Asama Takehito startled awake, his heart pounding terribly. His neck ached, like a choker had been pulled too tight around it and left to sit there for hours, while his head felt like it was full of fog, clouding and obscuring every thought that tried to form.
…Finally, one thing managed to pierce the veil, making everything snap into place at once.
Miya…!
Panic rising, he fumbled in the dark, twisting and turning in search of his wife. Where was she…?! Where was he…?! Why did the air feel so heavy…?
A dim light flickered on, revealing his surroundings. Startled, he realized that he was surrounded by some sort of fluid…
"Why am I sitting in… This isn't water, is it…?"
There was a metal wall directly in front of him, close enough that he couldn't stretch out his arms without bumping into it. Painted onto its surface was a cutesy doodle of an eccentric-looking man with wild hair, glasses, and a lab-coat with an oversized collar. Beneath the grinning face of the doodle was an arrow pointing towards a button on a panel nearby, labeled 'PRESS ME' in large bold letters.
For all its stupidity, it helped him calm his racing heart—confirming that, wherever he was, he was safe for the moment…
"Damnit, Minaka…" Takehito groaned somewhat fondly.
How was his old lab-partner so consistently ridiculous? Even if it was endearing a lot of the time, past a certain point it just got annoying. Drugging him and leaving him in a medical tank with a message like this waiting for him upon awakening was far past the line, though, even for Minaka.
Letting out an internal sigh, Takehito clumsily reached for the button, missing it a few times as his submerged body refused him any semblance of coordination. Eventually, though, he managed it.
The resulting light was almost blinding as the panel in front of him opened wide, leading to scrunched eyes and a pained grimace, but the white-haired twenty-something pushed through it and levered himself into a sitting position.
Huh… Is…
Pulling off the breathing apparatus he only now noticed, Takehito surveyed the area surrounding him. It was a wide room, full of nigh-identical medical tanks. Each of them had a number, ranging from '#001" to '#108.' His own canister was labeled… '#000' for… some reason.
"Is this… the Termination Chamber…?" he mumbled in confusion. "Why am I here…?"
This place was made to protect Sekirei whose powers went out of control, or if something went wrong during the delicate process that was Adjustment. The tanks were essentially highly-advanced life-support capsules, meant to keep their subjects alive while MBI worked to stabilize whatever had gone wrong.
There was no conceivable reason that he, a normal human, should be waking up—
"Takehito…! The Jinki has gone haywire…! Karasuba was—" A voice rang in his memory, only to be cut off by a harsh voice.
"Shut up, monkey…! That's not important…!"
Then the voice was turned to him.
"Sekirei are going to die if you don't do something, Takehito… But you'll probably end up dead if you try anything."
She sounded smug, as if she already knew what his decision would be.
"Alright… I'll save them."
Clearly, that was not the right answer.
"W-what…? But—No! Stop…! Don't you understand, there's no way you'll survive…! What do you think you're doing, you stupid—"
Oh.
Right… The Jinki. It had… gone out of control…? He'd never had the time to get the full details. Takami and Minaka wouldn't have been able to do anything, even if they did get near. At the time, he was the only one who understood the Jinki well enough to solve the problem, so he had returned from his early retirement to help…
"I… I shouldn't be alive…" he whispered, once the realization hit. "The Jinki… I focused it all on me… So… Why…? What happened…?"
Wracking his mind for answers, he pulled on every metaphorical trail he could think of, his scientifically inclined brain determined to figure out what could have possibly allowed all of this…
'Ahh… All signed and sealed…' a voice echoed in his head.
"Paleblood…"
The word came to his lips without conscious thought, and he did not recognize what it meant in the slightest… How… Curious. Wracking his brain, he tried to—
S҉͝t͠͏op͘͝.̵
Takehito froze in place, mind awhirl with confusion. What was that…? That voice…? It was his own, but he knew it wasn't his thought…
His heart raced, a sense of existential dread overwhelming him. He needed to stop asking questions—
'Oh, I know… How the secrets beckon so sweetly…' A voice echoed in his memory, his curious mind already reaching out for further understanding—
Takehito pulled away from the capsule like it was a monster prepared to eat him, pressing his naked back against one of the others as a fearful sweat ran down his brow. His heartbeat was so loud he could feel it thrumming through his chest, hear it thumping through his ears… The complete panic was as astonishing as it was sudden…
"G-gotta get home…" he stuttered.
