This chapter is full of mysterious mysteries, and cute girls who are also mysterious mysteries. It's nice and cohesive that way.
The flock and their Ashikabi had planned to set off to search for the missing Sekirei Number 88, Musubi, first thing after breakfast.
Splitting up into three teams to cover more ground, two of the adults in the flock to each team, with one escorting their Ashikabi and Kusano staying home.
MBI's surveillance system seemingly cast a wide net over Shin Tokyo, but if one were to look at the map of the city from above, there were countless blindspots, some of them bigger than multiple city blocks. The Botanical Garden Maze was a good example of that.
More importantly, they were in a bit of a gray area where Minato being an Ashikabi took precedence over his MBI affiliation, and so there was only so much assistance Takami could offer.
It was helped somewhat that Musubi had been 'consistently' zigzagging northwards towards them, however…
"Big Brother, bring Kuu along," Kusano said quite seriously. "S'important."
Minato crouched down in front of her, looking at her just as seriously. It was potentially dangerous to bring her along, but he had never once thought that Kusano wasn't aware of that.
"Important for what reason, Kuu?"
"Hmmm…. hmmm… if you gotta hide from meanies, trees are good for hiding, mhm!"
And if the trees knew where to find 88, the Green Girl would know.
"... You are not wrong." Minato admitted. "But Kuu, it might get dangerous if she is being chased, so if I am going to bring you along, then you need to be on your best behavior and listen carefully to what I say, understand?"
"Mhm, mhm, Kuu will be on her bestest behavior!" Kusano gave a cute little salute as she said so.
"Think that's a good idea, Babe?" Uzume whispered to him as he stood up, being careful not to let Kusano hear.
Minato merely gave a shallow nod, pushing his sense of certainty through their Bond.
Kusano might have been young, but she wasn't a young human. If she was certain it was important, then it was, he had no doubt of that.
In the end, she was a member of his flock, and he would trust her like one.
"We might need to reorganize the teams a little bit," Minato said speculatively. He would have asked Shiina to come along to help keep an eye on Kuu, but Shiina had been called back in by the cafe that interviewed him the day before.
"Let's stick with three teams, Hun," Kazehana said. "You take Kuu and two others with you, and then we'll have three in the other group."
"Thou art one short," Tsukiumi pointed out, as there were seven Sekirei.
"That's because I should fly solo," Kazehana replied.
Minato's eyebrow raised.
"Frankly Hun, I can cover way more ground on my own, when I bother with ground at all." The Sekirei of the Wind calmly explained. "If I find trouble I can't handle I'll just go around, past, or over it, and if one of the other groups needs help I can get there fast."
Of the flock, Kazehana was not only the most maneuverable, but the most powerful and experienced, so if she said it was the best use of her talents, then it was.
Total faith in her judgment didn't necessitate that he liked the idea, however.
"... No heroics," he said eventually. "That goes for all of you. I would like to help Musubi if we can, but you all are infinitely more important to me."
"We'll be careful, Hun, promise," Kazehana said what they were all thinking, smiling warmly.
"Soo… new teams?" Uzume redirected, her cheeks a little warm and her heart beating just a little faster. Babe could get away with lines that would sound cheesy from just about anyone else.
"Me and Sis should go with Babe and Lil Kuu," Hikari spoke up.
"Good point, Sister," Hibiki nodded.
"Nay, mineself and Akitsu doth be the most proficient at defense," Tsukiumi objected.
"Yeah, and we've all been practicing our teamwork," Hikari replied, and then smirked. "But we haven't all tested our teamwork in the field yet, right Sis?"
"That's true, Sister, but you and I don't need practice to begin with," her twin followed up with a light smile.
Tsukiumi drew herself up for another protest, and then deflated with a sigh.
"Thou art correct," she had fought on the same side as Akitsu and Kazehana, but she was too honest to equate that to actual teamwork, especially when it may affect their Ashikabi's safety.
"... Let's train… harder." Akitsu murmured softly.
Uzume just grinned, enjoying the byplay. She could get herself and Minato out of trouble just fine if it came to it, but she knew she'd be pushing her luck with more people.
"Very well, Kuu, Hikari, and Hibiki with me, then," Minato considered for a moment, going silent.
"Tsukiumi, Uzume, and Akitsu, for the other, and Tsukiumi, you're in charge. Take good care of everyone," Tsukiumi was daring, decisive, and far more cunning than most would expect, but having to mind others was precisely the thing that would keep the more brash side of her nature in check.
Uzume could probably lead just fine as well, but they both knew she did her best work in the background. And it would have shocked more than a few that Minato thought that Akitsu could also take charge, if necessary.
But put Tsukiumi in the lead, and that drive to never disappoint herself, or those she respected, would see them home safe and sound, no matter what troubles might come their way.
"A wise choice, Dearest, I shan't let thee down!" Also, and perhaps more importantly, of all the flock she was the one whose performance increased the most when praised.
Careful not to let the pink-cheeked and beaming Tsukiumi see, Uzume shot him a knowing wink.
"Wheeee-!"
"Must have the coolest big brother in Japan, huh?" Hikari laughed in mid leap, listening to the excited laughter behind her.
She'd taken point and 'Biki had taken the rear, keeping their Ashikabi and his passenger in between them.
… He really could keep up with Sekirei.
They'd started with an easy pace across the rooftops of the city, but she'd subtly increased the pace twice now, and all that resulted from it was Kusano having more fun riding piggyback.
