A/N: I suspect a great divide coming from my readership with this one. Enjoy.
Mitosis
"So you see," Haruka sighed as he finalized his story. "That's why we need to get out of this city; out of this game. Kuno just simply can't fight and she shouldn't have to be forced to."
"I understand your frustration, Haruka, but what do you think we could possibly do to help you?" Minato asked.
"A lot actually. I mean you and your girls here took out that Eastern Ashikabi as if he were some sort of joke! If anyone has the ability to stand up to the discipline squad it's you guys!"
"The discipline squad? You mean they're involved?"
"Every time we've tried to escape by ourselves they were the ones that chased us away." A teary-eyed Kuno whined. "They're bullies!"
"Grrr!" Kusano growled. "Kuu hate bullies!"
Minato pats her on the head. "Hey, settle down there, Kuu. I think we all feel the same."
Tsukiumi turned her head away and scoffed. "Enough of this poppycock. A Sekirei's fate is determined by battle. Attempting to sway one's self to running from their fate is an act of cowardice as far as I am concerned."
"Says the chick who can summon dragons and arrows out of water at will." Haruka counterattacked. "Not all Sekirei were created equal, you know, blondie."
"Thou accuses me of being privileged?! How darest thee! It took hard work and dedication for me to hone my ability over water! What work did she put into hers, if any at all?!"
"That's just the thing, her power is singing people to sleep. And if she uses it too long she chokes up blood. Now tell me, how the hell is that supposed to win some stupid fighting tournament?"
"He's got a point, you know, Tsukiumi." Matsu chimed in. "I'm more or less in the same boat with Kuno. Can't fight to save my life in this game either. But I have friends to keep me safe. Poor Kuno though is all by her lonesome."
"Th-that's right." Haruka agreed.
"Umm, can everyone stop bringing up how useless I am? I get it already." Kuno cried, sniffling.
Haruka put an arm around her waist and held his girl close. "Hey, don't cry now. None of this is your fault, okay?"
"But it is!" she whimpers. "If I were more capable I would be able to protect my Ashikabi. But instead you're trying to protect me. I'm such a failure!"
Miya then spoke up. "Well if what you want is to become more capable I would have no problem training you like I do Musubi and Tsukiumi."
"Huh?" Everyone gasped.
"You - you'd do that...for me?"
"I see no trouble with it. Just be prepared for some occasional lumps on your noggin. Fufu"
Haruka smiled at Kuno. "So, how 'bout it?"
"O...Okay."
"See, Kuno, I knew seeking these guys out was the right move."
Miya waggled a finger at them. "There is one condition I have if she is to stay with us, however."
"Oh, and what might that be?" Haruka asked.
"Her rent is to be double what I normally charge."
"What?!" Hakura protested, swiping his arm defensively.
"I run a boarding house, sweetie, not a charity. Plus I can tell by looking at the poor thing she'll take some work to get her strong, though it won't be impossible. It's doable, but it'll take more effort on my part because we'll need to start from the very basics."
"Hey, we never agreed to boarding with you to begin with!"
Kuno pulled at her Ashikabi's sleeve. "It's okay, Haruka. I'll do it, and get a job to afford it."
"Are you sure?"
She smiled at him. "I am."
"I still can't help but feel she's taking advantage of you."
"Oh is that so?" The mask appeared over her shoulder, hissing a purple haze into the room through its razor-sharp teeth. "I'll have you know my quality of work alone is more than worthy of the money. Besides she needs the experience of balancing my training with a job to fend for herself in an occasionally harsh world."
Haruka immediately shrank in fear. "Oh um, okay. Wh-whatever you say, miss landlady!"
The mask soon faded and the landlady smiled. "Glad we have an understanding. Fret not, as I promise she will be in good hands while she's here."
"I sure hope so."
Musubi pumped a fist into the air. "Don't worry, Miya knows exactly what she's doing. And Tsukiumi and I will be right there to help too! Right, Tsukiumi?"
"Indeed. Her development will be interesting to assist in."
Before more words of encouragement could be spoken the TV came to life all on its own. On-screen was the MBI President.
"This is Hiroto Minaka of MBI and I have a message for all active participants of the Sekirei Plan. A new factor has come into play in my game and I feel it only fitting to announce in grandiose style."
