Chapter 7: Hostile Takeovers, Part 1
*Story Start*
*Shirou*
The elevator dinged, opening out into the bustle of doctors, nurses, attendants and patients milling, pacing, rushing and shouting across the lobby floor.
Unlike the last time I came here led by Karasuba, I wasn't surprised to find a working, full-sized hospital in MBI's corporate headquarters. This whole wing of the building actually, all five floors of it, comprised the hospital.
Then again, I guess it wasn't so strange that a medical technology company would have a hospital somewhere near its headquarters. After all, what better way to test and profit from your own med-tech than to sell it from your own clinic?
Now that I thought about it, it was pretty clever, and not just for the business aspect of it. If you were initiating, monitoring and moderating a secret war between magical beings and their human contractors, then having a place where they can receive proper medical attention and still remain secret was a good idea.
Or maybe I was too hopeful in my assumption of their intentions?
I realized that I was flipping between the opinion that MBI was incompetent in their attempts to enforce their shadow war and the belief that they might actually be taking the proper precautions.
From what I saw of their vehicle pool as we walked through it after landing, MBI had hired and/or equipped an entire army to come set up shop in their headquarters. If their purpose wasn't the enforcement of the rules of this Sekirei Plan (and judging from the teams I saw outside the remains of the Botanical Gardens they were), then I was an Average One.
…Still, I couldn't help but feel something ominous from such a heavy military presence, but that may have just been past experiences talking.
I stepped quickly out of the elevator, a cool wind at my heels as I marched across the lobby to the intensive care unit.
The same unit that held my mother.
I grit my teeth. Even after delivering her attacker to the vengeful hands of justice, the thought of her injuries still filled me with rage.
And guilt.
I had been living with the woman for over a month now as she tried (sometimes futilely) to kindle some form of familial bonding, and it took her nearly dying for me to acknowledge what I felt for her.
It was the same old story again and again: I only understood what someone meant to me after they left for good. Kiritsugu, Saber, Illya, Sakura, Rebecca: everyone I find myself attached to is either dead or gone.
And I can't blame anyone but myself.
If it weren't for me, they'd all be alive.
I couldn't understand how Rin (or Lutvia for that matter) could stand me anywhere near her with all the trouble I've cause her. After all I've taken from her.
How could she stand me when I couldn't even stand myself?
And now, the ideals that hung around my neck strike at me once more: this time almost taking another piece of my family.
Maybe I… Maybe I should just –
"Hey, you can't go back there!" A shout from behind me broke my train of thought. "That's restricted to – Oh, shit! Don't hit me!"
I turn to face the shout, only to see a man in blue scrubs under a white coat cowering not five feet from me, hiding his face behind his arms as if to ward off an attack. Well, maybe with the intention to ward off an attack. With his stance, a light poke against his arms would disrupt his balance and land him flat on his ass.
In one of his hands there seems to be … an icepack?
Oddly, he doesn't seem to be cowering from the absolutely frigid glare being sent his way by the woman next to me (and I wish that was a pun), as his darting eyes don't even seem to recognize her, but rather it seems the object of his terror is… me?
Now, I wasn't going to say that people didn't end up hurt or dead around me, mostly because those were the only two options given to people who hung around for too long, but random people didn't start cowering or attacking me until at least our second…
Wait…
Ice pack in hand, clear familiarity indicating a prior meeting, cowering defensively, and last but not least… Yup. It took a moment for the man to shift his arms so I could get a good look, but he looked somewhat familiar, even with that shiner darkening the side of his face.
Ah, shit. This is the same doctor I cold cocked yesterday, isn't it?
How unbelievably awkward.
Great job Shirou. Really, good work.
You've sure sunken low in your life to take out your aggression on poor lowly doctors. And to think, they're the people you respect the most: after all, any idiot can hurt or kill someone else, but it takes a special hand to heal another. Yet here you go knocking them out left and right because of a mistake of your own making.
"Uh… hi…" I greeted the still cringing man. Please. Please stop that. "I'm uh… You haven't done anything wrong. I'm here to see Takami Sahashi again, so I'm going to just…" I trialed off, somewhat abashed. Granted, last time we were in this position didn't end up well for him, so yeah, I was just going to leave now.
"N-no, you can't go in there!" Okay. Both my regret and my good nature were fading quickly as I turned back to him with a glare. We really weren't going to do this song and dance again, were we?
Paling, the man quickly stammered. "I-I mean, that is the intensive care unit. You can't… you don't need to go in there. Takami-sempai woke up some time ago and we moved her once she stabilized. I-I can take you to her room if you want."
She already woke up, and stabilized at that? When I left this morning she was still in an awful condition. I honestly expected that she wouldn't be much different when I returned, despite the care of one of the world's premier medical companies. Of course, the difference between then and now, as the young man had said, was that she 'stabilized,' not recovered.
"Thank you. That would be appreciated." I answered somewhat hesitantly. Take a deep breath Shirou. You know better than to get your hopes up like that. Odds are she'll still be out of it for a long time with the injuries she sustained. Most likely she is still in her coma-like state and would be for the foreseeable… I didn't want to think of it, so I didn't, focusing instead on just following the young doctor.
The doctor led us away from the ward I had fought to get into last night, across the other end of the crowded lobby and down a quiet and mostly abandoned hallway lined with wooden doors. One of the doors was labelled 'Sahashi, T.' on the chart outside the door, not-so-incidentally, the door we stopped outside of.
Steeling myself for whatever I might see on the other side, I nodded to the man who then opened the door to Takami's recovery room and allowing me to step through–
Thunk!
–Only to run into something bouncing sharply off my forehead.
"Dammit! The hell?" I winced, rubbing my forehead more in surprise than actual pain. I ignored the sudden chill wind at my back, idly thankful that my body took up the whole doorway, as a clipboard clattered to the floor to rest at my feet. Who the hell throws a clipboard around a hosp–
"Shirou!" Takami's voice rang clearly and sharply from inside the room. Concern for what was causing her snappish tone instantly warred with the instant relief I felt at hearing her whole and hale. Concern won out as I tore my gaze away from the falling clipboard.
Gone were the tangle of ugly wires and machinery that had covered her in the post-op room. Instead, she was covered with a swath of fresh, mostly clean gauze underneath a flimsy spotted gown. The soft padded bed was inclined so that, with the assistance of a number of thick pillows at her back, she could sit up and properly face the door.
And by 'face the door', I meant 'glare at it like it owed her something'… or probably more accurately like she wanted to hurt it.
Badly.
Oh, yes, and by door, I meant me.
"Pick up that clipboard for me." She ordered.
There was no one in the room with her, I noticed as I glanced at the clipboard and then around the room. She threw it at me, I mused, rubbing the growing welt on my head. Of course she did.
I recognized the look on her face immediately; it was almost exactly the same sort of angry, disbelieving, and condemning look that Rin got on her face whenever I did something particularly heroic. Or as she called it 'stupid and suicidal' and usually followed by a string of curses (only some of which were actual words, and not actual curses). Granted, that I recognized a look from my on-again, off-again friend on my own mother… wasn't something I particularly wanted to focus on.
