First of all once again, I would like to thank Ikrani for his beta work.
gunmun: I'm glad you are likeing so far, and we do see at least one female Ashikabi. As Uzume's original Ashikabi is female. I imagine Chiho can't be the only one.
Kurai Amaya: I'm glad you're loving the story so far and I already have all of Saya's flock planned out. Sorry but Number 6 stays with Minato.
Now without further Ado on to the story
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"Akitsu-chan, try these on!" I say as I hand Akitsu a pile lingerie for her to try.
"Of course, Mistress," she says as hands me back the underwear and starts to undo the chains connecting her kimono. She-
"No, Akitsu-chan, not out here in the open!" I say as I point to the dressing rooms. "In there."
"Yes, Mistress," Akitsu says as she takes the underwear back and slowly shuffles to the dressing room.
Haruhime and I follow her, and sit down on some chairs in front of the dressing room.
"So ummm, S-Saya," comes the low voice of Haruhime.
"Yes, Haru-chan?"
Haruhime looks at me, a little taken aback by nickname. "'Haru-chan?'"
"Yeah, sorry. Haruhime-chan is a bit long, so I shortened it to Haru-chan. Do... you not like it?"
Haruhime face turns bright read. "N-No, don't get the wrong idea. I do like it, I just didn't expect it."
"Yea, sorry I caught you off guard."
"It's ok, Saya."
"Anyway, what did you want me for, Haru-chan?"
Haruhime's voice stays low as she asks, "How long has Akitsu been your Sekirei?"
I feel her emotions through the bond; there is a sense of nervousness. That seems understandable, considering she suddenly has emotional connection to someone she only met an hour ago.
"First of all, relax a little bit. There's nothing to feel nervous about. Second, I've only been Akitsu's Ashikabi since last night."
"How did you find her?"
"I'm an adjuster for the Sekirei plan, or rather I was. Akitsu was the last Sekirei I adjusted. I kinda saved her from her previous adjuster after he tried to-"
"Mistress."
I'm interrupted by the sound of Akitsu's voice. I turn to look at Akitsu and almost have a heart attack. She had come out wearing a yellow lace bra and matching panties. They left little to the imagination, and her top seems to push up her chest, making it look even bigger. Although, somehow, the yellow didn't quite suit her.
"You look beautiful Akitsu-chan, but try a different color."
Akitsu nods and disappears back into the dressing room. I look back at Haruhime to see her staring down at her chest. The bond tells me she is a bit envious of Akitsu, and feels she is somewhat inferior to her.
"Haru-chan."
"Yes, Saya?"
"I know how you feel. You think Akitsu is prettier than you. I feel the same way around you and her. You both are otherworldly beings with beauty that goes beyond normal human standards. How can I compare to either of you?"
"That's not true! You're beautiful, too, and I'm glad you're my Ashikabi. I was afraid I was going to get someone ugly."
"Well thank you, Haru-chan. Tell you what, go pick out something you like and model it for me."
Her face becomes beet red. She quietly mumbles something that I can't make out.
"I'm sorry, Haru-chan, can you repeat that?"
"What is your favorite color?"
"Purple."
Haruhime nods and runs off into the store as Akitsu steps out of dressing room again. This time, her chosen lingerie set is cobalt blue. She looks amazing in this one, too, but something doesn't feel right.
"I don't think blue is your color either, Akitsu-chan. It's definitely closer, though."
She turns and goes back into the dressing room. Haruhime suddenly runs past me in a blur and disappears into the dressing room next to Akitsu's. After sitting in silence for what felt like an eternity, Akitsu and Haruhime finally come out at the same time.
Akitsu is clad in a garter belt and black panties with leggings that hug her figure perfectly. The black beautifully contrasts her pale skin, in the way a full moon contrasts the night sky. What doesn't contrast her skin are her hands, which are currently the only thing holding up and covering her breasts. Despite not having a top to this one, it worked for her.
Haruhime is wearing a pink and purple striped bra and panties and it looks amazing on her. Seeing her stand next to Akitsu, it was obvious that her chest was a bit smaller, but it was still impressive nonetheless. The purple was the exact same shade as the stripe in her hair and seems to compliment it in very pretty way.
"I don't know what to say. You both look extremely beautiful. Akitsu-chan black is I
your color and Haru-chan that looks perfect on you. You gotta buy that one. Now go get dressed!"
"Thank you, Mistress," Akitsu says, smiling a little as she returns inside the dressing room.
Haruhime blushes and looks down at the floor. She asks in a rather nervous tone, "D-Do you really like it?"
