Chapter 11: Phase 2 Part 1
*Chapter Start*
*Minato*
I awoke to the feeling of wind kissing through my hair. Its gentle caress should have been relaxing, if cold. I opened my eyes, dreading the vast blue expanse of cloudless sky that greeted me. What could have… should have… looked like a perfect day, just like yesterday and the day before. My grip tightened on the metal safety railing as I tried to ground myself to reality. The cold metal, chilled from the wind, bit into my skin.
All of shin Tokyo spread out before me as I gazed from the rooftop of a building I'd never been in. In the distance, I recognized the clock tower built upon MBI's headquarters in the center of the city.
"You insolent human!" My recurring nightmare had impeccable pronunciation, if archaic diction. "Does your hounding know no rest?"
I turned, looking up at the voice. She looked tall, but I wasn't sure how much of that was her looking down from half a story above me, or if it was a combination of her long legs and how her hair trailed behind her in loose ringlets down past her waist. Twin strands of hair ran past her bangs on either side, framing her face and highlighting her piercing blue eyes. Between her natural features and regal bearing, she looked distinctly European.
Around her neck was a thick black choker with frilly white ruffles spilling from the top to frame her chin. She wore a long black dress that looked more like a coat given how the (scandalously) low-cut white shift she wore under it barely held her cleavage and (even more scandalously) barely came down below her waist, was completely visible. Leather garter belts over black thigh-high stockings held up the brown leather riding boots that completed the outfit.
She was gorgeous, objectively, but in the same almost uncanny way that Musubi or Akitsu was – the kind of unearthly beauty I was beginning to associate with Sekirei.
"Quit ogling me, you wretched cur!" That beauty, however, was marred by the hateful sneer twisting her features. "Is it not enough that you chase me night and day, must you attempt to defile me as well?"
Between her hatefully spat words and the glare, I decided it wise not to tell her I could see up her dress.
"Excuse me, but I'm not sure what you're talking about." I averted my eyes, both to be polite and to not antagonize her. This was possibly the longest she'd talked before threatening me before… the dream ended. Even if it was just insults, it was progress. "Can we talk about this? I'm sure that we could come to an understanding."
"You plead ignorance of your deeds?" If anything, my words only made her angrier. "Or is this yet more of your cowardice and treachery? Then I shall state this as simply: your inference is unwelcome, your persistence is an insult and your vile threats are intolerable! If we ever meet, I'll show you just how strong I am without any Ashikabi." She spat. "If anyone dares to lay claim to me, I'll kill them first!" She proudly, angrily declared.
"No," The shadow behind her stepped into the light. The blond Sekirei gasped, surprise and fear etched onto her face – and then pain. A plume of red erupted from her abdomen, a growing stain spreading across her formerly white dress. Her knees buckled but the sword currently impaling her prevented her from falling. "You won't."
Shirou pulled, twisting the blade free and shoving the girl off the roof.
I awoke with a gasp. Sweat was beading along my body. I felt cold, despite the warm bodies of Musubi and Ku, who had both apparently found themselves in my bed despite landlady Miya's warnings, on either side cuddling up to me.
That dream – I tried to steady my breath, but already my stomach was rebelling at the splash of blood.
It was luck that neither girl stirred in my rush to the bathroom.
The water was cool and refreshing. I rinsed out the taste of bile from my mouth, spitting into the sink. I let the tap run, breathing heavily, and splashed some water onto my face to help wipe away the sweat and fear.
It was just a nightmare… It didn't feel like one, but it had to be. I tried to ignore how it felt…
Real.
It felt the same as when Ku was in trouble, reaching out to me in my dreams. If the blond from my dreams was real, if she was reaching out to me the same way Ku was… then was she…
I shook my head, spraying droplets everywhere. No, that couldn't be. If it was, why would Shirou be there? Shirou was…
I hadn't called mom yet. Or Yukari. I was the only one who knew Shirou was dead.
So why was he in my dream? Guilt? Probably. How do you unpack watching your brother kill a girl in front of you, just to die moments later? Is that why he killed the girl in my dream?
"You're up late." A pair of arms snaked around my sides, pulling me into a soft embrace. Matsu, one of the other tenants of the Izumo Inn (and the most recent addition to my chaotic life of late) pressed against me, squishing herself against my back.
Normally, the feeling of a pretty girl's skin (especially those parts) would have been enough to make me a blushing, stuttering mess…. Even if I had grown slightly accustomed to Musubi's wardrobe malfunctions when I was near.
Seeing my brother kill someone again wasn't normal though, even if it was a dream. It was a dream…
"I'm sorry if I woke you." I apologized instead. I hadn't known the 'Ghost of Izumo Inn' long, but I knew her enough that if she was being flirtatious like this, she wasn't offended by the noise I'd made getting up.
"I was already up." She laughed in confirmation of my thoughts. Her breath was hot against my ear. "But if you need help falling back asleep, you can hide in my room." She purred. "I'm sure I can help you relax."
"Matsu…" I groaned, dismissing her inappropriate joke… it was a dream.
… or was it?
"Maybe that is a good idea," I murmured.
"W-what?!" She jerked as if burned, almost pulling me to the floor in her surprise. I could see her face and shoulders were almost the same color as her hair. Huh. I'd never gotten one up on the flirtatious redhead before… it reminded me of something… hadn't Shirou done something similar to Yukari when we first met?
"Oh my, maybe Miya was right after all." Matsu used my distraction to recover, pulling herself close to me. I could feel her nose tickling my chin. "Maybe I should lock my door with such a naughty boy around."
"When Ku was in trouble…" I ignored her salacious words. It was easier this time as an idea crystallized in the back of my mind. "She appeared to me in my dreams. Even before we met and she gained her wings, she was reaching out to me as her Ashikabi. Is that something all Sekirei can do?"
It hadn't happened with Musubi, but she was a more physical Sekirei compared to the tiny nature controller.
"Ku-chan is… a special case." Matsu frowned thoughtfully, the playfulness giving way to seriousness. "Normally, I'd say that the later numbers would be incapable of such a feat, though I'm not positive since I left MBI a long time ago. Ku-chan's spiritual and psychic strength is greater than most of us by a fair margin."
"So it is possible?" I pressed. "If a Sekirei was in danger, could she reach out to me if she needed to?"
"It's possible…" She hesitantly confirmed, "Why, do you –"
"I need you Matsu." I interrupted, gripping her shoulders to lock eyes with her. "Can we go to your room?"
"We could…" Her eyes widened, blood rushing to her cheeks. "I mean… b-but Musubi… that bear would kill me."
"You're good with computers, right?" I ignored her half-audible mumbling. "Could you find a list of all the Sekirei? All blonde, female Sekirei?"
"Oh?" Understanding dawned in her eyes before she sent me back a flirtatious smirk. "I'm not a dating service, you know. Still, I have to say I like this assertive side of you, Minato-kun. But a blonde? Are the three of us really not enough for you?"
This time I couldn't keep the slight flush from my face as she gently took my hand and led me back to her lair. This was the most gentle and understanding the former ghost had been with me since her presence in the Inn was revealed.
"It will take me a few moments." She muttered, letting go of me so she could sit at her ridiculous multi-monitor setup. Her room was the parody of what a movie hackers' would have looked like; canned coffee, energy drinks, and (partially) empty snack bags and cup noodles littered the floor in various piles. Clothing was scattered or draped over things with no rhyme or reason on which were clean or dirty despite the open and empty drawers of her dresser. Power cords for the massive sets of desktops and several screens snaked across the floor.
It was also noticeably warmer in her room than in the hallway.
"Thank you, Matsu," I said, heartfelt. If the dream girl wasn't on the list, then I could dismiss the vision as just a trauma-induced nightmare. Getting to sleep after this might be difficult though, if Matsu realized she had me ensnared in her domain already… or worse, if Musubi and Ku realized I was gone or where I was. The ensuing 'rescue party' was sure to wake landlady Miya up.
…Hopefully, I would be able to avoid being lumped in with the punishments. Who was I kidding, I wasn't that lucky.
"Here we go, current Number list," Matsu mumbled, one of the screens populating with a tab of profile pictures and names. The first box was blank, just an empty tile with no name, but I recognized Matsu's face as number 2 and Akitsu's as number 7 and – wait! "Now we filter by blondes and…"
"Wait, hold up!" I grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from moving the page. I recognized another face. The nice grey-haired woman… She was the one who killed Shirou. "Number 04… Karasuba." I whispered the name. She had been the one who came and told us when Mom was injured. She had even been with Shirou when I had rescued Ku, before turning around and killing him and luring Akitsu away.
Given I hadn't seen her since either… she was probably dead too.
