This chapter begins and ends with fated meetings, fitting for a Sekirei story, don't you think?
It was subtle, at first.
Like a prickling sensation at the back of her neck, a cool air blowing in a world where the wind never blew and the temperature never changed, proving that though Yume had been 'alone' for a long time, her instincts hadn't quite atrophied.
Thus, she became aware that something had gone very wrong, just in time to turn and be struck dumb by Its presence.
Through the featureless white wall of the square room that was her world, 'something dark' was seeping through, spreading out from the corner of the ceiling like spilled ink.
Spilled ink that, beyond all reason and rationale, Yume was totally, absolutely certain was staring at her.
… Well that, or the isolation had finally driven her insane.
She was confident that Sekirei, even slightly defective Sekirei, were ill-suited for loneliness.
She was ill-suited to loneliness.
At her lowest points, Yume had even begun to miss the needles… at least the needles were poked into her by someone else, right?
… Reason losing to emotions, she abruptly found herself resenting the ink blot that continued to spread, that continued to darken her bleached white world.
No, who was she trying to fool?
Rising triumphantly to the top of that slurry of emotions swirling within was fear.
Fear of that darkness, fear of the inexorable change seeping into her stagnant prison.
She did not know if she was truly alive, yet she was still afraid to die.
And she hated herself for that, hated herself for it because that strange darkness was in the same place she was, which meant-
… Which meant Musubi could be in danger.
Color came to the darkening white world as Yume gathered her power, shimmering pink light coalescing around her clenched fists.
"That is far enough… I don't know what you are, but if you plan to harm this girl…" In retrospect, it probably looked more like a display of petulance than battle-readiness, yet nevertheless, that seeping darkness halted.
Bones creaked as she clenched her fists tighter, bracing herself for-
"... And wHY wOuLD an AshiKABI hARm thEIR SekIRei?"
Yume's jaw dropped open.
Did the ink just talk? Was she talking to ink?
She really had lost her mind, hadn't she!?
Yume nearly blasted the darkness as it flowed out of the wall, taking a shape that almost resembled a… person…?
At least, the upper body of one, like someone had just half emerged from a pit of oil or something akin to it. At least, if you ignored it being parallel to the ground.
A body that was dripping and dark, two flickering white chasms cracking open to approximate where eyes should have been, countless smaller chasms opening across the darkness at random.
The light around her hands flickered and vanished as Yume took a faltering step back, once more finding herself more bewildered than brave.
Yume had never quite lost that courageous optimism of hers, but there was simply no way to understand how to respond to It.
"... You are… concerned for Musubi, in some way," the dark thing spoke, its voice losing the mismatch of tone and volume in favor of a bland, yet strangely soothing monotone. "Why?"
"I-I… I don't understand what you mean."
"Why do you care what happens to Musubi?"
Of all the things that strange… being could have asked, that particular question was completely unexpected.
But it did much to calm Yume down, as it had asked her the simplest question in all the world.
Placing a hand against her breast and closing her eyes, Yume took a deep, long breath, and then smiled, a pure and radiant expression which was the most honest expression she could make.
"Because more than anything else, I want that little bird to spread her wings and be happy." And perhaps, if she was truly lucky, Yume would have the chance to see for herself when Musubi found happiness.
Perhaps, she would be lucky enough to remain, just long enough to catch a glimpse of the life Musubi made with her Destined One.
A gentle silence fell in the wake of her words, and when Yume opened her eyes sometime later, she found the darkness staring at her in blatant curiosity.
Truthfully, she hadn't the faintest idea why she could tell, but Yume had always trusted her own heart.
A slow blink of chasm eyes.
"We want the same thing." The darkness said. "I suppose we are friends, then."
It was Yume's turn to blink, long lashes fluttering several times in rapid succession.
She once again had no idea why she knew, but any sense of animosity the darkness bore towards her had evaporated in an instant.
The darkness dripped down from the wall, flowing down onto the couch before flowing into a recognizable shape.
With some embarrassment, Yume belatedly realized that she'd bared her soul to some random… something, merely because it had asked her a question.
Aaaand… let the darkness refer to itself as Musubi's Ashikabi without any comment or consideration towards the statement on her part.
Yet there he was, in a place he should not be- her first ever visitor to her tiny white-walled world.
Musubi's Ashikabi, Sahashi Minato.
