A/N: Hey dudes. Been a while. It took quite a bit of time for me to get this chapter just right.
I'd like to thank both Seprith Li Castia and Kerlongsj for being a source of inspiration to get my ass back to being productive again.
Oh and on that note, I've also started a youtube channel where I plan to do vlogs and other shit like streaming video games. If anyone's been interested in what I look like, go subscribe! The channel name is my fanfiction pen name Phen0m20.
Pineapple Hearts
Part IV
A smirk oozing with overconfidence grew over Benitsubasa's lips as she maintained stance and focused on Musubi. "I'll end this one nice 'n quick." she thought passively.
She leaped forward with graceful ferocity, gloved fist clenched tightly and swinging for the fences...only to miss.
Musubi had sidestepped the punch, the momentum of following through causing Benitsubasa to lose her footing. She literally rolled with the force and slid back on her feet and fingertips. "Hmm, no way is this chick a human. Must be another Sekirei. This should be fun…"
Musubi clapped her hands and jumped for joy. "That was a great punch you threw!" She exclaimed, then pulled her arms to her sides as if going Super Saiyan. "Now it's my turn! Try and keep up now!"
She charged in at Benitsubasa, choosing to mix things up a bit with a knee strike aimed at her abdomen. It was quickly thwarted by the crossing of Benitsubasa's forearms. An attempt at a kick to the exposed side of her face followed and was swiftly ducked under. The Red Sekirei took this moment to attempt to trip her up with the sweeping of Musubi's legs with her shin. Again, the maneuver was avoided thanks to Musubi cartwheeling back and hopping away with the push of her hands.
As the two remained distanced, a cheer roared from the still-growing crowd of spectators.
Minato was flabbergasted by the showing of athleticism on both their parts being put to display. "Damn. Neither of them even landed their first hit yet and we have cheers already."
The same could be said for Uzume. "Mhm, Benitsubasa is a fist type just like Musubi if I remember correctly, so it makes sense that they'd be evenly matched."
"Evenly matched? I doubt it." an unfamiliar voice drew their attention from the discussion. A girl with silver hair and bandages was now standing between Uzume and Minato, munching on a corndog. "In all likelihood Red is just toying with her."
"And just who are you to say that?" Minato questioned.
The woman halted her nibbling of the corndog. "Let's just say I'm her partner."
Uzume peered at her curiously. "Partner as in…?"
The emo chick's eyes widened and cheeks flushed pink as she realized what she was getting at. "Oh, we just work together. I didn't mean to word that as if we were dating."
The two sparring aliens kept going at it full force, trying desperately to outmaneuver the other. Punches and kicks were blocked and attempts at grappling were slithered out of. Knowing the rules to the Sekirei plan they couldn't simply resort to using their powers in such a public place, so using their natural abilities felt...different for both. A true test of form.
Musubi threw another sidewinding kick. "Hey, you're really good. Extremely fast. I like it!"
Benitsubasa kept on her defensive as Musubi's onslaught pushed her deeper. "You ain't seen nothin' yet!-uh wah?!-"
*Bzz!...Bzz!...
The phone in her back pocket began ringing.
"Who the hell could be calling me right this minute—gah!"
That slight distraction was all that was needed for Musubi to break her defensive and send her chin ramrodding into the air with a gravity-defying uppercut to the jaw. Benitsubasa landed flat on her back and lay motionless for a good moment as Musubi reveled in her victory. She did a victory dance for the crowd that was...bouncy to say the least.
As Benitsubasa came to, she rubbed her reddened jaw and scowled at her adversary. "Err...you." She began to stir, rising to her feet and called out. "You fucking bitch! How dare you!"
Musubi looked at her opponent with confusion. "What's wrong? It didn't hurt that bad did it?"
"I'm done playing games." She eyed the gymnasium's staff, who gasped in horror. "You two, drop the cage. Now."
"Y-yes ma'am!"