Though she wasn't sure if it could still be called that- sure, Kusano was clinging to her big brother's back, but he'd gone handsfree, electing to keep the little fairy secure with a cozy looking blanket-harness-thingy made of 'something dark'.
She was pretty sure that their littlest sister would stay comfy and in place even if her ride started doing flips.
Grinning, Hikari flashed a grin over her shoulder that Hibiki naturally caught, and subtly returned, before picking up the pace once more.
Just because the job was serious didn't mean they couldn't have fun on the way.
Tsukiumi was taking things too seriously.
Akitsu too, maybe… harder to tell with her.
Okay, so she totally understood why people might be feeling a little overzealous when the confidence their Ashikabi had in them was casually seeping its way through their Bond (and it was so cool that Akitsu could feel some of that too), but…
Did no one realize that it was being proven in real time that they didn't need to run themselves ragged to earn Minato's approval?
She didn't think just telling Tsukiumi they should slow down would go over well, so…
Gradually, Uzume began to lag behind, losing ground to the other two. Truthfully, she was just a tiny bit frustrated with herself that she actually was having to put in a little effort to keep up, but she was also the only one in the group that wasn't a Single Number, so she supposed it couldn't be helped.
… Still frustrated her, though, and maybe, just maybe there was a bit more bitterness there she cared to admit-
"Let us rest awhile," Tsukiumi called back over her shoulder, and when she touched down on the next rooftop, she instead jogged a few paces, letting her momentum play out in comfortable fashion.
If Uzume was surprised by the sudden halt, it was because she hadn't noticed that Tsukiumi had been paying more attention than she thought as the trio came to a stop.
"My apologies to thee both," Tsukiumi gave a short bow, "Twas foolish of me to drive such a pace when tis uncertain our path is even the correct one."
Expressionlessly, Akitsu gave a little shake of her head. "... Got excited." She confessed.
"Yeah, my bad, I was overdoing it too," Uzume admitted, feeling a little silly about it. It wasn't like them being faster than her was their fault or anything.
Tsukiumi relaxed somewhat, showing her usual smile as she gestured with one arm to the leeward side of the rooftop entrance, the only shade in sight as high up as they were.
"Tis as good a time as any to have our midday repast, but there is little sense to sit ourselves where the sun can beat down on us from on high." Tsukiumi said. "Akitsu, how fareth the package thou hast been entrusted with?"
Akitsu was opening up one of the 'packages' (a lunch box, tightly packed with sandwiches so they had no space to bounce in their container) to check, and gave a thumbs up, a proud little shimmer in her flat blue eyes.
Tsukiumi had gravely entrusted the ice maiden with carrying the small drawstring backpack that contained their lunch, but Uzume had caught the brief grin from the water Sekirei as Akitsu responded to the show of trust.
… By getting fired up in the cutest and most quiet fashion Uzume had ever seen.
Currently, said ice maiden was getting quietly flustered by Tsukiumi having praised her for a 'task well performed' (to borrow Tsukiumi's own words), but then, after a moment of consideration, Uzume realized that it had actually become a case of her not taking things seriously enough.
At least when lunch was involved, because Miya could easily work magic with something as simple as a sandwich.
There had been a limit to the information Mother could give them as an official in the Sekirei Plan, given that there was a chance Musubi would want to be winged by him, but Minato didn't mind.
He was well aware that if she discovered Musubi was in serious danger, she would throw the rules out and send him on a beeline straight for her, and damn the consequences.
That was only if she was aware of it, though, but he'd headed things off somewhat by telling Daji that he would eat any of the Very Old Folk who played too rough with Musubi.
He anticipated having to kill a few during their 'adjustment period' as they tested the limits the only way they knew how, but the Folk that were truly good for the city were unlikely to be counted among that number.
"... Yeah, this is gonna take a while to get used to," Hikari dryly commented, giving him a strange look.
They'd stopped for lunch, and he was listening to Tsukiumi's play-by-play report (Kazehana had just texted 'miss me yet, hun?' and turned their Bond a little pink when he replied) of what had occurred so far.
"Good work, Tsukiumi," Minato replied without using his mouth, since an enthusiastic Kusano was busy force-feeding him half a sandwich. "So you've just got the public park and the shopping center to check? Meet up with us after that, then. We should be approaching the Maze by that time."
It was almost the second after he hung up that it happened.
A stray breeze blew a few leaves past them, even though they were in a fenced-in terrace six stories up.
Kusano went rigid, and Minato carefully pulled in and consumed the rest of the sandwich to keep it from falling.
The twins straightened up in their seats, gazing sharply his way but keeping their silence.
Kusano remained still for several seconds, big green eyes wide and unfocused.
Those eyes remained unfocused as she took in a long, deep breath, little cheeks bulging.
"Stop mucking up Kuu's forest, you big bullies!"
Kusano crossed her arms with a huff, looking thoroughly offended, and naturally looking to him to set things right.
"Big Brother, they're making Kuu's forest all squicky!"
He had no idea what that meant, but it sounded serious, and he liked to think he was a good big brother.
"Break time is over." The twins, working in unison, held out their hands, everything but the picnic blanket they were all sitting on packaged up.
It disappeared from beneath them as they all rose to their feet.
She'd had a hunch that the Botanical Maze was going to be a hub of sorts as things progressed.
It was a good place for Sekirei battles to occur without drawing attention, but even independent of that, Kuu's garden carried with it an undeniable sense of significance.
