Told you the muse was here to stay. Hope you all enjoy. Reviews always help.

Four days had passed quicker than he had realized.

The sun was shining through the windows of the train as it rattled along towards the heart of the city. It was just past 7:00 in the morning so the train was reasonably crowded with businessmen and professionals alike on their way to start their days. He could see several people his age amongst the crowd as well, all of them with their noses crammed into study guides or test prep books. His hands held no such books. He didn't even have his backpack with him, just his phone, some spare pencils, and a small calculator his mother had given him.

The train stopped. He knew the station, it was about three stops up the line from the university. The crowd of people shifted, jostling around as they exited the train. He slid over to the window seat as the doors closed, looking out at the city skyline. The MBI tower dominated the scenery from pretty much any angle, a full city block shaped upwards into the heavens. It was on par with the Tokyo Skytree in terms of height and had completely revolutionized construction when it had been completed in only a year's time thanks to MBI's tech. You couldn't go anywhere in Japan at all without seeing MBI's name these days. He squinted at the building in the distance, trying to pick out an individual window. Maybe Karasuba worked in one of those offices he was looking at now?

The gray-haired beauty had been on his mind constantly these last four days. He still couldn't believe the events of Sunday had actually happened, but they had definitely motivated him. He'd gone home that afternoon and continued prepping for the exam, but he'd changed his pattern to one that was better for his health. He'd gone to bed at a respectable hour each night, taken a walk for a study break every three hours, and hadn't skimped out on meals like he usually did. The impact was noticeable. The dark circles under his eyes had faded considerably. He wasn't slouching in his seat anymore either, and he hardly felt any anxiety at all as the train moved forwards, carrying him and his fellow could-be classmates towards their destiny. The car lurched, turning a bend to head further into the city. He tore his eyes from the skyline and pulled out his phone, flipping it open to the messages. He hadn't switched from his "conversation" with Karasuba since she'd sent the message to herself.

The only way I'm not passing is if I die on the way to take the stupid exam.

He smiled at the words. They didn't sound like something he had ever said. Yukari would never believe he had ever spoken this way. His grandma would have been proud of him. Mom on the other hand? She'd just ask to see the results of his 'bravado.' Bravado. She had used that word throughout his childhood to chastise his sister for her drama and bragging. She'd used it on him a few times on the rare occasions he'd get upset or try to stand up to her. This was different though. This wasn't Yukari shooting her mouth off hoping to impress her friends. This wasn't him insisting on something he wasn't wholly confident of. This was a surety.

The next few stops passed rather quickly. They reached the station and the students all stood up, awkwardly stuffing their books into their bags as they shuffled out the door and made their way out to the street. Walking out onto the sidewalk he could see the university campus in the distance. It was just about 7:20am, 10 minutes before all applicants could check in. He took one last look at his phone before shutting it, pocketing it, and walking forwards with his head held high for what felt like the first time in ages.

XXX

Her sword danced through the air cleanly, parrying and countering the blows from the hologram, the chimes scoring her hits ringing out in the quiet of the training room. Karasuba let her hands slip further down the hilt of the longsword, changing her guard to let the next strike slip under the hologram's wrist by a scant millimeter before plunging into its torso just above and to the right of the naval. A wound like that would clip the liver, a fatal injury to anyone other than a Single Digit.

She still wasn't happy with it, though.

She signed and stepped back, waving her hand at the sensor to suspend the training session. The hologram dissolved as her progress was recorded, the system chiming to let her know she could proceed if she wanted to. The last strike was cast to the nearby screen, showing in slow motion her setup and execution of that blow. It was a hard thing to accomplish, even for her. Miya was right handed after all, she would always favor her guard close to those high-profile organs. The hologram was a poor imitation of Miya's skill, even running at speeds comparable to a double-digit Sekirei. In reality Miya, hell, even Mutsu would have been able to see that strike coming unless she set it up properly in a complex chain of strikes. The problem was that the hologram didn't know what her target would be. It just responded to what the computer saw her next strike would be. Not to say that it wasn't helpful to have another "swordswoman" to practice on, but it just wasn't the same as fighting someone with skill. No. 04 blew out a long sigh, sheathing her nodachi and letting her fingers drum on the hilt as she watched herself on the replay, searching for any flaws in her technique she still had to work on.