It did, however, give me insight on just what was about to happen to me though.
"If I give it back to you, you're just going to hit me again." I ignored the once more pale face of the doctor holding the door open for me and the muted cracking behind me as I stepped further into the doorway – not the room itself – and waved my left hand down behind me.
"And if you don't pick it up and give it to me, I'll just call an orderly over and tell them to pick it up." She didn't even try to deny her intentions as she positioned her finger over the call button. "Better yet, I'm still sore. I should have them hit you for me, it'll hurt more."
The sad thing was that she probably would too. And if the orderly that showed up wasn't big enough she'd send them for one that was. It wouldn't even surprise me if they did try to hit me either. Oh, I'm sure they'd be apologetic, probably say sorry right before it happened too, but they'd still do it; Takami was the type of person to have her staff whipped.
Much like dealing with Rin, there was no sense in confronting Takami in her own sanctum, and MBI headquarters was very much her sanctum. Actually, considering it, there was little point to confronting them at all, ever. They are both the type to ignore any logic or sense that disagrees with them. So, instead of fighting it, I bent down to pick up the clipboard with only a small but significant glance behind me. I didn't want my mother to be perforated twice in as many days.
No, it was much better to just take the lashing and get it over with; the less time she had to fester and plot her revenge, the better it would turn out for me. Unlike Rin, it wasn't like she could really hurt me, or that she would try to. Or so I hoped anyway. Those types were unpredictable sometimes.
Besides, this way I would get to find out what I'd done to upset her.
I had a feeling it might have something to do with my going out to hunt and then slaughtering a magical alien murderess, but that was the obvious choice. Oh… on that note, I had to call Rin back and let her know I wasn't dead. That wouldn't be pleasant.
No, that was going to be decidedly unpleasant.
"Fine, here you go." I handed her back the clip board.
"Thank you." She said with too much pomp to fully put me at ease. No sooner had I let go did she promptly whip the newly repossessed board against the side of my head.
"Gah! God damn it!" That one really hurt! Hell, how did she get that kind of force while sitting down? More importantly, how did she do it while still injured?
"Shirou Ichirou Sahashi Emiya, what the hell do you have to say for yourself?" She half growled, half yelled, only barely getting past the ringing in my ear. Her voice took on a bad rasp towards the end there that had me concerned. Really, yelling and hitting people? She was in no shape for that nonsense.
"You're going to have to be a little more specific." I muttered, rubbing the side of my face where she just bitch-slapped me. Damn, that really smarted. Noticing the look in her eye and her arm crank back for a backhand still holding the implement I quickly back peddled. "Ah, I mean, I'm sorry?"
"Sorry? You're sorry?" She growled. "No, you're not even close to sorry yet. How could you do something so idiotic!? Of all the stupid things you could have done in your life that I don't know about, this is quite possibly the worst!"
That was an overstatement. I'd done plenty of things just as stupid!
That… wasn't a good defense.
Even if this time it turned out that my opponent wasn't nearly as powerful or competent as I was expecting didn't change my initial intentions, even if the end result differed. And it wasn't like this was my first time fighting solo against a Servant. Hell, usually my Apostle hunts were solo missions or small teams that split upon entering the operation zone. Really, I was more used to independent operations against nigh-suicidal odds without support than I was having anyone watching out for me.
This was also a bad defense.
Also, slightly depressing, but… I guess I preferred being on my own; less worrying about other people's safety.
"What was I supposed to do then, leave it up to MBI?" I fought back. I had given them some of the benefit of the doubt back when I thought Yomi was a credible threat. She wasn't. "It was their incompetence that led to this."
"How could someone else's incompetence have anything to do with your kissing that witch?"
Wait. What? Backup.
"Kissing… That's what this is about? Karasuba?" I was genuinely shocked. I didn't even know she knew about that. Wait. "How did you –"
"I'm holding the damn report!" She waved the clipboard she hit me with. Twice. All of a sudden, she paused, turning to regard me with even more scrutiny. "Why? Is there something else you've done that I don't know about?"
Trap!
Every fiber of my being screamed trap at those words. "No. Not at all. Only the Karasuba thing."
Please, please buy it! I could only pray that my (admittedly poor) poker face held up to her scrutiny. She peered at me suspiciously for a few moments before she let the subject drop in favor of the current source of her ire.
"What in the world possessed you to do that? Don't you know by now what kind of person she is?" Had she said that yesterday, I might have said yes, but thinking back to the events of this afternoon only led me to one conclusion: No, I really didn't. Every time I think I filed her correctly she does something to defy my expectations. Unfortunately, she didn't always – or even usually – defy them in a positive manner.
"Well, it isn't like she gave me much choice in the matter!" I shouted back. This was true. I didn't ask to kiss her, nor did I want to. The only thing I could be accused of was not killing her when I had the chance.
And didn't that seem to be the way of us. Always giving up the killing blow for some reason.
"Don't give me that." She slapped the clipboard against the bed. "You might see an attractive, confident young woman but she isn't! You have no idea what she is, what she's done, what she's capable of!" On that account she was sorely mistaken. I was keenly aware of what she was and what she's done; that being a magically imbued alien manipulator with a kill count of several hundred.
As to what she was capable of? That I could only guess. Granted, I think I had a pretty accurate guess, but like I said: she defies my expectations. All I could count on was that she was dangerous. Dangerous and with an unknown agenda – one that I was apparently a part of.
"She's a lying, thieving, manipulative witch with a passion for violence, chaos, mayhem and bloodshed and no good will come of her!" And there were probably a few choice words left out of there that I could throw in too. What did it say about me that, knowing this, knowing that she was using me, I was trying to do the same to her?
"If that's what you think then why the hell did you kiss her? Do you even know what this means?"
"I didn't kiss her, she kissed me!" I argued. A futile argument at best, since either way I was still caught in the same trap. "And believe me, if I could have avoided partnering with an erratic and homicidal maniac in a life or death battle royal then you can bet your ass I would." That I would still be involved in other ways… she didn't need to know that. I also ignored the fact that I had, in a way, already chosen a partner for said death match, even if I only considered her a partner after I accepted her help.
"You know?" For the first time since she hit me she stopped yelling. In fact, she looked scared. Was her former anger merely a front to hide her concern, her insecurities, behind? I couldn't tell from her countenance, still pale from her ordeal with Yomi and the surgeries, but her tone and the slight tremor in her voice were indicative of fear rather than anger.
"Yeah." I nodded, matching her quiet, almost breathless tone. "I know. I talked to Minato about it. Karasuba's told me some too, you know, before today."
"Damn, I hate her." Takami took a moment to compose herself. I wanted to agree with her, but I couldn't. I honestly didn't know quite how I felt about her. "Why couldn't you have met someone – anyone – else instead?"
"Need I remind you that you were the one to introduce us?" I quipped. "It isn't my fault she stalks me. Well, maybe it is, but it's too late to do anything about it now, isn't it?" I was committed to this course of action now.
