Shattered Blade

by DrakeValkyr

After several years of traveling the world's battlefields, Enforcer Shirou Emiya finds himself in Shin Tokyo. Leave it to him to go on vacation and end up trapped in yet another battle royal between magical beings. Inspired by Gabriel Blessing's In Flight.

5. Chapter 5: The Hunt for the Green Girl

Chapter 5

*Story Start*

She lay there broken, wrapped up in red stained gauze. Her heavy plastic respirator fogged, obscuring her pale and bloodless face. Her labored breathing in time with steady beep that meant she still lived. Each heavy tone of the machine was another nail in the coffin. I should have known better than to trust the participants or moderator, this wasn't the first time innocents were involved, after all.

The doctors said it took several hours for her to come out of critical condition. For most of those hours we didn't even know anything was wrong, during which I had been joking and arguing with Minato and Yukari. I had been thinking about Karasuba and of Yukari's celebration, continuing in this carefree life I had stumbled into so many weeks ago. I am utterly contemptible.

She was an ugly tangle of wires and tubes: Blood transfusions, intravenous drips, heart monitor, respirator.

I should have known.

I should have acted sooner.

I should have done something.

How long did I stay here, knowing that my very presence, my existence would doom these people. Even worse, how long had I left these things wandering around unchecked? I had stood back leaving it for someone else to handle things, because I wanted, selfishly, to preserve the time I had with these wonderful strangers. I had put everyone in danger.

Again.

My gut roiled in rebellion and shakily I swallowed my heart back down. I knew that these things were a danger. I knew that innocent lives would be lost, and yet still I waited. I did nothing. It wasn't time yet, I told myself. It wasn't my job. Wasn't my fight.

She had crescent shaped wounds carved all over her body. The wounds were shallow, but long and plentiful. She almost bled to death by the time MBI responded and evacuated her to one of their medical facilities.

Blood had been spilt, just like I thought, like I knew it would be. And where was I? I knew this place would become a bigger, worse Fuyuki. And what had I done? They wouldn't tell me how many people had died in the attack that almost claimed Takami, but I still knew.

Seven.

A low whine of protest rose between the mechanical hums and beeps, the metal footrest of the bed creaking under my tightened grip. I relaxed the trigger, unconsciously pulled, in my head. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, not with Servants around, but the number of lives lost only compounded my failures. Seven people I could have saved. Seven families were in mourning. I felt each death a curse. They might not have told me, but they couldn't stop me from seeing the white shrouds, stained red from the multitude of wounds. Some of the covered bodies were in pieces.

They were toyed with, the thing that did this to them was playing, reveling in their pain and suffering. Blood pooled between my clenched teeth. I had let this happen. What had I done when my suspicions had been confirmed? I played around with Minato and his Servant instead of hunting down the other masters. I cooked and talked with Karasuba and the strange young woman I had decided to take in.

I was pretty far down the path. It wasn't a new revelation. I accepted that you can't save everyone. Sometimes, you needed to kill in order to save. I realized how hypocritical this made me. I acknowledge this, yet still I continued…

Was this the anger, the disgust and self-loathing I felt the same as what Archer looked at me/himself with?

I misjudged MBI as well. I yielded to them the burden, the duty that I had carried all these years. I thought that a company, a major conglomerate, would have been able to track and monitor their pets. That they could protect the citizens they had endangered in this shadow war. But the war was no longer in the shadows, and with its revelation came the loss of human lives.

"How are your siblings?"

I turned, startled at the voice. If not for my death grip on the metal footrest I might have swung at whoever it was brave or dumb enough to interrupt my vigil. It wouldn't do to knock out yet another doctor. 'Wasn't allowed to be in here,' my ass.

But the man behind me was no doctor. "Minaka-san?" The CEO wore what he must have thought was a majestic white suit, the outlandish and rather tasteless cape was folded over his arm; probably as a concession to visiting his comatose employee. My body coiled, rebelling against itself as half of me wanted nothing more than to strangle this man for his stupidity and mine, while the other tried to respond with the proper respect my heritage instilled. The latter side won as I responded, my voice tight. "As well as you can expect. Minato left sometime last night, but Yukari is still at the apartment. I think she finally went to sleep once Takami's condition improved. I left a friend to comfort her."

More bitterness sunk in my chest, drowning me. I had chosen to remain with Yukari and Minato instead of doing the duty I knew I had to, and was powerless to offer them anything as my mistakes came back to bite me.

Some of my thoughts must have shown on my face as Minaka stepped past me to lay a hand on Takami's bed side. "Don't beat yourself up, Ichirou-kun. There wasn't anything you could have done. Besides, Takami-kun is the strongest person I know and I have the best available people working on her. She'll pull through stronger than ever, just you watch." I felt like hitting him, felt like hitting myself, and did neither.

The two of us slipped into a tense silence. He didn't take his eyes of Takami, but then again neither did I. This exchange of empty platitudes was difficult, but then again I guess he wasn't expecting anyone to be down here to interrupt him.

Too bad. A part of me wanted to grab him by his tasteless white lapels and shake him, demand what he was going to do about this. Another part said to kill him and do his job for him. Most of all I wondered why he was here. Did he visit the bedside of every employee almost killed by the Sekirei? Did he feel the weight of his responsibility like I did? I couldn't tell from peripherally looking at him, nor did I have any insight into his character.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked, ignoring the impolite thoughts clamoring for attention. Drowning the anger in sorrow and guilt. This was his responsibility too, since if it weren't for the involvement of his company maybe Takami never would have been attacked. Maybe there would never have been these creatures in the city.

Breaking the silence seemed to snap him out of his thoughts as his entire demeanor changed. Where before he was inscrutable looking down on Takami, he now turned to me with a wide, playful grin. "While Takami is resting, I'm going to do what needs to be done. It's very impolite to mess with someone who works for the Game Master. Now there is need for an appropriate penalty." Never mind, I was going to hit him. "Besides, it's about time for the ground teams to report in. Meetings, meetings, meetings. A word of advice, son, never go into corporate; they just don't let you have any fun. Alas, duty calls and I must be off."

I didn't hit him, despite how much I wanted to or possibly should have.

With his piece said and vigil complete, and one last inscrutable look at Takami, he turned and left the room. I turned back to Takami and my thoughts, mulling over what just happened. I may have been mistaken. He was taking actions to control the situation, even if it was too late to help. I could hold him responsible, and in many was he was, but he was also taking steps to rectify the situation. Isn't that what I should be doing too?

He was wrong of course. There was something I could have done. There were things I should have done, but didn't. However, what made me dwell on his words were not the feelings of recrimination that had been consuming me since last night. Rather, what consumed me now was anger. I may have done nothing to stop this attack, but that didn't mean there was nothing I could do. My rage fueled my purpose, guided my mind. If MBI was just as incompetent a moderator in this war as the one I lived through, then I would take up the mantle. The lives of those seven souls and the wounds Takami received would be avenged. The blood spilt in vengeance would be a warning for all those who would think do endanger the innocent or attack with disregard. After all, there were things that 'had to be done.'

With a final farewell to my mother I turned from her bed and marched out the door, purpose giving haste to my steps.

"Those are some interesting eyes you have Sahashi-kun." Karasuba greeted me as I stepped out of the ward. She straightened from where she was leaning on the wall to match my step as I continued past. I was in no mood for our usual games, not when so much was already on the line.

The attack had happened almost seventeen hours ago.

What little clues to the identity of Takami's assailant left at the scene and hadn't been obscured or tampered with by investigators were starting to fade. Time was of the essence if I was to discover them, else my only recourse would be to kill every contestant in the war and be content with the knowledge that vengeance had been achieved. Despite how good the thought was right now, it wouldn't work. I needed this one to be an example, a stark illustration of why the rules must be followed or what consequences would follow.

"Do you know who did this, Karasuba?" I asked without breaking stride. We had reached the front desk where I had been unnecessarily delayed by having to remove my coat, phone and other metallic items from my person. It was another unfortunate delay as I needed some of those items back if I were to begin the hunt.

"No." Karasuba's answer surprised me. I had figured that with MBI's acquisition of the city over the past few months and their having raised all of the hundred something Sekirei that they would have some method of monitoring and/or tracking the magical beings gallivanting around the city. Apparently I had given them much too much credit, and was reaping the results of my misplaced trust. "We didn't get a clear view of Takami's attackers, but I have a few ideas on who it could be." Well, there went the easy way of tracking down Takami's assailant. "However, I do know where she was attacked. After evacuating Takami and the other casualties the area was cordoned off. With Sekirei's fighting in the area we didn't want anyone stumbling into the crossfire. If you ask nicely, I could take you there?"

Her last line was delivered with her typical cheek, but her pace was unbroken as we finished collecting the last of my effects. Her jest was unappreciated.

"Do it. But first I have to make a call, and then I have to collect some things from the apartment." I said, fishing a small, yet elaborate earpiece from my coat. The center consisted of a single ruby encircled by silvered metalwork, on which were painstakingly inscribed runes around the outer surface of the ear ring. It was probably the most inconspicuous mystic code in my possession. Once secure, I fastened its sister jewel, a sapphire held in the middle of a similar array of runes held on the surface of a ring, onto my finger. Between the two of them they formed the same mystic code, a ridiculously complex one at that.