Looking around wildly, he was surprised to see a neatly folded set of clothing, just his size, resting on the ground beside him.
They were not there a moment ago.
"N-not my style, b-but I guess they'll have to do," he joked, trying to calm himself down with light-hearted humor.
The folded set of attire included a white dress shirt, a maroon vest with two belts hanging off its bottom hem, a pair of black slacks, and a set of dark boots. There was also a hooded capelet, but he wasn't Minaka, so he didn't bother putting on something so dramatic looking.
"Well… Time to leave…" Takehito said calmly, or as close as he could get to it in current circumstances.
He needed to figure out what was happe—
No.
That wasn't right…
"Miya…" he breathed, eyes shut in contemplation. "I need to see her."
The feeling was instinctual, a tug that pulled on him desperately. It made more sense to go find out what had happened, to make sure that his plan had worked with the Jinki—his survival not-with-standing—and have people call his wife so he could let her know he was okay…
…But that wasn't enough.
He felt like a starving man with his next meal on the horizon… if the meal in question was the sight of his wife's gentle smile, the feeling of her soft arms wrapping around him, and the sound of her quiet breathing as she slept—cuddled against his form while he worked on whatever project had claimed his attention for the day.
It felt like it had been lifetimes since he'd seen the woman, and every second away from her threatened to tear him to pieces. Everything else wouldn't matter until he'd returned to Miya. Not checking on the other Sekirei, or even finding out how he was alive…
All that mattered was her.
…
He had no idea where he was going. For some reason, the layout of the building was different from what he remembered. For example, the hallway he was currently in, just a short distance from the Termination Chamber, should have already led to an elevator that could take him to the main lobby of the building.
Obviously, after that he still needed to make his way to Izumo Inn, but—
"Yeah, yeah, I know, man, you've mentioned it enough times already…!" a voice grumbled, steadily approaching from around the corner, a flashlight's beam marking his presence even more than his voice. "I won't forget the poker game tomorrow…!"
Takehito's hands twitched, clenching around empty air like something was supposed to be there.
Oh, thank god…! Someone I can ask for directions…!
The white-haired man's pace increased as he rushed toward the oncoming angle, just in time to see the security guard come around the corner—a flat metal device held up to his ear. Was that… a PDA…? What was a security guard doing with a PDA…?
"Hey, I'm gonna need to call you back…" the guard said as his gaze met Takehito's, his thumb tapping the screen of the device lightly before he slipped it into his pocket.
More worryingly, his other hand went to his holster.
"Alright, pal, you've got five seconds to explain why you're in a restricted area at five in the morning," the man said, a note of warning in his tone.
Shockingly, the implied threat there didn't bother Takehito in the slightest. He felt… calm… Almost irrationally so.
"Oh, sorry, I was involved in an accident while adjusting one of the Sekirei and I woke up down here a few minutes ago. Could you direct me to the nearest exit…? I'd like to go home to let my wife know I'm okay," the white-haired man declared, simplifying the incident a bit for ease of explanation.
"What the hell…? English…?" the guard muttered. "Do you even speak Japanese…?"
Blinking in confusion, Takehito went to ask what the man was talking about, and then he realized something…
He'd been speaking perfectly fluent British English—though with a slight spin on the accent he just couldn't place—ever since he woke up… And he hadn't noticed. That was… very worrying…
He could deal with that later. Miya was more important.
"Err… Sorry about that… I do speak Japanese…" he stated, consciously using the appropriate language this time. "As for why I'm here… I just woke up down here after something went wrong while adjusting a Sekirei…"
"Pull the other one," the guard declared. "The only people down here are comatose Sekirei and guards. The medical ward is on the other side of the building. Besides, everyone that works here knows the faces of the Sekirei scientists, but I've never seen you before…"
Takehito simply blinked at that.
…What…? I know I quit working at MBI a few months back, but surely people haven't forgotten me that quickly…?
"I… Don't know what to say, then… That's the truth…" he said aloud, his confusion clear in his tone and expression.
"Then you're gonna have to come with me until we can get this all sorted out—" the guard began.
Slowly, the world seemed to… fade away… Takehito's focus dimming into a red haze as a sense of cold, calculating calmness enveloped him.
The guard flinched.
"H-hey… W-what're you doing…?" the man stuttered.