Takami must have read the decision I'd come to from my face, even if she lacked knowing the intent behind it.
"God, you're even worse than your father." Takami sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "I need a cigarette."
Taking a seat at her bedside, I ruffled through my equipment pouches, drawing from one a half empty carton. The action startled the older woman, who looked at the two cigarettes I pulled and then back at me with a glare.
"After all you've complaining about my smoking. Just what are you doing with those?" She glowered at my seeming hypocrisy where her smoking was concerned.
"I never said 'no smoking' in general." I held up the sticks in one hand and stuffed the carton back with the other. Normally, I would never have smoked near someone with Takami's injuries, let alone offer said patient one of my dirtier habits.
Odds were, however, that Takami had already cowed the attending and orderlies into letting her go on with her own habit and if I didn't give them to her she'd just use the call nurse button to order someone else to volunteer theirs. So in this case I figured I'd merely save her the trouble. That I was hoping this might be somewhat of a peace offering was… irrelevant. "I said 'no smoking at the table.' How are you supposed to enjoy a balanced and hearty meal when you can't even taste it?"
"Shut up and give me a light." She scowled, not willing to give me the point for arguing semantics.
I pressed my forehead to hers as we cupped our hands against the ends of our cigs, not to ward off the almost non-existent wind, but out of habit as I lit the ends.
As one we each took a deep drag and looked at the other, the smoke curling between our faces as we sighed.
And then we laughed.
I couldn't really explain why we were laughing or what we were laughing about. Maybe it was one of those spontaneous things where you laugh for no reason at all.
"Oh." Tamaki coughed lightly, pressing a hand to her chest as we sobered.
"You okay?" I asked, concerned. It didn't look like she reopened anything, but despite how… alive and normal she looked now, I couldn't get the image of her covered in tubes and drips out of my head. The gauze still decorating her entire body and the pad covering her eye only helped to drive the point home.
"Ah, yeah." She winced as her chuckles died down and she rested her head back against mine. "Yeah, just still sore. Thank Science for advancements in medicine."
"I don't think that's how that phrase is supposed to go."
"Too bad, it is now." She quipped back and we settled into a peaceful silence.
Unfortunately, the peace of our mother-son smoke break bonding could only last for so long before reality called to us.
"I'm going to be moving out." I spoke softly into the silence.
"I know." She gave a slight grimace. Of course she knew. I bet she knew my reasons for it too, if not guessed them.
"I can't believe you and Karasuba." She shook her head. And we came to my least important reason for leaving. Karasuba and Takami living in the same apartment would be like having two tigers on the same mountain. They would never stop fighting and it would probably end in blood. Knowing those two, the blood would probably be mine.
"If it makes you feel any better, I did almost kill her."
"No. No it doesn't" She shook her head. She did give a single, sad chuckle, but that died with another wince and a grimace and caused her to rub her sternum through the thick layer of bandages. "It's bad enough that Minato got caught in this madness, but now you too?"
I didn't have the heart to say what we both feared was the truth: I was involved the minute that Karasuba and Takami walked into that security terminal a month or so ago. That event, in hindsight, seemed as inexorable as my staying after school on my first night of the Grail War. Instead, I let out a smoke filled sigh and a non-committal grunt of commiseration.
She was right. Even if these Sekirei were (thankfully) less powerful than Servants, there were still a lot of them. And what abilities they did have were not inconsiderable. Odds were much more favorable that, unless I did something incredibly stupid (and I was sad to say those were pretty good odds), that I would have no problem surviving and thriving in this new war unless there were others like me involved.
Then I had fifty-fifty chances.
Maybe.
If I didn't do something stupid.
Once I finished consolidating my position, I'd probably need to help Minato to do the same. Idly, I wondered if the desire to support him was out of some familial bond I was only now awakening, or if it was because he reminded me of myself. Honestly, I was surprised to see him there today and even more so to see he had already joined up with another ally. Maybe, despite his idealistic and pacifistic nature, he took this 'game' of his more seriously than I'd thought?
I let out another smoke filled sigh. I just didn't know. I'd have to rectify that later, but for now I took solace in that at least Yukari would be away at school soon and wouldn't be dragged into this madness. For her, Takami's and my own sake.
"So" Takami gestured with her over half-finished cigarette. "Do I even want to know what she is doing here?"
She glanced over at the corner behind me, where Akitsu stood standing by the door, looking at us in a combination of confusion and wariness. Takami's reaction to the brown haired woman, given the circumstance, didn't really surprise me. It wasn't like I had time to break the news to her about my involvement with the ice user in the past two nights.
At least she wasn't throwing things at me for this one, though I didn't doubt that was because her clip board was currently out of reach. Or maybe it was because her earlier burst of violence wore her out.
"Akitsu?" I asked. "She's my aegis against Karasuba."
Some of the tension left Akitsu's stance as she straightened, preening in an oddly birdlike fashion at my words. It was also the first time since we entered the building that the temperature around me returned to something one might call 'normal.' She'd been pretty high strung – it was like walking around with a personal air conditioner on full blast.
The reason she was here with me this time, instead of watching over Yukari at home, was because… well…
It was because I am an asshole.
Earlier today, I had waited until the scent of blood had disappeared into the surrounding loam before I had dared to release my hold on the Traced Noble Phantasms, letting them disappear in motes of golden light. Of course, I had to reTrace and sheath the copies of Kanshou and Bakuya into their holsters at my back.
Granted, that all took the span of about a second, so I was left to wait for Karasuba to return with Akitsu in tow.
In hindsight, that was an incredibly stupid idea. Sure, at the time I needed to safely recover my weapons in a way that didn't clue in Karasuba to their true nature; a secret I had maintained through our fight by more luck than skill (I was slightly ashamed to say). Well, that wasn't quite true. It would be more accurate to say 'by choice and luck than skill,' given I could have always used something less… subtle than Gae Bolg.
At the time, I had been lost in thought; trying to map out what my next move was going to be. I was hoping to use her connection to MBI to get inside information about the other 105 Sekirei and maybe even their Ashikabi. I rather doubted that, despite my contract with Karasuba, they'd allow me to be an enforcer or moderator in their plan, but that would have been the ideal scenario.
So I was waiting for the girls to return and plotting where we'd go from there when I was distracted by a protracted rumbling echoing through the woods. For a moment, I thought maybe 108 was collapsing the forest labyrinth it had created to hide from Yomi now that she was dead, and worried that I was about to be crushed under several tons of falling trees.
That would be an embarrassing and ignonymous way to die.
But as the noise got closer, I realized that it sounded less like falling trees and more like a rock slide or avalanche.
I didn't quite have the time to decide whether I was more or less concerned at this new turn of events when Karasuba came tearing into the clearing, uncharacteristically hiding behind me (if several feet away) and screaming for me to 'call her off, call that stupid bitch off.'
Worried about what would frazzle the normally implacable woman and not quite registering her words, I turned to see what would make Karasuba of all people run away.