"Who is she?" I asked.
"Karasuba?" Matsu looked startled. "That's right, she was there…" She mumbled under her breath, "She's a member of Mid Bio Informatic's Disciplinary Squad. Nominally, they're a group of Sekirei that enforce the rules of the Sekirei Plan." She continued. "In reality, they are a group of Sekirei the company uses as a hit squad to take out anyone they have a problem with, and they do so with extreme prejudice. They've killed humans and Sekirei alike. She's known as the Black Dog, given her violent nature and that she always kills her target."
Like she killed Shirou, I grimaced. She was someone to watch out for and avoid. "Can you open her file?"
"Oh, uh…" Matsu had a strange look on her face. "I can… why?"
"She's a Sekirei," I started, trying to put words to my thoughts, "So she should have an Ashikabi, right? I want to know who so we can avoid them as much as possible."
Matsu hesitated. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, do it."
"Okay…" She clicked on Karasuba, opening up her profile. There was a lot of information there, or at least there was a lot of writing and little graphs, but I wasn't paying attention to the words. No, instead, my focus was wholly captured by two lines in a banner under her name.
Status: Alive, Winged
Ashikabi: Shirou Emiya
"Shirou…" It couldn't be…
"Minato?" The words were muddled as I staggered away. "Minato?!"
Phone… I had to… I had to get to my phone. The dial tone seemed to last an eternity before the other line picked up.
"Minato…?" Mom yawned into the phone, trying to wake herself up. "It's the middle of the night…are you okay, honey?"
"Hi Mom, sorry for calling you so late." I felt like my voice was coming from miles away. "But have you talked to Shirou recently?"
"Your brother?" I could hear her shuffling. "I spoke to him yesterday." Yesterday?! "In fact, I'm meeting up with him for breakfast later today. Minato, is something the matter?"
"No," I said, numbly. "No, sorry Mom. Everything's alright." Shirou was alive. "I'm sorry for waking you, I just hadn't heard from him in a bit and got worried. Sorry for waking you."
"Okay…" Mom sounded unconvinced. "If there's anything you need, you know I'm here for you, right?"
"Of course, Mom. Thank you. I love you. Sorry for waking you."
"Love you too." She said and I let the call go.
Shirou was alive! That was great! That meant… that meant…
Shit…shit!
"Ah, Minato!" Matsu cried as I dove for the mouse. Clicking on his name opened another link.
Shirou Emiya/Ichirou Sahashi (See Incident Report █████)
Known Alias: Ichirou Sahashi
Status: Ashikabi, Active.
Known Sekirei: Karasuba, Winged. Haihane, Winged. Akitsu, Broken (see Incident Report 00807)
Affiliation: Mid Bio Informatics, Disciplinary Squad
"You're so forceful…" I ignored Matsu as she struggled under me, my eyes locked on 'Disciplinary Squad.'
'Elimination with extreme prejudice.' The image of the scythe girl, lying in a pool of her own blood, flashed behind my eyes. 'Assault, injury, or death by a participant of the Sekirei Plan is hereby forbidden. Any violation of this rule will be punished by death.' A black streak thundered down on him in the blink of an eye, swords ringing through the woods. 'I'll kill any Ashikabi who comes near me!' The pain-filled eyes of the blond in my dreams. "Matsu, pull back up the list. All blonde, female Sekirei."
"Ara ara, decisive is a sexy look on you." She muttered, hitting a few keys. There, at the top of the search was a picture of the girl in my dreams glaring back at me.
"Number 09, Tsukiumi…" I whispered. If she was reaching out (and the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced she was)… then she was in danger. I felt it in my bones. She was going to hurt someone, maybe even badly, and Shirou (or this Disciplinary Squad) would have no choice but to kill her like that other girl. "…We have to find her first."
"Minato?" I looked down at Matsu, her nose almost touching mine as she looked up at me.
"We need to save her." I decided. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try. "Can you find her?"
"Can I find her?" Matsu snorted, a manic gleam entering her eyes. Her face took on an almost feverish sheen. "Oh, Minato-kun, I'm going to show you just what I can do."
*Takami*
As much as I would have preferred it if my eldest had ditched his growing 'flock' (and Mr. Hidega would forever be on bitch duties for coming up with that moniker) and stayed with me in my apartment, it was rather nice to watch the city go by as I cruised the early morning streets.
No, that was a lie, it still wasn't worth it. I didn't like the thought of any of my children wrapped up in their father's 'game'. It was the thinnest of silver linings that Musubi-chan was such a sweet girl and apparently doted on my youngest boy. A headstrong girl like her would be good to bring him out of his shell. I tried, as a single mother, but the boy was… well, he was my sensitive little guy.
My eldest, however… I had to wipe the irritated twitch off my face as my eldest came into view on the sidewalk outside his new apartment, surrounded by women in black (well, one was in red).
I stepped out of the limo as it pulled up to the building, declining Homura's gentlemanly hand and offer to get my son for me so I didn't have to get up. It wasn't like I'd have to walk anywhere, just be visible.
"–ve a good day, you two. Listen to Natsuo. Karasuba, good luck with your mission. Please don't kill anyone." Shirou was in the middle of talking to the harpies hanging off him (one was even literally doing so).
"Aww!" The clinging harpy rasped. "Why do we have to work? I'll be all alone! Can't I stay with you today, Shirou?" Haihane was looking put together, a strange change of pace since she'd started hanging around my son. I was accustomed to her showing up at MBI wearing nothing but bandages and tattered rags. Even as she complained, Shirou was tying her weapons to her. "Akitsu gets to stay, why can't I?"
"Because you have a job to do." Shirou finished the last strap and palmed her head, playfully shoving her away when she went to grab onto him with her now-clawed hands. "Karasuba's going to be gone and we need more coverage than just Benitsubasa and Natsuo. Besides, unlike the two of you, Akitsu isn't an official member of the squad. She can't enter the building without me."
"No fair!" The Blue Sekirei stomped a foot like a pouting child. "Don't look so smug, 'Kitsu-chan!"
The murderess didn't seem to acknowledge the shorter Sekirei.
"Haihane, hurry up." Karasuba stood apart from the group, looking irritated. I smiled at her when I caught her eye and her frown became more pronounced, warming the cockles of my heart. "Ugh. Stop fishing for a kiss and have some dignity, we're going to be late."
"Karasuba!" Haihane cried and Shirou sighed.
"Go. I'll see you tonight." Shirou pushed the complaining Sekirei away. Karasuba leaped into the air, followed shortly by Haihane, the two bouncing from wall to wall until they disappeared over the rooftops.
"Good morning, Shirou-kun." I greeted him now that he was (mostly) alone. He was dressed in a nice suit, not the uniform he'd been wearing to work. I was glad he even wore the dark red tie I liked. Oh, my little boy was so handsome!
"Hey, M–" His greeting turned into a strangled cough as he turned to look at me. Ha, for a mother of three, I still got it. Still, it was a hard-fought battle not to pinch his cheeks for being so cute. Wait…
"Shirou." I grabbed his cheeks (I didn't pinch!), tilting his head down so I could get a better look at him. He stumbled but didn't knock me over or fall as I dragged his head down so our heights were more or less even.
"Mom!" He yelped – boys were so dramatic.
"Are you feeling sick?" He had the first-tell signs of exhaustion. He didn't have a fever, though he was still warm to the touch. "You don't look well."
"Takami!"He struggled to free himself without touching me.
"Are you not getting enough sleep?" I chided him. As if he could escape, I held him as a toddler! Back then he was an escape artist… oh, were those bags under his eyes? Yes. Small ones. "You need to take better care of yourself."
"I'm fine!" He tried to wave off my concern, as boys his age were wont to do. Always trying to be tough. "Just a little tired. Karasuba has been keeping me up the past few nights."
"Ew!" I scowled, crinkling my nose in disgust, and released him. "I'm your mother, I don't need to hear things like that!"
"Not like that." He rolled his eyes, but I noticed he stayed out of my reach in case I tried to grab him again. "I've just been having a recurring dream the last few nights."
"You're a little old for that, aren't you?" I deadpanned. "Are you sure this is the sort of dream you should talk about with your mother?"
"Shouldn't you, as my mother, be an adult?" He shot back. Touché.
"I'm on top of a building, I think." He continued. "In the dream, I mean. I can feel the wind against my face."
"And?"
"And then Karasuba's elbow digs into my spine and I wake up." He shrugged and yawned. "Every time I see a cloud now, I feel a phantom pain in my back. She's been waking me up like this a couple of times a night the past few days. The worst part is she's asleep the whole time so I can't exactly yell at her for it."
