037c - ...So many enemies

Hot.

The world was sweltering.

Fire raged, burning brightly all around. Unbowed, untamed and unwieldy. It refused to fit a leash, it refused to be controlled, it refused to be held captive.

And thus, it burned, he burned, the world burned. That's the nature of fire.

He's usually capable of controlling it, of guiding it into doing his bidding, but… It's never been easy. Always struggling to enforce his will, always aware of the risk of all hell breaking loose the moment his resolve wavers… A Sekirei who cannot control his own element, what a joke he is.

All because a fool in a lab coat gets a high by playing god.

Orange tongues climb up his sleeves, and it's all he can do to throw them away to keep them from eating at him. The flames lash against a concrete wall, incapable of finding purchase but somehow managing to bite into the surface before fading away. What a frightening power he carries, destruction without peer indeed. But what's the point of this power when his flames will snap at anything and everything, even biting into his own flesh?

Smoke wafts off his lips and nose as he lets out a long breath, finally managing to calm down his loose element, to settle the raging flames down and put a lid into the burning furnace that's his core. Controlling his own powers has been getting harder and harder the longer he spends unwinged, but this episode has been rougher than anything he's ever experienced before.

And he knows why.

A pair of blue eyes, full of fear but shining with determination. That's all it took to set the world on fire.

(His Destined One.)

"Ah, so it was you, after all." A familiar voice echoes through the empty alleyway, making him immediately tense in preparation for an ambush. "Thought as much, but I didn't want to assume."

Saying he relaxes upon seeing a familiar dark-skinned woman emerge from the shadows would be an overstatement. It would be more accurate to say he's settling down from the edge of violence into mere wariness.

"Yahan." He grunts as a way of greeting, voice hoarse and throat sore after just getting his fire under control.

"Quite the fiery accident you had here." Yahan continues, undeterred by his curtness. "Does that happen often?"

"Sometimes." He grunts again. "There is a reason I hate Minaka and his MBI."

What's he doing? He's in no mood to hold a verbal spar with the cat-like Sekirei, he's in no state to be holding a verbal spar at all. He should just turn around and leave. Yahan won't follow him home, she's smug and annoying, but not suicidal enough to try shit in Miya's territory.

"No shit, that gotta suck big time." Yahan whistles in incredulity as she looks around the burnt and ruined alleyway. "I'd be livid too if… this was how I Reacted to my Destined One."

In spite of the casual, almost negligent tone of the comment, these words have Homura freezing in place. His mind starts going a thousand miles per hour as he tries to figure out how to answer. He wasn't expecting to be called out on that, much less so soon. He's barely figured it out himself– No, scratch that, he's still figuring it out!

How is he supposed to react when he hasn't had the time to process the idea yet? How's that fair!?

"That's… quite the leap of logic." He answers in the end, carefully keeping his expression neutral. "Any reason in particular you jumped into that conclusion?"

"Besides it being obvious? Wait, don't tell me it was supposed to be a secret?" Yahan asks with incredulity. "Oh, that's a good one. Yukari might be too busy making googly eyes at you to notice, but you haven't been particularly subtle with your interest either, you know?"

"I'll have you know I'm confident on my poker face." Homura protests, maybe a bit too waspishly. Having something you were confident about getting laughed at like this isn't exactly a nice feeling. "My subtlety seems to work well enough with most people."

"Most people don't really care, it's easy to trick them into missing what they aren't expecting to see, but…" Yahan shrugs, an infuriating smirk on her lips as she uses both hands to point at herself. "Shadow Sekirei here. I know a thing or two about subterfuge."

"... Right." He drawls out with his best deadpan. He might've been caught off-guard, but he refuses to fall into her pace. "I'll keep that in mind in the future."

"You do that. So!" She wraps both hands behind her back and bounces closer, invading his personal space. "Are you going to kiss Yukari or what?"

(Yes, as soon as he can!)

"Even assuming you are right… That might be unwise." He says instead, stubbornly holding to his denial. There's no way Yahan knows anything for sure and he refuses to make things easier for her. "I'm an untamed wildfire. My power might burn my Ashikabi down."

"Or maybe that's exactly what you need to be tamed." Yahan shoots back, an insufferably knowing smirk on her lips. "I doubt MBI would've released you otherwise."

"You underestimate their incompetence." Homura grits his teeth. Yahan might've guessed right that Winging is his best bet to get his fire under control, but that doesn't mean MBI wouldn't have released him anyway. "Besides, I'm not sure I want to be Winged at all, in the first place."

"That why you work in a host club?" Yahan fires off with a knowing grin. "A great way to avoid accidentally meeting your Ashikabi, that one. I can see how arranging your life around a job that has you meeting lots and lots of people will help with that."

"..."

"In case it wasn't clear, I'm being sarcastic."

"You just want a powerhouse on your side."

"Another powerhouse would be nice, but I'm perfectly capable of wanting more than one thing at the same time. And Yukari would look at me all disappointed if I tried to play that sort of shitty games with my flockmates."

