Dyspnea: Part II
Minato closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the oxygen flow into his lungs. The same oxygen which will be deprived from his 'true, proper wife'. After a few seconds of letting the tension out of his muscles, he opened his eyes again and raised his chin, eyes locking on Tsukiumi. Her eyes were wide open, her cheeks were sunken, and her lips were chapped and dry. Her breathing was labored due to her oxygen mask. Her chest heaved with every breath.
"Husband? Art thou alright?"
"I can't!" He cringed, stomping away and shaking his head wildly. "I can't choose between any of you to help me! If I lose any of you from my own choice I'll lose my mind..."
"Now isn't the time, Minato." Benitsubasa groaned, clearly agitated from his indecisiveness. "You're a tough son of a bitch, but physically you can't do this alone. You need to take the risk."
His head whipped around at her, tears visible in his eyes. Having to play the game was bad enough, but having to choose who lives and dies? The stress was overwhelming. "And risk losing not just one but three friends I care about?"
"Just friends?" Kazehana coughed, trying to remain upright. She was winded, and dark circles sunk to her orbital bones like teabags. "My how modest. Truly we're all more than that to you?"
"Of course you are," Minato reassured her, coming to a knee and holding her hand. She was so cold. "H–hang in there, Kazehana…We're all connected. Nothing will break us. Not now, not ever."
Kazehana forced a weak smile, "My, how romantic. If I could kiss you now I would."
Tsukiumi nodded as her mouth curled in a smile. "Nay, husband. I can endure. We all can."
"Tsukiumi's right." Matsu agreed, grabbing him by the cuff. "I get you're conflicted, but you've never steered us wrong before. You won't fail, no matter who is chosen."
"Just the thought though...choosing someone to potentially die..." Minato swallowed as he gazed up through the cage at the diving boards. "There's a lot to consider too. Benitsubasa probably shouldn't do it because she's the only one who can protect us with her abilities. Homura's covered in that flammable stuff and is more likely to have his grip slip on accident. And Matsu..." his eyes scanned over her scarred body from head to toe. "You're hurt."
Benitsubasa marched over, one boot after the other, "If you can't make up your mind, pipsqueak, then I say we leave it up to random chance."
"How? Like, flipping a coin?" Homura asked.
"Exactly." the pinkette replied. "I don't have one on me and I doubt any of you do either, but I do have that pig goon's knife.." she withdrew it from her sash and handed it to Minato. "Place it on the ground and give it a good spin. Whoever the tip is closest to when it stops spinning will be who we send up there with Haihane. Sound fair?"
"I guess it would, considering none of you are going to allow me and Haihane to go this alone." Minato sighed, swiping it from her. He stared at it intensely for but a second before Benitsubasa gave him a nudge and aimed her finger at the timer. They only had two more minutes to prepare themselves. He glanced at Tsukiumi, then at Kazehana. He cringed and said, "Alright, everyone spread out evenly in a circle. I'm doing it."
"Right away, Mina-tan." Matsu nodded. The rest of the group followed.
Benitsu nodded, as did Homura.
Moments later they were ready for this deadly take on 'spin-the-bottle'.
He glanced over each Sekirei and asked, "Is everyone ready?"
"Just do it, pipsqueak." Benitsubasa demanded.
Minato crouched and laid the knife down in the center of them. "One..." he counted. "Two..." He sniffed deeply before letting it out with a sigh and sent the blade into a topspin. "Three!"
Minato backed away as the blade wobbled awkwardly and twirled round and round. When he let go, he could almost feel his life flash before his eyes. It lasted but a brief moment before inertia finally had its say. When it stopped, the point aimed directly at Matsu.
"Oh..." Matsu breathed. She knew what this meant.
"You're up, redhead." Benitsubasa snorted, spitting her phlegm to the side. "Honestly, you wouldn't have been my first choice, with all those wounds and shit."
"Are you complaining?" Homura asked. "Would you like to take her place?"
"We already made the decision. We gotta stick to our guns here. We can't afford to waste time," She aimed a finger at Kazehana, "not while No. 3 is over there keeling over."
Kazehana choked up some red droplets before speaking in a strained voice, "I'm fine really," she waved her off with the tips of her dainty painted nails. "Glad to see you care though."
Benitsubasa turned her nose to the ceiling upon hearing that. "You're not fooling anybody."
