Takami sat at her desk on the fourth floor in a secret office. Some might have sniggered at the redundancy of a secret office on a secret floor but Takami had learned that a certain amount of paranoia was necessary when working under Minaka. She sighed and rubbed at the bandages over her left eye to try and relieve some stress. It hadn't always been this way. Once upon a time things had been very different between them.
The computer indicated that her confederates were online and ready to begin. Even they didn't know her true position in the company. They knew she was a scientist working under Minaka, but had they known she was effectively his right hand, half of them would never have signed on with her, the rest would have driven for immediate action. Unlike her confederates she had neither ego to assuage nor a climbing desire for power. She had all the skills necessary to carefully plan her little resistance and as long as Minaka was upstairs getting drunk she would be free to act on her own agenda, for a time.
"Gentlemen, I can't maintain my loophole in the building's security system so this meeting will be brief," said Takami.
"What progress have we made?" asked a connection from Sapporo.
"Most of our pieces are in place. The Sekirei Plan has been keeping Minaka busy of late but that's not why I've called this meeting. We have a rare opportunity to drive our plans to fruition," said Takami.
"We've heard this rhetoric before," said a high ranking member from Kyoto, "I for one have yet to forget what happened to Fujitsu."
Takami winced. Ito Fujitsu was a hard lesson for her and her associates. A chance to strike had presented itself and she'd approached him as a viable ally years ago because of the influence he'd had with human resources… unfortunately once she'd spelled out the nature of things to him he'd been all for open opposition to Minaka over her preference for the cloak and dagger. Her opinion at the time was that he'd had more mouth than brains but his open opposition had had mixed results. His openness gave Minaka and his people a direction to look at and scapegoat of sorts, allowing her some extra freedom to manoeuvre. Unfortunately he'd wound up quite dead after not too long, his corpse cut into neat inch sized cubes. The fact that she'd seen Karasuba nonchalantly polishing her blade for days afterward had not seemed in the least bit coincidental.
"This time is different," said Takami, "Fujitsu was acting alone and without our support. We didn't have all the pieces in place and some of us were not entirely convinced of our own cause at the time. The biggest obstacle to our success has and always will be the Discipline squad, once they're neutralised Minaka will be helpless."
"And how do you intend to neutralise the Discipline squad? Even powerful Sekirei would struggle against them," muttered one of her contacts in Okinawa.
"The situation has changed. A man Minaka calls the Doctor has arrived in Tokyo and has proven a significant distraction for our erstwhile CEO. He's currently up to his usual antics but the most crucial factor is this. If this Doctor evades capture for three days he will deploy the Discipline squad to apprehend him."
"And?" asked the member for Kyoto.
Takami rolled her eyes. She truly hated having to spell things out, "With the Discipline squad otherwise engaged I'll have a free hand to do what we've been planning for the last several years. A number of Sekirei are already on board to assist."
"Ah, to defeat the beast you must first cut off its head," acknowledged the contact from Okinawa in understanding.
"Exactly. In three days we will have our opportunity," said Takami before noting the time, "Our window is coming to a close gentlemen. I suggest you finalise whatever preparations you have and maintain as low a profile as possible. I will signal you all when the time to strike is at hand. Good luck."
Minaka was drunk. He was drunk and he had no desire to stop drinking. He missed the old days, the simple times. He missed just being with Takami without all the bile and spittle that tended to punctuate most of their exchanges. He missed Seo's… mercenary nature and he missed Takehito's introverted brilliance.
When he and Takami had discovered the Sekirei ship on Kamikura island all those years ago they'd been good, if adversarial, friends. The discovery of a lifetime had bootstrapped their fledgling dreams into the stratosphere. It was Takami that had brought in Takehito to form an unbeatable trio of brilliance. Minaka would provide the leaps and bounds, the crazy connections that proved to be genius as well as the good business sense to build MBI quite literally from the ground up with almost no capital. Takehito had been the slow and steady type, always working towards the theoretical underpinnings of what they found… he provided the minor steps between breakthroughs, filled in the gaps of knowledge left between Minaka's leaps and bounds, which was not to say that Takehito hadn't been responsible for his own share of revolutionary breakthroughs of course. Takami herself had implemented their ideas, turning them from theory and paperwork into practical solutions. Unofficially, Takehito had also brought in Seo as a kind of… middleman, the kind of person that faded into the background and got his hands dirty. He was a facilitator of sorts. Exactly where Takehito had found him and why they were good friends had been beyond Minaka.
