A/N: Big thanks to Great_OLAF5 again for betaing my fic.
XXXXXX
Well, This is Awkward…
Karasuba looked on in blinking, jaw-gaped awe along with the rest of the room's occupants. Musubi had just split into two separate beings.
"Yume…" the Black Sekirei uttered in a whisper.
Everyone looked on silently mumbling between themselves in absolute confusion as this 'Yume' came to her feet and helped Chiho up. She grabbed Karasuba's nodachi not a moment later then turned her attention to the Black Sekirei and the two holding her to the floor shortly after.
"Let her go, you two." Yume instructed, taking some steps forward.
"Let her go?!" Minato exclaimed. "But she'll-!"
"No she won't, trust me. I won't let her do anything she'll regret. Besides," she comes closer, presenting the nodachi gripped firmly in her right hand. "I have her sword and she won't be getting it back until I'm certain everyone's safe."
She was still bum-naked as all of this was going on and doing nothing to hide the fact, by the way.
Minato hesitated for a moment before letting up his grip and ordering Matsu to do the same. They immediately skedaddled over to the group as Karasuba came to her feet and started to approach. Yume closed the distance and soon enough they were locking horns nose to nose.
"You know you can't win, Karasuba. Not without your sword and your Ashikabi at death's door. The Karasuba I knew was always prepared for anything and all surprises. The fact you were dogpiled by a human and a single Sekirei more than shows your fatigue. Leave, rest up, and focus on keeping the promise you made Musubi. You owe her and I that much."
Karasuba snorted, then hummed. "You think you've won, Yume, but in a roundabout way I now have exactly what I've wanted. It would be pointless to wing myself on Chiho now that you're back." Her grey cape fluttered as she turned and left, saying, "We have a lot of catching up to do, so try not to die on me again this time." before shutting the door behind her.
Yume hung her head after taking a sigh in relief. Her cowlick blinked like an exclamation point as she opened her eyes. "Oh my, I'm naked."
An aroma of silence creeps upon the moment before everyone collectively blurts out, "EH?! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!"
Minato pointed at Yume, then Musubi, then Yume again. "Two Musubis! I can't believe my eyes, there are two Musubis!"
Yume rubbed the back of her head as she tried to hide her immodesty, crossing her legs and covering her breasts with her arm. "Well, this is awkward...can...someone get me some clothes to wear, please."
"Uh...yeeaaah." Uzume said in bewilderment. She aimed a dainty finger down the hall. "Just...follow me."
Following a trip to Uzume's wardrobe and emerging in a goofy-ass shark costume (She thought it was adorable. Hush.), Yume spends the next hour explaining in great detail her connection to Musubi as well as her history with Karasuba and the Discipline Squad at large. She and Karasuba apparently served on the second generation Discipline Squad and had a very close relationship with each other. One day, the two were tasked with protecting several Sekirei fledglings at a military base that was under siege by soldiers. One of the Sekirei they were protecting happened to be a much younger Musubi, around the same age Kuu is now. Somehow her tama was badly damaged during the skirmish and Yume, not wanting to see such a young Sekirei die without knowing the love of an Ashikabi, donated her own tama and with it her life to save Musubi.
"That was twenty years ago." Yume said, finalizing the rest of her story.
"Wow, so you've been on the inside of Musubi this whole time?" Minato asked, leaning in.
"That's right."
"If what you say is true, then how exactly were you able to emerge from Musubi without killing her? Your tama was what kept her alive, right? So how is she still here?" Uzume pondered aloud.
"That's just the thing, I was never supposed to be able to come back from that. What just happened should have been impossible, yet here I am. The only explanation I can gather is that time healed her tama as mine kept her on life support. Once she met you, Minato, it completely healed upon you giving Musubi her wings. After that she gained full control and I remained dormant and as little more than a defense mechanism in case something threatened her existence or the existence of those she loved dearly."
"A defense mechanism?" Minato asked. "What does that mean."
"Like in the case that if anyone were to deactivate her I would gain control briefly until she could regain her life force."
