All was dark in the world of Sahashi Minato…
…And then they were there.
"͝͝Ǵr̢͟ą͝n҉̛t ͢͠ư͝s҉͢ ̸͞E͞ỳ͏e̢͘s̶̡͘.́..̕͜"̡̕
A whirlwind of whispers, a nigh-silent cacophony… It was simultaneously a strain to hear them and deafening to bear witness to their utterances.
"͝͝Ǵr̢͟ą͝n҉̛t ͢͠ư͝s҉͢ ̸͞E͞ỳ͏e̢͘s̶̡͘.́..̕͜"̡̕
He couldn't see them… He could never see them… But they were always there… Whenever he let his eyes drift shut. Something was different lately, though. Something had changed. They were calling out to something, now…
"̛͟G̵͟RA̸NT ̡ÙS̴ ̡̀E͜͞Ý͢͞E̴̛S̷,̨͞ O̡H̢͘ ͟G͡R̀̕E҉̵́Á̀T ̨H̢͘UN̡Ţ͘͞Ę̡Ŗ—͠"͠
"Hey! The scores are up…!"
Minato's eyes opened lazily, his gaze drifting towards the throng of student-hopefuls around him.
"Right… I got here early…"
With a sigh, he pushed himself to his feet and briefly stretched out. Blinking drowsily, he let out a yawn and began to trudge his way to the acceptance board.
"Mom's gonna be calling any second, isn't—"
Brrrrrriiing…!
"...There it is."
Fumbling with the pocket of his slacks, he pulled the latest MBI smartphone out and winced at the sight of it. The thing was a gift from his mother, preemptively celebrating his acceptance into University.
…He was not looking forward to breaking the news, even if he hadn't seen the postings yet.
"Hey, mom…"
"Minato…! Did you get in…?" the woman began without preamble.
"Not sure yet," he said, trying to peer over the heads of the crowd around him. "Probably not, though…"
"...We've talked about this, Minato… You can't give up this easily. You need to work hard and try your best if you want to have a good life."
"A normal life, you mean," he replied, rolling his eyes at the age-old argument.
"A good life," she repeated firmly. "You can do whatever you want with your future Minato, just don't waste it chasing illusions…"
Frowning, he bit back his reflexive follow-up. There was no use in protesting his mother's assertion… He'd long since given up convincing her the things he heard were real. There was nothing wrong with him, all the checkups when he was a child proved that much, so what he heard had to be real.
It had to be...
"I GOT IN…!" some lucky person shouted in the crowd, their hands raised above everyone else's heads in joy.
Several more shouts of joy followed, though they were quickly lost in the sea of groans and disappointed young adults. As a result, many of them began to clear out, giving Minato the angle he needed to peer at the postings…
"Sahashi, Sahashi, Sahashi…" he muttered, making his way down the list of names to those that began with 'Sa.'
…It wasn't there.
Clenching his eyes shut, he stifled a groan.
"̴͜G̷̛r͜͟͝ant ҉us͠ E̢y̷̨e͠͡s, ҉̛O̴ḩ̴ ҉҉Ǵr̀e̢a҉̕t͟ ͡Hu̷͞nt҉̵̴e҉͡r͟…̡ ͢G͝r҉̕͘a͜n҉t̷̕ ̷̷us ͢͟͡É͜y҉͜e̴̸̛s͘ ͝l̴i͢k̵͡é̶ ̷t̴͏h͟o̕s̨̛͜ȩ̵͢ yo̕̕u ̴̛c͏l̶̴̕à́͟i͢m͡e̸҉̴d̴̨ ̸̨̀fro͏m̛ ̷t̸h͏e̵ ́s̸҉̶t͞a̴͘ŕ̛͡s̶̛…͢͝!́"͠҉
"Sorry mom… Looks like I'll need to try again next year…"
A sigh echoed across the phone's speakers, and it hurt more than any angry rant ever could.
"That's… okay, Minato. Just… do your best this time, okay? I know you're smart enough to get in. You just need to put in the work…" the woman stated.
