"Anything else you wanted to know?" Takami asked.
Six thought for a bit and said "No. Thank you for the information. Goodbye."
"Wait- Dammit! He hung up on me." Takami cursed, frustrated she didn't get a chance to question the armored man. Other than the name 'Six' they knew little about who and what he was. He had proven himself able to stand his ground against Sekirei from what they had witnessed from the satellite monitoring of the battle.
Still the name he mentioned... Halsey? Takami wondered quietly to herself, why did he speak that name then dismiss it?
Before she could think any further into who this Halsey was, Minaka interrupted her - as usual.
"Aww! That hurt Takami. Why did you have to hit my head so hard against my desk!?" Minaka complained obnoxiously, with a huge bruise mark on his forehead that was clearly tender to his touch.
Takami signed depressingly since she hoped he would be knocked out for a while - the desk had been solid wood. Takami took a deep breath and pulled out another cigarette from her lab pocket and lit it.
"Well, he said he wanted to talk to someone who wasn't a nutcase." Takami said inhaling her cigarette and blowing out some smoke. "Not that I blame him. Talking to you gets on my nerves too."
"Oh come on, Takami, I thought our conversation was going well." Minaka pouted briefly. "No matter - now our new player knows the rules of the game I believe he well definitely make this game more entertaining!" Minaka proclaimed with amused smirk on his face and a mysterious glint in his eyes.
Takami set her jaw and lamented how few cigarettes were contained within the packet in her pocket.
"I believe this Spartan B312 - or Noble Six as he calls himself - is a player sent to me by the gods from another place and time to take part in my glorious game. With the title of Spartan in his name I definitely have high expectations for him. Ancient Greek warriors who won legendary battles using their small numbers to hold off armies by the thousands... his fight against Sekirei 18, 31 and 101 tells me he has abilities beyond a normal human... worthy of the name Spartan! I Believe he will be the one to marches us forward into a new tomorrow surpassing all obstacles and climactic battles to come, we shall see if he has the potential to rise above the heavens and bring us a new age of the gods!" Minaka proclaimed with such excitement in his voice.
Takami signed in depression again from her boss's insane rambling. Hearing his gibberish made her just want to hit him against the remains of the desk again, harder than before, to hopefully knock him out cold. This Noble Six character was such an unknown entity she considered him a security risk and naturally she would've had MBI security teams retrieve number 16 and remove him permanently from the Sekirei plan... however he was now a bonded Ashikabi. Still, she would like to know how he was able to take on three winged Sekirei by himself. The footage revealed speed, strength and durability almost on par with any combat type Sekirei.
She had concerns for number 16 as well, since over the phone her Ashikabi held the alien at gunpoint. Out of all the known Ashikabi in the plan Noble Six displayed the most disturbing kind of violent reaction to winging a Sekirei. Takami couldn't help to worry about Toyotama's well-being and hoped Noble-6 wouldn't harm her in any way.
"Minaka, are you sure it's a good idea to leave number 16 in his hands? Because he didn't exactly have the best reaction to winging her and... There's this little thing... He was able to beat up three winged Sekirei! Does none of that concern you? And on the record I don't believe for a second he's from another world or time like you believe - I think he's working for some other corporation or nation trying undermine us, and we should remove him immediately before he leaks anything to his superiors concerning the Sekirei and the Plan, hopefully reclaim and reprogram number 16 as well." Takami protested, however she was starting to get the feeling this was going to be hopeless in the end.
Minaka looked at Takami with a crazed look in his eyes. "Takami, Takami, you should know by now that I will do no such thing. Six represents some unknown variables that can change the game in a unique number of ways. Whether it be for good or ill only he can decide, besides the Spartan will provide endless entertainment and that is a show I wouldn't miss for the world. If you want to dig more into our new friend go ahead, but for now I will play the fool and watch how this new Ashikabi reacts to the grand festival he is forced to attend."
Minaka then proceeded to cackle with laughter, causing a huge migraine for Takami.
"I must say I'm certainly interested in our new participant." The leader of MBI's Discipline Squad joined the conversation by leaning against the wall of Minaka's office. "I hope he makes things much more exciting around here, and I especially loved it when he insulted you. Calling you shut in neet if you had never found our ship."
That comment made the director sulk over his broken desk.
Takami made a mental note to prepare a report about the unexpected death of a certain armored Ashikabi and his Sekirei. No doubt Karasuba showed interest in the Spartan. Takami knew Karasuba was going to challenge him to a fight after witnessing his battle against three of the eastern Sekirei.
04 then pushed of the wall and began to walk out of the room with the smallest of smirks pulling her lip.
"I wonder what this armored monkey will do next." Karasuba thought aloud.
The anticipation began to rise within her, and the possibility of a strong foe to challenge her stirred blood lust from its slumber. Humans were nolonger fun. Sekirei that could resist her skill were rare. The Black Sekirei paused in the corridor to look out of the window at the city, fingers finding the hilt of her sword of their own volition.
"It has been a while since I went on a hunt..." Karasuba uttered absent mindedly. "Musubi has a long way to go yet... a little walk will do, for now."
The next morning, back at the apartment complex.
Toyotama began to wake up as the sun hit her face. When she got up and stretched in order to get a good flow of blood going through her body, she thought about the previous night. 'I still can't believe he pulled a gun on me just for kissing him.' she thought, finding it a little humorous. 'Still, he stepped in and helped me out when I was cornered. He beat those three with no effort, it almost seemed like he was Sekirei.'
Toyotama smiled as she felt her heart beating in her chest "I finally found my destined one." She murmured with a smile.
She rolled away from the sun-light, but instead of seeing the sleeping form of her Ashikabi next to her she found that part of the bed was empty. After looking around she found that she was the only one in the room. 'Was he guarding the place all night?' she thought worriedly. That was when she saw her Ashikabi walk into the room.
"Good Morning" the Spartan said.
Toyotama couldn't see or get a feel for what he was thinking thanks to his helmet veiling his face, but it was a greeting. "Good morning to you as well."
"How did you sleep?"
"I slept well, thank you." Toyotama replied.
Six walked over to her bedside. "How are your injuries?" Six asked checking her bandages.
"I'm feeling fine. Thank you for asking."
Toyotama watched her Ashikabi removed her bandages. It became clear wounds were fully healed with no cut or bruise mark left. Six suspected this - after Toyotama winged herself to him she was up and moving around as if the fight and the injuries she received never happened. He figured Sekirei healed rapidly by genetics, considering their super-Human abilities. A fight that brutal would've killed normal human, inidacted by the structural damage to the building inflicted by the power behind those attacks.