It appeared that I was correct in my comparison of the sound to an avalanche, as a great crashing wall of ice and snow was bearing down on the two of us. I didn't have time to decide whether to run or fight (yes, because fighting an avalanche was a good idea at the time) when someone tackled me hard, knocking me to the ground and removing either of those options.
Stunned, I sort of waited to be buried alive at any moment.
When that didn't happen, however, I took notice of a weight pressed against my chest (having been knocked on my back by the tackle) and a strange sound in my ears. Looking down at the source of both sound and weight, I was rather surprised to find a shaking, sobbing Akitsu latched onto me with her head buried in my chest. Dazedly, I held the shaking woman in my arms as she cried.
It had taken until an MBI helicopter arrived to transport Yomi's body and the three of us back to MBI's headquarters to console Akitsu to the point where she was no longer crying and would move on her own. Granted, she refused to let go at me and spent the walk to the helicopter and ride back here latched onto me and glaring daggers (or ice knives?) at anyone wearing an MBI uniform that got anywhere near us. And that wasn't counting the looks she favored Karasuba (who ended up having to sit on the other side of me from Akitsu and on the other side of the helicopter all together).
Akitsu…
I wasn't exactly sure what had caused her reaction, other than that the reappearance of Karasuba without me gave Akitsu the impression I was dead. It wasn't an unreasonable conclusion: If I were in her shoes, I'd think that as well. But for her to go to such lengths to… what? Try and avenge my death? If that was the case, as I was starting to suspect, then I hadn't realized just how much having an Ashikabi meant to the woman before agreeing to be her partner. Maybe… maybe being unable to properly form a contract made her value the words I had so casually abused more dearly than I had imagined. Looking back in hindsight, it appeared that might just be the case, as that frame of mind helped to explain some of her more peculiar actions since I met her.
Unfortunately, it had taken something so incredibly stupid and hurtful to her on my part to get the point across to me.
Rin would have scolded me and said 'I told you so' in her very Rin-like manner at my lack of empathy had she known what I'd done. Saber too, would have no doubt been disappointed. But I feared she was already disappointed enough in me as it was, so what was one more nail in my coffin? I would be if I were her.
It was easy to ignore and forget who Akitsu first reminded me of and the reason why I brought her home the other night. I still didn't know what happened in her life before I met her, and from her reaction toward anything related to MBI and Takami's reaction to her, I was beginning to suspect it wasn't what I had been thinking. What's more, I think that Takami knew what was done to her; something that I'd have to find out from her later.
Still, despite her strange quirks, it was easy to get along with Akitsu. She was damaged, yes, and in quite obvious ways, but I had also come to learn (quite quickly) that she was dependable. Sure, she had a… predisposition towards being spacy and forgetful, not to mention her lack of knowledge about concepts like 'modesty' or 'personal sleeping arrangements,' the manifestations of her sheltered and damaged history. But, Musubi also displayed most of these same tendencies, so it looked like Akitsu wasn't quite damaged in the ways I feared.
Damaged in ways that made my heart clench and teeth grind. In ways that made me remember someone else. I shook my head to bury those memories where they belonged; hoping that they'd stay buried, despite knowing how futile that hope really was.
Those little quirks were ignored easily enough considering that she only displayed such behavior on things that, in the long run, really didn't matter. On the important issues and things I told or ordered her to do directly she was rock solid (if maybe a little too literal). I guess that was why I trusted her to look over my younger siblings when I left with Karasuba.
So it was too easy to forget those little aspects and treat her like I would Saber, back in the first few days of the War. Or, I should probably say the way Saber wanted me to treat her: as a tool, a weapon. And I did.
I ignored that she was a person, hurting, the moment she asked to contract with me. I didn't care that she was damaged, just that she was useful. And that is how I thought of her when I ordered her to stay behind so that I could deal with Karasuba alone.
I hadn't given any thought to her thoughts or feelings at being given what amounted to a suicide order. Outnumbered three or four to one, if any of them had made the move to eliminate her she probably wouldn't have stood much of a chance. Yes, I would have preferred she lived through said order, but I didn't really give it much concern.
And then, who should return to her but the woman who had been attempting to kill me? I didn't even think of the consequences of sending Karasuba to fetch her as opposed to myself. I had only thought about getting her away from me so I could (poorly) conceal the traces of my magecraft.
What other conclusion could she come up with other than that I was dead? After all, even if I had accepted her as my Sekirei, I wasn't bound to her in the same way that I was now bound to Karasuba. She wouldn't have suffered the same fate should Karasuba have killed me, and it would be just like Karasuba to return to finish her off after I died.
What I didn't expect was the magnitude of Akitsu's response to such thoughts. As ashamed as I was to admit it, her reaction to my supposed death both touched and tore at me.
Even if I hadn't given much thought to our supposed contract other than gaining a secret weapon to use in the war, she obviously did. Merely the thought of losing that bond reduced her to a sobbing wreck in my arms. I was forced to acknowledge and respect the depths of her feelings about my wellbeing as her contractor.
What's more is that I found myself truly repentant of my callous treatment of her, and if allowing her to be clingy and overly protective for the next few days was what it took for her to recover some peace of mind, then that was a price I'd be willing to pay.
"I would say that you don't know how dangerous she is either," Takami let out a smoke-laden sigh. "But I suspect you'll ignore that warning too."
"Is she really any more of a danger to me than Karasuba?" I directed a gaze with a newfound fondness at the ice manipulator.
"Yes." She snorted. She was right though, I did ignore her warning, but I doubt she believed that Akitsu was as much of an asset as I had come to know.
Granted, given Karasuba's mercurial nature, it might be more that Takami suspected Akitsu wouldn't be enough.
"Speaking of the devil…" Takami segued. "Minaka wants to speak with you about Karasuba."
Of course he does. I didn't even raise an eyebrow. The intent in sparing Karasuba was this particular outcome.
"When does he want to meet?" I asked, wondering how formal this meeting would be. I was in a precarious position right now, as I knew I would be, and this meeting with the inscrutable CEO could send me tumbling either way.
"He'll want to meet later tonight, impatient man that he is." She waved what was left of the brand in her hand in a dismissive manner. "It won't just be him though. He'll want you to meet with the entire Disciplinary Squad given your…" Here she made a face as if she bit into something particularly sour, "relationship with Karasuba."
That actually sounded promising.
"Alright." I nodded, getting the floor and room number from her. "At some point we should call Minato and Yukari to let them know you're awake and doing better."
"They know I'm here?" Takami looked surprised and, dare I say, slightly panicked.
"They know of your injuries, or rather, that you were injured." I raised my hands to calm her down. "Karasuba was nice enough to come over last night to let me know what happened so I could come and keep vigil."
She looked shocked as I was at Karasuba's uncharacteristic altruism, and then pissed that it was Karasuba who did it.
"She did what?! They don't know that I work with MBI, do they? Or about the Sekirei?" I had to restrain her from getting out of bed and agitating her injuries.
"Calm down, and no. All they know is that there was an accident and that you were injured." I explained, "You working for MBI never came up, why?"