XXXXXX
Kazehana's mind was spinning having just been called out by...whoever that was. "Just who the hell was he? How does he know who I am?"
She then heard the loudmouthed woman from earlier call out to her. "Yoohoo! Hey, new girl! Why don'tcha join us! We got one more seat here open for someone!"
Kazehana looked over to the table where a group of three people were playing 'The Game of Life' and waving her to come on over. She took a moment to think about it, but was soon grabbed by the wrist and pulled over to the open chair by the girl who spoke up before she could speak.
"Um...okay then."
With the twirl of her fingers, Kazehana spun the wheel on the gameboard.
"A three. Wonderful." she said as she picked up the plastic figure and tapped it along to her designated square. Following in Minato's shoes she chose the college path and luckily enough landed on a square that read 'make new friends' which also granted her a life token.
The individual assigned to the banker roll passed her the token. He sat across from her, spoke in a deep voice, and had a rather unkempt facial appearance with five o'clock shadow, with shaved hairs of differing lengths dotting all over his lips and jawline. He donned a greasy looking wife-beater and pair of jeans. "Not a bad start." he said.
Kazehana rested her elbow on the table, letting her flushed cheek rest on her fist. "I imagine you three do this quite often." she said letting her eyes drift among the other players.
"Yeah," said the person to her left. This man wore sunglasses and was much more clean-shaven. His clothes were in better condition as well, donning a cream-colored sweater and plaid pajama pants. He took his turn, having a spin at the wheel. It came up five. "Unless its time for groups there really isn't much to do. It's either this or watch tv, and if you've seen TV lately you'll know it's nothing but garbage." He skipped going to college and just rushed to get a job.
"You ain't kidding," the woman to Kazehana's right replied. It was the same woman who told off the nurse during the group, and all of them outside after the Patty situation went down. "Ever since MBI took over it's all been propaganda." she turned to Kazehana, offering her hand. "Say your name is Misumi Akemi, right? I'm Morihei Chifumi."
'Misumi' shook her hand with a smirk. "Nice to meet you."
The banker then presented his hand as per etiquette.
"I'm Ejiri Atsutane. coin connoisseur and master of all things spectral."
"Spectral? What do you mean by that?" Misumi questioned quizzically.
"I can Astro project myself in my sleep."
"Still not following."
"I can leave my physical body behind and travel spiritually out into space whenever I'm in REM sleep. It's quite the gift."
"Uh...huh. Those must be some strong meds they have you on."
"Oh no I'm not taking the meds. I puke them up after they give them to me. They take away more than they give I feel."
"They do?"
"Yeah, because I can't talk to the aliens on Io if I'm on them. They...ground me and I can't have that. Nope! Nope! Nope!"
Kazehana subtly scooted her seat away from him.
"Leeeets move on from this," said the man to her left, also presenting his hand. "I'm Himura Kenkichi. My passion is critiquing art and snorting coke. Wanna see my $500 Rolex?"
"Uh, no thanks." she said shaking her hands before her face.
"Sorry for my outbursts earlier." Morihei said. "This is my third week here and I'm just done with how this place treats its patients."
"That must suck. I assume you weren't voluntarily admitted?" Kazehana questioned.
Morihei let herself lay back more in her chair. "Nah I was 302'd by my girlfriend. I tried to hang myself...again."
Kazehana felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach and rise again. "Um...oh. I'm sorry."
"Eh, don't be. There's no way you could have known. I don't really like keeping my life all that private anyway. How else are you supposed to get help if you don't say what's wrong, right?"
"I guess that's one way of looking at it."
"Yeah, and the strange thing is…" she began, kicking her legs up on another chair and crossing one over the other. "If I never went through with it the first time, I never would have wanted to become a brain surgeon."
"You want to become a brain surgeon?"
"Yep. First suicide attempt did something to my brainstem which caused me to have a stroke and I get seizures now and then cuz of it. It got me curious about how the brain functions so I now have a goal in life finally. Though life is still hard. Hence why I'm stuck in a shitty hospital...again."