"Yeah, I'll do that…" he replied morosely.
He knew it was a lie before it even left his lips. There was no way it would happen next year, either. He just didn't care enough about it. The only reason he tried was because his mom wanted so desperately for him to get in, to be normal…
…He just wasn't normal, though, so it would never work.
"Wait, what?" his mother's voice echoed across the phone, startling him with its tone.
She wasn't talking to him.
"It—He's awake…?! You let him—Yes, obviously I'm coming right now!"
What was going on…?
"Sorry, Minato, but I need to go… Something really important just came up with work," the woman said, finally addressing him again. "Remember, I love you, no matter what happens. Tell your sister that the next time you see her, okay? I'll be in touch when I can."
That was a lie, too. He'd be lucky to hear from her in the next month…
"Alright, talk to you later, mom."
Click…!
Sighing, he slipped the phone into his pocket and started walking away. He needed to go find a place to stew in silence for a bit before heading home and tackling the rather frightening question of 'what now?'
…He wasn't looking forward to that bit.
…
As he was walking home, Minato stumbled across an old-looking chapel.
It was tall and foreboding, its dark spire lancing up from the center of a building placed within a mildly overgrown garden. The paint was just beginning to peel in some places, and the windows were clouded with age, but something about it still managed to feel… homely.
Minato found himself walking into the building without much thought. It made sense, he supposed, to sulk in an old church. No one would bother him here, not at this time of day, and with how creepy the place looked it couldn't get too many visitors even at the best of times.
The inside of the building was about what you would expect, given the state of its exterior. Old and on the way toward being decrepit, it was closer to the kind of place teenagers would hang around at night than a respectable religious site, but the look of it reflected Minato's mood rather well, so he wasn't complaining.
Making his way down the main aisle, he picked one of the rows of seats at random and plopped himself down casually, leaning back and resting his feet on the little inset of the row in front of him that usually would have pamphlets and advertisements for churchgoers. No one was around to see him be lazy, so he didn't let himself care about being disrespectful. Instead, he sat there and tried to relax… Not that it was working.
What the hell am I going to do…?
He was already nineteen, and was going ronin for the second year in a row, now. Should he just give up entirely? This clearly wasn't working, but it's not like he had anything better to do. He didn't have any real passions or hobbies he could turn into a career, but getting into a University was practically impossible without the kind of effort he just didn't have in him.
Letting his eyes slip closed, he awaited the soothing presence of the whispers. After so many years, he'd long since ceased to fear them, instead finding comfort in their familiarity and consistency.
…Yet, only silence met his ears.
Were… Were they gone?
…
…
…
No… that wasn't quite accurate. He could hear them still, making a hushed rumbling sound, like a chorus of quiet breaths. They sounded almost… like they were waiting for something.
Unsettled, Minato opened his eyes again and glanced around nervously.
Something felt… different…
It was impossible to describe, a feeling almost akin to anticipation but with an added edge to it that he couldn't put to words. All around him, the shadows almost seemed… deeper… while the sunlight streaming through the windows seemed muted by comparison.
The subtle difference in lighting drew his attention to the statues he'd somehow missed in his initial glance throughout the place. They girded the rows of pews, stooped humanoid figures with flowing robes obscuring their forms and faces, but not the hands with which they huddled in prayer. Not a one of them was the same as the last, their poses varying just enough to allow them to be distinguished from one another, not to mention the fact that a few of them held exquisitely carved lanterns or candles that they raised towards the ceiling, like they were displaying them for the heavens above.
The most unnerving of them all was the coiled statue that rested behind the altar. It was stooped over the small structure, the chasm beneath its hood peering down with a certain implied care for the cloth-covered mound that rested there in its shadow.
Minato stood up from his seat, the thrill of discovery warring with his sudden desire to leave, to run away and never come back…
…But he walked forward towards the altar anyway.
How could he pass up on this opportunity? The possibility of answers, or at least a clue, to the questions he'd harbored for his entire life was too enticing. What were the whispers? Where did they come from…? What did their words mean…?