"She sounds like she's no good. You should kick her to the curb." I wasn't petty at all. "Or better yet, the morgue."
He snorted as if I was joking. "Aren't you supposed to be coworkers?"
"Please," I groused, "if anything she's an experiment gone horrendously wrong and escaped confinement." Which wasn't too far from the truth. "Anyway, happier topic. I have someone I'd like you to meet." I gestured to the still-idling limousine.
"They must be important if you're dressed up like this." He said, obliquely motioning to my dress. I was wearing one of my black fun dresses, the kind with a high slit going up my leg and wrapped around my neck and left my shoulders and most of my back bare. The look was slightly marred by the faint scars still lingering from being attacked a few weeks ago, but the generous 'window to my soul' would keep only the most keen observers from noticing. It was just classy enough to disqualify it from being a little black dress. It was a bit more dressy than I usually liked to wear, even to meet with Homura, but after my time in the hospital, I wanted to feel pretty and relaxed.
"They're an old friend of mine." I smiled and opened the rear door. "And they may be able to help you in ways I can't."
I caught Shirou's eyes immediately flickering over to the revealed Homura and back, assessing. He looked so much like his father in that instance, during the times I'd catch him dissecting a particularly interesting puzzle.
My smile died as he got in the car and I was face to face with the mistake behind him. I'm proud and don't flinch when I look at her, even if I could still feel Dr. Yabu's blood sticking to my hands when I look at her. Based on the cold, lifeless stare Akitsu gave me over Shirou's shoulder, the animosity was shared. It wasn't often I lamented the sweet and caring man he grew up to be (though I did lament missing him growing up), but despite how much he tried to hide it, he was a bleeding heart.
It was a shame that my wounded eldest just so happened to attract monsters.
Homura would be a good influence. It would ease my mind knowing Shirou had at least one person who wasn't a psychopathic murderer around.
"I must confess, I'm surprised to see you again. Kagari, was it?" Shirou asked after we all settled back into the limousine and took off. Shirou and Akitsu shared a bench across from me, with Homura sitting on the seat between us. "I must say, I'm not sure I want to know how you know a host member…"
"You know Kagari?" I gave the fire-wielding Sekirei some well-deserved side-eye. "I must say, I'm not sure I want to know how you know a host member…" I copied his words, growling them at my friend. I had wondered if there was something more to his request to meet Shirou when he called me a few days ago, but I had figured it was something to do with the fiasco that was Ku-chan's release and subsequent assault.
I still hadn't gotten the full story from anyone of just what happened while I was… indisposed. That Kusano was winged to my middle child and (stranger still) Karasuba was winged to my eldest was enough of a cluster fuck to go in several incident reports. What's more, if Homura was actively trying to protect Ku-chan in the chaos, Shirou should have met him under his Sekirei identity of Homura and not the fake human identity of Kagari.
"Nothing like that, I swear." Homura was quick to try and ward off my glower. "We ran into each other in the street. He was with his brother and one of my coworkers."
"Hm-hmm." I'd let him make his own noose to beat him to death with.
"That's right." Shirou came to his rescue. "I'm glad to see you feeling better."
"Ah… right, thank you." It was from a decade of friendship that let me track how shaky Homura's response really was. Ohohoho, so he was reacting to my son? I could feel the grin pull at my cheeks. "I'm glad to see you still alive."
"Alive?" Shirou blinked and…huh. "That's a strange thing to say… if I remember correctly, the last time we met, you were the one not feeling well." Shirou lied right there. I don't know how, but he knew Homura was a Sekirei already. How interesting. That was either some good instincts or the vigilante was losing his touch with the whole Batman routine.
"You were focused on other things but…" Homura held out one of his hands, conjuring a small, dancing flame in the center of his palm. "I was there with your brother in the effort to protect the Green Girl."
"Green Girl?" Shirou's question and blank expression were more natural this time.
"Ah…" I sucked in a startled breath as the warmth was driven from the car. The little dancing flame in Homura's palm sputtered and died. "You." If I thought the glare Akitsu gave me whenever Shirou wasn't looking was cold, then the look she was giving Homura was arctic.
She was going to kill us. This rolling coffin was going to be painted in red slush, a frozen tomb just like Dr. Yabu's.
"Akitsu." A firm voice stopped the impending massacre. I didn't realize how quickly I was breathing until I saw it misting in front of me.
"The man from the forest." Akitsu didn't take her eyes off Homura, though her hand clenched at my son's coat. "He interfered… those girls and him. We fought. I obeyed."
"You did very well." Shirou patted her hand. "You kept everyone from following after Karasuba. Good job, Akitsu." It wasn't my imagination that the temperature fluctuated slightly at those words. "But I don't think we're in any danger here, are we Kagari?"
"No," Homura answered quickly. "I only want to talk. And I should apologize to you," he directed to Akitsu, "I said things during our fight that I regret. I was only trying to save Shirou from Karasuba. If you'd allow me, I'd like to restart. My name is Homura, Number 06."
"Thank you." Shirou glanced at the Broken Number. "Akitsu?"
"Yes, Ashikabi-sama." The windows misted over with condensation as the temperature in the car normalized and I unclenched my white-knuckle grip on the seat. Shit, Shirou, that was close! Why couldn't you just bring home a rabid wolf instead?! It would be sweeter and safer. "I am Akitsu, number 07."
"Homura?" Shirou continued casually as if that thing at his side didn't almost kill Homura and I. "I thought your name was Kagari?"
"It is." Homura starts. "In my normal day-to-day life and while I'm working, I go by Kagari to blend in. Only Takami and other Sekirei know me as Homura."
"Homura fashions himself a superhero," I interject. "Oh, don't look at me like that Homura. Kagari is his alter ego to prevent Sekirei from attacking him on the street. Homura has been doing me a favor, protecting the unwinged Sekirei that get released until they find their Ashikabi. With the danger involved with an unwinged Sekirie going against multiple Ashikabi, Homura hides his face when fighting."
"That's smart." Shirou approved. "I'm a bit surprised that MBI doesn't act in a similar capacity."
"It wasn't a high priority." I frown, setting my personal feelings about that aside. "There were thoughts that it could be seen as undue interference with the Ashikabi. Even if we wanted to, the Disciplinary Squad only had two members when the first batch of Sekirei were released, both of whom were themselves unwinged. The risk of one or both being compromised while fighting in the city and being unable to protect the company and/or external threats."
I didn't have to comment that the situation I described is exactly what happened between Shirou and Karasuba… and then Haihane. If he weren't my son, his actions could have been the death blow for enforcing the stalemate between the company and our outside aggressors.
"Please." Homura snorted and I tensed, already anticipating the following long-running argument. "That justification would be more accurate if Minaka hadn't chased off the first Disciplinary Squad. If he hadn't encouraged that Black Dog's coup for more excitement in his game, then newly released Sekirei wouldn't be hunted as they have."
"Homura!" I rebuked him. Normally he reigned his words in around me, but his emotions were flaring as wildly as the fires he controlled.
Oh… Glaring at him, I could see the muscles in his arms subtly tremble, the ravages of his improper adjustments must be very painful. While not a Broken Number like Akitsu, who became too damaged by her adjustment administrator to form a proper bond with an Ashikabi, Homura's condition wasn't too far from it.
His powers were strong, and unfortunately, both those powers and his body fluctuated wildly. Dangerously. There was a chance that reacting to an Ashikabi – a normally volatile time for even a healthy Sekirei – might cause his powers to consume him or his body to tear itself apart.
In some ways, it would have been kinder if he was Broken…
"How can you keep defending him Takami?" Homura took advantage of my distraction. "You came to me yourself because you knew that we Sekirei would be better off if it weren't for Minaka Hiroto!"
"You want to kill Minaka? I won't lie and say the idea hasn't crossed my mind." Shirou calmly interjected. "If I thought for a moment that killing Minaka would put a safe end to the Sekirie Plan, I would."
"Shirou!" I gasped, the chill in my spine had nothing to do with the ice conjuring Sekirei next to him. "You shouldn't talk about –" I cut myself off before I could finish saying 'about your father like that.'
"I know." He continued, unphased. "Even if he were removed, that wouldn't solve the problem of how widespread Sekirei are throughout the city." His golden eyes had no hint of a tremor or remorse as he contemplated (unknowing) patricide, just the cold logic of someone who thought the actions through and chose the more pragmatic option. Was this my son? Someone so broken he could contemplate killing (his father!) someone and decide not to, not because it is wrong, but because it didn't get him the outcome he wanted?
"I was hoping that Musubi's excitement at seeking conflict with other Sekirei was an outlier," he continued, "but my interactions with your kind since have made me revise my opinion of her being uncomfortably close to the baseline. Sekirei are driven to fight each other, aren't they?"