He could pinpoint exactly where it had gone wrong. Almost thirteen years ago he'd been struck by an incredible yet chilling vision. The skies had opened up the gates of hell, releasing billions of flying spherical demons that spoke with the voices of children. They had come, wave after endless wave decimating mankind, butchering people in the streets while the people of the world ran in terror. He had seen his Sekirei, still so young, defending Kamikura Island against the vast swarm as the islands of Japan burned in the distance while an aircraft carrier belonging to UNIT watched and did nothing. In the end, despite their valiant stand against the monsters they had all been slaughtered. Minaka had been the last to die, cowering in a bunker while the metal monsters had gutted him slowly, painfully.
He'd woken from his fevered vision in a cold sweat. It had been so vivid, so real. For a while he'd questioned his own sanity, thinking himself mad, but he remembered his vision as though he'd lived through those times, as though he'd actually experienced what he'd seen. He couldn't tell exactly when his vision would take place but he already knew he had to find a way to stop that vision from ever occurring. He had made it his mission, his solemn vow, that whatever it took he'd stop it from happening.
The only power that he knew of that could stop such forces had been the gods themselves. The Sekirei database had spoken of them; some of them even resembled human mythological gods from a dozen ancient religions. Such commonality was not unexpected and from his long studies of the data contained in the database he'd finally found a way to bring about the time of the Gods.
The result of all his hard work had been the devising of the Sekirei Plan. Everything he had done he had done to prevent the terrible future he had foreseen. He had tried to talk to others about it, years after his vision to make others understand why he was acting the way he did. Takami had dismissed it as the ramblings of a madman. Seo wouldn't listen. Takehito had argued with him mockingly and heatedly until in his anger Minaka had wished Takehito dead.
Minaka took a swig of the bottle, having long since dispensed with the shot glass. That had been his private guilt and shame. The day after their argument Takehito had disappeared, the only clues as to his fate being a trail of blood that had abruptly ended. His body had never been found and he hadn't left anything behind except for his devastated wife, Miya. With no body found the investigation had dead ended with Minaka as a suspect despite his claims to the contrary. Seo had left in disgust, unwilling to work with and for the man he felt was responsible for Takehito's death.
Takehito's disappearance and presumed death had made the Sekirei Plan much easier to implement… but Minaka had never wanted his friend dead. Not truly. He'd have much preferred a lifetime of arguments with the man that was his friend than the years of silence he'd received in exchange for his death. What he'd said had been in anger, a furious proclamation made in the heat of the moment. He'd always felt guilty that his careless words may have played a role in his friends death and whenever he felt guilty about it he always wound up drinking to try and forget. The only consolation he had, the only consolation he could take was that he knew in his bones that the Sekirei plan was intended to bring about the time of the Gods and stop the invasion of the metal demons he had seen in his vision. Billions of lives depended on that. If he had to play the part of the game master and sacrifice all the Sekirei to see it happen, he would. Anything was better then that terrible future he saw. Anything.
Minaka barely managed to set the bottle back on the table without dropping it. He doubted he could walk, let alone stand. His chair was comfy enough. He settled into an agitated sleep and dreamt of death, childlike laughter and the burning skies of Japan.
The Doctor stepped outside and drew in a breath of fresh air. Fresh air and tea… it was just what he needed to fire him up. He turned around to beckon Akitsu to hurry up and stopped stock still. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and he could feel the blood draining from his face. The name of the café…
"What?" said the Doctor.
Ookami Warui Kafe, proclaimed the signing of the café proudly.
"What!"
Bad Wolf Café. How the hell hadn't he noticed the name on entry? The Doctor whirled and saw the same two words over and over. The graffiti on the walls were in several different kinds of kanji and one instance of crudely drawn English lettering, the nearby signs, even the lettering on the roads were all saying the same thing. Bad Wolf. His hearts thundered in his chest. What was the Bad Wolf doing here? He'd taken the time vortex out of Rose long ago. He never saw the shadow falling towards him.
"What?" he exclaimed before his world suddenly snapped to black.
The entire situation had the smell of destiny about it. Yashima had just happened to pass by the Bad Wolf Café on the way to market to pick up some cheap food to fill her rumbling belly when she'd seen him… the fugitive that would grant her freedom if she'd just turn him in to MBI. She'd made a point of not calling her Ashikabi and had been casing the place from a nearby rooftop ever since… watching… waiting. She had a plan, a very simple plan. She would wait until he stepped out and then she would crack him over the back of the head with her war hammer. She'd then bring him in and then her nightmare would be over. Simple. Easy. Once it was done she'd be free of the nightmare that was her life.
