Sekirei: The Lost Wolf

by Helghast honored guard

The Lonewolf survived and made it off Reach .Now he finds himself trapped in another world, another time and another conflict. Up against a madman forcing a race of super powered aliens to fight to the death to bring a new age of the gods . (Six and Harem)

11. Chapter 11

"What do you think of the fight between this Uzume and that Mitsuki?" Athena focused on what Six was looking at and saw the two Sekirei engaged in combat. Uzume made spears with her cloth, shooting her veils at her enemy, who dodged here and there and attacked with her wires cutting through some of her veils, causing her to back off. "While it is true that #10's Veils can be made as hard as steel, it seems that the wires of #39 are able to easily slice through them." Six nodded and asked, "Can you do some research on her? I want to know everything I can if we have to fight in the future." Athena complied and brought up any information on Number 39, Mitsuki, and displayed it on the Spartan's HUD.

Athena began to go over Mitsuki's info, "Let's see, Sekirei number 39, Mitsuki is one of the few Sekirei to have a twin, much like Hikari and Hibiki. Unlike those two, however, these sisters seem to be weapon users, much like Toyotama. While her sister Sekirei number 38, Mitsuha is known for using a whip as her weapon; on the other hand, Mitsuha uses razor wires for her weapon.

"This allows her to attack her enemies not only at close range but long range as well. Thanks to this, Mitsuki has the best of both worlds regarding fights." Six reading through her file, asked, "Can you find out what materials her wires are made out of, Athena?" the AI wasted no time and began digging deeper into the information she had. Several seconds later, Athena found what she was looking for.

"Here it is. It seems that the materials used to construct the steel wires are... Wait, that's odd...looks like the wires are made of the same material as the Sekirei ship." Six wondered how that was possible before adding, "They must have taken some scraps of metal that fell off the ship and fashioned her, her wires." Athena agreed, "While it is true that Uzume can harden her veils to compete with high carbon steel, Mitsuki's wires are much tougher, durable, and sharper. That is why she can cut through her veils." Six saw the results for himself, but Uzume was still fast enough to dodge most of Mitsuki's attacks.

'Still, it seems like a waste. Surely there are other materials they could use as a good substitute rather than using such a rare piece of metal. Maybe it somehow has a connection to her that is special to her ability.' Six pondered internally. Six decided it did not matter at the moment as there were more important things to consider, such as the fight in front of him.

The Spartan then turned his attention to Toyotama's fight with Mitsuha. Six noticed Toyotama was doing well, dodging most, if not all, of her attacks. However, the whip-wielding Sekirei was still able to keep Toyotama at a distance, so she couldn't get close enough to hit her with her weapon. "It looks like Toyotama is having a hard time with this one." Athena chipped in. "True, while I trained her in CQC, Toyotama doesn't have much experience with opponents that can keep her at a distance. I'll need to fix that as soon as possible." Six replied as he and his AI companion watched the battle across from them with a scrutinizing gaze.

Toyotama was getting sick and tired of dodging that bitch and her annoying whip as she was able to keep her away from her. She had to devise a way to get closer to her enemy if she wanted to end this and help Uzume. As she thought of ways to do just that, she saw some bags of cement mix near her, giving Toyotama an idea. Switching tactics, instead of trying to move closer, Toyotama moved away from her opponent. Mitsuha saw this and began to get overconfident. "Aww, what's wrong with #16? Don't tell me you're scared of me because of my little whip now." Mitsuha chuckled. She began to run at the retreating Sekirei, oblivious to the potential threat.

But when Toyotama came to a stop and grinned at her enemy, that was when Mitsuha knew something wasn't right. Impaling her staff into the ground, Toyotama grabbed a bag of cement mix and tossed it as hard as she could at her opponent. Once it was in the air, Toyotama grabbed another and threw it. Seeing the bags coming towards her, Mitsuha just laughed.

"You really think these sad little projectiles of yours will do anything to me?" she said as she used her whip to slice through the bags in the air. This caused the bags of cement mix to explode in the air. After several minutes, everything in front of Mitsuha was covered in the cement mix, creating a smokescreen. It was at this moment that Mitsuha realized what Toyotama's plan was.

"That bitch! She wasn't trying to hit me with those bags; she wanted me to think that so that my field of vision would be blocked and I wouldn't be able to see what she'd do next." Mitsuha raged internally.

"Well, look who finally put two and two together. I got to say I thought it'd take you longer to figure it out. You don't strike me as the smart type. It would help if you also stopped screaming at yourself. It makes you sound unstable, and most would not find that attractive. You almost remind me of a dog in need of a leash," Mitsuha heard through the cement smokescreen.

Before she could pinpoint where the voice was coming from, Toyotama immediately rushed out of the smoke screen by jumping into the air, her staff in one hand. Mitsuha used her whip to try and lash at her opponent in anger from her earlier statement, but that was what Toyotama was waiting for; behind her back, she brought out another bag of cement mix and tossed it at the whip causing it to be hit and explode.

"Dammit" shouted Mitsuha. Before she could do anything else, Toyotama was already on her hitting her in the head with her staff swinging it like a club. Once she landed, Toyotama followed up by hitting her enemy multiple times in the chest, stomach, and solar plexus with quick and efficient thrusts from her bo-staff. After delivering several more strikes, she then finished her combo by stabbing her staff into the ground to use as a pole. She swung around, delivering a powerful push kick with both legs sending the whip Sekirei flying back.

Toyotama then rushed Mitsuha, trying to finish this fight before she could recover, but as she was rolling on the ground, Mitsuha was able to roll back onto her knees. As Toyotama came in with another swing of her staff, Mitsuha blocked the attack with her whip before jumping back, trying to gain some distance between them again.

Toyotama refused to let up and ran after her, continuously attacking her with her staff as Mitsuha dodged or blocked her attacks with her whip. Mitsuha knew that she was on the defensive and couldn't keep this up as Toyotama's strikes were increasing in speed and power. Knowing that she would be defeated quite easily unless she changed some things, Mitsuha looked up above her and saw all the beams of the building being constructed surrounding them.

This gave Mitsuha an idea; as Toyotama tried to go for an overhead strike hoping to beat her skull in, Mitsuha rolled to the side, dodging the strike and gaining some space between them. When she recovered, Mitsuha jumped as high as she could in the air and used her whip to latch onto one of the beams to swing to another beam. Toyotama jumped up to another beam to give chase.

Toyotama found her opponent and jumped toward her to attack, but Mitsuha merely grinned at her enemy as she stepped back and fell off the beam. When Toyotama landed on the same beam Mitsuha fell from, she quickly looked around to try and get a beat on her. Yet she couldn't find her anywhere, "Dammit, where is she?" Toyotama got her answer when she felt two feet implant themselves on her spine, pushing her off the beam towards another that she was able to grab hold of before she fell to the hard ground below. When she was able to climb up on the beam and turned around to try and counter-attack, Mitsuha was already gone.

As Toyotama looked around to try and find her, she heard multiple cracks from Mitsuha's whip. While she could hear her, she couldn't pinpoint where the sounds were coming from. That was when Mitsuha made her presence known when she came in swing on Toyotama's right side, performing a swinging kick with both feet hitting #16 in the face. This caused Toyotama to spin and lose her footing on the beam, causing her to fall to the ground below.

She hit a couple more beams on the way before slamming into the ground on her back. Toyotama groaned in pain as she slowly got up, "I gotta say I love the way you groan." Toyotama quickly turned around, seeing Mitsuha swinging towards her for a drop kick aimed at her solar plexus, ultimately knocking the air out of Toyotama's lungs as she flew backward.

As Toyotama slid across the ground, she back-rolled into a kneeling position, trying to recover from being thrown like a ragdoll. She felt something wrap around her ankle as she began to stand. Looking down, she saw that it was Mitsuha's whip, "Oh for fucks sa..." Toyotama never finished her sentence as she was swept off her feet and found herself flying through the air, hitting several beams here and there as Mitsuha used her like a wrecking ball. After hitting two more beams, Mitsuha slammed Toyotama into the ground kicking up some dust and cracking the ground due to the force of the hit. Toyotama rolled on her knees, coughing up blood as she tried to get her bearings.

Once her vision was clearer, she noticed that her staff wasn't in her hands anymore. 'Shit! What happened to my weapon?' as she looked around for it she felt the whip of Mitsuha strike her in the back, leaving both a mark and ripping her attire.

Toyotama screamed in pain but, thankfully, was able to roll out of the way before Mitsuha could try and hit her again, "You have such a pretty voice for a stripper. Let's see if I can get you to sing any other notes." Mitsuha then tried to whip Toyotama again. Since she was now weaponless, Toyotama could attack her even if she wanted to; as a result, all she could do now was dodge her attacks.

'Dammit. I can't believe I lost my weapon while taking that thrashing. There has to be a way for me to distract her and find my bo-staff.' As the staff-wielding Sekirei continued to dodge the many lashes of Mitsuha's whip, Toyotama remembered one of her training exercises with her Ashikabi.

---

Flashback:

Toyotama and Six were currently sparring with one another; currently, Toyotama was trying to get past Six's defenses. While it is true that the Spartan was unarmed, he was still able to block or dodge most of her strikes, the goal was to try and strike her Ashikabi on either the head, stomach or to sweep him off his feet, and right now Toyotama was struggling to do either. #16 then tried a thrust hoping to hit Six in his helmet. Still, the Spartan dodged the attack by just tilting his neck brought up his left hand, grabbing her by the head before sweeping her legs out from under her and forcing her to the ground. "That's another win for your hubby." Toyotama heard Athena chime in.

