006 - Izumo Inn (Part 1)

Fortunately, Chad's worst fears about an immediate escalation in the Sekirei Plan didn't come to happen. Sure, there was some suspicious activity around at night, but he honestly wouldn't have even noticed without Mutsu's excellent sensory talents. Looks like a single overblown incident hasn't managed to kick the conflict into high gear… Yet.

It's still inevitable for the shadow war known as the Sekirei Project to eventually escalate, and thus Chad's interest for his lessons has lost quite a bit of its shine. He has more pressing things to worry about than getting a degree, like the happiness and future of his new family. Honestly, the feeling is a bit nostalgic, just like high-school was a bit of a secondary worry while fighting for the fate of Karakura Town or the stability of the Three Worlds.

But that doesn't mean he can just blow it, not unless things get considerably more dire. He's still a scholarship student and, as such, his academic performance will be closely monitored to ensure the grant money doesn't go to waste. There's a chance Minaka Hiroto, as the mastermind behind both the Star Student Program and the whole Sekirei Plan, will exert his influence to ensure no long-term consequences befall people like Chad for neglecting his scholarship in favor of the Plan. But, then again, there's a chance he won't.

Best not to risk it, especially when his duties as an Ashikabi aren't exactly a full-time occupation and he can afford to continue his regular mundane life more or less as usual.

… For now. They're not a full-time occupation for now.

Besides, this is important to him. He wants to get his higher studies in order, walk proud with his head high and prove wrong all these derisive voices that liked to claim how he'd never make anything of himself. Small and miserable people who, admittedly, shouldn't have anywhere as much influence on Chad's mind as they have, but he's only human.

Even discounting that, he can't keep his place in the Boxing Club if he's expelled and there's people counting on him to—

"Yo, Chad!" A familiar voice calls out for him, making him stop and turn around. "Looking good!"

"Itto." Chad greets back with a nod.

Arataki Itto, another member of the Star Student Program. Back at the start of their first school year, he tried to organize all the scholarship students to form a musical band. In spite of the random nature of his plan, he was persistent and charismatic and somehow managed to bring around most of them. Even Chad was coaxed into trying out the bass for a couple of jamming sessions. Unfortunately, he was already committed with the Boxing Club by then and the schedules just weren't compatible.

"Haven seen you since the last boxing semi-finals! How have you been!?" Itto slaps Chad's back with a big smile on his face. "Shame about these stuffy point-pinching judges, amrite? You had the gold in the pocket. I'm sure you'll show them all what's what this year!"

"... Yeah." Itto has an…. exuberant personality, it can be a bit overwhelming at times, but he's a good person.

"By the by, have you given any thought about giving the band another try? That with the new school year and all?" The boy asks, relentlessly going back to his single-minded obsession. By this point Chad can't even say he's surprised. "If you're worried about the schedule, we are pretty flexible. And we could use another bassist."

"Thank you, but…" Chad trails off there, feeling a bit regretful about things. Had this offer came last year, he would've accepted without hesitation. But that was before Matsu and Kaho, back when the Sekirei Plan was just a distant worry for the future. "Can't."

"Duties outside uni?" Itto asks knowingly, his smile dipping just a bit. "I know how it can be."

"Ah." Chad nods, thankful the other guy understands. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It sucks, but we all have a life." Itto replies easily, his smile returning to full swing while he slaps Chad's back again. "Well, gotta bounce, the rest are waiting for me. I'm looking forward to your first match! And here! Some tickets for our next concert, make sure you come watch us, bring along your friends!"

"Itto!" He tries to call out the other man, but he's already left, leaving Chad behind with a hand outstretched towards nothing. "...I have no use for fifty tickets."

"Ashikabi-sama." A formal and collected voice calls out a couple corridors away from where Chad is still trying to figure out what he's going to do with fifty tickets for a concert he's not even sure he'll be attending himself.

"That crap again?" The addressed groans with an eye roll before looking towards the Sekirei. "I've told you to use my name, haven't I?"

"I'm sorry, Ashikabi-sama." The Asikabi apologizes without missing a beat. "But that wouldn't be proper."

"You're too straight-laced for your own good. You know that, right?" The Ashikabi gives up with a long-suffering sigh. "Did you need anything in particular?"