Yashima watched from on high as her target left the café. Now or never. Without hesitation she leapt down as her target seemed to get flustered over something or other, swinging her immense war hammer overhead. She calculated the blow precisely. This fugitive, whoever he was, was not Sekirei. If she hit him too hard she would turn his head into a fine red mist. She had to give him the barest of taps, use the tiniest sliver of her strength to ensure that when he went down he would stay down.
The swing connected gracefully in spite of the immensity of her war hammer. It was a glancing blow to the head, just as she'd intended. The man slumped wordlessly to the pavement.
"Yatta!" she exclaimed with joy.
Akitsu's nerves were still frayed from her earlier turmoil and it felt as though hurricane winds were blowing through her for the first time and she revelled in the righteous anger. The Doctor had been struck by a war hammer wielding Sekirei. Her fear that Minaka's manhunt would lead to the Doctor's injury had been vindicated and she cursed herself for not being to spell out the danger to him more succinctly. The war hammer gave away her identity, Number 84, Yashima. She'd been one of the shyer, more withdrawn Sekirei to have grown up on Kamikura… why she would be hunting the Doctor Akitsu could only guess. Yashima swept up the Doctor and draped him over her shoulder along with her war hammer.
What mattered now was action. What mattered now was that the Doctor had to remain free. That she knew for certain. He didn't know the danger he was in. If he'd gone to single handedly attack MBI tower he'd have been slaughtered by the Discipline squad despite his uncanny luck and insane demeanour. Akitsu clenched her fists in rage as she charged out of the café.
"Yashima!" yelled Akitsu at the top of her lungs, "Unhand my Ashikabi! Now!"
The words tumbled out of her mouth before she realised their full implication, but once spoken it solidified something that had been worming its way through her mind ever since she'd met the Doctor. To proclaim him as her Ashikabi to the world so openly seemed to make the depth of their relationship real in spite of the fact that she'd only known him for less than a day.
Yashima turned and saw Akitsu, the Ice Queen herself. She was hesitant to consider the word 'recognised' though… she'd never seen her fellow Sekirei so livid with rage. The most emotion she'd ever seen during their time growing up on Kamikura had always an aloof, cold unemotionality. By way of response to Akitsu's demand she gently dropped the Doctor and adopted a battle stance. Despite her anger Akitsu, like most Sekirei, respected a code of honourable conduct when it came to combat and did not attack in the fleeting window of vulnerability. The Sekirei mark on Akitsu's forehead proclaimed her ultimate fate to all participating in the Sekirei plan. A discarded number. She was either too weak to participate… or so strong that none could control her. Yashima knew in her heart of hearts that Akitsu had never been weak… which meant the most likely outcome of this battle would be a loss.
"Number 84! Yashima!" she proclaimed with false bluster, "I claim this fugitive for MBI! Stand aside and let me pass!"
Yashima had decided. Anything was better than going back to her Ashikabi, anything at all. If she could win against Akitsu she would be free of him and she'd have proven herself against a potentially superior foe. If she lost… she had no idea what happened to Sekirei after they were separated from their Ashikabi but anything was better than what she endured on a daily and nightly basis.
"No," said Akitsu and summoned a hail of ice shards to perforate Yashima.
Yashima swung the bulk of her war hammer in front of her to ward off the worst of the deadly hail. When she felt the hail recede she lunged forward with an overhead swing, intending to crush her foe in one fell swoop. The war hammer connected with a solid block of ice, shattering it, sending broken shards everywhere.
In anger Akitsu summoned a war hammer of her own composed entirely of ice and swung in a sideways sweeping motion. The bulk of Yashima's war hammer worked against her, slowing her down. She had to choose between relinquishing her weapon to dodge the blow or trying to retain it and maintain her offensive capability. She chose poorly.
The ice hammer slammed into Yashima. The sound of cracking bones was music to Akitsu's ears. The force of the blow shattered the ice hammer and sent Yashima flying across the street and into a telephone pole with an even more satisfying crack. Not waiting for an instant, Akitsu stomped across the street intent of not ever letting her foe threaten her or her Ashikabi again. She loomed over her slumped form and pulled her head up by the hair.
