Feed the Flame: Part III

As if on signal, Mutsu leapt back and away from the fight he had started.

"And just where do you think you're going, Mutsu?" Uzume demanded, wondering for the reason behind his sudden retreat.

"My job here is finished, therefore there is no further reason to quarrel with you," he responded, then turned to Mikogami and lifted him onto his shoulder.

"Hey, just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mikogami screamed.

"Taking you home, Master. Or would you rather jump from roof to roof all by yourself?"

"Well, in that case forget I said anything!"

Uzume watched them shrink into the distance, still puzzled. "His job here is finished? What the hell could that mea-"

"Hey, Uzume!"

Only a few voices that could make Uzume spin and smile like that. Minato's was one of them.

She waved. "Hey, good to see you! Everyone alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine, but we can't find Homura. They must've taken him during the confusion when that mist Sekirei used her powers."

Uzume parkoured over to the building Minato stood on, or at least what was left of it. She grabs his chin and pulls him in for a kiss.

"What took you so long?" Uzume asked, wanting to know.

Tsukiumi, behind him to one side, tried her damnedest not to cringe. She didn't know if she'd ever get over seeing other women sharing PDAs with her man, especially outside his collected harem. That said, her eye still twitched once.

An angry bear apparition went on full blast just beyond Musubi's shoulder, much like the landlady's hanya mask. Her training sessions with Miya seemed to have an adverse effect of rubbing off on her personality.

And for a moment, all Kazehana could think about was having a game of horny horseshoes alongside a bottle of sake.

Minato blushed and cleared his throat. "Well, it was short notice. Didn't have much time to prepare."

"I see. So, now what?"

"I don't know," Minato admitted. He pressed a button on his comm-link to Matsu. "Matsu, do you know where they took Homura?"

"I can't see anything Minato; the satellite's been hacked by an outside party and I can't get in."

"What?!"

"There's nothing I can do now, Minato. Homura's gone."

An hour later...

The group found themselves around the dinner table at the inn, faces hung in defeat.

Kazehana slowly exhaled. "So, now what?"

"Now, we come up with a Plan B," Matsu replied.

"And what's plan B?" Uzume asked, her elbow on the table and her cheek in her palm.

"Don't know yet." Matsu sighed. "One thing's for certain, though: what we just dealt with was a coordinated attack."

"What makes you say that?" Minato asked.

"The two Ashikabi we fought were the West and South Ashikabi respectively. Don't you find it odd that they were at the same place at the same time? And pulled out of the conflict at the same time Homura disappeared?"

"Not to mention I caught Mutsu giving Sanada orders to follow right before you guys arrived to help out," Uzume added, "so that just makes things even more suspect."

"Well, Homura did kind of lure an audience, "Musubi offered, ever the optimist. "His flames could be seen from miles away and everyone was looking for him."

"True, but something still doesn't add up. " Matsu's fingers pressed to her forehead, brushing aside her orange bangs. "Neither of those two were smart enough to coordinate an offense as organized as what we went up against. There's got to be a third party."

"Do you think it's another Sekirei?" Kazehana asked.

"Not only that, I have a feeling I know exactly which one."

"And that is...?"

"Kochou. She's a brain-type like me." Matsu's hands came to rest on the table. "During the scuffle we had here with Higa a couple weeks ago, she somehow hacked into my systems to give me a little game of cat and mouse. Her return might mean Higa's come back to try and finish what he started."

Uzume sweat dropped. She knew that wasn't the case, on account of, well, obvious reasons.

Kazehana spoke up again. "Why would Higa bother returning with no Sekirei left? Last I checked while I was in the hospital, you guys swept them clean in that surprise attack. How could he possibly get revenge on us without anymore Sekirei?"

"Perhaps he's bribing other Ashikabi to do his bidding?" Matsu argued.

Uzume glared at Matsu. "Matsu, you do know that Higa isn't Kochou's Ashikabi, right?"

Matsu's head perked up, frowning. "Wait, she isn't?"

"Yeah, she's with Higa's assistant, Kakizaki. Thought you'd know that considering all the research you do on things."