'Shhh.' Miya shushed me. Takehito's voice echoed in my ears, 'And with this Pact, we are bound in purpose. To the completion of the Plan.'
"Musubi's excitability is definitely an outlier." Homura tried to joke through a grimace. "Unfortunately, I think you're right. With whatever 'prize' Minaka is offering on the line, even without MBI the other Ashikabi and Sekirei would still fight one another."
"Ah…" Akitsu chimed in. "Prize?"
"Ascension…" Shirou mused. "Whatever that means. Would you happen to know?"
I couldn't say anything about that. "Minaka, Miya, and Takehito were the minds behind the plan," I said instead. "I was more involved with the fledgling Sekirei at the time."
"I see. I feared as much." Shirou frowned. "It seems like pursuing the removal of Minaka is not an option until we learn more."
"Why not?" Homura countered, striking a fist against the seat. I could hear the pain Homura was trying to conceal, his voice sounding more like a growl. "With both you and Takami, there are voices in MBI we can rely on, aren't there? At the very least, Sekirei would be free to find their own wings instead of being trapped here!"
"Unfortunately." Shirou closed his eyes, missing Homura's betrayed look… and my own shocked one. "To be honest, the best thing for the Sekirei would be to quietly disappear." What? "There are only a few things I agree with Minaka on as of now: the first is that containing the Sekirei in the city is the best thing for both them and the rest of the world. The other is to keep word about Sekirei as quiet as possible. The less attention the city gathers right now, the better it will be for everyone involved."
"You.." Homura gasped, gripping his chest. I was closer to him (and further from Akitsu), so I could feel the heat waft off him. "You can't mean that…"
"It isn't ideal." Shirou grimaced. Oh… I could see how my sweet boy hated his own words. "But sometimes we must embrace ugly choices." He sighed. "It would have been better if the Sekirei were never–"
A rigging phone interrupted his next statement.
"I'm sorry, one moment – Yukari?" I saw my girl's name (upside down as it was) on his caller ID. "Yukari, what –" He was cut off by her yelling through the line, loud enough to hear but not intelligible enough to understand.
"Where are you?" I saw Shirou's face shut down, emotion dropping from his face as easily as changing clothes. Left in his place was a stranger, the sharp angles of his face emphasized the sudden personality change. Shirou… what happened to make you like this? "Understood. Keep running –" Running?! "– I'm on my way."
"Driver!" I hit the intercom to the driver, "Pull over here, stop the car! Shirou–"
"Sorry to cut our meeting short, Mom. Homura." Shirou interrupted as the limousine lurched, almost sending me across the bench. "But something's come up. Yukari is being chased by 'weird anime freaks with powers and no modesty'. She must mean Sekirei…"
"Shirou!" What kind of statement was that? "Is Yukari okay? Do you–"
"I have her location tagged." The car barely stopped before Akitsu opened the door, the two of them already halfway out the door. "I'll bring her home safe."
"Wait!" Homura reached out, his hand trembling. "I'll come too!"
Shirou paused, looking back. I saw his eye dip towards Homura's hand. "No. Stay." He barked, "You're in no condition to follow." Did he know about Homura's condition from just a glance? "Besides, unless you've got a costume in those pockets of yours, it'll be faster if we go on ahead."
"Shirou…" I started but… I couldn't do anything but trust in him. "Okay. Bring her home."
"I will." He nodded. And then he was gone…
The car felt emptier for the silence.
If... If it was Shirou, then she would be okay. My instincts as a mother told me that he'd rescue Yukari. Either of my boys would do anything for my girl, a fact I felt so strongly it was as if it was stamped on the very soul of the world itself.
Homura hissed in pain, his body wracked with convulsions, drawing me from my own musings. Fuck, he was reacting badly. I could feel the uncontrolled heat given out by his power from here.
"Shit, here." I grabbed a water bottle from the bar and opened it. Shirou would handle Yukari, I had someone else to help now. I dumped the bottle over him, retreating as the water instantly steamed off his skin.
"Thanks…" Homura was quiet in the aftermath of the attack. I let him collect his thoughts for a moment before he spoke up again, taking the time to monitor his condition. "It's him…"
"You say that like it's a bad thing," I said, choosing the polite route instead of calling him on how obvious he was. Homura's reaction was always going to be a mess. His body didn't take well to the adjustments made to limit his powers, back in the early days when we were still figuring out how to limit the Sekirei safely. Homura was… a casualty of development. I had a private theory that his body would stabilize once he was winged but… that was based on intuition without a feasible way of testing.
Still… given my friendship and history with Homura, it would be weird.
"It is!" Homura shouted. "Didn't you hear him? How… what is so wrong with me that… even as he talked about killing the same birds I dedicated myself to protect… my body still reacted to him! Why am I cursed…" He cried.
His skin was still scalding or I might have moved to comfort him. That… would have been a mistake too, I felt.
"Why couldn't it be you…" He looked up at me, forlorn. "Are you sure?"
"Homura." I shot him down before he could wind himself up again. Huh, maybe Shirou got that from me. It was weird, discovering pieces of me in the man he became without me. "I like to keep my work and my private life separate."
Homura and I were friends. Good friends and I liked to support him now as he supported me back… back when I needed someone. But friends. Nothing more, no matter how he might have felt otherwise.
I'd been burned by crossing those boundaries enough times in my life.
I sighed. Sekirei couldn't help who they reacted to. Not really. Risking a reaction was one of the dangers of working with the Sekirei while also being a potential Ashikabi. Minaka… had to take a step back from handling the new numbers after the single digits were acclimated. I didn't… couldn't judge Homura for his attraction to me.
But it was awkward… even before adding one of my children to the mix.
"Sure, you do." Homura snorted derisively, instantly raising my hackles. Before I could soundly and deservedly chew him out, however, he grimaced and hissed, clutching his chest as another aftershock ran through him. "Sorry, that was… that was out of line."
"It was." My voice was frigid. "Maybe it's best we leave things here." I signaled the driver to turn us around to drop Homura near his lodgings. It seems my stealing Minaka's black card to splurge on was a wasted endeavor.
"Takami, I…" Homura faltered. "Right. I should follow them. Make sure they're alright."
I didn't stop him from leaving the car early, watching as he took the roofs with the same alien grace as the rest of the Sekirei.
"Shit…" Even the taste of nicotine didn't take the edge off. I blew the smoke out, visualizing it as the pent-up stress I wouldn't be able to burn off anymore leaving the body. "What a fucking morning."
*Kochou*
The car stopped abruptly, swerving through traffic to the curb. The anomaly stepped out of the car, followed shortly by the target. The self-titled 'Sekirei Guardian' wasn't in sight. Perfect. Number 06's presence might have ruined my mission, given his personal dislike of my master.
That conceited man… I swallowed my distaste and dropped off my rooftop post to the sidewalk below.
This was an opportunity that was too perfect to give up. Shame, I was enjoying being on my own without Kakizaki or one of my Sekirei watchers. This was an easy mission: make contact with the target and deliver the message.
From the dossier, he wouldn't be able to resist the bait. Poor man, my master was a cruel one… No. Feel no pity. He was like my master, wasn't he? He must be cut from that same cruel cloth. That poor Broken number…
I wondered what horrors he inflicted on his caged bird.
A break in the crowd as I got close showed a glimpse of gold: I'd caught his eye. Head in the game, Kochou! Master Higa was very specific about what my punishment would be if I failed here. I shuddered… it would be so much worse than usual.
'Then don't fail!' I told myself, straightening my already impeccable skirt. The long, light purple skirt went all the way to my ankles, but a slit that reached all the way to my hips allowed me full mobility for moving across the city. The traditionally styled and matching purple-wrapped top, supported by a wide obi-like belt, made it look like a modern take on a traditional imperial scribe.
My master had no delusions as to his station.
'Head in the game, Kochou!' I broke into the opening left by the crowd, now face-to-face with the target.
"Hello, Mr. Emiy–Ah!" Without breaking stride, he latched onto my arm, half-pulling me and half-dragging me into an alley. Brute! I stumbled, almost breaking my heel as he shoved me against the wall.
"Akitsu." Ice erupted, capturing my arms and legs as it pressed me into the wall. I… I couldn't breathe! The ice was pressing, pressing in on me! Let me out! Get off me!
"You have three seconds to tell me what you intend to do with my sister." Kakizaki - no... the target, Emiya, demanded. "Any longer, and you can go into the next life knowing I'll be hunting your master down to join you shortly."
"P-please…" I felt tears drip down my cheeks. "N-not… not me. I-I didn't"
This wasn't how it was supposed to go! I didn't deserve this!