Well, their construction and the magic involved were mind-bogglingly complex, but the end result was the magical equivalent of a cellphone. Rin had gotten the idea from one of her father's old mystic codes that took the form of two gramophones, any voice spoken into one end would be transcribed onto paper on the other end and vice versa, turning the bulky devices into a primitive landline. However, as you had to read the correspondence, Rin came to the conclusion that paper just didn't convey the necessary catharsis or emphasis that actually yelling at someone did, and so she made these. Of course, they were made for the expressed purpose at yelling at me, but that didn't detract from the diminutive magus's skill and genius. Once more the trigger depressed in my head, filling the gems with minute amounts of prana. Of course, the mystic codes had the same limitation as phones do; the other person has to pick up.

"Come on, Rin, pick up." I muttered. Knowing her she was just glaring at her complementing ring and preparing her initial rant at me for not calling sooner. Or more frequently. Or only calling when I need something. If I didn't know better, I would wonder if she kept a tally. She does.

"Uwah…ermm…Shirou?" Rin mumbled groggily. I forgot about the time difference between Japan and England, it must be the middle of the night there. I'd have to apologize later, when there was more time and less urgent matters at hand.

"Sorry to wake you, Rin, but I need a favor of you. Are there any Association members in the Shin Tokyo Area or any local assets?"

"Wha? Members…?" She paused, yawning, and came back with a vengeance. "What the hell are you getting yourself into, Shirou? Don't you know what the hell a vacation is? I told you that meant no involving yourself in anything! No hunting down dead apostles! No investigating what you find to be suspicious activity! And definitely No fucking calling me up in the middle of the night with your root-damn war face on (I know it's there dammit!) and –"

"Rin, they attacked my mother." I interrupted, snapping at her more harshly than I had intended.

"-Kcht, what? Mother? I thought you…" She choked, coughing on her prior indignant and most likely apoplectic rage. Good. It would be a shame if I survived this massive war just for Rin to kill me when I got home. Or worse, for her to come here.

"Long story, I'll explain later. Short version is I found my family from before the fire." I started, keeping my sentences clipped. "Shin Tokyo is on its way to becoming another Fuyuki. There are a hundred or so magical beings on here, possibly of Servant strength. My little brother is involved and someone attacked my mother. You can never talk to me or acknowledge me again after this, but first help me."

I held my breath and waited. It was unlikely that Rin would refuse me, but if she got it in her head to help more than I asked, things might get problematic. I held no illusions that this might be my grave. With so many Servant class opponents in one small area it was a wonder there was even a city left, let alone the fact that no mass deaths have occurred. I was fine with the thought that I might die here. I had known this was how I'd end up for years; dying in the name and act of upholding my ideals. If my sacrifice prevented or helped to prevent the death and destruction of everyone in this city, then that was a good death.

That was my choice. I chose to lay my life on the line before I ever picked up a sword, before I donned these borrowed values. I was dead the day I said I wanted to be a magus. But that didn't mean others had to die with me. One of the possible outcomes of going to Rin was that she might mobilize some of my fellow enforcers to come to Shin Tokyo. That would be sending sheep to the slaughter. I wasn't arrogant enough to think that my chances of survival were any higher than theirs might be. I wasn't claiming to be the strongest of Enforcers. To be truthful, if not for the unique abilities of my Reality Marble, I might never have qualified to join their ranks. But for a normal human, even someone who specialized in magical combat, fighting a Servant was like hitting a tank with a whiffle ball.

Another reason, and why I wanted to know if there were any Association representatives in the area, was to see if the Association knew of these strange, magical creatures. If they were unaware of their existence, bringing a race of Servant-like magical beings to their attention would be a terrible, terrible idea. If they already knew, then I might be able to get actions sanctioned against them and shut the entirety of the Sekirei Plan down without (much) bloodshed.

The absolute worst case scenario would be that Rin came here herself. We barely escaped the 5th Grail War with our lives, and despite how horrible those times where back then, this had to be the potential to be infinitely worse. Ignoring the fact that Rin was a prodigy among prodigies, one of the most capable Magi of our generation and personally studying under the Kaleidoscope himself… I didn't, I couldn't, put her into that sort of danger again.

"If I do this, then you're coming home so I can yell at you and hit you proper." Despite her magnanimous words, she sounded miserable. I couldn't blame her. "You better promise me."

"Thank you, Rin. I promise I'll come back." I lied. It was easier to do so over the phone, where she couldn't see any of my tells. Even still, I didn't doubt she knew anyway.

"What do you need me to do?"

"First off I need you to find out if there are any Association members in the area. If I'm stepping on someone's land, I need to know. On that note, I need to know if there are any local assets: Enforcers, magi, magical families or fronts in the area, anything that might either give me an edge or something to watch out for."

Those were the hard parts, the things where she'd have to play the political game with the other Association nobles in order to accomplish. It was also something that Rin was much more suited to than I was, not including her significant social clout.

"I also only brought my basic kit. If I'm going to have any chance in this war I need you to send me the rest of my materials." This was the easy part. I kept most of my gear in my workshop in convenient travel bags. Unless I was actively working on them then it didn't make sense to unpack them when I travelled with them so often. My last request, however, might cause some friction. It was doable, yes, but I don't think Rin liked me having it, let alone using it. "And I'll need you to send me my things from the warehouse. I think I'll need everything."

*Shirou*

"Shirou-sama." Akitsu greeted me in her normally demure fashion as I entered the apartment. If I had the time for it I might have been surprised that she knew I was going to walk through the door just then. Of course, there was also the possibility that she heard me approaching through the hall and came to greet me.

"Akitsu. How is Yukari?" I asked as I passed her by. She dutifully took up pace at my back and slightly to the left. Yes, Akitsu was very much like Saber when we were on the job. Good, I could work with that; that sort of steadfastness would be a great boon in the time to come. Already I was reworking my thoughts to incorporate the brown haired Sekirei into possible plans as she was proving to be more trustworthy than I had first given her credit for. Well, at the very least she followed anything I said to the letter and that had its uses.

"She is asleep. Shall I wake her?" Akitsu replied.

I held my reply as we reached my room, the door ajar and the bed mats occupied. Yukari was sprawled out, half on her own bed mat with blankets splayed all around her, and half on an immaculately folded bed mat resting next to hers. Her left hand, the one stretched furthest onto the bed mat next to her, twitched as if groping for something just out of reach. Yukari and Akitsu must have decided to sleep in my room as opposed to the living room or, as I had expected of Yukari, Takami's room.

"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "Let her rest. Stay here while I collect what I need." Akitsu nodded, staying in the doorway as I quietly slipped into the room. I had been living more or less out of my suitcase in the interim time that I'd been spending at Takami's. This wasn't because I didn't have the space, as she did offer me the use of the room's closets and wardrobes, but more out of habit. When you spend as much time travelling or as often as I do, you pick up the habit of efficiently living out of one or two travel bags. So while all of my clothes were in one bag neatly tucked into the corner of the room, my gear was likewise neatly placed in an unopened duffle hidden in the closet. A low key bounded field on the duffel made it so the uninitiated in thaumaturgy glanced over and ignored the bags presence.

Shouldering the bag, I gave another glance at Yukari. She was sleeping fitfully, no doubt worried about Takami even though she was now in stable, if critical condition. Carefully, I knelt down next to her and brushed the fringe of her bangs out of her eyes. She made a noise, but calmed, settling more peacefully in the blankets and I pulled Aktisu's pillow over to her grasping hand. Just like when Illya was sleeping restlessly, Yukari grabbed the pillow and hugged it tight to her as soon as it made contact with her hand.

"Everything will by alright, Yukari." I whispered as I stood. "I'll bring Takami home and her assailant to justice." With steel and blood was left unsaid as I slipped back out of the room and closed the door behind me.

"So, what's so important that you had to come back here to get it? You didn't have any guns or other weapons when we scanned your bags." Karasuba drawled as I set the bag on the dining room table and opened it. "Just what are you up to?"

"When I first started out, it took me a long time to come to the realization that any problem can be solved with the proper tools for the job." I said as I reached into the bag, the deceptively soft feeling of fabric under my fingers as I grabbed the first object. This was the only conceptual weapon that I had brought with me on my so-called vacation. It was the gift given to me for helping out a burial agent a few years back, however I disliked wearing it. Not because it was dangerous or had a cost to its use, it was actually the most practical and useful item I had in my possession not counting anything stored in Unlimited Blade Works. The reason I didn't like it, I mused as I pulled the long coat out of the bag and placed it on the table, was… well… did Ceil have to make it red? It was a wonderful coat and an indispensable part of my standard work gear, but having yet another of the innumerable links that linked me to Archer left a bitter taste in my mouth.

The next two items weren't as potent items at the first, but they were still indispensable. The pair of black padded cargo pants and matching long-sleeved, padded shirt were both inscribed with runes – a standard practice for most experienced enforcers – to increase the wearer's speed and strength and the durability of the cloth and leather armor. I shed my clothes from last night and quickly donned the new clothes. Boots and gloves, also black and inscribed with runes, were pulled from the bag and put on as well, laced and strapped tight to protect the vulnerable joints from strain. The combination of runic protection and short bursts of passive reinforcement on the light body armor provided substantially more protection for a fraction of the prana than just reinforcement alone.