After shaking her head, Six offered her a hand up. After taking it, Six returned to his position, ready to go again. After a few seconds, Toyotama got into her stance and went on the attack again. Six was impressed with Toyotama's technique and her skills at staff combat. The only other person that the Spartans could compare her to would be Saeko of the Delta squad. Saeko's skills with the blade were unreal, so much so that she was a better swordsman than most of the Elites they encountered. But one problem that separated both women was that if Toyotama ever lost her weapon, she was utterly at the mercy of her opponent, while Saeko had no such shortcomings; as a result, Six would have to rectify that slight weakness.

Six went low as their sparring match continued, dodging a swing aimed at his head from Toyotama. Six, while crouched, extended his right leg and swept Toyotama off her feet...or at least he tried as his first Sekirei jumped up, dodging the sweep. Twirling her staff above her head, she brought it down with an overhead strike. Six smiled as he sidestepped the attack with ease Toyotama put too much strength into her strike, causing her to land in a crouching position. Capitalizing on her mistake, Six grabbed her by the head and delivered a knee to her face causing her to stagger back. Even though her head was ringing from that attack, Toyotama could still fight and block most of Six's attacks.

Toyotama then tried to counter-attack with another thrust, this time at her Ashikabi's head, but Six grabbed the staff and delivered a punishing palm strike to Toyotama's solar plexus knocking the wind out of her before finishing his combo off by adding a devastating uppercut sending her flying a few feet away. Toyotama landed on her back and rolled to her side as she got up. That was when she noticed that Six had her bo-staff. Six was waiting to see if she would try something. But instead of continuing the fight, she raised her hands in surrender.

Six then lowered the staff as Toyotama said, "I know this is training, but do you have to really go all out on me? I'm not a masochist like the twins." before Six could respond, Athena asked, "What makes you think that about Hikari and Hibiki, Toyotama?" Toyotama then looked at Six and said, "You have seen their S&M outfits, right?" Six sighed at his Sekirei's answer while Athena just giggled.

Six tossed Toyotama's bo-staff towards her, and she caught it easily. Six then added, "That will be enough for now. Also, to answer your first question, yes, I need to go all out. If you are not prepared for the harsh realities of combat, then you will get terminated." Toyotama nodded slightly. "I have a question, though. Why didn't you try to attack me when you lost your weapon?"

Toyotama looked at her Ashikabi like he had grown a second head. "I didn't have my weapon, so I couldn't continue the fight even if I wanted to. Remember, I'm a weapons-type, not a fist-type." Six then looked at her. "You really need to break out of that mindset. While you don't have the physical strength or speed of a fist-type, that does not mean you can't still participate in hand-to-hand combat should you lose your weapon or it breaks.".

Toyotama answered, "But it is because I don't have those attributes that I can not fight hand to hand, Six. I would lose if I tried to fight a fist-type without my weapon or even any other Sekirei without my staff. That is just the way it is."

Six walked to her and said, "I don't believe that. I have seen humans take on bigger and tougher opponents than them, and they still come out on top despite the odd." Toyotama looked at her Ashikabi, and even though she couldn't see his face, she could sense he was serious. "How do you know that?"

Six backed away, and before he could say it, Toyotama said, "Classified, right got it." Six then moved back and decided to show her, "Alright, come at me." Toyotama was confused, "I thought you said the training was over for today?" Six then said, "Yes, but right now, I'm trying to prove a point. Come at me without your weapon and try to hit me." the Spartan replied.

Toyotama decided to humor her Ashikabi and placed her staff against the wall before rushing Six. Toyotama through a couple of punches and kicks towards the Spartan, but over the course of the spar, she noticed Six wasn't attacking her.

Six would either deflect her punches from their path or grab her by the wrist and move her away from him with a slight push. As for her kicks, Six would either block them or try to throw her off balance. After ten minutes of this, Toyotama backed away and asked, "What is the point of this, Six? Why are you not attacking?"

Six then relaxed and said, "The point of this exercise is to teach you that in CQC combat, it is not always strength verse strength. Sometimes, it is about using your enemy's strength against them in combat. Even if you fight a powerful Sekirei like #4 or another fist type, no matter how strong they are, their power doesn't mean anything if they can't hit you."

Six then walked up to his Sekirei and put his hands on her shoulders. "I can teach you and the others to fight like that, so even if you are without your weapon or the twins are out of power, you can still fight." Toyotama started to understand what Six was trying to say. Even though she didn't have the strength or speed of a Fist-Type, that didn't mean she couldn't learn and acquire the technique of one.

"Alright Six, I think I understand now. Teach me to fight like you do." Six nodded at her request. They both stood there with Toyotama's beaming smile reflected back at her thanks to Six's helmet. Six was proud of Toyotama for getting this far in their training. She had done well for herself. Six wondered if CPO Mendez or Kurt felt like this when they saw the recruits progressing in their training.

Meanwhile, Toyotama wished that Six would go more without his helmet. Her Ashikabi had beautiful eyes, "Ah, this is so cute." said the AI in Six's helmet. Six then backed away from Toyotama, coughed, and said, "Let's rest for now; we can continue later.".

Flashback End:

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Toyotama remembered the hand-to-hand combat moves that Six taught her in the rare chance she lost her weapon. "Alright then, let's see if you were right about this, Six." she then got into a battle stance as she prepared to take on Mitsuha. When the whip-wielding Sekirei stared at her opponent with her knees slightly bent and her hands up in defense.

Mitsuha then laughed, "Oh, you can't be serious? You're a weapons user, and you think you can take on me, another weapon user bare, handed?! Hahaha, that's hilarious." Mitsuha then got into her own battle stance and, with a dangerous glint in her eyes, said, "Alright then, I'll play your little game. Do try to make this entertaining, #16." she then twirled her whip around her, before launching it at Toyotama.

The moment she saw the whip coming towards her, Toyotama dodged to the side and charged towards her full speed. While Mitsuha was surprised by this, she didn't lose any confidence as she continued to try and flay the skin from Toyotama, yet every time she threw her whip at her enemy Toyotama was able to dodge every single strike. As she got closer, Mitsuha would jump back to keep some distance between her and the other weapons user, as she tried again and again to hit her, but she would either dodge her attacks or hide behind some cover. Now Mitsuha was getting seriously annoyed as Toyotama continued to dodge her attacks; even so, Toyotama knew that this battle would never end until she could get her hands on her opponent.

So Toyotama tried a risky gambit to try and end this. While dodging one of her attacks, she decided to rush in as Mitsuha tried another strike. This time, however, Toyotama didn't dodge the attack this time; instead, she brought up her left forearm and swatted at the lash in the air. The whip was able to wrap around her forearm, and Toyotama bit back a yelp of pain as once the whip finished, she grabbed the whip, ensuring that it was firmly in her grip.

Seeing Mitsuha's shocked face at her little plan, Toyotama knew that she had a few seconds at most to capitalize on this; the staff-wielding Sekirei grinned as she charged as fast as she could at Mitsuha before lunging at her and throwing everything she had in one single, devastating haymaker.

Toyotama threw that punch, and as her fist hit Mitsuha's cheek and she could feel her knuckles pressed into Mitsuha's cheekbones, Toyotama could feel the vibrations from her attack go through #38's skull. It was at that moment Toyotama knew that she knocked Mitsuha's lights out, as her eyes lost focus and her entire body crumbled to the floor.

Toyotama, could feel her fist throbbing right about now, the aftermath of the impact of her punch. She couldn't help but feel joy and accomplishment right now. Taking down her first enemy using the techniques taught by her Ashikabi and not her staff.

" I did it…. I took her down without using my staff…. Six. I hope you saw that… I hope you did!" Toyotama said aloud with excitement in her voice as she looked at her hand.

Then she took her attention to Mitsuha's knocked-out form; Toyotama used her foot to flip the ponytail blonde on her stomach.

Toyotama kneeled down and pulled back the blonde hair and collar her of her opponent and saw the Sekirei mark.

Toyotama ponders to herself. She had an opportunity to terminate one of the Sekirei of the south and score a win for her flock. Her hand slowly reached for the crest; however, she found herself hesitating. Knowing full well how against the Sekirei game her Ashikabi is, making his cases known to them. There was also the alliance they made with the Guardian Sekirei to help other unwinged Sekireis.

So all these things made her hesitate. Under normal circumstances, she would've terminated this Sekirei by now….. but after being bonded with Six….. things felt more complicated.

Before she could think about it any further, she saw a large metal hand grab her wrist. She looked next to her and saw her Ashikabi right next to her.

She found herself staring into his visor again, with her reflection staring right back at her.

"That's enough. You won." Six said.

Toyotama paused for a moment. Before saying," okay."

Six lets go of her wrist, seeing she won't try to terminate Mitsuha. However, looking at the knocked-out blonde, Six got a good look at the Sekirei symbol on the back of her neck. During that whole week of training. Athena doing her research into MBI files, mentioned the symbol on the back of their neck means that they are winged, and it somehow magically appears after kissing their supposed Destin one.

Six wondered how that was even possible. Even Athena was clueless on the matter as well…. There was certainly a mystery to these Sekirei the Spartan and the AI have been trying to understand since their stay.