"They don't know I work here. I never told them I worked for MBI. As far as they know I'm in pharmaceutical research."
That wasn't that far from the truth, if you considered what I'd seen MBI was capable of. Where this morning Takami's injuries had been slightly weeping blood, her wounds looked quite closed. For the extent and number of her injuries, even Avalon would have taken some time to heal without Saber's presence. Honestly, the speed of her recovery was alarming. Great, but alarming.
I had no idea that medical technology had come so far, but then again I rarely went to working hospitals or areas where there were working (or modern) medical facilities.
"Okay." If she wanted to keep her involvement with MBI and Sekirei a secret from the rest of the family, I couldn't exactly blame her. It wasn't like I wasn't keeping as big a secret if not bigger. "Would you like to call them then, or shall I?"
"I'll call them. Do you have my phone?" She asked.
"No, it must be with your things. I'll go get it."
*Karasuba*
I let go my towel, letting it slip free to pool, forgotten, beside the poolside. Unabashedly naked, I took the last few steps into the pool. With a hiss I settled into the nearly scalding hot water. The heat tingled, like hundreds of pinpricks needling my skin at the abrupt shift in temperature, before the discomfort became pleasant.
This was one of the few places in all of headquarters that I could truly relax. One of the few places I could properly vent and recompose myself after the few times I have truly lost my cool. Normally, I could burn some of the tension off my hunting my unfortunate sisters. Punishing them usually helped me to put things in perspective – or at the very least made me feel better anyway. But for once the appeal wasn't there. Not only because, for once, I didn't feel confident in my chances of victory.
My hands were still shaking.
I don't think anyone noticed on my way here, given the space I was usually afforded as I walked through the halls, but now that I was submerged, the slight tremors were sending ripples through the water.
It wasn't just my hands either: my fingers trembled, my legs quivered, my entire body was filled with nervous, jittery energy that begged for movement and simultaneously, paradoxically, left me drained.
Was this what being winged was like?
On one hand, I felt the strongest that I've ever been. Capable of anything. But on the other… I couldn't focus, wasn't stable enough to use it. My thoughts kept chasing themselves, running in circles and loops and turns.
Vexing.
Damn it! I hissed, slapping the water. It wasn't supposed to be like this! Seething, I took a moment to try to recollect myself. Unfortunately, the usually welcome sensation of steaming water wasn't doing anything to alleviate my current problems. At least I could take solace in the fact that no one could see my tantrum.
This pool was really more of a communal bath, set up sometime between Miya's awakening and our own. Although, back then I think it was only supposed to be a relaxation lounge with heated pool – something for the first investors to enjoy when they were checking in on the then fledgling Mid Bio Informatics.
That changed when Matsu, Kazehana, Mutsu and I were hatched. Once, the memory of Miya's frustration at our lack of shame at our nudity in front of several investors as we all dove in for the first time was a happy one; a throwback to a simpler, more innocent time.
Now that memory felt like poison, souring in my stomach and spinning like shards of glass.
The only good thing to come of it was that the security devises – the cameras and microphones – were all removed after Matsu discovered her talent for accessing electronic media… also her penchant for being a horrible and incorrigible little pervert.
Ever since that day, we of the first Disciplinary Squad sort of just moved in, appropriated the pool as our own personal bath and no one really bothered to stop us. Some of that might have been that no one was safe for a wet, hands-y Matsu and I know there was always some tension between Kazehana, Mutsu and… certain people on the board.
Either way, the end result was that I had a free place to take out all of my frustrations without fear.
With a sigh that was part growl, I leaned back, resting my elbows on the edge of the pool and sunk down on the submerged shelf that lined the inside of the bath.
How could everything have gone so horribly so quickly? Today had started out so perfectly, too. No, not just today, I realized. After the meeting yesterday, it seemed as if for once the universe had spun itself to my tune.
Despite the board's denial of my motion to wing Shirou, they hadn't given me a set date to wing Natsuo, something I had every intention of taking advantage of. I might have been reacting to Shirou, and I may even have strongly considered him as a match, but there were still things I needed to know before I could deign to make a more… permanent relation.
If nothing else, our numerous interactions had taught me that he could be quite obstinate – something that, in context, I had to admit was somewhat attractive. The chase would be too easy if he were to capitulate immediately. Too easy and not nearly as enjoyable.
If binding him to me took away the entertainment I had in provoking him, I would be severely disappointed. In fact, that would have probably been a deal breaker in its entirety.
Maybe.
So I had time, little time, but time enough to judge him. Test him. Maybe, hopefully, even break him enough to be… perfect.
And even if I couldn't, I was confident that I could use the time given to me to ascertain whether or not he was a suitable Ashikabi.
The biggest, and quite possibly only detractor in my plan (I didn't count Shirou as depending on my decision, his opinion was unnecessary) had been Takami. She guarded him jealously and worse yet, I had played my first card too early. She'd be even more vigilant in thwarting my designs. Worse, she might even have revealed my intentions to Shirou – a prospect that had filled me with dread and… something else.
So when she was struck down, I had viewed it as providence.
After all, it isn't every day that that bitch almost gets taken out by some jumped up idiot. Not that I wanted her dead; I might not like her, I might even actively wish her harm on occasion, but she was too important to the company to leave permanently incapacitated.
Plus, her death might have had the opposite effect I had hoped to invoke in Shirou. Still, seeing her bloodied and knocked down a few pegs had been delightfully gratifying.
The event had not only removed Takami's interference, but directly served in the goal of binding Shirou to me. I mean, I was kind enough to not only be the first to inform him of the attack on his (accursed) mother, but I even used my clearances to get him past headquarters' security to see her bruised and bleeding body.
Things had been going even better than I had originally planned. He had even asked – asked – me to help him find the feather that attacked Takami. Granted, I had been prepared to… suggest, that he might want to accompany me in hunting her down, but for him to volunteer was only too perfect.
With the information Matsu had so kindly provided me with, I thought I had Shirou mostly figured out and could play this little scenario out perfectly. Given his martial background, I figured he would have some proficiency for tracking down the rogue feather. I was also counting on him wanting some form of personal revenge on her. That his golden eyes shone with the promise of barely restrained violence only confirmed that belief and sent shivers of anticipation up my spine.
Once more he had surprised me, a trait I still hadn't fully decided if I fount somewhat endearing or frustratingly annoying, when he took up the bait and ran with it on his own initiative (although, in the current circumstances, I found myself leaning towards annoyed).
When he said that he needed to pick up some things from Takami's apartment, I had already thought I knew what he was getting. His choice of involving the scrap woman in my outing with him wasn't unexpected, merely hardly ideal. But, she could be dealt with easily enough, especially when I had my sword on me and wasn't confined in a closet. I must admit, no small part of me was hoping for a chance during the hunt to take her out permanently; she had to take responsibility for her actions… and I really didn't like her near Shirou.
Tramp.