"F-Finish it. Finish me," whispered Yashima, "Please… don't let me go back… to my Ashikabi…"
Akitsu let go in surprise. Had Yashima… wanted to be defeated? Little things clicked into place. She noticed injuries she knew she hadn't inflicted for the first time and coupled that with her desire not to be reunited with her Ashikabi. The motivations for her attack on the Doctor made sense in a way that drained away her anger.
"Please!" begged Yashima as she prostrated herself at Akitsu's feet despite the broken bones and the pain, "Don't leave me like this! End it! Please!"
"Stay still," instructed Akitsu as her feelings once again went into lockdown.
Yashima obeyed as a chunk of ice the size of a basketball formed in mid air. With a thought she directed the ice to rise up and then fall with terminal speed.
"Thank you," said Yashima as the chunk of ice hit her with full force.
Akitsu sighed as she watched the Sekirei mark on the back of Yashima's neck fade. Intellectually she knew she had done wrong. The Doctor, for all that she knew him, would likely have disapproved vehemently at what she had done. She would have to live with that. As a Sekirei she couldn't allow her Ashikabi, even if she couldn't be winged by him, to be harmed. She knelt down and verified that Yashima was still alive.
"You're safe now," she said, understanding her weakness and her desire to capture the Doctor had been the result of abuse and not necessarily of her own volition.
She rose and sprinted the short distance back to where the Doctor lay slumped on the pavement, a small trickle of blood matting his hair. He was alive but unconscious, a wanted man in a city full of people that would be actively hunting for him. MBI controlled most of the hospitals and the few that weren't were likely being watched. She had to help the Doctor… but how? MBI forces were likely already on their way to retrieve Yashima. That meant that she had to get the Doctor away from here as fast as possible and take him somewhere isolated… somewhere safe.
She picked him up with ease and cradled him in her arms. He was surprisingly light. Using her power she formed a chunk of ice in her hand and pressed it gently against his head wound hoping to allay the worst of the injury. With time running out, she leapt forth effortlessly into the air, carrying the Doctor to safety.
Kagari slumped in a secluded alleyway exhaustedly. He was burning up, the entire day had taken its toll on him and he'd beyond overextended himself. Fighting at full power against Mutsu had been a bit more than the final straw.
It was the way of things with unwinged Sekirei, especially with the single numbers. Being winged by an Ashikabi allowed Sekirei to grow in power and reach their full potential. An unwinged Sekirei could, conceivably, also become quite powerful… but at the cost of losing control. With nothing to keep such power in check the power would take control of the Sekirei. Those that specialised with weaponry would never stop using them. Those that controlled wind or water would never stop brandishing their power, creating hurricane winds and titanic floods.
Kagari tried to cool himself as best he could. His power was fire and now he was being consumed by it. If he allowed it to progress he would burn down half of Tokyo before his body reduced itself to ashes. There was no choice. He pulled out his cell phone intent on calling Takami. MBI had certain drugs that could inhibit a Sekirei's power… all he needed was enough to recover his self control. The phone burst into flames in his hands, forcing him to drop its melting and smouldering mess to the ground.
What an uninspiring death. Self cremation, thought Kagari.
He felt a drop of water followed by another and another. Kagari looked up only to see an open sky overhead. Then a deluge of water poured all over him, drenching him thoroughly, cooling him, drowning the heat and flames that had threatened to consume him.
"You are pathetic Homura!" snapped a commanding voice.
"Tsukiumi!" exclaimed Kagari in surprise.
Number 09 Tsukiumi, The Water Sekirei, dropped down and stood before him. Even in the dusk he could see she preferred her black overcoat, white dress and had maintained her long flowing blonde hair despite the trouble such things would bring her in combat. In a way it spoke volumes about her… she was so self assured as to her own power that she felt capable of getting away with such obvious combat disadvantages. One could also have thought it a subtle game to lull her enemies into a false sense of security, to make them believe her to be a weakling air head with little common sense… though Kagari privately doubted Tsukiumi had thought about her appearance on quite that level.
"We must defeat them. It's unforgivable for you to just crawl off and die," she said.
Kagari chuckled weakly. Tsukiumi hadn't changed a bit. Her hatred of Ashikabi and disdain for humanity in general had become somewhat legendary amongst the 108 Sekirei.
"Why must we defeat 'them'? Why won't you be winged, Tsukiumi?" asked Kagari.
"I could ask the same of you, Homura," countered Tsukiumi.