During her research, Athena mentioned the symbol could disappear as well if the Sekirei takes enough damage or a special incantation from an opposing Sekirei if they touch the symbol, which they could tell Toyotama was about to do.

Looking at that the symbol again, the Ying yang mark on it, below the bird. A Chinese symbol that represents the good and evil, the light and the darkness in the world. Wondering how this symbol came to be on their world…. Or maybe the symbol was always alien. Who knows at this point.

Toyotam got back up on her feet and turned to her Ashikabi, with a smile on her face.

"Did you see me? She disarmed me…. And I was able to take her down using your technique!"

Six nodded, "You did well. Now you see the importance of CQB."

Before she could reply, they heard a large smashing sound.

Uzume hated to admit it, but she was having a hard time dealing with this bitch. Mitsuki was different from any other Sekirei she faced. The razor wires she used would shred through her veils no matter how much she hardened them. She would create spears or lances she created to try and skewer Mitsuki, only to see her either dodge her attacks or Uzume would see her veils cut to pieces.

Because of this, she was losing much of the veil she could use; on the other hand, Mitsuki was laughing while using her wires. "What's wrong #10? You starting to run out of cloth to use." she mocked as she began to flex her fingers.

Suddenly Uzume could see some of the beams get hit with something sharp as they started to get cut up, and the remains fell to the ground below. Uzume acted quickly, wrapping herself into a ball with her veils; as a result of this quick thinking, she was able to withstand the attack, but her veil shield was completely shredded as she landed on another beam.

After undoing her shield, Uzume saw the state of her veils, and her face began to lose all color; in fact, she turned as white as her clothing, as her veils were nothing more than rags. Because of this, Uzume could barely use her veils either offensively or defensively; in conclusion, she was royally screwed.

Mitsuki moved to a beam that sat above Uzume's position. "Looks like you've run out of veil to do anything to defend yourself." then, without warning, Mitsuki thrusted her hands out, and in a second, Uzume could feel the wires wrapped around her constricting her body, keeping her from moving. Flexing her fingers ever so slightly, Mitsuki was able to tighten her hold on Uzume, causing the razor wires to cut into her flesh and clothes, causing blood to seep from the cuts.

"I have to say you look really sexy tied up like that. Perhaps I should have you delivered to Mikogami-sama in a shibari pose. What do you think #10?" Uzume tried to get out of her bindings, but her moving around only allowed the wires to dig deeper into her skin, thus causing her to bleed more.

"What's wrong, Veil Sekirei? Cat got your tongue?" Uzume then glared at Mitsuki and said, "I am not just some prize to give out. Your Ashikabi is not my destined one. I will find my own Ashikabi and not be a slave to yours." Mitsuki sighed.

"Be reasonable. Our Ashikabi isn't all that bad. At least he is better than the Ashikabi of the East. At least from the stories that I've heard." Uzume stared defiantly and screamed a retort, "My answer is for you to kiss my ass. I would rather be terminated than become a Sekirei to an Ashikabi that is not my Destined One."

Mitsuki smiled maliciously as she said, "Well, you don't have a choice in the matter. If you won't come willingly, I guess I need to beat you into submission and bring you to Mikogami-same as a present.". Mitsuki closed her fingers into fists as she was going to throw Uzume around like a ragdoll.

"That's not going to happen." someone said, but they didn't see anybody there. Suddenly a weird-shaped blade of light erupted out of thin air and just as suddenly began to cut through the razor wire like butter. Uzume's legs were a little weak as she couldn't support her own weight, but before she could fall, she was caught by something; at the same time, the shape of a man wearing armor began to appear.

It wasn't long until Six fully materialized in front of both Sekirei. Uzume looked at the helmet of the man that saved her, only seeing her reflection staring back. "Are you able to stand?" the spartan asked. All Uzume could do at that moment was just nod shyly. Seconds later, Toyotama made it to where Six and Uzume were and looked at Uzume and also asked, "Can you stand, Uzume?" Six sat her down as he said, "Aside from the cuts and some loss of blood, she is okay, Toyotama." #16 smiled and then focused on the enemy in front of them.

Mitsuki looked at the two newcomers and began to speak, "So, you are the new Ashikabi that MBI is so interested in. Looking at you, I can see why you were able to beat three of the Ashikabi of the East's Sekireis...If the rumors are true."

Toyotama raised her staff to point it at Mitsuki and said, "Oh, trust me. Those rumors you've heard about my Ashikabi are real." Mitsuki looked at Toyotama and asked, "So #16, you were able to beat my screw-up of a sister. Figures between the two of us, she was always the weakest and the one to bite off more than she could chew." Mitsuki looked at Six and said,

"Look, I have no quarrel with you or your Sekirei. I'm just here for #10 as my Ashikabi wants to add her to his collection. So, if you just leave me to finish disciplining my master's new acquisition to his collection, that would be great." Six stared at her as he said, "The answer to that is no. Now if you decide to leave and take your sister with you, neither Toyotama nor myself will give chase to you as the two of you make your way back to your Ashikabi. But, if you insist on trying to take Uzume to your Ashikabi, then I will stand against you." Mitsuki sighed, "Well, I tried to give you two a way out, but I'm okay with doing it the fun way."

Athena then chirped in, "Six, I took the blueprints of this construction site, and it looks like the beams are no more than 3 meters across. So you should have no problems with jumping and moving around." Six told his AI partner thanks as he got ready to fight, "Toyotama stay out of this one and watch out for your friend. I'll handle this myself."

Toyotama looked at her Ashikabi. As much as she wanted to fight side by side with him, Toyotama knew that Six could handle himself; as a result, she moved to Uzume and told her Ashikabi, "Go get her, Six." the spartan in question gave her a nod as Toyotama helped Uzume to her feet and moved away from the construction site to an adjacent building.

Mitsuki smiled sadistically, "You should have had your Sekirei to help you out. Don't worry, I won't kill you as those are against the rules of the Sekirei Plan, but the rules don't say anything about maiming a human." Six didn't respond to her attempt to get under his skin as he stood there, energy sword in one hand and his other hovering close to where he had his M6G Magnum

"The strong silent type, huh. I can work with that, but I can't wait to hear your scream." with that Six saw a flash of light and quickly dodged Mitsuki's attempt to trap him, as shown by the beam he was standing own being cut to pieces.

Six jumped from beam to beam as he pulled out his pistol and began to fire at Mitsuki, #39, then turned around and, making some motions with her hands, created a shield out of her razor wire that blocked the bullets flying at her

"You might as well stop, my wires were made using the same material as the Sekirei ship. Your firearms won't be able to pierce the shield I made." Six ignored her as he began to move closer to Mitsuki, still shooting and dodging her attacks. When he was close enough, he used his energy sword to try and slash her, but she quickly moved out of the way. Six kept shooting at her as he continued to chase her.

"I told you that those bullets won't do..." it was at that point one of the bullets pierced through the shield and flew past her head, grazing her cheek and causing it to bleed. Mitsuki was shocked, "What the hell was that?!" Six landed on a beam above her as he said, "The M6G Magnum uses 12.7x40mm M225 SAP-HE .50 caliber bullets. In case you don't know, SAP-HE stands for Semi-Armor Piercing, High Explosive rounds. Each bullet has a jacket of copper and also has an explosive compound within the hollow round. So when you get hit with it, the bullet explodes. I'll admit that your wires are tough, but compared to the enemies I had to fight with the armor they wore, it's nothing special." Six finished.

Mitsuki gritted her teeth in rage. "Don't get cocky," she said as she used her wires to try and ensnare the spartan, but thanks to Athena showing where the wires were on his HUD, he was able to cut through them. Six then rushed to Mitsuki's position, and with the Energy Sword, he struck at her stomach.

Six turned off the blade turning his attack from a fatal stab to a gut-wrenching punch in the solar plexus. Mitsuki doubled over as Six then delivered an elbow to the back of her head, causing her to fall to the ground. As she got up to her knees, Mitsuki heard a click behind her, and when she turned, she saw Six aiming his pistol straight at her head. "I would suggest you think very carefully before you move." The spartan said.

"Now we can continue this fight if you want. Where you will lose, not only this fight but possibly your life. Or you can take your unconscious sister and leave here." At this point Athena decided to add "If I were you I'd know which one I would pick." the surprised look on her face, six wouldn't lie was actually funny.

As Mitsuki slowly got back up and stared at the spartan, before saying "Fine you win." Six looked at her and asked "By the way how do you know about me? If I had to guess it was through MBI, correct?"

Mitsuki just glared but nodded "Yeah. The game master warned us about a new player that can fight against Sekirei." Six had Athena check MBI's records and discovered Minaka did send out a text message along with the video of Six fighting against the Sekirei of the Ashikabi of the East.

"Okay you can go. However tell Mikogami that if he tries to take Sekirei against their will again, I will hunt him down and put an end to his hunts permanently." Mitsuki snarled back "Don't get so full of yourself. You may have won this time, but next time I don't care what the rules are. I will kill you." Six stared at her and said "You're welcome to try, but I would recommend you get in line." Mitsuki then moved to her sister and without looking back left the area.

Six kept his eye on the sisters until they were finally out of his sights. He turned his attention to the building his Sekirei took Uzume to. On the rooftop, he saw Toyotama holding Uzume up and looking down at him. Uzume was amazed at what she just saw. Seeing this giant of a man take down a Sekirei she had trouble with.