"That man from before." The Sekirei explains. "The incredibly tall one with the dark tan."

"Ah, Chad?" The Ashikabi perks up in recognition. "He's a bit of a celebrity around here, a boxing prodigy. I hear he's a deft hand with a bass, too!"

"He's an Ashikabi too."

"Oh, damn, really?" The Ashikabi asks with a frown. "Are you sure?"

"Beyond all shadow of doubt, we've seen him in action." The Sekirei nods firmly. "Just the other day, during the Green Girl Incident."

"Shit, Shinobu is going to be insufferably smug for the next month. And I owe her all the omurice she can eat at her favorite place for a whole week." The Ashikabi groans in despair. "Well, thank you for the heads up, Lixue."

"I'm just doing my duty, Itto-sama."

One of the greatest things about the new state of things, Chad reflects with satisfaction, is how lunch break has improved ever since he winged his youngest Sekirei. For all Mutsu's many, many good points, he's never been a particularly proactive person. The idea of paying a visit to his Ashikabi during lunch breaks simply wouldn't have occurred to him.

Kaho and Matsu managed to organize an entire event around the idea of bringing him a homemade lunch box in the span of a couple hours. It started with Kaho offering to cook for him so he wouldn't have to buy pre-made food, it continued with Matsu getting jealous and offering to carry the lunchbox to him so he wouldn't need to take it with him first thing in the morning and it wouldn't get cold and, from there…

Well, these two are competitive and entirely unafraid of escalation.

"More tea, Ashikabi-sama?" Kaho asks demurely, holding a steaming thermos towards him. "How are you liking the egg rolls?"

"They're good." Chad answers with a small smile, offering his cup for a refill. "You did something special with them?"

"Ah, yes!" Kaho blushes slightly, a pleased smile appearing on her lips when Chad notices her efforts. "I tried adding some soft cheese on the inner side, to make them more savory without killing the rest of the flavor!"

"Yeah, they're great!" Natsu agrees from the side, her own chopsticks scraping against the bottom of an empty lunchbox. "Can I have seconds?"

"You can get them yourself, there's extras in the spare box." Kaho answers distractedly, all her focus obviously on pouring his tea. "I'm attending Ashikabi-sama now."

"Why, you!" Natsu's hackles immediately rise at the dismissive answer. "I should—!"

"Girls." The voice of Mutsu rises, soft yet stern, cuts her off and immediately draws the other two's attention. "Behave."

"Yes, Mutsu-sama."
"Yes, Mutsu-dono."

For the last few days, Chad's flock has been coming to visit him on campus under the excuse of delivering a lunchbox, just to spend time with him. While he's aware there was no need for all of them to take the trip every day and make a picnic out of what should be simple delivery, he certainly hasn't brought up the topic. In all honesty, this is something he could grow used to.

In spite of the -unfortunately- frequent hiccups as Natsu and Kaho continue to compete over the most inane things, Chad is determined to enjoy these moments of quiet company while he has the chance. After all, he knows better than anyone else how fragile this sort of peace can be and how easily it would be to—

As if to prove him right, Natsu chooses that exact moment to spring up from her seat, producing a kunai to throw into some brushes. Unsure of what's going on but too familiar with the situation to waste time lollygaggin, Chad follows suit, which immediately makes Kaho react in the same way.

With the corner of his eye though, he notes that Mutsu hasn't left his seat. Is that some sort of gambit, or…

"Who goes there!?" Natsu demands threateningly, a fan of kunai appearing on each hand as she glares at the spot where she threw the first one. "Show yourself!"

"Natsu?" Chad asks as he scans his surroundings warily, failing to find any danger but unwilling to relax without an explanation first. "What's wrong?"

A tense silence follows for a good twenty seconds before Natsu's alert stance relaxes slightly and she hesitantly approaches the bushes, pulling them aside to reveal her thrown kunai stabbing an otherwise perfectly innocent wall and no trace of danger.

"E–eh…? I could've sworn I heard someone skulking about…" She trails off confusedly, poking her head into the bushes to grope around. "Weird."

"Oh, my. Are you feeling quite alright?" Kaho covers her lips with a hand as if to hide a smile, but Chad doesn't miss the mournful look as she steals a glance to the ground around them. "I hear ninja are quite the skittish bunch, but there was no need to make us drop lunchboxes full of perfectly good food just because of the wind."