The last few items from the bag were an assortment of leather straps, buckles and pouches, which I fastened around my waist, thighs and shoulders. Inside the pouches were the rest of my normal assortment of supplies, the various and sundry things that I might need on the field: lock picks, some small hand tools, flint and matches, a lighter, cigarettes, etc. The two leather holsters formed from the straps and buckles at the small of my back, however, had a more immediate purpose.

"Trace on," I muttered as I reached back into the now empty duffel bag and pulled the trigger. If I was going to go hunting for a Servant class opponent, then I was going to be as prepared as possible, and that meant that the Holy Shroud and my Dead Apostle hunting gear were only useful in a defensive capacity. No, to help turn the tides against such a powerful opponent, I'd need a weapon. Luckily for me, I was full of weapons. Prana flooded my circuits and condensed, filling my hands with the familiar and comfortable weights of my chosen weapons, and drew from the bag the twin swords Kanshou and Bakuya.

Kanshou and Bakuya, the twin Chinese swords were both Noble Phantasms based on the swords created by a master blacksmith and his wife. The cloudy white sword, Kanshou, and the black hexagonally patterned sword, Bakuya, were not forged under the intention of making a weapon, but rather for the sake of crafting. I never found out where Archer first discovered them, but the two strange swords could be considered his 'signature' weapon for a reason I could easily understand.

While it was true that one of the more useful abilities of these Noble Phantasms was that, like their married creators, the two swords seek out its match in the effort to be reunited. They also strongly suited his and thereby my preferred style of fighting, but that was only a fringe benefit of wielding the twin swords. The real reason that I had come to prefer them was the exquisite craftsmanship, peerless even amongst other Noble Phantasms, which reflected the concepts of their creation.

As someone who could be considered 'one who creates weapons,' they were both beautiful and utilitarian. I couldn't speak for Archer, but it was that reflection of the ideals of the smith and his wife that drew me to the twin Noble Phantasms.

Once upon a time, I might have left without Tracing my weapons beforehand. Yes, I could always Trace a new weapon in response to any incoming attack, so long as I was aware of it. However, producing weapons from thin air was high profile, especially if I were to Trace in public or otherwise high visibility area. No, it was best to Trace the weapons now, hidden from sight by the act of reaching into the duffel. Not only would that conceal my abilities, but establish the possibility that I might have other, more concealable weapons scattered about my person. This was especially important right now, as I was in the presence of the dubiously helpful Karasuba, given that I was still unsure about what our current relationship was or what her intentions were. She might be an ally now, but since I planned on going against MBI and enforcing certain rules about this Sekirei Plan, I could wind up fighting against her soon enough.

Sheathing the twin blades in the holsters at my back, I tossed my discarded clothes into the duffel and zipped it up. Preparations complete, I turned away from the table, only to find both alien women staring at me. Akitsu didn't actually look so well, her eyes slightly unfocused and her cheeks an unusually red color for the pale ice woman. That… was a point for concern. It wasn't too long ago that I found her covered in blood, barely clothed in the cold. Granted, she seemed more comfortable in colder climates, given her affinity to ice, but was it possible for her to get sick? I had little to no idea about the physiology of humans (aside from how to dismember them and apply field treatment), let alone a completely new species of magical creature that I'd only been recently introduced to. But if she was sick or otherwise incapacitated, it may be best for her to sit out this hunt and stay here.

Just as I was about to ask if she was okay, Karasuba interrupted. "You had swords in your luggage this whole time?" she asked, a slight frown marring her face as she directed her gaze at where I sheathed Kanshou and Bakuya, the hilts only slightly concealed by the Holy Shroud. There was a light dusting of red over the bridge of her nose, probably anger, as she continued the thought without waiting for my answer. "They told me you were unarmed when I came to get you."

"Ah, well… would you believe they're antiques? Or maybe they just didn't consider them a threat to you?" I asked, causing her to snort. In another place, at another time, I might have sighed at my ruse (and only now that she questioned the presence of the swords did I think of all the ways this could have ended horribly) having succeeded. However, this was the eve before battle, as it were, and therefore wasn't the time or place for such distractions. "Alright, I'm done with my preparations. Karasuba, you said you'd take me to where Takami was attacked, right? Let's go."

"You are leaving?" Akitsu snapped out of her trance, returning to a healthier pale. "With her?"

Karasuba met Akitsu's glower (or what I thought was a glower anyway) with her usual cheeky grin. "Of course he is. I can provide dear Sahashi-kun with something you just can't, so be a good little scrap and stay here. We're off to go play, isn't that right?"

"Shirou-sama…" Akitsu started, returning her determined gaze to me.

"Akitsu, are you feeling well enough to come too?" I asked, anticipating her request to come with me. It was actually a surprise that she hadn't asked to come when I had left earlier with Karasuba, given that Akitsu already felt she was dangerous enough not to leave me alone with her. Maybe it was because we were going to an MBI facility? I vaguely remember she didn't want to go to one when I first brought up the subject of getting her help. Regardless, having a Servant with me to watch my back – and more importantly, someone I could count on to not stab me in it – would be a boon.

"Ah… yes."

"Good." I nodded, passing them and heading to the front door. "Then you're coming with us too. Karasuba, where are we going?"

"The Mid Bio Informatics Botanical Garden." She huffed, "That's where we recovered the bodies and lost track of 108."

"Lost track? Is there a chance that this 108 was the one who attacked Takami?"

"No, 108 was with Takami when she was attacked. If anything, she is the reason for the attack in the first place. Whoever attacked Takami was probably after her."

"I see." The primary objective was still tracking down and delivering retribution for the lives of the lost men and women the Sekirei killed. Possible secondary objective would be to ascertain the location and provide safety for the 108th. Or use her as bait to lure in the primary objective, so long as she wasn't hurt. Not the best plan, especially since they both required finding Sekirei with a large lead on us, but it was the one I had for now. "Alright, let's head out then. The Gardens are about an hour out on foot, so we should hurry."

"On foot? Like running or walking?" Karasuba chortled.

"Ah… that is slow, Shirou-sama." Akitsu joined in.

It was, but I didn't have a rental and Takami's car was totaled, so I didn't see much of an alternative. I turned back from the door to find Karasuba and Akitsu sharing a look, the first of which that wasn't them glaring at one another. Something must have passed unsaid between the two.

"So then, how do you suggest we get there?" I asked dubiously.

They just pointed to the balcony.

"Simple," Karasuba said. "We have a faster way."

*Shirou*

Despite my dubious approval of Karasuba's planned method of travel, making the journey by rooftop was a lot swifter than by foot, even if it required Akitsu's assistance in carrying me across the gaps. Apparently the name Sekirei wasn't just for show; Karasuba and Akitsu were jumping distances and heights that I hadn't seen a being jump since Saber and Rider fought their last battle. Though, where Saber was jumping with pure forward momentum, the two women with me seemed completely at ease and in control of their graceful leaps. I guess it made sense that a race named after birds moved so naturally through the air.

We settled down upon a rooftop overlooking the Mid Bio Informatics Botanical Gardens, where Takami had been attacked yesterday, for Karasuba to get her bearings. She knew where the attack had taken place, and thus the best place to find clues as to her attacker, but the Gardens had undergone a drastic change since I stumbled across Akitsu there two nights ago.

Gone were the verdant paths winding between flower beds and artistically trimmed trees. They had been replaced by thick, gnarled roots that tore through the concrete, burrowing across the streets and ground and into quite a few of nearby buildings. The multitude of greenhouses, parks and benches had been upended, or more likely entirely demolished, by the giant tree trunks and branches twisting their way skyward in great wooden spires that stretched as tall – and in a few places through – the neighboring office complexes. Ivy ran tangled and thick along the twisted boughs, trunks and roots.

The entire city block was completely unrecognizable from what it was just over a night ago. I was expecting wide scale destruction and death, as came hand in hand with Servants fighting one another. But this didn't appear to be the hallmark of a battle; rather it seemed to be a form of Territory Creation, if an incredibly violent and destructive form of it.

…And this was only one Sekirei's power.

This was too much to let unfettered.

Hm? Something at the edge of the park caught my eye. A small section of the unnatural forest was cut down and cordoned off. Not by police, mind you, but by several figures in military black flak vests and two flanking armored personnel carriers topped with heavy machine guns. I couldn't see any identification, logos or insignia on the soldiers; however, the two APC's were emblazoned with the MBI logo.

At least MBI was taking some steps to limit the collateral damage, even if it was hours after the incident. This must have been what Minaka was talking about when he mentioned taking action. Keeping any more bystanders from entering what could still be a dangerous area did take precedence over hunting a being none of those soldiers were equipped to take down. It would be like pitting hares against a volcano: amusing to some, but ultimately useless. Didn't MBI have a method in place for handling problems related to their super powered beings?

Or was that Karasuba…

I took a sideways glance at the ash haired woman next me as she looked out over what was left of the Gardens. She was under the employ of MBI, which from Musubi and Akitsu I was beginning to suspect was unusual for a Sekirei. I already knew that she acted as one of their enforcers from our first encounter with one another. I couldn't help but wonder why she was here with me instead of out looking on her own. Or was allowing me to intervene part of her plan to resolve the issue?