"A… amazing.." Uzume could mutter.

"I told you he was one of a kind."

Uzume took her attention to the greenette, who was still looking down at the Spartan with a smile on her face.

Uzume ended up agreeing, "Yeah,… I'll say."

Six then gave them a hand signal to come down.

Toyotama prepared herself to jump off the building, making sure she had a good grip on Uzume.

"You got a hold of me?" The greenette asked the brunette.

"Yeah. I do." Uzume holding a tight grip onto Toyotama. That said, Toyotama jumped down off the building and landed safely in front of Six.

Six watching them land right in front of him. His attention fully went to the brunette, ready to interrogate her before taking note of her condition. Medical attention came first.

After landing.

"That was an amazing fight. You sent her packing." Toyotama complemented her Ashikabi's fight.

"She wasn't anything I couldn't handle. "Six approached his first Sekirei. Then taking his attention to Uzume. Staring at him with complete AW on her face.

"Just... what are you!" Uzume asked the mysterious man with her own amazed expression, staring right back at her from his visor.

"A question for another time. More importantly, we should give you more medical attention." The giant said.

"I agree with my Ashikabi. That bitch hurt you really good?" Toyotama said, agreeing with Six.

Uzume knowing how badly hurt she was, ended up agreeing with them as well.

"Okay…Ah." The brunette weakly said.

That said. Six and Toyotama laid Uzume on top of a construction beam. Six took out that medical kit he got from Reach. He gave Uzume painkillers. He and Toyotama then wrapped Uzume's wounds in medical bandages.

Uzume made a few grunts and twitches in pain, feeling them apply medical attention to her. For the most part, she kept her attention on the armored giant. For a big behemoth in armor, he was quite gentle with her.

"You know…. For such a large guy, you're quite gentle." Uzume said, trying to make some small talk with the giant.

Six just looked at her for a moment before just nodded and continuing what he was doing.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Uzume commented on his silence.

"He talks when he wants to talk," Toyotama replied.

"I see," Uzume replied.

Six paying them no mind. Athena showed up on his hud.

"Six got a moment?" The synthetic asked.

Six made sure his speakers were off so he could hear Athena and no one else could.

"What do you got for me this time?" Six asked.

"I did some more digging on Uzume. I learned she lives in a place in the northern territory called Izumo Inn."

Athena brought up an image of a classic two-level Japanese house with traditional rice paper walls and tatami flooring.

Athena continued, "I also learned number six Homura lives in this same place too, and even number 3 Kazehana lived there for a short time.

"Hmm, Not sure if that's a coincidence or not?" Six replied.

"Researching the Inn, I learned it belonged to one of MBI's scientists. Named Takehito Asama ."

Now that caught Six's attention, "Interesting. What do you have on him?"

"Sadly, it was not much. Looks like his file has been messed with recently. so much so I can't even find a picture of him." Athena sadly replied.

"Let me guess on that flash drive in Minaka's office." Six already had a good idea of where that information is.

Athena nodded, "You guessed correctly. The only data I was able to retrieve was this. Apparently, he was the one who adjusted the first disciplinary squad numbers one through five. Number six Homura, number eight Yume, number 10 Uzume here. Hell, he even adjusted your twins."

Six caught a little off guard, "Really now?"

Athena nodded on his HUD to confirm it.

"Hmm, interesting. Do you have any idea where this Takehito Asama is right, Now? Also, I'm surprised I never asked this. What are these adjustments? I remember you mentioned it when numbers 87 and 88 were kidnapped."

Athena went through the data she collected, "Well… the adjustments are... Well, I am not entirely sure what they are. The data I found here are a bit vague. I guess MBI must've tampered with this too. If I'm understanding what I'm seeing here. I think they must've genetically tampered with the Sekireis." Athena Theorizeied.

"You think they gave them some kind of augmentations or some thing?" Six curiously asked, wondering if MBI made them stronger or weaker with these adjustments.

"I don't know, to be honest. We won't know until we get our hands on that flash drive in the tower." Athena said.

Which got a little nod from Six.

"As for your first question with Takehito. He died a few years ago in a lab experiment. And I'll let you guess what they were experimenting with." Athena said, letting the Spartan figure out the mystery.

It didn't take long for the ONI operative to figure it out, "The Jinki, I presume."

"Yep. Before you ask anything about the details, it looks like they covered it up, and they have that stored in the flash drive too." Athenan informed.

"I guess Minaka must have everything important on this drive." Six, now, is even more motivated to get his hands on the flash drive once he gets the proper equipment to infiltrate the tower.

"Looks like it," Athena replied.

"Now that I ask, with Takehido dead. Who is running his Inn." Six asked.

"Takehido does have a wife. She's the one running Inn now. And no. I can't find anything on her either, no picture and no background ." Athena finds no information on the wife.

"Hm. I guess MBI must've done that to protect her…or maybe something else." Six pondered.

"It's a possibility," Athena said.

Six taking his attention back to Uzume, Six and Toyotama finished applying first aid.

"Thank you, I'm really grateful for you both saving me and giving me first aid." Uzume gratefully said.

"No problem. Anything for a friend." Toyotama was happy to help.

Six turned his helmet speakers back on. "Uzume, was it? If you don't mind, I like to inquire a few questions."

"Ah...sure, what would you like to know?" Uzume said.

"I'd like to know why you were following Toyotama?" Six getting straight business.

"Yeah, I surely like to know why you were following me?" The staff type wanting to know as well.

A few sweat drops went down Uzume's forehead. It didn't help when the Spartans visor was staring at her, seeing her nervous expression in that lifeless piece of glass. Somehow, staring at that thing felt worse than her land lady Hannya's demon mask.

Thinking about her words carefully, "Before I answer your question, can I talk to you without your helmet on? I only ask because I feel more comfortable talking to a human face than a reflection… If its all right with you?"

Thinking about it for a moment. Six didn't see the harm in it. However, he still remembered what happened the last time he took his helmet off in front of a wounded Sekirei.

Just in case, what he did instead was take a couple steps away from her, which confused both her and Toyotama.

Feeling like he was a good distance away, she couldn't grab him in case she reacted. Six undid the safety mechanisms on his helmet and removed it.

Uzume, having already seen his face before when Matsu showed her, felt something. Now seeing his face in real life, a blush appeared on her cheeks, and her heart started to beat really fast, and her heart was racing a mile a minute.

'…Is this…my...Ashikabi?' Uzume thought to herself, feeling this strange sensation, staring at the man's face.

Toyotama saw this as well. 'Don't tell me she's reacting to six,' The greenette thought, seeing another Sekirei reacting to her Ashikabi.

Six ended up depressingly sighing," Not another one." Six found himself in a situation he never wanted to be in again… For the third time, a Sekirei reacted to him. Having three was bad enough since the three he did have with him did not get along. The rivalry between Toyotama and Hikari did not help the situation in the slightest, making the prospect of getting another Sekirei unappealing, to say the least.

A fourth one joining this group right now would be disastrous, especially since he has the jealous and competitive type of Sekirei trying to win his heart. Taking in Uzume would be just adding more gasoline to the fire.

Especially Hikari, she would undoubtedly go off like a brute going berserk, knowing she has more competition to deal with.

Thinking about it made him sigh just a little

"What are you going to do now?" Athena whispered to him, getting his attention," Are you going to take her in? I'll be honest; we could use more Allies."

The Spartan stayed silent. Six knew Athena was right. They could use more allies in the fight against MBI, the East, the South, and other hostile, Sekirei and Ashikabi.

It was just a matter of whether he would be willing to deal with another bonding with him.

"I found you. I finally found you," Uzume said, getting up off the construction beam she had been sitting on and walking towards him, ignoring her injuries. She took five steps before she fell to her knees.

"Uzume !? " Toyotama exclaimed while rushing to the brunette's aid. "What are you doing? Your injuries haven't fully healed yet," Toyotama scolded, helping Uzume back on her feet.

"Sorry… it's just every fiber in my body telling me to kiss him, and I'm having difficulty controlling it." Uzume said while trying to control her reaction.

Toyotama understood and looked towards her Ashikabi.

"Six, are you going to wing Uzume?"

Six stayed silent as both women could tell he was deep in thought. He stayed silent for a minute or two.

"Well?" Asked an impatient Uzume, wanting this reaction to be over. The longer he hesitated, the worse it got for her. It was like an itch that got worse and worse that she couldn't reach. It's maddening!

Six, at the moment, couldn't decide whether or not to let the veil Sekirei into his group. He was, however, leaning towards accepting her offer as the pros outweighed the cons. The fact of the matter is Uzume could lead him to number 2, Matsu and the stolen Jinki. Considering Sekireis' loyalty to their Ashikabi, Uzume could get him an audience with Matsu.

He realized she would just be hunted again if he didn't wing her, which was the deciding factor. After all, it would be inconvenient to save her every time, or worse, she became his enemy.

Coming to a decision, six couldn't help but take a deep breath.

" Did you finally make your decision?" Toyotama asked, wondering if he would take in Uzume just from the expression he just made.

"Yes. I will take Uzume as my Sekirei." Six stated with a clear tone, indicating he saw it more as a burden than anything else.

Despite the delivery, Uzume's face lit up like a Christmas tree, hearing he would take her.

"You'll… take me as your Sekirei?!" Uzume did not hide the excitement in her voice.