"... I am very confused." She decided she needed to sit down, and plopped herself down on the bed.
Minato nodded slowly.
"So am I. A Sekirei having two souls is truly mysterious."
"An Ashikabi who isn't human is just as surprising for me, you know!"
"Ashikabi are not completely human to begin with, though?"
"What!?"
"... We have a lot to talk about, don't we?"
Yume repeated those words under her breath, and was left wondering why such ordinary words could sound so very beautiful.
It would not be until much later that Yume understood the significance of their first meeting, and of the 'enemy' they both shared.
At the time, all Yume could think about was the monster that had brought a dark hint of color to her all-white world.
"I remembered to introduce myself this time," Minato noted, feeling pleased with himself as he opened his human eyes the next morning.
"More Sekirei?" Akitsu questioned softly, propping herself up by his side.
"-U friends- ay…~" Musubi mumbled, still asleep on his other side.
"No, it was not that sort of dream," Minato shook his head. "It was more normal, I think."
After all, if he could visit his Sekirei in their sleep once, he could obviously visit them twice, correct?
Perfectly normal.
"I think we should let Musubi sleep, but are you ready to get up?"
After her customary pause, Akitsu gave a short nod.
Loosening his bones, Minato freed his arm from Musubi's tight embrace, and Akitsu swiftly placed a pillow in the other woman's arms as the slumbering Sekirei frowned in her sleep, before hugging the pillow just as tightly as she'd been hugging her Ashikabi.
The quiet pair shared another nod, silently congratulating each other on a successful mission as they slipped from the bed to let the newest member of the flock sleep.
As they left the room, Minato, without turning his head, presented a quiet question the moment the door was shut and the hallway confirmed empty.
"Does it bother you?"
"... No." Akitsu said, after a moment. "That is why you… kept both Musubi and I company, during the night, was it not? To keep me from worrying."
To keep her from worrying about not truly being a member of his flock.
Minato gave a shallow nod, turning his gaze to her with dark eyes searching.
"... Things have changed since… before the twins were winged. You don't need to… worry, anymore."
"Changed how?"
"I stopped being afraid, and started believing in full." Akitsu admitted, firmly meeting his gaze. It had taken her longer than she cared to admit, but she had finally, truly arrived at 'that point'.
Minato tilted his head to one side.
"Believing? In what?"
"You." The single word was accompanied by an uncharacteristically warm smile.
… How truly mysterious, Minato couldn't help but think, as he mumbled his gratitude and turned away, heading down the hall with Akitsu in tow.
Akitsu's powers involved ice and cold, yet her smile had seemingly caused the temperature in the hallway to rise several degrees.
… How truly mysterious.
With a blink, Akitsu realized that Minato wasn't looking at her.
With any of his eyes.
And were her own eyes playing tricks on her, or was the way he walked rather stiff and wooden for someone who didn't have bones unless he chose?
In silence, she followed behind her dark-eyed monster, the ghost of a smile the only hint to her mood.
A stranger would guess that the stoic ice maiden must have been in a slightly good mood.
Those who knew her better would have been very curious as to what Akitsu was feeling so smug about.
"Good morning Mother-in-Law, it's nice to see you!" Musubi said with a beaming smile and a bow.
Musubi's lowered head meant she missed the prideful look of approval that flitted across Takami's face, and also missed the annoyed expression that immediately followed.
"The drunk- that is, Kazehana told you to call me that, didn't she?" Takami said, masking a sour expression.
"Mhm!" Musubi nodded largely as she straightened up. "Kazehana said that was what you preferred to be called, and she's Minato's first Sekirei so I thought I should listen to her advice!"
"... Well, there's some truth to that," Takami admitted, not quite willing to outright admit that Kazehana had a read on her. "But no need to stand on ceremony, Musubi, so call me whatever you'd like."
"Yes! Thank you very much, Mother!" Musubi beamed.
Takami's suddenly stone-faced expression turned her son's way, with a silent hint of demand that only he could have made out.
Minato wasn't very good at mercy though, and was once again preoccupied nodding along to Musubi's choice of words.
Mother was Mother, after all.
"... There are two of them, aren't there?" Takami sighed, after a moment.
In perfect, innocent unison, Minato and Musubi looked at her, then tilted their heads to the side.
There was plenty that Musubi didn't know, she could admit.