"I won't be winged; those belonging to fire have always been most hated by the Gods. It is how they died after all… burning in fire," he said matter of factly, "And you? You're aiming to be the strongest are you not? You'd best hurry up and find your Ashikabi if you're to achieve your goals."
Tsukiumi became livid, "Don't be so stupid! Aren't Ashikabi just a bunch of semi-evolved apes? Why would a Sekirei accept such creatures… such… things…. Vi- vi-"
"Vi?" pressed Kagari taking perhaps a small measure of pleasure at seeing her struggle to spit out her worries.
"Violating me! I absolutely won't accept it!" she snapped.
Then Tsukiumi felt it. Her heart seemed to skip a beat and for a few moments she felt weak, the image of a young dark haired man flashed in her mind. She knew she was reacting to her Ashikabi. Kagari saw it. He recognised instantly what was happening to his fellow Sekirei.
"You're…!" he exclaimed.
"I know!" she growled, "Do you know how inconvenient this is? If I ever find him I'll kill him with my bare hands! Unless…"
"Unless?" asked Kagari.
"This fugitive. MBI wants him and will reward the Sekirei or Ashikabi that can apprehend him. Do you think… do you think they might allow me to fight in the Sekirei plan without an Ashikabi?"
"Anything is possible," mused Kagari, "But I doubt you'll win without one. Besides, if Minaka wants him, I'd be inclined to hide him. Our vaunted Game Master has done little to earn my loyalty."
"Loyalty has nothing to do with this!" snapped Tsukiumi, "I fight for my own reasons, as do you! If you will not help me turn the fugitive in then consider yourself my enemy, Homura!"
Kagari's hands burst into flame. Though still weak he had recovered enough to call upon his flames somewhat safely once more.
"I offer you a counter proposal," said Kagari quietly, "We could fight here and we both know the only outcome will be a draw. Or we can go our separate ways. Whoever finds the fugitive first wins."
If he were well rested his bluster might well have been fact. Weakened as he was Kagari knew Tsukiumi would paste him with little effort.
"Is that all?" asked Tsukiumi with a grin, rising to the bait.
Kagari had Tsukiumi pegged. She'd rather fight an honourable challenge than create a rival or enemy. She held honour close to her heart unlike some other Sekirei. She'd read some of the Kamikura database that had been translated by the humans and had taken strongly to concepts that emphasised honourable combat. The closest human custom he could reckon was Bushido.
"Do you accept the challenge?" asked Kagari.
"Of course!" said Tsukiumi, "I'm just worried that you'll not be able to keep up!" With that she leapt out of the alley and away into the darkening evening.
Kagari moved experimentally. The pain of his burns would not abate soon but he bit down on the pain. He sensed that searching for the fugitive would be important. He could delay returning to Izumo House for a while longer to search.
"Well, this is different," said the Doctor as he stood on a featureless white plane.
"Hold on, no it's not different," he said, "It's the opposite of different. Actually it's kind of bland. If I'm dreaming I have to say this is most unoriginal,"
He turned around trying to get his bearings and only succeeded in losing them entirely. As best as he could confirm that he was indeed on a white featureless plane as far as his eyes could discern.
"Oh now I've gone and done it. Somehow that blow to the head threw me into the plane of suck and… oh there's something new!"
The Doctor had spun around for his fourth assessment of the infinite white plane when he saw two comfy looking chairs and a coffee table situated exactly in between them.
"Definitely wasn't there before! And Look! Comfy chairs! Oooh comfy chairs!" he exclaimed and leapt into the nearest one, "Okay perhaps this place isn't the plane of suck. Can't be. It's got comfy chairs! No place can truly be terrible if it has comfy chairs don't you agree?" He asked a brown haired girl who had most definitely not been in the other comfy chair five seconds prior.
"Doctor, it's nice to see you at last," said the girl as she sipped a cup of tea that had materialised rather suddenly as though through a critical editing mistake.
"Ah you know who I am which means I'm at a terrible disadvantage and if there's one thing I don't like its being at a disadvantage and being without tea do you mind if I have some?"
"You've already had some," explained the girl.
The Doctor frowned and then felt the presence of a teacup in his hands and a warm satisfied feeling of having just had some rather splendid tea.
"Oh you're good!" exclaimed the Doctor, "Phenomenal! Amazing! Marvellous! Can you do Sunday roast too?"
"Doctor," said the brown haired girl impatiently.