Which was why Kazehana was applauding her own foresight for leading her tagalongs in the opposite direction.
Currently, she was being chased east, lured into the clutches of the hiding Sekirei about two blocks ahead.
It was a nice and cute attempt at a pincer maneuver, and it might have been a little more successful if it was someone else they were chasing upwind.
And if it wasn't them being cocky, thinking three to one odds were enough.
The Sekirei lying in ambush revealed herself to be the most skilled as a hurled trident came zeroed in on Kazehana's leading leg, at a perfect angle to skewer the meat of her thigh.
Except that in complete defiance of boring things like physics, Kazehana used the speeding projectile as a foothold to kick off and reverse her direction, sailing over her pursuers in a lazy arc.
They nearly botched the landing because they were looking at her, instead of where they were going, but Kazehana was used to being hard to look away from.
"It was fun, girls, but I've got places to be~!"
Feeling good about not needing to change any flight paths from a long arc to a short drop, Kazehana gave a cheery wave to the pursuers she'd spared before leaving them all behind.
Being on her own every once in a while wasn't so bad, even if she could happily spend every second with her husband.
The outside world was so interesting!
And so busy!
First she got too excited to meet her Ashikabi so she forgot her MBI card, and she had to sleep outside, which was kinda cold but so much fun cuz she'd never fallen asleep looking at stars before and-
Then she'd gotten reeeallly hungry cuz she couldn't pay for food, but a nice lady bought her lunch (you could buy food from a cart!), but the nice lady wasn't her Ashikabi which was a little bit of a shame because she was so nice!
Then she went to a park, and saw people kissing, but no one was a Sekirei so no one got winged, and then she did meet Sekirei and they chased her!
"Oops, hehe, nice try!"
They'd forgotten Sekirei battles were supposed to be one on one, but she couldn't really blame them because she forgot things all the time too, but they also wanted their Ashikabi to wing her even though he wasn't her Ashikabi, so she ran away, and then she ended up in this huuuge forest that smelled kinda like Sekirei!
"Ei~! Gotcha!"
Musubi hoped she could find her Ashikabi soon… she was hungry again, and sleepy because those bullies kept chasing her, and sleeping outside more than one night in a row didn't seem like as much fun anyways-
"Whoa!"
But getting chased around the forest definitely was!
Putting on a burst of speed to widen the gap between her and her closest pursuer, Musubi slid low across the soft forest floor.
The Sekirei on her tail, too focused on Musubi, ran right into what Musubi had slid right under- the spiderweb hanging between two trees, deceptively hard to spot in the gloom of the forest.
… Even when the web was big enough to snare an entire person.
Easy payday to get that Higa bastard to ease up.
One high number Sekirei that rumor had it had been sleeping on the streets.
They'd been pressuring her round the clock, keeping the alien hungry and tired and stupid.
'Course, she was a freak so she was still going strong, but it was only a matter of time.
He was still thinking that when something latched onto the back of his shirt and hauled him into the air.
Flailing, he yelled for his dumb broad to get her act together and get him down, tryna figure out what the hell had caught him in the first place-
… But his Sekirei was busy being flat on her back.
Shrieking and struggling as a spider the size of a big dog snapped its jaws at her.
Stunned by the sudden arrival of the absurd, he dangled limply in the air, failing entirely to notice what was crawling down the line towards him.
"Oh wow, I didn't know spiders could grow that big!" Musubi put a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide.
Well, that explained all the webs!
Spiders bigger than that puppy she got to pet were going after her attackers, making Musubi a little confused as to whose side she was supposed to be on.
Nobody told her about spiders in the Sekirei Plan unless she forgot, and the other Sekirei did seem kinda scared but no one was getting hurt hurt, so maybe it was fine and she could just run?
She didn't want to abandon anyone if it was dangerous, but they had been bullying her and she was kinda tired (her sight was a little wobbly, so even her eyes must have been tired), and kinda hungry, and supposed to be looking for her Ashikabi, and, and-
"This way, Miss, hurry now," a soft voice drifted out from behind her as a slim hand gently took her own.
Startled, Musubi turned to find a pretty lady with black hair done up all fancily, wearing a blue kimono that was really nice but probably not very good for fighting in.
Eyes that shimmered like rubies flickered towards the fight between the Sekirei and the spiders before insistently meeting Musubi's brown. Hidden from others' view by the broad trunk of a tree, she gave Musubi's hand a little tug, gently but firmly pulling her out of sight.
Noticing Musubi's worried backward glance, the woman flashed an understanding smile.
"You don't have to worry about your kindred, Miss," the woman quietly assured, pressing a finger to her lips. "The children won't hurt them while they mask our escape."
"Oh, okay then!" Musubi 'whispered' with a bright smile, obediently allowing herself to be led away. "Thanks for helping me!"
The smiling woman merely shook her head, saying "there is no need to thank me, Miss… it is my pleasure."
… As she was led deeper into the woods, the voices of those searching for her quickly faded.
Just as promised, the spiders didn't hurt anyone while concealing their escape.
While concealing their escape.
"... Big Brother, there are scary things in Kuu's forest," Kuu reported without sounding scared in the least.
Why would she be, when the scariest thing was still outside of her forest, holding her hand?
Said scary thing was peering through the verdant outer wall of the maze, getting a sense of what they were dealing with.
"The more of us who enter, the more dangerous it will be." Minato murmured with some annoyance. "But this is going to slowly become more and more normal, for the flock."