But what she did know was that walking arm-in-arm with Minato made them both happy. And, while she didn't exactly know why the other women in the flock made sure she 'dressed up' for their first date, she did know that Minato had called her pretty because of it.
She wasn't sure why what she was wearing was called a 'sundress' though, since the sun wasn't pink.
Musubi also knew that she forgot things all the time, but she was also absolutely certain that she would never forget the first ever compliment she had received from her Ashikabi.
And her heart must have agreed with her head, because it went 'lub lub' every time she remembered his words.
It probably had something to do with love.
Just like how she'd only had an Ashikabi since yesterday, and was already struggling to recall what life was like without him.
It tied into one of the other things that she never, ever forgot- her promise with-
"Oh, hi Karasuba! Over here!"
… Hmm? That was strange.
She was still arm-in-arm with Minato, but… he felt a little… faint? Further away?
Musubi turned her head to point out Karasuba from the crowd, to find that Minato had seemingly already spotted her.
Her Ashikabi had really good eyes, huh?
Something terrible was lurking in the crowd.
Something horrible walking in broad daylight.
The first theory to surface in his racing minds was that an Intruder was wearing a Sekirei, but that theory was immediately discarded.
It was a Sekirei, just… not wounded like Akitsu, who had 'lost' something essential and was struggling desperately to reclaim it.
… Whatever had been lost in Akitsu must have been absent from the start within that thing in the crowd.
Its wings were not broken, just made of knives.
Perhaps that was why it was incomparably dangerous.
It was a moving mass of hostility, indiscriminate yet barely restrained, and Minato withdrew his 'gaze' almost instantly to avoid giving it focus, even as he concluded that it was something that must be killed no matter the cost.
… No… that wasn't like him.
How strange.
How truly mysterious.
How…
Perfectly logical.
He'd been so terribly flustered when he'd accidentally turned Mother into a not-quite-human, and the thing he was seeing was a not-quite-Sekirei. Mother's transformation was physical, but this… it must have surely been this way from the start- a Sekirei that lacked the 'emotions' that made it a Sekirei.
And so why…
Was his most complicated Sekirei smiling so brightly when she saw it?
… And why was just an inkling of that brightness returned?
… Ah, so that is what it was.
Just as quickly as Minato had decided to kill the thing out in the crowd, any sense of ill-intent had vanished from him like smoke on the wind.
It may have been puzzling to some, but slow change had never been his way.
"Karasuba, I'm so happy to see you!" Musubi called out in delight, excitement making her volume increase rather than decrease as the other Sekirei approached.
Eyes crinkled almost shut- 'fox eyes' as they were called, and an amiable smile on a thin and beautiful face.
Hair like polished steel, done up in a high ponytail.
Very tall, and even more of that was leg than it was for most Sekirei, slender but feminine in silhouette.
She was wearing a uniform of sorts, centered around an extremely short black kimono, a gray haori she wore over her shoulders like a cape, and black stockings paired with black boots.
… In a way, it almost reminded Minato of a more somber take on Musubi's own outfit, but given that the Sekirei approaching was clearly older, perhaps it was the other way around?
"You don't have to yell, you cute little scatterbrain," he had never heard that word used fondly before, "I can hear you just fine."
"Oops, I just got excited~!" Musubi tapped her knuckles to the side of her head while sticking out her tongue. "It feels like it's been a really long time since we last met!"
"Hmm~ it hasn't been that long, but it looks like you've been keeping busy, huh?" Karasuba's tone was languid and dry, tinged with an almost resigned hint of fondness.
"... Have I?" Musubi tilted her head to one side. "... Yeah, I guess I have! First I forgot my MBI card, then I got chased by people who weren't my Ashikabi, and I met a nice lady in the forest, and-!"
With needlessly deft movements, Musubi transitioned from being arm-in-arm with Minato to hugging him tight.
He'd have to warn her about controlling her strength later, human bones weren't meant to creak.
"And I met my Ashikabi!" Musubi gushed, her radiant smile seemingly capturing both of them with its not-quite-metaphorical glow. "Karasuba, meet Minato! Minato, meet Karasuba!"
Karasuba's eyes opened briefly, ashen orbs briefly meeting the 'human's' deep black gaze.
In a brief instant, two different sets of eyes told two different lies, unknown to the other, nor to the one they wished to deceive the most.
