A/N: I think now would be a good a time as any to address where I've been for the past year. I've been through a lot of ups and downs. Bridges were burnt with my toxic family, friendships were mended, and my future, all things considered, seems brighter after having established credit.

As cliche as it sounds my life has been an emotional rollercoaster, and my bi-polar has made it much more intense. But the fact I'm still here in spite of all of it is something that I feel counts for a lot. Needless to say, I feel it's helped influence me and the direction I want to take with Veil, which is now a solo project. Chapters won't be nearly as lengthy or detailed and fleshed out as when mordreek was assisting me (seriously, thanks again for being there for Veil when I was struggling with my many demons), but it's all coming from my heart now and that's what matters.

It ain't dead yet, guys. Not while my heart is beating.

Premeditation

A soft breeze and the calm of the midnight hour left Karasuba pondering as she gazed at the glittering city lights. The view through the glass wall of the discipline squad's private suite, though grand, was lost on Karasuba. The idea of turning the discipline squad from a trio into a quartet was profoundly intriguing, to say nothing of their potential new member's sadism rivalling her own.

She withdrew her nodachi, it's blade glinting in the light of the full moon. A sudden gale startled ravens from their path as they flew past the glass, curving until they soared in the direction of her mesmerised staring.

Her mind then gave her sight back so she could behold her reflection, her imagination soon morphing it into the mystery Sekirei known as Enma.

"We'll see how well you can manipulate the game once those strings are severed."

XXX-Meanwhile, down the hall in the washroom…-XXX

A heavy moan burst through Benitsubasa's abdomen in spite of her strained attempt to hush it. Her bare breasts, as petite as they were, pancaked against the wall of the stall upon steeling herself as the shower shrouded her hot, sweaty body in a cloud of steam. Her fingers trailed deeply between her legs as her fantasies moistened her oily petals.

"God...Natsuo...I need it. I need you so fuckin' badly now!"

Her imagination went mad as saliva dripped from her chin. Her grunts became more feral sounding as her teeth gnashed together, churning her lust.

An imagined likeness of her beloved appeared as he did last she saw him, which was only three minutes ago…

Emerging from the bathroom, smelling of soap and deodorant with only a small towel around his waist and small beads of water still trailing from his pecs and dripping hair.

"Please, Natsuo," She moaned in a cracked voice. "Take me. Hard! It's my first time, but I want it deep! Nail me good!"

"Sure thing, baby."

The apparition undid the towel, allowing his throbbing manhood to catapult into fresh air. Benitsubasa's jaw dropped in shock, but that soon melted into bliss as she felt so close to her dreams coming true.

His transparent hands slapped to her hips, giving her finely toned rear a good squeeze as he lined himself up and smeared the head all around her juicy fuck hole.

Her pupils dilated as she anticipated his first thrust; their first joining, by aligning her fingers where his erection would be. His hips swung forward with no hesitation, and she let out the lewdest groan she'd ever panted. Her body gave way and went limp, letting him do the dirty work.

"Yes, pound me deep! I want it all! Ravage me like I was your uke!"

As her climax came closer to the light, the image of her lover faded as quickly as it came, a final thrust of her fingers had her eyes roll back, as her mind went blank and head swung back upon climax.

She collapsed in a panting heap and remained still save for some sporadic twitching in her arms and feet.

As the relief of gushing her ovaries all over the showerstall set in, her mind came back to. She pouted, hanging her head, rolling over and cradling herself in a fetal position.

She wanted to cry, but the moment was cut short as a rumbling from above was heard followed by a high pitched 'eep!'.. She opened her eyes to find Haihane had collapsed beside her, also naked...and pleasuring herself.

Her sadness then turned to embarrassed rage.

"Haihane…" She said, dragging the name out with grit teeth.

"Uh, heh heh, this is awkward…fancy seeing you here, Miss Squirty."

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

XXX-Meanwhile, back at Maison Isumo-XXX

"Do you really think Minaka would fall for something like that?" Minato uttered.