"Looks like your wounds all healed up nicely." Six said discarding the bandages at the foot of the bed.
"Thank you for attending to my wounds and nursing me back to health. I'm grateful." Toyotama uttered politely. She got out of bed and stood right in front of him, smiling straight into his visor. Her own reflection stared back at her.
"Don't mention it." Six replied stoicly. "As a soldier my duty is to help those in need."
"I see." Toyotama murmured, folding her arms under her chest. " You're a soldier? A soldier of what? Are you human or something else? I know Humans don't stand a chance in a fight against Sekirei."
Six leaned against the wall and thought about her question. He wasn't comfortable sharing his past and anything about the UNSC to an alien, even if she did appear Human. But the more he pondered the Spartan realized that despite how he felt, Toyotama was bonded to him - whatever that truly meant. For better or for worse she was now apart of his team which meant he needed to trust her. Six sighed. "Lets do this... Each of us will ask one question about the other. There will only be one rule though if you ask me anything that is classified I will say 'pass' and you will have to let it go. Okay?"
Toyotama thought about it briefly. Even though she wanted to know everything about her Ashikabi, she realized that he still didn't trust her and this was his way of trying to change that. Toyotama gazed at Six. "Alright I agree to the terms, but I also get to pass on things I don't want to talk about as well."
Six pondered for a moment before nodding, seeing it as fair. First they needed to establish a foundation of trust between them, then more could be considered.
Six looked at his Sekirei and gathered himself to begin. "Well, to answer your first question, I am a soldier of the UNSC. United Nations Space Command. This organization is the military, scientific, and exploratory arm of the UEG, the United Earth Government." Six glanced at his hand as he balled it into a fist. "As for what I am; I am a Spartan-III. A bio-engineered super soldier, faster, stronger, more agile and more durable than an ordinary Human. The armor that I wear is Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor, which not only protects but it also increases my strength, speed, reflexes, and agility well beyond what I can do without it. It also has the facilities and interfaces for AI operation and assistance."
Toyotama was stunned. 'So that's why he was able to take on three Sekirei and win. My Ashikabi basically super-Human.' the green haired Sekirei thought.
As she was trying to process what she was told, Six decided to ask a question of his own.
"Okay it's my turn. While that shut-in mental patient and Takami Sahashi told me of the Sekirei Plan and what a Sekirei, is I am still in the dark about how your ship was discovered and why you and your kind are here. Care to answer that?"
"Pass." Toyotama said without skipping a beat. "I think I know what you're thinking, but no, I'm not keeping things from you as I really don't know why we Sekirei are here. When the Game-Master found our ship it was on an island that recently rose to the ocean surface. If I had to guess our ship was on the bottom of the ocean until something happened. Once they found the ship there was only one Sekirei on board - the other 107 Sekirei were either fetuses or fertilized eggs. I was one of the fertilized eggs so I don't know... sorry." she finished, gaze lowered apologetically.
Six mentally filed the information away, sure Athena was passively listening. "You answered the question to the best of your abilities. So don't worry about it."
Toyotama smiled a little, glad to help her Ashikabi even if it was a little bit. She looked at her Ashikabi thinking about what he told her and formed her own question.
"While I do know of the United Nations - Takami and the others wanted to teach us about Earth - I did not know that the UN had a Space command. Also, as far as I know there is no government body called the UEG... so what am I missing?"
Six smiled under his helmet and answered. "The piece that is missing is time."
Toyotama appeared confused. "Time?"
Six elaborated further, glad to nologer be the only one feeling unsettled. "Yes. Time for you and everyone in Tokyo it is recorded as the year 2020, but for me where I come from its year 2552."
If Toyotama's jaw could hit the ground it would have. "You're from the future?!"
Six shrugged his shoulders. "In a sense."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I know its been a while since I went to school, but going through my history lessons there was never a company by the name of MBI. I had Athena do some digging through the UNSC records and she couldn't find anything either. Which means that maybe some where in the future MBI ceases to exist..."
"Or?"
"Or this isn't my past and I am not on my Earth."
Toyotama let the information roll around in her head until it finally clicked. "You're not only from the future, but you think you are from another dimension as well?!"
"As strange and nonsensical as it sounds, it is the only thing that seems to make sense." Six finished.
Toyotama eased back down against the head of the bed. "This is a lot to take in. My Ashikabi is not only some kind of super soldier from 532 years in the future, but he claims to come from another dimension too." Toyotama looked at Six with a tired smile.
Seeing the disbelief written on her face Six did the only thing he could do, he removed his helmet and stared Toyotama in her eyes showing that he wasn't joking. "I get that this is a lot to take in and you can choose to believe or not. All I know is I was half way across the galaxy on another planet fighting our enemies and somehow I ended up here." Six then put his helmet back on, his point made.
When Toyotama saw the look in her Ashikabi's eyes she knew that he wasn't trying to pull a prank, and as much as she hated to admit it Six's story was the only thing that made sense about what he could do and also explained Athena - not even MBI was that advanced and they were using Sekirei tech.
Before Six could ask his question both of them heard a large growl and Six saw Toyotama blush for the first time, and he had to admit she did look...cute when she was embarrassed. Toyotama looked at Six, her checks still red from her stomach's roar of hunger
"How about we take a break from questions and get something to eat." Both Six and Toyotama heard Athena's voice from the Spartan's helmet.
Toyotama agreed with a vigorous nod. "So do you have any food with you?"
"No. I only have the weapons and equipment I brought with me. We have no food here... unless you want to eat the vermin that share the apartment with us."
Toyotama's face went from red to green with disgust at the thought. "Please tell me you're joking?"
Six looked at his Sekirei. "When you're out on the battlefield you do anything in order to survive. Hunting, purchasing or stealing food is just one of those things. Besides, even though rats are known as carriers of disease they are a excellent source of protein. Just cook them thoroughly."
Toyotama's grew incredulous, like he had grown a second head. That was when a rat appeared, and while Toyotama and the rat had a little staring contest, Athena opened a private commlink with Six.
"You're testing her with this?" Athena inquired "You'd need a few rats just to feed one of you."
While nobody else could see or hear it Six's answer to the AI's question was a click of his microphone.
Toyotama than looked away and shivered in disgust as she thought about eating rats. "How about we go out for some food instead?"