Six said nothing and just simply nodded and walked up to her.

Toyotama kept Uzume on her feet.

"Toyo. I think I can stand by myself now." Uzume said, feeling like she didn't need the support.

"You sure?"

Uzume gave a simple smile and nodded. "I'm sure."

"I'm right here to catch her in case anything happens." Six said, stepping in front of Uzume.

"Okay," Toyotama said, letting go of the brunette hesitantly.

Six and Uzume stared into each other's eyes. Uzume moved in close, and she had to admit the Spartan had beautiful eyes. She could see herself staring into those crystal clear blue eyes often.

"Hey, has anyone ever told you you have beautiful eyes?" Uzume asked inquisitively.

Six raised an eyebrow at her question and shrugged." Noted. Before we do this, are you sure you want me? Unlike the East or the South, I like to give any Sekirei a choice if they want to bond with me, so are you sure? "

"I'm sure"

Six leaned down in preparation for the kiss while Uzume quickly moved into action, pointing her face upward with great anticipation to be winged. Then it happened: their lips touched. More power than ever before flowed through her, filling her with energy and, most of all, the happiness of being winged by her destined one.

Uzume passionately kissed him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Trying to deepen the kiss, while Six did not attempt to go any further. Oddly enough, he felt some need to reciprocate on an instinctual level; however, he quickly dismissed it as an unnecessary compulsion.

In the back of his mind, he wondered how many of the Spartans he worked with would react seeing this. How would Noble Team react, Delta Team, and Keiichi, the last spartan he saw alive before coming to this place?

He had a feeling some of them would have a good laugh. Kat, Cole, Jun, Saeko, Jorge, and Damon…. Especially Damon. The former head hunter could only imagine what he would say to this.

'Congratulations, 312, you're now the first Spartan gigolo!' Six imagined Damon's smart-ass remark.

Not wanting to think about it any further, his attention was taken by a now very familiar sight. Uzume's back started glowing, then pure white wings that looked like cloth sprouted from her back.

Uzume slowly broke the kiss and moaned, feeling the new surge of energy going through her body. At the same time, she could feel her wounds healing instantly.

She opened her eyes and looked at the giant before giving him a heavenly smile, a smile so full of joy and completeness. It's as if she could die happy knowing she just experienced one of her greatest joys with that type of smile.

For some reason, unknown to Six, Uzume looked like a proper angel right in front of him. Maybe it was from the pure white wings that gave him the image of one, or maybe something else. He quickly filed away that thought upon hearing Uzume's voice.

"I am Sekirei number 10, the veiled Sekirei." Uzume warmly said as she rested her hand on his chest, feeling the cold metal steel of the armor and staring into his eyes.

"By the veil of my contract, my Ashikabi's nightmares will be dispelled!" Uzume saying her pledge with great conviction.

Six felt this weird feeling again in his chest. Hearing her pledge and seeing her heartwarming smile. He felt his heart racing for some reason.

'What are these feelings I keep having?' Six wondered to himself...

Toyotama, watching from the sidelines, developed a warm smile across her face, seeing another sister joining the flock.

Toyotama, deep down inside, had the desire of wanting the Spartan all to herself. However, Toyotama, like most of her kind, would not deny her Ashikabi from having more Sekirei. As it is a better source of protection for him and strengthens the flock as a result.

In the short time she'd gotten to know Uzume, she was the kind of person to get along easily with. For Toyotama, it will be nice to have someone other than Hibiki she can get along with her constant bickering with Hikari.

Once Uzume's wings faded into her back, Six snapped out of the feeling and moved on to business, "Nice to hear. I welcome you among the team, Uzume."

"Glad to be a part of it, Six was it? Is that your name?" Uzume asked since he went by a strange title.

"I have forsaken my real name a long time ago. It holds no real importance now." Six said with a straight look on his face, revealing no emotion.

Uzume's smile turned to one of confusion, not expecting to hear that answer.

"You forsook your name? Wh…"

Uzume didn't get a chance to finish her sentence when a hand touched her shoulder, Uzume turned towards the hand and saw Toyotama next to her.

"He told me and the twins, the same thing. I'm sure he'll tell us his real name when he's ready." Toyotama said to Uzume.

Then the greenette turned her attention to the x-Lonewolf, "Right Six?"

"I'll declassify that information when the time is right or if ever." Six replied, putting his helmet back on.

"Now Uzume, I'd like to start….."

Six was interrupted when Athena appeared on his HUD.

"Six I think we'd best be leaving!" Athena alerted.

Uzume blinked in confusion, "Who is that?" The brunette questioned. Since Six didn't have his helmet speakers off, Uzume was able to hear Athena's voice.

Six put his hand up, telling her to be quiet for a moment.

"What is it?"

"An MBI investigation team is on its way to this location." Athena was showing incoming helicopters on the screen from MBI's satellites.

"Why?" Six wondering what they're up too.

"Well, Six, to make a long story short. I've been hiding Toyotama from their surveillance ever since she left base. However, I didn't cover Uzume or the Whip twins. But I was able to prevent them from seeing the fight. Once they lost eyes on this construction site and lost Uzume's signal, they decided to send a team over here to investigate her disappearance," Athena explained.

"What do you mean I disappeared from their surveillance? … and seriously, who is talking in your helmet?" Uzume asked in confusion.

"I'll answer that later. First, let's get out of here, follow me.." Six said, leading the way with his two girls following behind him.

---

With MBI.

"We will be touching down in a moment, Madame." The pilot informed Takami.

Takami gave a slight nod to the pilot. Takami, along with several other MBI personnel, were sent to investigate a construction site where number 10 disappeared.

Earlier today, they were tracking her just fine; what was strange, when they were monitoring her, it looked like she was following somebody. Not long after, numbers 38 and 39 were tailing after her. No doubt in Takami's mind they were probably hunting her down and planning to bring her to Mikogami.

Once they got to the construction site, all three signals disappeared.

A couple of minutes later, numbers 38 and 39 reappeared, leaving the area with number 39 carrying an unconscious number 38.

However, number ten didn't reappear. A similar incident happened last week with number 88. Takami learned it was Six's Sekireis, more specifically, the lightning twins, they went after her again. Her son got caught in the crossfire again.

To Takami's misfortune, Number 88 winged herself to Minato. Knowing her son's luck, she should've expected something like this to happen; she didn't want him to get caught up in the madness…. What could be done, she guessed? The damage is already done.

Still, she was shocked to learn Noble Six was with him again! As she learned later, it was six who answered Minato's phone. In some ways, Six did her son a favor by letting himself talk to Minaka instead of Minato dealing with her boss directly.

It's been over a week since then. She and Homura are still waiting for word from Six when he can contact them.

Still, thinking about it, Takami wondered if this was a sign when Noble Six was around. Numbers 11, 12, and 16 disappeared when they became his Sekireis. They lost track of number 88 and her son briefly and now with Uzume, Mitsuha, and Mitsuki.

This could be a way MBI can track him, looking into the strange phenomenon. Part of her felt it was a risk to ally with him when they had never met and barely knew anything about him, where he was from, or who he worked for. He is the only Ashikabi in the city they don't control. Plus, there is the little threat number Six Homura told her if she ever crossed the Spartan.

Since this man could take on Sekirei, Takami couldn't help but feel if this man wanted her dead, he would make it happen.

The only person helping her in this messed up plan is number six, Homura. She needed more help, and so far, if they have any common ground, they are against Minaka's game. That seems to be the only thing uniting them for now.

There was also the name she'd been researching for a week, Halsey. She tried to find anyone with that name who had connections with making military-style armor and advanced technology. Like Noble Six, she found nothing about this Halsey. Even after a week, she still wonders why he called her by that name. Maybe once they meet face-to-face, she can ask him the very question.

The helicopter landed at the construction site, and Takami and her team immediately went to work examining the area. After a few minutes, it was clear to them there was a battle here. Finding battle damage here and there, they found pieces of Uzume's veil and some blood.

"Something happened here," Commented one of the staff.

"Question is, where is number 10?" Takami wondered.

They continued their investigation for a while longer, but still nothing. Then Takami's phone started ringing. Taking it out, she saw the I.D., it was her boss.

Answering it.

"Have you found number 10?" Minaka asked on the other end.

"No, we haven't. We were able to find pieces of her veil lying on the ground, however," Takami reported.

"Just her veil ?" Minaka replied.

"Yes, we've investigated the scene and concluded a battle did happen here just from some of the damage we have seen here," Takami said, looking around the construction site.

"It's such a shame we couldn't get it on Camera. Would've been an amazing battle to watch!" Minaka said, disappointed he missed a fantastic fight.

Takami silently groaned at his comment, before she could say anything, Minaka spoke again.

"You don't suppose number 10 took on 39 and 38 by herself, do you?" Minaka asks on the other end.

Takami could see where this was going. If she figured it out, then he figured it out.

"One unwinged sekirei fighting two winged sekirei and winning? highly unlikely." Takami halfheartedly, playing along with her boss.

"You don't suppose our armored friend got involved with helping number 10 fight off 38 and 39?" Minaka curiously asked.

"Unknown. We're still trying to determine what exactly happened here and where number 10 went off to," Takami said. Deep down inside, she believed it was Six, too. She just didn't want to admit it. She hoped her boss would be wrong for once, even though she knew he was not. She hates it! Wishes he was wrong more often, however, she is too wise to believe him to be wrong more than right.