"I'll… think about it. Later." Homura begrudgingly relents before turning around and start walking out of the alley. "Now leave me alone."

"That's all I ask. But don't think for too long, okay?" Yahan calls from behind him. "Knowing Yukari, she'll be kicking down Mikogami's front door by tomorrow. We could use the extra firepower."

Yes, that sounds exactly like something that girl would do. When If he ends up throwing his lot with them, he'll have to make sure they don't rush into that half-cocked. Mikogami might've lost a lot of his chaff today, but he still has Mutsu. And the danger a member of the original Disciplinary Squad represents cannot be understated.

Maybe he should have some words with Sahashi Minato when he gets back home? The two of them are siblings, so hopefully some assistance can be arranged.

… And speaking of family, Takami is going to kill him when she hears about this.

On a dreary and dark alleyway within the Eastern confines of Shinto Teito, a foolish girl dressed in a ragged shrine maiden costume struggles against the metal restraints holding her hands and feet and keeping her pinned against a wall. Her hair is a wild reddish mane and her eyes are sharp and full of impotent rage. To her sides, two impractically big scissor-like blades lie on the ground, discarded and forgotten.

In front of her stands a child of the night, elegant and beautiful within her element. Her silken, ashen hair flows under the gentle breeze that also makes the frills of her gorgeous purple dress quiver. Purple eyes full of majestic disdain look down on the pathetic creature that was foolish enough to challenge her tonight.

Magnificent metal wings would usually accompany Suigintou to complete the picture, but they had to be dispensed with this one time because she needs all her metal under her feet to stand on if she wants to look down on the needlessly tall fool who challenged her due to unrelated reasons.

This impressive scene out of a best-seller novel bears two witnesses. The first is a lost bird kneeling on a corner, shaking like a leaf as she watches the exchange with wide eyes. The second is Suigintou's Accomplice, whose arms are comfortingly wrapped around the lost bird so she can whisper reassuring nothings into her ear.

Suigintou isn't so proud that she won't admit it when someone else is better suited for a task than herself. Comforting hurt and scared Sekirei has never been a part of her not-so-modest array of skills.

The relative silence of the darkened alleyway is broken by the imperious words of the child of the night. "This unwinged bird isn't yours to claim."

"You'll regret this, you two!" Instead of cowering under rightful chastisement and trying to earn forgiveness, the fool snaps fiercely. "Higa-sama doesn't take kindly to self-righteous nobodies interfering with his business inside his own territory. He'll find your Ashikabi and—!"

Suigintou's eyes twitch.

*Crunch*

It happens in the blink of an eye. The metal spire she was standing on becomes an enormous, wickedly sharp metal claw that rushes ahead to squeeze the loudmouth into the building. The thick nails sink into the concrete wall with ease, turning the relatively tame restraints into a full-body bind that barely leaves room to breathe.

"Was that a threat, scum?" She asks idly, walking the few feet between her and the worm who dared threaten her Ashikabi. "It certainly felt like a threat to me."

"Ghhrrk!" The fool lets out, threatening to spread her spittle all over the alleyway.

"Now, that's just rude. I asked a question, scum." Suigintou insists, a mere twitch of her will making the claw's already oppressive grip tighten even further. "And I expect an answer."

"Ghack!" Blood is ever-so-slightly more satisfying than spittle…

"What do you think, Yashima?" She asks next, ignoring the fool to turn towards her Accomplice. "Did that sound like a threat to you?"

"U-Um… I don't think she really meant that?" Her Accomplice answers hesitantly, clearly more at ease soothing frightened Sekirei than delving into the nitty-gritty parts of protecting others. "The Sekirei Plan isn't supposed to involve our Ashikabi directly. Going after them is against the rules."

"You are way too soft, sister." She huffs (fondly) indulgently, before side-eyeing the fool. "And you, scum. Pick up your things and leave. We are done here."

At her mental command, the metal claw dissolves into liquid and returns to her, finally allowing the fool to collapse into the ground to cough for breath. This… this might very well be the last time they can afford to be merciful. Izumi Higa will no doubt hear about this incident and the pressure in the area will increase. Escalation is now inevitable.

Shaking her head, she sets such thoughts aside for the moment to focus on the present. That is, the slowly calming down lost chick they just saved for the fool.

"Number 94, Kujou. You are safe for now, but the streets are dangerous for lone Sekirei." She states, toning her natural aloofness for the sake of the still shivering girl as much as her pride would allow. "Are you sure you don't want to meet our Ashikabi? I'm sure she won't mind extending her magnanimous protection to you."

"A-Ano… I'm sorry, but I'm already reacting to someone." The chick at least has the good sense of being polite in her refusal. "Thank you for the offer, but I'd like to keep looking for them."

"Far be it for us to get in the way of Fate." She nods cooly. "Just remember what we did for you tonight."

As she watches Number 94 get up and slowly walk away, her mind goes back to the inevitable degradation of the situation and incoming hostilities.

…

…

… Maybe it's time to take Four Eyes' advice and pay a visit to the North?

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