Six tilted his head to one side. "Unfortunately I don't have any money, and if I did I don't think people would take it here. You?"
Toyotama stood up and took out a black plastic card.
Six was shocked as Athena asked "Where was she keeping that I wonder?" Six ignored his own thoughts on the matter and took the card to examine it. All the detail it had on it was the silver letters 'MBI' as if that was enough. "What is this?"
Toyotama smiled at her curious Ashikabi. "That is an MBI black-card. These cards are given to all Sekirei once they're released into the city. It has access to MBI's enormous wealth and without any spending limit."
"Hmm..." Six hummed to himself, taking in Toyotama's explanation. What Toyotama said gave him an idea just how wealthy MBI is with the unlimited funds on these cards that all 108 of Toyotama's kind could spend as much as they want and not worry. The wealth no doubt coming from the industry rooted in exploitation of the alien technology Takami and the mental patient recovered. However, the only thing that worried him was MBI tracking their purchases through the card, making him apprehensive about using it.
"Helpful as this card is I don't believe we should use it. No doubt MBI would track all of our purchases with this and the last thing I want is them spying on us." Six replied causing Toyotama to sigh in despair.
'Looks like I am going to be eating rat!' Toyotama thought to herself in dread hearing her Ashikabi refuse to use the card.
"Now that I think about it... Athena You can hide our purchases right?"
"Yes, I can hide your purchases whenever you use the card so MBI can't trace whatever you buy digitally." Athena confirmed.
"With Athena hiding our purchases it would make our lives easier. Money and supplies with out MBI having any knowledge of it? That solves our current and future food-purchasing problems."
Toyotama developed a huge relieved smile on her face. "Thank you, Athena-Sama! Thank you! Now I don't have to eat a damn rat! Thank you!"
Athena couldn't help but giggle at the green haired Sekirei's reaction. "You're welcome, Toyotama. Now your husband doesn't have to feed you rats."
Six groaned at her choice of words, and Athena chuckled at his reaction. He forced his attention to the immediate needs.
"With Athena guarding our purchases, Toyotama, I would like you to go out to the city and buy us some supplies. I would do it myself, but my armor would draw too much attention."
Toyotama nodded understanding. An almost 7 foot tall behemoth wearing armor and armed to the teeth with weaponry would draw anyone's attention.
Toyotama grabbed her staff just in case she needed it and was about to leave to fetch groceries. "OK, I know the location of a local grocery store so..." Toyotama stopped in midsentence when Six held his hand out in front of him for her to stop.
"Actually, I think sending you like this might be a bad idea." Six said.
"What do you mean?" Toyotama asked confused.
"Your outfit looks like it's seen better days." Six noticed just how roughed up Toyotama's outfit is from the previous night.
His statement made Toyotama look at her self and see how ripped up her dress was, no doubt ruined in the fight against Ichiya, Sai and Oriha. She blushed in embarrassment not realizing she was almost completely naked for hours... although that was only in front of her Ashikabi...
"I don't think sending you in public looking like this would be a wise option, I don't want to see you getting in trouble with local authorities." Six said.
"The sad part is I don't exactly have a spare dress with me. So now what?"
Before Six could even ponder the situation Athena interrupted his thoughts.
"Six I got a situation here!"
"What is it, Athena?" he asked, all business.
"I've been tracking MBI movements like you asked, and right now I just picked up something on MBI comms. An agent is moving to this location right now!"
Six narrowed his eyes. "Why? Did we break any rules of the game? We haven't acted yet."
"I don't believe we did, but they are sending an agent over here." Athena answered.
"Still I like to…" Six stop in midsentence remembering his conversation with the mental patient last night, Minaka mentioned an observation satellite picking up his entrance into this time in the universe... Meaning the thing was following him and he led them to his FOB.
"Damn tracking satellites! I can't believe I lead them here…Again!"
"Six, don't beat yourself up, we didn't know when we first entered this world we were being observed immediately." Athena deflected, trying to ease his frustration.
Six took a deep breath and collected his thoughts. "How long until this agent gets here?"
"Any moment now. Just one car of civilian make. Don't get too rough if they aren't hostile."
"I'll keep that in mind." Six murmured, preparing to leave.
"Um Six, I don't think the agent is going to harm us." Toyotama getting Athena and Six's attention.
"What makes you so sure?"
"MBI does have associates who deliver packages to Ashikabi and their Sekirei for the tournament so this is probably what this one is doing." Toyotama said hoping to defuse the situation. She wasn't so worried for her Ashikabi as much as that she was worried for the agent.
"You could be right. I want to be sure. Stay here until I get back." Before Toyotama could even protest Six activated his active camouflage and disappeared before her eyes.
"Wait!" The green haired woman yelled, however it was too late. He was gone.
"Dammit!" Toyotama yelled now she was worried for the associate and what Six will do to him. Disobeying her Ashikabi's orders she ran out of the room hoping to find him before it was too late, because if Six killed the agent the discipline squad will be all over them.
Outside the apartment complex a plain black car pulled up to the curb.
The driver stepping out of the car looked like one could describe as a footman. Clad in a black suit, white shirt, black tie, glossy black shoes, buzz-cut hair and generic sunglasses. The only thing of note on his person was the brass 'MBI' pin on his lapel. The man grabbed a mid-sizes box from the passenger seat of the vehicle.
The driver looked at the abandoned building with a grimace. 'Who the hell would want to live here?' he thought, but he wasn't paid to think - just follow orders. The current order was the delivery of Number 16's replacement battle attire. The driver walked up to the abandoned apartment's door and proceeded to knock on it, he waited for a while and no answer. The MBI agent tried once again knocking on the door and was rewarded with only silence. 'Don't tell me I have to go in this shithole...' the agent thought, but with no answer he sighed. It looked like he had no other choice.
As the agent moved to the door's handle he suddenly felt something grab his left hand and roughly brought it behind him and before he could react the agent felt some thing sharp against his throat. That was when he heard something from behind him say "You move, make a sound or try to get out of this hold, I will give you a new mouth for you to use. Nod if you understand."
The MBI agent nodded slowly.
"Good. I have a couple of questions and you will answer them." Said the unknown male voice and then the agent saw a knife materialized out of thin air right at his throat and holding the knife is a large metal hand. The agent's eyes traced back along the hand, turning his head slowly, and found right behind him a tall metal behemoth of a man who outsized him by a couple of inches. However the more disturbing part was looking into the golden visor of this giant. Seeing his own stone-faced reflection stare back at him. While the agent didn't show it, he felt a shiver go down his spine as he thought 'Is this how I'm going to die? What…. the hell is this thing!? Is this thing one of the Sekirei roaming around the city?' That couldnt be right, as none of the Sekirei he knew wore full armor and none of them were so tall!