Takehito took a step.
"S-stay back…!"
Another step.
"I-I'm warning you…!" the man shouted, pulling his gun out of its holster and shakily aiming it in Takehito's general direction.
Staring down the barrel, the twenty-something somehow knew that the guard wouldn't be able to shoot him. The look of terror on his face was telling, somehow… Familiar, almost.
…
He took another step.
BLAM…!
A bullet pinged off the wall nearby, having missed Takehito wildly, and he took another step. He was only a few feet away now. It would be so easy to reach out to the guard, to—
"D-don't hurt me!"
Trembling in fear, the guard stumbled back as Takehito closed the remaining distance. The man's gun clattered to the ground as his hands came up to cover his head, the rest of his body cringing away as the white-haired man came closer… and closer…
…and then he passed by in silence.
The terrified guard remained there, trembling silently until his heart stopped hammering in his chest like a jackrabbit. By the time it had, the thing had moved on; no longer in the vicinity.
Instantly, the man had a radio in hand.
"What is it, Hiroto…?" a bored voice asked on the other end of the receiver. "You getting lonely down there in the dark…?"
"T-there's something loose down here, Takata…! A sekirei, or some crazy experiment…!"
"...Are you sure you're not just seeing things…? I know you don't usually work the night shift, but I swear if this is a joke—"
"I'm not joking…! It damn near killed me…!" the guard hissed. "I think it's looking for a way out of the building right now…! Send the Disciplinary Squad, Takata! We aren't cut out for this shit…!"
"Fuck! The Disciplinary Squad…?! Are you sure, man? Those crazy bitches will kill us if we waste their time…!"
"I'm sure…!" Hiroto stated. "Whatever the hell that thing was, it's not human! I didn't sign up for this crap!"
"...Alright. I-I'll send the message. If this gets us killed, I'm haunting your ass!"
"Fuck that! We'll haunt Minaka together! The crazy bastard is the one who thought this alien 'BS' was all a good idea in the first place!"
"Shit, that's true…" the man on the other end of the radio replied. "Then again, don't you think we'll just be joining the queue of people that wanna kick his ass…?"
"...Huh. Fair point, I guess."
Takehito was freaking out a bit.
"What the hell was that…?!"
Okay, he was freaking out more than just a bit.
He'd pulled out of the hallway into the first door he could find—the men's bathroom, go figure—and was currently yelling at his reflection in the mirror. He wasn't a pretty sight right now, between his unexpectedly disheveled hair, pale skin, and the dark-circles below his eyes, but that was playing second fiddle to his current problem.
"I just walked at a guy that was threatening to shoot me and he nearly passed out from terror! What the hell?!"
Really, it made no sense whatsoever.
He'd always been a little braver than most, the type that people looked to when it counted. It was why he was able to survive the rather perilous position of being the first and only adjustor back when the Sekirei were discovered. Things were a lot more dangerous back then, and he'd seen just how terrifying the world could be firsthand, but there was a massive difference between knowing how to keep your calm in a crisis and… and…
And whatever the fuck that was…!
It just didn't make sense…! He wanted to know, had to know! He needed answers as to what was going on—
S̵t̕òp̵̀.̵̧
As before, the same sense of existential dread began to creep in—his pulse racing wildly as his body began to rebel…
"Miya… I need to get to Miya…" he mumbled, trembling like a recovering addict.
Those words were a mantra… A prayer to calm him down. With every repetition, his pulse slowed; with every repetition, his shaking subsided. It was a ward against the fear, a way to escape the sensation of falling apart at the seams that resulted from asking too many questions…
Finally, he let out a shuddering breath as he felt the last remnants of unnatural fear leave him, a quiet sense of relief sliding into place in its stead. Looking up at the mirror, he returned to examining his reflection, focused on the details of what he saw staring back at him.
The figure there was smiling… It was a wide and carefree thing, almost childlike in its contentment… But there was a problem…
…Takehito could feel that he wasn't smiling.
"I think I'm going insane…"
…
Navigating wasn't too hard after Takehito left the bathroom, and its frightening questions, behind. He had seemingly left the 'deep-dark super-secret' part of MBI behind after meeting the guard, moving on to a place with actual signs and directions posted along the walls. He hadn't run into any other people, which was quite the relief, though it was odd to see the building so empty.