One of the nurses poked her head into the room. "Arts and crafts in 15 minutes!"
"I guess we should put the game away then." Kazehana shrugged with a sigh.
"Nah, it's cool." Morihei said. "Games usually just last 10 minutes anyway."
"Hmm, well if that's the case this ought to be fun then." Kazehana replied.
XXXXXX
Chiho flipped through the channels on tv in methodical boredom. None of it did much to entertain her. She ultimately flipped the tv off and hopped into her wheelchair, ushering herself to find the nearest nurse to go get some fresh air outside. Maybe she'll come across that family of bunnies again?
Minutes later she was out in the sun seated beneath the branches of an oak tree, left to her own vices. The bushes trembled and out came the family of floofballs. She pushed herself towards them; the fluffle trembles.
She slowly reaches her hand out for them to sniff. The mother comes first, rubbing her chin upon Chiho's dainty fingers. She gets a lick and the bunny begins to circle her wrist. As the other rabbits join in on mommy's fun, the gaze of Higa peers out at her through the blinds of his office high up in the hospital.
"Mr. Higa, you wished to see me about something?"
He turned around, letting his rear lean against the window. "Yes, I believe it's about time to pay a visit on our Northern neighbors."
"As you wish, sir."
"And also…"
"Yes?"
"Please have someone deal with those...vermin outside..."
XXXXXX
Adult 2 Unit: Arts & Crafts Room
Kazehana squinted as she molded the soft pink clay in her palms into the shape of a wagtail. Everyone in the room was focused diligently on their own projects, though they couldn't help but occasionally peer over at this one quiet girl who was focused entirely on shading the drawings in a coloring book. Her work was exceptional.
Kazehana recognized her. It was the girl who was begging a nurse for 'sweet amber'.
She decided to scoot over to her side and be friendly.
"Hey, that's pretty good work your doing."
Like a shy turtle the girl's head sank into the collar of her sweater a bit. "Um...thank you."
"Are you holding up okay, hun?" Kazehana said, sensing her apprehension. She stroked the girl's shoulder like a caring aunt.
The girl jerked away in surprise. "Ah! P-please don't do that. I don't like to be touched."
Kazehana backed away, hands up. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."
The girl's hands and feet began to fidget. She got up. "E-excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." She said hurrying out.
Kazehana hung her head. "Damn, now I feel like crap. I hope she's alright."
"She'll be alright." Said the tan-skinned overweight woman sitting diagonally across from her. "She's the loner type that doesn't like to be touched unless she knows she can trust you."
"I see. I take you've known her for a while?"
"She's been in here for about as long as I have. Three weeks or so I think. Her name's Matsui Kimie. We chat from time to time. Girl's been through a lot. By the way," she extends her hand. "I'm Yoshihisa Ikue."
"Misumi Akemi."
"Hmhmhmhm. Hmhmhmhm."
A weird buzzing noise was heard from outside the art room and it became louder and louder.
"Huh, what was that?"
The old smelly woman from the morning group then entered the room in what seemed to be a zombie-like trance. Her eyes were half-open, hands dangling in front of her, socked feet sliding across the tiled floor.
Her bee-like humming continued.
"Hmhmhmhm. Hmhmhmhm."
She circled around the table once...then left.
"Uhm...okay?"
"Yeah, Umeda tends to wander aimlessly as she stims. No one really knows her or why she's here. She's been in the unit for months. My guess is she's homeless and on the autistic spectrum. She never socializes or joins groups."
Kazehana sighed. "Poor woman."
A nurse peered in not long after. "Alright, time to take vitals and see the doctor."
XXXXXX
"Uh oh." Uzume uttered. "I don't like the look in Benitsubasa's eyes."
"W-what did she mean by 'drop the cage?'"
Haihane aimed a finger up to the rafters above the sparring ring and a heartbeat later the ronin looked skyward. Eight sections of a cage began to fold into itself like the petals of a flower and begin a descent to the ground.