"Oh great, here we go." Minato sighed. He had a feeling this wasn't going to be good…
"As you all may be aware, my Disciplinary Squad has undergone some...rather big changes as of late. Some of those changes had unforeseeable consequences for the future of my Sekirei Plan. You see, the Ashikabi who has been newly assigned to my Discipline Squad has shown to contain an ability none else have…"
"Mhm, Yep, this ain't good," Kazehana said, stretching her arms in the air.
"This 'Cursebreaker', as she calls it gives her the ability to take an already winged Sekirei and remark them for herself. In other words, she can steal an Ashikabi's Sekirei away with just a simple kiss! Isn't that wonderful?!"
A red tick mark blinked on Kagari's forehead. "Just get to the damn point, Minaka."
"Therefore, going forward, I have decided to enforce some new rulings to the Sekirei Plan. Firstly, anyone found guilty beyond shadow of a doubt of abusing their Sekirei will have their Sekirei taken away and subsequently remarked by the Cursebreaker."
"Makes sense, I suppose." Minato thought aloud.
"And secondly, any participants found trying to escape the city before the Sekirei Plan ends will also have their Sekirei taken away and remarked by force."
"Well shit!" Haruka banged his fist on the table. "Goddammit!"
"So to you all, play nice and play by the rules. Ta for now!"
The TV clicked off.
"This...certainly throws a wrench in things." Yukari spoke.
"No shit-OW!" Haruka shouted, and then got beamed on the head by Miya's ladle.
"No swearing in my home."
Haruka rubbed the fat lump on his noggin. "R-Right, sorry."
"So, are we having second thoughts about leaving the city?" Matsu asked.
"I don't know."
"You know I've been hard at work making a countermeasure for that cursebreaker these last few days."
"Ah yes, I remember you mentioning something about that. How goes progress on it?" Minato asked.
"Slow. Very slow, but I should make a breakthrough in a couple of days."
"Is it really giving you that much trouble?"
"I just need a larger sample of Chiho's DNA and things should go more smoothly. I'll ask Chiho for more once we're at her party tomorrow."
"Wait, you're going to the party? You know it's being held at her apartment in the MBI tower, right? Aren't you afraid of MBI finding you?"
"Yeah, about that. When I went to meet Chiho and Uzume the other day with Tsukiumi, Uzume told me MBI knew where I was the moment I was winged by Minato. They've been aware of me living at Maison Izumo with him this whole time and I've just been paranoid about them coming to get me like the boogeyman. In actuality they didn't really care."
"Oh jeez, that must have been quite the revelation."
"Very much so. But don't worry about me. I wouldn't miss this party for the world."
XXXXXX
Meanwhile in the South...
Mikogami paced back and forth in a panic. Like every other Ashikabi in the city, Minaka's message was heard loud and clear by him after he and his shiny glasses interrupted his favorite harem anime. School Days.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
"Calm down master, there is no reason to be so upset now." Mutsu offered plainly.
"Like hell there isn't, didn't you just hear the man?! All my Sekirei are going to be taken from me if I don't start treating them like...like!..." and a long pause later, "like actual people."
As he goes about shuddering in horror at the mere concept of treating anyone with dignity, Akitsu rolls her eyes and returns to her meditation. The girl mentioned on the TV was the one from her dreams. She knew it. It had to be. Only an Ashikabi with an ability like hers would be capable of making her react the way she had been feeling.
But she was conflicted on what to do.
She loved Hayato. He gave her a place in his home and by his side in spite of being broken and useless. But this girl...she may be the one to heal her discarded state of being. She didn't want to leave him but these dreams were getting out of hand, they were calling her to action. To seek out this...Chiho.
But first, she and Hayato needed to discuss matters.
XXXXXX
Two hours of meditation and a discussion later…
"So you see, master, this may be the only opportunity I ever get to receive my wings."
Mikogami crossed his arms and curled his neck up and to the right with a very non-threatening and effeminate 'hmph!'. "So what, I'm not good enough for you?"
"I mean no disrespect, master. It's just that the dreams of this girl have been growing more and more intense."
"If that's the case then go seek her out."
"Thank you, master."
"But don't expect me to open that door for you after you leave. Whether you get your wings or not, you're gone. You leave, you're out. Are we clear?"
Akitsu hung her head. "Yes, master Hayato."
XXXXXX
The next day...
