Chapter 2: So Far So Bad

Takami Sahashi inhaled the salty air, listening to the waves crash on the cliffs of the island. She watched the water swirl and move, her mind wandering from one subject to the next. She thought about the heartache that the ashikabis would be feeling right now. She thought about her children. Her own partner. Her past mistakes, and finally her mind settled on a subject. One she'd thought about on too many occasions. Had she done the right thing letting Minaka go through with the Sekirei plan? Should she have killed him when she had the chance? Could she have?

He sighed and her eyes closed, "Please, Minato. Don't do anything stupid"

Seo cracked his neck as got up. He felt the absence of his girls injure him like a weapon. Oh how he longed to feel the crack of electricity crash through his body, not that he enjoyed it, but he missed it. He could feel how he missed Hikari and Hibiki. He sighed and stood, "Well, I'm going to do you two proud" He put on a shirt and went to the door, "I'm going to work now guys, see you this afternoon" he smiled sadly at the photos on his wall and walked out.

Chiho sat on the edge of her bed. At home for once, she stared at the moon. Her room had o windows, only holes through which she watched the sky with nothing in between her and it. She sighed quietly to herself, "If only you were here to enjoy this view with me, Uzume"

She smiled and stood, her weak legs barely holding her weight. She walked to the wall and leant on the windowsill, "I'm so sorry, Uzume"

Yukari stared at Minato, his words hanging in the air like a bad smell, tension building in the room. Miya barely contained her demonic visage, which was uncontrollable due to her anger. Minato watched, his sad eyes looking deep into hers. She closed her own eyes and turned her head away, "Yukari, you look quite confused"

Minato turned and saw his sister, "Nice to see you, Yukari" he smiled slightly, which made him seem sadder.

Miya inhaled slowly and grabbed Minato's shoulder. Not quickly, but fast enough to startle him, "I'm not who you think I am. But I would like to know, how long you have known I'm a Sekirei, Minato?"

He took her had off his shoulder and stood, very slowly, as if he was injured or winded, "Not very long, Miya. Only a few seconds"

She stared at him, "What?"

"It was a hunch, and I just said number one for effect. I didn't know whether or not you were a Sekirei, but if you weren't you would have put it down to depression making me think strange things."

She smiled, "I never emerged, my ashikabi was killed, and I actually was taken out of the game before it started"

"Takehito was…"

"Yes"

She smiled softly and turned away, "Please, don't go back to that room for a while, it's nice to have a friend around"

Seo stood in front of his boss, a short, rather fat man that nobody liked, and stared at him in shock, "Please repeat that"
He scowled at the tall man, "I said you're fired, Kaoru, go home"

"Don't I get notice?"

"Leave, Kaoru, now"

Seo turned and walked away from his livelihood and was about to leave when he realized. He didn't have a home to go back to. He hadn't been paid in weeks, and neither had his rent. He was to be kicked out next week. His chest deflated and he walked slowly to the house that he'd lived with his girls in and started packing up his things.

Yukari walked out on the street, leaving her brother, Musubi and her Landlady behind as she went. She was going to run an errand for Miya, not because she'd been told to, or even asked, she just wanted an excuse to go for a walk. As she went, she saw a familiar man walking away from a construction site. The day had only started, yet he was walking away from the job.

"You'll get in trouble if you leave so early"

He turned, his face so far fallen that it seemed like it had just given in completely to gravity, "Hi, miss Sahashi, long time no see"

She looked at him, "Seo? You look… different"

"Getting fired from our job and then kicked out of your house can do that to a man, especially after seeing the women he loves killed"

"Fired? Kicked out?"
"Two days ago. I'm trying to get another job, but I've already put everything away and I'm ready to leave. No reason to try and stay now, I'm going to get rid of everything and leave Shinto Teito. There's nothing for me here"

Yukari looked him up and down, "I think Miya has a few spare rooms, come and stay at Maison Izumo for a while"

"I can't pay rent, Sahashi-san"

"Neither can I, Seo" she smiled and took his shoulder, "Go on, Minato could probably use a friend now anyway"

The silence in the room was deafening, the only sound was her heartbeat and the sound of nothing. She hoped silently that he would help her. She knew it was impossible, but still vainly hoped. Hoped that Minato would free her of this prison that she was in and save the other Sekirei as well. She hoped silently that he wasn't unable or unwilling to help. She wished that he wouldn't come because he would face the discipline squad alone. But hoped that he did. She couldn't stop hoping, even months after she'd ceased function. Tsukiumi went back to sleep.