Six had his target and began his interrogation. "Let's start with the obvious, why are you here?"
The MBI agent gulped and said "I was sent here to give Sekirei number 16 her new battle uniform."
Six looked at the box that the agent dropped and saw that it indeed contained Toyotama's new battle attire. Six then moved on. "Was that all you were here to deliver or do you have any more orders regarding Toyotama and me?" Six brought the knife closer to the agent's neck so he could feel the pulse of his jugular against the cold alloy of the blade.
The agent stayed calm the best he could keeping his dead pan look on his face. "Number 16's battle dress was all I was order to deliver and nothing more."
Six was about to question the man more until he noticed Toyotama came out with her bo staff.
"Six what are you doing? Let him go! MBI sent him to give me a replacement for my damaged clothes."
Six then let go of the agent and looked down at him. "Go on, get out of here."
The agent nodded and ran back to the car and drove off as fast as he could. Six watched the agent drive away until he was out of his sights.
"Was that really necessary?" Toyotama asked as he turned his head to look at her.
"I wanted to know his true intentions here and I wasn't taking any chances if he was hostile." Six answered, putting away his knife.
"Well he wasn't. I told you he was only delivering my new battle attire, so there was no need to interrogate him. Also, if you killed him, MBI would've sent the discipline squad after us and we would've been in serious trouble." Toyotama said with dread in her voice not wanting MBI's most deadly enforcers to hunt them down and kill them!
Six frowned at Toyotama. "Who or what is the discipline squad and are they that much of a threat?"
Toyotama looked at her Ashikabi with dread. "Yes they are. The Discipline squad is made up of the three strongest Sekirei and they have a single number leading them."
Six gestured and the pair moved back inside to be less conspicuous to passers-by. "What's the significance of these numbers?"
"The numbers we Sekirei have is supposed to represent how strong we are. Sekriei with three digit numbers are the weakest, while Sekirei with two digit numbers are stronger with Sekirei that have single number as the strongest among us." Toyotama pause with a shiver, then continued. "The leader of the discipline squad is Sekirei #4, the Black Sekirei. She is one of the strongest among us as well as the most bloodthirsty Sekirei I have ever seen."
Six was intrigued and briefly shot off the external speakers. "Athena I want you to try and get any info on this Discipline Squad."
"Copy that."
Six looked back at Toyotama who was still shivering at the thought of this 'Black Sekirei' as she glanced around the street through the open door. "Sound's like you and this #4 had met before."
Toyotama looked at her Ashikabi and nodded "It was years ago but I'll never forget it. I was a child back then but I remember walking with one of the scientists towards the cafeteria. The scientist was a nice man who would always look out for me."
Toyotama looked down at the ground as she continued "We were half way there when I saw her walking towards use sword in hand as she had a smile on her face with her eyes closed. Once we were about to pass each other that's when it happened, I heard the sound of her sword being drawn and sheathed but when I looked her hand wasn't even close to her sword. I thought nothing of it at first cause I thought I was imagining things, but then the scientist I was walking with began to slow down and soon came to a complete stop. When I turned my head to ask what was wrong I saw his white shirt stained red with blood in a cut going from his left shoulder to his right hip. That was when his body collapsed to his knees and he was soon split in two with blood and entrails everywhere."
Toyotama looked at her Ashikabi and said "I have never been so scared in my life and when I looked back at #4 and she had that same smile on her face only this time her eyes were opened and I saw nothing but a cold, sadistic joy at what she did." Six noticed she was visibly shaking now "I remember screaming at her why she did this, that the scientist was a nice man. All she did was laugh and tell me not to worry as it was only a monkey."
Six had an idea of who he would be dealing with now and she sounded just as bad as the covenant if she viewed Human life as something so insignificant. Yet he couldn't help but be reminded of another Spartan he knew long ago with almost the same mentality as this Black Sekirei. Six could almost hear Jonah's voice as he said to him once. 'Sometimes it's better to be the bully than the one getting beat on.' Six put those thoughts aside for now as he focused on his Sekirei.
"I know this is hard for you Toyotama, but is there anything else about the Discipline Squad you can tell me?" he said as he put both his hands on her shoulders trying to calm her down.
The green haired woman responded with a little more composure. "Only that there was another Disicipline Squad before the current one, but this one only had two members. #4 was one."
"Who was the other?"
The Spartan saw Toyotama's mood change from fear to calm as she had a smile on her face. "The other member was Sekirei #8, Yume. She was always a bright warm sun around everyone she meet and she would make time to check in on all of us to see if we were okay or to play with us if we were bored."
Six let go of her shoulders once he was sure Toyotama was calm. "You seem to have fond memories of her."
Toyotama's smile got bigger as she looked at the Spartan and nodded. "Yeah she was our big sister."
"Is she apart of the Discipline Squad still?"
She shook her head. "No she is not... she died a long time ago." at this Toyotama started to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to talk about this right now. Can we talk about something else, please?"
Six nodded as Toyotama was still able to give him plenty of information to work with and any other questions he had the Spartan knew Athena would answer the rest with the intel she gathered from MBI's servers.
"It's okay, Toyotama. Thank you for sharing what you know."
"Then please try not to do anything to have them come looking for us."
Six sighed and said mostly for her own benefit. "I'll be careful not to encourage their wrath."
"See that you are. I don't want us to end up as blood stains all over the floors and walls." Toyotama said stepping closer to the Spartan. "Look, I want you to know I love you. You may not fully trust me yet, but I will follow you and be by your side forever." Toyotama said taking one of her hands and touching the cold metal steel of Six's helmet where one of his cheeks would be and stared into his visor.
Six was completely dumbfounded at what she just said to him 'I don't get it? I only met this woman last night and already she says that she is in love with me. I can also tell she isn't lying about it, is it because I saved her? This isn't normal. Yet what is this tightness in my chest?' Six said to himself feeling this weird sensation in his chest, he couldn't explain it but no doubt Toyotama was responsible.