The last four days had seemed like she was living a completely different life. Ever since Sunday morning she was still coasting on a high that seemed to pervade her senses. She hadn't had anything to drink since. She'd allowed a maid to clean her quarters, bringing some life back into her bedroom as opposed to the depressing mess she had suffered through. Heck she'd even arranged for some new clothes as opposed to her uniform. She glanced at her reflection in a nearby mirror, admiring the simple workout clothes she was using: a plain matte gray top and running shorts. It was a bit different than training in her Discipline Squad uniform, she'd admit that. But it was also strangely freeing.

Her phone beeped twice from where she'd set it down. She'd started this training session at 5:30am a few moments after she woke up. Her internal clock told her it had been an hour and a half since she started, give or take five minutes. There were only three people who had this number and only two that were actually programmed into the phone. One of them would rather jump off the roof of the tower than call her for anything. The other, more recent addition to her contacts, was just about to walk into an exam that would (by her research) take four hours to complete. So that left one person.

Twenty minutes. My office.

She scowled and made to put the phone away before it chimed again.

And shower before you come. You look sweaty.

"Ass," she growled under her breath, keeping her back to where she knew he had the hidden camera.

She turned and walked towards the elevator, taking even and measured strides. She was even more annoyed at the text as usual. She knew he was always watching them, her and the others down in the sub-levels below the tower. That part didn't bother her. What really got under her skin was his childishness. And in this case also the fact she was waiting for only one text in particular.

She got in the elevator and punched in her floor code. The car moved and she let herself lean back against the cool stainless steel. Whatever Minaka wanted, chances were it was something stupid. She had cleared up all the loose ends from the Koto leak so as far as she knew, it wasn't any kind of wetwork. And if she wasn't being called into the Director's office to be given a target then she was being summoned to run an errand far below her skill set or to just be an audience for Minaka's delusions. Both had happened before.

She reached her floor and headed into her quarters, shutting the door behind her and kicking off her workout shoes and heading to the bathroom. She shook her hair from its ponytail, letting it spill down her back as she set the shower to warm up. She went back into the bedroom, selecting one of her newly-cleaned uniforms and laying it across the bed with her nodachi before stripping out of her workout clothes. As she walked back into the bathroom she paused, looking at herself in the mirror.

She had never really considered her own looks before. There had never been a reason to do so. Yes, she knew she was more "beautiful" than most of the female monkeys on this planet. So what? She had never considered it would mean anything. Now it was different. She walked closer, crossing her hands over her chest and looking at all the spots where she had been injured in her life. No marks remained on her skin, the medical technology MBI had erased any scars a Sekirei would get. She'd had her scars treated just like the rest of the Discipline Squad, even that nasty one from Miya that had nearly killed her. Her skin was smooth as marble. She turned her face, looking in the mirror in profile. Did Minato find her attractive? He did, didn't he? Or at least he would once they spent more time together. Sekirei bonds…or whatever crap Yume had peddled to her about how Ashikabi and their Sekirei grew closer.

She sighed and got in the shower, letting the warm water wash the sweat from her. The heat was pleasant, but still a far cry from what she had experienced on Sunday. She quickly washed herself and stepped out, drying and throwing her wet hair in a towel to help it. She quickly dressed herself, arming herself with her nodachi at her hip and slipped into her shoes.

She stepped into the hallway and keyed the elevator. It took a few moments to reach her, opening up to reveal the other occupant. She held back a grin, letting her eyes thin and her lips turn up in her usual disarming smile as she stepped in.

"What are you smiling about?" Takami grouched, her teeth clenched around the filter of an unlit cigarette.

"Oh nothing," she said. "Just nice to see someone who's even more annoyed by this than I am."

Takami grunted, flipping open her phone and checking it before stuffing it back into her pocket with a huff?

"Expecting something?"

The older human glared at her. "None of your business," she said.

"I beg to differ," she let her eyes open a little more. "Usually when you or him act like this, it means I'll get a phone call with a monkey's name who you want gone."

Takami turned to face her, her face set in a deep scowl. Aaaaah, there it was. Takami knew she could never hope to hurt her, but she never failed to back down. It almost made her respect the monkey.