And, more recently… Who were they calling out to…?
"It's just a creepy statue…" he mumbled uncertainly as he approached the structure.
As he got closer, the details of the thing seemed to come alive, tiny imperfections standing out with more and more clarity as he neared. Hairline cracks and roughly hewn edges caught his eyes, making the image of the hooded figure far less frightening, far more mundane.
It was just a statue, after all…
"Yeah… you're not so bad…" he said to the thing once he stood in front of the altar.
Despite his words, he could not shake the feeling that something was… off… with the stone-carved figure. It wasn't so stereotypical as the ubiquitous horror movie 'being watched' sensation, but… there was a certain presence to the thing; a feeling akin to being near an object that was so old that you could feel its history—a pale imitation of the feeling of a living thing.
"What are you, anyway…?" he asked it.
There was no response… which was probably a good thing, if he was honest. He wasn't sure what he would have done if it had replied.
"...And what are you looking at…?" he added, his gaze drifting from the thing's draped stone hood down to the altar's surface.
A silk blanket rested there, pale as snow and covering much of the altar with its soft presence. The hint of another, thicker, cloth peeked out from beneath it, while a gentle mound rose up from the center, implying that something was resting upon the thicker fabric but held beneath the soft cover of the silken tarp.
With no small amount of trepidation, Minato reached for the edge of the covering.
He half expected something to jump out of the darkness, or for some skeletal hand to materialize from somewhere and latch onto his wrist before he could touch the thing… but nothing happened even after he gripped the blanket.
…I watch too many movies…
Even with that idea in mind, he still hesitated to remove the cover. It felt… Well, it felt like he stood at a crossroads, somehow; like this decision would mark something very important. There was no reason to feel this way, but he did anyway. With that in mind, he… He had no idea what to do… So Minato did the thing he always did when he was struck with indecision… He consulted them.
Closing his eyes, he let out a breath… and he waited.
…
…
…
And waited…
…
…
…
And waited some more…
…
…
…
Until finally, he received an answer.
"̷.̴.҉͘.̵P͞l̛͜͝é̛͢a͏s̢͝e…̶͝"̢͢͞ they whispered, their voices trembling and quiet. "̷҉͢G̶̵̢r͠a͟n̶̡t͘͏̴ ̶͢ú̕s̷ Èyé͡s̵̷…̧́"
Letting out a breath, Minato opened his eyes and made his decision. Firming his jaw with determination, he ripped away the silk, revealing—
"Urk…!"
What rested on that altar was… summed up in a word… vile.
Vaguely reminiscent of a fetus, the misshapen mass of rotten, graying, flesh was only about the size of his hand. It lacked a lower body, its outer layer decayed enough to expose its cracking rib cage. Surrounding the horrific sight was a series of… runes… painted in a blackish-red substance that Minato refused to identify for the sake of his own mental well-being.
The symbols themselves were simple, drawn upon the scroll-like surface of the thick cloth that covered the altar. They were placed within a series of interlocking rings, arranged in a vague and messy circle around their horrible centerpiece. Each of them was simple to view but… unsettling if stared at for too long. Finally, at the base of it all, extending off of the circle such that it seemed to be almost separate from the whole mess, a singular rune caught his eye. It resembled a stick man, hanging upside down from his feet with his arms dangling past his head. As he stared at it, he felt an odd… itching… sensation from his head. Like something was scrabbling at the inside of his skull…
"̶̛Gr҉̶҉ę͠a̸t̶͝ ͝H̢͘ųn̶͢t̡e̢r̴…̴"͠ the voices whispered. "̧͢͟Ģ͢͝r̕͝a̸̷n̵̨͢t̴͘ ҉̶͘u̧͢s ͜͏E̢y̸e̛s…͜"͞
Minato… hadn't closed his eyes… yet they'd spoken all the same. That… That had never happened before. Not once in his life had the whispers made a sound while he beheld the world around him.