Then again, it was shortly after sunrise, according to the guard from earlier, so there wasn't any reason for people to be here.
After finally finding an elevator, he stepped foot into the main lobby—which was a lot bigger than he remembered—only to be stopped by an unexpected sight. Three women were there, in the center of the massive circular room, all facing the direction of the elevators like they were waiting for him.
"Well look who finally decided to show up!" the first of the three declared angrily.
Pink hair flowed into a side-swept ponytail, a black and white kimono covering her petite body, while a massive red knotted obi tied it all together. Fingerless red gloves, the kind fist-fighters tended to wear, covered her hands, but she still stood there with the cocky presence of someone aiming a cannon at their enemy.
"He looks… like he's barely standing… What are those stupid guards doing, calling us in for this…?" the second woman added with a creepy giggle, only to accidentally poke her chin with the knife-like fingers of her gauntlets, eliciting a yelp to cut off her guffaws.
She had spiked pale hair and dark eyeliner on, completing the edgy look with the same kimono as her flat-chested companion, though it failed to stretch across her comparatively substantial bust. Every inch of exposed skin below her neck was covered in bandages, which extended all the way down into her thigh-high boots as if they were stockings.
"Stop yapping, you two… It's too early for me to deal with you…" the third said with a yawn.
The last of the three hadn't bothered to look at Takehito yet, hunched over the hilt of her nodachi sleepily as the butt of the long weapon's sheath stabbed into the floor. Her long silver hair trailed down to her knees in a thin ponytail, draped above the same kimono as the other two, but with a grey haori hanging off her shoulders upon it.
To Takehito, it was immediately clear that all three of the women were Sekirei, even if he didn't recognize two of them—no, that wasn't quite right. He vaguely recalled them…
Had they been there when the Jinki was going haywire…? There had been a few young Sekirei there… but he knew all of the Sekirei that were this old…
Pushing past that frustrating sense of vague familiarity, eager to avoid asking too many questions, he chose instead to focus on the presence of the third woman.
"Karasuba…?"
The woman's eyes shot open, her head whipping up to face him so quickly that he would have missed it if he'd blinked.
"...What…?" she trailed off. "No… You're dead."
That… That should probably be the case, yes… but here he was, alive and in front of her. He knew that Karasuba had always been prickly by nature, but he would have thought she'd be… a little happier to see that he was okay?
"What do you think you're doing, you stupid monkey?! You're going to get yourself killed…!"
"Um… I got better…?" he joked.
The way her eyes narrowed angrily at his comment did not bode well.
"Very funny…" she chuckled darkly. "Now, who are you really…? One of the younger Sekirei, playing with your fancy new powers? An illusionist, or maybe a shapeshifter…?"
Before he could reply, the pink haired Sekirei cut in.
"Uh… Karasuba…?"
"What?" the silver-haired woman hissed.
The girl held up a… startlingly high-tech piece of hardware. Was that some kind of phone…?
"Minaka's calling—"
SCHRIP…!
There wasn't even a blur. One moment, Karasuba was angrily glaring at her subordinate, the next she was sheathing her long blade—the click of its tsuba hitting the sheath ringing out throughout the empty atrium.
The phone fell apart into several sparking pieces of exposed silicon and silver chips.
As it fizzled on the ground, the Sekirei stepped back, holding her hand to her chest fearfully as she and her companion stared at their boss with wide eyes. Clearly, the outburst had taken them by surprise…
"Um… I can't really think of a way to prove it to you, Karasuba… but it's me, Takehito…" the man said, ignoring the sudden burst of violence with ease.
It really wasn't that unusual with her, honestly.
"Well, you see… That's a bit of a problem for you…" the woman declared, stalking forward slowly, the back of her sheathed blade bouncing on her shoulder with every step. "You've brought up some bad memories, whoever you are, and I'm really not in the mood to let you get off easy…"
Takehito's eyes narrowed in response.
"Karasuba… Don't do this," he said firmly. "I can tell you're upset, but—"
The Sekirei cut him off with a harsh laugh.
"Oh, how grand…! You're even talking like he did…!" She declared. "Really, you've outdone yourself with… whatever this is… Did you get into the old personnel records? Maybe even found some old reports he wrote?"
Why was she doing this…? Why was she so certain he couldn't be real?! It made no sense…!
'Miya… Get to Miya…' his subconscious whispered.