"At the time I was focused on the immediate situation so I wouldn't lose control of my systems. I just assumed she was part of Higa's harem because he was the one who attacked us, so I didn't bother looking into it. Some things fall through the cracks, even for brainiacs like me. Can you think of why this Kakizaki might have come after us like this?"

An exclamation point dinged over Uzume's head. She nudged the man beside her. "Uh, Minato?"

He leaned towards her. "Yeah, what is it?"

"We didn't just..." She slowly turned towards him. "-leave the guy for dead after we did the 9-5-nasty, did we? Please tell me we called the police or something."

Minato's eyes bulged, doubly embarrassed. "We did not."

"Well, shit. Looks like he wants revenge."

Yukari yawned as she and Shiina walked in from the hallway. "Hey, guys. What's going on?"

Uzume tugged on Minato's shirt. "Minato, who're they?"

"Oh, that's my sister, Yukari, and her Sekirei, Shiina," Minato responded. "They moved into your room after you left."

"Is that so? In that case, I have a few questions to ask her."

Minato had a bad feeling about this…

Uzume got up from her chair and slammed her hands on the table. "First of all, where were you?" she demanded.

"I was upstairs sleeping, why? Wait, why am I answering to you? Just who am I talking to?"

Uzume avoided her questions and continued getting worked up. "Minato and everyone here including myself just got back after being ambushed! You're Minato's sister and have a Sekirei! Why weren't you there to help us?!"

"You what?! I'm sorry, I didn't know! Is everyone alright?!"

"Easy, Uzume," Minato said soothingly, laying a hand on her shoulder and guiding her tush back to its seat. "It's not her fault. I should have woken her up before leaving the inn. Please, chill."

"Yeah, um... Sorry," Yukari said. "I just had a really long, shitty day at work and needed to get some rest. I doubt I would've been much help, I'm afraid."

The landlady chimed in, walking into the room alongside Kusano to place down some plates of freshly-baked oatmeal cookies. "So I see, good to know."

Minato grabbed one of them and took a bite. "Thanks, Miya."

"You're very welcome. Also, I would like to offer some words of wisdom along with these tasty morsels."

Everyone leaned in to listen.

"If you think about it, the South and West starting an alliance against you makes a lot of sense. Considering what you've done when faced with the adversity of Higa, as well as your affiliation with the Discipline Squad, most probably see you as an unstoppable force. They likely want to knock you down a peg, as to improve their own chances."

"That does make a lot of sense," Minato conceded, pondering her words as he rubbed his chin like he would while cramming for exams.

Miya shook her head. "No no, there's more. Have you noticed that, between the time he was captured and now, there hasn't been any announcement?"

Uzume's face lit up like a light. "Hey, that's right! His winging would trigger the next stage and we would've been notified immediately after!"

Musubi's eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, "So there is hope!"

"Indeed." The landlady smiled. "From what I can see, the plan of your foes somehow involves artificially preventing the Sekirei Plan from progressing."

"What for?"

"To extend the time they have to grow in numbers. If this assistant of Higa's was as close to him as Uzume says, then we know he has the means of financially supporting a small army to oppose you."

"So what can we do to prevent that from happening, Miya?"

"'Tis obvious!" Tsukiumi declared. "We must find Homura posthaste!"

"I know, but how?" Matsu asked. "My tracking device went dead after Homura went volcanic."

"Just leave that to me!" Uzume said, pulling out her phone and putting Chiho on speed dial.

XXXXXX

"Excellent work, everyone." Kakizaki applauded. "With #6 in our possession, the Sekirei Plan has been put on an indefinite hold. This is good."

"So what're our next moves?" Sanada asked.

Kakizaki got up from his desk and turned around facing the office lounge's window, hands behind him crossed. "Expand our alliance and influence over the city. As strong as we are now, we only barely escaped the last scuffle without losing any Sekirei. As we are, we're too equal in strength to them. We need allies."

"How do we convince people to join us, then?"

"It won't be too hard. We can just offer #6 as a reward to whomever neutralizes our Northern threat. Plus, I can financially support anyone who will back our efforts."

"Wait, we're just going to give #6 away? No fair! I wanted to add him to my collection!" Mikogami whined.

"Now now, Mikogami," Kakizaki pleaded, holding a hand up. "We all need to make sacrifices in order to succeed here. Having him unwinged as long as possible and paraded as a prize will surely get other Ashikabi to join with us."