For now, the answer didn't matter. She was giving me the chance to make up for my past and present failures. "Hmm," the woman in question hummed. "I'm not sure if this is the right angle. I think the attack happened there, more or less." She pointed out with the tip of her sheathed nodachi, high and just to the right of the armored guard post.

The words 'are you sure' were on the tip of my tongue before I thought better of it. With all the former landmarks of the park obliterated by the monstrous tree growths, it could be forgiven that she couldn't be exactly sure. Although, if there were no interior landmarks, I thought looking back at the APC's, then exterior ones were the next best thing.

"Alright, that's where we're going to first then. Can you get us in there?" I gestured to the entrance.

"The fun way or the boring way?" She asked with an unpleasant smile and a shrug before dropping off the building.

"The right way!" I shouted down before following after her, relying on Akitsu to get us down safely.

Shit!

Karasuba was already several paces ahead of us, stepping out from behind the rubble that concealed our landing and into the clearly overlapping fields of fire with her customary indifference. Although, it could be argued that said fields of fire were more dangerous to the emplaced guns than to her. What was she thinking? They worked for MBI too right? Shouldn't she hail them or something? She didn't even stop as several soldiers took aim at her from behind their barricades and the two HMG's swung to bear.

Shit! I cursed, frantically pulling back on own trigger with half a dozen blueprints springing to the forefront of my mind. God dammed stupid demon crow! I wasn't even sure if I was preparing to help her or kill her myself.

"Hold your fire!" A shout came from behind the barricade, just as I had decided on the latter. "She's one of ours!"

Karasuba, unheeding of the tension she just caused, continued forward towards the barricade and the woman who gave the stand down order. She was back behind the line, barely visible between the cover and distance, but I saw she held a datapad in hand, vaguely lifted to Karasuba's face height. An identity scanner of some sort? That was some high tech gear, top of the line if I wasn't mistaken. I looked at the other soldiers as Akitsu and I caught up to Karasuba. Some of the others also had pads clipped to their jackets. With MBI's gene-scanners, having a digital book of faces for persons of interest made sense, especially if a certain hundred or so faces were in there like I suspected they were.

I made a note to get one of those pads somehow, but later. There were more important things to do for now.

"Karasuba-sama?" The woman met her. The other soldiers had lowered their weapons, but the tension hadn't completely left them as they regarded Akitsu and I coming up warily. "We didn't receive word that the Disciplinary Squad had been mobilized yet."

Disciplinary Squad? That was new, and had to do with Karasuba. The designation MBI had for her as an enforcer? But she said squad, as in more than one. So then why–

"We have." Karasuba cut the woman off authoritatively, as well as interrupting my thoughts. Her tone was clipped, but professional, a far cry from the flippant tone I was used to her conversing in. I was actually surprised that, for all of her usual disregard for manners, feelings or people's lives, she actually came across as disciplined there. "Those two are with me." She gestured to us with a thumb pointed over her shoulder. "What's the situation here?"

"We've established a perimeter and secured the area. There have been a few birds sniffing around but so far no one has tried anything. We have some search teams in the area, but have been unable to find either target. Should we call them back?"

"Yes. We'll handle things from here, won't we Sahashi-kun?" She turned slightly to face me at the last words, giving me that half-lidded smile of hers and showing too much teeth. She was enjoying this, wasn't she?

"Right. Anyone else in there is just going to be in danger." I nodded, ignoring the ashen haired woman's gaze. "We'll start where the attack took place. That was around here, yes? Can you show us where?"

"Follow this path roughly fifty meters." She gestured to the entrance behind her, where the path was flanked by the overgrown brush for several meters before the ground crumbled under the rogue growth. "On the left you'll see where we had to cut through to get the rescue teams through. The site is at the end, you can't miss it. Do you need an escort?"

"No need." Karasuba answered for me. At least she gave the right answer, after all – "Anyone you send in is just going to die anyway."

Harsh, but it wasn't a lie. It was dangerous enough for me to be anywhere near these monsters and I wasn't a normal human. Even as heavily armed as they were, these people wouldn't stand a chance, I thought as Karasuba moved passed the officer and entered the forest, missing the look of anger on the woman's face at the blatant insult and dismissal.

"Thank you for your help, but we can cover it from here, ma'am." I nodded to her stiffly as I passed her as well, Akitsu following my footsteps. There wasn't a need to step on this woman's toes, but the less people who had to die here the better.

"Damn, those freaks give me the creeps, Ma'am." Were it not for my Reinforcement and general paranoia, I may have missed the chatter as we entered the Gardens. "Stow it, private. Did you see what one of those things did to the security team? I'd…"

The rest of it was unintelligible, even for my improved hearing, as we got further way and into the unnatural forest. The sounds from outside were swallowed by the oppressive wrongness of the woods. The scent of fresh mulch, flowers and damp wood filled the air, so heavy I could barely make out even Karasuba's overwhelming aura. The heavy 'scent' made my nose itch. A purely psychological feeling as the smell I was interpreting wasn't actually a real scent in the air.

The paved stones that made up the path were only untouched by the devastation for a few meters before one of the giant trees burst directly through the middle and shattering stones, littering the rest of the way with broken stone pieces and uneven roots gouging half-hazardly from the ground.

But the desolated ground did make a sort of path of its own, winding around trunks and under/over roots and branches. Small sections of these obstacles had been cut away, the clear sign of chainsaws and hatchets being used to clear a path in order to get to where Takami fell. And collect the bodies.

The offshoot to the left was just about where the officer said it would be. I wondered how many people had been involved to clear the obstacles here as several of the roots as thick as cars had been carved through. Even though the path was narrow, it must have taken a long time to get even this far in. I was even more thankful that Takami had held on for as long as she had… thankful and amazed.

Eventually we reached a sort of clearing, a semi-dome about thirty feet at its widest, where the original paved walkways of the garden were still visible.

"Here we are, Sahashi-kun." Karasuba said, standing at the entrance to the clearing. This was the site where Takami was attacked, evident by the bloodstains marring the chipped and fragmented concrete. They were scattered in a rough semi-circle as the area was bisected by one of the massive tree growths. The tattered remains of a security vehicle were crushed against the very edge, the entire rear side was crumpled against two similar growths and the hood held the tell-tale signs of smoldering metal.

I stepped into the clearing, pacing about the stains, the car, what used to be a flower garden was now the trunk of a massive sprout – the same one that bisected the area, smashed into the armored car and created the hollow we were in. There was a story in the patterns here, preserved in mausoleum like silence. Some of it was disturbed, most likely by the cleanup and rescue crews MBI sent in, but inability to get heavy machinery through the forest meant that the area was still very similar to how it looked just after the attack.

"Since the forest is still here we can assume that the perpetrator hasn't found 108 yet." She mused, looking over the area with practiced disinterest. Or maybe it wasn't pretend, as an experienced murder machine, she'd probably seen and made more interesting scenes than this one. I idly wondered if she knew how to read one, to look at the evidence and reverse the incident to the start. Probably not, I decided. It was a long taught, but infinitely useful skill. Even magic, unless it was some rare form of specialized divination, couldn't always help piece together what happened at ground zero amidst the chaos and the bodies. "What are you doing, anyway? Now that we're here shouldn't you start looking for her now?"

I ignored her, coming to stand next to the giant root that crossed the dome. That wasn't the important feature I was looking at though, rather the bloodstain next to it. "Takami was standing here." I muttered. The stain was irregularly ovoid, as if someone had lied down but bleeding from multiple lacerations all across their body. Dried droplets arced from the center stain in all directions but one: directly behind the stain (if orienting the root as forward).

"How do you figure that?" Karasuba actually looked impressed as she and Akitsu moved closer. Hm, I 'm surprised they heard that. Never mind.

"Look at the blood. The larger stain is where she fell, most likely. No drag marks either, probably means the first attack left her unconscious. Probably multiple attacks at once by the directionality of the droplets; see how they all arc away from the large patch? That means that whatever caused them came from the same direction, and I'm guessing it was either multiple simultaneous attacks, or close enough to it that it doesn't make much difference. Otherwise Takami would have had to have been standing immobilized to take iterative attacks to correspond to the number of wounds she received." I mused aloud, letting the girls follow my line of thought. No, there were definitely multiple simultaneous attacks, but they must have been imprecise if the scatting across her body was any indication. That meant it was a wide range slashing attack with numerous small, thin curved blades. Whatever caused her wounds was probably not a weapon… which means the target has a magic based long range, wide area attack. Looks like a cone, based on the gouges in the concrete. It was a rough guess at best, judging from the lack of back splatter, but that could have been concealed by the root that tore through the concrete behind me.

Okay, so Takami was attacked first. She was with a Sekirei, so it must have happened too fast for it to react. An assassin type? That led credence to the long range attack theory… they must have thought Takami was the Ashikabi and sought to take the pair out of the fight from the start. But then why were the other bodies behind Takami? There were two more bloodstains several meters to my 2 o'clock from if Takami was my center 12. They were attached by two smaller starbursts and a long red smear connecting them all in a slight curve. Was that where the next attack went? That's too close for the initial attack to have been at range though. There was also the root at my back to consider, although there were several small roots poking up though the area, this was the only one of its size category and it cut directly through the diameter of the clearing. Well, give or take, the clearing wasn't exactly circular.