And then the pressure was gone. Without the ice holding me prisoner, I fell to the pavement, barely catching myself before my face hit the ground. I coughed as air violently re–entered my lungs.
"You've been following us for eight blocks." He noticed?! How? "And now you confront us at the same moment my sister is being attacked?" Attacked?! That wasn't… that wasn't the plan, it was too early!
"Not us!" I gasped out the words. "I was… to deliver an introduction from my master." I clenched my eyes shut. Was this why I was sent? I had thought not being a combat type was to be a peace offering, a signal to talk… was I merely a sacrifice? After all, he crowed about my value… "He wanted to meet with you. He told me to tell you he was the Second Owner."
There was silence. I opened my eyes to find those piercing golden eyes flicking away.
"I see…" He approached me and I flinched. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I wouldn't have been so rough." What? I stared at his hand dumbly. I was wasting his time, why wasn't he striking me? "Still, I'm in a hurry, I don't have time to indulge in politics right now."
Why did he apologize? He was a mage, wasn't he?
"Right." I must have waited too long, as he stepped away, turning to leave. "Akitsu, let's–"
"W-wait!" If he left, Higa would… my skin crawled. "Your sister, Yukari Sahashi. You said she's in trouble? I can help you find her."
Please... please work.
He stopped.
"Explain." He barked without looking back. I bit back a relieved sigh.
"As a token of goodwill and as an apology." That I had to apologize burned almost as much as the bruises I was sure to have later, but I was well acquainted with swallowing down my pride. "I have access to MBI security satellites. If you'd allow me, I can direct you to her location in real-time."
Don't look them in the eye. Speak quickly, but don't rush. Be demure. I put all of my harshly taught lessons to work under those unnerving golden eyes.
"Are you sure?" He asked like I had a choice.
"Of course." I took his question as leave to rise, picking myself off the ground and wrapping myself in as much haughty dignity as I could. My sword… but also my shield. "Consider this a token of friendship from my master."
"Thank you." He nodded. "I appreciate it. If it comes to violence, stay back. We'll do our best to protect you."
Tch. Hypocrite.
"I'll lead the way then." I leaped, taking to the rooftops lest he see how my face turned at his statement. How two-faced. I hated men like him the most.
He was on the rooftop beside me a moment later, lifted by his clipped pet. I concealed the horrified shudder. Poor girl. Incapable of ever finding her true Ashikabi yet still used as a tool. Or was I the unfortunate one? She had a choice, presumably, in her inability to be winged, forced or otherwise, who she wanted to call home.
I banished the thought, dipping into my power. I wasn't a technopath. Not really. My power allowed me to invest myself into any record or database I curated, giving me not only perfect recall, but the ability to manipulate it as well.
In a less advanced age, with only access to written words, my power might have made me an exceptional curator and nothing more. In the digital age, however, digital information was also stored in libraries. Access lines, passwords and information feeds pooled into my mind from servers I'd long since incorporated into my being from my time under MBI's care.
It wasn't instant, but I piggybacked into a security server and from there, MBI's spy satellite data was mine for the taking. Inserting Yukari Sahashi's SIM card data let me lock directly onto her location. Perfect. A quick calculation later and I plotted the fastest route to the new target.
"How are you going to lead without knowing her location?" The Ashikabi interrupted, though he must have noticed we were heading in the right direction as he easily matched my pace as I took off.
"My power lets me tap into the satellite feeds above us." I replied, taking us where his frail human body would be able to clear the jump without eating into our travel time.
"You have eyes on her?" He sounded impressed… just as Higa was when he found out that my power was useful for more than just books. "What's her condition?"
"She's unharmed from what I can tell. She's in the presence of a young man and–" Shit. That many? Only one other person had that many Sekirie. "– two sekirei in direct pursuit, but more are trying to cut her off."
"Shit. We need to pick up the pace." He grimly stated. "Would you be able to guide them? Keep them from being flanked and lead them to an interception point?"
I heard the ruffling of cloth but didn't look back.
"For the next four minutes." It would be taxing. I was already remote accessing, so I could only look and not change. If I tried, my access would definitely be noticed by MBI and that would lead to consequences. If I was a true technopath, like 04… "There's a faster route, but I doubt a human could make the jump."
"Akitsu?" I didn't hear any response, but he spoke up again. "Understood. Take us the fastest route, we'll keep up."
I turned, leaping and glancing back in time to see – Crack! – a pillar of ice launched him through the air as we flew over a main road, crossing blocks. The Broken girl… Akitsu (formerly 07) catching him in midair and directing his fall. They hit the rooftop behind me just seconds after I did without missing a stride.
How the… did they practice that?
"Good work, Akitsu." He praised her. While she handled the landing, he was doing something with his phone. "Yukari, are you there? Good. Keep running. I'm passing you over to someone. Follow their directions, we're enroute."
"I'm going to toss you my phone, are you ready?" He called out to me. It was better than being beamed with it unprepared. The phone sailed in a smooth, perfect arc towards me. A child could catch it, even leaping across a gap as we were.
"Shirou? Shirou!" I heard his sister shriek through the line. "I swear to god if you hung up on me, you're even more worthless than Minato!"
"Miss Sahashi, my name is Kochou." I spoke up, using the opportunity and a bit of focus to invest myself into the device. I wasn't surprised to find it barren of almost any contacts. He must have anticipated me and handed me a burner to feed me false information. "I'm a…" A what? Friend was a lie. Ally of convenience? Rented slave? "Assisting your brother. Follow my directions and we will be with you shortly, do you understand?"
"God you're stuffy." Tch. That little… "Right, what do we do?"
"Thirty meters ahead of you is an alley. If you split from your companion, you can hide there until your brother collects you." Master Higa would be displeased at losing another Sekirei to his rival, but if I phrased it as the cost of Mr. Emiya owing him a debt, then I was sure he would find the trade in his interest.
"Fuck you!" I had to pull my head away from the speaker. "I can't just leave him to be a victim of that little creep!"
He was a Sekirei, I wanted to yell at her. It was our fate to be victims. Our noble birthright. The stupid girl couldn't save him, but she could at least save herself.
"Who the hell are you, you heartless bitch!" What a colorful young girl. "Put my brother back on!"
"Fine, if you're so determined…" Yeah, that would work. "There are three more pursuers on the other side of the building to your right. Thirty meters ahead, turn right into the alley. Do it when I tell you and they'll pass right by. You need to slow down the two following you."
"How am I supposed to do that?" I ignored her, planning ahead. If they didn't time it right the other group would see them and they'd be pincered. "How do you know all this?"
"Turn right! Now!" The three leapt, passing over the alley just as the youngest Sahashi and her companion turned into it. If anyone looked down…
Clear! That took them out of the jaws of the trap, but the two weren't fast enough to shake their tail entirely. I veered left, rerouting, my own tail following seamlessly.
"Take the right at the end of the alley."
"That's back the way we came!" She followed my directions anyway. Infuriating! If she was going to do it anyway, don't complain! "Aren't we going to run into more?"
"They won't expect you to double back." They'd need the distance in case the group they just dodged were smart enough to look backwards. A second spent to compare the satellite image with GPS and…there! I could see an alley halfway between us and her. All she'd need to do was, "You're doing good. Keep running as fast as you can. In two blocks, take a left. I'll call back with updates if you mess up."
"What? Oh you bi–" I hung up, tossing the phone back to its owner. The satellite passed, so I cut my connection. If they fucked up, there wasn't more I was able to do at this point anyway. "I set them on a direct course there." The top of the alley I indicated was just barely visible. The far building was taller than the one next to it, screening us completely as we approached. "It's a dead end, but we'll hit it from the top the same time they do at this pace."
"Junko, you got that?" I did a double take, almost missing the next ledge as he – he had another phone! "Roger. Follow behind when its safe."
I nodded dumbly. I was right when I thought it was a burner. He… damn, he tested me. Smart… for a brute.
"Fuck!" My eye twitched as I heard a shrill cry echo up from the end of the alley. "That stuck up bitch tricked us!"
I take it back. This assignment was terrible.
*Minato*
The phone picked up on the first ring.
"Shin Tokyo's Greatest Dating Service," Matsu's voice came over the speaker. "How may I direct your call?"
"Matsu…" I sighed. "Please be serious."
"Hi Matsu-chan!" Musubi cheered over my shoulder.
"Hi Musubi-chan!" The girls ignored me (something I was unfortunately familiar with), "I'm reading you loud and clear. You're near the target area based on when I last saw her, but I can't pin her down. I'll stay on the line and guide you, but you'll have to search on foot till she pops up again."