"Guess now there's no choice in the matter. We have to do the norito." Matsu concluded. "We need to complete this game as quickly as possible before Kazehana gets even worse. Pucker up, Minato."
Minato sighed again. "After this, I'll only have one left to spare."
"It'll be fine, Minato." The redhead reassured him. "The games are almost over. After we get Tsukiumi out of this, Musubi will be the last feather you'll need to save." she smirked and adjusted her glasses on her dainty nose. "We'll all make it so long as we keep our heads together."
"Yeah, you're right." he gulped. "Matsu, are you sure you can handle this?"
She threw her arms around him and sealed her lips against his. Her light orange wings emerged from the small of her back, and another bulb on her ashikabi's collar dimmed. When she backed away, Minato saw that her wounds had all sealed.
"I can manage," she said with confidence. "You have no reason not to believe in yourself. If you can't see it, trust that I and everyone else here can."
"We got a minute left." Haihane said, grabbing hold of one of the pool ladder's rungs and beginning her ascent. "Come on you two, we need to get into position before the timer reaches zero," she said, aiming her chin at said timer and continuing to climb up to the hatch above one hand after the other.
Minato turned to Matsu and hugged her tight. "Be safe." he told her before looking at the others. "And that goes for all of you."
As he went to step up to bat for this next challenge, Benitsu seized his shoulder.
"Hold on, pipsqueak," Benitsu said halting him.
The ronin glanced at her sideways. "Huh? What is it?"
"Before you go up there," Benitsubasa pulled off both her gloves one after the other. "Take these with you. Wear them."
Minato took a moment to consider this idea as well as just how to process how tiny her hands were beneath those gloves. Who knew something so dainty could be so lethal? "Good thinking though I'm not sure whether or not Jigsaw will consider that to be cheating."
"If that's the case he should have never let me keep them in the first place. Tools of survival, right? Remember the acid needles? You weren't punished for using them to free four-eyes, were you?" They stood there awkwardly for a moment as Minato considered the option, much to Benitsu's annoyed impatience. "Well, go on! Take them!"
After a moment of pondering, he gave her a light nod and accepted them as any gentleman would. "Alright." He said. "Thank you, Benitsu."
"Don't mention it, now get going."
After slipping them on, he let his arms fall to his side before turning around and climbing up to the top of the pool and then the lifeguard tower. On the way up he was stunned to see just how empty the place was as well as how high up the ceiling went.
'Minaka really put those taxpayer dollars to good use with this place…' he thought to himself.
Once he reached the apex, he looked down at the individuals beneath him to see all eyes were on him, save for Matsu and Haihane who were readying themselves on their respective diving boards. They took care with their steps as they wobbled with every careful footfall. Once they were at the very edge, they grabbed hold of their handles, and a green light above their respective cages buzzed to life.
"Okay Minato," Matsu hollared. "We're in position."
Minato took care as he went to grasp his own handles, trying his best not to cut or prod himself with the layers of barbwire wrapped around them. A fool's ambition. These things were going to be difficult to hold onto even if they weren't poised to slice him open. It was a good thing Benitsubasa lent him her gloves.
Once his palms were uncomfortably locked over them he inhaled deeply, "Here goes..." and pulled.
He gasped as a visible electrical current spiderwebbed over the cages Matsu and Haihane were in, no doubt to prevent them from grabbing onto them if their diving boards were to capsize. He swallowed as he remembered the shock he had received from touching the gate from the Kazehana trial earlier; it sent him flying. Sekirei were strong, but if he'd learned anything from tonight it was that Jigsaw made sure a failure would result in death.
Spooked and slightly shaken from the electricity, Matsu glanced over at Haihane, "You alright?"
"I'm fine," the latest initiate into Minato's flock replied. I'm sure that's the worst of it."
"Maybe you're right..." Matsu sighed, then looked down past her feet to the concrete floor...right as a bed of lengthy spikes lanced upward several feet beneath her and her comrade. The party below took a sudden jump back from it. "...or not!"
XXXXXX
12 hours before Minato's trials…
Minaka leered at his men going about their work through his always-shiny lenses. He was observing them through the monitors as they put the finishing touches on the setting of his twisted brainchild, spilling the flammable goo all across his funhouse of mirrors fight club. His lips formed a Cheshire grin, his teeth glistening almost as much as his glasses.
John was beside him, hands folded behind his back, unbemused. "You seem awfully gleeful for someone about to get their son potentially killed."
