Chapter 3; Just what the Doctor Ordered
Minato woke when he heard a knock on the door. Musubi had rolled over and was now lying on his feet. He laughed slightly and moved out from under her. He stood and moved to open the door. When he got to it, though, Miya had already answered. A tall, well-built man in black was standing there, his tired eyes scanned the two people, "Are you the Landlady?" he asked politely.
"My name is Miya Asama. Welcome to Maison Izumo. What can I do for you?"
He bowed slightly and Minato noticed part of an insignia on his lapel, a capital 'B' and what looked like and forward slash, '\'. Minato had no idea who this guy was, but he got a sense that he shouldn't like him. He smiled slightly, "My name is Guy Sullivan, I'm kind of lost and have nowhere to stay, um, is it possible for me to board here for a few nights?"
"A few nights? I might be able to do that. Come on in, Mr Sullivan"
"You'll have to excuse Musubi, she was stone tired when she got back. She's looked like she was dead for a little while" Miya laughed and Guy looked at the cute girl. He wondered whether this place was as normal as it appeared.
"Is she a resident here?"
"Yes, oh, that reminds me, if you're going to be staying here, I should introduce my other tenants"
She turned and smiled, "Just a second" she disappeared upstairs.
Guy looked around the house, not moving from the bottom of the stairs, but mentally mapping out the place. It was very open, no doors in front of anything but the rooms themselves and a single room with what appeared to be a paper door. He shook his head, nothing's going to happen, he thought, Nothing can, I hope.
Minato walked up to him, "I noticed your uniform, who do you work for?"
"Uh…MBI? I was a pilot until a few days ago"
"A pilot?"
"Yeah…uh, not a very easy job but, paid well…"
The end of the awkwardness of this little exchange was brought by a short girl almost taking Guy's head off with her foot. He dodged it, barely. Seo and Yukari stood at the base of the stairs, both glowering at the new tenant with intense hatred. He looked at them, confused. Miya stood behind them, "Did I hear you correctly, MBI Pilot?"
Guy sat on the couch, head low, "Funny how I worried about this"
Minato watched the wall, which didn't seem overly entertaining. Yukari glared at the man and Seo sat with his head in his hands. Miya watched from the corner and Musubi remained stubbornly asleep. Guy swallowed, "Um, who are you guys?" he asked, "I didn't think that I would get…"
Yukari glared at him, "Don't you dare" she growled, "You know damn well who we are, you probably ferried away our loved ones at some point"
He cocked his head slowly, "I'm sorry?" he licked his lips, "Don't tell me you are…"
"I'm Yukari Sahashi, the Devil Ashikabi"
"Seo Kaoru, also an Ashikabi"
"Minato Sahashi, The Northern Ashikabi"
"Ashikabis, huh. Um, well, I, uh"
"Go on, Mr Sullivan"
"I didn't know about Sekirei or anything until a few days ago, when I left MBI"
"Right, and I didn't know that my favourite colour was purple"
"I am a pilot, yes, and I probably did ferry a Sekirei or two, but I thought I was taking an injured MBI member or something, I was never told about this 'Sekirei Game' or whatever it was"
"Ok then, let me ask you something. Do you still feel loyal to MBI? Is there allegiance there?"
"No, they've destroyed lives, yours included, and shattered dreams. I can't go back to them"
"Huh? What's going on?" Musubi sat up, rubbing her eyes, "I heard something about a dream"
Guy looked at the girl, who was even cuter with her eyes open, and smiled, "I'm glad not everyone here is strange"
Miya smiled, "Am I strange, Mr Sullivan?"
"Sorry to say, but yes, Miss Asama"
"And Minato, Yukari and Seo?"
"They're ashikabi, of course their strange. Please, I'm Guy Sullivan, nice to meet you"
"I'm Number 88, Musubi, nice to meet you too"
"88?"
"Yep"
Oh crap, I've stumbled upon not only a group of bitter ashikabi, but the winner himself…not good
Minato smiled as he looked over to the man, "You get it now, don't you?"
He nodded, too dumbfounded to speak and Minato continued, "Please, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against you, I believe you. I'm just surprised is all. I've been thinking that I need someone who knows how to get to MBI and a method of transport. I have one out of two so far"
Guy smiled, "No"
"No?" Minato looked at him.
Guy smiled, an evil grin that only a man getting revenge could muster, "You have two out of two, my chopper's up to of Teito Tower"
Minato grinned and leant back, "For once, something seemed to lock in place, Mr Sullivan"
"Please call me Guy"
Minato explained his plan to everyone there. Yukari and Seo seemed to be a little hesitant in the beginning, but their desire to be with their Sekirei again was too strong. Minato, brought to a new level of insanity by his grief, smiled as the people all agreed with him. He would soon be with his 'family' once again.
End of Chapter