"Mom is going to cut my allowance again for sure…" I mumbled, already seeing my minutes tick down to nothing after today.
"Well, that's just more incentive for you to put me on your family plan!" Matsu countered before devolving into giggles. "Hehe… or I can plan us a family… hehehe."
"This is so exciting!" Musubi, wonderful Musubi, cheered again. It wasn't just me she was ignoring, apparently, lost in her own little happy world. I was just glad to be near her. If it weren't for the life or death stakes (and looking for another woman), this could almost count as a date. "Oh! Oh! Do you think Tsukiumi is strong? I want to fight a single digit! She's almost the same number as Karasuba-sempai so she has to be strong!"
Fighting Karasuba… Musubi's goal filled me with dread. Even if Karasuba didn't actually kill Shirou… from how Matsu described her, I didn't want my sort-of girlfriend slash definite crush anywhere near a killer. Plus… if Musubi fought her… wouldn't that mean we were fighting against Shirou?
"We're not here to fight, Musubi." I countered. "I just want to make sure she's safe." I didn't like violence. Keeping Musubi from fighting Tsukiumi was just as important as making sure Tsukiumi didn't get herself hurt.
"That's right." Matsu chimed in. "You've an important job, Musubi! I'm detecting a lot of Sekirei active in the area. Musubi, I'm counting on you to protect Minato-kun for me."
I hated seeing Musubi fight. Hated that she had to – wanted to – fight. But I got lucky the last time. Going to rescue Kusano by myself… I was lucky it was Seo and the twins who ran into me. If it had been another Ashikabi… things could have gone a lot worse for me without Musubi there.
"Leave it to me!" Musubi pumped her fist into the air. I didn't like it, but if I was honest with myself, Musubi was much more capable of defending herself than I was. "I'll shatter any peril to Minato!"
"Do you think its MBI?" I asked, alarmed. "Could this be another Green Girl Event?"
The Green Girl Event was the name that MBI CEO Minaka Hiroto gave to when Kusano hid herself in the overgrown Botanical Gardens. It turned a scared little girl looking for someone to save her into a free for all between Ashikabi to get to her and wing her first.
If this was a repeat of that, then time was against us. Ashikabi would be descending on the area already full of pedestrians. Worse, unlike the Botanical Gardens, these streets weren't cordoned off by MBI security. I felt in my bones that the fighting would draw Shirou to it… and then it would end just like the Green Girl Event.
"I haven't gotten any alerts…" Matsu hesitated. I could hear her typing. I tabbed over from the call, checking my own messages, but didn't see any texts from the company or Minaka. "Alright then. I'll just have to focus on keeping you away from enemy Sekirei and find the target at the same time. Synchronize watches!"
"I don't have a watch, Matsu. Unless…" Musubi started peering through the packed lunch landlady Miya provided us before we left.
"Operation Blonde-for-the-Harem!" Matsu continued. "Launch!"
"I have serious problems with that name." I deadpanned, setting off with Musubi in tow through the downtown. If Mutsu was watching the skies (the preferred manner of travel for Sekirei), we'd hit the alleys and street parks. "And I'm not making a harem."
I ducked, red-faced as my protest garnered attention from the other pedestrians around us. Of course, that was the thing I was overheard saying. Musubi cheerfully grabbed my arm, pressing against my side (which didn't help getting the color out of my cheeks).
It probably looked like we were a young couple on an early stroll through the markets. A part of me (admittedly, a large part) wished that that was indeed the case. I wished that there was no Sekirei Plan, and no fighting, just Musubi and I able to walk around on a date.
The sidewalks were full of people, so I was looking for the distinct blond color of Tsukiumi's hair. Blonde hair was a rarity in the city, but outside of a trio of gyaru girls window shopping, I wasn't having any luck.
"Minato, I think I have something." Matsuo called out.
"Did you find her?" I asked, pulling up her image on the still running video call.
"I'm not sure it's her," She shook her head, "but I'm seeing some high intensity light coming from the rooftops a few streets over from you." The phone chirped as she sent a GMP marker through. "Location sent."
"High intensity light…?" That tickled something in my brain. I don't think lasers actually existed like in science fiction… but that could mean… "Like lightning? Do you think Hibiki and Hikari are fighting someone?"
If those two were fighting someone, then it was a good chance that someone was Tsukiumi. Seo and the girls had both admitted, separately and together, that they only fought Sekirei that hadn't found their Ashikabi yet.
How many unwinged Sekirei were there? I didn't know, but probably not enough for two to be in the exact same area at the same time in such a big city.
"They do have jobs in that area…" Matsu hesitated. "I can't get a good visual to confirm if it's them or not."
"Then we'll go check it out." I decided. Seo helped me with Kusano and the twins, despite their appearances, were nicer than they acted. I would feel bad if they were in trouble and I didn't at least try and return the favor. "If it's not them, we'll hide, but if it is we'll team up with them."
And if they were after Tsuikumi as well? I was sure I could talk to Seo, convince him to let her go. He looked scary but… I thought he was a good person.
"Yay! Lets go!" Musubi jumped, nearly taking my arm off as she rushed ahead. I forgot how strong she was until my body left the ground as she half-carried half-dragged (is it dragged if no part of my body touched the ground?) me forward.
"Where'd those strumpets they run off to?" I heard a suspiciously familiar voice issue from an alley just off our path. The alley was wet, water dripping from a series of intersecting overhangs, the water slowly pooling towards the runoffs. "Did I lose them? Che!"
That was weird. It had been a few days since it last rained. Even with the awnings blocking out all view of the sky, it had been long enough that the sidewalk should be dry.
There she was. Tsukiumi.
She bent over her knees, panting, with one hand braced against the brick wall. She wasn't nearly as… regal? Poised? Put together as she was in the dream. Her golden hair held the shine of dirty straw with frizzled ends sticking out randomly. She was still clothed in the skimpy white shift style dress under a longer black one, but it was wrinkled and rumpled, hanging off her in disarray.
"Oh! Is that her!" Musubi whispered… well, she quietly yelled. The eddy of wind from her pulling us along spread through the alley, whipping droplets of water around and blowing Tsuikiumi's dress up.
Yup… just like my dream.
"Another challenger?" Tsukiumi growled as she spun to face us. "Did you craven knaves think something as paltry as greater numbers would allow you to equal me? Come then and I'll show you… you…" Her face reddened in anger as she pointed at me. "You! Bastard! Foul wretch!"
Water churned across the ground and leapt, spraying towards us like a garden hose.
"Minato!" Musubi yanked on my collar, pulling me aside as the stream of water arced past us. "Ah!"
"Musubi?!" I stumble against the alley wall as she lets go of me. Was she hurt?
"Oh no…" Musubi was clutching her now bare shoulder, her gi top sleeve missing and the raggedly torn fabric hanging off her – the hand she was holding me with quickly catching the sagging clothes and holding them tightly to her frame.
…but not before revealing creamy, unblemished skin.
"The lunch landlady Miya made for us…" Miya's bento was scattered in soggy puddles across the ground among scraps of the patterned green handkerchief tying it together and parts of Musubi's top.
Whew, she was okay.
"How repugnant." Tsukiumi scowled, the harsh expression was less scary now that I could see the dark purple bags under her eyes. What was scary was the water that somehow appeared from nowhere churning and bubbling at her feet. That would explain why the alley was soaked, she must have encountered Hibiki and Hikari after all. Given I didn't see their bodies or hear MBI's helicopters, they must have escaped or were hiding. "Have you thought me weakened by your assassin stalking my dreams? I will show you I am no easy prey for you to force into submission!"
"Assassin?" I balked. Wait… Kusano referenced experiencing being in my dream which meant…"Hold on, do you mean Shirou?"
"Is that his name?" She slashed out an arm, the water around her lazily following the path and crashing against the wall next to her. "Shame that after I deal with you that I will not have the courtesy of venting my displeasure on him!"
"But Mr. Shirou isn't a Sekirei." Musubi helpfully chimed in. "Is it time to fight now? I really want to see how strong a single digit is!"
"Musubi!" I groaned. "No fighting!"
"Then I, number 09 Tsukiumi, shall show you how the strongest Sekirei fights?" Tsukiumi shouted over me. "Behold!"
Another surge of water streamed out from the blond Sekirei, launched in the rough arc of her pointing arm, but falling short as Musubi leaped over the attack. A quick bounce off the wall sent her backwards and away from a follow up geyser cutting her off from rushing Tsukiumi.
The only casualties of the exchange were my hopes for a peaceful resolution and – as I caught it fluttering down to the ground – the integrity of Musubi's skirt.