"My own son is set to prove himself to the ones he loves," he replied. "We're all a bit merry here because there's a lot riding on his success."
"And what if we're unsuccessful?"
"My tale of love conquering all becomes a Shakespearean tragedy. Either way, I get my story told."
Minaka's phone vibrated in his pocket. He plucked it out and tapped the green phone icon. "Is it done? Are they all ready?"
"..."
"...excellent." Minaka turned his back to the monitors and approached a desk. A lever loomed above it on the wall and a microphone was just beneath it. He grasped the handle and took the mic to make an announcement. Heard throughout the building. As the screeching feedback drew his men's attention, he spoke, "Good job everyone! I believe you've all earned a well-deserved nap." he began laughing hysterically as he yanked the lever down as hard as he could. "Night night!"
John who hadn't moved from his post since his observation began, eyed the construction workers and soldiers on the screens sink to their knees in a coughing orgy as the green fog smothered the chambers and presumably everywhere else in the building.
"Are you certain they will be alright with this much exposure?" John asked.
"Absolutely!" Minaka turned back to him with a confident pose. "Though it won't be without some...side effects."
"Such as?"
"Psychosis. Paranoid delusions..." Minaka paused for a moment, then suddenly hung his head and started touching his index fingers together as if unsure of himself. "Loss of manhood."
"You sterilized them?"
"Okay, bad wording." Minaka cleared his throat as John grimaced in annoyance.
He was so fucking fed up with this maniac. Had been ever since Minaka begged him to do a tryout run for game creation on Sanada Nishi. It had happened just two days ago but to him, it felt like a lifetime had passed. The crazed professor had the man stuck to his own motorcycle with his entire body glued to the seat and rear wheel cover.
...
"To show you the power of flex glue, I glued your ass to a motorcycle!" The Billy doll said in an uncharacteristically gleeful tone as Niisha squirmed and freaked out.
…
John cringed hard as he recalled that, and also letting this idiot anywhere near his recording equipment let alone his puppet.
But he continued to dwell on the thought some more. In front of the motorcycle was a ramp that launched Niishi off a cliff. In order to live he needed to hit the break which would deeply a parachute...at the cost of his skin. He lived...somehow. His bike crashed and burned into the river below. And John could feel himself cringe as he relived Minaka uttering the words. "NOW THAT'S A LOT OF DAMAGE!", as they watched the bizarre spectacle live. He didn't know if it were the most ingeniously stupid contraption he had ever seen, and considering he had ambitions to use a playground carousel at one point before MBI cured his cancer that was saying something.
Minaka continued his thought. "What I meant to say was that it controls the mind to do whatever task the creator wants. It's effectively mind control."
"What does that have to do with being a man?"
"A man chooses, a slave obeys." He glanced back out the window. The fumes on the other side were being sucked out by the ventilation and it was finally clear again. Everyone was passed out. "It should be safe to bring the birds to their cages now if you catch my drift." Minaka considered having his personal army take care of the test subjects as they did the terminated ones, but having them put unconscious people in death traps may have resulted in a whistleblower and shafted the whole operation. He and John agreed to install them post-gassing.
"So I see," John said. After exhaling through his nostrils, John turned away from the monitors and scrolled through the contacts on his phone. "Though personally Sekirei remind me more of fairies than they do birds." He tapped 'Mathis' and brought the device to his ear. "We're ready. Bring them in."
…
Outside, a few miles away inside an armored truck parked in an alley, John's enforcer pockets his cell with a grumble. He glances at Doctor Gordon, who was riding shotgun. The entirety of the Sahashi lineage were captives in the back seat along with Chiho and Shiina. Minato was lying across the back seats still hooked up to his lifeline of IV fluids. Karasuba was also there with them, menacing them with her very presence. Her hands crossed over the hilt of her nodachi. Akitsu flanked her right.
"I assume this means we're set?" Dr. Gordon asked. He got his answer when the muscle yanked back the stick shift to drive and pulled the truck out into the street. He wasn't alone, however. Shortly after an entire fleet of trucks followed behind him, his own personal army. A dozen in total.
"Tell me again why we didn't just have this guy's goons take the place of those MBI soldiers?" Yukari asked.
"Because they don't have the touch that can render a Sekirei helpless, remember?" Takami replied. "That and there are only twelve of them."
"One for every truck following us," Chiho enunciated, looking out the back windows. She gasped as they hit a bump.