"This gym has an octagon?!"
Haihane looked at him unphased. "MBI owns this place. Of course it has an octagon."
Minato held his hands to his chest, feeling his pulse getting worked up. "Please be okay after this, Musubi."
Benitsubasa kipped up just as the octagon enclosed them and made a confident 'come hither' motion with her finger. "Come at me again. I dare you." she said with a hint of sinisterness in her voice.
The boss battle's second phase was underway it seemed.
Musubi looked around with a dopey expression.
"What's the matter?" Benitsubasa asked. "You scared?"
"No, I'm just...so happy!" she said, stars beaming in her eyes.
"Happy? Why happy?!"
"I've always wanted to be inside a real octagon. Being a UFC fighter has been a dream of mine! You inspired me! Thank you!...Whatever your name is!"
The Red Sekirei clenched her fist in anger. "It's Benitsubasa you annoying tit twit!"
Musubi tilted her head to a shoulder and her cowlick took the form of a huge question mark. "Beni sue bwa ha?"
Bentisubasa roared in anger. "That's it! I had enough of you!"
Both began to circle each other once more and close in, but with more concentration and meaning to their steps and arm movements. Benitsubasa slapped Musubi's hands away landed a swift kick to her knee. Musubi buckled back, bobbing and weaving as some of her adversaries jabs came in way too close for comfort. Red charged in like a bull on a cocaine binge once she found an opening. She hoisted Musubi off the ground and dragged her several meters across the mat until the unforgiving steel cage put an immediate halt to it. Musubi let out a pained 'oof' as her whole upper body became sandwiched between the octagon and Benitsubasa. Heavy knee strikes began to pummel Musubi's abdomen while Minato and Uzume looked on in horror.
"This has gone on too much. We have to get them to stop." Minato said aloud.
"Really?" Uzume countered. "Because the Musubi I know would never give up this early."
Just as Uzume said that Musubi landed a palm strike to Benitsubasa's face, shoving her off and giving her breathing room. She sprung out of the corner with new life just as Benitsubasa tried to close the distance again. They lock horns, grappling and sending each other into the cage, rolling their bodies all over it, jockeying for dominance. Both Benitsubasa and Musubi shove each other with altering momentum, separating them but not for long. Both charge back at each other with balled fists sailing into each other's faces at the exact same time.
For a long moment, they just stood there unmoving, fists still locked to each other's cheeks.
Then it came. A knee to Bentisubasa's abdomen which sent her doubling back. Two jabs and a kick to the side of the head later Benitsubasa was on her back. Musubi literally leaped at this moment applying the pressure with more elbow strikes which Benitsubasa kept trying to avoid in desperation by blocking her head with her forearms and kicking to get her off.
Haihane stood there stunned. Was Red about to be bested?
"Go Musubi!" Minato and Uzume cheered aloud as the hot crowd became unglued.
Benitsubasa sent one more kick to send Musubi far back enough to make sure she could see without having to worry about taking more blows to the head.
'Never thought I'd have to use this… Wait for it…'
Musubi dove back into the fray with the intention to pummel more.
'Now!'
Benitsubasa lunged forward and grabbed Musubi's arm, pulling her in. She swiftly coiled her leg around the arm and tucked the shin beneath her throat, then pulled Musubi's head downward with the arms.
Musubi's arms and legs flailed about in desperation to escape the deadly grip. She punched at her foe's sides as she tried standing up again. Her breathing started to grow fainter before she finally fell limp in the bind of Benitsubasa's powerful legs.
Although she knew defeat was imminent, Musubi produced a smile while Benitsubasa's face was red with rage.
"Thank you for the good fight. I promise to be stronger next time."
As she collapsed from exhaustion the look of rage on Benitsubasa's face turned to relief. She let the hold go, knowing she had won.
