Ice Chronicles
Chapter 5: Haunting Past
The sunlight shinned through the window, hitting my eye. I woke up, but I felt heavy and couldn't move my body. I tried moving my arms, but they were always pulled back into place. That's when I sighed as I realized what's going on. I looked at both sides and down the middle. Hugging my left arm was my first sekirei, Akitsu. Cuddling my right arm was Tskumi, my second sekirei. Underneath the covers were my third and fourth sekirei, Musubi and Matsu. Both were on my chest sound asleep.
'As much as I want to stay cuddled up against my sekirei, I need to get up.' I thought. I looked at Akitsu and gently woke her up. She's the only one who wouldn't wake the others. When she opened her eyes, I smiled at her.
"Morning Akitsu," I greeted.
"Morning master," she replied.
"Akitsu, I need your help," I told her. "As you can see, I'm stuck and I need you help me get free without waking the others."
She nodded and released her hold on me. She helped me escape the holds of my sekirei.
"Phew, thanks Akitsu."
I grabbed her hands and held them together.
"And thank you for wearing clothes this time. Now help me make breakfast."
She nodded again and the two of us started cooking. While we were cooking, I kept thinking of part of the past, distracting me from cooking.
"Master Ren, is something wrong? You seem distracted," Akitsu said. Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine," I told her. I could see her looking at me out of the corner of my eye.
"Also Akitsu, today you and Tskumi will be going clothes shopping. While you two are doing that, I'm going with Matsu to get some things she left behind."
She nodded once more. After we finished cooking, the other girls walked into the kitchen.
"Morning girls, did you sleep well? I bet you did seeing as all four of you managed to sneak into my bed."
They all blushed while I fixed their plates of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Once we finished eating, I watched as Tskumi and Akitsu left to go shopping. Tskumi told me of this card sekirei has with unlimited balance. I told her not to go crazy and buy a variety of clothes for Akitsu. I finally fixed the broken window and while they were gone, Musubi and I followed Matsu to this Japanese style house. There was a sign that said 'Maison Izumo'
Matsu ringed the doorbell.
"Be right there," a feminine voice stated. The door opened and a very young and beautiful woman appeared. She had long purple hair that went down to her waist and brown eyes. She was wearing the traditional miko with a purple hakama, a white haori with a sash-like belt, wooden sandals, and a white ribbon that holds her hair in place.
"Why hello there, how can I help you?" She asked with a smile.
"Hello, my name is Ren Zonin; it's a pleasure to meet you," I introduced and bowed.
"Hi there Miya, this is the guy I was telling you about," Matsu stated.
"Oh so this is your new ashikabi. I must say, he's quite handsome. Hello, my name is Miya, Miya Asuma. Come on in," Miya introduced. We followed her inside and she led us to a living room.
"So Matsu finally found her ashikabi. I was wondering where she went last night; at least she's well."
"You know about sekirei and ashikabi?" I asked. She placed her hand in front of her mouth and giggled.
"Yes, I know about them. My husband, Takehito works for the MBI Company and he informed me of some information," she replied.
"Is he here now?" Matsu asked.
"Yes, he's in the backyard," Miya answered.
"Great! Ren, go meet him while I pack my stuff," Matsu said.
"Uh, okay," I replied. She dashed upstairs and disappeared. I turned back to Miya.
"Has she always been like this?"
"She has. Be careful around her," she answered.
"I already know," I said. She took me to the backyard, where we saw a man sitting on the patio. He had curly grey hair and grey eyes. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater and sweatpants. Miya walked towards him and hugged him from behind.
"Honey, we have some guests," she told him. He turned his head and smiled at us.
"Hi there. So you're Matsu's ashikabi. It's nice to meet you. My name is Takehito Asuma," Takehito introduced. We shook hands and he told me about his position in MBI. He also told me about Matsu's bad habits. I told him about how she wants to 'experiment' with me and he just sighed and shook his head. That's when Miya told me that she refers to Matsu as the 'Shameless Sekirei'. I just couldn't help but laugh.
"Ren, Musubi, I need your help!" Matsu shouted from upstairs. We traveled up the stairs, but we didn't see her anywhere. The wall then suddenly slid open and Matsu appeared from behind it. She motioned for us to come inside and we did. Inside her room were four large boxes. Everything else was either packed or it was cleaned out.
"I want you two to carry these boxes; it's too much for me, but you two should manage."