"If there is something to be taken care of," she said, stressing the last three words, "then you'll hear about it from Minaka. Seeing as my life is none of your business, butt out. Understood?"

"Oh? The great Takami Sahashi has a life?" she grinned, turning to face the scientist. "Now I'm interested."

Before Takami could open her mouth and no doubt throw expletives at her like hand grenades, the elevator dinged, opening up onto the penthouse floor of the tower.

The top floor of MBI tower was off-limits to everyone except a handful of people, and with good reason too. The whole floor was one giant room with a desk in the center, with twenty foot tall windows that looked out across the city. At the center of it was a desk at least fifteen feet long, carved from a block of marble the same color as the floor and ceiling. There was one door in the "back" opposite the elevator where the window had a doorway cut into it, leading out onto the wraparound balcony. This whole place was the palace where one man worshiped his own ego, and it was sized appropriately to fit that ego. Her heels clicked as she walked towards the desk, her face returning to its neutral expression.

"Ah, excellent," Minaka said, kicking his feet up on his desk. He had that usual mad gleam in his eye behind his glasses. Usually that meant that people were going to die.

Fun, she purred to herself.

"What is it now?" Takami grunted, pulling out a lighter and taking a drag off her cigarette.

"Nothing, I just got bored with going over the tests," Minaka shrugged. "So…what's new with you two?"

Takami growled and raised her fist. Karasuba mentally rolled her eyes at their antics. At this rate one of them should just kill the other and be done with this buffoonery. It might even be worth watching to see Takami kick him off the roof without one of his parachutes.

"Kidding!" the director cackled and leapt up on top of his desk before Takami could lunge at him. "We're in business!"

Now that got her attention. Takami as well it would seem.

"Thanks to Number Four's removal of that nosy little Miss Koto, the nasty rumors surrounding our "illegal" takeover of the city's transportation systems are fading out," Minaka said. "I just signed the contracts now. MBI has accepted ownership of the subways, buses, and rail lines in and out of the city."

"So you're really going through with this lunacy," Takami sighed, exhaling a long jet of smoke to the side.

"Of course! Why else would I be wearing my good cape?"

"Lovely," Karasuba drawled. "I'm sure you both have a lot to talk about now. So if you'll excuse me, I have some training to take care of."

"Hold on!" Minaka raised a finger. "I didn't just call you up here to bask in my moment of triumph, Number Four. There's something else for you here as well."

Minaka climbed down off his desk and walked across to the other side to stand before them. .

"With these new acquisitions of ours, we're going to be expanding a little more rapidly than previously discussed," he said. "And seeing as how security has been a little lax as of late I feel we need to reassess."

"You're referring to Mongolia?" Takami said.

Karasuba felt her grip tighten on her sword at the mention of that desert.

"Yes, that unfortunate turn of events," Minaka said, his sadness clearly not affecting his insane grin. "I feel like it was a learning experience though. The gods have given us this challenge as a way of self-reflecting. I left too much responsibility in the hands of the unworthy and it led us here."

She wanted to split him in half right then and there. But she kept her face neutral. She had figured out his game a long time ago, all the poking and prodding he did at her was with purpose. A method to the madness, as it were. It used to be him questioning her ability to check Miya in the event the old widow decided the Sekirei Plan needed to stop. At first it did get under her skin but she learned to brush it off or calmly reassure him of her skills by decimating opponents Minaka had in the Japanese government and other organizations around the world. She knew she had a fairly even standing against Miya. Neither of them were winged and she had four more years of active combat than her old Pillar. Extraordinary things happened in the heat of battle and they both knew that. This was newer. Fresher. More personal. Her only true friend was dead and she had been powerless to stop it. Minaka knew her thought process, and was well-aware of all the guilt she had placed on herself that had driven her into that three-week spiral.

"So, in the interest of security, I'm reducing your field duties Number Four," he said.

She blinked, but kept the rest of her surprise under wraps.

"While the removal of Miss Koto was beneficial to the plan, I'm afraid we won't be able to solve all the problems we encounter with theatrics and misdirection," he said. "Therefore you'll be kept in reserve as more of a "last resort" in case conventional means fail."