… Ah, the lunchboxes ended up falling off when they all jumped to their feet. That's his bad.

"Sh– Shut up! It was definitely not the wind! It was at the very least a– a squirrel! Or a rat!" Natsu protests defensively, her attempts at finding something anything that would explain her reaction growing more frantic the longer they fail to produce results. "My super-duper ultra-awesome ninja instincts would never fail that badly!"

Two alleys over, a sharp-toothed redhead hurriedly turns a corner and presses her back flat against the wall, keeping perfectly quiet for a moment while listening intently. Once she's satisfied by the results, she lets out a relieved sigh and finally allows herself to relax.

The next thing she does is to grab a lock of her own hair between two fingers and lift it in front of her eyes. Normally-amused yellow pools frown in annoyance as they examine the uneven trim of that lock in particular.

"How did she even notice me?" She mutters grumpily. "Ninjas, I swear…"

"Well, Shubby, what did you expect?" An amused voice calls from deeper down the alley, making the redhead startle. "Just because you are the closest thing we have to a stealth operative, it doesn't mean you can compete with an actual shinobi at their own game."

"Pat! You saw me?" The redhead whines, now looking mortified. "What's gonna cost me to keep this story from the others?"

"Nothing you can't afford to lose, I'm sure." Pat hums, tapping her lips with a finger as they stretch into a teasing smile. "I'm thinking of that box of Turkish Delights hidden on the back of the shelf that you think nobody knows about."

"But I've been saving that for– Fiiiine." Shubby tries to protest, only to immediately deflate with a groan of defeat. "So… What now? Do we go say hello? We lost the surprise factor, but I'm sure we can still give them a good what-for."

"You lost the surprise factor." Pat ruthlessly points out. "And no. Leave them alone."

"But that's what we did last time too!" Shubby whines in despair. "I want some action! I'm tired of leaving people alone! And the ninja bitch owes me a hairdo!"

"Don't be melodramatic and stop with that nonsense already." Far from being impressed by Shubby's begging, Pat chops her head instead. "We have enough on our plate as it is, we don't need to go out of our way to antagonize Ashikabi who aren't priority targets."

And then she drags her away before she can make things worse.

The trimmed lock of hair on Shubby's head doesn't look so uneven anymore. It doesn't even look trimmed at all, actually.

As Kaho continues ribbing Natsu, who is feeling too sheepish to fire back for once, Chad finds himself taking a long breath and rubbing the bridge of his nose. This is the problem with these two. It's not that they argue for the sake of arguing, it's not that they don't have a point to make, but their rivalry gives them a tendency to blow things out of proportion, to push a bit further than it's warranted.

It's not bad enough that it's a real problem, and Kaho is understandably hurt that her hard work got ruined, but … Turning his attention to the side, Chad notices that Mutsu still hasn't moved from his seat, where he continues calmly eating his own lunch. Right, there's obviously something going on that only he has noticed.

Chad sends him a look, to which he returns a small nod before setting down his chopsticks.

"Actually… Natsu was just a bit too slow there." He announces calmly. "Good instincts."

"What do you–? I– I mean! Of course!" If nothing else, Natsu is just as quick to recover as always. "After all, I'm the number one ninja in the entire Shinto Teito! Of course I caught them in the act and… Er… Who's 'them'?"

"Two of the Sekirei from that group we met the other day, Squad Snowwolf. They called themselves 'Shubby' and 'Pat'." Mutsu elaborates, eyes still on his lunch box. "I don't recognize their names but, going by their conversation, they knew about Ashikabi-sama's identity beforehand."

"Not to question Mutsu-sama…" Kaho asks, sounding like she would very much be questioning that statement if it had come from anyone else. "But… how would you even figure out all that?"

At that question, Mutsu finally looks up from his lunch with a placid smile on his face. "The Earth doesn't lie."

Chad has to give it to his first Sekirei, he knows how to garner respect. It's only been a few days since the younger pair joined, but the Earth Sekirei has already managed to turn the shock and awe of that first impression into something more reliable and enduring.

Mutsu has taken to dragging one of the girls away from the apartment in the evenings under one excuse or another. At first, Chad thought it was simply to give him some private time with the other, but it obviously goes beyond that if these are the results.