'Awareness' could be a two-way street.
He didn't really have time to explain, and the others were close enough at this point-
He asked Kazehana, Tsukiumi, Akitsu, Uzume to set up a perimeter on the rooftops surrounding the maze, while his group would enter directly to find Musubi.
""...""
"W-What the hell was that!?" Hikari blurted out, Hibiki looking equally caught off guard by the sudden and not in the least unpleasant intrusion.
Minato tilted his head, giving her a curious look.
"It was like… I just thought up your plan in your voice… inside my head?" Hibiki said in a daze. "I remember being told that Sekirei and Ashikabi can potentially learn to communicate telepathically, but that's not what that was, was it?"
"No, I just used my real voice."
"... Because that explains everything," Hibiki gave him a dry look.
"It does? Good, I do not think we have time for explanations."
… How truly mysterious, the twins were suddenly projecting a sense of 'fatigue' even though their breathing and heart rates were normal.
He would have to be more careful not to push them too hard, and tire them out even more.
… The lady was very nice.
She also had a very nice little house, though Musubi was kind of curious how she'd managed to get a whole cottage into a forest as deep and windy as this.
"Don't let your tea get cold now, Dear," the lady smiled kindly, and Musubi obeyed, ignoring the feeling in her head that drinking the tea was a bad idea.
She didn't want to be rude, and her drinking the tea made the woman that rescued her happy, so it must have actually been a good thing. Musubi was used to having feelings that she didn't understand, so she tended to default to whatever made the most nice people smile.
It was warm and cozy in the little cottage, probably from the fireplace, which was something she'd never seen in person before.
She felt safe, and the biscuits were tasty, but actually wasn't it just a little too warm in here?
Absent-mindedly tugging open her collar, Musubi squirmed in her chair.
"Sorry, I guess you can't turn down a fireplace, huh?" Musubi murmured. "My skin's getting all prickly and sweaty."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Dear, you'll grow accustomed soon," the woman assured her, red eyes shining darkly in the firelight. "I'm sure you must be so very, very tired after being on the run for so long… but there's no need to fret… let yourself relax…"
She was pretty tired, so tired she tipped right out of her chair, but the nice, gentle lady was there to catch her in her arms. She must have been more tired than she thought, cuz her limbs were heavy and she was really out of breath, but she shouldn't close her eyes, because that was dangerous-
"Just like that, Dear," she crooned, leaning in to let her breath tickle Musubi's ear. "Entrust your body to my care. I only want a nibble, after all… just a single bite."
Soft lips traced a tingling trail up Musubi's slim white neck as she struggled to remember what was dangerous, and wondered why even a Power-type like her wasn't strong enough to keep her eyelids open.
… A gentle sting, a distant shout from a familiar voice, and then nothing.
Hikari's first thought was that she wished their combat outfits covered more skin.
Preferably all of it.
… With a helmet included.
There were spiderwebs everywhere, and that the webs were ginormous only made it even more gross, because how big did a spider have to be to make webs like that?
… Well, given the sound she could best describe as 'skittering' coming from the long shadows all around them, it wouldn't be long before they found out.
But it really did feel like something out of a fairytale- their group moving furtively through a towering maze of trees and vines, a place that felt ancient even when its existence was measured in weeks.
The light dim, the presence of the sun hindered by both dense foliage and denser webbing.
Her sister would probably be able to better put it into words, but Hikari was the instinctive one, and her instincts were telling her that they'd left the 'real world' as they knew it behind.
Probably be scary if she was alone, but…
When had she ever needed to worry about that?
Cracking her knuckles as she caught a hint of movement from high in the trees, Hikari's lips curled into a belligerent smile.
Crawling down trunks and across webs and branches were dozens of spiders, each roughly as long as Kusano was tall.
He somewhat regretted telling the others to stay out of the maze, because it was an almost perfect scenario to ease them into their new world. The spiders might have been Folk-influenced, but they themselves were not Folk, so likely their only abnormality was in size and unity of purpose.
And their master had not 'claimed' enough of the forest to seriously shift the rules, as of that moment, and so the spiders were the only danger to 'people' that he could ascertain, for the time being.
Surely it was dangerous, but manageably so.
"Sister!"
"On it!"
The twins moved at one, putting their backs to themselves and each other, standing strong as violet tendrils of lightning danced around delicate fingers and slim wrists.
"Babe, you got eyes all around, right?" Hikari asked in a sharp voice. "Call 'em out when you see them!"
"Understood." The twins had been a wise choice for this. "Kuu, you don't need to worry about the fight. Focus on the forest around us and see if you can pick up any clues."
"Mh!" Kusano, back in her harness, flashed him a thumbs up from an angle only he could have picked up on.
The boldest of the spiders pounced from a high treetop, and popped halfway through its leap as Hikari put a bolt of lightning through it.
As the twins devoted their attention to the beginning battle, Minato allowed a part of himself to focus on how he would distract his Sekirei from the things they didn't need to see.
There were more than spiders hanging from those webs, after all.
Deep within a strange forest, flashing lightning pierced the gloom.
Pop that one jumping in from high left.
One bolt for the web, one bolt for the spider.
Sister was busy, so fire over her right shoulder.
That one directly above would rain a mess down on their heads if she fried it, so let Minato crunch it up in his jaws.
Three bodies moving as one.
No blind spots.
No need for words.
And no need for mercy.
Let the lightning dance, and the thunder roar.