"Whatever." Mikogami crossed his arms. "You're lame."

Akitsu entered the room, a trail of frosty cold air following her in from the other side of the door.

"Oh Akitsu! So glad you can join us. How is #6 faring?"

"The ice shell I've encased him in should be enough to hold him for a day now that the temperature in there is well below freezing. I'll need to check on him periodically to ensure it doesn't melt too much though."

"How often are we looking at, Akitsu?"

"At least one layer of ice every eight hours."

"Good, good. I like those numbers."

"Is there anything else?"

"At the moment, no. You're dismissed."

Akitsu gave a slight bow. "Very well. I'll be resting in bed if needed."

XXXXXX

As Akitsu drifted off to sleep, she found herself sitting at the park bench she was first discovered at in her dream. This time though she was thinking about Chiho. Sure enough, the psionic link between them was active again.

"What's up, Akitsu?" Chiho said as she materialized from the cascading rain.

Akitsu folded her hands in front of herself. "I'd prefer to not talk about it."

"Does it have to do with Homura?"

She looked up at her. "Yes, how did you-?"

Chiho smiled. "My Uzume told me all about it after she called me a few minutes ago. How is he?"

"He's alive, but I have him on ice. He won't be going anywhere for a while. That's all I can say without divulging our plans."

"Your plans to turn the entire city against Minato and the Discipline Squad? Yeah, we've pretty much figured that out."

"Nothing gets past you, does it, Chiho?"

"Nope! But enough about that. You need to let Homura go."

"We can't. His body is too unstable. He'll spontaneously combust into ash if I don't keep him frozen solid."

"You have him frozen solid?! How is he even alive then? Can he breathe?"

"His face isn't covered so no need to worry over suffocation."

"Okay, good. You had me worried there for a moment. But look, from what I know, the only way to keep him alive other than to keep him frozen would be for someone to wing him. Find some way to bring him to me and I'll wing you both on the spot. No questions asked."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Of course!"

"I don't know, I'll need to think about it. Also need a way to get him out of here undetected."

"I'm counting on you, Akitsu. Don't let me down."

XXXXXX

It was getting late and although everyone was reluctant they all decided it was best to get some rest. Uzume went home and Minato was just about to hit the sack when the landlady called out and approached him from her bedroom.

"Minato, may I speak to you for a moment, in private?"

"Sure, what's up, Miya?"

"Would you mind joining me in my room? I wish to share something with you, a little activity Takehito and I used to engage in."

"Um... sure?" Minato blushed. An extremely attractive landlady inviting her younger tenant into her room? Sounded like something out of a porno movie. But he was fairly certain it wasn't that, so he followed her inside.

On the other side of the bed and in front of the window were two chairs and a table with a tea set on top of it complete with a piping hot kettle.

"Why don't you have a seat while I grab what I need to…" She started humming to herself.

Taking a seat, he watched as she pulled open the table's drawer and fished out a key. With that in her possession, she then pulled up a flap of rug, revealing a hidden compartment in the floor and a keyhole. Taking a knee and inserting the key, the hatch clicked open.

Minato knew if this were any of his girls they would have instead bent over and flashed their panties at him, whether intentional or not. Coming to this realization calmed his nerves quite a lot. Another lover would kill him at this point if he wasn't careful.

"Minato?"

He blinked, snapping back to reality as if taken over by hypnosis a moment ago. "Um, yes, ma'am?"

A mason jar swung to and fro playfully in her grasp. Green buds bounced inside of it as she did so. "Would you like to have some with me?"

"Um, Miya? Just what is that you're holding?"

"Why, it's cannabis, of course. What does it look like, silly?"

"But I thought that stuff was illegal!"

"You really need to catch up with the news, Minato," she chuckled, taking out a pipe and claiming a seat next to him. "Ever since MBI took over the city, the substance has been legalized for both medicinal and recreational use, not just in Japan but all over the world."

'I can't believe Matsu was telling me the truth about this!' "Miya, I must say, I am a little shocked."

"Oh, and why is that?" she said, pouring out a cup of tea for the two of them.