"I don't think it's something we have to get him to fall for, really." Matsu glared back. "He made it clear that he wants Enma, and Enma is Uzume. He's likely just making this game as an entertaining side quest of sorts to spice up the plan and give himself something to keep occupied with until the next stage."

The secret entrance creaked open, and a loud yawn drew the two from the monitors.

"Tis three in the morning, Matsu, what hast thee been blathering on about for the last hour? I needest my rest."

"Sorry, I was trying to keep it down. I guess I really should invest in a non-mechanical keyboard. This thing is way too clicky." not to mention sticky… she added in a passing thought, turning back to the monitors.

"Matsu was just filling me in on how we could go about helping Uzume and Chiho. I didn't know we've been up for so long. Sorry for the disturbance."

Tsukiumi shook the sleep from her eyes as they widened. She stepped forward. "No no, tis alright. I've been incapable of sleep myself with all that's happened. I've been deep in thought over it all, trying to piece together my own behaviors and how it nearly forced us all apart."

Minato gave her a warm smile, patting her on the shoulder and pulling her in close. "It's alright, it's all water under the bridge now. Don't let it shackle you. Learn from it and use the knowledge you gained to better yourself."

Tsukiumi smiled and nodded. "I will." her mind trailed to the prior subject. "Now, what is it that you both were discussing?"

Matsu leaned back on her mattress, her head plopping between Tsukiumi's legs.

Tsukiumi took a startled gasp and took a few steps back from Matsu's head, pushing down her skirt with a reddened face. "Thou has some nerve!"

Matsu stuck out her tongue playfully. She fixed her specs with the tip of her finger and spoke, "My idea is to essentially stage a false winging between Enma and Chiho."

"A false winging? Are they not already bonded? That's absurd."

"To all of us here, yes...but to everyone else...not so much. We're the only ones in the Capital that know of Uzume's dirty little secret, and that's a good thing."

"How so?"

"It keeps Minaka out of the know of Enma's real identity of course! If word got out about Uzume and Enma being one in the same Minaka would have never bothered with this 'side quest' to begin with. He would have just saw Enma and Chiho as another player in the game at large and no offer for Squad status would have been offered."

"Could Uzume not just tell Minaka of the circumstances and allow her and Chiho refuge at the tower anyway?"

Matsu trailed off and looked to the room's corner with a rather 'hand caught in cookie jar' expression. "If only it were that simple...Uzume is kinda sorta on Minaka's shit list like I am. I won't go into too much detail, but she got me out of a jam involving the squad and since she was an accomplice to that it's best to not have Uzume stir the pot until Chiho is free from Higa's influence."

Minato's eyebrow raised. "Matsu, what happened? What did you do?"

"Oh, it's nothing! I swear! It's not important!"

"If you don't want to tell us, then can you at least let us know if this would affect Chiho in any way? Would we be saving her from one manipulator to drop her into the arms of another?"

"Absolutely not! Minaka would ensure Chiho's safety once Enma is sworn into the squad. We just need to keep hush on the Uzume is Enma part until that happens."

"And how are we to make it happen?" Tsukiumi lamented. "How will we stage the winging?"

"Bottom line, we just need to get Chiho outside and away from Higa and the hospital staff. But that's easier said than done. I doubt Chiho would be open to a deranged flesh ripping maniac creeping up on her in broad daylight and getting a smooch from her. It might scare her to the point where she loses consciousness. In her condition that could be fatal."

"So what you're saying is that we must find a way to tell Chiho that Enma is Uzume so it doesn't come off as a total out of nowhere thing? Ok, then let us pay her a visit, tell her in person, and then go forward with the plan."

"That wouldn't work." Minato added. "Chiho told me herself that Higa listens to everything. He records all of her daily activities like Windows 10. No privacy at all. And the only reason she was able to tell me anything about anything that night I saw her was because the power to the facility went out for a bit and even that was a risk to her."

"So pray tell, we need to get her in on it and find a way to avoid anyone else becoming savvy to it all is what thou are saying?"

"Yes."

"Things can never be simple, can they be?"

XXX-Chiho's Hospital Room-XXX

"Is that all for today nurse?" Chiho asked as she was calmly wheeled back to her room.