That's right… He didn't have time to convince her.
"I need to get home, Karasuba. I don't have time to convince you that I'm real," he explained.
The woman's face shed its false joviality, her familiar serious expression sliding into position to replace it. With eyes narrowed into slits and her mouth set in a line, it finally became clear just how far his presence had pushed her.
"You'll die if you do that," she stated calmly. "The moment she realizes your trick, she'll kill you and come destroy MBI for letting you out to taunt her."
"It's not a trick," he replied in frustration.
Karasuba slowly withdrew her blade, the cold steel scraping against the edges of the sheath.
"Since you're so determined to maintain this charade, I'll just save you the trouble and kill you here. At least this way that hypocrite won't go on a rampage and ruin my fun," the woman declared.
A frightening sense of calm began to creep in, a dull red haze falling over Takehito's vision as he processed the Sekirei's words.
"Karasuba… I'm going home," he said coldly.
"No," the woman countered, a subtle yet cruel smirk forming slowly. "You are not."
The Sekirei became a blur of silvery gray, rapidly closing in as time seemed to slow before Takehito's eyes. The red haze intensified, his eyes widening as his heart beat violently in his chest.
Ba-bump…
She'd closed half the distance, now, her blade slowly rising in an upward strike intended to claim his head.
Ba-bump…
Adrenaline shot through his body, an electric feeling flooding him with energy. All the while, the haze closed in, overwhelming him with its bloody hue.
Ba-bump…
The blade was close now… So, so close. In fact, he knew that if he simply reached out, he could touch it… Break it…
Ba-bump…
A cruel smirk, just a bit too wide, formed on his face as he stepped forward; moving into the attack as he went to meet it…
…And Asama Takehito knew no more.
OUTTAKE: Takehito's Proof
"Um… I can only think of one way to prove it to you, Karasuba, but… I'd really rather not use it…" the man said, ignoring the sudden burst of minute violence with ease.
It really wasn't that unusual with her, honestly.
"Well, you see… That's a bit of a problem for you…" the woman declared, stalking forward slowly, the back of her sheathed blade bouncing on her shoulder with every step. "You've brought up some bad memories, whoever you are, and I'm really not in the mood to go easy on you…"
Backing up steadily, Takehito put his hands in the air as a sign of his peaceful intentions.
"Karasuba, please, don't make me do this…"
The woman's expression firmed up even further, and he realized he didn't have a choice in the matter anymore… And so, letting out a sigh, he opened his mouth and spoke.
"Do you remember that time when you and Miya were sparring, and I walked in when you were really getting heated…? If I remember right, you were yelling at each other about something when I spoke up suddenly and distracted you both…"
The woman paled, her eyes widening as she clearly recalled the incident he was speaking of. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't going to stop now that she forced his hand.
It was her punishment for being so unreasonable.
"...Well, somehow, one thing led to another as you tripped over the arena and smacked into each other. It was honestly kind of impressive," he continued. "But in the end, you ended up with Miya on top of you, your face crashed against each other as you accidentally wound up kissing."
"WE AGREED TO NEVER SPEAK OF—" the woman started to shout, and then caught herself.
Visibly taking a breath to steady herself, then went on.
…Or rather, she tried, but the other two Sekirei beat her to it.
"Oh my god… Karasuba kissed Miya…?" the shorter of the two laughed.
"Do you think she was more upset that it happened in the first place…" the other girl asked. "...Or that she wasn't on top…?"
Karasuba whirled around, her ponytail twirling after her as she slammed the tip of her sheathed blade into the stone below.
"...I will skin you two alive if you tell anyone of this…" she hissed. "It. Never. Happened… Are we clear…?!"
The duo muffled their laughter, shoving their fists in their mouths in a forceful attempt to stop themselves.
"S-sure…!" they giggled.
"See? I don't know why you two made such a big deal of it," Takehito interjected. "These two understand it was an accident!"
Karasuba whirled back to face him.
"You are just as infuriating as ever, damned monkey…" she growled.
"Oh, come on, you love me for it…!" he grinned.
AN:
Well, that's a wrap!
First two chapters and a prologue are all up now. I've got more prepared, but who knows when they're coming out? Your guess is as good as mine, but look forward to it if you like the story. As always, I hope you had as much fun reading as I did writing.
I'll see you all in the next chapter!