I checked the boxes weight by sliding them the best I could. I managed to find the two lightest boxes, leaving the others to Musubi since she's a fist type and can carry heavier objects with ease. We grab the assigned boxes and carried them downstairs. Musubi nearly tripped because she carried them to high and covered her field of vision. We managed to get them down without any other trouble. Now we have to carry them back home.
"Well it was a pleasure meeting you Ren. Take care of Matsu; she can be handful," Miya told me.
"It was a pleasure meeting you two as well. Don't worry about Matsu, she's in good hands," I replied. Miya turned her sights towards Matsu. Suddenly, an ominous aura surrounded Miya and I know I can see a hanya mask floating behind her. Matsu cowered behind me and I couldn't hide behind anything except the bosses, but even that wouldn't hide the killing leer.
"I also don't you taking advantage of poor Ren. It's bad enough he has such a shameless sekirei he doesn't need to be corrupted," Miya stated with the aura spreading throughout the entire room. The only one not affected was Takehito, who just smiled.
"Yes Miya! I promise not to take advantage of Ren. I promise!" Matsu stated. The aura and mask disappeared and the atmosphere returned to normal.
"Then take care then you guys. Don't be strangers," Miya replied. We said our goodbyes and started walking back home. Thankfully, it wasn't that far away. On the way there, I kept thinking about the relationship between Miya and Takehito. Every time I watched them, I was reminded of my parents. I was so distracted that I accidentally bumped into someone.
I set the boxes down and looked to see who I hit. It was a small girl with long blond hair. She was wearing a one piece dress and ribbon in her hair. I kneeled in front of her.
"I'm sorry about that. Are you okay?" I asked. She looked at me and didn't say a word. That's when I heard someone shout,
"Kusano! Kusano where are you? Ku!"
We all looked at the noise and saw a boy with short brown hair, wearing a red t-shirt and black short. His shoes were Adidas that had both colors on it. When he saw the little girl, he hauled ass towards us. She got up and ran to him. She hugged his legs as she ruffled her hair.
"Where did you run off to? I was really worried," he said.
"I'm sorry big brother, but I ran into this giant," Kusano stated.
"Giant? What are you?" That's when he looked at me. He walked forward and literally looked up at me.
"Damn man you're tall."
"I'm only 6'3"," I told him.
"Yeah that's tall," he replied. "Well anyway, thanks for finding Ku; she has a habit of running off."
"No problem, but I didn't find her; I just bumped into her," I said.
"Well thanks anyway. Alright Ku, say goodbye to the gentle giant," he told her.
"Bye Mr. Gentle Giant," she stated. I sighed as they walked away. I picked the boxes back up and we started walking again. I had to deal with the girls never ending teasing the rest of the way. Once we made it back and set the boxes down, Tskumi and Akitsu arrived as well. Akitsu was wearing a pink shirt with snowflake designs on it and a white skirt to match.
"Nice outfit Akitsu, it's really beautiful," I said. She blushed and nodded.
"Thanks for your help Tskumi."
"She had fun; I could see the smile on her face as she was looking through the clothes," she replied. She put the rest of her clothes in our room and the others did their own thing. I on the other hand, kept thinking about my parents and ever since I met Ku and that guy, I've been thinking of my brothers as well.
"Master, tell me what's on your mind," Akitsu stated. "You've been distracted since this morning. Is something wrong?"
"No I'm okay, I'm just thinking," I answered.
"You're not okay. I noticed how many times you've spaced out and I'm starting to get worried," Matsu stated walking into the living room.
"Yes Ren, I've been worried too. Won't you tell us what's troubling you?" Musubi asked.
"I agree. As your wife, I can't have anything troubling my husband," Tskumi declared. I intertwined my fingers and placed them in front of my mouth. I sighed and closed my eyes and when I opened them, Tskumi and Akitsu were beside me and Musubi and Matsu were across from me.
"I'm thinking of my family," I stated.
"That's right, I've always wanted to ask why you lived here alone," Tskumi said.
"It's because I wanted to get away from my parents," I replied. "Our family is neither rich nor poor, but we have a lot of money, mostly from my brothers. You see, I'm the youngest of my brothers. All my life, all I heard was how cool my brothers were or how successful they were or how proud my parents were to have them. My parents were just the same, they didn't even say anything about me. I can't match up to my brothers, but I did my best to make them and my parents proud. My brothers tried to help, but their efforts were in vain. So I started saving money and moved down here. I really thought my parents loved me, but once I moved here I learned that they didn't."
"Now Ren don't say that; I know your parents loved you as much as your brothers," Matsu said. My attention immediately shot towards her.