"I need to leave…"
His heart was racing, now that he thought about it; pulse pounding in his veins while fear-induced sweat coated his back.
"I need to leave now—"
CRASH…!
Minato's head whipped to face the sound, utterly terrified by the noise, only to behold something entirely unexpected. Instead of some indescribable horror, or a monster straight from the silver screen, or even an angry priest ready to yell at him for trespassing…
…The skylight above him had shattered, and a girl was falling towards him.
Wait, no, scratch that, a girl was about to—
WHUMPH…!
"Owie…!" a cute voice groaned. "I can't believe I tripped…!"
Blinking away stars, Minato went to—
O-Oh…!
All thoughts vanished from his mind as he tried to process the… very shapely rear that was pressed up against his chin—the girl's embarrassingly short skirt failing to cover her perfectly white panties from this angle.
…It really didn't help that her clothes were a tight fit.
"Oh…! A person…!" the girl exclaimed.
She scrambled off him in an instant.
"I'm so sorry…!"
A red-gloved hand was in his face before he could blink, a clear offer of assistance present there, but Minato was a little… preoccupied… by the young woman behind the limb.
Brown hair trailed past a soft chin, descending in a thigh-length ponytail from the back of her head while an adorable face peered out from slightly messy bangs and a comically large ahoge. Dressed in an… inappropriately fitted shrine maiden outfit—the skirt was criminally short, even at a normal angle, not that Minato was complaining—with a top that stretched across what was probably the largest bust the young man had ever seen off the internet.
"Are you okay…? Humans are kind of fragile, aren't they…?" the girl went on, snapping Minato out of his daze.
…And with the return to reality came memory of what had just happened. More specifically, what he'd seen.
"We need to leave," he said firmly, grabbing her hand as he jumped to his feet. "It's not safe here."
"Wha—?"
Yanking her suddenly, he took off towards the entrance of the church. He didn't care how crazy it made him seem, and he didn't care how crazy it was that she'd fallen from such a height without getting hurt. Right now all that mattered was getting away from that vile thing. To be in its presence for any longer was dangerous, and he wasn't going to let anyone stick around while he made his getaway.
Glancing over his shoulder and past the girl that was just behind him—he'd not yet let her go—he peered towards the altar one last time to make sure nothing had happened…
…There was nothing there.
Skidding to a halt, he turned fully and openly gaped past the pews. Despite that, nothing changed. The abomination was gone, along with the rune-covered cloth and all of the statues. All that remained was a normal, if in need of some repairs, chapel. The shadows and light were peaceful, as perfectly placid as any he'd ever seen…
…Had… Had that all actually happened…?
"Why'd we stop…?" the girl asked, a friendly smile on her face. "Were we playing tag? I've always wanted to play tag…!"
"I…" he trailed off, utterly dumbfounded. "I'm not sure anymore…"
…
"So, what's your name…?" the girl chirped. "I'm Number 88, Musubi…!"
Minato wasn't quite sure why the girl was following him around, and normally he would be more than happy to chat with a girl so simultaneously cute and curvy, but he was kind of wrestling with the possibility that he might actually be insane.
"Sahashi Minato…" he mumbled reluctantly.
The whispers were real, had to be real, the young man had decided a long time ago… but he wasn't sure he wanted to consider the thing he saw in the church to be real as well. It was… It simply didn't belong. The twisted remains should have been buried somewhere, or have been cremated, not preserved like that and left in a place of worship, surrounded by a madman's scribbles.
…Nevermind the sensation the sight of it had given him.
"Where are we going, Minato-san…?"
Annoyed at the girl's insistence on interrupting his moment of reflection, he turned to face her, opening his mouth to explain to her that 'they' weren't going anywhere. In fact, he was trying to focus on something rather important, and she should stop following him around…
…But then he realized he was holding her hand.
"A-ah…! S-sorry…!" he stumbled. "I didn't mean to…"
Musubi tilted her head to the side, confusion evident on her adorable face.
"Didn't mean to what…?"