"Wow, talk about having an unfair advantage." Benitsubasa commented sarcastically. "So you were basically a get out of jail free card in case things went south for #88, Is that right?"
"I guess you could say that." Yume giggles. "But there is more to it. I could only emerge and revive her if the love between Musubi and her Ashikabi was true. That and it would be a one-time thing."
"Still one more chance than anyone else in the Sekirei plan would get." Benitsubasa added.
"Well, thankfully such an event never happened. Not that it would matter now, since I'm, you know, my own person again." Yume grinned.
"Musubi loves everyone here in this room!" Musubi cheerfully declared. "Even the pink-haired meanie who cheats at fighting!"
"What was that?!" Benitsubasa snarled, squeezing her fist. "No one cheated! The fight we had was an exhibition with no rules!"
"Cheater~! Cheater~!" Musubi sang in a sing-song voice, causing Benitsubasa to become visibly more annoyed.
"Come on, let's settle down now you two," Minato begged passively as a large drop of sweat rolled down the back of his head.
Speaking of Musubi, that reminded Minato of something urgently important. He had gotten so scatterbrained thanks to the events leading up until now that he almost forgot that Musubi might have been remarked from Chiho's kiss.
"Musubi!"
"Yeah Minato, what's wrong?"
"I-I need you to kiss me. I need to know whether or not you're still my Sekirei!"
Not a moment later he found himself pounced on and straddled by her. She grabbed his face and pressed her lips into his as hard as she could. Her wings deployed stronger and brighter than ever before. She was indeed still his.
"Thank Kami." Chiho sighed in relief collectively with everyone else in the room that cared. "I guess the cursebreaker only works on Sekirei with non-compatible Ashikabi."
Minato chuckled. "Learn something new every day, I guess." He looks up at Musubi longingly. "I'm so happy you're still mine."
"Me too, Minato." Musubi said before kissing him once again, this time on the forehead. "In fact, I feel our bond is even stronger than before now!"
"Perhaps in addition to severing bonds that are hopeless, the cursebreaker also strengthens bonds that are healthy and true." Matsu commented observantly. She adjusts her glasses and smirks. "Experimentation required."
"There's a multitude of things we don't know about this ability," Tsukiumi stated in response to Matsu. "Experimenting further as you say would be unwise. The risk is too great."
"Maybe you're looking too deep into it, Tsukiumi." Kazehana mentioned, having herself a stretch. "If the cursebreaker didn't remark Musubi, why would it with anyone else bonded to him? He loves all of us equally, so what would the issue be?
"I don't know, I'm still wary. How do we know Musubi is even the same person after what we just witnessed?"
"I dunno," Minato said. "Musubi, do you feel any differently?"
"Not really. I feel fine." she replied, tilting her noggin to the side.
Minato smiled at Tsukiumi. "Well I guess that settles that then."
"If thou says so." She points at Musubi. "But Musubi, I demand a shopping race tomorrow. If you win I will concede that you are in fact the same person."
"You're on!" Musubi spoke, accepting the challenge.
"None of this explains how the hell the cursebreaker could just split a Sekirei in two." Minato said, scratching his head.
"I was drawn out by the lips of a warm and gentle spirit. That's the way I see it at least." Yume said. She looked at Chiho, her Ashikabi, and smiled. "It's so nice to finally meet you in the flesh, Chiho."
Chiho blushed and tried to wave it off like it was no big deal. "Likewise, though admittedly I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Nonsense. Fate is what brought us all together here this day. Those who get in the way of love must be dealt with!" Yume stated proudly, puffing out her chest and beating a flipper against it as if she were pledging allegiance.
"So wait, does this mean Chiho winged you in addition to dragging you out of Musubi?" Minato asked.
"That's right."
"Was I not warm and gentle enough for you?" Minato chuckled. "I kissed Musubi multiple times, but you never appeared oir winged yourself on me."