Case in point, Kaho doesn't require further explanation before she turns around to face Natsu.

"It seems I owe you an apology, Natsu-san." Kaho says evenly, trying not to look like she's just sucked a lemon. After a minuscule -barely there, really- bow towards her rival, she immediately turns her attention towards Chad, obviously hoping to move on as quickly as possible. "Your orders, Ashikabi-sama? Shall we give chase?"

"They didn't stay around and will soon leave my range." Mutsu answers the unasked question. "But I could still track them."

Chad takes his time to answer.

It doesn't take a tactical genius to realize an organized group of six Sekirei at this stage of the plan is worth keeping an eye on. Squad Snowwolf is certainly a power to be reckoned with and this is a good chance for Chad to face them from a position of power.

On the other hand, he doesn't really know what he wants to get out of such an encounter and it's never a good idea to commit like that without a clear plan in mind. A heavy-handed approach like that might be taken as an attack and provoke hostile reactions. That's without considering this could all yet be a trap they're being lured towards.

More important, though…

"... No." He finally decides. "We don't want to cause an incident in broad daylight, that's against the rules."

"What? That's no fu– Fair! I mean that's not fair!" Natsu protests in disappointment. That's a fairly cute pout on her lips. "These jerks didn't care for the rules last time, so why should we care now?"

"They only threatened to break the rules. Never actually did." Chad points out. "Until they do, they get the benefit of the doubt."

"Oh, my, such a kind and noble course of action… As expected of Ashikabi-sama." Kaho titters, hiding her lips behind her hand. "I just hope we won't end up being too kind for our own good."

Ah, Kaho is disappointed too. It can't be helped. Natsu is young and inexperienced, so every conflict looks like a big adventure for them. Kaho has some experience, but that only strengthens her resolve to prove herself and ensure things go differently next time.

"Lashing in anger is easy, but taking it back is hard. I'd rather be too kind than too cruel." Chad isn't willing to budge on this one, but maybe he can offer an olive branch. "Besides, giving chase would ruin the rest of the lunch break. I'm enjoying it."

That seems to do the trick, Squad Snowwolf disappearing from their minds as they do their best to fix their ruined lunch with the leftover food from the spare box. It helps that the spare box is the size of a small fridge and filled with food to the brim, but that's just Sekirei appetite for you.

"By the way. When are we visiting that Minato guy?" Natsu perks up to ask a while later. "I promised to spar with Musubi-chan next time we met and I want to declare my eternal rivalry!"

"You most definitely won't." Kaho joins waspishly. "Musubi-chan is my rival. Please find your own."

Sahashi Minato, eh? Chad has been meaning to pay a visit to him for a while. Partly because he wants to make sure Kusano is adjusting well to her new life, he feels a bit responsible after going through all the effort trying to keep her safe. Partly because he also feels responsible for the guy himself. Sahashi Minato looked like someone far out of his depth back then, a clueless guy thrown into the deep end during a storm without so much as a by your leave.

He can't help but draw parallels to his first encounter with the supernatural.

"I don't see why she can't be the rival of both of us?" Natsu tilts her head in confusion. "You are my rival too and I'm not raising a fuss about your infidelity or anything."

"I– Infidelity? Why, I'd never–!" For once, it's Kaho who finds herself blushing and stuttering after a trade. "Such brutish choice of words, as expected from a duckling who tries to be good at everything and ends up excelling at nothing."

"At least I'm useful in every situation." Natsu puffs out her chest with pride. "What are you going to do if you can't win with your spear, dance?"

According to Mutsu, the Izumo Inn where Minato resides is not what it seems. The landlady is none other than Asama Miya, Sekirei Number 1 and leader of the Disciplinary Squat Mutsu served under. She's also the oldest and strongest of them all, holding a strict policy of neutrality towards the plan as long as her territory isn't encroached.

This doesn't necessarily make Minato suspicious since various other Sekirei have taken residence under her wing, but it's certainly something to keep in mind before paying a visit. Chad doesn't want to run afoul of a sleeping monster by accident.

"Would you care to repeat that to my face?"

"I just said it to your face, birdbrain!"

"You are the birdbrain!"

"No, you!"