Six for the most part had no idea how to respond to this. He was trained ever since he lost his parents to be a Spartan, to not only hone his physical skills but also to take control of his emotions and make the tough decisions that most people could not. Yet when Toyotama said she loved him the Spartan was at first confused as they just met last night so her declaring her love like this isn't normal, then again the situation he was in was anything but normal. Six could only move back out of Toyotama's touch which caused him to feel...sad. He had no idea why he felt that way, but he focused his mind and looked at his Sekirei.
"Come on, let's go get some breakfast." Six said as he bent down and grabbed the box containing Toyotama's new clothes. "After you have a change in wardrobe of course."
Toyotama took the box and looked sadly at her Ashikabi before smiling weakly and said "Alright I should be ready soon. I better not see you trying to take a peak mister."
Six simple nodded and said. "Sure."
Toyotama smiled and went to find somewhere to change. Six waited inside the lobby for Toyotama to finish.
Six leaned against the wall close to the entrance and let his thoughts wander. This '04' reminded him of a fellow Spartain he once had the misfortune of meeting. "Jonah sure was a certain kind of crazy. I never figured out how Roland could bear to work with him... maybe he was another kind of crazy. Headhunters, huh..." he whispered under his breath as he shook his head. There really wasnt any nicer way to think of the two-man team.
"Jonah-B283... Roland-B210..." Six uttered, levity dispelled by solomn reverence. "Rest in peace brothers."
Toyotama got changed in the room she had slept in, since this was the only good room that was left despite it being in rough shape. She discarded her old attire in the corner of the room, glad her panties had survived at least. Placing the package on the bed and opening it up, she took out her new outfit, putting on her new white and blue belly top, bloomers, stockings, garter belt, her thigh high boots and her new gloves.
"There, good as new." Toyotama said looking at herself in her new attire. Toyotama headed to the main lobby to see Six waiting for her.
"All done." She said getting her Ashikabi's attention. "So what do you think of my new outfit."
Six looking at his Sekirei's new dress. It didn't look any different from the last one except in better shape. Still he thought to himself outfit like that no normal person would wear in public. Which made him think why are they dressed like this since the other two Sekirei he fought last night dressed in very skimpy outfits too with Ichiya and Sai being those examples. Probably that mental patient Minaka had something to do with this. "Other than being insane he must be a sad old pervert too." Six said under his breath quiet enough that Toyotama didn't hear him.
"Ahem, can I get a complement?" Toyotama asked again a little annoyed since her Ashikabi was silent for a couple of seconds.
Snapping out of his thoughts Six came up with a quick reply. "I think it looks nice on you." Six lied hiding what he really thought of that outfit.
He said it so convincingly that she bought it, which made her smile "Thank you, that's all I wanted to hear."
"You're welcome. Other than food, maybe while you're out you can buy some clothing for the both of us too. I really don't have anything else to wear then my armor and for you it's your outfit." Six said realizing he needed civilian clothing to blend in with the local populace and for Toyotama he needed something for her so she doesn't dress like a pole dancer all the time.
"So ready to go shopping?" Six asked.
Toyotama smiled and said "Of course. There's just one problem though. How are you going to not get harassed by either the civilians or the police?"
Six smiled under his helmet and activated his armor's active camouflage. As he disappeared in front of his Sekirei, the Spartan responded "I think I'll manage."
'I wonder how he does that?' Toyotama wondered to herself. 'No doubt probably some futuristic device on him that gives him invisibility. I wonder if he has a spare?' Toyotama realized a gadget like this would be useful in combat for so many reasons. Maybe after their shopping trip is done she'll ask him later if he had a spare invisibility device.
Toyotama nodded. "OK, that problem solved, so let's head out." Toyotama said leading the way as her Ashikabi secretly followed her.
As they stepped out of the apartment complex she paused. "Also, before I forget..."
"What?" Six asked.
"Make sure to stay on guard. No doubt there's other Sekirei out there with their Ashikabi, and if they see me alone they'll think me easy prey." Toyotama warned.
While she couldn't see him, Six nodded and said "Don't worry I won't be far."
Toyotama smiled and the two of them began to walk toward the shopping district. As they walked through the city and Toyotama found a store that seemed to offer styles that she liked, Six was busy keeping an eye out for anything strange either on the ground among the various people going about their day or from the roof tops of buildings. While he was waiting Athena decided to make herself known.
"Hey, Six, was able to get all the data I could find on the Discipline Squad."
Six nodded and asked "How were you able to acquire it?"
Athena chuckled inside the Spartan's helmet. "Six we are on a Earth during the 2020s, so me hacking and breaking through the digital security and firewalls of this era might as well be you attacking a cardboard fort. Though I will admit MBI's security is a little bit more tougher then what should be possibly for humans of this time period. Still it was nothing I couldn't get through.". Athena finished.
Six thought about it for a moment. "Chances are they probably used the Sekirei tech to enhance their systems and their digital security."
"That would make sense - aside from profiting off their tech they also kept some for themselves. Anyway, I decided to have a little fun with them while I went in searching for the data. Once I was inside I went after their other sensitive data and information and created uplinks all over the world to have everyone on the planet learn of MBI's secrets. Then I decided to mess with their bank accounts, and of course - this is my favorite - created fake information on the head of MBI and tried to upload it all to the internet."
Six couldn't help but smirk. "The data you recovered?"
"After I had my fun I was able to easily acquire the data. Not only on the Discipline Squad but all the Sekirei, both winged and un-winged, and of course data and information about their Ashikabi. By the time they were able to stop all of my attempts at ruining them I had what I was after and left their networks. I'm sure everything in their systems are back to normal now, but next time might be more of a challenge."
"You'll probably still walk all over them." Six smiled at the work his AI partner. "Now, on to business. What can you tell me about the discipline squad ?"
"The best way I can talk about the discipline squad is to start from the beginning." Athena said as she began putting up data on his HUD.
"Discovery of the alien ship on the deserted island - they found the 108 life forms onboard and designated them by age order. The only alien close to adulthood labeled number one, the 8 fetuses labeled numbers two through nine, and the other 99 like Toyotama were fertilized eggs. Not long after the discovery Minaka named the island Kamikura Island and he converted the island into private land, removed from all maps and became an extraterritoriality. This caused the major authorities of the world to react and started the invasion of Kamikura Island."
"No MBI private army existed then, right? That means...
"Because of the military mobilization, the first disciplinary squad was formed made up of the first five Sekireis, numbers one through five. They were woken from their slumber to defend the island from the invaders. All five of them easily defeated the international army while protecting all unborn Sekirei. Believe it or not I actually got my hands on battlefield footage of that day, I'll send it to you now."