"It's not your fault, Minato. You just didn't have the magic of Chiho's cursebreaker to break reality and do the impossible to separate us. The only other way would have been if something tragic happened that would have made me take control of her and lets all be thankful that never happened."
"I see. I guess it all just lies in fate then, as you said."
"You're not hurt that Chiho is my Ashikabi, are you?" she asked, with a contorted look of concern.
"Of course not. We just met after all. I wish you nothing but the best. Besides, I have enough on my plate juggling the little harem I have at the moment."
"Me and Chiho included!" Uzume cheered shamelessly.
"Of course, you two as well." Minato said, ruffling through his hair and laughing.
"So!" Chiho said, clapping her hands. "Now that all is well, how about we open the gifts."
"Oh yeah." Minato gasped. "With all that's happened, I almost forgot it was your birthday!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
XXXXXX
"Now let's see…" Chiho said, reaching for one of the gifts randomly. "This one is from Matsu…feels like a book." She opens it. "Oh my God, Matsu! I can make brownies with this book! Thank you so much!" Chiho squeed, giddy from joy. She then gives Matsu a big hug.
"No problem. You deserve it, Chiho." she said, returning the tight embrace.
"I just have one question."
"Oh, and what's that?"
"Just how did you know I'd be interested in something like this?"
"Well, I kind of spied on you like a dirty pervert."
Chiho bonked Matsu on the noggin with the book. "Bad Matsu! Go to horny jail!"
Matsu pouted and gave Chiho puppy-dog eyes. "I'm sowwy."
Chiho gives Matsu's head some good rub-rubs. "All is forgiven."
XXXXXX
Tsukiumi's gift was up next.
Chiho tears it open and is stunned by the beauty of the sapphire-studded dress within. Tears come to her eyes as she unfurls it. "Oh my God, it's so beautiful! I don't know what to say!"
Oh you know Tsukiumi got a hug for that.
"Thou art very welcome." Tsukiumi softly replied, nuzzling her cheek against Chiho's neck.
XXXXXX
"Here you go, Chiho." Musubi said, handing off her gift. "I made this teddy bear especially for you."
"A teddy bear!? KAWAII!" she tears off the gift wrap not a moment later.
"Uh, Musubi?" Minato called out dryly.
"Yes?"
"You know you're not supposed to tell the person what's on the inside of the gift, right?"
"You're not?"
Yep, if there were any doubt as to whether or not Musubi was still herself, look no further.
"No, that's for them to find out when they open it. Telling them kind of ruins the surprise for when they do."
Musubi's eyes flashed open in shock. She covered her mouth with her gloved hands. "Oh no, I'm sorry."
Minato pats her on the shoulder. "Don't worry Musubi, it's alright. Just look at her. The way she's cuddling that bear more than shows she loves it, surprised or not."
"Well, I guess that's all that matters then." Musubi said cheerily as she watched Chiho give the bear more snuggles.
XXXXXX
Putting the custom-made teddy aside, Chiho reached for the smallest gift on the table. "This one's from Kusano. I wonder what it can be?" She gently pokes a hole in the wrapping with her nail and peels it off, revealing a pretty hair clip.
"Oh it's so cute! Thank you Kuu! I'm gonna put it on right now."
"Let me do it!" Kuu squeaks.
"Okay!" Chiho hands the clip to Kuu and comes to one knee with a welcoming smile directed at her.
Kuu gets on her tippy toes and gently slides the clip into place. With a job well done, Kuu throws her hands in the air and does jumping jacks. "Yay! Yay!"
XXXXXX
The last gift on the table was Kazehana's, and it had a really peculiar teardrop shape. Chiho grabbed it by the gooseneck and heard a sloshing noise. "Oh I think I know what this is, Miss Lush."
Kazehana blushed innocently as her gift was opened.
"A bottle of premium sake." Uzume commented. "Why am I not surprised."
"What do you say we crack that sucker open and make this a real party?!" Kazehana yelled.
Everyone pumped a fist in the air. Except for Kuu and Minato of course because they were underage and someone had to escort everyone's drunken ass home after the party ended.