Even the suit of light Kevlar and ceramic composite body armor her had stashed in his bags was expected. That had shown up on the airport screenings and had been part of the briefing I was given when going to… confront him that first time. It might be a decent defense against small caliber rounds, but against a Sekirei it was nothing more than tissue paper. If it made him feel more comfortable, who was I to deny him wearing it? I was counting on it giving him enough confidence to try his hand at killing our prey – something I was more than willing to give to him.
And when he failed, realizing just how outclassed he was in front of a superior being, well, then I'd step in and save him. Showing him once and for all my power and magnificence, and how helpless he was before me. Forcing him to realize his dependence on me early was key: I couldn't afford any Ashikabi thinking they had any influence or power in our relations.
The swords, however… those I did not expect.
The twin, black and white Chinese swords he pulled from his duffel were not in the briefing. Their presence was not listed on the items to beware about when confronting him. He was supposed to be unarmed entirely, so that when I provided him with one of our rifles he would be suitably thankful before he ultimately realized how useless it was against a Sekirei.
He was not unarmed.
If it was a gun, I might not have been so shocked. It could have been entirely possible that he managed to sneak in the disassembled parts for weapon that could pass screening – I had my suspicions that he was a corporate saboteur and Matsu had voiced her opinion for him being a mercenary/assassin. Having a weapon like that was entirely within the realms of possibility.
But swords?
Who even used a sword in this day and age?
Well, what human used a sword (let alone two) in an age where everyone else used guns?
The only conclusion I could come up with was that our guys at security had thought their presence so outlandish and ridiculous that they didn't think the swords were a threat. I mean, they're right, but I made a note to have some very specific words with the crew at the airport because of it.
Addendum: the note I made to have 'words' with them about their incompetence and imminent termination might no longer be necessary.
Still… at the time I thought that the presence of those blades wouldn't change anything. In fact, I remember feeling a bit of disappointment at their presence. Going against a Sekirei with melee weapons was only going to force my involvement sooner. There wouldn't be any time to enjoy his futile struggles.
Oh, how wrong I was.
The fight was exactly as I expected it to be: a one-sided massacre. Only, it wasn't Shirou who ended up on the losing side.
I perched myself up in the trees on the far side of the clearing from where Shirou would enter and gain her attention. It was the perfect vantage point to wait to step in when he needed saving and far enough from the scrap that she wouldn't be able to stop me.
But then Shirou surprised me. Something he has something of a penchant for.
With the first clash of steel he caught my breath, turning away her blow and retaliating with expert timing. Not a wasted move. He countered her superior strength by using it against her and striking in the gap left by her overextension. I felt my anticipation build that maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be as boring as I feared.
If Shirou was startled by her speed or strength, he didn't show it, but the result was a forgone conclusion. No matter how skilled he was, he couldn't counter her speed, strength and durability for long. Now I had the privilege to see just how long he could last.
As they clashed again, I could feel my heart rate pick up to match the sound of steel against steel. Shirou wasn't holding her off. He was countering her every advance and beating her back. No, it was more than that. A human, armed with nothing more than a pair of broadswords, was completely dismantling a Sekirei in close combat.
I wanted it to be me.
I wanted to be the one fighting him.
My blood sang to the rhythm of ringing steel, pulsing like wildfire through my veins. I couldn't wait for him to finish with her. At that point, I knew he couldn't lose. Not because he was stronger, faster, or more skilled than his opponent, but because if he did then he couldn't fight me next.
The thought pulsed in my mind, heat diffusing through my body. I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait till my turn to fight him. It was all consuming. My whole body tingled in anticipation; the culmination of the hunt would end with the death of the rogue Sekirei. That was just foreplay for my fight.
Red crept into the edges of my vision and… and I remember seeing the world as if through a dream. I was removed from it… waiting to cross swords with a human, a human of all things, that might be able to match me like only two had before him.
I wanted to experience that ecstasy.
I yearned for it.
I needed it.
It consumed me and I struck the moment his prey was slain; too impatient to wait any longer. I could think of nothing but experiencing the thrill of combat, the joy of putting your life, pride and skill at the edge of your sword.
A part of me, trapped within that horrible, incredible, intoxicating haze of bloodlust, euphoria and a myriad of things I still can't identify, was worried.
I couldn't stop myself anymore though. I couldn't pull my blows or aim for non-vitals. I was completely focused on fighting the man in front of me to the fullest, looking into his molted gold eyes and forcing him to acknowledge my victory.
I was too far gone to realize that killing him would ruin my plan.
Too far gone to care.
Stupid girl!
Stupid, stupid, stupid girl!
I dunked my head under the nearly scalding hot bathwater. Even the recollection of those feelings was getting me agitated. I could feel that horrible, terrifying, addictive warmth tingle across my skin and sink into the deepest parts of me. I shuddered under the water at the sensation, my mind flashing back unbidden to the all too recent trigger of events.
There was no mistaking the raw intensity of my reaction to Shirou now. In hindsight, I could only scoff at how foolish I was for thinking that I had any control at all around him. This was the third time I had lost all reason, my entire existence washed away by that red haze and the tide of wrath and desire flooded every corner of my mind. I had already drowned in it before I even realized the danger.
The first had been when I thought that Musubi had winged herself to Shirou. The thought that he wasn't mine and mine alone… that I had waited too long and I was too late… I had gone to kill them both, even though that too went against all of my plans and intentions at the time. I had only broken free from the grasp of those feelings after I tried to kill Shirou for his… his what? Even now I am still confused by what I felt during these 'reactions.'
Compared to that, the second time was tame. At least, I didn't try to kill him that time. I may have been a few seconds from doing something ultimately (maybe) worse, whether he wanted it or not.
This last time was the worst of all.
I was barely aware of my actions; thoughts, feelings, reasoning… I only say brief, wavering flashes of what I was doing. I couldn't stop. I couldn't even think about stopping. In my reduced state, I wasn't even fighting smart, merely throwing myself against his defenses with wild abandon. The thrill of battle didn't fade after I spilt first blood. Nor after second. The scent and sight of blood had only stirred me to further heights. My opponent wasn't stopping or slowing, so only through absolute defeat could this end.
Only in death would this warrior be mine, as no one else could claim to have or know him.
He would be mine forever.
I held my breath underwater, letting the sting of the water prickle at my face to try and help distract me from all of these unwanted feelings. The heat of the bath wasn't helping as much as I had thought. Instead, it only served to remind me of the insufferable warmth that had melted my brain earlier today. I stayed under until my lungs started to burn and then even longer.
This third time, it was only the cold sensation of death, in all its absolute rapturous and terrible indelibility that freed me from my insanity. Its icy claws tore away the haze from my mind, filling it instead with the unyielding truth that I was going to die. I didn't know how, but I had been bested. Once more, in the moment of triumph my victory turned to ash in my hands. I was going to die. There was no escape. It was certainty. In that instant of clarity, I was aware that if that red spear swung, I would die. I didn't question how I knew this to be true, only that it was. I didn't question the existence of the spear, even though I had just disarmed my quarry, for it didn't matter.
In that single moment, I did the only thing I could do.