So did the first attack on Takami happen at close range? If so, then this 108 must have grown the root to separate Takami from the attacker and provide cover for them both. The assailant… leapt back or leapt up? "Akitsu, help me up here, will you?" I gestured to the massive green obstruction. Nodding wordlessly, she put her arms under mine and hopped; only her hop took her almost three meters in the air and landing deftly on top of the root. "Thank you Akitsu. Just a moment, I'll need you to get down too." I reminded her as she started to move away.

There were several smaller, vine-like growths coming from the flower bed, crisscrossing the area and jutting up from the ground in small half-baskets and waves. Some of the vines were cut in the middle from where they sprung upwards. So maybe the assailant did retreat first, and then follow over. The top of the root I was standing on was heavily damaged; there seemed to be tear marks, rips and puncture holes along some of its length. Some of that might have been from when MBI tried to cut their way to rescue the survivors, but maybe some of them were not.

"Trace On." I muttered, kneeling to examine the damage. The tears and slashes were definitely the handiwork of MBI's rescue teams as they failed to cut through. There was little doubt as to what made the puncture marks though, as most still had bullets lodged in them. Looking to the roof of the dome also revealed there were bullet holes there. Okay, so someone jumped over the blockade, was fired at, and dispensed with the defenders in short order. "Alright. Let's get down." I nod at Akitsu.

Once we were back on the ground I headed over to the two next stains. They must have been the next two to fall. Their attacker leapt over the makeshift barricade. I'm pretty sure the firing arc from here matched up with the trajectories of the bullets in the root and roof.

"What is so interesting about roots and stains, Sahashi-kun?" Karasuba drawled, it sounded like the excitement of the hunt was fading. In a way, this was burning what little time remained, but it was important. This was a clue as to the prey's abilities, an unusual and critical advantage.

"They reveal the past." I answered, if only so she'd let me concentrate. "And where our quarry went to ground."

So Takami is attacked, the Sekirei with her makes a wall and tries to entrap her attacker. This is unsuccessful as they leap over the wall. Instead of going after the Sekirei, who I'd naturally assume to be the larger threat, they land here and go after the security detail in the process of running to assist. One swipe later and both these guys are separated from their legs; the smaller starbursts are probably where those landed.

I paced once more. Why did they ignore 108? It didn't make any sense. Unless… from the two hapless, then legless guards, the car was probably next; crushed by the massive growth after its occupants died. The front bullet proof windshield was heavily damaged, but it did reveal a clue: a triangular indentation in the remaining glass, the head of the weapon that killed the driver pierced through the glass had a wide, blunt end and two sides that composed the blade… like a sickle, a single edged spear, a pickaxe or other pole-arm. Odds were it was an uncommon weapon, especially in this day and age.

Another large stain surrounded by several smaller ones was only a few meters past the car, lying amidst another patch of slightly curved gouges in the turf. Probably a victim of whatever that wide type attack was, but that didn't matter so much. Between Takami, the other two, the car and this one… 108 was running, making a beeline away from whoever was attacking them. That gave us a direction to follow, and hopefully more clues.

"The trail leads this way, 108 was on the run and being chased. If we follow this path we might –" I was interrupted by the sound of an explosion. The boom resonated through the trees before being swallowed up by the behemoth forest.

"Oh? I think that explosion came from over there." Karasuba pointed out along the same direction I thought the trail led. "Looks like you were right Mr. Bloodhound."

That was a bad sign, as it meant one of two things: either 108 was found, or their stalker decided to try a different tactic.

"Alright, Karasuba, Akitsu, let's move. We have a lead so let's move before it gets cold." As we headed out of the clearing I took one last look at the devastation wrought between the two supernaturally empowered beings. The aggressor definitely played with the men here, taking extra steps to remove their limbs and cause pain when they were already vastly outclassed. With few exceptions, I bet most of those poor souls weren't killed quickly, but left to bleed out like Takami was. If I wasn't already planning on killing the perpetrator, I would be after seeing this.

However, this number 108 might be an even bigger threat. It was a gut feeling, not yet substantiated, but… but my instincts have carried me through more life and death situations then I could rightly remember. If I was right, then this forest was only made to hide in. Then this, all of this, was the amount of damage they could cause while retreating. There was a distinct possibility that once I met them, whoever they were… that they were the more deadly threat than this mystery assassin… and that I might have to terminate them as well.

After all, I vowed to myself, I will ensure that only the combatants in this war are the ones who should die. For it to be otherwise is unacceptable.

*Minato*

I should have called in sick today. I really should have, I mused as I carried another load of supplies to the upper floors of the current site. We had finished the foundation and were starting to build up, which meant using the handcarts to bring 2x4's, nails, metal beams, etc. up to the current work floors. It was long, hard work, but even I had found satisfaction in a good day's manual labor. Not just because Mom had halved my allowance, either.

Mom…

Shirou had called and said she was better, well, she was stable at least. I should be there with him though, and with Yukari. I should have called in sick or asked for leave or something. Sure, this was a new job and I had to be here or risk losing it; something I wasn't sure I could afford now that I had Musubi to take care of as well. Feeding the two of us alone was taking all of my allowance. So I needed to be here, for all the good it did me as I trudged around with my thoughts tied up with guilt about not being at the hospital. I felt like a total ass. It felt like I was no good to anyone right now: too distracted to work, too caught up in meaningless responsibilities to be there for my family. How contemptible.

"Sahashi!" the foreman's call interrupted my recriminations.

"Ah, yes?" I asked, startled. Did he catch me daydreaming again? Did I make a mistake? Is he going to fire me? Please don't fire me, I'm just going through a really rough time right now what with strange alien girls falling on top of me and always being naked, my mother is in the hospital and my recently reacquainted older brother may or may not be trying to convince me to murder people ARGH!

"It's lunch time, so take a break!" he called and moved on, probably to send the message on to anyone else still working. Right. Lunch. That was a good plan, much better than what I was thinking. With a relieved sigh I shuffled off to retrieve my lunch and find a place to sit down and eat. These past few days have been just way too stressful. Grabbing my backpack I managed to snag a seat on a few I-beams that had yet to be carried up. Instead, they had been piled outside the work fence and were currently being used as seats by the other workers. Comfortable? Only as much as unyielding metal could be, but that didn't mean it didn't feel good to sit down after carting such heavy loads around.

Lunch was a bento carefully wrapped in a white handkerchief, handed to me by Miya-san as I rushed out the door this morning. That was another development I was slightly guilty about. Musubi and I didn't spend the night at Mom's like Yukari did. Mostly because I needed to be home to get ready for work this morning, but we didn't end up leaving until Yukari (and Musubi) fell asleep and Shirou called to say mom was no longer critical condition.

I had to say, despite what I do or don't think about my older brother, his friends are certainly a godsend; the quiet one, the Sekirei, helped me with the girls when Shirou left to see Mom. If it wasn't for her help I wouldn't have left at all. New job be damned, but I couldn't leave Yukari alone, not after that news. And the other one, the scary looking one, well… next time I see her I have to thank her. If not for her I doubt I would have ever known something was wrong with Mom. That and I bet she's really nice if Musubi knows and likes her. She is scary looking, but so is Shirou and he is nice too. Well most of the time, anyway, when he isn't talking about war and whatnot.

And if it weren't for him I wouldn't have met Miya-san yesterday or known to ask her about the vacancy she had at Izumo when Musubi and I crashed into the backyard last night. Of course, if not for him I wouldn't have met Musubi and been evicted from my apartment in the first place. On the other hand that would have meant not ever meeting Musubi either.

I shook my head, a vain attempt to banish my spiraling thoughts before they once more turned in on themselves again. It was slightly more effective this time, though, as I opened the bento Miya-san prepared. Oh my. That… that looks delicious. Oh, thank you Miya-san for all this great food! She really is a nice, thoughtful person! It truly was providence that I met her!

A low pitched, whining growl interrupted my prayer of thanks. Um… what? I looked to my right where one of the other workers had scooted next to me without my noticing, and by the way he was staring at my lunch, I bet that was his stomach growling.

"Ha…?" The startled, questioning gasp was not the most manly, or coherent, noise I'd ever made. But it did make him look away from my food and at my face.

He was an older man, probably around Shirou's age I'm guessing and almost as tall (though it was hard to tell with him sitting down). His dark-brown hair was roughly combed in uneven locks which, combined with his wild looking eyes lent him a rugged, unkempt look. He was also muscular, though leanly built. All in all, he looked like a wild beggar.

"Hi," He said, picking up his gaze from my lunch to address me. "Your lunch looks delicious." Or maybe not. What was this guy, some sort of freeloading mooch? "I'm Seo. I'm looking forward to working with you."

He was working here today? Oh, that's right. I remember the foreman was upset that someone was late at today's start. This must be the guy. I had to admit that I was a little intimidated by the gruff man's bold introduction. What kind of person just comes up to you and says your lunch looks good? The last time something like this happened I got shaken down for my lunch money. I'd like to say that was still in grade school… I'd really, really like to say that.

"Ah..." I floundered momentarily, "I'm Sahashi."