And so Musubi saw nothing but faint smiles shared upon faces never meant to make that expression, and her own smile widened in response.
Musubi's Ashikabi was… a little interesting.
Maybe it was the eyes, a color she'd never seen on a human.
A clear black that reflected no light.
Or maybe what made him interesting was that he was the fourth human (third living) to stand before her while seemingly neither oblivious, nor afraid of her presence.
Must have had good instincts, or maybe he'd just seen some of what Musubi could do, and had an inkling of just how helpless his kind really were.
How easy it would be for the relationship between Sekirei and humans to be that of predator and prey, and how bad of an idea it was to stimulate thoughts like that by acting skittish.
… Or she was just reading too deeply into it, because he was the most expressionless human she'd ever seen.
Come to think of it, something about him was ever so slightly familiar…that was quickly forgotten, not quite interesting enough to garner more than a passing thought.
"Nice to meet you, Mister Ashikabi," Karasuba lazily greeted. "I hope you've been taking good care of Musubi?"
"As best I can," the human said back.
"Yep, he and the others rescued me!" Musubi chirped happily. "They found me after I got chased into that big forest in the parking lot! I wonder why there was a forest in a parking lot though, don't trees grow in parks and… forests?"
Karasuba blinked, once, parsing through the flood of information with an ease born of long practice.
"The 'others'?" She repeated.
"Mhm, I have a bunch of sisters, a whole flock!" Musubi explained.
"Good for you, Musubi, you'll have plenty of help keeping your Ashikabi safe." She really meant that, too- Musubi's Ashikabi needed to stay safe, at least until Musubi had honored her promise.
"Mm!" … And she supposed it was nice that Musubi had plenty of company, if only because no Ashikabi could keep up with that bundle of joy for long.
"Miya's house is getting… full, isn't it?" The human spoke up, somewhat tonelessly.
"Uh huh, good thing she has lots of rooms!" Musubi fired back with a large nod.
"Oh? You're staying at Miya's place, huh?" Karasuba tilted her head. "That's a good place for you, Musubi, probably the safest place in the city."
"Do you know the landlady, Karasuba?" Musubi predictably asked. "Oh! Did you used to live at the inn?"
Karasuba's smile widened slightly, but she shook her head.
"Not quite…" she could feel 'that' ache against her skin. "Miya and I just go way back."
Miya probably still hated her, but it wasn't mutual- of course she'd be fond of someone who could really make her feel.
"Aw… having you as a roommate would have been really fun- oh!" The wilted Musubi bounced back immediately, eyes burning with enthusiasm. "When you find your Ashikabi, you could both move in!"
Musubi seemed to think she had found the perfect solution, so it was a shame to burst her bubble.
"Disciplinary Squad, remember?" Karasuba gently reminded her. "The other competitors might complain if I go live with a bunch of participants like that." Not that Miya would even dream of allowing it to begin with.
Musubi deflated once more, but the Ashikabi gave her something approaching a curious look.
"The 'Disciplinary Squad'?" It wasn't the first time Minato had heard that term, but Kazehana didn't seem to enjoy its mention so he'd never brought it up.
"Mhm, we're the enforcers of the Sekirei Plan's rules, so you'd better be on your best behavior!" Karasuba wiggled a finger playfully, seeking to lower the tension before things got a little serious. "Musubi would be sad if I had to discipline her Ashikabi."
"Yep, I definitely would!" Musubi responded immediately, her words devoid of guile or sarcasm. "I don't know what 'discipline' means, though."
But the Ashikabi made no response to his Sekirei, once more meeting gray eyes ever so slightly open and a smile sharper than any blade.
For just the barest of instants, the air around them grew thick with the scent of freshly spilled blood.
Intent on getting her warning across as she was, Karasuba missed entirely that the origin of that scent wasn't her.
They parted ways shortly afterwards, but a call over the noise of the crowd that had been avoiding them without realizing it brought Minato and Musubi to a halt.
"Musubi!" Karasuba hadn't quite turned, just looking over her shoulder. "You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?"
Musubi didn't raise her voice at all, but it carried still.
"Of course not, Kara."
Karasuba's eyes widened further than he'd seen yet, but a moment later, she had vanished into the crowd without a trace.