MBI Tower - Chiho's apartment
Uzume and Yashima kept a firm eye on the clock above the TV. They got done putting up the decorations just in time it seemed.
"They should be arriving any second now..." Yashima announced, wiping away some sweat.
*ding dong*
"That's them!" Uzume hopped over the couch to get the door. She reaches for the handle and opens it with a wide grin when she sees who's on the other side. The gang was all here, and she was particularly glad to see Matsu had made it.
"Hey guys, glad you could all make it!"
"Hey Uzume, glad to be here." Minato replied, leading the flock inside the apartment as Uzume stepped out of their way.
"Just put the gifts on the coffee table." Uzume ordered nicely.
"Wow, this place is so big and nice!" Kusano cheered as she danced and twirled around all the open space like a little ballerina.
"You're not kidding, Kuu!" Musubi said in sparkly-eyed awe.
"Indeed." Tsukiumi says, having the same reaction. "'Tis quite lavish if I do say so myself. It's hard to contain my jealousy."
"Hey, watch it now, Kuu, we don't want you to hurt yourself!" Minato called out. There was a lot of space, sure, but she could just easily lose her balance and crash into something all the same.
"Don't worry about her, she's fine."Uzume waved him off. "Chiho did the exact same thing when she saw the place for the first time."
"That was the day she was cured of her illness, right?" Matsu asked.
"Sure was!" She goes to hug Matsu. "So glad you could be here, Matsu!"
She returns it. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
"So, where's the birthday girl?" Minato asked inquisitively.
"Oh, I just sent her on a little errand so she could see all the decorations and her friends the moment she comes back."
"You want it to be a surprise party, huh?"
"Haha, yep!"
"When do you think she'll be back?"
"About ten minutes from now, give or take."
"You really have this down to the minute, don't you, Uzume?"
"Well, you know me." Uzume laughed. There was a rustling at the door. "Oh crap, that must be her. Hurry! Everyone get in position behind the table!"
The group did as ordered and popped out on the count of three once the door opened up.
"Happy Birthday!" They all cheered, only to deflate upon realizing it wasn't her. It was Benitsubasa and Haihane.
Matsu ducked back beneath cover as fast as a rabbit dashes to its warren upon detecting a predator.
"What's wrong, Matsu?" Minato asked.
"No one told me that they'd be here! UWAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Matsu shrieked.
"Well, this is awkward," Haihane said flatly. "I didn't know it was my birthday."
"Yeah, me either, Haihane. But seriously, why weren't we invited?"
Uzume rolled her eyes and groaned. "False alarm everyone."
"Oh hey!" Someone behind Blue and Red called out. "You went through all this trouble just for me?! Thank you!"
It was Chiho. She emerged to the confusion as Blue and Red stepped aside.
There was another long awkward pause, then moments later uncontrollable laughter erupted on everyone's part.
[Fade out/Fade in]
The party kicked off swimmingly enough, with everyone breaking up into groups to chat up each other.
Chiho was thrilled to get to know so many diverse Sekirei. There was something about Musubi though that caught a sixth sense of hers that's been steadily developing. It was something that seemed to get stronger over the course of cursebreaking Sekirei. She could see their tamas, or spirits, floating about inside them if she concentrated hard enough. Of all the Sekirei in the room whose tamas she could sense though, only Musubi had two inside her.
"Strange..." Chiho mused on her thoughts as she sipped her wine cooler out of the glass.
"What's strange, Chiho?" Musubi asked breaking her thoughts.
"Oh hey, sorry. Just got a little lost in the clouds for a second there. *hic"
"Hey, you feelin' okay hun?" Kazehana asked out of concern. "Maybe you had a bit too much to drink."
"Naw, I'm fine. I know my limits. *hic"
XXXXXX
Matsu was doing her best to lay low considering two-thirds of the fucking discipline squad shared the exact same room in this exact same terrifying moment. She remained over by the tall window next to the bookcases, bunched together with Tsukiumi, Uzume,Yashima, and Minato. They, predictably, were discussing the further details of the cursebreaker countermeasure she'd been working on.
"I'm going to need some more DNA from Chiho before I can be certain it makes you 100% immune."
"Well, why don't you go ask her for some?" Minato asked.