"I'm number 88, Musubi!" Now that the fight was on, Musubi stopped any attempt to preserve her modesty. "I've been training a lot and your attacks are much slower than landlady Miya's."
Without warning, the ground shook and heaved! Concrete broke as bits of the ground raised and lowered. The world rattled and I fell, holding on to the ground and the floor. The mass of water around Tsukiumi dropped, losing cohesion all at once and splashing to the ground all at once.
"–ato?" An earthquake? "Minato! Answer me!" I came to, hearing Matsu's voice crying from my pocket.
Bright, blinding light flashed from over the tops and side of the alley, reflecting of the sides of the building before the crack of lighting.
"Minato?! Musubi?!" Matsu called again.
"I'm here." I was fine. I wasn't hurt and nothing fell on us. "What's happening?"
"More tricks?" Tsukiumi struggled to stand, leaning against the wall where she collapsed.
"There are a lot of Sekirei fighting near you." Matsu reported. "Looks like the blunder twins got caught by the group making their way to you. You need to get Tsukiumi and get somewhere safe."
Not good. If Sekirei were fighting in the streets in broad daylight, MBI was soon to follow.
"Right. We'll bring her back to the Inn." I decided.
"Hey! Is that another one?" two women stood at the mouth of the alley opposite Musubi and I. "Get away from the blonde, you dirty monkey! That girl is our masters property!"
Darn. Caught.
"Musubi! Keep them off us!" I yelled, making my way over to Tsukiumi.
"Right!" She was a blur, leaping over me and intercepting the new Sekirei.
"Come on." I grabbed Tsukiumi's arm to help her up. "We need to get out of here, I'm taking you with us."
"Beast! Unhand me!" She flinched, trying to stagger away, but her legs gave out from under her. It was only the support of the wall and my hold on her that prevented her from collapsing entirely. "So the worm finally shows its fangs."
She tried to sneer at me, her face blotchy and red with anger, but I could see (and feel) her trembling.
"Are you an idiot?" I finally snapped. "If you want nothing to do with me, fine. I accept that. That isn't why I'm here in the first place." An image of the girl with swords in her belly flashed through my mind. Her last plea for her loved one before a red X marked the end of her life. "But you can't keep threatening people!"
"I can!" She tried to pull her hand back, but lacked the strength to get off the ground, let alone dislodge me. "I'm the strongest!"
"The strongest…" What did that even mean? What was with their preoccupation with fighting? It didn't help anyone! It didn't solve anything! "That may be… but I don't care anything about that." I could feel her trembling, and see the weakness in her limbs. "When was the last time you ate?" This close up, the bags under her eyes were noticeably purple. "When was the last time you slept? I don't see someone who's strong right now. I see someone struggling alone. Someone who looks like they need a hand."
Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking and she bit her lip to keep from hurling more abuse at me. Man… I really couldn't do anything but make her angry, huh?
"I won't let you…" Her protest was weak.
"Stop being so stubborn!If I was as unscrupulous as you claimed, could you stop me?" I shouted. I hated it, but there were unscrupulous Ashikabi out there. That's what Matsu had said. They put Kusano in danger too. Even now, I could hear Musubi fighting against Sekirei who wanted to take Tsukiumi regardless of her wishes. Outnumbered. Alone.
Tsukiumi's sullen, furious silence was telling.
"I promise you, if you come with us, nothing bad will happen to you," I let go of her arm and offered her my hand. "We'll get you a warm meal. You can take a hot bath and sleep in a real bed. After you're rested… after that, you can go your own way if you want to. But I refuse to let your death be on my conscience."
"Che." She grabbed my hand, letting me pull her to her feet. "I shall see this so-called hospitality and judge you for myself."
She didn't let go though, letting me guide her back the way we came.
"Good. Matsu, guide us home." I spoke into the phone. "Musubi! We're leaving!."
"Aww!" The excitable girl dodged a large, crescent shaped blade, using the rotation of her dodge to kick the wielder into her companion. The impact launched them out of the alley, giving her space to jump back to us. "But I was having fun!"
"Musubi-chan!/Musubi!" Matsu and I called her simultaneously.
"KAMINARI!" The echoing cry was accompanied by a brilliant flash came from the other side of the building with a massive CRACK!.
Yeah, no. This was getting too crazy, we were leaving now! I pulled the girls behind me as I fled. The dust from the massive explosion must have helped hide us as by several blocks later there was no one following.
*Yukari*
"Fuck!" I hit the brick wall with a fist (ow). "That stuck up bitch tricked us!"
And I was fool enough to lead both myself and Shiina right into it. Was she working for that creep? But I heard Shirou's voice… was that a trick too? I recognized his old ass phone number…
"Miss Yukari," Shiina, didn't even look winded from the run. With his slim build, messy silver hair, beautiful grey-blue eyes and apparent fitness, it was no surprise he was a creep magnet. If it wasn't morally questionable I'd jump him. "You can still escape if you hide here. I can distract them.
"And I already told you, I won't do that." There had to be a way out! Useless Minato and his uselessly busy phone! Shirou was this close to be promoted from cool older brother to useless older brother!
"Ohohoho!" The annoying blonde brat chortled, stepping into the mouth of the alley and cutting off any retreat. She looked even shorter, in her black and yellow, vertically striped mini-dress, now that she was standing on even ground with me. Her stiletto heeled, thigh high black stripper boots barely brought her to eye level. "So, you're finally done running? I was going to let you go, but after all the trouble you gave us, I think I'll punish you first."
"Punish me?" I snorted, hoping they couldn't see my hands tremble. "Don't you know bishounen are a national treasure? Don't step up, little girl, or it'll be my civic duty to give you spanking."
Shirou! Help!
The universe seemed to hear me and decided to fuck me in particular, as instead of my (now 100% deemed useless!) older brother, a taller, more mature looking woman stepped into the alley to flank the short girl.
"We only need the boy." The older woman said with disdain. She had long, flowing grey hair and wore a high collared white dress that ended at the very top of her thighs. A bottle shaped cut in the dress exposed her belly button and the half of her – Damn, she must be a real estate mogul cause she had some huge tracts of land! "The girl is of no value."
Rude!
"Ha! Then there's nothing wrong with having a little fun with her." The blond cracked the whip in her hands. "Though… if you hand over our master's property, I might try to avoid messing up your face."
"Bring it half-pint." I growled.
"Yukari, stay back." Shiina pulled me by our linked hands, drawing me behind him as the fragile-looking (but handsome) boy shielded me from the violent maniac tensing her whip. What kind of fucked up child even had a whip? Wasn't she too young to be into that sort of thing?
"No? Good! I'm Number 38, Mitsuha." She introduced herself, twirling the whip in a long windup. "I like it better this way!"
Her arm snapped, sending the whip scything through the air towards us–
CRACK!
–A huge wall of ice suddenly cut through the middle of the alley, cutting off the violent girl and blocking us into the dead end. The tip of the whip fell limply where its length was now caught in the frozen blockade.
"What?" I heard the girl shriek from the other side of the glistening wall now separating us. Something, I couldn't see anything through the thick ice except a reflection of a shadow, fell on the other side.
"Who the–" The whip carrying psycho's high pitched shout cut off with a squelch. A splash of something dark slapped wetly across the ice. A second later, the ice cracked with another mighty crunch, shattering.
Instead of crashing to the ground (and crushing us), however, the ice broke into smaller and smaller shards that shrunk rapidly as if melting. Like a wind of sparkling diamonds, the shards faded harmlessly away.
"Woah…pretty." I couldn't help but mutter, even as Shiina pressed me even closer to him and further into the dead end. Being pressed against the wall was way less sexy than my manga said it was. Uneven bricks were scratchy.
"Yukari, are you alright?" The glittering dust revealed Shirou, standing with his back to me between us and our pursuers like a goddamn superhero. At his feet was the prone form of that psycho girl, her body slowly being enveloped in ice. In the time it took him to straighten from his crouch and say those words, Akitsu fell from somewhere, landing noiselessly at his side, her long red coat trailing in the wake of her descent.
Holy shit, I did not squeal, Shirou was a badass!
" The Disciplinary Squad…" Shiina whispered, pale.
"You really waited till the last moment, didn't you, big brother?" I couldn't hold up the tone needed to grouch at him past the relief I felt. "We're fine now, thanks."
"Big brother?" Shiina's head whipped to stare at me as I pushed confidently past him. There were two Sahashi's here now, which made us invincible.
"Good. Stay there. This will be over shortly." God! That was such a cool line! "If anything happens to my sister, I'll hold you personally responsible."
"Y-yessir!" Shiina yelped at the shovel speech. Really, Shirou?
"The Black Dog's Ashikabi?" The remaining woman gasped, turning to run.