"Yes, that's everything for now, Miss Hidaka. Is there anything you need before I leave?"

"Yes, can you bring me over to the window and open it for me? I'd like to get some fresh air as I watch the sunrise."

"Of course hun."

The nurse wheeled her over to the bedside, undoing the latches and hoisting it about three-quarters the way up. She locked the chair's brakes with her feet and did a routine check of the IV fluids running into Chiho's arm.

"Is that all?"

"For now. Thank you."

Handing her patient the call button, the nurse took her leave. "Okay, just press the button if you need us for anything."

"I will, thanks again."

Chiho closed her eyes, filling her nostrils with the fresh air of the new morning before letting out a delighted exhale. Her hands came to rest on the window sill and she leaned forward, lapsing into her daydreams all the while anticipating life on the outside someday. Watching the cars go by and the leaves crinkle about in the breeze. She longed for it all.

Her gaze drifted down to a bush beside a mighty oak not far off in the distance. She smiled, familiar with the spot. Not long after, a rabbit emerged with a quick, though cautious hop. The floofball looked domesticated, as it was a fair bit larger than wild rabbits. Odds are the poor thing was abandoned here. It began to stand, periscoping the area on its hind legs.

"Every morning, you join me in greeting the dawn."

Her eyes then fluttered with a gasp as not long after, another domestic rabbit soon joined the first, huddling close to her friend like two loaves of bread squishing close to one another.

"I see you have found a companion, good for you." she said, smiling.

As the sun's immensity dragged the shadows ever longer, the rabbits retreated back to their leafy haven deep in the woods. A freedom Chiho knew was not far off for her.

XXX-Construction Site, Late Evening-XXX

The whistle which signified the end of an oddly long work day sounded off, drawing a sigh of relief from a spent Minato. As he went to stretch his arms and hang his hard hat, a strong pat on the back sent a shockwave through his sternum, doubling him over.

"Oof!"

He turned to find it was Seo. Save for the grossly noticeable dark patches of sweat dotting his wife-beater, he seemed upbeat.

"Hey small fry, workin' hard I see."

Minato coughed, a reaction to the blow knocking what little wind the day's shift drained from him. "Yeah, things were pretty strenuous this time. What are you doing here? I thought you quit a while ago."

He winked, pulling the ronin in for a noogie. "I did, but that doesn't mean I can't come by to say hello to my good friend while I'm out and about with my ladies."

A lightning bolt cracks between the two, causing them to jump opposite to each other. Minato lands on his rear.

"Dammit, Seo! Just give him the invite and let's get going! We're going to be late for your job interview of you dither about any longer!"

"Alright, alright! Chill! I got this, Hikari!"

A lightning bolt fries him. "I'm Hibiki, you moron!"

"I'm sorry, okay! You know you don't need to follow me wherever I go! I got this!"

"Bullshit," the other twin said, zapping him. "This is the third time this month you've missed your chance at a job interview! We aren't letting you miss another! Is that clear!"

He waved them off, "Yeah, yeah, I got this."

"What are they talking about, Seo? What are you inviting me to? Some sort of party?"

"No...err, well, maybe. It's an onsen. Ashikabi and Sekirei are going to be gathering there for a mutual get together after the next stage starts. Figured you'd like to join us. You need to loosen up."

He hands Minato the flier, who skims through it for a quick moment.

"Looks like it's going to happen in a few weeks...sometime after Minaka plans to terminate all the unwinged Sekirei..."

"Yeah, I think we need to get out with our girls more often and have some fun every now and then." He leaned in, whispering into Minato's ear. "And between you and me, they encourage mixed bathing."

Minato's heart skipped as a feeling of dejavu swept over him. Like the day Musubi stumbled in on him all 'swollen' and in need of immediate care.

He pinched his nose before the blood could flow as Seo left, flashing him a pearly cheshire grin. "Anyway, I gotta get going. I hope to see you there so we can punch another hole in our man cards. Well, in your case it'd probaby be the first for you, but still. Catch ya later, kiddo."