XXXXXX
The sun had reached its summit over the capital. Kazehana sat in wait for the doc to call her in for more than two hours. Nurses claimed that since she was the latest to arrive she'd need to be at the back of the line while the other patients took their turns.
Her vitals checked out at a normal range...for a human. 112 over 72. She stared up blankly at the plain ceiling, letting her boredom drift.
Before long the door burst open and Morihei came storming out like a raging bull. "SHIT! PISS! FUCK! CUNT! COCKSUCKER! MOTHERFUCKER! TITS! FART! TURD! TWAT!" she screamed aloud, stomping to her room and slamming the door shut.
"Wonder what's got her panties in a twist this time?" Kazehana thought aloud.
"You're up, Miss Akemi." said a baritone voice coming from beyond the open door Morihei charged out from.
Kazehana rose from her seat and, upon noting the damage to the door's hinges, went inside and shut the door behind her...only for it to unhinge further and collapse into the hallway with a heavy *THUD*.
She looked over her shoulder for a brief moment to assess the damage only for the man before her to speak up. "No it's fine, they'll replace it eventually. It's the third time it's happened this month with her. Just have a seat while I look over your file." he presented his hand as she motioned to sit down and they shook. "I'm Dr. Lezcough by the way."
'I have a file?'
She mused the thought for a moment before taking a closer look at her doctor. The man wore a white coat with a multitude of pens lining its pocket, and was horribly overweight. Even though he was well-groomed with a nice haircut and trimmed facial hair he could still be the lead in one of those off-brand fat ugly bastard pornos that the anime industry loves to churn out so much in spite of no one liking. The double chin, saggy eyes, five o'clock shadow, over-inflated lips, and brown, hairy, pepperoni-sized warts popping up on every bit of exposed flesh on his hands, face, and neck cemented this.
'Matsu must have hacked some info into their systems while I was being admitted. This ought to go well.'
"You're in your late thirties, never graduated high school or saught out higher education, had relationships with multiple partners, had to give up your children to an adoption agency, and developed alcoholism, and subsequently a cutting problem as a coping mechanism due to hearing voices in your head telling you to climb up construction sites intoxicated to commit suicide."
Kazehana just sat there, jaw hanging looser than the hinges on the destroyed door.
'Matsu, seriously?! What the fuck, hun?!'
"Well?"
Kazehana shook her head, stunned from the sanctity of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry what was that?"
"Does all of what I said sound correct?"
"Oh, um, yes! Shouldn't we be discussing this in private though? Now that the door's missing, won't people hear us?"
"Not at all. Everyone's gone to the cafeteria for lunch now. You're the only patient left on the ward."
"I see."
"I'd like to congratulate you on seeking treatment after what must have been an arduous life."
She nodded her head. "Thank you."
"You seem to have no history of psych meds. Today I'm going to be putting you on one to potentially help with mood swings and psychopathy. It's called lithium."
"You mean it's not just a song by Nirvana?"
"Haha, nope. However…"
"Huh?"
"The fact remains: you're homeless, penniless, have no family, pretty much retired from working and have not much to go back to once we let you out into the world again. I gotta be honest here, your life, now that you're older, even medicated, still looks, well, bleak."
Kazehana leaned forward in her chair. "Excuse me? What was that?"
The doctor rolled back in his chair raising his hands innocently as if playing the 'don't shoot the messenger!' role. "I'm just being honest with what I see here."
Kazehana stood up and slammed her hands on the desk. "How fucking dare you say something so potentially harmful to me! It's no wonder why Morihei destroyed your door if you've been saying crap like this to her! Do you have any idea the repercussions of saying what you said could be? Shit like that could destroy someone's hope and actually drive people to commit suicide!"
"As much as I hate to say it, outside of here, that's their choice."
She jabbed her pointer finger into the fat fuck's nose. "You are fucking heartless. I don't care what kind of pills you put me on. Our conversation is over. Goodbye."
She then backhanded him across his fat lips, knocking him to the floor before storming out much like Morihei.
XXXXXX
Blackness...then a sudden warmth.