Haihane watched the waves next to Takami, "Do you think anything will happen?"

"I hope not, Haihane"

She smiled, "I'd like to meet him again, you know"

Takami shot an angry look at the bandaged girl, "Why, so you can finish the job?"

"no, so I can apologise. I didn't want to…" she inhaled sharply, "I didn't want to upset him"

"What?"

"Can you tell me what that means? Why do I feel like that?"

"You didn't want to…?"

"I only did what I was told to by Karasuba. He's too gentle to be someone I'd…"

"You'd?"

"I don't want to hurt anyone…" she looked up at the sky, "What the hell happened to me, Takami-sensei, what happened?"

The discipline squad watched from a distance, the ancient facility open its doors. They never stood too close to the facility, there were too many bad connotations within it. They preferred to stay in the few buildings that were constructed on the ground on the island. One building, a small, rectangular, single-story house sat near the edge of the island. Takami Sahashi lived here, rarely venturing into the facility herself, saying that she couldn't stand being near the Sekirei inside. A group of buildings were sitting nearby to the group of people. These housed MBI and the discipline squad, not a pretty place to live, but enough for them.

The helicopter sat idling on Teito Tower, its pilot switching the ignition. The engines died and he got out. His MBI uniform blew around him in the wind. He moved and, under the cover of a small structure, got into a lift and dropped to ground level. As the elevator fell, he thought about the poor people he'd left behind. After he'd landed the last group of MBI members, the pilot had been given a set of instruction. He'd found out at that time about the Sekirei Plan, and he'd instantly taken off. After a short assault by MBI's Disciplinary Squad, he'd escaped with his chopper barely intact. He wondered whether the winner was still in Teito. He hoped not. He was, after all, a member of MBI. And a pilot, no less. He'd heard that the pilots had ferried Sekirei who'd lost battles to MBI for care. So far as he knew, none had died thus far. He still feared the ashikabi though. Very much so.

Maison Izumo was quiet when Yukari and Seo turned up, unnaturally so. No doors opened or closed, not a sound emanated from the kitchen. Musubi couldn't be heard making any weak attempts at jokes. Nothing moved within the walls of the manor. Seo and Yukari walked slowly to the door, worried. A soft crunch was heard from within, but it wasn't followed by anything. Yukari opened the door to see a scene she hadn't expected. Nobody was injured, nobody was gone. Minato had fallen asleep and his Sekirei was sleeping on his shoulder. Miya was smiling and watching them. The silence was simply Miya being kind to the emotionally tired man. Yukari and Seo relaxed and Yukari sat down, "Hello, Miya" she whispered, "How long have they been asleep?"

"Not long" she responded, he bright voice taking on a height that it hadn't reached in months, "I believe that a new chapter is opening for you guys"

"What do you mean, Miya?"

"You'll find out when he figures out how he'll do it"

Minato dreamed, far more than he ever had, while he and Musubi slept. He dreamt of his plan and how it would work. He needed someone, a nameless, faceless person whom he didn't have, who knew how to get to the MBI's island. He needed a method to get there. And, hardest of all, he needed a god, strong group to help him. His dream showed him standing with his Sekirei, and every other Sekirei, on the edge of a light brown cliff. He felt himself smile, both in the dream and in reality. The only problem with his dream, one which he only noticed right at the very end. Only five people's faces were actually in focus. Tsukiumi, Miya, Musubi, his mother and Haihane. Minato hoped to Hell that it didn't mean anything.

Guy Sullivan shook as the lift stopped, its brakes engaging and he doors opening. He walked outside, realising that, in the time that he had been a pilot for MBI, he'd lost his internal map of Teito. He remembered the way from his place to Teito Tower and from his place to The nearest shopping centre.

Damn

He thought, walking in a random direction and hoping it led to an information centre. He walked, and walked, heading in what he believed was a North-Easterly direction. He ended up on a street corner, he could either go left or right, it didn't continue forward. He decided to follow the path left and walked. He felt an unexplainable pull forcing him onwards, like fate was grabbing his collar and yanking him towards a house on this street. He prayed that it was his gut telling him that there was a hotel or something nearby. He felt too hot in his MBI uniform. He hoped he was close to wherever he was going so he could get changed. He felt the money in his wallet, hoping what little he had was enough for a few nights. He stopped in front of a huge manor, not much of a looker but it had a sign on the front, 'Maison Izumo, Boarding House"

Maybe they could put him up for a few nights.

End of Chapter

Minato wants a solution, he got one. Rarely happens, hey. Who would have thought? See you next time Kisuke Bomb over and out.