Minato looked at Uzume, surprised she didn't have a gift for Chiho. "So where's your gift, Uzume?"
"It's in the bedroom for...later." she replied.
"Oooooohh, I see."
Uzume giggles. "You know I can say the same for you, where's your gift?"
"Oh, right." he said, reaching for his wallet. "Almost forgot. Chiho!" He calls out. "Come here for a sec. I got something for you too!"
She hurries over. "What's up, Minato?"
He opens his wallet and pulls out some sort of ticket. He presents it to her. "My friend Seo gave these reservations for an onsen a couple of weeks ago. I'd like you to have them."
"Oh wow, that's so nice of you, Minato! I'd love it if you and everyone here could come too!"
"That reservation is good for only three people though."
"That doesn't mean anything. I work for MBI, remember? All I gotta do is flash my card and they'll bend to my whims."
"Sounds awesome, Chiho! It'll be a nice little mini-vacation for everyone involved!"
"Yep. Just give me a week to get all the reservations in order and we should be good to go."
"Amazing. I look forward to it Chiho."
She looks over the reservation more thoroughly. "Oh, and it looks like they have mixed bathing too." She wiggles her eyebrows up and down, and gives Minato a look filled with dirty thoughts. Uzume started doing it too.
All Minato could do at that point was rub the back of his head bashfully as the flirtation made his face all red.
"You know, Minato…" Chiho uttered, creeping up to him and keeping her voice just below the pitch of the party's chatter. "There's a present that I'd like to give you right now."
"Oh boy, and where might this present be?"
"In my bedroom…"
The look in her lust-drunken eyes told the whole story.
"There's still a party going on though. We haven't even had cake yet!"
"We won't be long, and it's best I don't have that at the moment."
"But, Kuu's here!"
"Not in my bedroom she isn't!" She then grabs Minato by the wrist.
"Hey, what are you-!" Minato squeals as he's chauffeured past the kitchen and down the hall…
Uzume waves at them. "Have fun you two! I'll catch up later!"
"Hey, where did Minato go?" Kazehana asked as she approached and took a swig of sake.
"Chiho just wanted to show him something behind closed doors." Uzume replied.
A smirk grew over Kazehana's lips. "Oh I see, hee hee. Good for her."
XXXXXX
"You want me to do what now?" Minato asked in bewilderment as he felt a cold sweat wetting his collar.
"You heard me, Minato." Chiho replied. She was bent over on the bed and...spreading open her sphincter. "I want to lose my anal virginity to the boy I like on my birthday. Now put ochinchin-san to work and get to it, Mister!"
Minato could just barely hear a pin drop as he slammed on the brakes. "Um, well...okay. Just lemme get a condom on first and I'll-"
"NO!" Chiho shouted. "I want it au natural."
"That option is so dirty though!"
Chiho raised her nose to the air. "Hmpf! I'll have you know I bleach my asshole regularly and today was no exception."
Minato's jaw suddenly and spontaneously unhinges and hits the floor. "Why would you tell me something like that?!"
"Because I take pride in keeping the orifices of my body clean as can be. I wouldn't ask you to fuck me up the butthole if it was all gross."
"I see," Minato spoke hesitantly, rubbing her nape of his neck. "It's just that I uh, never actually did anal with anyone before."
"You haven't? Butt you have so many sexy Sekirei that just throw themselves at you."
"Well, not unless you count that one time Matsu had me shove my...you know what, never mind. The less said about that the better." I still can't believe it went all the way in!
The air in the bedroom seems to charge up with some kind of horrible curiosity on Chiho's part.
The itty bitty little birds outside stop chirping.
The wind calms.
Somewhere in the midst of the party Kazehana is sipping at her sake. She freezes with the shot glass at her glossy lips.
Chiho is blushing, rubbing the back of her head ruefully. "Would you mind...demonstrating?"
Not this again!
"Well, would you?" she asked again.
"N-N-Never mind that! Anal it is then for the birthday girl!"