On the top right of six's visor a small video screen appeared.
What Six saw was an armed force close to the size of the defense force trying to protect Reach attack a small island. From what Athena told him it was a newly formed island thanks to an earthquake in the region. some troops began to land on the island, Six saw something caught his eye. Standing on top of a cliff was a lone woman carrying a katana, but what Six noticed she was wearing a grey kind of jacket with the same symbol that he saw his own Sekirei had on her clothes.
'That must be the symbol used by the Sekirei.' Six thought to himself.
What happened next completely shocked the Spartan to his core, as this purple haired woman drew her weapon she looked at the group of ships yet to land on the island. She then brought her sword above her head and brought it down in a vertical slash, but it was what happened next that shook Six as this swordswoman was able to create a massive shockwave that raced towards the ships. Once contact was made three ships broke apart and began to sink into the ocean, Six looked at the damage and it looked like the hull of these ships were finely cut in half...like by a blade. 'She is able to cut through objects just from the shockwave of her sword cuts.' Six thought in awe.
Six watched as the purple swordswoman continued unleashing wave after wave of death at the ships cutting them one by one. The video feed then switched to a group of helicopters flying to an LZ to deploy the troops inside. On the ground several feet away stood another woman with dark purple hair, she appeared to be un armed. Six expected her to fight the soldiers when they landed, Six raised an eyebrow instead when she lifted her head with a playful smile on her lips. Suddenly huge gusts of wind began to surround the helicopters making it impossible to land, it wasn't long until they came crashing into each other, crashing into the canyon walls surrounding them, or crashing directly into the ground.
Six would of thought that was awfully convenient, but he knew the truth and Athena confirmed it for the Spartan. "Apparently from the reports of this attack this Sekirei was able to control the wind and air currents with her mind, making her an aerokinetic." the Smart A.I. stated.
The feed then switched to a battalion of tanks converging on one man whose only weapon was a katana. If asked a month ago Six would have thought he was a goner, but now the Spartan was just curious how he planned to stop these tanks. The Sekirei male in question did nothing and just stood there, until the man could see the tanks he began to kneel to the ground and waited. Once the tanks were half way towards the kneeling man the Sekirei raised his still sheathed katana into the air and slammed the bottom of it to the ground as hard as he could. Seconds later multiple columns of earth began sprouting out from the ground like geysers, the tanks could do nothing except if caught up into the air and exploded from the force of their landing, while many more got crushed while still on the shifting ground. Six looked at the man who was now in a protected circle made out of the huge columns of earth he summoned. First an aerokinetic and now a geokinetic - if these were just three of them he wondered what the last two would be?
Athena decided to chime in. "These are only the first three of the First Generation Discipline Squad, the last two are interesting cases though.
The vid then changed to 4 platoons worth of soldiers all armed to the teeth shooting at a woman with grey hair wielding a katana. As several soldiers began opening fire on on her but she bobbed and weaved through the gun fire with a smirk on her face. Once she got close that was it for them. She would slash and cut with zero hesitation as heads and body parts began flying one way or the other with sprays of blood decorating the ground. Most tried to flee but it didn't matter as the women slaughtered them too. Six looked at her and saw that she was definitely on a Spartan's level of strength and speed. The feed then showed a soldier missing both his legs begging for mercy from the woman with the blood covered katana, only for her to decapitate him in a flash laughing at her work.
The feed then showed a red-haired Sekirei with glasses surrounded by the previous four Six was confused and Athena answered him.
"I know this last one isn't much, but in my opinion she could be the most dangerous." Athena then had the video feed zoom in and turned up the sound. The Spartan could see that the glasses wearing Sekirei wasn't only giving them orders but the coordinates of where the enemy would land or where they were located. Athena began to explain. "According to the reports this one would be considered technokinetic. She has the ability to affect machines or enter technological systems with her mind. In many ways she is almost like a Smart A.I. given human form."
Six was shocked to hear about this information and thought of all the ways someone with this kind of ability could be a threat. Could this Sekirei process information just as quickly as an A.I. or could she do it faster? If it was the later Athena wouldn't be of much help against a cyber-intrusion caused by this Sekirei.
The recording ended and Six took a quick glance in side the store through the windows to check on his Sekirei. Though the window he saw Toyotama being hit on by a male customer probably flirting with her because of her good looks. Toyotama waved him off and said psomething to him that made the young man look disappointed and he walked away, then she went back to shopping for supplies. He wondered if she simply claimed to be married. However, seeing the young man try flirting with his Sekirei rubbed Six the wrong way and he couldn't explain why...
Putting those thoughts aside, Six took his attention back to what he just witnessed in those recordings, trying to process what he just watched and learned in those few minutes.
Collecting his thoughts he tried to find words. "In my whole career, never once have I saw anything like these Sekirei before."
Athena's thumbnail-portrait on his HUD nodded in agreement. "I'll be honest, I find them fascinating. There's no alien species in our time and universe in the Covenant that displays such abilities and how much they look like Humans."
"Still…Watching that made me realize just how vulnerable humanity is in the 21st-century." Six thought aloud. After witnessing an advanced alien force wiping out a 21st-century military force he was reminded of the reasons why Spartans like him were made. With no bioaugmentation's and no MJOLNIR in this time and century Humanity was pretty much a sitting duck to aliens like this.
"I know what you mean. If five of them can decimate a 21st-century military force like it's nothing, I could only imagine what all 108 of them can do. Or even worse thousands or millions - humanity would barely stand a chance of surviving in our century, never mind this century."
Six not wanting to imagine that scenario took his attention back to the grocery store his Sekirei had ended up in. He could see Toyotama through the windows selecting food off the shelves and putting it into a shopping basket looking like it was filled to its capacity with groceries reaching to her elbow far above the top of it, making him wonder 'How much is she buying?' even though the cost shouldn't be a problem with the unlimited money from the MBI card.
There was yet time. Six still wanted to know more about the disciplinary squad.
"Athena, is there any more Intel on the disciplinary squad?"
Athena nodded. "Yes I have plenty here to read from here. Well, at least numbers 2 through 5 - there is no intelligence on Sekirei number one."
Six raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean there's no intelligence on her and who is she among the five here?"
"Sekirei Number one is the woman who was cutting ships in half with a sword." Athena answered bringing up an image. A slender yet shapely fair-skinned woman waist-length purple hair with brown eyes, causing massive razor-sharp shockwaves.