Is she serious…?
"N-nevermind…" he muttered, pulling his hand out of her grip.
Turning on his heel, he went to start walking when the girl interrupted him again.
GRRRROOOOOWWWLLL…!
"Oooh… My tummy hurts…" she moaned. "So… hungry…"
Caught off guard by the ridiculousness of the situation—he'd never heard a stomach growl like that before—he found himself speaking before he could think better of it.
"I… could get you lunch, if you want…?"
Musubi's eyes lit up like stars, childlike wonder filling her expression.
"Really…?" she breathed, for all purposes looking like he was a Buddha offering her a path to nirvana. "You will…?"
"Sure…?" he replied, smiling at her adorableness.
It was impossible to brood around Musubi, it seemed. Her presence simply didn't allow for it.
"Yay…!"
…
How could one girl eat this much…?
"Mmm… So… Good…" Musubi groaned in contentment, shoving another half of a hamburger into her mouth. The thing tented her cheeks like a chipmunk, only for her to chew it a few times, swallow, and return to shoveling.
"Careful, you might choke if you keep eating like that," Minato joked, taking a far more reasonable bite of his normal-sized meal.
"But it's so good…" the girl whined cutely. "I can't let any of the food Minato-san got me go to waste!"
You didn't need to order enough food to feed a small family, Musubi…
"Right…" he trailed off.
Now that he thought about it, while he had her here, it was a great chance to ask if she had seen anything at the church… If she hadn't, then he was just seeing things instead of only hearing them—a problem, to be sure, but… It was almost preferable to that thing being real.
"Hey, Musubi…?" he began.
The girl perked up, pausing mid-bite to stare at him.
"Hm…?"
"Back there, at the church…" Minato started, "...Did you… Notice anything… Weird…? Like creepy statues or…"
He couldn't finish the sentence. Actually describing the thing aloud felt like it was tempting fate, somehow, and he wasn't going to risk that.
"Nope…!" the girl replied instantly, shortly returning to chowing down.
That's a relief…
After the brief bit of conversation, he let things fade back into silence as he calmly ate his meal at a sedate pace. Somehow, the girl was going through more than three times the food in the same amount of time he ate his perfectly normal portion, but after a bit he stopped questioning where she put it all.
"Here's the check, for when you're ready, sir."
Startled, Minato nodded to the kindly old woman in a waitress uniform.
"Ah, yeah, thanks," he nodded, looking down at the paper… only to wince at the price he saw there.
God, this girl was going to eat through his wallet…!
"Here…" he said miserably, mentally bemoaning the damage to his funds.
"Thank you!" the old woman replied with a bow. "I hope you two have a wonderful day! You and your girlfriend make the sweetest couple…!"
With that, she walked away, leaving Minato to blush bright red at her assumption.
"Girlfriend…?" Musubi trailed off in confusion.
"Ah…! No…! She just assumed—"
"I'm a Sekirei, not a 'girlfriend…'" the girl pouted, catching him completely off guard.
For a moment, he gaped at her… and then…
"Pfft…!" he laughed before he could catch himself, the terrible joke combined with her adorable expression cutting through his defenses easily.
What the heck was a Sekirei, anyway?
"Oh! What're we laughing at?" Musubi exclaimed in excitement, bouncing in her seat giddily such that Minato had to look away to relieve the sudden tension in his sinuses.
Really, that kimono was far too tight…
"Nothing…!" he denied. "You're just too cute, Musubi-chan!"
Blinking, he realized he was flirting with her.
Him. The worthless ronin that had never had a girlfriend in his life. What the hell…?
"I am…?" the girl asked, blinking at him innocently.
Dear god, where had this girl come from?
"W-well… Anyway… I should probably get going…"
Standing up, he slung his thin coat over his shoulders and exited the small burger joint. He'd barely made it a few feet out of the place before—
"Where are we going now…?"
Tripping over nothing, he narrowly caught himself in spite of his surprise.
She's still following me…!