"There are two people in each of those vehicles, actually." Dr. Gordon corrected her.
"Okay, so twenty-four then." Takami grimaced.
"You sure this line of shady-looking vehicles isn't going raise any red flags with the cops?" Yukari questioned no one in particular.
"Out in the boonies? Fat chance." Takami replied. "Besides, I made sure to let them know precious MBI cargo was being brought through the area in heavily armed vehicles, which considering what they contain isn't a total lie. They're not ones to question the game master's ex."
"Point taken." Yukari shrugged. She wanted to scream and cry for help but knew it would be fruitless with Karasuba watching over them like a predatory crow.
"What's our role in this?" Shiina asked.
Dr. Gordon turned to look at him. "John wants to make sure Minato's gal pals are properly situated. The others following us have the tools to do so as well as his flock."
"Wait," Yukari halted him, "So you mean the games aren't already up and running? I thought his Sekirei were already prepared."
"Nope," Dr. Gordon responded shaking his head. "Minaka only instructed his crew to gut the place and deliver the terminated Sekirei. The actual games that need to be conquered, that's up to us."
"Why didn't Minaka have his crew do it instead?"
"John was against it."
"How come?"
"He didn't want Minaka to have full control over his game. John agreed to let Minaka gut the place and prepare it as he saw fit, but he wanted control of the tests themselves."
"Not sure I follow."
"Think of it this way," Takami interjected rising her back from the seat. "Minaka's the canvas, but John is the paintbrush."
"I think I get it now." she glanced over at Minato then back at her mother. "Do you think he'll be alright?"
"Of course, Yukari." her mother answered, with noticeable hesitancy in her voice. She was definitely unsure of herself.
"I'm glad to see you have faith in him." Yukari replied.
"No, you misunderstand." Karasuba shut her eyes and placed her chin over her hands which were still holding the nodachi upright. "He'll be alright because he's going to chicken out and leave them all behind like the pathetic coward monkey he is."
"SHUT YOUR FUCKING FACE!" Yukari roared. Everyone looked at Karasuba with fury in their eyes. What a disgusting thing to say.
"Was it something I said? I'm only saying what everyone else is thinking here." she leaned back in her seat and looked up at the truck's ceiling. "I simply have the nerve to say it."
"I hate to say it," Takami muttered. "but Karasuba has a point. Minato was never one for heroics. I'm doubtful he'll go through with it. 90% certain in fact."
Yukari bit her thumbnail, considering the possibility for herself. Sadly she didn't have a counterargument. So she slumped in her seat without another word, disgusted with the two of them as well as herself for even remotely agreeing with them. Yukari had to stab a kid to death to survive. Could Minato resort to that?
…
The helpless animal weakly reached for the crowbar it had used earlier, only to be denied when Minato drove the tip of the ebony knife through his palm, pinning the limb to the floor with his bodyweight and ensuring his grim fate.
"End it, Benitsu!"
…
…probably not.
But what was she supposed to do? Hope they were wrong and then what? See her big bro suffer as a reward? She just wanted to go home with him and never let go. To comfort him for ever and ever. He would need it. She would need it.
"So once we're there you want us to put them in their traps? Is that it?" Chiho asked.
"Precisely."
"Why not have someone else do it? Someone that knows their stuff?" Shiina asked.
"Because you all have a connection to Minato and are the least likely to pull anything funny or get any of them killed for laughs."
"But we don't know anything about engineering." Shiina lamented.
"Yeah," Yukari agreed. "What if we screw up and a trap malfunctions?"
"Master John left foolproof instructions," Akitsu spoke up. "I followed his word to the letter when tasked with testing Yashima's Ashikabi. Rest easy. I will guide you."
The truck then slowed to a crawl along with the other ones following it. The group was so preoccupied with the conversation they hadn't realized they rolled to a stop. After a hard turnaround to the back of the university, they prepared to exit.
Dr. Gordon turned around and glanced at his fellow passengers. "We're here."
Upon exiting the vehicle, they noticed Mathis' personal squadron hoofing it to the back of their respective trucks and opening the doors. There were boxes. Many, many, MANY boxes. Some were bigger than others. They contained an assortment of deadly doohickies that were more than likely disassembled for easier transportation. On the boxes were numbers that confused Yukari.
"So what are the numbers for?" Yukari asked.
"The numbers tell us what goes where." Akitsu replied.
"Not sure I follow," Yukari said, confused still.