The only thing it occurred to me to do.
I burst from the water, no longer capable of staying under. Raising myself up, I leaned half out of the pool on my elbows and pressed my forehead against the tile. Though the pool was heated, the tile floors running the length of the rest of the room were not, and their coolness was delightful against my skin.
I stayed like that, my lower half submerged underwater and my upper pressed against the tile, supported by my hands and elbows. All because the biggest mistake I made today kept repeating itself in my mind. Really, I couldn't believe I did it. How could that have really been the only thing that occurred to me?
Unbidden, I felt my fingertips trace my lower lip in remembrance. I had done it. Why had I done it? Even if it was… wonderful, why did I do that instead of all the other things I could have possibly done instead. For when I had been released from my fever dream by that crimson spear of death, I had been… I had… "Ugh…" I let out an aggravated sigh before whispering to myself, "I can't believe I kissed him."
"Wha!" A startled yelp, followed by a splash, forced my attention away from the tiled floor and towards the room proper.
The empty room.
Huh, I could have sworn I heard –
"You what?!" A very wet, very loud and very clothed Haihane burst, literally, from the water next to me. Had I not seen the surfacing bubbles next to me only a moment beforehand, I might have responded more violently to her outburst (and for actually successfully sneaking up on me for once) than gently catching her wrists and directing her hands away from me.
She wasn't just fully clothed: her clawed gauntlets were still attached and I didn't want her to accidentally impale me… or herself. She had an amusing, if somewhat troublesome, habit of forgetting they were attached until they got stuck in someone. Most of the time that person was herself.
Most of the time.
"You kissed someone?" She exclaimed in her low, raspy voice. She tried to squirm around to see my back, a task made difficult by the fact that I was taller and had a firm grasp on her, preventing her from moving much. Apparently, she was successful, though I'm not sure how. "No way! You totally did! Who was it? It wasn't Natsuo was it? I heard we were supposed to kiss him, but I didn't think you'd go for it so fast!"
Had it been anyone else who walked in on me, I might have used the hold I had her in to drown her in the bath. Or at least punish them for a bit as I held their head under. Really, I should do that last bit to her anyway.
"Settle down, Haihane." I tried, with moderate success, to get her to calm down. It always surprised me how lively the seemingly subdued and quiet woman really was; proof of concept that you couldn't judge a book by its cover. And she might just be a good distraction from thinking about Emiya-kun for a while. Probably not, given that she was unknowingly asking about him. Definitely not; I just thought of him. "Now hold still so I can take your gloves off or you'll rust. Again."
"Thank you Karasuba-sama." She nodded and held still as I undid the clasps securing the claws to her hands and forearms. Once they were removed I used my towel to wipe them dry and rested them there; it wasn't like Haihane could properly dry them with her unexpected bath.
"You always look after me sempai." She thanked me, letting out one of her low, raspy giggles. More of a 'heh heh heh' than a real laugh, but the expression was genuine. Of course, the moment I let go of her weapons she caught my hands in hers and began firing rapid fire questions.
They were annoying questions like: who was it, guy or girl? Were they a good kisser? How'd I meet them? It wasn't really Natsuo, was it? What does this mean for the Squad? Are they cute? Did I sleep with them yet?
I was really starting to regret not drowning her.
Well, almost drowning her. The truth was, as insufferable as she was with her practical jokes, terrible puns and dirty jokes… not to mention her constantly almost killing herself, I liked her.
Other than Musubi, she was the only other Sekirei I could stand.
For one, she was really simple when you got right down to it. Only really two things mattered to her in the long run: MBI and the Disciplinary Squad. The former was probably the reason she asked to join the Disciplinary Squad – the only person other than myself to volunteer. I think she felt that she owed MBI for helping, raising and training her; so she decided to give back to the company the only way she knew how.
Okay, three things: those damn television shows of hers she was constantly bringing up or was late to meetings because 'the person she kidnapped couldn't figure out how to use the remote and hid crying and locked in the bathroom when she tried to kick her out.'
Maybe like was a strong word. Tolerate? That wasn't quite fair. Except for the times when I wanted to strangle her with her own bandages – which were at the moment dissolving in the water, gross – I didn't not enjoy her company… sometimes.
Either way, I wasn't sure if I was right or not, but that's what I took to be her justification for working for MBI. She never got along with the other sisters in her batch, at least not from what I saw. Granted, most of my exposure to them was illustrating what would happen to them if they broke the rules or crossed the Disciplinary Squad. Which was fun.
That was back when it was only me on the squad though.
Unlike the other feathers, Haihane gave up the choice to go out and find her Ashikabi and instead join in with the company. In some ways, I guess I saw her as a kindred soul. That she constantly looked up to me as her sempai in a way that no one but Musubi did might have something to do with my preferential treatment of her. I was much kinder… okay, I was kind to her where I would injure (or worse) our other sisters.
For instance, if it were Benitsubasa that had stumbled into the bath just now instead, I would have held her head underwater till she stopped struggling instead of helping her out and impatiently answering her questions or listening to her comments about 'how she wished she could get all physical' with her Ashikabi.
I wouldn't have killed Benitsubasa, mind you. That would have been more work that it was worth, even if she was an uppity little bitch. It would have weakened the Squad's position – something I couldn't afford, despite how much of a problem she could be.
Weakening the Squad… it might be that my accidental winging to Shirou may have just accomplished that. It hadn't occurred to me at the time… mostly because I wasn't thinking, but my winging might be a bigger mistake than I thought. I may have held seniority over the group and may be the most powerful (and arguably the most loyal to the company's goals), but I also disobeyed a direct order.
I may have often skirted the line between spirit and letter of my orders, but I'd never, not once disobeyed one that was in the company's best interest.
That now I had could have unintended consequences. Ugh, as if this stupid day could get any worse. Bad enough my plans were ruined by me of all people, but to lose face with the company… or to lose the company.
I should have known better. In hindsight, I should have known that this plan, like every other plan I'd ever made, would explode in my face. Instead of success and happiness, all my plans ever bore were pain, suffering and loneliness. Respect, camaraderie, friendship… love. Now I might even lose my one sanctuary from all of that bullshit, just because I made my worst mistake… because I kissed Emiya-kun.
No! I wouldn't allow it.
My initial plans might have been ruined by my (un)fortunate winging to Shirou, but that didn't mean that the situation wasn't salvageable. I had courted him as a possible Ashikabi, so even if I had acted… prematurely it wasn't a completely objectionable situation. Not really. But for now, I was a liability due to Shirou's non-involvement with MBI. It was an all too real and horrifying possibility that I'd be cut loose by the company on my own.
However… as Haihane gushed further, an idea struck me.
"Haihane." I interrupted her questions, finally getting a word in edgewise (not that I had really tried before now). "How would you like to meet him? My Ashikabi?" If Shirou was a liability because he lacked ties to MBI, then that was an easy problem to solve.
Yes, this would do nicely. I was going to reward you, Haihane. In return for your loyalty, in return for using you for my own ends, I will give you what you desire. While true, she could and probably would be content with Natsuo, I doubted she'd be happy.