"Yay!"
[Fade out/Fade in]
"Careful!"
"Are you sure about this, Chiho?"
Minato was positioned behind Chiho, who was looking back at him over her shoulder, looking more than just a little red in the cheeks.
It was easy for Minato to get in the mood, as Chiho's shapely feature on full lewd display did wonders for his eager erection. He just wished it were traveling more south than north on the equator that was her rump. With that accomplished, he emptied a bottle of lube Chiho handed him and doused his entire length with it. It smelled of lemons.
"Yes, I'm sure." she squeaks in a peep. "Now come on, before I calm down and start to think too much about this."
Her breathing was coming off a little more heavy than usual, and her response is very much one of impatience.
It was to be expected, considering Minato was trying his best to delay the inevitable.
"I think we've both gone temporarily insane."
"Less talky, more pushy!"
"Yes, more pussy would be nice right about now."
"Ugh, stop making me wait! It's my birthday for crying out loud!"
Minato tried as hard as he could not to think about the specifics of what he was about to get himself into. Taking a breath that is as much for him as it was for her, he starts to enter her slowly. There was a lot of resistance at first, but the lube ultimately did its job. She squealed loud as the head punctured through.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine!" She wailed, shaking her head wildly and messing up her hair. "I can take it! I'm a big girl! Keep going!"
"Alright, if you say so…"
Her whole body tenses as Minato tunnels deeper inside. The look on her face was the look of immediately regretting all her decisions. It was almost comical how contorted and...constipated her expression looked.
"So uh, how do you feel, Minato." she said through a twitching grimace.
"It's surprisingly good...butt odd." he replies. He grips her love handles, admiring the pear like shape of her rear end. "You, on the other hand, don't look comfortable at all."
"Is it that obvious?" she groans in discomfort.
He wasn't all the way in at this point, only a few inches past the tip.
"Should I stop?"
"No, you're fine. It just feels very...weird."
"I could imagine."
The both of them giggle.
"Keep going. If all else fails I at least want all of you inside me."
"All of it, huh? Well I guess I'd expect nothing more from the birthday girl."
He continues to work his way inside her, working slowly and being sure to listen carefully to Chiho's breathing. She looks back again once it was all the way in for a good moment, biting her lower lip.
"Are you going to try moving or are we just gonna sit here feeling silly?"
"I just wanted to give you an opportunity to adjust if you needed to."
"I don't think there's any adjusting to something like this. Just keep thrusting until we start feeling good."
She sounded doubtful, but at the same time wasn't going to admit defeat now that they had gone so far up shit's creek without a paddle...yeah, literally shit's creek.
He begins to gyrate his hips in a slow motion that seems to work well for both of them. She closes her eyes, attempting to concentrate on this new feeling and as they find a rhythm that seems to work, they pick up the pace a bit. He also closes his eyes, trying to get lost in the feeling with her.
Nope, this wasn't working.
At all.
Chiho wasn't making much noise, and he knew for a fact that she's not exactly the quiet type if she was into something. He opens his eyes, and sees that Chiho is still trying to get into it, but it still doesn't seem to be working for her. She was biting her lip, sure, but it seemed more out of toleration than enjoyment. It was a look of, "well, this was a failure, but it'll hopefully be over soon" look. He shared the sentiment. He didn't want to stop yet though.
Minato reaches one arm around to feel up Chiho's chest, which startles her a bit. This causes her buttmuscles to clench hard and tight, causing Minato to immediately orgasm.
"You're finished already? My butt made you feel that good, huh?"
"Yeah, sorry. You tightening up so suddenly surprised me a lot." He withdraws from her rear end, his deflating erection dripping with cum and lemony lube.
"I'm so glad you felt good, Minato." Chiho's arms give out and she falls forward. She reaches for the tissue box on her night stand and hands Minato a few. "Here, wipe us clean."
"Thanks."
After wiping himself and her down, he goes to toss the tissue, but stops, opting to hold onto it instead. Matsu said she needs Chiho's DNA. Whatever is on this tissue should be more than enough… He thought to himself.