"Well, I believe Six did get involved in this fight since our security observation of the area went down the same way when our tracking of number 88 and Minato went off-line for a while, and they ended up being with Six, even you would have to have noticed."

"We have yet to determine that," Takami replied...

"Oh, believe me, Takami. I know it's him, and we will find him soon. I love this cat-and-mouse game we are playing!" Minaka said with excitement.

Takami just rolled her eyes and lit her cigarette.

"Now he's got his fourth Sekirei!" Minaka announced happily in his obnoxious voice.

"Minaka, we don't even know what happened to number 10 even to assume that," Takami replied, unsure if the Spartan did wing number 10 or not. Since Uzume completely disappeared from MBI's network.

"We shall see. Report back to me if you find any else. Have a nice day." With that, Minaka hung up.

Takami breathed in more smoke from her cigarette before exhaling.

---

Sometime later.

Back with Six, Toyotama, and Uzume.

"This is where you guys have been staying? An old car factory?" Uzume questioned, standing at the main entrance of the factory. Uzume looked at the huge rundown building before them, not believing anybody would live there.

"That was our reaction when he brought us here." Toyotana said, getting the brunette's attention," It's not much, but it's home… still wish we got ourselves a penthouse."

"You still on the penthouse idea?" Six said with a little bit of annoyance.

"Hey, the twins and I don't want to spend the rest of our lives living here. We at least want to live in a proper home with you," Toyotama said, wanting to live in a more traditional house.

"We'll see." Six said, walking in through the entrance with Toyotama and his newest Sekirei following behind him.

"If you guys want to get out of here, you can come to stay with me at the Inn I live in?" Uzume suggested.

Toyotama's face lit up. "Really?" Not hiding her excitement, hearing what the brunette suggested.

The cloth user nodded." Yeah, there are rooms available for rent. We are always looking for new attendants. The only downside is my landlady has some strict rules that must be followed… especially towards sexual relationships." Uzume explained, empathizing with her words at the end.

Toyotama raised a curious eyebrow before," In other words, no sex allowed?"

Uzume sadly nodded, making the greenette sigh in disappointment," That's disappointing…. I was hoping to have our first time during the first night there." Toyotama depressingly said.

"Ha, ha, sorry to disappoint you… however, I'm disappointed too. Since." Uzume turned her attention to the Spartan. Seeing how tall he is. With his body covered in armor, she tried to imagine him without his armor shell and imagine him being very muscular, making her blush thinking about it, "I want to have a taste of him, too." The brunette said honestly.

Noble six couldn't help but silently groan. Hearing them wanting to have their way with him, though it did make him feel weird as this was still a relatively new experience for him to be in. No one has so openly lusted for him before, let alone so many people at once.

"Well… at least these are aliens who want a happy, healthy relationship with you instead of trying to kill you like the Covenant," Athena said, commenting on the conversation between Toyotama and Uzume.

Six didn't respond to the A.I.'s comment.

"Six, can we move in with Uzume?" Toyotama asked, hoping for him to say yes.

"I'll think about it." Six replied, approaching the garage entrance.

Before six opened the door," Athena contacted Hikari and Hibiki, text them to meet us in the lobby."

"Roger, sending them the message now." Replied Athena.

A couple of seconds later, they got a reply saying they would be right there. Six kneeled digging his fingers under the garage door.

Uzume saw what he was about to do. Looking at the door, it was heavy-duty, probably weighing more than a ton, and thinking he couldn't lift it. Uzume was about to offer her help before she could say anything.

"You may want to cover your ears." The Spartan replied. The moment he said that the staff user immediately covered her ears.

Uzume, confused, started to ask," What do you…?"

She got her answer when the Spartan lifted the door, causing that terrible screeching noise, forcing her to cover her ears.

After a while, the screeching stopped; Uzume uncovered her ears and saw the Spartan holding that heavy door up like it was nothing, which made her former blush on her face.

"Oh, my."

"Come on, let's get inside," Toyotama said, snapping the brunette out of it.

"Ah.. yeah." Uzume follows the staff user inside the factory garage. With them both inside, the Spartan closed the garage behind them.

Six led them through the factory into the main entrance, where Hikari and Hibiki awaited them.

"Six, we got your message wh….Uzume? What are you doing here?!" Hikari questioned, not expecting to see Uzume with six and Toyotama.

"What happened to you?" Hibiki said, concerned. The youngest twin saw Uzume's rough condition with her veil battle dress roughed up and covered in bandages.

From the corner of the youngest twin's eyes, she noticed Toyotama looked worst for wear as well. "And to you, too?"

"Two Sekireis from the South attacked us. They tried to forcefully take Uzume back to their master, to be forcefully winged." Toyotama said, telling them the truth.

"What!" Both sisters shouted in shock.

Uzume nodded, "It's true. Two Sekirei came after me and wanted to take me back to wing me to Mikogami forcibly." Uzume said, with disgust at the end.

Then, a smile appeared on the brunette's face. "Luckily, these two were here to save me." Looking at the Spartan and Toyotama.

"Why didn't you contact us earlier? We could've helped you fight them off!" Hikari said, wanting to help fight for her childhood friend.

"We would've been there in a heartbeat to save Uzume from that rich creep!" Hibiki said, not wanting to see her childhood friend forcefully winged by someone she was not destined to be with.

"We were able to handle them just fine. We outnumbered them 3 to 2. So, we had the tactical advantage." Six said.

"Well, You could've still had Athena contact us, regardless of whether you outnumber the enemy or not." Hikari countered.

"Who's Athena?" Uzume asked, puzzled, "Was it that mysterious voice I heard earlier from your helmet?"

"Classified for now." Six replied.

"Classified?" Uzume questioned.

"Get used to hearing that term a lot from him whenever he doesn't wanna tell you something," Toyotama said.

Uzume gave Six a curious look, "Secretive type, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." The sisters said in perfect unison. This made Uzume look at them and then back to Six, making her think about the kind of man she was bonded to.

"I see. Is there anything that isn't classified?" Uzume asked.

"I'll declassify only the things I want you to know." Six replied.

"Okay…" Uzume said with both uncertainty in her voice and off her face.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you bring Uzume here? Are you hiding her from the South?" Hibiki asked, wanting to know why Six brought Uzume to their home.

"Not exactly." Six said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hikari asked curiously.

Uzume looked at six. "You want me to tell them the news, or do you?"

"What news?" Hibiki asked confusedly.

Six took a deep breath." I'll tell them."

Six prepared himself as the sisters looked at him, curiously wondering what he would say.

"Uzume… is my new sekirei." Six finally said.

"Your new sekirei!" The sisters shouted in unison, not hiding their surprise.

Six expected them to react like this.

"She reacted to me, and I took her in." Six explained.

"Is this true!?" Hikari and her sister took their attention off Six to Uzume, who nodded happily.

"Yes, I reacted to him after they rescued me. I must say he's everything you guys say he is. Tall, muscular, and handsome." Uzume playfully said with a blush on her face, eyeing up the Spartan.

Hikari groaned, focusing on Six," You know me and my sister don't…."

"If I didn't take her in, she would've been hunted again." Six said with all seriousness.

Hikari went silent.

"Winging her was the only way I could protect her from the likes of Mikogami and Higa, too." Six reminded the hotheaded sister. Six glanced at Toyotama, mentioning Higa's name. He saw a bitter look on her face. Still holding a grudge of what happened a week ago. It didn't go unnoticed by the twins, especially Uzume.

"I know all of you have been competing for my attention. So please, I ask all of you to try and get along with Uzume. I don't ask much other than cooperation." Six pleaded, hoping for them to see reason.

There was a moment of silence until.

"I don't mind Uzume being part of the flock," Hibiki said, making her older sister look at her, a little surprised at her sister's statement.

"Hibiki.."

"Sis, I know we never wanted to be part of a flock, just the two of us with our Ashikabi. At this point, what we wanted is ruined now. We grew up with Uzume. She was pretty much like another sister to us." Hibiki said with a smile.

Hikari, thinking about what her sister said. It was true. Uzume was like another sister to them, growing up together in MBI's labs. Remembering all the times they were used to run around the labs, causing trouble for the scientist, she had very fond memories of those days.

Taking a deep breath, Hikari said, "As much as I don't like the idea of more competition. Uzume, I welcome you into the flock."

Uzume smiled, "Thank you, Hikari." The brunette said, giving a nod.

Hikari then looks towards Six, "Since Uzume is a friend of my sister and me, I'm willing to look past this. Just promise me that you will wing no more after her."

"As long as another doesn't react to me." Six replied. Hoping no more reacted to him.

"Let's hope no more do," Hikari replied, hoping for the same.

Six just nodded at her comment. Then he turned his attention to Uzume. "Now we're in a safe place to talk. I owe you an explanation."

Uzume nodded," I'll say. What are you?"

"I'll tell you in a moment. First, let's get you some clothes." Six said, looking at her roughed-up attire.

Uzume looked down at herself." Oh, yeah. At least my panties survived. However... I left the rest of my clothing behind at the construction site." Uzume sadly said at the end.

"You can borrow some of our clothes for the time being, "Toyotama offered.

"You sure?" Uzume asked.

Toyotama nodded, "I don't mind lending you some, and it's not like you can just walk around in your panties."

"You can borrow some from us too if you want if nothing from Toyotama fits you," Hibiki added.