"I don't know why but almost everything about her has been removed from MBI's systems " Athena said confusion in her audio. "I'll try to dig deeper into MBI files, without alerting them like last time. For now I can give you the information on Sekireis 2 thought 5. I'll start with the second sekirei, #2. Matsu."
Athena brought up a mug-shot of the red-head with glasses.
"From the data I'm reading here, MBI described her as highly intelligent and an excellent strategist because of her abilities. However….."Athena trailed off a little, virtually scratching her head at what she was reading
"However what?" Six wondering why Athena trailed off.
"Well… despite her high intelligence she's bit of a pervert."
Six just stood there in silence before sighing. "Well, it's still a weakness we can use against her, even though its sad."
In another part of the city at a small Inn, Matsu in her secret room fascinated with the newest information from MBI about an armored Ashikabi that appeared out of nowhere and was able to take on multiple winged Sekirei. As she was typing away the redhead suddenly sneezed" achoo!"
" Don't tell me I'm coming down with a cold too?" The brain type said to herself. "Kagari said something earlier about him coming down with a cold..."
Athena shrugged in her own image. "I agree, that is a pretty stupid weakness. All we need to do is flash naked pictures in front of her and she'll drool all over it like an idiot."
"Other than her perversion, is there any more data on her." Six asked.
Athena brought up Matsu's profile again. "Yes, sometime go she actually did leave the squad along with several other members of the first discipline squad. Which I will get into later as we go through the Intel report. Apparently MBI is hunting her down for stealing something called the Jinki." Athena read out the report.
Spartan raised an eyebrow "Jinki? What is that?"
"I tried searching for it, however I ended up finding nothing about this Jinki. From references to it I guess MBI is keeping hard data on whatever this Jinki is on a flash-drive out of the servers."
"Then it must be highly valuable if MBI is keeping this thing separate from the rest of their systems."
"Must be. I guess they did this so ordinary hackers couldn't have any access to that information. They don't want anybody to know about the Jinki."
" Any chance you know where that flash drive is?" Six asked Athena.
"Yes I do - it's being held at the top of MBI tower in Minaka Hiroto's office. If you want that flash drive you would have to fight your way up that giant tower to get it." Athena directing the Spartans attention to MBI's headquarters out of the corner of his eye.
The spartan from where he was standing had a good view of the tower, that was one of the first things he saw when he first came to this time and world, this clock bearing tower. Just looking at it six knew Minaka definitely had a massive ego. Up in that tower thinking he was higher than everybody else... Probably thinking of himself as a prophet similar to one in the Covenant.
"Athena, any chance you can get blueprints of MBI tower? At some point I'm going to pay that place a visit and see what's going on inside as well as hunting down the flash drive."
"Sure, I'll go hunting through their data bank again to find it. Give you the lay out of tower from it's defenses, what goes on every floor and where to infiltrate." Athena already having an idea what the Spartan is thinking about doing.
"Thank you, Athena. If we are lucky I could actually put that mental case out of his misery and end this right away."
Athena nodded in agreement, however something crossed the AI's mind. "Don't you think you be betraying Toyotama's promise not to antagonize them?"
Six stopped and paused for a moment thinking about the promise. Toyotama begged him not to antagonize MBI and suffer the wrath of the discipline squad, so any form of action he would commit against MBI would be betraying her trust. So far she seemed to be the only ally he had, trapped in the city in this symbiotic relationship he had with her.
"As much as I don't want betray her trust, as a Spartan my duty is to protect Humanity. So far Minaka has proven to me he is a threat that needs to be dealt with." Six rationalized.
Athena agreed with Six. Even though they're not in their world and time they have a duty to protect humanity, and so far MBI had proven itself to be a threat.
"I think we got off track here - you said number two went into hiding after she stole this Jinki right?"
"Yes, after she stole the Jinki she went into hiding somewhere in the city and MBI hasn't found her since." Athena confirmed.
"I see. Any chance you can try to track her down using the local Internet? Because I'd like to ask her nicely what the hell this Jinki is. She could know what is on that flash-drive, perhaps more."
"I'll see what I can do. It might be difficult since she's pretty much like me. I'm going to assume hunting her down is going to be no different than hunting down another smart AI." Athena replied. "Of course she isnt an AI, so I have some ideas."
"What about the other Sekirei profiles?"
Athena the switched from Matsu's info to the aerokinetic before beginning. "This is Sekirei #03. Her name is Kazehana. After doing some through digging I have found that she is one of those powerful single numbers that Toyotama told us about, just like Matsu. When I saw her in action I thought her powers would be along the lines of controlling the weather, but I see she can only control the air currents. Still, she is plenty dangerous, as she can turn gentle breezes into roaring hurricane winds. Kazehana's file also says she can create tornadoes, wind currents so powerful you'd literally be sent flying and has a limited ability for flight, and that's just the tip of what she is theoretically capable of. If she was creative she would also be able to possible suck the very air out of your lungs, or honing the wind currents to shield her from enemy fire from changing the trajectory of bullets by messing with the wind resistance to even blowing missiles and ICBMs off their projected paths."
"Physical confrontations will be difficult... What's her psychological profile?"
Athena then brought up notes of a therapist that did Kazehana's profile. "According to this Kazehana has a very calm demeanor. She has a very bright personality, gets along well with others and she seems to be quite the romantic as when asked about it the notes say that Kazehana - I quote - became giddy and talked about love like a young school girl - end quote. I think the most surprising thing in her profile is a note of how she felt, and again I quote - completely head over heels in love with the CEO and Director of MBI Minaka Hiroto." Athena finished.
Six nearly tripped over his own feet when the A.I. said that. "You mean there was someone who actually had feeling for that psycho mental patient?!" Six asked stunned.
Athena chuckled. "Yes I was just as surprised as you when I discovered that little tidbit, but it looks like Minaka didn't have the same feelings for her and turned her down. After that her profile says she fell into a deep depression and started turning to alcohol to help heal her emotional wounds." The A.I. said with a hint of sadness in her voice. Noble Six looked at the full bodied picture of Kazehana and while he was trained to suppress his emotions and urges, the Spartan wasn't blind to the fact that between her well developed figure and amply large breasts the Wind Sekirei was an absolute knock out in every sense of the word. So Six was gobbed smacked at the fact of all the people she could develop feelings of attraction to she picked a mental patient who forcing her kind to fight in a battle royal to the death.