Countless unblinking eyes locked onto the woman at his side, and she smiled for a brief moment, a soft, bittersweet expression that didn't look quite at home on Musubi's face.
And then Musubi was back, innocently blinking her eyes and blushing a bit.
"Uhm… I'm not really complaining, but it's kind of embarrassing if you stare so closely." Musubi fidgetted.
"That promise is… very important to 'you', isn't it?"
Musubi placed a hand over her heart, and closed her eyes with a gentle smile.
"More important than anything except love."
"... Is that so?" Minato said, his voice quiet and absent of anything approaching emotion. "Please, tell me more."
Musubi was all too happy to share, and wholly unaware of why that question shouldn't have made her happy at all.
Bumping into a humming Karasuba was only terrifying if you had a reasonable understanding of Sekirei Number 04.
Elizabeth Mably and the rest of Squad B had a more than reasonable understanding of Sekirei Number 04, so it demonstrated their strength of spirit for not immediately turning heel and going the other way.
Or they just didn't want to give the whimsical Black Crow a reason to chase them, even if her intentions weren't lethal.
"Oh~ what's Minaka got Squad B deployed for?"
"Minor trouble in Akihabara, rumors of a 'cosplayer' causing trouble with the humans in the area, Captain," Elizabeth snapped to with a brief, crisp salute, the rest of her squad following suit behind her. "Too many lights and people for our satellites to get a good read on the area."
"'Akihabara', huh?" Karasuba repeated the word slowly, wondering if she'd ever heard it before and just not bothered to remember. "Well, I'll leave the investigations to you girls, but feel free to call me if you decide you need the help~"
Elizabeth returned a stiff nod.
"Understood."
With a lazy wave, Karasuba strolled on past-
"I'm sure it's only a little lie, so I'll let you keep your finger~" The Black Crow teased with a wide smile and a breathy whisper. "This time, anyways~"
To her credit, Elizabeth took the implied threat with nothing more than a slight exhale, possibly due to how her posture couldn't have gotten any more rigid.
… It would have likely been different had she been aware that Karasuba was fond of her courage for all the wrong reasons.
"Are you okay, Elizabeth?" A calm and quiet voice asked.
"Nothing to be concerned about," Elizabeth gathered herself, tossing her hair with one hand in a gesture that was as much a show of calm as it was a way to help her reclaim that calm.
With measured strides, she set off out the doors, her squad falling in behind her.
"Double-time, you two," she briskly instructed. "We need to get to Number 49 before she puts anyone else in the hospital, or worse."
""Roger!""
Leaning against the elevator wall, the brief encounter with her erstwhile subordinates already forgotten, Karasuba's smile was one that none of those 'subordinates' would have believed she could wear.
Only one person in all the world had ever called her 'Kara', and it seemed she was waking up at long last.
She could hardly wait until the day their 'promise' was fulfilled.
… The Outer Miya on the porch scrunched her nose up briefly as she took in the scent upon the wind, the motion of her broom stilling of its own accord.
The much larger Inner Miya above the inn was being much less subtle, practically on all fours to bring its faintly glowing face as close down to them as it dared.
Inner Miya retreated in a fluster back into the Outer Miya when he met its 'gaze', and Minato tried not to let his amusement show on his face as the landlady's presence faded back into that which most of the world saw when they looked at her.
"Did the two of you… enjoy your date?" Miya asked, doing an admirable job at masking that undercurrent of concern and disquiet.
"Yep!" Musubi said with a bright smile, making a fist with her free hand and pumping it up into the air. "We met Mother and I think she likes me, and we met Karasuba, and Minato and me shared this biiiig ice cream sundae and I didn't even know they made them that big, and-"
As the cheery new addition to his growing family rambled on in delight, Minato quietly turned his gaze Miya's way, immediately discovering that she was staring back with quiet intensity.
Smiling ever so faintly, Minato gave a minute shake of his head, and Miya's tight grip on her broom relaxed at last.
Her strangest tenant was as kind as he was vexing, Miya found herself thinking once again, after she was left alone with her thoughts.
A baffling and sometimes exhausting blend of farsightedness and naivety, proving time and time again that the way that young man had matured diverged heavily from what she understood.
What anyone understood, likely.
She didn't know how that woman had managed, but Miya had an inkling that children left a mark on their parents just as surely as parents left a mark on their children.