"Thank you guys, your the best!" Uzume gratefully for their hospitality.

"No problem." Toyotama said.

"Toyotama." Six said, getting her attention.

"Yes, Six?"

"I want to look at that wound on your back." Six wanted to look at the injury she received from number 38.

"Wound? You got injured ?" Hikari asked.

Toyotama nodded and turned to show the twins the injury she received in the fight. Moving her hair out of the way the twins saw the back of her shirt was ripped up and a long bloody gash mark going down her back in a straight line.

"Ouch! Looked like it hurt!" Hikari commented, cringing a bit seeing how nasty that wound looked.

"Yeah, the bitch I was up against used whips and landed a good one on my back." Toyotama bitterly said, still feeling the pain from her wound.

"I'm sorry you got hurt trying to help protect me from them," Uzume said regretfully, seeing the ugly wound Toyotama received from trying to save her from the south.

"It's fine. No big deal; I wouldn't let those creeps take you away. Because it almost happened to me once." Toyotama said with a bit of bitterness in her voice, remembering when Ichiya and the other two Eastern Sekireis came after her.

A sympathetic look developed on Uzume's face, "When Higa sent his Sekireis after yo….!"

Uzume instantly put her hands over her mouth. Shocked she almost blurted out what Matsu showed her in MBI's report of what happened during the night when Toyotama met Six.

Toyotama looked at Uzume in shock, and even the twins looked puzzled at the brunette.

"How do you know Higa was the one who came after me? I only ever told Hikari and Hibiki what happened. Not you." Toyotama questioned the veil user.

"We never told her anything about that either." Hikari said before looking at her sister, "Did you?"

Hibiki nodded. "I never told her anything either."

"So if you didn't tell her. Then how did you know?" Toyotama suspiciously and curiously asked Uzume.

Uzume started to get nervous as sweat went down her forehead again. She was trying to come up with a quick lie. It didn't help when she saw the Spartan visor staring at her again, with her nervous face reflecting off of it.

For Six. Right, there was probably the proof he needed to know Uzume was working with Matsu. Since Athena told him earlier about Matsu hacking into MBI systems and Uzume most likely has a close relationship with number two, it was safe to assume she knew something. No doubt Matsu got her hands on the report of what happened the night he met Toyotama and showed it to Uzume.

Uzume took a deep breath and nervously said, "I guessed."

"You guessed?" In disbelief, Toyotama and even the twins said it all together in perfect unison, not believing what she had just said.

"Hear me out before we fought the southern Sekireis. I remember one of them asking about Toyotama if you were winged. This gave me the idea that this was your first time dealing with them. Then, when you said this happened to you, too. I figured it was the East." Uzume nervously said, stuttering over her words a bit. Hoping they would buy the story.

Toyotama and the twins just stared at her, unsure whether or not to believe her story.

Six knew it was a complete lie from beginning to end.

"I… guess that makes sense?" Toyotama wasn't sure if she bought Uzume's excuse.

Even the sisters looked unsure. "If that's the case, that's the best lucky guess I've ever seen," Hikari said, scratching her head.

Hibiki nodded in agreement with her sister.

"If we're done here, let's get moving. Hikari and Hibiki, I want one of you to help Uzume find something to wear, and I want one of you to help Toyotama with her wound." Six ordered, wanting to move things along.

The sisters nodded.

"I'll help Uzume." Said Hibiki.

"Then I'll go help Toyotama." Said Hikari.

Before they proceeded, Totoyama spoke up.

"Six, wait," Toyotama said, getting his attention.

"What is it?" Six asked.

"Instead of Hikari taking care of my wound, How about you give me medical attention instead?" Toyotama asked, wanting her Ashikabi to look over her injuries.

"What!? you got a problem with me treating your wound!" Hikari sounded offended.

Six held up his hand, quieting Hikari.

"Any specific reason why you want me to look over you?" Six asked, even though he probably had a good idea where this was going.

"I feel more comfortable if you looked after my wound," Toyotama replied secretly, wanting to be alone with him.

For the other three Sekireis, it was obvious what the greenette wanted.

"Oh, I didn't know I made you so uncomfortable," Hikari replied, responding to her rival's remark. "Or is it just you want to be alone with him? That it?"

Toyotama glared at her in response.

"If that's what you want, Hikari, go help your sister find Uzume something to wear." Six takes control of the situation before another fight could happen between his two most competitive Sekireis.

"Wait?! You're just going to give her what she wants?!" Hikari was caught off guard, not expecting him to give Toyotama what she wanted.

"If it stops you two from having another spat, then yes." Six replied, not in the mood to deal with their antics.

Hikari could only groan in annoyance. She could argue with him, however, after being with Six for a week. She knew arguing with him would be pointless.

Toyotama developed a smug smile, seeing she was getting what she wanted. That look on her face just pissed the oldest twin off.

"Come on, Hikari, let's find Uzume something to wear," Hibiki said, wanting to stop her sister before she started something. Deep down inside, though, she did share her sister's jealousy when it came to Toyotama being alone with their Ashikabi.

"Ah… yeah, let's get going. I don't want to be in these rags any longer," Uzume said. Just like Hibiki, Uzume wanted to stop the two before they could start anything. Well aware of the rivalry between them. Even though she would be lying if she said, she didn't feel a little jealous herself.

Hikari huffed, "Whatever." With that said, Hikari and her sister took Uzume to their room to see if they could find her something to wear. Leaving Six and Toyotama all alone.

"Finally, we're all alone," Toyotama said in a flirty voice.

"Indeed." Six did not share her enthusiasm, "Take your shirt off." Six ordered, taking out the medical kit again.

Toyotama happily complied with his order, taking her shirt off, stripping to her birthday suit, and letting her shirt fall to the floor.

"Do you like what you see?" Toyotama tried to flirt with him, showing off her topless body.

Six ignored what she said as he placed the medical kit on a nearby table.

Toyotama sighed, seeing him, ignoring her advances.

Taking out some disinfectant and more bandages. He realized he was starting to get low on medical supplies. Another thing to add to his list of supplies to take from MBI's.

Before he applied any disinfectant and bandages, Six picked up Toyotama's ruined shirt and used it as a rag to wipe away the blood. Once he cleaned the wound, he threw away the shirt and took the disinfectant.

"This might sting a little." He warned as he applied it to her wound.

Toyotama felt the stinging sensation of the disinfectant, making her twitch a little and a few grunts in pain. For the most part, she toughened through it.

Once Six was done applying the disinfectant, he grabbed what was left of the bandages in the medical kit.

"Arms up." Six ordered. Toyotama complied, lifting her arms, making it easy for him to wrap bandages around her.

Six started wrapping them around Toyotama's torso.

" You know something, Uzume is right. For such a huge guy, you are gentle." Toyotama trying to start some small talk and flirt with the Spartan.

"Really?" Six replied as he focused on giving Toyotama medical attention.

Toyotama nodded, "The first night we met when you first patched me up, I found you surprisingly gentle. For such a huge, strong guy. Deep down inside, you must be a gentle giant." Toyotama honestly believes a strong man like him has secret a gentle side behind all that armor.

Six just shrugged, "You were badly hurt that night and needed medical attention. I was trained to apply medical attention to a wounded comrade on the field." Six replied as he continued with his current task.

Toyotama sighed, As always, he pays my flirting no mind.' She internally said.

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Six stopped in front of her and took his attention to her.

"What do you mean?" Six asked.

"Just…I… you know what, never mind." Toyotama slumped.

Six knew from the tone of his Sekirei's voice and her body language with the way she had her head down, something on her mind.

Six finished by wrapping the rest of the bandages around her torso, putting the rest of the medical supplies away in the medical kit, and placing it back on his armor.

"There. We'll let your wound heal overnight and check on it tomorrow morning." Six said as he put the supplies away.

"Okay," Toyotama replied with her head still slumped.

"I can tell there's something on your mind. If there's something, you can tell me. I'm willing to listen." Six asked, wanting to know what was on his partner's mind.

Toyotama took her attention to Six. She thought about what she wanted to say to him, choosing her words carefully, "Six… I want to know. Do you care about me?"

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Yes."

Toyotama perked up her head to look at the Spartan with an anxious look.

"You and the others are my comrades." Six said.

"Comrades?"

Six nodded, "I view every one of you as my fellow Spartans."

Toyotama looked at him curiously, "You only see us as fellow Spartans."

"Yes, I view you all as fellow Spartans in arms, with whom I am honored to fight side-by-side." Six honestly answered.

Toyotama blushed slightly," I'm… honored to fight by your side, too, my Ashikabi."

"Likewise, now let's go check on the others." Six said, leading the way with her following right behind him.

Toyotama, at the moment, felt honored to know he viewed her as a fellow warrior. However, Toyotama had a feeling he didn't see them as a love interest. She still remembers last week when he said they weren't fated to be together and that argument they had afterward. She had a feeling he still believed that.

Before she could dwell any further on the subject, she felt the vibration in her pants pocket, took out her phone, and saw the text.

It said, 'Don't lose hope.'

Toyotama was confused by the message at first until she realized who sent it, which brought a smile to her face.

---

At the same time as this conversation was going on.

The twins took Uzume to their room.

"Here is our room," Hikari said, opening the door and holding it open, letting Uzume and her sister walk through before closing the door behind them.