"I do, Haru-chan, and continuing the conversation earlier, don't worry about how pretty Akitsu is. You're both equally beautiful. Now go get dressed, then we'll get something to eat."
Haruhime nods and goes back into the dressing room. After a bit of bit of waiting Akitsu comes out dressed in her kimono, followed shortly by Haruhime dressed in her shirt and skirt. I walk over to the cashier, she rings up the underwear and we quickly leave the store.
As we exit the lingerie store, I ask the all-important question. "So, Akitsu-chan, Haru-chan, what are you hungry for?"
"I'm kinda in the mood for a burger," Haruhime replies.
I look to Akitsu. "And you, Akitsu-chan?"
"Where ever you want to go is fine, Mistress."
Since we're in a shopping mall, I figure the best place to head is the food court. There are plenty of restaurants there, and we can decide what we want. It's around the moment that I narrowly avoid a black, rice-covered spill on the floor that my phone goes off. I pull it out of my pocket, and look at the notification.
Congratulations on winging your second Sekirei, Ms.Shirayuki. You will now get an additional 60,000 yen, as an allowance for Number 25.
'How in the hell-! Nevermind this is Minaka, I should expect this.' I unclench my teeth and put my phone back in my pocket as we get in line at CoCo ICHIBAN. While Akitsu and I order our food, I give Haruhime 1500 yen and send her to a nearby MOS Burger stand, with instructions to find us a table afterward.
Akitsu just stares up at the menu board with a blank look on her face, as if she'd never ordered food before. "Akitsu, do you know what you want?"
She shakes her head. "I don't know, what will taste good?"
"Well, I can't tell you what you will like and dislike, but was there anything you liked eating back when you were at the MBI labs?"
"Shrimp."
I glance at the board, scanning the items. "They have shrimp curry on the menu."
"Okay."
I order a shrimp cutlet curry for Akitsu and chicken stew curry for myself, both with melon sodas. After a small wait they call our order number, and Akitsu grabs the tray of food while I grab the drinks. We walk through the busy food court, till we finally spot Haruhime at a table near MOS. We walk over and Haruhime had ordered a teriyaki burger combo with onion rings and melon soda.
We sit down at the table, and Akitsu hands me my curry, before staring down at her own. She grabs her spoon and takes a bite. Her eyes light up for a second, before she takes another.
We pretty much eat in silence until Haruhime breaks the ice."So Akitsu, why do you call Saya 'Mistress'?"
She looks up from her food and says, "I'm her Sekirei and it feels... right."
She looks back down and continues to slowly eat her food. Nobody really says much of anything as we finish the rest of our meal, that is until I look at my watch, which reads "5:15. "
I rocket to my feet so fast it sends my chair skittering backwards. "Akitsu-chan! Haru-chan! We need to go!"
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As we arrive at the Botanical Gardens, I notice the place is heavily guarded by MBI forces. Crouching behind the concrete stoop of a metal door to a brick building, I observe the moving helmets of the infantry and the swiveling turrets atop armored cars. Minaka probably sent them to stop people from wandering in, thus safeguarding the secrecy of the Sekirei Plan. For now, anyway.
From the other side of the Gardens, lightning comes crashing down. I figure the only two that could cause that are 11 and 12. Their Ashikabi must be after Kusano.
I stand, Akitsu and Haruhime behind me, a hand on each of my shoulders. "Let go save Kusano! Akitsu-chan, remove those guards from our path, please."
She nods as sharp stalagmites of ice shoot out of the ground into the small guard checkpoint. The ice spikes skewer guards and vehicles with no mercy, instantly clearing a path into the Gardens. Blood slowly leaks down the giant ice crystals. Some of the spraying fluids from the punctured vehicles gently catch fire, and the turrets lay in mangled, punctured heaps atop the makeshift metal tombs.
As we approach the entrance to the garden, the ground shakes below us. I almost fall over, but I'm caught by Haruhime. I look around and spot a guy wearing all black, with a yellow scarf and a sword in his hands. He holds it like two-handed walking stick, with the tip of the scabbard resting on the ground.
"I can't let you interfere," he says, raising his weapon but keeping it in the sheathe. "My Ashikabi wants the Green Girl. "
Akitsu rushes in front of me and puts her arms out. "I won't let you hurt my Mistress!"
Akitsu's sudden assertiveness surprises me; I didn't think she had it in her. But somehow, I can't help but be proud of her for it.
Ice crystals start forming over Akitsu's hands as she says, "I'm Number 7, Akitsu."