They could have held their ground and fought forever, and Hibiki was certain it would still end a little too quickly for their liking.
The twins had burned their way through about a dozen and a half arachnids before the spiders got the hint and kept their distance.
"... Big Brother," Kusano whispered fretfully, tugging at his collar.
"I hear them, Kuu," the twins had fried through half a dozen of the spiders.
Just a fraction of what was watching them from afar.
"Girls, time to move."
"That way," Kusano clarified, pointing to the left with her finger.
"Lead the way, we got your back." Hikari instructed, her tone measured but her eyes bright and fierce.
The sharpness behind Hibiki's demure smile wasn't as subtle as it usually was, and it belatedly occurred to Minato that perhaps he should be giving the flock more opportunities to fight.
Being victims of the Sekirei Plan did not deny them the choice to willingly participate.
… And he had a feeling that their current circumstances would not be the only occasion where there would be more than Sekirei to fight.
Kusano led them running on a winding path through the verdant maze she had made, up over roots thicker than a person, beneath leaves that could serve as blankets, and even hopping across branches a time or two.
Laughing all the way and delighting in being chased, cheering whenever a twin blasted a spider out of the air, but, despite the noise and lack of subtlety, he couldn't help but notice that their pursuers numbered much less than they should have.
Almost as if the Folk-touched spiders were struggling to follow their trail.
A trail that looked noticeably different when he looked back behind them.
"Kuu is Big Brother's Sekirei too," Kusano reminded, right on cue.
"That you are," he agreed. "Good job, Kuu."
"Mm!"
In her own quiet way, the youngest of the flock was proving that his trust in her was well-placed.
The forest crafted by her will would accept no ruler but the Green Girl. The trees and branches rebelled against web and thread, sheltering the little sovereign and her knights from the invaders.
And it was likely for that reason alone that they arrived at the cottage before it was too late.
It was a beautifully maintained, old-school Japanese cottage, something like a one-room version of Izumo Inn.
Nestled in a sizable clearing between the massive trees, dappled light from the thinning of the forest canopy lightly painting its thatched wooden roof with gentle sunlight.
It was the kind of sight that stirred the heart yet soothed the soul, the kind of idyllic picture that no photograph or painting could quite do justice.
… Hikari had never seen a more suspicious building in her entire life.
Elegantly seated upon the veranda with an open shogi door at her back was a slender, beautiful woman with black hair bound up in a loose bun, and skin so pale it was almost translucent. Red eyes and red lips, wearing a sky blue kimono and a smile.
… Hikari had never seen a more suspicious woman in her entire life.
Oh sure, she seemed like a nice lady, and it was a nice place, and actually, why was she bothered? Must still have her blood up from the running and the fighting, there were no threats present and man did that woman have the most beautiful eyes…
Placing three fingers of each hand on the floor, the woman bowed low, and Hikari was left with a renewed surge of discomfort, like she'd just felt something crawl up her spine.
Sis was the same, and they shared an uneasy glace and shuffled in a little closer to their Ashikabi as the woman spoke.
"Hail and well met, Lord Hunger," her voice was rhythmic and harmonious like a gentle lullaby, and each syllable felt like it was sticking to Hikari's skin. "I would offer you hospitality, but I imagine you won't be staying long?"
"Correct," Minato said simply and without inflection, masking entirely the surge of disgust that bubbled its way through their Bond.
"You've come seeking that poor lost bird, I gather? Never you fear, she is currently making use of my bed." The woman sat upright, cupping her cheek with one hand and tilting her head to rest against it.
"Poor dear has been hounded by her kind for days, who knew those cute little birds could be so cruel?" It was a strange contradiction, hearing words that tugged at her heartstrings and made her want to vomit up her lunch at the same time.
"You've been… protecting her, then?" Minato asked, his tone giving nothing away while their Bond once again gave everything away.
"Oh, but of course!" The woman exclaimed, her voice remaining soft as she did. "You may have given your blessing for us to indulge in their company, but I would feel like a brute if I offered one who had suffered so much anything but the finest hospitality."
"Which is why your pets didn't kill anyone, I imagine?"
It was minute, so minute that human eyes might have missed it.
But the twins caught her flinch.
"I would certainly hope not, the children are rowdy but they do follow instructions rather well."
"I see," their Ashikabi said. "Well, we're here to bring the Sekirei to safety, I trust you have no issues with that?"
"Perish the thought!" The woman shook her head lightly. "It's a small shame to wake her so soon, but I'm sure she won't mind once she knows why you're here."
Rising gracefully to her feet, the woman swept back into the hut and out of sight.
Was it just her, or was all of this… kinda anticlimactic? Not a spider in sight, no 'big boss' enemy or anything like that, just a 'pleasant' chat, and boom, done?
Slowly, Hikari turned her head to meet Hibiki's gaze. After a moment of silence, they nodded once in unison.
"Fry her if she tries anything fishy?"
"Fry her if she tries anything fishy."
For the first time since entering the clearing, Minato showed one of his tiny smiles.
Musubi looked just like the picture, except for the part where she was cuter in person.
Soulful brown eyes that still seemed big even when half-shut, because she was slow to wake up, and a figure that was above par even by Sekirei standards.
She was dressed in something that loosely compared to a miko outfit, but there was nothing loose about her pure white top as it molded to her curves. And, typically, the bottoms on such an outfit were pleated, but not a pleated pink miniskirt.