Minato waved back as he trailed off with his twins. Deep down though he couldn't help but feel a familiar sting. That one stabbing sensation at his self-esteem that he had never been able to quite ignore. Even though Seo was clearly joking, the topic of lacking 'real man' behavior never did his confidence any favors. It always ruined his day hearing that even in jest.

After running to the showers to clean off all the grime of the day, he found someone waiting for him as he exited the premises. It was Uzume.

"Hey, Uzume, what's up?"

She took a slight step forward and there was a long pause for a moment. As a smile grew on her face she reached out to him without a word and grabbed his hand...then leapt skyward.

Minato screamed as they soared several dozen stories into the dusk horizon, landing on one of the highest steel girders overlooking the suburbs and beyond into the city. Once she was sure his feet were steady, she let his hand go and turned towards the vista of Shinto Teito, gesturing him to do the same.

"Great view, isn't it, Minato?"

Peaking his eyes with his hand he turned to the dusk view of the cityscape, taking it all in as he took in steady breaths through his smile. "Wow... I never knew how beautiful the city looked from this high up at sunset."

She aimed a finger towards the tallest building with lungs full of confidence. "Our future lies in that tower, Minato. Chiho's survival, it all comes to a head in three weeks…"

Minato stared at her, eyes glossy. Uzume…

"But that's then. This is now." she went to sit, letting her legs dangle over the edge and hair flow gracefully in the wind. "Come sit with me. I'd like to talk."

"Sure." He did as asked, hunching over from the day's exhaustion. Maintaining proper posture as nearly impossible at the moment for him, not that it was a real habit doing so to begin with. A shameful reminder which in his mind bolstered this outlook of himself as 'not manly enough'. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything really. I just want to have my time alone with you so we can chat. We may not get to do it often in the coming days, and it's a shame."

"I agree. There's so little time to be made, so I suppose every second leading up to that day counts."

She nodded, gazing towards the sunset as it descended lower and lower. Then her eyes went down to her lap, deep in thought. "Minato, I want you to listen to me, and listen well."

"Sure, if you have something to tell me, say it. I'm here to listen."

"Minato, you're not a real man."

The ronin's mind came to a sudden halt. "...huh?"

"You're not a real man. And that's because 'real men' don't exist. Everyone's impression of what makes someone a 'real man' is different. It's meaningless, has no definition, and is based solely on opinion."

A moment of silence went by, Minato's jaw hanging slightly open, unsure where this was leading. "Not a real man?"

"I like you for who you are, Minato. Not because you have some rockin' sexy body or financial success. Don't stop being you. Promise me that."

"Where did this come all of a sudden, Uzume?"

"Promise me!" She said, sternly.

"I promise."

"Reflection, observation, that comment Seo made before he left. I heard that smug prick."

"He was just joking."

"Sure, but I can see on your face that it hurts you. It hurts your heart so much inside that the pain you feel in your body from today's shift pales in comparison."

"I think you're looking too much into it."

"Don't lie. I'm a Sekirei. We feel the pain of those we care for." She throws her arms around him, pulling him into her chest. "And those who care for us. It's a pain you've felt in your heart your whole life. One which still needs mending. Your environment influenced you to have this mindset that you're lesser. That because you were born with a set of testicles you have an obligation to be tough and resilient. Strong, muscular, and full of confidence. All this in spite of the circumstances you were raised in growing up."

Minato exhales, mellowing into her voice.

"That's why I hate that saying so much. 'Real man'. It's so belittling to those who may not have had the privilege of having proper emotional support growing up, or those who don't feel the need to get in shape. Anyone who's taken the time and energy to really get to know you and see you work and how much you sacrifice for those you love can see how strong you are on the inside. Sure, today may have winded you and you'll be sore tomorrow, but think about it. So many people with your upbringing with the level of self-esteem you've had would have looked into substance abuse or self-harm to cope with it all. But yet you haven't. You're here, with all the love in the world to give people, and almost everyone around you that's supposed to have cared about you takes that all for granted. That it took Sekirei, women who are literally out of this world to see the potential in you and embrace it is insulting. It's unbelievable how fickle some humans can be, and that's not gender specific."