"Think of it this way, the items in box one will go in room one."
"Oh I see. Organization. Right." Yukari hummed. "And since there are eleven vehicles following us, I assume that means there are eleven rooms?"
"No, just ten." Dr. Gordon replied. "The last truck just has spare parts inside."
…
John turned away from the window and called out to Minaka, "They've arrived."
"Excellent." Minaka mosied over and looked down just in time to see the disassembled games getting unloaded and Minato being carted inside by Akitsu. Yukari, Chiho, and Shiina flanked her, and right behind them were Karasuba, Mathis, and Doctor Gordon. "Ah well if it isn't the star of the show!"
"That's a human being, you know."
"Oh the humanity! I'm perfectly aware of that fact, Johnny-boy!" Minaka slapped his chest and laughed. "In a few hours time, they'll all be awake and alert. Don't you worry."
"If you say so." John paused and fidgeted with his phone for a moment. "What's next?"
"Well I guess I can leave it up to you now," Minaka said. "Are you ready to make your move? Ready to take this thing on like a real man? Ready to make your son proud?"
"My son?"
"Who else?" Minaka shrugged.
"You know nothing of my son."
"I know enough to know you miss him dearly, John." Minaka's voice suddenly deepened. "We're a lot alike in that sense. Wanting to raise a family but having circumstances prevent it all. I wanted to see them grow up you know. Truly I did."
"Is that why you let the green girl get slaughtered right in front of them? I was there too you know."
"Were you now?"
"Indeed. As was Doctor Gordon. I was wheelchair-bound on my way to undergo the last of my cancer treatment. Lawrence had clearance and we were allowed to pass the guards who tried to quickly escort us into the hospital. The battle was occurring just outside of it at the time. One strike was all it took. I caught a glimpse of the child falling into a pool of blood while your son grieved over her and your soldiers even prevented his Sekirei from consoling him with that magic touch of theirs. The last thing I saw of it was Minato being forcefully dragged off by the guards who then proceeded to load Kusano onto a helicopter with your ex wife."
"For an old coot your memory's as sharp as ever!" Minaka sighed. "It's just a shame you'll never be able to test me after this is all said and done."
"You think you'll walk away untested? I wouldn't be too sure of yourself. Your game is just beginning."
…
"Come along, children," Karasuba called out mockingly. "You have much work to do."
Yukari grimaced as she had no choice but to follow that order. She gave her big bro a kiss on the cheek before she and the others left him in Doctor Gordon's care in the room he was to wake in. As they went on their way, Yukari noticed the Doc roll up Minato's shirt and reach into his bag. He pulled out a surgical scalpel.
...
Minato lifted his shirt, coming across a four-inch incision just below his belly button sewn shut by a thin black wire. "A scar...?"
…
Yukari glanced back at her brother one more time before Akitsu ushered them out of the room. "See you soon, big brother." After a moment of walking, Akitsu stopped and pulled at a light fixture on the wall. A secret passage opened. In the room's center was an elevator that went up down two stories and up three if the numbers above it were anything to go by. They entered it and traveled downward. Soon, they found themselves in a wide, spacious area devoid of anything else. It was clearly a boiler room.
...
It was bright at least; fluorescent tubes hummed overhead. There was also a lack of craftsmanship; copper pipes streaked up through the ceiling, thin wafts of white-hot steam hissed from the many which had burst open long ago. The walls and floors were especially ugly. Other than being jizzed over with a thick layer of graffiti-caked dirt and grime, the upper drywall bled a depressing shade of grey, sloping into an even more murky and bumpy concrete foundation.
Was this once a maintenance area? Boiler room perhaps?
*Click*/*FLASH!*
"K-Kazehana?! I-Is that you?!"
*Click*/*FLASH!*
"See that big hunk of metal choking your Ashikabi's neck?" Benitsubasa began. "That thing is set to explode if one of his Sekirei, YOU, decide to get clever and use their powers to escape and cheat their way out. So if you want Minato's head to not be blown into chunks of pulpy hamburger meat by heated shrapnel, I suggest you calm your fucking tits and listen to him!"
*Click*/*FLASH!*
Benitsu bashed her fist into the fence. "Take a photo of me again and you will be sorry!"
*Click*/*FLASH!*
The ronin began screaming, tearing at his scalp. "God, make it stop! Please make it stop! No more! No more!"
*Click*/*FLASH!*
He was the one who must play. She must only observe.