On the other hand, there's no point in procrastination. While immediately paying him a visit could've been seen as an attempt to apply pressure, it's been almost a week. More than enough time to give him some breathing room and justify a polite visit to see how he's doing and how well Kusano is settling into her new home.

"It's decided." He speaks up, making his younger Sekirei freeze up in the process of pulling at each other's cheeks. "We'll be visiting Izumo Inn in the evening."

The landlady of Izumo Inn, Chad can't help but reflect, is one hell of a scary woman.

"Oh, my! Such a strapping young lad knocking at my door at this time of the day, accompanied by three beauties, no less!" The (monster in a human skin skin) kindly lady notes, giving out a (bloodthirsty) soft smile as she places a hand on her cheek. "What might your business with this frail old widow be, I wonder? I dearly hope it's nothing naughty, such acts are forbidden in Izumo Inn."

Chad blinks, the memory of Unohana Yachiru at her finest projected by his wary mind giving way to the actual reality lying underneath.

It… doesn't really make things any better, actually.

Fortunately, one doesn't fight through two wars without learning how to act naturally under pressure. Asama Miya is an intimidating woman, she certainly gives the same sort of presence as people like Captain Unohana, that of a hidden monster capable of extreme violence, who is simply indulging you with a façade of normalcy.

Chad is unfortunately familiar with the situation. Even if his inability to use his spiritual powers within Shinto Teito makes him feel even more vulnerable than usual… feeling vulnerable in front of a superior predator is nothing new for him. There's a time and place for bravery and bravado, but there's also a strength in resignation, in knowing that the power to make a difference is out of your hands, so you may as well do things properly.

"Yes." His voice doesn't waver at all, there's no point in showing fear. "My name is Yasutora Chad and I was hoping to meet Sahashi-san and Kusano-chan." He introduces himself before turning towards his Sekirei. "These here with me are Natsu, Kaho and Mutsu, they have their own reasons to visit."

As opposed to Natsu and Kaho, who seem to have frozen under Miya's gaze, Mutsu retains enough presence of mind to acknowledge his introduction with a stiff nod.

"Ara, such a well-behaved young man~!" The pressure and bloodlust let up and Chad breathes in relief. "And I thought I recognized a familiar face in the back. You look different, Mutsu-chan."

"I feel different." Mutsu replies coolly. "You haven't changed at all, Miya-san."

"Flatterer." A faint blush appears on Miya's cheeks, but the glint of amusement on her eyes tells Chad all he needs to know she's just playing around. "But I know what you mean by feeling different. These reckless days of youth are definitely behind us now. Oh, but don't let this silly old lady make you stand around with her reminiscing! Come in, come in! All are welcome in Izumo Inn!"

Kusano was trying out some of the cute costumes Yume-nee had made for her when she heard Miya-obasan's voice at the front door and decided to investigate. So she grabbed her trusty potted plant to help her open the door -she couldn't reach the handle on her own and jumping on the board floors is forbidden in Izumo Inn- to slowly and quietly make her way out of her room.

Her current costume made it a bit of a challenge, because eggplants didn't evolve for stealth, but she didn't want to waste time changing into her normal clothes and running around naked is forbidden in Izumo Inn. It wasn't easy, but she managed to (waddle) sneak her way into the last corner of the corridor and spy on the guests from there.

It was the very tall onii-chan from the other day! And the quiet sad onii-san, and the cool ninja onee-san and some other weird onee-san that Kusano has never seen before! Usually, Kusano doesn't trust weird people she's never seen before, but she's willing to let it go this one time since the very tall onii-chan is nice.

Besides, it can't be that bad, they brought chocolates!

Eyes locked on the prize, Kusano breaks cover. The pitter-patter of her feet against the board floor quickly draws everyone's attention, but that's fine. Running isn't forbidden in Izumo Inn until you're this tall and Kusano isn't this tall yet, so Miya-obachan won't get mad at her.

Clearing the distance at a somewhat not really slow speed -Eggplants didn't evolve for speed either- Kusano reaches the very tall onii-chan and hugs his leg. Woooow, Her head only reaches a bit over his knee! She already knew he was really tall, but he's even more really tall than she thought!