Akitsu's opponent simply nods. "Number 5, Mutsu. I accept your challenge."
The now identified Number 5 presses the scabbard of his sword against the ground. The ground starts to shake as a tidal wave of soil and crumbling asphalt is sent barreling at Akitsu. She jumps, avoiding the wave, as she forms a couple of icicles above her head. They shoot off like torpedoes at Mutsu, but as they're about to hit him a wall of rock suddenly rises. The icicles hit the rock wall and shatter into a million pieces. However, the impact crumbles the wall to dust.
"Be careful, Akitsu-chan. This guy seems very powerful, even for a Single Number."
The sky behind Mutsu starts to turn an orangish pink color as the sun starts to set behind him. I would stop to admire it, but cheering Akitsu on is more important.
"Go Akitsu! You can do it!" I yell.
Akitsu launches more icicles at Mutsu, but this time instead of blocking them with rock, he simply sidesteps them. She follows up by summoning a serpentine trail of giant ice spikes, exploding from the ground towards Mutsu. He tries to disrupt the attack with a rising rock spike, but Akitsu quickly changes its path so it swerves around the rock. Mutsu blocks it with another rock wall as a black limousine pulls up next to him.
"Mutsu, it's time to leave! Yomi's energy disappeared. She failed!"
The other Sekirei touches his scabbard to the ground again, and some cracks beneath Akitsu's feet are all the warning she gets before a sinkhole swallows the asphalt. Thank goodness she leaps away in time, landing next to me as I embrace her.
Mutsu, meanwhile, has already sheathed his sword. "Till next time, Number 7." With that, Mutsu gets in the car and it speeds off.
Akitsu turns back to look at me. I hear her breathing heavily. She stares at me with her normal blank expression, but her eyes say she's looking for approval.
"Akitsu you did great!" I say as I reach up and squeeze her shoulders. "That was very brave, standing up for me like that. Mutsu was not an easy opponent, but you were able to hold your own against him. You were awesome and I'm very proud of you."
"That was indeed good, Number 7. I watched the entire battle," comes a voice from behind me.
The voice had come from a man wearing all black, the bottom half of his face is covered by a black mask. He is Number 6, Homura, one of the few male Sekirei. He also is the guardian of the unwinged ones. I'm about to speak but Haruhime beats me to it.
" Homura, I found her! I found my Ashikabi!"
"Number 25," he says, acknowledging her with a nod. "I'm glad you found her. If only I could find one as lovely as yours."
"I'm so happy with her! Her name is Shirayuki Saya."
"Shirayuki-san?" he says, turning to me. "Takami told me about you. You're the Adjuster that saved Number 7 and became her Ashikabi. Takami speaks very highly of you. I assume you are here to protect 108, but she has been claimed by another. "
I start a silent prayer, then a vocal one. "Please tell me Kuu didn't get some pervert for an Ashikabi."
"No, no! Her Ashikabi is Sahashi Minato. He hasn't winged her yet, but she reacted to him and trust me, she's safe with him."
"Sahashi? Takami's boy?"
"That's right. He's also 88's Ashikabi. So if he cares for 108 as much as he cares for 88, then she's in good hands."
I sigh in relief, knowing that Takami's boy would make sure she was safe from perverts and lowlifes.
"Anyway, it was really nice to meet you, Shirayuki-san." He turns to walk away. "But I really must get going. Take care of Akitsu and Haruhime."
"Homura, wait!" I yell to his back. As that protector of the unwinged, he might be able to give an answer to the mystery that had been eating at me for that last year.
He humors me and regards me. "Yes, Shirayuki-san?"
"Do you potentially know what happened to Number 10 and Number 2?"
"Why do you wanna know about those two?"
His reaction tells me that he knows, but he's probably skeptical because of my ties to MBI. He has every right to be skeptical, because as far as he knows, I'm on Minaka's side.
"Look, I just want to know if they are okay. I know you probably don't trust me because I work for Minaka, but I only worked for him because it pays the bills. I never agreed with the Sekirei Plan, especially now that I'm a part of it. Well, more a part of it. Minaka is essentially abusing people's emotions, making them fall in love, only to tear the relationships in two, not to mention the human cost of all the terminated Sekirei. So if you don't trust me, I understand. I just want to know if Matsu and Uzume are okay. Last I saw them was a year ago when they broke out of MBI."
"Well Shirayuki-san, I guess I can let you know; I trust Takami's judgment of you. Numbers 2 and 10 live at a place called Izumo Inn. I will take you there. Just be careful of the landlady, she can be very scary."