"But I…"

"No buts, Minato. You are worthy of all the love that comes your way and so much more. For people to put you down the way they have is nothing short of a crying shame. I still can't grasp what in the hell the twins see in Seo. Sure he has his good points, but not enough to make up for his toxicity. The guy is a slob, a lazy mooch who can't maintain a job and has to constantly panhandle to feed himself. Plus he gropes them in public on a whim. He shows no inclination of wanting to change for the better, and he thinks just because he's more physically able than you are that he's worth more to society? Who's the one who still has the physically demanding job again?!"

Minato felt the passion in her words. He found it difficult to hold back tears. "It's because he's confident and I'm not."

She pushes Minato back, looking into his teary eyes, filled with the heartache of so much self-doubt. "Bullshit. I'm 'confident' that if you were to switch lives with him from birth you would be a billion times more successful than he is and he would be resorting to either self-harm or substance abuse to put up with the emotional pain you've had to experience your whole life. Let's see who the one complaining about a lack of confidence would be then!" She pats him on the back, pulling him into another hug. "Don't you dare undercut yourself and your strength, Minato. Sure, you may not win a fight with him but you are a lot more resilient than you've given yourself credit for."

Minato took a moment to ponder. He had never really thought things through this way. Perhaps all he needed really was an encouraging and a supportive environment to realize his strengths. For someone to show him how strong he really was since the circumstances he was raised in never did...

"So I guess what I'm saying, Minato…" she gives him the biggest grin ever. "Is just remain who you are at heart. Everything I see here beside me I'd have no other way, and anyone else who truly loves and values you would see that in its entirety. They would not let material bullshit such as money, power, or looks get in the way of that. And those who wouldn't? Fuck 'em. By all, means let those superficial slimeballs have their musclehead degenerate sex fantasies and cry about it later in life when they get dumped by the wayside and replaced with another within a week and wonder where they went wrong. Their opinion is only relevant if you make it so. Don't give them influence over you by letting it affect your ability to live life happy. They aren't worth that effort because they themselves are toxic. You're too good for them. "

"It's so difficult though…" he hung his head.

"Let's put it this way…" she presents her hands before herself like a scale. "What makes more sense to cater towards," her left hand bobs up and down. "You doing you and being happy and attracting those who like you for you…" the right hand starts bobbing. "Or trying to conform to what others want so they can 'respect' and 'accept' you for fitting in with everyone else at the expense of what you want?"

"That's a good point..."

She continued with the option weighing. "Who's opinion is worth gravitating more towards? That of your Sekirei who saw the good in you and want to bring it out into the open, or that twin groping jobless scumbag that can only see potential skin-deep?"

He starts laughing. "Yeah, you're right. It seems pretty silly now, all things considered."

"It's not silly, Minato. You've been hurt and there is nothing silly about that. You see yourself as unworthy of us because you don't feel able to give as much as others do. Because you're not rich. Because you failed the entrance exam for the second time. Because so many other guys are full of confidence. Think about it, Minato. If someone loved you , they wouldn't care if you had any of that success. Furthermore the only reason they'd attach themselves to you if you had all of a sudden gained all of that would be to mooch off and use you. They'd use you like Seo does with his twins. Musubi, Matsu, Kuu, Tsukiumi, myself, and whoever else there will be when our story is over? We're all with you in spite of it because we truly do love you and see the good you have to offer. Fuck those other 'successful' people. They would take all of us for granted because of their 'success'!"

"Love?"

Uzume stroked his face, gazing deep into his eyes. "Yes Minato. I love you."

He held her palm close to his cheek, letting the warmth deep into his skin. "I lived my whole life up to this point trying to please everybody. Make everyone happy because that's all I knew. But now it seems to be all in perspective. I do deserve it, all of my Sekirei, and you. From heart and resolve alone."

"That's right." she leans forward, locking her lips to his. "And you also deserve to have every bit of what I'm going to give you right now."

Minato gasped as Uzume tackled him down to his back. He went to breathe, but the action had been cut off by her lips pressing against his again with more force and friction.