Six decided to ignore it - such considerations were trouble. "So, does she have any weaknesses? Aside from her terrible taste in men, of course."
"Just that it seems she is still in her rut of depression. Like Matsu, Kazehana is no longer a part of the Discipline Squad. Right now Kazehana is still un-winged and according to her she isn't looking for an Ashikabi - as she believes she can love no one other than Minaka. Still, Six, I would keep my guard up if you run into her because while she is a lush she is still considered one of the strongest beings among her kind."
Six nodded as he filed away how to defeat the Wind Sekirei should they ever encounter each other. "What about the last two?"
Athena removed all the data and files on Kazehana and brought up a picture and information pertaining to the only Male Sekirei both the Spartan and the Smart AI had seen so far.
"This handsome young man is known as Sekirei #05 or Mutsu. He seems to be not only a geokinetic, but what MBI has dubbed a Weapons/Elemental type Sekirei."
Six was confused. "So they classified these aliens based on their abilities?"
"There seems to be multiple classes. There are Weapon type Sekirei like Toyotama, Mutsu, and the other two swordswomen Sekirei. Elemental types are like our dear friend Kazehana, Brain types are like Matsu. There are even physical types, such as a fist type or a kick type Sekirei - they have super human strength even going beyond what is the norm for Spartans... maybe even the Hunters of the Covenant."
Six didn't like the sound of that. He had thought that in terms of strength he would have a slight advantage like during the fight where he rescued Toyotama, but now he is told that there are Sekirei stronger than a Hunter, which were some of the strongest forces in terms of raw physical strength the Covenant have in their ranks. "Well if its the case I'll just have to rely on my speed and reflexes to avoid their attacks and find an opening to take them out."
Athena chuckled and added "Don't forget your combat experience too Six."
"True, but let's get back to our person of interest..."
"It seems Mutsu is quite the swordsman, as he uses his blade for most of his battles. It seems that when he does use his geokinetic abilities they are more suited to area of attack type of techniques. Mutsu's psychological profile shows he is a calm and composed individual who takes his time when it comes to judging the situation as opposed to acting immediately to a perceived threat."
Six looked at the picture of Mutsu and he could definitely tell this was a man who did not move or act unless he devised a plan and looked every conceivable angle before he did anything. "Is this Mutsu still apart of the Discipline Squad, Athena?"
"Just like his other collogues, no. It turns out that after #03 quit and #02 escaped with that stolen Jinki, Mutsu also quit the Discipline squad and decided to participate in the Sekirei Plan. According to their files on #05 Mutsu is already winged by a man named Mikogami Hayato, who MBI refers to as the Ashikabi of the South because he has the most Sekirei in that territory and is considered one of the Strongest Ashikabi in the city."
Six wondered what she meant, it almost sounded like Athena was talking about the city was divided into four territories and only one Ashikabi controlled that sector of the city almost like a crime family... or warring factions the Spartan surmised thought.
Toyotama walked out of the store just when he was about to ask more questions. 'How much did she get?' The spartan wondered to himself since it looked like the greenette bought enough for a small army.
"We'll continue this conversation later." Six said to Athena seeing the green haired sekirei was done buying groceries.
"Six?" Toyotama called out for her Ashikabi, she knew he was around somewhere cloaked.
"Toyotama, I'm right here."
The greenette heard the Spartans voice right next to her, making her look in that direction and she then felt the cold steal of his hand touching her shoulder.
"There you are. It be nice if I can see you and I could use a little help to carry groceries." Toyotama said since she had no hands left to carry anything.
"I can't show myself out in the open like this. Follow me down the alleyway across the street." Six said as he saw an alleyway on the other side of the road.
Toyotama nodded and followed her invisible Ashikabi across the street into the alley, once they were alone and no one was in sight, The spartan uncloaked himself.
Toyotama smiled. "It's actually nice when I can see you."
Six simply just nodded at her comment". Once I acquire some clothing and blend in with the local populace I don't have to hide like this anymore. How much did you buy? Looks like you bought enough here for a small army?"
"I bought enough so we won't be eating rats like you suggested earlier." she replied a little clipped.
Six chuckled a little at her remark.
"Anyway, you don't mind taking some of these?" Toyotama asked handing some of the groceries over to six.
"Sure." Six taking the groceries from Toyotama's hand.
"Thank you, I finally have one free hand to carry my staff." Toyotama said as she wasn't able to hold her staff now since she had it stowed under her armpits just to carry it.
"With grocery shopping now done let's-"
Suddenly a thunder-clap stopped Six mid-sentence. It sounded like an explosion in the middle of the city in broad day-light!
"What the hell was that?!" Toyotama caught off guard by that explosion dropping the groceries in her hand and having both hands on her staff ready to fight.
Six did the same thing and took out his assault rifle. "Athena what the hell's going on out there?"
"I'm going through local surveillance system rig-"
"Get out of the way please!" Shouted an unknown female voice.
Both Six and Toyotama turned to where they heard the female voice, they walked to the other side of the alleyway and peaked out the corner to see what happened. Only to find a young man lying on the ground and on top of him was the body of a woman only that her butt was in his face with her face near the man's crotch.
"I'm so sorry." the young woman said as she crawled off the young man. "I guess it really was too high to jump from there."
Six and his Sekirei just stood there with one thing going through his mind 'What the hell is going on?' he was answered by Athena.
"Apparently from what I was able to calculate this young woman jumped from a building around 210 feet tall."
Six was stunned as he saw the young woman dressed in what can only be described as a sexy version of a shrine maiden outfit turned to the man she landed on and thanked him for breaking her fall. The Spartan's mind raced 'How the hell is she still alive that fall should have turned both of them into paste?! Is she...' before Six could continue his thought he heard Toyotama yell a warning causing the young shrine maiden to tackle the young man out of the way of a lightning bolt that struck the ground.
Six looked up to see where that came from as there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
"Right side, rooftop." Athena said.
When the Spartan turned he was even more confused as on top of what looked to be a water tower stood two young women who looked to be twins dressed in bondage gear. Six aimed his rifle at the twins as Toyotama got into a fighting stance.
The bustier of the two newcomers cupped her hands around her mouth. "Running away is useless, you know!"
The other twin then added "Fight us!"
"I still won't fight you. At least not yet." The shrine maiden hollered back at them.
As Six was listening in and getting ready for things to turn south one though crossed his mind... 'I really wish I was back on Reach - where everything made sense.'
Notes
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.