A slightly awkward pause met the end of our introductions. After all, I wasn't the best at meeting new people. I mean, what do you say after that? Usually I left it to someone else to create small talk or did something weird like have entire rehearsal conversations in my head of things they might say, getting so wrapped up in the possible conversation I forgot that I wasn't actually doing any talking and… was that his stomach again?

"Would you… would you like some?" I offered. There was a lot of food, so I could definitely spare some. I kind of felt bad about just eating in front of him if he had nothing.

"Really?" He asked, "Thanks man. Damn that onigiri looks good! May I?" I held the bento out to him, letting him take one of the rice balls before taking one myself. Oh man, they were even better than they looked! This was definitely the kind of food you could get addicted to. Man, Miya-san was an amazing cook, and this was something she 'just whipped up.' It was on the same scale as Shirou's cooking! You know... Miya was a surprisingly young woman to be running her own inn. I wonder if she was seeing anyone, or had a husband or something. I know Kagari said he wasn't her husband. If she's single I should totally set her up with Shirou! Think about all the wondrous things they'd make for breakfast… lunch… dinner. Ah, a man would turn to gluttony just by thinking of it! I bet I might get a discount rooming there if they hit it off and started dating too. What a perfect plan!

"This tastes like…" Seo mumbled something I didn't quite catch, managing to snap me out of my diabolical scheming for amazing free food and board.

"What was that?" I asked.

"What? Nah, nothing." He waved off my question. "Actually, what are you doing working here, isn't school picking up soon?"

"Ah, not this time. I didn't make the entrance exams." I say, taking another onigiri of my own. "How about you, are you in college?"

"Ah, I guess you could say that." He replies, swallowing down a mouthful. "I'm in my 6th year. Although I rarely go at this point, things didn't really work out that well for me there." He grins, no doubt trying to commiserate with me, but I do feel a touch of ire at that. At least he got into school, the least he could do is go, right? There is no pity from a repeat offender.

He laughed it off as I muttered so much, diffusing my semi-serious glower with his good humor. "Oh, that chicken looks good, how is it?" Or maybe with his appetite. They were really good though, and I guess I didn't need to eat all of them. It wasn't like he had anything of his own.

"Delicious." I finished off the piece I had picked before offering the bento back to him. "Have one." Seo's response as he picked up a slice of chicken was lost on me as a flash of movement over his shoulder caught my eye: a dark shape rapidly approaching Seo from behind. I barely had the time to open my mouth to warn him before the shape impacted heavily into the back of his head.

"Seo, you punk!" The shadow, now revealed to be a dark haired woman in a maid's outfit, yelled as she dragged him up from the ground where he collapsed by his collar. The woman's random and uncalled for aggression terrified me as I cowered on the hard metal struts. Luckily, I had pulled the bento into my body and protected it from both the angry woman's kick and Seo's falling body. Yes, the important thing was the food was safe. Now, I just had to wait for the angry woman to finish dealing with Seo to make my escape. Like a rabbit, I didn't move a single muscle, doing nothing to distract her ire from its current (and probably well deserved) target.

I didn't like to judge anyone, especially not unfairly or by something as superficial as appearances… but Seo didn't really look like a responsible or respectable individual. I felt bad for thinking it, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a jilted lover he was cheating on – oh? Just behind the yelling pair (well, the woman was yelling, Seo was surprisingly relaxed despite her shaking him by the collar) was another woman dressed in a maid's uniform. She had the same long dark hair and looks as the woman currently berating Seo. Sisters? Twins? The other woman? That last one wasn't very likely, but she was just standing passively by while the other maid took Seo to task. Come to think of it, those maid girls looked very familiar… but for the life of me I just couldn't place where I'd seen them before.

"You're taking other peoples food again! Don't you have any shame? I told you to stop doing and get us some damn food yourself!" I caught tail end of her rant as she shook the older man like a rag doll. Maybe… just maybe my first impression of Seo was accurate. If this woman's words were anything to go on, then this wasn't a case of Seo merely forgetting his lunch at home, but a regular occurrence. With a sigh, I cursed myself for being such an easy mark for selfish types of people. Was it so hard to just want to be nice without being taken advantage of? "We even told you we made enough to bring you lunch today and this is what we find you doing!"

I wondered if Shirou had these sorts of problems; trying to be a good person and help out others but they keep taking advantage of him. Yukari, I knew from personal experience, was one of those selfish and unthinking people that liked to take whatever advantage she could. She was quite willful that way. Shirou was a little lucky that he grew up away from an energetic, conniving, greedy, attention seeking, manipulative, headstrong girl that loved to take advantage of him personally. Yes, as much as I loved my sister (and I loved her very much), it was a good thing there was only one Yukari Sahashi.

"I'm really sorry about him!" I instinctively cringed as a sudden dark blur moved in front of me; my sigh must have alerted the angry dark haired woman to my continued presence. It took me a moment to register that she wasn't turning her anger on me, but bowing, and only a beat longer to register her words.

"Ah… it was nothing. Don't worry about it." I muttered, slowly relaxing from my almost fetal curl around my lunch.

"No really, I'm sorry for you having to put up with this loser…" She trailed off as she rose from her bow, each of us finally getting a good look at the others face. Oh. My stomach dropped, now a ball of icy lead. My appetite was gone. Oh, now I see why she looked so familiar: she was one of the Sekirei that was chasing Musubi when we first met. And then almost fried Shirou and I. Her eyes narrowed in recognition as well.

"Hey! You were one of the guys with that exorcist Sekirei!" She exclaimed.

"You're the S&M girls that tried to electrocute us!" I yelped at the same time.

Oh, this… this was not very good was it? Shirou's warnings flashed through my head. Didn't he say not to go anywhere without either him or Musubi with me? I didn't believe him when he tried to warn me about unscrupulous and disheveled Ashikabi that would sick their lightning wielding partners on innocent people for no reason. And now here I was, hemmed in by not one but two Sekirei and their Ashikabi. What do I do? What do I –

A muted clack broke off my rampaging thoughts, echoing like a funeral bell despite the heavy sounds of work behind us. I was standing, I noted somewhat shell shocked. The Sekirei in front of me and I dropped out pointing fingers, mechanically turning our gaze down to the fallen and spilled bento scattered at our feet.

"Ah! Nooooo!" I whined, sinking to my knees over the ruined lunch. No! Not the lunch! What fiends would destroy such perfection? I had barely even gotten to try Miya-san's hand cut vegetable salad, let alone the few bites I had I'd shared. Shirou, Mom, my lunch, ambushed by angry Sekirei! The universe was unfair!

"Wow, Hikari. Way to make the kid cry." I heard Seo mutter, drawing my gaze from the desolation of Miya's home cooked meal. I was met with the flushed and guilty face of the angry girl, Hikari, as she turned to argue with Seo.

"H-hey," The other twin started haltingly before settling down on one knee next to me. She was quiet, but her proximity allowed me to hear her over the shouting match going on next to us."Hey, I'm sorry. Look, we brought some stuffed bread to share." She punctuated with a pointed look behind her before turning back to me with a softened gaze. "Since we ruined your lunch and you were kind enough to feed our master, why don't we eat ours together?"

That was… that was really nice. I mean, sure, if it wasn't for her sister terrifying me and our yelling, then my lunch wouldn't have been ruined, but sharing their lunch with me was a far cry from zapping me with lighting.

"Uh… yeah." I nodded, a little shell shocked. "That would be lovely. Thank you." All of Shirou's talks about the danger of the Sekirei Plan must have really gotten to me if my nerves were this shot. I mean, they might look mean and scary and scruffy, but it seems like first impressions weren't everything. Actually, I was starting to feel very guilty and foolish for not trusting them and being afraid in the first place. Once you got past their looks, they were really nice people.

And it was another point for me that it proved Shirou was wrong about his thoughts on people. He didn't think that two Ashikabi could share a peaceful meal and go back to work, especially if one was at the disadvantage of being outnumbered, without one party attacking and probably killing the other. Granted, I wouldn't be telling him about this, even if it did support me in our argument, because he'd most likely kill me for being so stupid. Not kill me, kill me, but just be really mad. And I'm not really being stupid, since everything is working out perfectly.

"I have to confess, I didn't expect to meet another Ashikabi so soon." I admitted as we all sat down together. The girls flanked Seo on either side and we split and passed around the stuffed bread. It was obviously store bought, premade bread from the cellophane wrapping and while not nearly as tasty as Miya-san's homemade cooking, the atmosphere gave the meal a better taste than just the flavor of the food itself. It was, in a word, enjoyable.

"So you're an Ashikabi too?" Seo asked, looking a bit surprised. I guess he would be too, given the unlikelihood of two Ashikabi working in the construction gig. "It's a small world for two Ashikabi to meet in a place like this." He added, mirroring my own thoughts.

"Yeah, I am. I'm Minato Sahashi." I nod, even though answering was a little redundant after having already admitting to him that I was one, but since we were members of an exclusive group of people, I figured a proper introduction was in order. "The, uh, 'exorcist,' girl you were chasing the other day is named Musubi. I guess you could say I'm her Ashikabi." I trailed off, scratching the back of my neck in a nervous gesture. There really wasn't anything to 'guess' about it. She kissed me (which I'm still having trouble coming to terms with, beautiful girl like her) and MBI even threatened me to keep this secret. Becoming an Ashikabi wasn't something you 'sorta became:' either you were or you weren't.