"I understand what you're saying Matsu. But, if they really did love me, why didn't they stop me from leaving them?" I questioned. "My brother tried to convince me to stay, but if I did that, I would still be living in their shadows, a darkness that I can never escape from. They said I was being unreasonable, but they didn't know how I felt. They received their love, but I received nothing. "
"Ren," Matsu whispered. "Do you still keep in touch with your family?"
"I check on them every now and then, but my parents are still the same. They never say they miss me or want me to come back, so why should I if they don't even miss their own son. Their youngest son!" I shouted angrily, causing everyone to jump in surprise.
"Ren, how do you know for sure that your parents don't love you? For all you know, you could've just wasted time getting their attention that you didn't notice what they were trying to do," Tskumi said.
"Whenever I tried showing them something, they just ignore me and go about their day, but when one of my brothers shows them something, they drop what they were doing and give them their undivided attention. It's just not fair! I try my best to make my parents acknowledge me, but they always turn me down, but it's a different story with my brothers. I'm tired of living in my brothers' shadows!" I exclaimed angrily. The entire room was silent. No one bothered to open their mouths. I stood up, making everyone look at me.
"I need to be alone right now."
I walked outside and into the backyard. I sat on the patio and just stared at the sky the entire time. I didn't bother eating dinner when it came. Once it was nighttime, the girls were asleep and I sit on the couch in the living room in the dark. That's when I heard my cellphone go off. I looked at the caller ID and became disgusted, knowing it was my parents. I answered the call and held the phone to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ren," my mom answered. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, what is it?" I asked.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Is everything all right?" Mom asked.
"I'm fine mom. What about you and dad?" I questioned.
"We're fine, thank you," she replied. "Are you enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, I made a lot of new friends and everything has been pretty fun over here," I replied.
"That's good; I was worried that you might have gotten yourself into trouble," she said.
"Hey the only trouble maker is Chris," I responded. We shared a quick laugh at my comment.
"Ren, there's something important I want to tell you," mom stated.
"What is it mom?" I asked. There was a moment of silence.
"Ren, we want you to come back home. We miss you," she answered. My eyes widened at her words. I thought I would never hear those words, but there's a first time for everything. I didn't know how to answer. My mind is basically filled with negative emotions.
"I'm sorry mom, but I can't come back," I told her.
"This is about the past isn't it?" She asked. "Chris told me how you felt and what you tried to do."
"Then you must know why I don't want to," I said.
"We're sorry Ren, but believe me when I say that we do love you. I know we focused more on your brothers than you, but that's because we didn't want to constrain you," she explained.
"By ignoring me, by not acknowledging me, by loving my brothers more?" I questioned.
"Ren," she whispered.
"I'm sorry mom, but I have a lot to think about right now. I'll talk to you later. Tell dad I said hi," I replied and ended the call. I closed my phone and sat in the dark. It went off again, making me angry. I was about chuck it, but someone grabbed my hand. I turned on the lamp and saw Musubi in front of me.
"Musubi what are you doing?"
She grabbed the phone and tossed it to the far end of the couch. She then placed her hands on my head and placed it between her breasts.
"Musubi?
"Shhh, it's okay Ren. Your sekirei are here for you. Let us take away your sorrows," she spoke up. "When someone is down, there's always another person to pick them up."
She released me and sat down next to me. She cupped both my cheeks and looked me in the eye.
"Everyone deserves a second chance Ren. I know you hate what happened between you and your parents, but do you honestly think being angry at them will solve anything?"
I thought about her question deeply, considering everything that happened.
"Sigh, I guess you're right. I'll talk to them tomorrow," I told her. She smiled and kissed me on the lips, making her pink wings flutter. I held her close to me and hugged her.
"Thank you Musubi."
"Anytime," she replied. "And I'm not Musubi; I'm sekirei no. 8 Yume."
She winked at me and placed a finger over her lips. She got up and walked back to her room. I did the same and accidentally woke up Tskumi in the process.
"Ren, are you feeling better?" She asked. I smiled and kissed her on the lips. I looked into her beautiful blue eyes.
"As long as I have you girls, I'm happy," I answered.
A/N: Well here's the next chapter. I apologize for not showing much of Maison Izumo and Kusano; I'll give them a bigger part in later chapters. I also hoped you like the brief entrance of Yume. I read this one fanfic called Sekirei: The Fallen Sekirei. It's about what if Yume replaced Musubi on Minato's team and it was Karasuba who killed Musubi before Yume saved her. It's a really great story; I highly recommend it. Well this has been MalevolentDarkness16, I will see you all next time; enjoy.