Stumbling slightly on long legs clad in white stockings, paired with knee high leather boots, Musubi showed an odd juxtaposition of appearing defenseless, but only to anyone who didn't know how to fight. The red combat gloves she was wearing fit her hands too well to be simple accessories.
A big, bouncy yawn and a rub of her eyes.
"Morning already…?" Another big yawn, "Hmm… oh!" Suddenly, she noticed the presence of her fellow Sekirei, Hibiki and Hikari having moved in front of Minato as a precaution.
Her eyes opened wide, and a smile to match spread across her soft lips.
"Oh, you're Sekirei, nice to meet you, would you like to fight?"
… Puzzled by the baffled silence that followed, Musubi tilted her head to one side, a motion that naturally drew her gaze to the one who mirrored her, as well as the little girl on his back who mirrored him.
Head still tilted, Musubi froze.
Head still tilted, Minato froze.
The pale woman who had been trying to make herself as unobtrusive as possible quietly clicked her tongue.
As Musubi began to flush red and squirm, the twins high-fived one another without looking.
""Called it.""
Kusano thrust a fist up into the air and said "big sister, get!"
Her chest felt hot, her thin top unbearably stuffy, and Musubi absentmindedly tugged at her collar to loosen it.
At the same time, her head felt cool, like she'd just dunked her head in cold water.
This was her destiny.
That little voice that offered advice she was bad at listening to was so very easy to listen to this time.
Instead of a voice, it felt like a gentle little shove at her back, urging her to take that first step.
That subtle warmth urging her on seemed to grow brighter, and then unobtrusively back away, as Musubi dimly realized that her feet were already carrying her closer to where she was meant to be.
Who she was meant to be with.
The blurry figures in between her and her destiny made way, one of them with another, smaller blur at their side.
Getting within arm's length of him felt like the longest journey of her life, and the only journey that mattered.
Musubi's whole world at that moment was a pair of dark eyes.
"You won't be my only Sekirei, if you choose me." His voice was toneless and gave nothing away, yet it felt like the words were gently wrapping around her, like a cool and unobtrusive hug.
Musubi wanted to cry.
Not because her destiny was shared, or because she wasn't his first, nothing sad like that at all. No, she wanted to cry because he'd proven he cared about her before he had any reason to at all.
Her hands gently cupped his cheeks, and it felt like the most important thing her hands had ever done.
"You are… my Ashikabi, aren't you?"
"I will be, in a moment."
Musubi leaned in, putting an end to one moment in favor of one she wished could last forever as vibrant pink wings bloomed forth, and wrapped around them, like the petals of a great flower.
He was uncertain why he had felt the need to count, but his first kiss with Musubi had lasted four minutes and eight seconds.
It was encouraging to know the new addition to his flock had healthy lungs, since she might need them for running away from danger at some point. Running away from danger was, in his estimation, the most vital skill for a person to have.
It was less encouraging that Musubi passed out in his arms afterwards, but while he had been examining her for injuries during the kiss (carefully, as it seemed Musubi was ticklish), Minato had picked up on how exhausted she truly was.
Of course she had not been able to rest properly in the spider's lair.
But beneath the silken 'bandages' hidden beneath her clothes, only one injury truly stood out.
A pair of minor wounds that had likely done more help than harm.
It was a bit of a shame, because returning kindness with malice was not the sort of thing a decent person should do.
But he was not a decent person.
He was not a person at all.
Truly, he had been inactive for too long if one of the Very Old Folk was willing to test his patience so easily.
A shame, truly a shame.
Lord Hunger had claimed the bird, rendering it untouchable.
She had given up on it, meekly and without protest, for there would be other birds, and she only had but one life.
She had seen them off with a smile, and counted herself lucky.
However was she to know that Lord Hunger would forsake Its as of yet passive stance for that one bird in particular? Did some of them carry a special scent that caught Its attention?
Greater care would be needed in the future, but at least she had averted the worst.
She had stuck to the accord, and truly harmed none of the birds.
It had only been a nibble… just a single bite.
If anything, she had done the bird a small kindness, as she knew fully well how sweet her 'kiss' felt when it graced mortal flesh.
The bird had certainly not protested.
… Such a shame it had ended with that.
It could not be helped, that she believed herself safe.
The shogi door slid shut, and she allowed herself a long, shaky sigh, pouring herself a new cup of tea with a tremor in her hands.
"Dealing with that monster was such a nerve-wracking experience," she lamented softly.
"There is not much I can do about that," a toneless voice replied.
The kettle fell and cracked upon the table as she bit down a shriek.
It was there, sitting at her table, a multitude of gazes observing her from behind two murky black eyes.
"L-Lord Hunger, f-forgive me, but I believed our business concluded?" She managed to stammer out. "W-was there another way this humble one could be of service?"
It sighed, and the senses of one human in shape alone caught a glimpse of a cold wind rattling through polished bone.
"I'm actually somewhat grateful, you know?" It said. "If anything, I owe you a debt for taking care of Musubi."
… A debt?
A bond of contract with such an appalling being was unpleasant, but if It felt beholden to her then perhaps her luck was not so dismal after all.
"... Unforgettable, isn't it?" It said suddenly, softly. "Sweet like honey, but the sweetness is mild enough that you could eat it for every meal and never grow sick of it."
Truly, it was so. Her self-control should be praised for taking only a nibble, just a single bite.
Hastily, she swallowed, feeling the saliva pooling as the memory made her mouth water.
"... Forgive me, Lord Hunger, but I am unsure of what you are referring to?"