…
Yukari stepped forward, trying to figure out what was going on here. The door behind them closed with a loud clang, leaving them alone in the room with its deafening humming.
"I'm sorry," Akitsu spoke up, looking around nervously. "This place isn't exactly safe."
"That much is obvious," Takami answered.
"Why did we come down here?" Chiho asked.
"Because this is where No. 3 is being tested," Karasuba answered. "Speaking of which, where is she?"
"Undergoing alcoholic sedation." Akitsu bluntly answered.
"For what reason?" Shiina asked.
"So she can feel more at home during her game. Or so Master- er...I mean John says." Akitsu replied, nearly stumbling over her verbal habits. She was improving at least.
"Oh..." Shiina thoughtfully uttered.
"I guess that makes sense." Yukari responded. Her thoughts drifted back to her brother. What was he thinking right now? Did he miss her at all? How was his treatment going? Was it bad?
Would he even wake up at all?
"Don't worry about it," Akitsu continued, leaning over to unlatch a toolbox. She pulled out a wrench as some of Mathis' goons came in with the boxes full of game pieces. Four men carried in two oversized boxes and left them on the floor before taking off to presumably fetch more or stock up the other test chambers. "Let's get to work."
…
John's eyes remained fixed as he stood aside Minaka observing the monitors with him. He would have assisted matters but felt that if Akitsu were to take up his mantle she would need to get used to assembling his contraptions on her own sooner rather than later. Everything did ride on their success, after all. Still, he felt useless doing nothing but standing around and letting Minaka's thugs do all the heavy lifting. But she needed to prove herself even during trying times. His years spent as an engineer ensured him it was the right call.
Besides, if he didn't stay behind, who would be watching the nutjob professor next to him?
God he wished he would just leave.
"Why so glum, Johnny-boy?" Minaka asked, worriedly. "The aura you're giving off is like a dark cloud. Is Lakitu home?"
"Who?"
"I see, well for one who prides himself in making games I assume you'd catch the reference."
"Will you please, for once, be quiet?"
"Come now, am I really that gabby?"
"Yes."
"I haven't uttered a word in at least the last ninety seconds!"
"And I wish you'd keep it that way."
"Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"If there were anything you could wish for, anything you'd want, what would it be?"
It didn't take long for him to answer, "My son. I would want to give him the life he never got to live."
"What happened?"
"Miscarriage. My wife was robbed at knifepoint."
"Hmm, I see. It all makes sense now, why you truly despise me. It's not just the genocidal tournament, is it? It's my failures as a father."
"Indeed." John simply sniffed in response. "You're unappreciative of your blessings and the reason we're here is proof of that."
"Tell me, would he be proud of what you've become? This is what broke you isn't it?"
"That's rich coming from you of all people. In fact I think it's outright slick. You don't know anything about my son," John said. "You have no idea how much I wanted to raise him properly. If he were here the man the public knows as Jigsaw would be too busy being the father he always aspired to be to actually be Jigsaw."
"Have you ever considered adoption? I know I know, this may sound like my regular old crazed ramblings, but that seems to be the much more admirable path to follow."
"The child wouldn't have been my own."
"There you go misplacing your pride. I'm sure the children in an orphanage also went through struggles much like you have. It honestly could have brought you closer together. There could have been a bond made with someone special, but instead, you became a serial killer. You really are pathetic."
"You're getting on my last nerve." John grumbled before uncharacteristically raising his voice. "I will not take familial advice from someone who's perfectly fine having a child slaughtered for entertainment." John slammed his fist on the desk and Minaka backed off.
"Whoa, hey now cowboy!" Minaka said in surprise. "You sound like you cared deeply for him."
"Of course I did."
"Would you like to see him again?"
John exhaled, unmoved. "Impossible."
"Nothing is impossible when there are Sekirei." Minaka bemused. "Once this is all over and the Jinki is repaired, you might be able to get your wish."
John's brow dangled to the floor, "I hadn't considered that. Can it really be done? I thought the wish went to the Sekirei Plan's victor?"
"I don't see why not. If Minato pulls through for us I guess Kouten would consider us all victors. Everyone involved."
And just like that, John's prime objective had changed.
XXXXXX
A/N:
This chapter was more or less a commentary on how the people closest to Minato in his life always seem to put him down and underestimate him. I feel he deserves much more credit than he gets.
Thanks for reading. Please leave your honest thoughts in a review.