She comes to her knees, still straddling him beneath the orange sky. "You know, sweetie…" She begins to pull off her top, breaking the spittle which bridged their lips. "They say doing it in public is a lot more exciting…"

Mouth in gape, Minato stares in awe at her cleavage, held tightly together by a pink bra. She lets her number 10 shirt drift off with the wind as she begins to rock her hips above his groin.

"Hard...as expected…"

Minato could hardly contain himself as she grinds her unbuttoned jeans against his stiff rod, all the while her longing expression oozed with excitement...and saliva. Godalmighty, I'm going to fucking melt...

"Is it time for a round of horny horseshoes already?! Because I want in!"

Minato's ticker stopped briefly, his chin skyrocketing to meet the eyes of Kazehana who was seated on a girder across and above them, half-empty bottle in hand. "Kazehana?! What the- Whoa!"

Uzume let out a pleasured gasp, and both began to wobble. The two began to lose their balance, as Minato's chin wasn't the only thing that jutted upward in surprise. Before they could process what was happening, the two rolled off the steel girder, with 30 stories separating them from the ground. They both screamed, albeit briefly as the two were saved by the drunken Sekirei's wind powers.

"Thanks Kazehana," Minato uttered. "You're a life save-agh!"

This, however didn't do much as it didn't prevent Minato's noggin from boinking off one of the steel girders on the way down.

"Oh no, Minato!" Uzume gasped, worried staring into the corkscrewing swirls where his eyes should be as a ghost started floating out of his mouth. She shook him by the collar in attempt to wake him. No use. Kid was out cold. Well, one head was at least if the bulging mass between her thighs were any indication.

A moment later they were let gently on the ground. Uzume takes several deep breaths, rolling off of Minato.

Kazehana approaches, legs wobbly as she takes another swig. "Is he okay?"

Uzume glares back at her, eyes growing stern.

"W-what's that look for? Is that anyway to address the person that saved you?"

"Why did you need to insist on butting in and ruining our special moment?"

"Hey, hey!" Kazehana blushed embarrassedly, backing away with her hands in front."You know this is my favorite spot to get loaded! Deep down somewhere you had to know you weren't alone!"

Uzume clenched her fist and showed her canines as Kazehana tried giggling it off. "Screw you!"

A/N: That concludes this long overdue installment. I hope with my new found direction I can update this fic on a more frequent basis. Initially, I didn't plan to have Uzume tell Minato she loved him this soon (let alone dry hump him in public) but given how many hiatuses I've taken with this story I feel its best to get to the point sooner than later.

I hope the 'real man' discussion Uzume and Minato had didn't come off as too forced or preachy. The message was to come off as "You're worth more than what a societal standard would dictate and you shouldn't become something you don't identify with just to appease those who won't accept that and put you down for not fitting the mold". Its something that I'm living my life by at the moment and I find I'm a lot more confident in my ability and comfortable in my own skin since having gotten this mindset. It took years for me to see the good in myself, and the way I did was by showing myself that everyone who said ill of my ability and potential when I was younger was wrong.

People told me I wouldn't be responsible caring for a rabbit on my own and it would be lucky to live 3 months, and here we are 3 years later and he's still alive, happy and healthy. It started a snowball effect of "Ok they were dead wrong about me caring for the bunny, so I wonder what else they were wrong about?" Turns out it was quite a lot and it feels damn good being able to make them eat their words as I forge my own path. Whether it be my toxic family or that plagiarist that ripped off Veil who I've since ousted over on Deviant Art, I feel more self-sufficient than ever and I feel the personal journey I've taken can be reflected here in this story.

I'll try to keep things coming more regularly. I've since rebooted my Saw fic as well, so I'd appreciate some eyes over that way too.

On a final note, for those who are interested, I've taken it upon myself to make a Sekirei fanfiction-related discord server in an attempt to get the community closer knit. If anyone's interested in joining, shoot me a PM. It's still under construction at the moment, but I feel having a place to discuss writing with other like-minded Sekirei fans can do wonders to keep me motivated and may help you as well.