"I can't. Don't you see who we're in the room with?!" She pointed at the Discipline Squad with the jerk of her neck. Benitsubasa was reading a magazine while Haihane played video games with Kuu of all people. For as scared as she was, she had to admit that the squad was far more laid back than when she had her stint in its first generation. "They might whistleblow on my whole operation here!" She whispered frustratedly. "They'll tell Minaka, and then MBI will really come after me!"
"Okay, so we save it for when they leave."
"Who knows when that will be?!"
"Come on Matsu. Stop worrying about your countermeasure for this one evening. We're all here just to have fun, right? So relax." Uzume encouraged her by playfully nudging Matsu's shoulder.
"Well…" Matsu shrugged, then sighed. "Alright, fine. You win."
The group then found themselves approached by Kusano, who was holding a deck of used NAHO cards.
"You want to play NAHO with us, Kuu?" Matsu asked, taking the deck.
Kuu nodded her head with a cute 'uhuh!'
XXXXXX
Kusano threw down her last card. "NAHO!"
"That's the fourth time in a row she's won." Benitsubasa whined. "The brat's had to have rigged the cards somehow."
"Well my, my, someone's a sore loser." Kazehana playfully hummed.
Red squeezed her fist and a red tick mark pulsated over an eyebrow. "Take that back you big-boobed floozy!"
"Now is that any way to address your senior, miss washboard?"
The tick mark throbbed harder. "My senior? What the hell does that mean?!"
"Yeah, are we supposed to know you?" Haihane asked awkwardly.
"You should. I was on the first generation Discipline Squad." she casually admits, then swigs at her sake bottle. "So show a little more respect."
Everyone in the room had their jaws hanging other than the few that already knew this fact.
"You were in the Discipline Squad?!" Minato gasped.
"Yep, sure was." she says, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm Sekirei #3, Kazehana."
"Is that right now?" Benitsubasa trails on. "Well then #3, tell me, just why did you leave the squad in the first place?"
"I simply didn't care for the Sekirei plan after I was rejected by the only person I truly loved at the time. So I just abandoned duty."
"And who might that be?" Haihane asked.
"The Game Master."
"You had the hots for Minaka?!" Benitsubasa spat.
"Sure did." Kazehana admitted.
"That's weird." Benitsubasa flicked her hair back and crossed her arms. "How do you go from such high standards to this kid?" she points at Minato accusingly.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Minato rightfully protested.
Kazehana got a look in her eye as if she were gonna knock a bitch out when Chiho suddenly spoke up in her passive silence.
"Hey, don't disrespect Minato like that." Chiho ordered sternly. "He's a great person and someone everyone should strive to be like. I wouldn't be where I am with you if not for him so apologize."
"Um, yes, Chiho." Benitsubasa faced Minato. "You have my apologies, Minato."
Minato rubbed the back of his head as a slight blush appeared over his cheeks. "Um, it's no problem, really."
"Thank you, Beni-dear." Chiho said, giving the hothead a pat on the head.
"Hey, how about we open your gifts now, Chiho?"
"Sure, let's! I can't wait to see what you all have gotten me!"
Everyone got up from the floor and approached the table the gifts were on. Chiho went to open one of them when the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who that could be?" Minato wondered.
"I got it!" Matsu offered. She approached the door and opened it. She really wished she hadn't because on the other side was Karasuba.
"Hi, Matsu. It's been a while, hasn't it?" Karasuba playfully teased.
Matsu's blood ran cold in an instant. She turned white and passed out onto the floor within moments.
"Oh no, Matsu!" Minato shouted, running over and trying to shake her awake. "Come on Matsu! Talk to me!"
Karasuba stepped over Matsu's body and inside the apartment. "Looks like the gang is all here."
"What do you want, Black?" Uzume asked nervously.
"I just wanted to have some words with the one who nearly killed me the other day."
"The one who killed you? What?" Uzume questioned, puzzled.
"She's talking about me, Uzume." Chiho said, stepping forward. "Natsuo almost died because I remarked Haihane. Karasuba's connection to him probably made her deactivate temporarily."
"My you're smart." Karasuba replied, taking slow steps forward. "You see, I'm here to ensure I get to keep a promise I made with Musubi a long time ago."
Uzume jumped in front of Chiho as Karasuba neared the group. "Don't you even think about putting your hands on my Ashikabi!"
Karasuba halted her approach, then tapped the hilt of her nodachi with the tips of her fingers. "This doesn't need to end in bloodshed, you know? All I want is for her to remark me. That's all."