As I said before, Haihane was a kindred spirit: she didn't care about having a 'true' Ashikabi (if you'd believe that double crossing bitch Yume's bullshit). She would accept whomever the Board chose to be her partner because that was the proof of her commitment.
What she did care about, however, was someone to be intimate with. Like me, she had no one else outside the company. Even inside, I was the only person who could be considered close to her. Well, I might consider Benitsubasa if she weren't only in it for Natsuo. Really, I could never tell how close she and Haihane were – most of their interactions I either actively suppressed or threatened them into silence.
Or maybe threatened Benitsubasa into silence, sometimes it seemed that Haihane never shut up.
One of the many places we differed, however, was that in addition to having someone to be intimate with, she also wanted the… unpleasant, disgusting, repulsive acts that being with a human entailed. How did I know this? Because she'd said as much. Often. And at great length. In short… she wasn't interested in the 'destined love' the rest of our harebrained race bent over for so much as someone to share herself with.
Something that, with Natsuo, she would never get due to his predilections for his own sex.
And well… I could tolerate Haihane. I liked her. Unlike that piece of trash sticking to Shirou's shadow, Haihane I could trust to obey me. To not betray me. Yes, she would help bind Shirou to me in a way he could never escape and I didn't have to question. With the majority of the Squad in 'his' thrall, there was no way that Minaka or the board could think to cut him, and thus me, out of operations. It would be a glorious coup.
No, not a coup, but a return to the natural order. Yes, that was it.
As the details started to fill themselves in and I told Haihane about Emiya-kun, I couldn't help but think back to earlier that day. When Shirou asked me to go get his tramp pet, I didn't… exactly go right away. At the time, I was hoping that my delay would ultimately end up in her death. Not that I thought she was actually fighting – finding out that she really was fighting was a surprise – but a girl can dream.
No, the reason I stayed was twofold. On the one hand, I wanted – needed – to recollect the scattered pieces of my mind. Awakening from my trance to find myself kissing him was… it took a toll on me and I need a moment to recover myself. It didn't help that my legs were quivering. The formation of my crest and returning to a more stable state had left me weary despite the energy coursing through me. I was finding some trouble in walking straight as well.
The other reason that I stayed was that… well… I was curious.
Three times today Shirou had surprised me by drawing a weapon that I was sure he didn't have. The first time with those Chinese swords when we were in Takami's apartment, well I'd already summed up my thoughts about those.
And I was wrong about him and those blades, wasn't I?
I had thought that he wouldn't be a match for any Sekirei, let alone me. But he was a match for me, wasn't he? I had to bite down when that strange, warm, delightful and horrifying flush thrummed through me. But that is what I wanted, wasn't it? Someone strong. Someone who could keep up with me? Who understood? I had thought that was Miya once. My former sempai. The arch-bitch. And after her I let myself think it might be Yume. That traitorous liar.
Of course, I would have won eventually. Even if he was strong, impossibly so even, and quick; he was only human. Right?
The second time was when I had disarmed him of his swords; he drew the spear that ultimately broke me from that horrible, intoxicating haze. I had rationalized away that too: when he first must have drawn it, I had my back turned, and in the fraction of a second it took for me to complete my pivot, he had readied it to catch my follow up strike. In order for him to do all of that so quickly, it must have been a telescopic spear that he had hidden amongst his numerous pouches. Did I think it was weird that the spear felt solid against my blows instead of hollow or frail? Not really. At the time I was a little… distracted.
It was only now, thinking back on it with a clearer head that I realized how strange it was. Even more so that, when I disarmed him for a third time he had yet another hidden blade that no one had sought to tell me about did I know something wasn't right.
So I stayed.
I was curious; I wanted to find out if he had any more surprises I didn't know about. With Shirou, it was a good bet. He was full of surprises. That was the reason I became interested in him in the first place.
What I saw was not what I expected. Not at all.
It wasn't even in the realm of things I might have possibly suspected.
I had the (mistaken) expectation that he would collapse the spear again and tuck it and his dagger back into his pouches or armor. I had hoped that this would give me a clue as to where else he might hide any weapons on his person, if he had any more on him that is.
Instead, his weapons dissolved into motes of light. After which, identical copies of those twin Chinese swords appeared back in his hands. Those he then tucked into the sheaths at his back.
Oh, Emiya-kun.
You really do have the best surprises. But you won't be able to hide from me forever. Already I was beginning to have my suspicions about you. About what you might be.
It all started to make a weird, disturbing sort of sense the more I thought about it. His mother was Takami, one of the three founding members of Mid Bio Informatics. He was also (chronologically) a little older than I was if what I'd read was believable. And the last, most disturbing addition to the little puzzle was the slight gap between Miya's awakening by Minaka and Takami, and the next four of us.
With Haihane though, if everything went according to plan this time (and hopefully that wasn't a jinx), I'd have another pair of eyes. Eyes to watch you. Eyes to watch out for you. I had to suppress the smile that pricked at the corners of my lips. There is no escape from me now, Ashikabi-kun .
Oh, soon, all your secrets will be mine.
You are mine.
*Chapter End*
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.
Short AN:
Sorry for the short chapter after so long, but the 'Welcome to MBI' arc looks like it will include more that I had intended at first. So instead of wrapping it up in just two chapters, I'll be expanding the arc to include more of phase one.
This is mostly due to that, when looking back through my notes for the next segment, I realized I lost a whole arc between next chapter when Shirou and Minaka meet once more, and Tsukiumi's introduction. Much of the delay for this chapter was going back through all of my notes and make sure I had everything in its proper order.
For readers/reviewers of last chapter: I am sorry Shirou's monologues drew on too long. I know that was a real mood/immersion killer for a lot of you, but I needed to get across a few things about Shirou: A) He is a hypocrite of the highest order, B) his justifications for his actions don't stand up to his own logic, and C) is logic is fundamentally flawed at its basest root, making any argument he has go on in circles. I hear it was tedious and many of you skipped it and it ruined the action, but I felt aspects of it were necessary. Still, I apologize.
Oh, one last clarification on Karasuba and Shirou's fight from last chapter that I didn't quite fit the context of Karasuba's disjointed thoughts above: the reason why she could match and exceed Shirou's style was twofold: First, her Nodachi gave her almost double the range of Shirou's swords, meaning that she had extra time to react to every one of Shirou's offensives – which is why one Shirou negated the advantage of reach by using Gae Bolg, they were on even footing for the rest of the fight. Second, in her mostly instinctive state, she wasn't blocking/countering his strikes, so much as swinging at everything that moved – in this case it was his swords.
That said, Yomi's death/ Karasuba's winging signaled the end of the 'Introductory' arc and now we are entering the 'Welcome to MBI' arc which will include the first parts of phase one. From here on, there shouldn't be any more monologues breaking up the action for quite a bit. This means the action should be more action-y and the dialogue/monologue will be… well, dia/monologue-y.
Next time: Hostile Takeovers, Part 2