"So you expect me to stay around the tower do you?" she asked, her thumb brushing the hilt of her sword in barely-concealed irritation. "Shall I stand guard outside your office for the little demons you think are coming for you?"

Minaka cackled and leaned against his desk, looking out the window. "I had considered installing a gargoyle pedestal for you by the door but Takami stopped that one in its infancy."

She let herself scowl at him for that one. From the corner of his eye she could see Takami giving him the same look. Minaka simply shrugged as his joke fell flat. "No, I think your talents are best kept in reserve for now. Failing another security breach I don't think we'll need your services until the plan starts."

He turned and walked towards the double doors to the balcony. "Consider it a vacation if you will, some time to reflect properly on these last few weeks without taking solace in a bottle. Or you can go and find Number Three and join her in those endeavors as you wallow in self-pity for your failure."

Her eyes flared open and she switched her grip on her sword. Now that was going too far. He had crossed a line. She'd cut him for that insolence, finally see some blood from someone who'd had it coming for the last decade. Something jumped out in front of her, stopping her from actually drawing the blade. Takami's hand hovered just above her own, not touching her but close enough for her to feel the slight warmth from her skin. She looked to her left and saw Takami looking at her with stern eyes. It wasn't an expression of authority, they both knew Takami had nothing that gave her that power. It was an expression of caution.

Think about what you're about to do. You know what the consequences of this are.

Her lip curled and she released the sword, her knuckles cracking as the tension in her bones dissipated. Takami nodded at her briefly as Minaka neared the door. She was about to turn and leave, sensing the meeting was over before the white-haired scientist jerked her head at Minaka. She paused as Takami walked over to his desk, lifting Minaka's tablet off the polished surface. She studied it briefly…and then whipped it across the room with the force of an olympic shot put. The flimsy tablet collided with the back of Minaka's head with a crack, drawing a yelp from the man as his face launched forwards against the glass doors. There was a bonk that reverberated around the room as he hung there, slumped against the glass. After a moment he began to slide down, his cheeks dragging against the polished surface with the same screech as a dry squeegee being dragged against a dirty window. Takami didn't even bother looking back at her, rolling up her sleeve as she walked towards him to continue the beat down. It wasn't the same as her own way of exacting satisfaction, but she had to admit it was entertaining.

She walked back to the elevator as the sounds of abuse reached her ears, keying in the training floor. Even though Minaka was a reminder about why you don't pull a tiger's tail, she had a good bit of anger to work through before she was ready to talk to a monkey again.

If only she had an adequate training partner to maim.

XXX

If only he had some headphones.

Minato couldn't remember the last time he had wanted to listen to music. Noise was usually a distraction to him when he was doing math. But that only applied when the math was hard enough to warrant his full concentration. Engineering math was some of the most detail oriented stuff out there, just short of nuclear physics. Trigonometry, statistical analysis, calculus, advanced algebra, all things that made some of the best and brightest people he had ever met scratch their heads. Then you factor in the harder portions of the test: chemistry (both organic and inorganic) on the college level, biology, basic principles of experimental physics. He had been obsessing over these things for the better part of a month, convinced that if he didn't know absolutely everything he wouldn't pass and would be a failure to everyone who he knew.

But the test in front of him felt like child's play.

The answers were flowing out of him and he couldn't stop it. His head rested against his left palm as his pencil scratched out the answer to a trig problem. The exam hall was silent except for the scratching of pencils against paper and the click of fingers against calculators. It was an oddly familiar setting to him, having spent so much time testing into academic fame in high school in similar halls full of ambitious and terrified kids. He had been like them at one point. But for once he was completely relaxed. He set the pencil down, letting his eyes flit over the terms of the problem and then checking his solution in his head. It checked out. He moved on to the next one. And the next one. And the next.

After what seemed like days of just trudging through a pile of easy problems the exam booklet lay in front of him, completed with his name and test ID number on it, 17664223. He felt…numb. It was over. It had been too easy. Had he done that much preparation? Or was he just being cocky? If he was cocky, then that means he had gone too fast. Fast meant he made mistakes. Enough mistakes could cost him this, his chance at finally proving to his mother he could make it on his own! He grabbed his pencil again, looking at the time on the clock. Two hours remained. He had time to fix this! He grabbed the edge of the test book…and paused.