Minato opened his mouth to explain that she didn't owe him anything, and she should probably go back to whatever she was doing before falling through church windows and walking around with random losers, but stopped himself before the words came out.
…He was being an idiot. Why in god's name was he trying to avoid a girl this cute? It's not like he had anything better to do with his time right now after failing his exams again.
"Minato-san…?" Musubi asked, trying to get his attention.
She's like a puppy…!
"Err… Sorry… I'm really all over the place today, huh…?" he began, completely unsure about what to do in this situation. It was too weird to be called a date, but what else could he call eating out with a girl he just met? Especially since she was sticking around like this. "Um… I don't have much money, but maybe we can go to the park or something…?"
"Okay…!"
That said, he couldn't really stop himself from asking…
"Not that I'm complaining, but why are you hanging around, anyway…?"
The girl held her chin in a contemplative pose, letting out a serious-sounding 'hmm.'
"...No idea!" she chirped, finally. "You just seem nice!"
Minato barely managed to restrain himself from facepalming.
"I hope my Ashikabi is someone like you, Minato-san!" Musubi went on. "I really like nice people, and you've been super nice to me!"
"...Right," he sweatdropped.
What's an Ashikabi…?
He considered just flat out asking, but he got the feeling that the air headed girl would just confuse him further if she tried to explain, so he decided to let the matter rest for now. It was a lot more fun to focus on the fact that he was, essentially, on a date!
"So, Musubi… Do you have any hobbies…?"
Almost immediately, he kicked himself for his stupidity. Of course she had—
"Does getting into fights count…?" the girl asked innocently.
…What.
…
By the time they reached the park, Minato was… honestly, he was kind of exhausted. It shouldn't be such a mental drain to keep up with as ditzy a person as Musubi seemed, but it absolutely was. She kept throwing random curveballs at him whenever he thought he'd seen the last one, forcing him to re-evaluate his image of her every time.
For example, her favorite animal was bears… and her hobby was sparring with this really scary sounding person called 'Karasuba…'
"Minato-san… Something's wrong."
Pulled from his thoughts, the young man watched in confusion as Musubi stepped in front of him protectively. An odd thing for a girl his age to do, really. Wasn't the guy supposed to do that…?
"What're you talking about?" he asked, looking around. "Everything seems—"
And then he saw the problem.
A young woman was on a park bench, partially blending with the shadows of the trees. Her reddish brown hair was matted to her skin, sticky with blood. A lab-coat a few sizes too large was her only clothing, draped over her slumped shoulders and stained red around several large torn holes. The girl herself was huddled there, knees drawn up to her chest as she stared off blankly into the distance, her expression so utterly empty that she almost resembled a statue.
Minato took off running immediately.
"Minato-san! Wait—"
He was at her side in seconds with Musubi on his heels, the distance between them not all that large to begin with, and he instantly started looking her over with a bigger eye for detail—checking for injuries and signs of… worse problems. First Aid was one of the few things his mother had ever personally taught him, not that she ever explained why, and he was making good use of that skill set now.
"Are you okay…?" he called softly, making sure not to speak too aggressively. "Does anything hurt…?"
There was no response.
"I'm going to check that you're not injured, alright…?" he confirmed, taking several cautious steps forward.
"Minato-san…" Musubi trailed off uncertainly. "I don't think that's a good idea…"
He ignored her and reached out to the clearly traumatized woman.
"It's okay now, no one's going to hurt you…"
Before he could make contact, however, he stopped.
W-when did she turn to look at me…?
The woman was staring at him, the exact same expression on her face as when she was looking off into nothing, but now… her eyes were focused entirely upon him.
Unblinking and constant, her gaze was almost hypnotic. Pale blue orbs the color of ice seemed to pierce into his very soul, their frosty tone cold and demanding… but the question they offered was far too sad to be intimidating.
"Why…?" they seemed to say. "Why me…?"
It was impossible to actually glean such a personal emotion from mere eye contact, he knew that, but at the same time Minato was utterly certain that he wasn't wrong in his assessment. But what could he do about it? How could he help her with something so personal? Take away that horrible pain in her eyes?