"Oh, hello there, little one!" The cool ninja-oneechan crouches in front of Kusano with a big bright smile like Musubi. "Did you catch a fancy for our Ashikabi? He's really cool, isn't he?"

"Hello." The really tall onii-chan who is also an Ashikabi turns his head down to look at Kusano.

His voice is deep and rumbling and makes Kusano's entire body vibrate. But it's not scary at all, the really tall onii-chan feels safe and warm.

And now Kusano is feeling shy. That's not good, because Kusano never knows what to say when she's being shy. Fortunately, she has the secret advice that Yume-nee gave her earlier today. Always be yourself, unless you can be a dragon. Then always be a dragon.

Kusano can't be a dragon, so she'll be herself and speak up what's on her mind!

"Chocolate?" Pure genius.

"Or maybe it wasn't Ashikabi-sama that caught your fancy." The cool ninja-oneechan chuckles. "What do you say, Kaho? Do we have chocolate for the little lady?"

"Of course, that's what we brought them for, after all." The weird onee-san says with a small smile, opening the box of chocolates as she crouches too. As expected of the really tall onii-chan. Even the weird onee-chans with him are nice! "Here, have your pick."

"Just the one, Kusano-chan!" Miya-obachan warns, right as Kusano was about to grab an entire handful of them. "We don't want to spoil our appetite for tonight's dinner, do we?"

"... Right." Ruining your appetite before dinner is forbidden in Izumo Inn. "I'll take this one."

She picks one that looks like a weird bell-like flower with a derpy face. It's funny to look at and it tastes great, but do you know what would've tasted even more great? Ruining her appetite before dinner. But having fun is forbidden in Izumo Inn.

"Hm? Did you say something, Kusano-chan?"

…Miya-obachan is very pretty and Izumo Inn is a great place to live in?

"Must've been the wind." The scary oba-chan nods in satisfaction. "My, these old ears of mine aren't what they used to be, age is truly an insidious enemy."

Kusano wisely keeps quiet even inside her own head. Because it's hard to get mad when the chocolate tastes so great and she's smarter than Musubi. Which isn't very hard, really. Musubi is great, but she keeps making the same mistake again and again and getting in trouble for it. She doesn't have that thing the scientists back at the lab liked to call patient precognition1. Because if you're patient and pay attention, you can see the trouble coming.

Nodding to herself, Kusano immediately puts the complicated science-y words out of her mind.

It doesn't look like the very tall onii-chan and his friends are going to leave just yet, so she joins them as Miya-obachan leads them to the sitting room and prepares some tea. Kusano hurries to help set up the table.

Being lazy and leaving all the work for Miya-obachan is not actually forbidden in Izumo Inn, but Kusano likes to help anyway. One day she will be a tall and pretty woman like Miya-obachan and she'll have her own guest and she'll serve tea for them, so she needs the practice.

After what feels like forever, everyone's finally sitting down in front of a cup of tea -after Miya-obachan took the chocolate that Kusano was secretly eyeing for later, how cruel!- and talking about adult things, so Kusano is minding her own business and trying to coax her trusty potted plant into sprouting star-shaped leaves when she overhears something that draws her attention.

"... As I said." The very tall onii-chan is saying. "I'm hoping to speak with Sahashi Minato."

"Ah, Minato-nii is studying now!" She helpfully lets them know. "We can't bother him, but Musubi and Tsukiumi and being dum-dums and bothering him anyway."

That's really silly, bothering Minato-nii when he doesn't want to be bothered won't make him like them more. They should be good girls like Kusano and wait until he's done if they want to play. Or help him take a bath like Yume suggested that one time. Kusano doesn't really like taking baths, the soap tastes bad and the shampoo stings in the eye, but it's lots of fun when Minato-nii is around.

…

…

…

Feeling her eyes wander towards the box of chocolates, Kusano feels her thoughts trail off. It's been a while now, maybe she can grow her potted plant all sneaky-sneaky and, while everyone is distracted by the conversation, grab another chocol—

A hand lands on Kusano's shoulder right at that moment and she doesn't need to turn around to know it belongs to a scary oba-chan. She doesn't want to get grounded, so she immediately gives up any and all plans of ruining her appetite before dinner. Getting caught acting cheeky is forbidden in Izumo Inn.

1: This humble author is pretty sure Kusano meant 'pattern recognition'.