"Haha! I didn't realize we were being so formal about it, but whatever. I'm Seo Kaoru." He introduced himself once more. I was surprised that Seo was his first name and not his surname, but I guess he was just a very candid person. As he spoke his hands started to wander up the bodies of the twin Sekirei on either side of him. "I'm the Ashikabi of these two, Hibiki and Hikari." I was a little more than uncomfortable as he punctuated their names by groping them.

I was slightly mortified when his unabashed pawing of his girls continued past just being a light caress. Hibiki, the one on his right, looked lightly flushed at his attentions, but took no action to stop or hinder him in any way. My face grew hot when his actions revealed a (most embarrassing) method of telling the twins apart: Hibiki wasn't nearly as… developed… in her, ah… yeah… as her sister. Even as I thought this his hand started to traverse down and across her body and into her lap. "Ah, Seo… not in public." She said, squirming against his hand, but took no actions to stop him. In fact, it rather appeared that she was enjoying his ministrations despite being in the middle of the street. In plain view. With people around. Watching.

I shouldn't… I really shouldn't be seeing this. I was now more than a little mortified. I wanted the very earth to swallow me. But I couldn't pull my eyes away. No, despite my ever growing (exponentially growing) discomfort, I couldn't tear my eyes away. It was like watching a train wreck, or Musubi when she pranced out of the shower.

"W-watch where you're touching!" Hikari, as the more buxom of the twins, exclaimed as his hands roamed over her rather impressive bust. She looked almost as uncomfortable as I was at Seo's… 'public display of affection,' as he kneaded and squeezed her. "I-idiot! What do you think you're doing?!" The way her face was steadily coloring and her shortened breaths, it looked like she was building something up inside her.

The flash of light almost blinded me, unprepared for it as I was. Blinking the stars out of my eyes revealed that Seo was twitching on the ground, his head being stomped on by an irate and ranting Hikari.

That was… I sighed, trying to calm myself and forget what just happened. Yes, that was probably for the best. But my, what excitable girls. They made me wonder if every Sekirei was as quirky. I mean, Musubi was always just a bundle of sunshine and energy, often forgetting (or, as I sometimes thought, ignoring) propriety and decency in her exuberance.

Uzume, one of my new housemates, seemed like a slightly more mature version of Musubi from how we were introduced this morning. It must have taken a certain level of confidence or indifference to show up to breakfast half naked. Although, I guess since Kagari was either asleep or gone during the day, it was only the girls at the house, so not wearing clothes was more forgivable? Her sense of humor reminded me of Yukari, making me uncomfortable with her innuendo (that was really more accurate than not) that sailed entirely over Musubi's head. Which only made it worse.

The sound of helicopters interrupted my thoughts on the Sekirei I'd met so far (and paused Hikari's beating on Seo). I hadn't noticed earlier with the noise of construction going on around me, but now that we'd taken a break I couldn't help but see (and hear) the multitude of copters circling the air. Wow, they were flying pretty low too. Two, three, four… six? I wondered what was happening as I counted the helicopters in view. It was really strange: they weren't going anywhere really, just circling the area, like they were watching something. Or maybe patrolling?

"Those are MBI copters." I said when one circled over close enough for me to make out the giant white lettering on the side. In the past few days, ever since MBI started buying up all the space in Shin Tokyo, it was not an uncommon sight to see their helicopters flying the skies. To the normal inhabitants of the city, it was probably easily ignored: MBI was a large company that was investing heavily in the city, so flying people and things across the city wasn't strange at all. What was strange, however, was to see so many helicopters acting so strangely.

Although, maybe it was just Shirou's paranoia getting to me again, but I couldn't help but feel their presence had something to do with the Sekirei Plan.

MBI was involved in the Sekirei Plan, something every Ashikabi knew. The founder and CEO of the multinational company, Minaka Hiroto, had even personally called Shirou and I on the night that Musubi first kissed me, just to introduce us to the Sekirei Plan. Well, to introduce us and threaten us with keeping the game a secret. I didn't need to imagine the 'consequences' the man had mentioned for breaking that cardinal rule, not after an MBI representative stopped by my old apartment that first morning. Yeah, he brought a box of clothes for Musubi, but it was also a message: we know where you live, we know your phone and family, and we can get to you.

Remembering the event still gave me the shivers. It was really scary what the company was capable of, and I didn't really want to dwell on it. I was starting to sound too much like Shirou in my own head if I kept up with those kinds of thoughts. Besides, I doubt that such a man as powerful as Minaka would take time out of his day just to concern himself with me. I couldn't even pass the entrance exams to college, what importance did I have to him?

See? I felt better already knowing that Minaka probably just did that scare tactic to every Ashikabi that joined the game. It really didn't make sense for him to single out individuals.

"Looks like the vultures are circling." Seo commented on the vehicles overhead as they continued their patrols. For someone who just got electrocuted and then his head stomped on, he didn't seem too injured. I guess Hikari really did like him after all to pull her attacks to the extent that he didn't get hurt. I knew from personal experience that Sekirei were a lot stronger than us humans and sometimes forgot or misjudged their strength. Musubi nearly dislocated my shoulder with her running and jumping last night (and that wasn't counting her almost killing me when we fell into Miya-sans back yard).

"You're an Ashikabi; does that mean you're after that too?" He directed the question at me, regarding me from the corner of his eyes. That? I honestly had no idea what he was talking about.

"That?" I didn't have to keep the confusion out of my tone.

"What, you really don't know?" He looked about as incredulous as I felt, but pointed over my shoulder. "I mean, it is right over there. In fact, look, you can see it."

I turned to look where he was pointing and – "Holy Shit!" I couldn't help but exclaim. How the hell could I miss that? There were trees, giant trees, rising over the buildings behind me. Those things had to be six stories at least! It even looked like there were parts of buildings in the branches – yeah, there were! That one had an entire wall resting in it, and another one had what looked like the roof to another building. Now that I was looking for them, bits and pieces of buildings littered the uppermost canopy; some even had massive branches running through them. How does someone just miss a several story forest sprouting up in the middle (and it looked like literally in the middle) of a city? "What is that?"

"Well," Seo hemmed, "According to rumors it's the domain of a Sekirei." Rumors? I was pretty sure I didn't see a massive forest in the middle of the city last night (although, I will admit that I was a bit distracted by Musubi and then possibly falling to my death). How quickly did rumors pop up and travel for there to be any about a Sekirei growing a forest in the middle of the –

Wait a minute.

"Green Girl?" A face flashed before my eyes. For the past few days, not long after I first met Musubi, I had been having a recurring dream (and for once it wasn't showing up naked to the entrance exams). All of them had featured a young girl, running through the forest. But last night, the dream changed. The girl was crying; she had lost her brother and was asking for someone, anyone, to save her. I had written it off as stress. Just a weird dream caused by the rather radical shift in the direction my life was taking. But now, after seeing those trees, I wasn't so sure. "It couldn't be… Kusano, could it?"

"You're not telling me you really didn't know, are you?" Seo looked over, part amused and part incredulous. "Didn't you get the text MBI sent out this morning?" He asked. Text? What text? If I had gotten one, my phone would have gone off – sure it was silenced because I was at work (and in a busy construction yard), but I had set it to vibrate just in case Shirou or Yukari needed me. Or something changed with Mom. Yeah, my phone was right in…my…back…

Why was my phone missing?

"Oh crap! I must have forgotten it at home!" Jeez, I hope Shirou or Yukari don't need anything. Please, let nothing bad happen, please.

"Chill man, here. Check it out." Seo must have misinterpreted my panic as he tossed me his phone (which I frantically scrambled, successfully, to catch.) His phone was open to a text message from, to my surprise, Minaka Hiroto.

"There is a cute Sekirei in the arboretum." I read the message aloud, not quite trusting my eyes. "First come, first served…you could be the one to give it wings?" Give it wings? What the hell kind of thing was that to say to…

"Now, what's a dressed up fellow like that doing around here." Seo's low rumble interrupted my train of thought. I glanced over to where he was looking to see a man talking with the foreman. He had his hair slicked back, dressed in a black suit, black shoes, white shirt, black tie and to top it off he was wearing black sunglasses. With the exception of the sunglasses screening most of his features, he didn't look out of place from any of the other salary men in Shin Tokyo. I didn't mean to be judgmental, but the glasses did make him look like some kind of Yakuza thug.

Whatever his business with the foreman was, it seemed to have been concluded. The man in black turned away, walking towards a van that had pulled up some time ago. I must not have noticed it, busy as I was with thinking I was going to be electrocuted to death, lost my lunch, and then sat down to a surprisingly tranquil and pleasant meal. But the van itself wasn't what caught my eye, rather it was the white letters painted on the side: MBI. They were really canvasing the area pretty heavily. Did this have to do with their Green Girl announcement?

"Everyone, listen up!" The foreman spoke up, gathering the attention of the rest of the workers on break. "That's it for the day. Seems there's something strange going on at the Botanical Gardens. If you haven't seen it yet, don't worry about it. Long story short is the plants are growing out of control and this whole area is being evacuated by MBI until they can fix the problem. So go home, I don't want any of you injured. I'm not paying your medical bills if you do something stupid, so let's go! Pack it up!"