…It never even occurred to him that it wasn't his place to go to such lengths for a stranger—not through some misplaced sense of altruism, but… something else. The reason and logic that should have sprung up by now failed to appear, leaving him with nothing but wild emotion.
"How can I help…?" he asked.
The question was not directed at her, even if he voiced it aloud. Closing his eyes, he awaited his answer… But he did not receive the one he expected.
"̶Plęas҉e…̨"
That… was a new voice. It… It sounded on the verge of tears… or maybe the tears had already come and there was none left to fall…
"Gr͡an̛ţ ͠m̷e͞ w͏i̧n͢gs͡,̢ so ́I ̷c͜an b̶e f̧r̡e̸e ͏f͟ro̧m҉ ̡t̨he ͡c̢o̷ld̕…͟"͟
"...Do not listen so closely… Please… There is no need to remind me…"
Minato's eyes shot open, his breath quickening in panic.
"...I am broken," the woman in front of him said, her voice soft and bordering on monotone. Were it not for what he'd seen in her eyes, he never would have noticed the sadness in her voice. "...No one can grant me wings…"
Trembling, Minato let out a breath… which fogged out in front of him as if there was snow on the ground and a chill in the air
…But it was already the start of Spring.
"Was… was that your voice…?"
She tilted her head to the side slightly, just enough to mimic a look of confusion… but her expression didn't reflect it in the slightest. It was… unnerving, bordering on something that belonged in the uncanny valley.
"...You're… different… Why…?"
However, the motion had also tilted her bangs, pulling his gaze to the symbol on her forehead: a red bird with several dots and a yin-yang symbol beneath it.
"...Minato-san… We really shouldn't stick around," Musubi interjected, grabbing onto his hand and tugging at his arm gently. "She's sick… We shouldn't be near her…"
He whirled to face the brown-haired girl, appalled with what she was saying—even if he had no idea what was really going on—but shut his mouth with a 'click' when he saw Musubi's expression. It wasn't disgust, or pity, or anything approaching the kind of look you'd expect from someone looking down on someone else…
…It was fear.
"Musubi…?"
She tugged him again, much harder this time, and he barely managed to stay on his feet as a result.
"Sekirei aren't supposed to be like this, Minato-san…!"
"Sekirei…?" he repeated. "What are you even talking about…?! I just want to help her! Can't you see that something's wrong?!"
Musubi opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by the other girl.
"Why can I… Why can I feel you…?"
Confused, Minato tugged his hand out of Musubi's grip and turned back to the injured woman.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand…"
The woman stepped off the bench, her feet resting on the dirt below gracefully. The earth beneath her seemed to crinkle and snap, the grass below her feet slowly developing a layer of frost as the woman's breath clouded in front of her.
"...You… I am broken… This… This can't be…"
A dull whine slowly began to drone in Minato's ear, a low thrumming sound that gradually began to rise in volume.
"̨͘.̀͡..͠͝E̵҉͟…̵̧S̷…̶̛ ̡̡E͡…͘͢ ̶͡E͏͘…͘͞S̸"̧
Musubi took a step towards him, shivering from a cold that Minato didn't feel himself.
"Minato-san… Please…" the girl begged him, eyes watering as they darted back and forth between him and the other young woman.
The whine intensified, steadily growing in strength until it was painful. He knew what it was, now… The whispers were chanting… Calling him to do something, though he had no idea what to do. At this point, though, he just wanted it all to stop.
"̢̀.͘.̶͡.̶E͠҉Y͏E̡͘S…̵̨͢EY͏͢͡ÉS͠…̵҉É̵̡ỲE̵̡S…̶E̸͞Ỳ̴̸E̸̢͞S̸͢͝…́͠҉"̶̨͘
His hands came up to his head, the pain rapidly growing to the point that it was unbearable.
"Stop… Stop it, please…!"
It was just too much.