"Well, I just didn't see you as being one to indulge in things like this," he said, grabbing a cup and taking a small sip.

The landlady closed her eyes and took a moment to enjoy the aroma of her tea, the cup at her lips. "I see." She took a sip and placed the cup back on the saucer. "To be frank, I was never one to overindulge. I only ever smoked it alongside Takehito and he rarely touched it. We saved it for special occasions. I haven't had any since he passed away, in fact."

"What made you want to have some with me, then?"

She grinned. "Because you are special, Minato."

"You flatter me, Miss Miya, honestly. But don't I still need to be a certain age before I can legally have it? I'm only 19."

"Who's going to find out? Or better yet, what could anyone possibly do about it if they do find out? What are they going to do, punish me? Fufufu." She giggled as she twisted off the top of the mason jar, letting the stank of freshly-preserved cannabis free from its longtime confinement. She began to pick the flower buds apart, little piece by little piece, and stuff them into her silver pipe. "But no, it'll be fine. I've done my research and the legal age without being a patient is 18."

"I see. Well, that's a relief I guess."

"So will you join me, Minato?" Miya asked after inhaling some of the burning plant and presenting him the pipe and lighter.

"Well, if you insist."

He flicked the lighter and puts the pipe to his lips, inhaling deeply... and immediately started coughing.

"Oh my," the landlady giggled. "Was that your first time?"

"Sure was. *cough* Feels like my *cough* lungs are on fire. *cough* *cough*"

"The tea will help ease that. Why not have some more?"

"Okay, sure. *cough*"

[Fade out/Fade in]

A few minutes later, both Miya and Minato were lying all the way back in their seats, their reddened, hazy eyes proof of the cannabis doing its job. The hanya mask had the eyes, too. This was, in fact, the most chill Minato had ever seen the mask since, well, ever.

"So tell me, Minato. What is a University student like you hoping to Major in?" Miya asked. "I don't think I ever heard you mention it."

"I've yet to decide, but with the way things are going I'll likely try following in my mom's footsteps and get involved in medicine."

"Oh, is that so? That sounds very noble."

"Yep, and I want to take my knowledge to the next level so I can treat not only humans, but Sekirei as well."

"You've come a long way since I first met you, Minato." Miya exhaled, gaze pointed to the ceiling.

"You think so?"

"Of course! You're not the same helpless boy who fell into my backyard late one night with Musubi. You've grown and matured so much. I guess you can say I'm proud of you and what you've become."

"Thanks, Miya. It means a lot to hear you say that."

"And you mean a lot to me as well, Minato," she says, taking his hand. "I would wing myself on you right now if you wanted..."

Uh oh…

Then she continued.

"...But I could never be unfaithful to my husband."

"Miya... does this mean you're reacting to me?"

"I am. I have been for a while, ever since you gave Higa the pummeling he deserved. It's growing stronger, each day that goes by. I honestly didn't think you had what it took in you. But you went into an element of unfamiliarity and stayed strong for everybody."

"To be fair, I had excellent motivation."

The stoned mask winked at him, causing Minato's spine to shiver.

"Indeed, but you followed through and won the day in the end, and that's what matters." She looked out of the window and up at the full moon. "And from the look of that moon, it's quite late, likely past midnight."

"Yeah, we should both get some rest. We'll need it if we're going to stand a chance of finding Homura."

The landlady nodded. "Indeed. Have yourself a good night's sleep, Minato. Thank you for partaking in this moment with me. It helped give me clarity."

"Anytime, hun."

Miya blushed. "Hun? Fufufu, oh dear, you are so silly! I think Kazehana's rubbing off on you!"

The mask seemed to get a little irritated by that statement.

"Sorry ma'am, I, uh, I gotta go!"

Minato bolted like a bullet train, leaving Miya to her cackling laughter.

XXXXXX

A/N: Once again gotta thank Ikrani for the excellent beta reading and editing he's been offering for my story here.

On the topic of how this chapter ended though with Miya's confession, I'm on the fence on where it should lead. Should Minato eventually wing Miya or no? That's what I want to ask you all. I do have some ideas as to where the story will go if ya'll are comfortable with it, but Miya's quite a touchy subject considering Takehito and all.

Thanks for reading.