"Akitsu." My brother spoke softly. "I'd like to speak to that one."
"Ah…" My brother's maybe girlfriend slash probable submissive threw her hands out, sending the cuffs of her (borrowed? Stolen? Claimed?) coat flaring. Three lines of frost, raced across the ground from her, jagged little spears of ice like inverted icicles erupting in their wake. "Understood."
Holy shit. Akitsu was a magical girl!
"Woah…" I whispered, awed. "I want that…"
"Wait! No!" The woman cried as she tried to jump into the air. Operative word tried. She got no further than a foot in the air before the trailing lines of frost converged and exploded! The air turned white, a cool wind blowing a wave of powdered snow through the alley. When I opened my eyes, her legs, hips and half her torso were trapped in a pillar of ice. "I don't want to fight! I surrender!"
"Akitsu, secure her and the rest of the alley." Shirou said, my new favorite person (Sorry Taiga, but Akitsu had magic) leaping to obey. "As for you two…" He turned to me and my very pretty rescuee. "You were just released, weren't you."
"Yes sir." Shiina wasn't exactly hiding behind me. "I'm Shiina, number 107.
"This matter is now the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Squad. Retrieval teams are enroute. There's a large Sekirei presence here, however, so I need you to escort Yukari away from here." Wait, what? That's not fair! I saved a hottie! Why couldn't I see the cool magic fight? "Can I trust you to get her home safely?"
"Bullshit!" I stomped my foot, "I'm going to miss the cool stuff!"
"I'll protect her with my life!" Shiina spoke over me. This was oppression! Sexism!
"Good." My traitorous brother nodded. "Then go."
"Augh!" I shrieked, feeling my cheeks heat up as the handsome boy turned betrayer pulled me into a princess carry and jumped over the alley and onto the rooftops. "I'll remember this, Shirou! This isn't over!"
The last thing I saw was a spikey, grey-haired cosplayer with red, half-moon glasses in a purple sari-themed outfit with a high slit long skirt and large, detached sleeves drop down past us as we rocketed upwards, landing next to Shirou.
*Kochou*
"Sekirie emergency activation confirmed." I heard the woman say over the open phone line. I would say I didn't mean to use my newly set up backdoor into the phone of the newest Ashikabi under Mid Bio Informatics Disciplinary Squad… but that would be a blatant lie. "Retrieval teams are enroute. Patching into MBI Sec Com." A line directly into the Security forces communication network! I'd been trying to get into their network for weeks!
"SecCom actual to DSA2. Requesting Sitrep." A new voice broke into the connected line and I concentrated, following the lines of updating registry data that cleared the security checkpoints. It was a shallow connection, nothing deeper than some com channels, but it was a connection.
Higa would be pleased…
"Site secure." My target replied. "Two birds on site. Friendlies. One pickup."
…If I told him.
It seemed I was included in the list of friendlies. Unexpected. I took it as leave to glance around as I awaited my opportunity to speak with the brute once more. The fallen Sekirei was encased in ice, a small red patch at the neck the only sign of injury. I had assumed that the Ashikabi of the Black Dog would have killed the other one he captured too, but he let her go with a message.
A warning, really.
Truly, he might be too clever for me to refer to as a brute, even to myself.
"Emiya-san." A soft-spoken polite man. He reminded me of Kakizaki. "I'm surprised you're responding on your day off. Would you like me to relieve you?"
I didn't like him.
"Thank you, Natsuo." Shirou replied, less like a robot and more like a person (as if that was any better). "But I can handle this. I'm already here."
"If you're sure." This Natsuo verbally shrugged. "There's been a Norito activation in the area, but it looks like the fighting is tampering down. I'll have the girls on standby."
"Understood. DSA02 out." Shirou muted his end of the line and turned to me, and I straightened. This was the moment, I felt, those unnerving golden eyes taking me in. If he was Higa, then I was about to be abducted again. I had revealed a bit of my powers to him, and that sliver alone had already proven I was worth taking by any means.
Or would he kill me? I didn't understand enough about what made a magus, other than they were even more despicable than base humans. Higa often spoke of resource denial as a viable alternative to losing opportunities.
"Kochou. I'm glad you're still here." Those eyes gave away nothing. Any glint of intent or hint of emotion was locked down. Ah. So I was right; traded as a favor, from one cage to another. "I would like to apologize again for how I treated you."
Apolo–what?
"I was just doing as instructed." I responded, my training taking over as my mind blanked. He had power here, he had backup and I was alone… why wasn't he acting like he should?
"You delivered your message as instructed, perhaps." He agreed, making sense for once. "After that however, you personally assisted in finding my sister and aided me in saving her." And there he went spouting nonsense again. Why was he saying that? "I'll meet with your Ashikabi. Do you have a way of recording my number?" I nodded, feeling dumb. "Good. Here it is. However –"
Ha! Of course there had to be a catch. He might have fooled a less experienced Sekirie but–
"– I still owe you personally."
What?
"What? I was just–" I started, cursing my slipped composure. Already, I knew I was going to be punished for that. "But you already agreed to–"
I didn't understand what he was saying. How… could I salvage this? Had I already salvaged this?
"I did." He nodded, infuriatingly? Confusingly? "That may have been your reason for helping, but I think the decision to help others should be rewarded regardless. If that is all you want, then have your Ashikabi contact me. Thank you again."
"Of course…" I replied woodenly. I didn't… I didn't understand him at all! "By your leave then."
I accepted the implicit dismissal and fled while I could. The sound of MBI's rapid response helicopters rose and fell in the background. When no further texts or calls went out, I let my connection to the burner phone fade for now. Higa would want me to go through it again later and I would need my strength for that.
Shirou Emiya. I think… no, I decided that I didn't like him either.
*Shiina*
"…And that's why," I finished my explanation, "I want you to be my Ashikabi."
My heart was beating fast. I had never been around someone as lively as the girl in front of me. She sparkled with kindness and warmth, shining with a love for life. Just being near her made me anxious to touch her, to bask in her presence and hear her voice.
…but also because Mr. Emiya was terrifying. It wasn't a direct order, per se, but I was disobeying the spirit of a direct order from the Disciplinary Squad by asking her to be my Ashikabi. If I was lucky, he would only set the Black Dog on me and spread my severed limbs across Tokyo as a warning to the other Sekirei.
"Ahikabi…" Yukari trailed off. Did I explain it right?
The dusting of red on her cheeks made me think I did… among making me think of other things.
"So that's what that word means. Oh, I knew it!" Knew it? Knew what? "I knew it was a sex thing! Where's my phone, I'm going to give my brothers so much shit! I knew they were into that sort of thing. Now wonder Musubi and Akitsu were so down to play as dolls, that is some peak bottom energy."
She gave me a sly glance that sent a shiver of fear and anticipation up my spine.
I… was it too late to reconsider who I reacted to?
"Minato, Shirou." She hummed, dialing. "Minato! Shirou! You're so full of shit!" She yelled into the phone as it connected."
"What? Yukari?" The unknown voice, I assumed was Minato questioned.
Mr. Emiya took a deep, steadying breath. "It's always nice to talk to you, sister." He drawled. "I take it Shina escorted you home safely?"
"Yeah, he's in my bedroom right now."
"What?" Minato yelped. "Who?"
"He's what?" I could hear Mr. Emiya's irritation inversely correspond with how much longer I had to live. "Why is he there?"
"I'm going to be his Ashikabi, duh!" She crowed into the phone and I felt my heart leap. It felt like I could fly. "I won't lose to either of you. I have an attractive and submissive magical guy of my own now!"
"Yukari?!" Minato sounded as embarrassed at my (soon to be?) Ashikabi as I was. "What is going on?"
"What? Yukari?" I heard the scariest man I know shout. "Yukari!"
"I'm going shopping for leather clothes now," She ignored them, "I'll call you later! Love you both!"
Yukari hung up the phone, cutting off any response the two might have had before tossing it away.
"So, how do we do this?" She smiled down at me with an expression that promised equal amounts of salvation and damnation. "Teehee. I'm going to be the best fucking top – er, Ashikabi – ever!"
*Chapter End*
Authors note:
Once more, shout out to ParadoxicalThought, HibernaLupus, and OctZ for their sacrifices.
NamelessEpitaph: I started writing a fragment to continue the Rule of Steel fragment. I won't be posting it yet since it contains some heavy spoilers for a bit later in the story. Once we get there, that fragment(s) will be for you.
On another note, the Fragments naming convention has been the order I write them in, not their release date. I'll go about fixing that when I post them. As a preview, the Fragments currently pending are Great Teacher Emiya-san, the obligatory beach episode, and Rule of Steel part 2.