Uzume entered and got a good look at the room. It was an empty office room with four futons on the floor as it was the only furniture in there, " "Now I see why you told me classified when I asked where you lived."

Both sisters couldn't help but slump at her comment.

"It may not be much… at least it's livable." Hibiki was trying to sound optimistic.

"Says you. I still say we should have found somewhere better to live. But no, our Ashikabi insisted that we stay here." Hikari said, not sharing her sister's enthusiasm.

"I was just talking to Toyotama on the way in. I told her about moving into the Inn I'm currently living at, since she told me you all want to get out of here." Uzume said informing them about moving into Izumo Inn.

Uzume's proposal got the interest of the Twins.

"Hmm, doesn't sound like a bad idea moving in with you. I welcome it!" Hikari said, hearing the possibility of getting out of this rundown factory.

Hibiki nodded with her sister, "Nice as it sounds, we should wait till what Six has to say about the matter."

"Hopefully, he lets us move in with Uzume. I want to get out of this dump as soon as possible." Hikari said. Thinking about it, "Then again, knowing him, he will probably say no." Hikari depressingly sulked, predicting his answer.

"Sounds about right." Hibiki sulked with her sister, having the same realization.

"Let me talk to him. Maybe I can convince him to move in." Uzume happily said, wanting to help her childhood friends, now her bonded sisters out.

The sisters nodded, "Let's hope you can convince him. Since he is the stubborn type."

" I'll see if I can get him to take a tour of the place. Seeing the better living conditions would make him consider." Uzume said.

Both sisters nodded at what she said.

Hibiki then walked over to the closet and opened it up, revealing their clothing.

"The stuff on the right is mine, the clothing in the middle is my sisters, and to the left is Toyotama's. Pick whatever you want that fits you." Hibiki offered.

"Thank you. I'll make sure to give this back." Uzume said, going through the closet to see what she liked.

"Not a worry," Hibiki replied.

Uzume tried different clothing for a few minutes, checking certain shirts and putting them up against her body to see if they would fit her in another, grabbing one from either Toyotama or the sisters.

As Uzume was rummaging, "Your Ashikabi….Our Ashikabi. I have so many questions about him, and I don't know where to begin. The more important question is, what is he? Is he human or something else? The brunette asked curiously, wondering what exactly her ashikabi truly was, hoping the twins would give her some answers.

"Well,….. he is kind of hard to explain," Hikari said, rubbing her head, wondering if she should tell Uzume what they know about Six or just let him.

"I figure a 7-foot-tall giant in armor would be hard to explain." Uzume humorlessly said, "I'm just asking what is he?" The brunette was serious for a moment.

"We do know he's human, that's for sure," Hibiki knowingly said.

"Then how is he able to take on a Sekirei? Is it his armor? Like, is it some super-powered suit able to take us on?" Uzume curiously asked, wondering how he could match a sekirei.

"Hmm, somewhat," Hikari replied.

"What do you mean somewhat?" Uzume raised a curious eyebrow.

"Look, I think it's just best to let him explain to you what he is and where he's from because me, my sister, and even Toyotama have a rough time believing his story… even though he keeps a lot of it, to himself or should I say, doesn't share much of it at all since he says 'classified' most of the damn time," Hikari explained.

Hibiki nodded with her sister, "Every time we ask him something about himself, he just dismisses it. Like this."

The twins prepared themselves to do a little skit of their interrogations of Six.

"What are you?" Hibiki started.

"Classified," Hikari said.

"Where are you from?" Hibiki said again

Hikari replied," Classified."

"What do you do for a living?" Hibiki.

"Classified." Hikari.

"OK, I think I get the point," Uzume said with a little laugh since that skit of theirs was a little funny.

After that, things got silent. Uzume went back, continuing to look through their clothes.

A few minutes later, Uzume found something that fit her. Uzume put on a Black tank top from Toyotama. Like her, the tank top hugged the brunette's chest in all the right areas, and a pair of jean shorts from Hikari. Just like her capri jeans, showed off her ass pretty nicely.

"There, good as new," Uzume said, checking herself out in her new wear, "Thank you for lending me some clothes." Uzume gratefully said, taking her attention back to the sisters.

"Eh, no problem. We were happy to help." Hikari said.

Then, they heard a knock at the door.

"It's me. Can we come in?" Said six on the other side.

"Yes. It's all right to come in." Hibiki answered.

Upon hearing her answer, the door opened. Toyotama walked in first, with Six behind her, shutting the door behind them.

"I see my shirt fits you nicely," Toyotama said, seeing the brunette wearing one of her tank tops.

"Yes, it does. I'll ensure you get this back when I'm done with it." Uzume promised.

"Hey, you can keep it as long as you want. I'm in no rush to get it back right away." Toyotama said, walking over to the closet, taking out a fresh T-shirt, and putting it on.

"Uzume." Six getting the brunette's attention.

Uzume and everyone else in the room took their attention to the x-lone wolf.

"Before I begin, I should introduce you to Athena now." Six said.

"Yeah, who exactly is she, another one of your Sekireis?" Uzume asked curiously, even though there were barely any, if not any, Sekirei with a Western name, only just Japanese.

Toyotama and the sisters started snickering, which made Uzume look at them in bewilderment.

"Why are you guys snickering?" Uzume asked.

"Oh, she's not a Sekirei, that's for sure." Answered Hikari.

"Before you see her, she's not a ghost." Replied Hibiki.

"Not a ghost? What are you guys talking about?" Uzume was completely confused about what they were talking about.

"You'll see. Trust me, you'll get a kick out of her," Replied Toyotama.

"Ah… Okay, so, umm. Where is she then?"

"Right over here." Spoke a familiar female voice Uzume heard earlier today.

Uzume turned her attention to where the source of the voice came from and found herself staring at six again.

Uzume was baffled. She didn't see a woman behind six or anyone else in the room before she could even say anything.

She saw Six reach for something on the back of his helmet. He then held out in front of him to show it to the brunette.

Uzume saw what looked like to be some advanced computer chip or something.

"What's this?"

"It's me?" What happened next, Uzume saw a ghostly image of a beautiful young woman with long red hair, green eyes, and wearing ancient armor from either ancient Rome or Greece.

Upon seeing this aberration, Uzume could only stare at this ghostly image of a woman with wonderment and curiosity.

"What… is this?" Uzume muttered, not hiding the surprise in her voice. "This is Athena?…. She's not a ghost?" Uzume asked curiously, not taking her eyes off of the A.I., who sighed a bit, being called a ghost for the third time by another one of Six's girls.

"Didn't I just tell you she's not a ghost?" Hibiki reminded.

"I wasn't even sure what you were talking about…. Till I saw her... If she's not a ghost, then what is she?" Uzume asked.

Athena smirked, and before she had a chance to say anything.

"She's a magical A.I. Duh," Hikari answered.

"Magical….., A.I.? Wha…?" Uzume looked at Hikari as if she had grown another arm or head.

"An artificial intelligence. That's what Athena is." Said Six, this time, everyone paid attention to him.

"Hey, I can introduce and explain myself to Uzume. Thank you very much!" The synthetic pouted, a little irritated with everyone explaining what she is.

"Then all means." Six said, letting her do the talking.

"Thank you," Athena said, taking her attention back to Uzume.

"Uzume, please let me properly introduce…." Athena stopped midsentence when she saw the veiled Sekirei taking one of her fingers and started poking Athena, only for her finger to go right through the light. hologram"What are you doing?"

Uzume didn't respond at first, and then she just started waving her hand through Athena, messing up the hologram of her.

"Can you please stop?" Athena politely asked.

Uzume retracted her hand. "Sorry. Couldn't resist," Uzume apologized with an innocent laugh.

Athena, finding her composure, said, "Let me properly introduce myself. I am Athena. The artificial intelligence residing in your Ashikabi's armored systems. More importantly, I'd like to congratulate you for bonding or marriage, whichever you prefer, with the big guy here." Athena humored.

Six rolled his eyes when Athena mentioned marriage when he didn't view these bonds as such.

"Umm… thank you for congratulating me, Athena-San." Uzume happily said with some uncertainty since she didn't know how to feel about being thanked by technically a machine.

Speaking of machines.

"So you're A.I.? I have heard of artificial intelligence before… I didn't think something as advanced as you was out there?"

"Well, I am the only smart A.I. like this in existence right now," Athena replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Six spoke up, "Uzume, what we are about to tell you will be hard to comprehend."

"Hard to comprehend? I mean an advanced A.I. living in an armored suit belonging to a 7-foot-tall giant. Isn't that hard to comprehend." Uzume feels like the situation is strange enough and wonders how much stranger it could get.

"Trust us." Toyotama getting the brunette's attention.

"He told all three of us, even we had a rough time believing him," Toyotama said with the sisters, nodding in agreement with her.

"When you hear it, it sounds like science fiction," Hikari said.

"Or from manga and anime," Hibiki interjected

Hikari shrugged, "Same thing."

Uzume just looked at them weirdly before she could say anything.

"Let me start explaining." Six said, wanting no more distractions.

"Okay, big guy. So, what's your story so I can understand what they're talking about? " Uzume asked, putting one of her hands on her hip.

Six nodded, "Okay, the first thing you should know is that I am not from around here."

---

Notes .

As I said in a previous notes a while back, I have Chiho covered.

Big thanks to 4Alucard for editing and The Son of Sparda 343 for writing the battle scene .