"Oh, yes, right, of course, to business… Who are you and why did you bring me here? Where is here anyway? And how did you get here?"
"I've always been here," she said, "I am Number 08, Yume, the Sekirei of Destiny,"
"Sekirei?" said the Doctor, tasting the word for the first time.
"Sekirei," confirmed Yume.
"Sekirei? Sekirei. Sekirei Sekirei Sekirei," repeated the Doctor as he wracked his overly full mind. The word was familiar somehow…
"We haven't much time, Doctor. Time is fluid, more so in a dream," said Yume.
"Oh yes! No! Yes! No… NO! No… Yes! YES! No… Ye-OW! You slapped me? You slapped me! What'd you slap me for?"
"You do that far too much," said Yume.
"I… well… Hmm. Yes I suppose," said the Doctor mildly put off. He was rather unused to being interrupted in the middle of an epiphany.
"If you go to MBI tower now you will die," said Yume matter-of-factly.
"Is that so?" asked the Doctor.
"Yes. The Discipline squad are not the type to listen to reason. If you are to succeed you will require allies to provide a distraction. Only then can you accomplish your work," explained Yume.
"And you know this how?" asked the Doctor.
"I am the Sekirei of Destiny. I see the strands of fate, Doctor, as they were woven long ago and as they may conform in the fullness of time. I threw a pebble in the pond… or more accurately, I pulled a pebble into the pond."
"The TARDIS!" exclaimed the Doctor, "You did that?"
"Manipulation of minor events can have major influences. I simply made here and now more palatable for your… machine to arrive in, nothing more nor less. Your chance encounter with Akitsu and Yashima were also my doing. Akitsu will need you more than even she knows… and of Yashima, please, forgive her Doctor, and me, her fate could not have been avoided."
"Yashima, was she the one that…" he tapped the back of his head.
Yume nodded, "Our time is nearly at an end Doctor. I'm afraid this dream will have taken up more of your time than normal, three days in the outside world, I apologise but the timing of events had to be quite precise."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow in a very Spock like manner. He was quite unused to being told about time or timing what with his being a Timelord.
"Doctor, there is one last thing, a message to pass on to you, I don't know who it came from though," said Yume.
"Well, I think I can feel myself about to wake up," said the Doctor.
Yume pulled the Doctor into a tight hug and whispered into his ear, "He will knock four times…"
The Doctor recoiled from Yume and then felt himself falling as the infinite white plane turned rapidly to black.
Nowhere was safe. Akitsu had already managed to fend off several other Sekirei searching for the Doctor, weaklings for the most part, easily deterred by walls of ice, slick paths or her ice cold demeanour. Night had fallen offering her a greater degree of cover and for the moment she was hiding with the Doctor on a rooftop overlooking the Eastern districts, his body still limp and unconscious after all this time.
They couldn't stay here for long. Movement kept them safe… safer than being stationary in any case. The cover of night, even with the city lights shining all around them, did offer some small measure of safety. Even so, Akitsu had her limits. She'd only had a single meal and precious little to drink since breakfast. Though she could easily conjure ice and allow it to melt she knew that was subject to diminishing returns and it would do nothing beyond make her even more tired and drained the longer they were on the run. Sooner or later the sun would rise and the search would intensify.
Today had been easy. With no green girl to conveniently distract the Sekirei spread throughout Tokyo they'd have only one item on their list: hunt for the fugitive. Without shelter, without a place to hide, capture was inevitable. Powerful as she was she could never hope to fight off dozens of Sekirei. She looked down at the Doctor's sleeping face. He looked so calm and peaceful, so relaxed. If it came down to a final stand to defend his freedom…
Her trail of thought deadened and a new one began. When had she decided to lay down her life for this stranger? She'd only known him for a day. Half of that time he'd been asleep or comatose. The other half he'd been a mix of mysterious, sensitive, caring, kind, angry, stoic and just plain bonkers. Was this what it was like to have an Ashikabi? To have someone you'd be willing to die for?
With a sigh she shook the thoughts away and inspected the blow to the back of his head. The ice had helped the swelling and the wound itself had stopped bleeding, which was a relief. Unfortunately she was not a doctor… she didn't know if he would recover. No doctor, save perhaps the one cradled in her arms, could be entrusted with his treatment. They were all either on MBI's payroll or under the auspices of those who were. Every way she looked at the situation she saw only closed doors and dead ends. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. No way out.