I made it here, he realized. I didn't die on my way here. So I did enough.

He sucked in a deep breath and set his pencil down, swallowing the lump of stress building in his chest and raised a shaking hand. The scratch of pencils stopped around him. He kept his eyes focused on the front page of the test book, knowing that everyone in the room was looking at him like he was insane to finish this early…or that he was tapping out and leaving in disgrace. The sound of footsteps approached him from the front of the room. He looked up to see the disapproving stare of the middle-aged proctor standing before him.

"Yes, Mr. Sahashi?"

He lifted the book off the table and offered it to the man. "I'm…I'm done with this exam."

The man blew out a sigh. "Alright then," he said. "There's no shame in admitting you're over your head."

"No. I finished," he said.

"You…you finished?"

He nodded. "All my work is shown as well," he said, trying to keep his expression from betraying the anxiety pounding in his head. "Um…may I leave now?"

The proctor thumbed through the book, skimming the pages of answers with a sharp gaze until he reached the end. "Well…this is a first, but I suppose seeing as you are done and have turned in your book, you are free to go. But you'll have to wait until we post all the results this afternoon to see how well you did."

He nodded, collecting his things and standing. "Thank you," he gave a short bow before quickly walking towards the exit, keeping his head low to avoid catching the gaze of the other students. He reached the door and opened it, walking out until he was sure the door had closed behind him.

Then he ran.

His feet pounded against the polished tiles as he sprinted out of the building, desperate to put as much distance between him and the exam as humanly possible with his stamina. He burst out onto the sidewalk a minute later, bent over with his hands on his knees panting. Slowly, he caught his breath and stood up, looking over his shoulder at the gates to the university.

It was over.

There was no going back.

He swallowed the last remnants of his exhaustion and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. His hand gripped his phone. Should he text her now? Let her know that it was done?

She said if I passed, he thought. I haven't passed yet.

Karasuba definitely seemed like the type of person who would hate trivial messages. If he hadn't passed what would be the point of texting her anyway except to apologize for wasting her time? He turned and let go of his phone, wandering around the university's fence. It would be a while until the results were posted, and if his fate was sealed now at least he could get a last meal before the axe fell.

He found a burger place nearby, a city chain he had tried a few times before. Greasy, artery clogging stuff that made you want to take a nap after. He got a double bacon cheeseburger and fries and sat by the window. The food helped wash the bad taste of stress from his mouth, but it did nothing to assuage the knot forming in his chest. He put the food down and rested his forehead against his hands. He wondered what Karasuba would say if she saw him like this. Probably nothing…she'd just walk away without saying anything. He scowled and shook those thoughts away. He shouldn't be thinking this way. He had no way of knowing if he had passed or failed. So until then he should just enjoy himself. If he…no, when he passed he was going to find out what she meant by a celebration. He deserved that much. He took an angry bite of his burger and stared out the window of the restaurant, watching the traffic go by.

He had three hours until his execution, so to speak. He should do his best to enjoy them. If only he had his headphones to drown out the anxious thoughts in the back of his head trying to prevent that.

XXX

His jaw hung open as he gazed at the number looking back at him. His exam number and his name. He had spent the better part of ten minutes looking for it, fighting the crowds of students to get close enough to read the small print. At first he thought he hadn't passed or something had happened since he had turned his test book in so early. Maybe the proctor had misplaced it? But then he had been shoved closer and closer to the far end of the board, where the higher scores had been placed. And he had seen it out of the corner of his eye.

17664223, Sahashi Minato

Passed.

With a perfect score.

He gawked at it for a few more moments before shoving his hand down into his pocket and pulling out his phone, jumbling with it a few times before opening it and snapping a photo of the board. He did it. A wild whoop of enthusiasm escaped his throat as he shoved his way back through the crowd. He fucking did it! Some other students shot him dirty looks as he moved through the campus with the biggest grin humanly possible on his face.

He flipped his phone open again, opened up the text, and sent the image. The next chapter of his life had started. And he had done it all on his own.

XXX

The phone dropped from her hand as she read the message. It clattered on the floor, bouncing twice before coming to a rest on the tile. She stood there in the middle of the hallway back to her room, eyes wide open as her brain scrambled to process the information she had just received.