Not that she would ever be fortunate enough to find out for herself.
That opportunity had been lost when both time and her husband had left her behind.
… Though she supposed something in that statement was no longer quite true, Miya found herself thinking, as laughter filled the house and brought a smile to her face.
Time had begun its sluggish march once again, spurred on by a monster that kept enticing friendly faces in to fill the empty rooms of her house.
And what a strange but welcome blessing that was.
Musubi dropped a bomb after dinner, which thankfully was 'just a saying' and not literal.
"So has anyone gotten to try their Norito, yet?"
… Minato made a mental note that if a Bomb Sekirei surfaced, he would see her promptly eliminated, even if he had to cheat a little. The collateral damage a Bomb Sekirei would cause would cause Mother so many headaches, and she had enough stress to deal with as it was.
Even though he was trying very hard to behave himself.
… It felt sort of like there was a storm brewing in the dining room, which, come to think of it, the flock had all the necessary tools to create…
Thankfully they weren't doing anything like that, though, because Miya would definitely get angry.
"Not yet," Kazehana shook her head as she spoke for the rest, "not that Honey holds back on the smooches, but we haven't really been in a situation where we needed that kind of firepower."
"Don't you use wind though?" Musubi asked in confusion, causing Hikari to muffle a snort.
"Probably for the best, though showing off for our man does sound cool," a grinning Uzume shrugged. "Speaking of kisses though, you have a good time on your date?"
Uzume wiggled her eyebrows in comical fashion, her smile widening as Musubi recalled 'certain details' and flushed pink, fingertips reaching up to press against her lips.
As the shared reminiscence of the flock leaked out, Minato watched the air in the room turn a vibrant sort of pink, not all that different from the color of Musubi's wings.
"Mm~ well, fun as swapping stories would be, it would be a good time to go over Noritos again," Kazehana languidly dragged the conversation back on track, eyes shimmering with both warmth and more… intimate emotions. "It'll be important for later on, and yours is the only Norito we don't know."
That wasn't strictly true, but she was being considerate- Akitsu was the only Sekirei who didn't know her Norito at all; it was something a Sekirei was just supposed to know, but that rule seemingly didn't apply to Scrapped Numbers.
"Ooh, ooh, my Norito goes 'kaboom'!" Msubi excitedly began explaining, lifting a hand like she was a student in a classroom.
Unsurprisingly, the conversation was a lively one, but afterwards, Musubi found herself thinking something a little strange.
Every Sekirei was supposed to know their Norito off by heart, even if they hadn't been winged.
But not long after she'd finished explaining what hers did, she'd had a weird thought that she'd somehow gotten some important details about her Norito wrong.
It couldn't be, though… even her memory wasn't that bad! Maybe she was just a bit unsure of the particulars, because she'd never actually used her Norito?
Perhaps Musubi wouldn't have still thought that, had she been aware of how every member of the flock had gone through an almost identical train of thought, at one point or another.
In the end, the next largest change to be felt by the city had little to do with Minato.
Little to do with the red 'ink' on a computer screen, little to do with the building paranoia among the Very Old Folk, both linked to the steady increase in activity from MBI's very own monster.
It began with a boy meeting a girl… it began with wings.
It began with a boy and girl escaping into the damp and fetid darkness of the Shin Tokyo sewers.
Shigi Haruka didn't think anyone could blame him for having a hard time keeping up with current events.
He'd met his soulmate- love at first sight like in the movies.
Neither of them had even realized they'd been moving closer until they'd kissed.
And then…
Wings.
Kind of explained his lack of success with girls so far if his soulmate was an alien.
An alien who wasn't just out of breath because they'd kissed for what felt like both a long time, and not nearly long enough. Not like he was any better, because all the other aliens wanted a piece of Kuno as well, it seemed.
Which was why they'd run until they couldn't run, and lucked out because none of the other aliens wanted to follow them into the sewers.
Kuno hadn't really wanted to follow him down there either, so maybe it had something to do with how all the aliens he'd met were pretty girls?
Not as pretty as Kuno, who was basically perfect, but pretty.
"... Not hurt, are you?" Haruka managed to gasp, still not having caught his breath entirely.
"... No, I'm fine," Kuno quietly replied, her voice meek but her breathing not nearly as disordered as his was. "Are you?"