With a sigh she lifted the Doctor up once more. He'd grown heavy over the past few hours, he no longer felt light. But she would carry him to the ends of the Earth if it would keep him free. She held him close and leapt up into the night, on the move once more.
Kagari caught sight of movement in the rooftops amongst the lights of Tokyo. The shape moved awkwardly. It was swift and lithe, like a Sekirei, but oddly burdened, as though it were carrying something. Or someone. Kagari smiled to himself as he realised he may just have found the fugitive, or at the least, someone whom had captured the fugitive. Though he was exhausted he knew he had to catch up to them, convince them to come with him for their own safety in the former situation or, if the latter, not to turn him in. He was too drained to catch up.
Perhaps honour will suffice, thought Kagari.
He paused for a moment and drew on his power. He was weak but if he could just manage this he'd be able to crawl off into a convenient bed somewhere and die for several hours. With a furrowed brow he focused his power, lighting up the night sky as the pattern of a Sekirei crest flamed into existence above his head, both a proclamation and an invitation. All Sekirei would recognise the circle of truce… whether it was accepted was another matter entirely.
The shadowy figure paused and then disappeared. Kagari held the flaming Sekirei crest above him for a few moments before allowing it to disappear in a puff of flame. Even that small effort had taxed him. The idea of a soft bed, a warm meal and doing absolutely nothing for several days was a highly appealing one.
"Speak. Fast," said a curt, cold voice from behind him.
Oh, she's good, thought Kagari as he turned slowly around; hands raised in as non-committal a posture as he could manage.
"I bear you no ill will, my name is Homura," he said, "You're Akitsu? What is a discarded number doing outside of MBI tower?"
"I escaped," she said by way of explanation.
So it's true what they say, she's a woman of few words, thought Kagari.
"You were carrying someone, the fugitive? Where is he now?" asked Kagari.
She stiffened at his words, instantly defensive, "Safe," she said coldly.
Wrong move, he thought, though she didn't deny having the fugitive… from her reaction, she feels protective over him.
That thought was surprising. If Akitsu had captured the fugitive with the intent of turning him in she would have been heading towards MBI tower. As it was, they were quite far and her course insofar as he could ascertain had been towards the city outskirts. That suggested to Kagari that their goals, at least for the moment, coincided.
"Do you want to keep him safe?" he inquired.
From the look on her face he couldn't tell either way. It was locked in melancholic neutrality that couldn't be read. When she didn't answer him he continued.
"No doubt you've come to the conclusion that no matter how long you run you have nowhere to hide. You can't escape the city limits without bringing the Discipline squad down on your head. I'll make you an offer," said Kagari.
"Speak," she said softly.
"I know a safe place. No one will look for you there and no one there will turn you or your friend in. It is perhaps the safest place in the city from MBI," he said, all of which was true, nobody but a fool of the highest order would dare attack Izumo House.
Her face was a mask of unreadability as she thought it over.
"What guarantee do I have?" she said. It was positively verbose of her.
"My word and my word only," said Kagari, "Which is probably worth less than nothing to you. All I can say is that I have no intention of turning the fugitive over to Minaka. You will find your refuge in the northern quarter of the city, a place called Izumo House. I suspect you'll be able to find it easily enough; the landlady there will protect anyone under her roof from harm. I will leave you to consider the offer but I assure you, short of a miracle, you'll not last past sunrise without adequate shelter."
With a wince he recalled the burns he'd incurred from overtaxing his power… he'd need medical treatment. The one and only place for that would be Takami's hospital. Kagari left without further word, hoping that Akitsu wouldn't try to follow him and instead attend to the fugitive she had, somehow, befriended.
Miya Asama had been ready to call it a night when she heard a knock on the door. At this hour most of the tenants of Izumo House would be asleep… with perhaps the exception of Matsu who was likely perusing yet more petabytes of what was no doubt quite perverted pornography. Miya made a mental note to give her a good whack over the head as she made her way to the door. The only one out at this time was Kagari.
He's probably forgotten his keys, she thought as she swung the door open.
What stood before her was a sandy blonde haired woman in a kimono that revealed entirely too much cleavage for her tastes carrying a man in a blue suit and a trench coat with hair entirely too wild for the age his face seemed to carry even in unconsciousness. It was then that Miya noticed the Sekirei mark emblazoned on the woman's forehead… announcing to all and sundry her status as a discarded number.
"Please," said Akitsu, "help."