"The Sekirei." It clarified. "It's no wonder at all how few of them there are, when they taste as good as they do."
She noticed too late that her home was darker, and the walls closer, than just a few short moments earlier.
"... N-n-now now, let us not be hasty!" She exclaimed, suddenly feeling nervous. "Y-yes, it is true that I may have tasted the bird, but it was only a nibble! Just a single bite! H-how could I have known you would lay claim to her?"
Lord Hunger nodded slowly, not rising from Its seat.
"You didn't do anything wrong," It agreed with a sigh. "You just stocked up on a few humans, and had a little taste of a Sekirei in your care."
"Then why-!"
"Why am I going to kill you?"
Her next words died in her throat.
It had admitted to the debt! It had absolved her of wrongdoing!
So why!? "Why, why, why!?"
"Because you know something you shouldn't." It said, "You are a… 'loose end'? It will be troublesome if your knowledge is passed on…. even I cannot protect them all if the Folk go on a feeding frenzy, and I'm not finished finding out which Sekirei I'm supposed to care for, yet."
"... Over such a small thing?" It truly was a small thing in her mind, they were merely a handful of strange foreign birds.
"Oh, that is good enough, I suppose." Not seeming to hear her, It tilted its head in a remarkable facsimile of the way a person would act, at least if that person had no bones in their neck. "I will repay my debt by killing you gently."
… It had been too late from the moment It had entered her home unannounced, hadn't it.
Such a fool she had been, to assume the rules It had adopted were not as malleable as Its true form.
She could only laugh at the absurdity of it as, from above… and beyond… and all around, the Gluttonous Star darkly shone.
"YoU don't have tO be afRaiD… it's oNLY A n-n-nibBle… JUsT A SiNgLE BITE."
And just as It promised, she didn't feel a thing.
… Musubi was aware that learning wasn't her strong suit, but even she knew that drowning wasn't supposed to feel safe.
Sinking, she was sinking deep into darkness with a hint of blue.
The only light, the little pin pricks of brightness here and there, that kind of gave her the funny feeling that she was drowning in the night sky.
Or maybe, she wasn't drowning after all, and instead, she was falling, from so high up that she couldn't see the ground.
That was fine too, because no matter what her fate was meant to be, there was a purpose to her being there.
Because the darkness was empty on its own, and being empty sounded so very lonely.
And if her whole life was meant to be nothing more than a way to keep that loneliness at bay, then Musubi would know she had lived a good life.
So she did what any good Sekirei would do, and gave the darkness her wings.
With a strangely cute snort, Musubi jolted into wakefulness, lifting her head and looking around with bleary eyes.
As her big brown eyes focused, they found themselves staring deeply into a pair of big green eyes.
A little Sekirei with long blonde hair and a bright smile, riding piggy-back on the back of another Sekirei, this time a black-haired woman with a calm expression.
Musubi didn't know who they were, other than that she cared a lot about them and she hoped they would be her friends.
Even thinking that was enough to tire out the exhausted 88, and almost immediately she found her head drooping once more, her cheek against cool fabric that shifted against the firm something it was resting on.
The little girl nodded largely, giving her a knowing look.
"It's kay, Big Sis," the little girl assured her. "Kuu slept a lot on the way here, so it's your turn, cuz Kuu's a big girl."
Kuu?
… Kuu, huh?
What a nice name.
Yawning, Musubi nestled in against her 'bed' and drifted back off to sleep.
The phone call started with Mother telling him to bring her new daughter-in-law to the lab for a check-up in the morning.
"It won't be early though, I'd like to let her sleep in if possible," Minato replied without skipping a beat.
Asking how Mother had already figured things out never crossed his mind, Mother always 'knew things'.
"I've cleared my schedule for tomorrow, made the loon cry a little," Takami said, before bulling on without any wasted time, "Now spill it. What's got your head all tied in knots?"
… Mother always 'knew things'.
"I will give you a full report in the morning, once I figure a few things out," also, both his major concerns involved Musubi, who might have been sleeping, but was sleeping on his back. "But you don't have to worry for now, Mother, I'm sure Miya is cooking extra."
As he reached through it, the other end of the call was silent, truly silent, for just a moment.
"Good night, Mother, I will see you in the morning." Minato offered a mild farewell.
"... See you in the morning, Son."
As Takami ended the call, she closed her eyes, taking a long, slow breath, before speed-dialing a number without needing to look at her touchscreen at all.
She postponed retrieval of the deactivated Sekirei, and put the Botanical Garden Maze on lockdown for the second time, well aware of how lucky they'd been that she'd abused her impartiality to send her son out looking for Musubi.
The last thing they could afford was another Code Neverland in the middle of the Sekirei Plan, and that meant doing her part to preserve her son's promise to the Court.
It was risky, and against MBI's interests for sure, but it couldn't be helped.
It crossed into the territory of the one thing a woman willing to discard anything, if necessary, would absolutely never yield on.
That before anything else, Sahashi Takami was the mother of Sahashi Minato.
Like a great beast stirring from its slumber, Musubi's arrival at Izumo Inn was heralded by a great, rumbling snarl.
"S'ungry," Musubi mumbled herself awake, not quite coherent but roused by the delicious smells wafting out the open door.
"Oh my," Miya said with a pleased, gentle giggle. "It seems our new guest has quite the healthy appetite~"
"Family, not guests," Minato clarified, making Miya's smile widen just a touch.