Haruka shook his head, and though her first emotion was relief, past that was the simple despair that came with how useless she felt.
Her first chance to protect her Ashikabi, and he was the one protecting her instead-
"Oi, don't give me that glum look, there were three of them and one of you," Haruka caught his breath a little more, and flashed a smirk that probably wasn't a tenth as charming as he wished. "And not to brag, but I couldn't fight my way out of a wet paper bag."
Kuno blinked once and then giggled, a surprisingly lyrical sound that had Haruka suddenly thinking that maybe sewers weren't such a bad place to be in.
… Wow, love had already turned him into a sap.
Not having let go of Kuno's hand even once the whole time they were running felt like something he could take pride in.
They'd managed to lose their pursuers, no one got hurt… hard to say he'd really saved the day, but they were both safe and he'd got the girl in the end, so Haruka thought that maybe it was fine to feel like just a little bit of a hero.
Then his phone was buzzing, and there was a mad scientist congratulating him for joining the 'game of gods' and wishing himself, and Kuno, good luck as the Sekirei Plan moved into its Second Stage…
"... I didn't even know there was a first stage," Haruka admitted after the rambling stopped and his phone went dead.
"It means most of us Sekirei have been winged," Kuno helpfully explained after a brief giggle at the funny expression he'd been making, in the wake of the word dump the Director had subjected her Ashikabi to.
Her Ashikabi~
Even though the sewer stunk and they were probably lost, Kuno couldn't help but feel blessed by the warmth of his hand in hers.
As long as she could keep holding his hand, Kuno wouldn't ask for anything more.
"Well come on, Kuno," Haruka said as he gently pulled her along. "Let's find a way out of here."
"Mm!"
They remained hand in hand until Kuno nearly stepped on a rat, and leapt shrieking into her Ashikabi's arms.
She pouted when he laughed at her, but she couldn't stay angry after the discovery that being held in his arms was even better than holding his hand.
She felt like… what was the word?
A 'princess'?
As Haruka seemed to enjoy having her in his arms just as much, the rat was quickly forgotten by them.
… If only they had been forgotten by it, things may have turned out differently.
… If only it had been a rat at all, perhaps things may have ended differently.
Minato was silent, motionlessly staring at the TV screen that had returned to its regularly scheduled programming.
The Second Stage of the Sekirei Plan.
Shin Tokyo had been officially occupied by MBI, and entry in and out was to be strictly monitored, with a 'select few' required to stay and fulfill 'certain responsibilities'.
As in… Ashikabi and Sekirei were required to remain within the city.
… He was required to stay within the city.
The Director was expecting him to eat people, wasn't he?
He would have to, to avoid 'deterioration'.
"Kazehana, Uzume," Minato instructed suddenly. "Go out and make sure Shiina gets home safely."
Homura and the shy one were both home, so Shiina was the only unwinged Sekirei they cared about potentially at risk, for the moment.
The instructions that had come through on his phone declared that the Second Stage would last until the last eleven unclaimed Sekirei were winged.
For now, those eleven had not had their identities exposed, but there was no telling how long that would remain true- when the numbers further shrank, or if the numbers took too long to shrink, Minato would not be surprised if the Director cheerfully began a reveal party of sorts.
He was uncertain why Homura and Shiina were taking so long to get themselves winged to the sunshine girl, and decided that he might have to intervene if things dragged out for too much longer.
His important people would be saddened if a hospital became a battleground.
He was such a coward.
Shiina had been bussing tables when the Second Stage was announced, and his thoughts had immediately gone in a dark direction- of him being winged by someone who wasn't Chiho.
It was terrifying, but it also left him feeling ashamed, because the sense of urgency that bubbled within his chest had everything to do with himself and very little to do with Chiho.
Shiina had never realized how self-centered he really was.
He'd thought about it once or twice, but never considered it seriously.
What if… he wasn't worthy of his Destined One at all?
He was such a coward.
The Second Stage wouldn't end until every Sekirei was winged.
It wouldn't end until he, Homura, was winged.
He hadn't thought about the younger male Sekirei he'd kind of started to view as a younger brother, instead, his thoughts had immediately latched onto the excuse that maybe he had to be winged.
That even with his 'instability', it couldn't be helped, and he couldn't be blamed.
Homura had never really realized how self-centered he was, but the rest of it was nothing new.