"You want me to remark you? Why?" Chiho asked.
"There's a variety of reasons I have. One is that Natsuo's life is still up in the air. If he dies, I will too. And that means I'll never be able to keep my promise with Mu-chan, and I just can't have that."
"So you think that by me remarking you it'll improve your chances of survival. I see. And the other reason?"
"You're the first human to ever find a way to kill me. It doesn't matter how you were able to achieve it, you still did it. It proves to me you're a strong Ashikabi worthy of my attention. And I don't say that about just anybody."
"But if she remarks you, Natsuo will die for sure!" Benitsubasa cried worriedly as she jumped into the fray. "There's no way he could survive another heart attack in the condition he's in!"
"None of that matters to me. He's weak, she's strong. I've made up my mind. Now stand aside, Red."
"Please don't do this!" Chiho pleaded. "I don't want anyone to die because of my power!"
"No one is going to die, Chiho. Not if I can help it." Musubi said, joining Red and White.
Tsukiumi then leaped in, then Kazehana, then everyone else.
"My isn't this just cute." Karasuba chuckles. "A protective wall of flesh and bone. How delightful." she looks over Uzume's shoulder at Chiho and says, "Which would you prefer, Chiho? The life of a single person on life support you hardly even know, or the lives of all your friends here in this room? Choose wisely."
Chiho grimaced. Could Karasuba really be that strong? She had her doubts but would they alone still be worth risking her friends for?
Her thoughts were interrupted by Minato and Matsu suddenly grasping Karasuba at her ankles. Moments later she was yanked down to the floor by them and the two pounced right on top of her. It seemed Matsu had recovered enough and during the drama hatched a plan with Minato to help out.
"Chiho! Run! Get away while you can! I don't know how long we'll be able to hold her down!" Minato cried in desperation.
"Minato!" Everyone shouted.
"How dare you! Get off me this instant!" Karasuba demanded. In any other circumstance she would have been free in milliseconds, but Natsuo's condition likely played a major role in limiting what she could do.
"Run Chiho! Get the hell out of here and don't look back!" Minato screamed.
"No!" Chiho cried. "I don't want to leave you behind!"
"Just go!"
Karasuba barked like a raving lunatic. "You insignificant little specs of shit! I'm going to fucking kill both of you!"
"You don't scare me! I'm Musubi's Ashikabi and I know all about the promise you two made each other. You kill me, you kill her!"
"That doesn't mean I can't torture you in ways you can hardly imagine."
"Think again." Matsu unhooks the Black Sekirei's nodachi from her side and slides it to the opposite side of the room by the apartment entrance. "Somebody grab her sword! Quick!"
"Leave it to me!" Musubi volunteered, making a dash for the Black Sekirei's blade and hustling back to the group with it...and tripping over Tsukiumi's boot. She fell into Chiho and they both locked lips completely by mistake. Uh oh...
Everyone gasped when Musubi's wings emerged. Or at least they thought there were hers at first. What happened in the next few moments was nothing short of miraculous. As Musubi tried to pull back and away from the kiss, a...naked twin of Musubi sprouted forth from her lips, warping reality like an angelic spirit as it slowly emerged from her glowing flesh. Eventually, it split off into its own person, but not before the two twins violently snapped away from each other like a rubber band under extreme tension. Everyone flinched as one Musubi rocketed into the bookcase across the room and collapsed on the ground with a grunt and a big thud. The other crashed into Chiho, the force of impact knocking them to the floor and tumbling over each other.
Everyone just stopped whatever they were doing and stared at the doppelganger as she came to her knees, groaning from the pain. What seemed to be the original Musubi was still recovering on the ground with spiraling black and white swirls in her eyes and a book that landed on her head like a rain hat. The duplicate looked identical to Musubi in every way possible, but it was easy to distinguish the two on closer inspection. The doppelganger had a large glowing '08' on her abdomen and somewhat smaller boobs.
"Ouch, that hurt." The naked twin looked at everyone's stunned expressions, then rubbed the back of her neck and giggled, "Um...hi?"
A/N: And there we have one of the biggest twists I had building up in this fic for the last year or so. To those concerned about the possibility of Musubi being remarked and taken from Minato, don't be. I'll keep it at that to avoid spoilers for the next chapter.