deflect, fixing up her glasses. "I don't think I've starved you for violence, either."
The ploy is too blatant to be a serious attempt, not that it would've worked on Karasuba even if it was, of course. No matter how sexy her Ashikabi looks right now, Karasuba isn't so easily distracted. And Momo-chan does look sexy like that, like a bird of prey perched above the night city, the street lights from down below reflecting on her glasses to hide away her eyes and—
Okay, maybe Karasuba is getting a bit distracted, but it has nothing to do with Momo-chan's attempt.
"Don't be ridiculous." She huffs (to hide her sudden blush) (only blushing slightly) dismissively. "I just wonder why you bother with these tangled webs when you could simply thrust that spear of yours and pierce straight through your troubles, just like you did with Natsu-chan. Heck, you could just point me at the problem and I'll happily swing my blade at it until it stops being a problem."
"Maybe I just want to do things differently."
"Now, you're not going to try and sell me that bullshit about violence not being the answer, are you?"
"Violence is always the answer." Momo-chan states firmly. Honestly, Karasuba can admit -to herself- that she's a bit surprised with the… vehemence of the statement. She had been half-expecting her Ashikabi to disagree( like everyone else). "There's nothing you cannot achieve with enough violence. And whoever tells you otherwise is simply incapable of enacting violence at a sufficiently high level."
"Ah, never change, Momo-chan." Karasuba sighs after letting out a gleeful cackle. "But then… why?"
"Just because you can achieve anything by force…" Momo-chan answers slowly, carefully making her way through the rooftop ledge to reach Karasuba's side and taking a seat there. "It doesn't mean it's the only, or the best way to go about it."
Momo-chan's body feels warm against Karasuba. Her spilled blood would feel warmer, but it wouldn't last anywhere near that long. And it would leave a sticky mess behind. Bloodbaths are good for a momentary release, but you can't close your eyes and listen to their heartbeat. Or train with them. Or take them to dates. (Or hug them in the middle of the night while they gently rub the back of your head to let you know you're wanted.)
…
"Most importantly…" Momo-chan continues before Karasuba feels the need to do something drastic to shake off her suddenly melancholic mood. Probably kill someone, that usually works. "Why should I content myself with being capable in a single field at the exclusion of everything else, when I can grow my skills in every direction?"
"Huh? I would've never looked at it that way." Karasuba muses. She can acknowledge some merit in these words, she supposes. "It's not for me, but I think it suits Momo-chan."
"There's nothing wrong with striving for the peak in a single field, but…." Momo-chan agrees with a nod(, gently reaffirming the worth of Karasuba's chosen path). "Everything flawlessly, Karasuba. That's my motto."
"'Everything Flawlessly', huh?" That also suits Momo-chan. To a frankly scary degree. It's not that she lacks interests outside her job, it's that she wants everything, without discrimination or playing favorites. What a greedy Ashikabi. "I thought your motto was 'work hard, rest hard'?"
Momo-chan hums, the hint of a shadow of a smirk on her lips. "That's more of a professional creed, really."
Karasuba settles back on her seat, looking up towards the starry sky. Light pollution is a thing, but her sharp eyes are far less bothered by it than those of a puny monkey.
She can accept Momo-chan's point of view. It's nothing alien, really. She's always known that strength isn't all that matters, she's not stupid. What she's always believed is more along the lines of strength being all that matters to her.
Thinking back though… If she's the strongest and strength is all that matters to her, how come she's always been a follower under someone else's authority? First (Moth–) (that bitch) Miya, then Minaka, and now Momo-chan. Sure, she's a wilful and rebellious follower and nobody can make her do what she doesn't want to do. But that's hardly the same as being in charge.
At first, she simply followed the strongest, as her worldview demanded. But after realizing (that bitch) Miya followed someone else in turn… well.
…
…
…
… Come to think of it. She might have allowed a washed-out has-been too much influence over her own way of life.
"What are you thinking of, Karasuba?"
"That I really want to fight Miya."
"It will happen. Of that, you have my word."
Karasuba hums. She can trust that, if nothing else. But still… The day can't come fast enough.
I have no intention of hiding my work behind a pay wall, but I do welcome patrons and donations.
I have a P-treon thing! A Ko-fi account too!
Just add "/Planeshunter" after the dot com and it should take you straight there.
If you have some spare change and feel my work deserves it, please consider throwing it my way. Maybe one day I'll be able to quit my shitty job and do this full time!