Exam Number 17664223, Sahashi Minato

Passed.

Sahashi Minato.

Oh…fuck.

If the gods really did exist they must have been rolling on the floor laughing at her at that moment. She knew Takami had children but that was the extent of her knowledges. Not their names, not their appearances. She'd never had reason to care about the white haired scientist beyond the assignments she was given! She snatched her phone up from the floor and stormed into her bedroom, sitting down on her bed and holding her head in her hands.

This…this was bad. This was worse than actually reacting to an Ashikabi before the Sekirei were supposed to be released. The one monkey who could make her feel the way she was feeling, the way Yume had promised would give her real strength, was the son of the woman tasked with overseeing the Plan. How the fuck was she supposed to hide the fact she was winged from someone like Takami in the first place, not to mention how was she supposed to keep Minato from blabbing to his mother about her!?

Breathe, she told herself. You've handled much worse than Takami.

She got to her feet, tapping her phone against her hand. Did she even have options here? She wouldn't accept another for her Ashikabi, the very thought of anyone other than Minato made her skin crawl. Could she get rid of Takami? She chuckled at the thought. That was a funny thought; kill her Ashikabi's mother so she could wing herself on the woman's son. Even Matsu's soap operas had a more feasible plan than that. She pursed her lips. There was also the matter of what she had already told Minato. As far as he knew she was just a regular human who worked a job at MBI.

She paused and looked up at the ceiling. What was wrong with him thinking that? As long as he didn't know the truth, there was no danger of him running to his mother. He probably didn't even know she worked at MBI. The Sekirei Plan was a secret that only a handful of people knew. The scientists working on the tuning process were sworn to secrecy. She'd once had to kill a few of them who'd tried to sell secrets and after that the rest of them clammed up about their jobs. Minato was not close with his mother at all. Takami probably didn't care what he was doing either.

She could do this. She had a few ideas forming already. There were definitely people within MBI who could be threatened into helping her get what she needed. And then she could have her Ashikabi. Not yet though, there was still one major question that had to be answered. But that could wait. She had to have her story in place fully before even considering her wings. She took a deep breath and flipped her phone back open, dialing Minato's number.

It rang once.

Twice.

"Hello?"

She couldn't stop a grin from spreading across her face at the sound of his voice. The pull returned in full force.

"Well, well, well," she said. "You certainly don't disappoint."

"I made a promise, didn't I?" he said. "A man keeps his word."

She chuckled and sat back down on her bed, leaning back on her free hand. "What did your mother have to say about this?"

"I haven't heard from her yet," he said. "So far I just told you."

A spark of…warmth ignited in her chest. It was an alien feeling, even more so than the pull. He had told her, a stranger, before his own mother?

"Um…are you still there?"

"Yes," she blinked, shoving the strange feeling back down inside her. "Yes, I'm here Minato. Now…I think I owe you a celebration, don't I?"

"You really don't have to," he said, making her brow furrow. "I, ah, just want to thank you for what you said on Sunday. I would have probably failed if you hadn't come along. So…thank you."

"Oh? What did I say that inspired you so much?"

"It wasn't what you said," he sounded sheepish admitting it. "It was more that you cared. You gave me way more support than I probably deserved, definitely way more than I got from my family."

Her smile widened. That was something she could use down the line.

"Well then you're welcome," she said. "But I insist on the celebration. You're not going to refuse my offer now, are you?"

"Well…if you insist," he said.

"Good," she purred. "I'll send you the address. Meet me there tonight at 7:30 sharp."

"Of course," she could hear the smile on his face through the phone. "See you there!"

She hung up and let herself fall back to the bed. She had a few hours to get ready and put some things in motion before meeting him for their…this was a date wasn't it? A first date at that. A dry chuckle escaped her. If her old squad had seen her like this she'd have to threaten to gouge out their tongues with a spoon to avoid them telling Miya. Or in Matsu's case, actually gouge out her tongue to keep that blabbermouth quiet. She, MBI's Black Dog, was going on a date with Takami Sahashi's son, who was under the impression that she was just a normal human. Kazehana would have never let her hear the end of it.

Good thing nobody was going to find out.