He didn't know what a Sekirei was, he didn't know why this crazy woman in a blood-stained lab coat thought she was broken, and he didn't know why wings were so important, but he just didn't care anymore.
"...If you are my Ashikabi…" the mostly naked woman declared. "...Then… You will be fine…"
Staggering forward, Minato barely even registered her words, nor did he notice when she lunged at him, knocking Musubi away and landing atop him like an animal…
"͟.͏.̵.̡͜E̶Y̛͡E̵SEYES͢E̷͏Y̛͘͜E͝҉S̡͡E͟͟͢Y͜E͡S̸̛ EY̵̕͏E̛͟͡S̷̢ ̧̕ÉY̸̛E͏S͞ ̀́͜E̢͢YE̡̛Ś̀ ͏E͘YE̷̶S̀E͜͡Y̷͠E̡͟S̨E̶҉YE̢S̷̀͢EY͟͠E̢S…̸̨"̵̛
He just wanted the pain to end.
"...Please… Do not die…"
Something soft brushed against his lips…
"̶͝Y͠͡͏҉E̸̡͜҉̷S̴̴̵̨͢Ś̨̧͟S̸̵͘͡…̵͝.҉̵̛͡͝!҉͜ ̷̨̀́E̛͜Ý͟͟҉E̕͜͠͡S͏̛́…̶̛!̶̸̀͠ ̕͡A̶̸̢̛͟T̡̡͡͝ ҉L̀̕͡͝A͢͠S҉̴͞T̨̢̧̕͞…҉!̶͘͏̸͏ ̢̕͞O̢͞H҉҉̵͜ ̡̢G̴͠Ŗ̴̷E̵̡̨͝A̵̵̛͘͠T҉̵̢ ̵̧̨͠͝H̸̶́Ų͡N̕͜͢Ţ̷̛̕̕E̴̡̛͘͠R̸̵̡̕͡,̵̧̡̀͞ ̵̛͟҉W̢͢E̢͟͞ ̨͜͠S̷͠H̴̸̵̡͠A̛͘͡Ĺ̢͜L̵̛̕͘͞ ̵͘͘͞͡R҉͘͞͞E̢T̴̨̀R͞҉A҉̧͝͞͠C̛͘E̷̵̛̕ ̡̕Y̢̨O͏̶̨̛U͘͠R͘͏̶͘͢ ̡̀̀S̛̛͢͞T̶́́͟͡É҉P̡͢Ş̴͠ ̧̛Í̢͘N̡̛Ţ̸̛͠͝O̢ ̴͏̴̧͝T̛H̵̨͟Ę̴̶͘͜ ̴̧̀͢͟H̨̨͡͝E҉͢҉͢A̴̸͢͜V̴̢̛́E̸̶̛̛N̵̸͞͝͝S̢̡͘ ̨͢͡T̵̡̢̀͝H̀͜͡E̷̶̴͡͝Ḿ̵̴̧S̵E҉̧Ĺ̷̷͢V̸͝É̸͟S̸̷!́͟͠"̴̡̧͘
Ecstasy.
That was all he could say to describe the sensation that had replaced the pain. It was pure, unadulterated ecstasy. From the top of his hair to the tips of his toes, every part of his body felt alive; alight with a fire that seemed to pierce into his very soul.
…And then the cold came, filling a gap in his being that he hadn't even realized was there, sliding into place like it had always belonged in his heart. It was full of all the things that Winter was: the piercing chill of frost, the endless white of snow, and the sharp bite of icicles… Yet all of it seemed at peace within him, unwilling to harm him with its elemental fury.
"I… am Number 07, Akitsu…"
The words cut him to the quick, extolling a truth of the universe he'd been wholly ignorant of until this moment.
"...And though my heart has shattered into ice, I shall forever be at your side…"
How could he have missed something so obvious?
"...My Ashikabi…"
This is what he was…
AN:
I… Don't really have much to say here, if I'm honest. This chapter mostly speaks for itself. I'm quite happy with it and, per usual, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
See you in the next one!