"Well," he began. "This is awkward..."
She curls up next to him. "Indeed."
"We're never doing this again, right?" Minato asked.
"Yeah I think my curiosity is satisfied on this one." she nods.
"Good. Let us never speak of this again."
The utter and absolute ridiculousness of the situation suddenly hits them both like Truck-san coming at mach speed to send some poor schmuck on a journey to isekai-land. He begins laughing and not long after Chiho joins in the chuckles as well.
"Yeah, let's stick to the basics from here on out." Chiho giggles. "Thank you."
"Hey, no problem, Chiho."
"Up for round two?" she's asked.
"Nah, I think we should get back to the party. Everyone's probably wondering where we've gone."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But I think I'm gonna get some rest. Trying anal for the first time kind of wore me out..."
"That's understandable. I'm kind of exhausted from the whole ordeal myself." He stands up and approaches the door as Chiho crawls into her covers. "Goodnight, Chiho."
"Goodnight Minato. I love you."
A puff of steam emerged from Minato's collar as his face flushed red. "I love you too, Chiho."
And with that he entered the hallway and shut the door behind him.
"So how was it?" Uzume asked, taking the ronin by surprise.
"Gah! H-How long were you standing there?!"
"Long enough. Sounds like you really wore each other out."
"I guess you can say that, yeah. Haha."
He then found himself pulled into Uzume's embrace. "Thank you for making her so happy. I don't know what I would do without you."
"No problem, Uzume. I do what I can to help."
"You do more than enough for everyone." She pats him on the back before letting go. "Now come on, let's get back to the party."
"Lets!"
XXXXXX
The party didn't last much longer as the birthday girl decided to go to bed. Eventually the clock struck Midnight and everyone decided to just crash there for the night considering how many of them were drunk off their asses, especially Kazehana who basically drank everyone under the table. Soon enough, they were all greeted by the morning's rising sun and with that came splitting headaches from their hangovers.
As everyone prepared to leave for home, Matsu approached Yume who was still in that ridiculous shark costume and asked, "Just so we're clear...you're not actually going to give Karasuba her sword back, are you?"
"As I said before she won't be getting it back until I'm certain everyone's safe."
"But no one is ever safe when Karasuba is involved!" Matsu slurred.
"Don't worry over it, Matsu. I'll be keeping a close eye on her. She won't be harming anybody."
"If you say so. I'm still paranoid though."
"Don't be. Have faith in me."
"I don't think we have anything to concern ourselves over just yet, Matsu." Minato added. "I mean with her Ashikabi in such dire straits she probably knows better than to pick a fight she knows she won't be able to win."
"I guess that's true. How long do you think it will take for Natsuo to recover?"
"In a week he should be conscious again, but still not in any condition to get out of bed."
"Would that alone be enough for Karasuba to recover and become a threat again?"
Yume solemnly nodded. "Unfortunately it would be, yes."
"Dammit." Minato expressed, snapping his fingers.
"Well at least we have some time before then." Matsu sighed. "It's still better than nothing."
"I know, but still." Minato reiterated.
"Hey don't fret." Yume said, trying to cheer Minato up. "I promise you I'll keep everyone safe from her. I swear this to you."
"If you say so, Yume."
XXXXXX
A/N: The sex scene in this chapter is heavily based on a famous scene from the visual novel "Katawa Shoujo". I highly recommend all of you to check it out if you haven't already. Plus it's free so there really isn't any excuse not to.
I'm happy with the feedback my story has been getting, even if some reviewers don't think it's as good as when it started out 9 years ago. Writing at the pace and level I'm at now though is a must if I ever want to complete it. I'm not trying to make this or any other work under my belt a masterpiece anymore because that was just draining and made my otherwise healthy hobby a chore to do.
I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone, but it's just the way things need to be. Besides, all I ever really wanted to do in writing was try new different things and take people by surprise. If I'm doing that, then I'm happy.