… He'd always known he wasn't really worthy of his Destined One.
She didn't understand how things could have gone wrong so quickly.
One minute, she was seated upon the edge of a rooftop, watching the announcement of the Second Stage play across the screen of a digital billboard in a city square.
The knowledge that her time to properly select her chosen was running short was a bitter revelation- to think the Director would have the gall to attempt to hurry along the most vital decision of her life.
Her mood soured further when a trio of pretty minxes dared to attempt and bring her to task for the 'garbage disposal' she'd performed over the last few days.
The nerve of them- did they expect her to not break every single bone contained within a wandering hand?
She'd hardly killed any of those lustful apes, and certainly killed none that would be missed.
Alas, her temper had gotten the better of her, but in hindsight, she was rather proud of the prompt and evocative manner with which she'd described the 'alternate locations' for where those collared birds could sheath the weapons pointed her way.
… And then the lead bitch shot her.
How was she to know that the floating metal flowers (charming though they were) were actually some sort of… beam gun?
Cauterizing her wound was foolish, though, and nearly led to one of the lackeys being suplexed through a roof.
Her broken ribs attested that the rest of the encounter had not gone in her favor, and she'd been forced to relocate herself rather promptly, dodging glittering potshots all the way.
She did a rather good job of losing her tail, she would later reflect.
After all, they didn't catch up to her.
But the blood loss had kept pace just fine, and thus a rather large bird came tumbling from the sky to land at the feet of an angel.
"M-Miss!? Are you alright!?" As Chiho fought a losing battle with panic, she found herself wondering why gray hair and good looks seemed to go hand in hand with being vertically challenged.
… At least this one didn't smell like smoke or sadness.
That had to count for something, right?
Suddenly, a hand snapped up, and long fingers with red painted nails clamped around the wheel of her chair.
No one could blame her for flinching a bit when she heard metal shriek beneath the lady's grip, could they?
Gasping, eyes blurry and face streaked with blood, the woman pulled herself more or less up onto her knees, gripping onto the arm of Chiho's wheelchair.
"M-Miss? Um, maybe you should sit still, you're hurt badly," fretting over the pretty lady, Chiho wiped away some of the blood on her face, wondering if it made her weird to notice how the blood matched the color of her lipstick.
Or was it the other way around, come to think of it, the lady was on her knees but they were practically eye level, wow she must be tall, and pretty, and-
And her lips tasted like blood.
An electric shock that made a girl who couldn't walk feel like leaping from her chair.
The slender arms of a woman that felt like gentle steel, a fitting match for the beautiful wings of bladed light that wrapped around them both as if to shield them from the world.
The reddish saliva that kept their lips linked after the kiss ended, a fierce blush on pale cheeks, even as the delirious woman's head swayed.
"Sekirei Number 4…9, Meiko," the woman, Meiko, slurred. "Trampling down your every fear and doubt, forever and ever-"
As if those words took the last of her strength, Meiko promptly passed out in Chiho's lap.
Trembling and bewildered, Chiho lifted a hand to her lips, and then glanced down at her lap, before puffing out her cheeks ever so slightly.
Her first kiss, and one of them wasn't even there for it.
… She'd always secretly, shyly imagined that her first kiss would be Homura.
She'd maybe, recently imagined that maybe it could have happened with a boy who looked similar, but a bit younger.
Like cold water dumped on her head, Chiho paled and shook as guilt washed away the pleasant haze that Meiko's kiss had brought about.
What on earth was she supposed to say to them?
It felt like she was cheating on them, and they weren't even dating!
… Though it would be really nice…
"Chiho!" A youthful voice that was ever so soothing and innocent.
It was the first time in her life that Chiho had cringed at the sound of Shiina's voice, and she didn't like it one little bit.
It's probably fine, Chiho.
Just like Haruka and Kuno are probably fine, don't worry about them.
… Heh.
Things are getting more and more chaotic, whether or not anyone is ready for it.
Yume is a lot more involved, and a lot less lonely, than she expected to be, Karasuba is getting curious for all the wrong reasons, and things both above and below the city have begun to stir.
But even when the sky above them burns, wandering lost birds will continue to find their wings.
So let's just see how many of them get to keep those wings, in the end.
PS: Meiko is our second named crossover Sekirei (five have made an appearance, but Elizabeth is the only other to be named), who knows where she's from?