"Is that so? I suspected our home would be a more lively place by the end of the day." Concealed beneath her pleasant smile was a tiny glimmer of surprise.
… Her strangest tenant's use of the word 'family' was even more inclusive than it seemed.
"I can't help but notice that none of my tenants is constantly bringing in new women," she lamented playfully as she ushered them in, "at this rate, we're going to run out of rooms!"
What a wonderful problem to have.
"Number 88, Musubi!" The newest addition to the flock proudly introduced herself. "I'm a Power-type!"
"Ehehe, someone's spunky," Uzume grinned, leaning back on her hands, shamelessly looking her cute new companion up and down with an appreciative gaze.
Babe had good taste in girls, and Uzume didn't feel the tiniest bit of shame in including herself in that.
The flock and their Ashikabi were sitting around the table after dinner, accompanied by Miya.
The two other male tenants were out working, and the shy one was being herself, and thus naturally not joining.
He hoped the large number of winged Sekirei in the house wasn't causing her distress, but there was a hint of an odd scent permeating her area of the building that he wasn't sure if he should act upon.
Miya was the master of the house, after all, and it wouldn't do to overstep his bounds.
… Musubi was going to fit right in, wasn't she? In his brief distraction, Musubi had delightedly begun making friends with the whole flock.
"Oh wow, you're all so strong! I want to get stronger too, will you fight me later?"
"Sure, I don't mind playing, but not in the house," Kazehana laughed indulgently.
"Thank you very much!" Turning her head to Minato seated on her right, Musubi beamed at him with shining eyes. "I didn't know your flock was so big, Minato, but that's so amazing! So many people in love all in one place!"
The collective hearts of the flock skipped a beat as the room seemed to warm a degree or two, cheeks coloring all around.
"Yeah, I like her already," Hikari muttered with a grin, Hibiki nodding readily.
"Ah, I hope I can make Minato love me soon, too!" Minato wasn't a Sekirei, and she'd heard that humans didn't figure out their feelings right away, but that was fine, because they were destined to be together.
That meant they were destined to love each other, too!
"I don't think… your wish will take long to grant," Minato said with a brief little laugh.
She was kind, enthusiastic, eager to get along with the rest of the flock, and didn't seem to care at all about Akitsu's nature as a Scrapped Number. Though, it was mildly worrying in the way that she was the first member of the flock to stir his hunger in the conventional sense.
Maybe it was the subtle 'wild' impression she gave, like a beast playing a house pet of its own will.
… Comparing his Sekirei to a pet was kind of terrible, wasn't it?
So then… why was he so certain that the idea would go over well with certain members of the flock?
How truly mysterious.
Almost as mysterious as 'her'.
… It was hard to understate how puzzling it was, to truly have no idea if you were alive or dead.
She had given of herself to save that girl, offered her life to save the life of one who mattered to her in ways she couldn't understand.
Perhaps it was because they looked like they could have been siblings, or maybe even mother and daughter.
Regardless, she had no regrets over what she'd done, she just wished she understood a little better as to what her own fate had been.
Of why so much of her world was a single white-walled room that resembled her own from when she'd been properly alive.
… Probably alive.
Sometimes, she doubted even the experiences she struggled to recall, her memories as obscure as the mist that drifted through walls she couldn't dent with all her power.
Sighing to herself, she fell onto her side onto the little white bed, the only piece of furniture in the room.
Staring absentmindedly at the static-ridden screen of the large and old-fashioned TV, her only method of garnering a glimpse beyond the walls. There was a single small window to the room, but nothing beyond it.
And so while the TV was her only method of observing the girl she had given her very soul to save, the window was her only method of 'reaching that girl', of making her voice and her warnings ever so slightly heard.
… Her demeanor tender, but morose, as she observed the flickering images in black and white, the woman called to mind the kind of sad song that stuck with you all of your life, even if you heard it just once.
A bittersweet nostalgia that reflected her mood quite aptly, as the 'show' on the TV swapped through varying scenes without rhyme or reason.
A moment ago she had done her best to caution the girl against trusting the spider crammed into a woman's shape, but a moment before that, she had watched the girl in a much younger form, playing happily in The Green Meadow, the only place upon the island where grass had grown.
… And thus, her reaction when 'that' flickered onto the screen was so wildly different from the norm, that one might think an entirely new woman had taken her place.
She felt it echo, even within the tattered dregs of her Core.
Love.
Musubi had found love.
Musubi had found her Destined One, her Ashikabi.
Transfixed by the blissful miracle before her, Sekirei Number 08, Yume remained entirely unaware of how nothing would ever be the same again, in more ways than she ever could have imagined.
And, for the moment, remained ignorant of how the changes had truly begun with a wall.
The top left corner of the wall at her back, to be precise.
The corner of the all-white wall, growing stained with the presence of 'something dark', seeping through the cracks.
Yume is much, much less hidden from a being that has never relied upon its borrowed eyes to see.
Felt fitting to end off with a little bit of horror classic, and having the seeping horror be the protagonist remains one of my favorite reasons for writing this story.
And fun to tease a little bit by leaving it on a cliffhanger, and leave you all to guess how Minato will approach Yume.
Most of the chapter focuses around Musubi, but it's equally important to note just how quickly the 'people' in the cast have gotten dragged into the dark side of the world.
Actions meet consequences.
As an aside, it was fun to have Hikari and Hibiki be a central part in Musubi's winging, yet in a vastly different way than canon.