"Musubi!"
The busty brawler heard the cries of her Ashikabi.
"I think she's coming to, Minato."
This voice was familiar, too. Uzume?
Musubi's eyes slightly crack open, letting in the sunset from the gymnasium's massive window before closing. Moments later they opened wider to see Uzume and Minato hovering over her on their knees.
She began to slowly sit up, hand upon her noggin as if she just had her first hangover. "Ouch...what happened?"
"Musubi!" Minato exclaimed, tearfully jumping into an embrace with her. "Thank God you're okay!"
Uzume joined in the embrace too, albeit easing into it gentler, rocking them back and forth. She helps Minato hoist her up to her feet, one arm tucked behind each of their heads.
As Musubi gained more awareness she noticed that not only was the crowd gone, but also her opponent. She looks to her left, then her right. "Hey where's-"
"So I see the airhead's woken up. Took her long enough." Benitsubasa said, jumping down from the ceiling with a forward flip and landing before the three.
Uzume scowled at her. "Bentisubasa…"
The Red Sekirei tilted her neck to the right. "Do I know you?"
"That was an illegal chokehold you used. You should have been disqualified."
"Disqualified?! Ha! This fight was completely unsanctioned. That means no rules!"
"Bullshit! Don't give me that crap! You took the easy way out when you knew Musubi was going to get the TKO and you know it!-"
"It's okay, Uzume." Musubi said tearfully hanging her head.
Uzume looked at her inquisitively. "Musubi?"
"It's okay…" And with a wide smile on her face, she raised her head with the pride of a lion. "Because this has inspired me to get even stronger! And when we fight again...I promise I'll be the winner!"
"Next time I'll terminate your ass so don't even bother entertaining the thought. This is your only warning, boobsy, don't fuck with me again-"
"Red!" Haihane said rushing into the cage. "There's been another escape attempt. Not only that but Black is pissed you weren't able to take her call."
"Call? What call?" She then remembered: her phone rang during the fight with the titty monster. "Oh shit…" The look on her face now was so full of horror it was almost comical. "Um...I gotta go!" she said, speeding off. "And don't dare mess with me agaaaaaaaain!"
The Northern trio just stood there dumbfounded and blinking for a good long moment.
Minato finally broke the silence. "Leeeeets just go home."
Uzume and Musubi both nod and say "Yes."
XXXXXX
The moon beamed in through the blinds of Kazehana's window.
As punishment for assaulting the doctor earlier, she was put in isolation for six hours. She had nothing to do but stare at a beige concrete ceiling while her limbs remained strapped to a table like she were some sick depraved science experiment. She would have faught off the staff...but that would have been counterproductive given the goal of being there in the first place.
Thankfully she was let out for 'good behavior' and given the privilege to her room back as well as the lunch and dinner she missed earlier in the day because of the incident. The nurses had no problem warming it up for her. It seemed like they weren't too fond of the way Dr. Lezcough handled business either.
To her surprise, the food wasn't half bad. It wasn't good, but certainly better than expected considering her less than stellar experience here so far.
Not long after scarfing down both meals she downed her new lithium medication before retreating to bed. The sooner she complied with orders the sooner she could see to both her AND Chiho getting out of this hell hole.
There was then a knock at her door.
"It's open, who is it?"
The door opened and in walked the mysterious gent who called her out at breakfast time.
"You know defective numbers are always treated at the MBI tower. Why did you choose to come here instead? And under a false identity at that?"
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?"
"Quiet, quiet. I don't want anyone to hear. I just want to talk."
"Then answer my question!"
"You mean you really don't recognize me? Hun, it's me Maikeru, your adjuster."
A/N: Yes, the dickhead doctor is based on a real doctor I dealt with in the same hospital I met Patty and the manchild in. How he got his license is beyond me.
And for those wondering, yes, a group of rabbits is actually called a fluffle. I didn't believe it at first either.
Anyway, thanks for reading!