"Oh…" Seo whistled, standing up from where he was nestled between his girls. "Looks like things are getting pretty interesting around here. Hey, since we seem to have the rest of the day off, how about it? Wanna go take a look at this 'Green Girl'?" He hooked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing towards the towering forest.

The first thing that came to mind was how stupid an idea that was. Obviously, if MBI was evacuating the area, then the forest (and thus the Sekirei in it) was dangerous. Who in their right mind would walk into that forest for any reason? Unfortunately, it looked like I wasn't in my right mind, since all I could think of was the possibility of Kusano – the scared little girl in my dreams – being trapped in their lost and alone. What kind of person would I be if I didn't at least make sure it was just that: only a dream.

I couldn't live with myself if it turned out to be true and I just ignored her plight.

"Yeah, alright." I couldn't believe the words were coming out of my mouth. Didn't believe I was really going to do something so obviously dumb. But it would be better and safer to go with Seo, Hikari and Hibiki than to go in alone. "Let's go."

*Minato*

I had to hand it to MBI: when they evacuated an area, they did so quickly and efficiently. I had assumed that since they were canvassing such a large area around the Botanical Gardens to reach the construction site, that we'd have seen people walking (or otherwise travelling) in the other direction. Instead, Seo, the girls and I were walking down abandoned streets towards the giant forest sprouting in the middle of the city. All the storefronts were closed and dark. No sounds of people still packing or leaving. This entire section of the city had turned into a virtual ghost town.

How eerie.

Although, I guess it made sense. If Minaka was inviting all of the Ashikabi in the city to this point, in order to keep the Sekirei Plan a secret then the place would have to be cleared of witnesses. Granted, I was still unsure about why the Sekirei had to be kept secret. For the most part, they looked just as human as anyone else if you discounted their monstrous strength, penchant for jumping impossible distances, their ability to shoot lightning (and probably other things too) and let's not forget they're an alien race of (thus far only I've only seen) women… okay, so keeping them a secret is probably a good thing.

Yeah, let's go with that. Otherwise, how was I supposed to tell Mom that my girlfriend is a super strong (if a little carefree) alien?

Mom…

And now my thoughts have come full circle. I shook my head, trying to banish the guilt that surged forth. I really should be there at the hospital, especially since the thing keeping me away is over. But… as much as I didn't want to admit it… Shirou was probably better suited to take care of her. He was better suited for a lot of things, wasn't he?

Though, without my phone I had no idea where she was: I didn't know which hospital they sent her to, nor did I have her room number. I'd have to walk back to Izumo to get my phone first. And then there was the Green Girl…

I gazed into the massive forest. Up close it was even bigger than I had first estimated. The trees towered over the nearby high rises, some even reaching over the sixteen story buildings. All I could do for Mom was pray she made it through alright. Shirou said she should, that the worst part was over. All that she needed now was time to recover fully.

Something, somehow, was drawing me to those woods. I didn't know for sure if Kusano, the girl of my dreams, wasn't just a figment of my overstressed imagination… but for some reason I just knew she was real. She was real, she was scared, and she was calling to me for help. So I followed Seo's lead as we made our way towards the Gardens, Hibiki and Hikari following just a few steps behind.

The sound of air breaks startled me out of my thoughts, and though I might not like to admit it, had me jump a solid foot in surprise. After walking for the past twenty minutes in almost absolute silence (the only noise being the whirling of the helicopters overhead), the sound of movement so close was more than surprising.

"There's still people here?" I whispered nervously. We were pretty close to the gardens. Well, that wasn't quite true, we were only about a block away from the gardens, but we were on the very edge of the tree line. As we got closer to the sound of the truck I started to hear the sound of people too. "Do you think it's another Ashikabi?"

"Hmm." Seo grunted, the two of us pausing to listen in. I wasn't sure, but it sounded like there was more than one person, but I couldn't make anything out. "Well, there's no point in speculating. Let's go check it out."

As we snuck our way closer, using the tiny alleys between buildings and corners as cover, the sounds became more distinct. There were definitely several people, and they didn't seem to be moving much. I couldn't make out what was being said though, as the words themselves were garbled over the mechanical thrum of engines and the distance between the voices and our hiding spot.

Holy crap.

"Is this really Japan?" I couldn't help but utter in awe and fear. The sight I beheld reminded me more of a warzone (or America) than Japan. A small barricade had been set up at the new edge of the Gardens, the old edge having been covered by the massive trees probably a block or so into the forest. Several trucks lined the barricade, acting as both obstruction and as cover from the looks of it. They had to be military too, given the metal armor coating the sides and tops of the vehicles. On, behind and between the trucks were the people we'd heard. There were maybe a dozen or so men in black armor and helmets peering around the area. All of them were armed with (having never seen a real gun in my life) what I assumed had to be rifles, although they were bigger and scarier than I thought they'd be from pictures on the internet.

Most importantly, all of the trucks and soldiers (for what could they be other than that) uniforms were emblazoned with three letters: MBI.

They… they didn't look like part of the evacuation crew. They looked like they were gearing up for a siege. Was this… did their presence have something to do with MBI's message to the Ashikabi? Were they here to stop us from entering in search of the Green Girl? Or… or maybe they were here to keep her in?

I didn't know, and honestly I didn't want to find out. Shirou scared me enough when he just mentioned war, I really didn't need to be around actually armed soldiers. Maybe we could just find another place to sneak in. They couldn't blockade and patrol the entire perimeter, could they?

"Hehehe. They really went all out for this." Seo grinned, leering at the armed men (and maybe women, it was hard to tell with the armor) across the street. "I might not have a gun, but I have something just as good. Right, let's do this."

Do this? What are we doing? Who is this 'us' you speak of? Did… did we just discuss a plan that I'm not remembering, cause I don't remember there being a plan here!

I looked back at him as he stood to full height (thankfully behind the wall we were hiding behind), surprised to find Hikari and Hibik shed their maid costumes – only to reveal the skin tight rubber suits they were wearing when chasing Musubi.

"If they're not going to let us in, then we'll just have to bust our way through." Too stunned by that proclamation to move, the three of them strode past me as I hunkered down by the wall. Lightning jumped from Hibiki to Hikari, dancing up and along their skin in blue-white crackling lines. "Isn't that right girls?"

This... this was an entirely different atmosphere than they'd been giving off all day. These people were… these people were dangerous! Even as they passed the corner and into the line of sight of the soldiers, Hibiki and Hikari were already unleashing bolts of electricity. Two of the trucks flanking the makeshift barricade lit up, their exteriors sparking, before igniting. Two great balls of fire erupted as the trucks exploded, sending the soldiers scattering and diving for cover from where they'd been knocked down.

The air was filled with the yelling of soldiers, the crack-whoosh of automatic fire and the snap-crack-THUM of lightning bolts. The soldiers were retreating, desperately trying to recover from the abrupt explosions and fire raining down on them. Seo sauntered, untouched by bullets, lightning or debris, through the impromptu battlefield flanked by his twin Sekirei. Their forms and nightmarishly confident grins were terrifyingly backlit by the burning and twisted remains of the trucks.

It was like the scene form a nightmare. The soldiers were in full retreat, the barricade broken and burning. Was this... were these really the same people I'd been enjoying a peaceful meal with just earlier? I was wrong about them. Oh, god was I wrong. They were exactly as scary and mean and cruel and terrifying as I first thought! I was wrong for ever giving them the benefit of the doubt, for thinking I was safe, that they were nice and kind and sweet!

Oh, Shirou! I never should have doubted you. Now I was trapped with this homicidal and vicious Ashikabi and his Sekirei with no one to save me! You were right. It had never occurred to me that someone would be so ruthlessly violent, nor that they'd find a (not one but two!) Sekirei that would reflect such traits. This… this wasn't a game like I thought, this was a warzone! It was only through sheer luck that no one died in the brief and horrific exchange between MBI's forces and Seo. Oh, I never should have left home without Musubi like you told me not to. I promise, if I just get out of here alive, that I'll listen to you and never doubt your (dark and paranoid) wisdom again!

I almost screamed as Seo turned back to look at me where I was cowering.

"Now, what are you waiting for young man?" He said smiling. Smiling. Like this destructive rampage was nothing out of the ordinary. Even scarier, was that maybe this was ordinary for him. After all, my first encounter with his Sekirei did involve almost being electrocuted in the middle of the street. "We have a Sekirei to find."

"A-ah… Yes…" I whimpered.

Without Shirou, or his friend Akitsu… without Musubi… I was helpless. I really had no choice but to follow him now.

Oh god, why me. I despaired. I was really going to die, wasn't I?

With those final (why did I say final?) thoughts, the four of us entered the Green Girl's forest.

*Chapter end*

Thus ends the first part of Chapter 5. I'm still slightly delirious in my illness, so the next part isn't quite finished yet. It should be done by either this time next week or (at the very latest, I promise) the week after.

First off, I'd like to send a special thanks to Stiama for his help.

Also, I'd like to thank Bigreader in the Omniverse, Gerro, and everyone else for their help in catching some of the errors from last chapter(s). Thank you all very much. Also thank you all for the reviews for both last chapter and the first part in Fragments.