Once again thank you to my awesome beta Ikrani
Kurai Amaya: I'm gald you are liking my story as well as my choice for Uzume and thank you for the praise it is much appreciated.
VauseAgron35: I'm glad that my story is able to bring you a excitement as each new chapter is posted. I will respond to each and every comment that somebody puts on to this story. As for the disputes between Matsu and Kazehana well just wait and find out.
agirl00z: I'm glad my story is able to make you smile and yes you would be right."
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"Damn it! Why does there have to be so much traffic?!"
I stare out to the almost endless stream of cars in front of me. Why couldn't they just get out of the way and allow me to go? Lives were at stake!
"Mistress, it is 8:23. People are probably on their way to work right now."
"Damn it!" I slam my head against the steering wheel. "At this rate, we'll never reach Uzume in time!"
"You know, we could just run there!" comes Kazehana's voice from the back seat.
"And how the hell is that gonna work?! I can't keep up with you girls physically!"
Kazehana smiles… seductively? Or is it my imagination? "I could carry you," she says.
"Are you sure about that, Kazehana?"
She nods at me. "No problem at all."
As much as I don't want to leave my car, Uzume's safety takes precedence over whatever backlash leaving it would cause. "Then let's go!"
I hop out of the car, making sure to lock it after everyone was out. I jump onto Kazehana's back as she quickly jumps up to the rooftop of a flower shop. The warmth of Kazehana's body is intoxicating. Something about being with her seems right. I don't know if she's feeling the same thing but I decide to put that at the back of my mind for now. Uzume is the only thing that matters.
"Thank you, Kazehana! You don't know how much this means to me!"
"I said it's no problem at all, Saya. I wanna save Uzume just as much as you and I know you'll treat her right."
After what feels like no time at all, we finally reach Izumo Inn. Much to my dismay, the road surrounding it is packed with Sekirei and Ashikabi. Some numbers I recognize, others I don't. The only other thing to note is the large wall of vines towering over the walls of the inn.
"Fuck! How are we going to reach her now?"
"Hello Saya, come in Saya!" Matsu's voice comes from seemingly nowhere, then I remember the earpiece she gave me.
"Ummm… Matsu-chan? I'm here."
"Good. I'm tracking you through GPS on your phone. It looks like you arrived at Izumo Inn."
"Yes and I'm not the only one. There are at least a dozen Sekirei and Ashikabi here. Kuu has made up some kind of wall of vines, most likely to prevent any from jumping the fence."
"I suspected as much, but with Miya, not to mention Minato and his Sekirei, I doubt anyone's gotten inside."
"Yes, but there's still fighting on the outside."
"Call them, at least to let them know that you're here but can't get in, and maybe they can work something out.".
"Right," I say before pulling my cell phone from my pocket. I quickly scroll through my contacts to Miya's number.
"Hello. Asama residence," says a male voice from the other end, one that I recognized as Minato.
"It's Saya. I'm outside Izumo Inn, but I noticed the large number of Sekirei and Ashikabi outside. Any ideas?"
"Uzume has been waiting patiently for you, but unfortunately I can't help you. Miya-san and my Sekirei are blocking all the entrances to the inn, but they'll let you in when they see you."
"Damn," I say, realizing what that meant. "I will see you in a bit. Thanks for all your help, Minato."
"You're welcome, Saya!" he says before I hang up the phone.
"Girls, looks like we need to fight our way through, although try to avoid as much conflict as possible." I look over to the unofficial member of my team. "Kazehana, I can't expect you to follow my orders because you are not my Sekirei, but please be careful."
She nods before the five of us jump off of the roof. We land on the ground as quietly as possible, landing about 3 blocks from the inn. I had a little bit of help from my Sekirei as the fall was too far for me. My Sekirei and I turn to face the inn, when a loud voice comes from behind.
"Ah, shoot. What'd I tell you? There's a ton of people already here. You and your grooming!"
I turn to the source of the voice to see two figures. One is a rather large man with buzzed blonde hair, blue eyes and a beefy, muscular frame. He towers over me, as he had to be well over a meter and a half if not close to two. He wears a black tank top and camo cargo pants, though I have a feeling his legs are equally built. From the looks of him, I would say he's probably an American soldier from one of their bases. What's he doing here, though?
The other is a girl who stood at just over half his size. She has long, honey-blonde hair that reaches down to her butt. Her eyes are around the same color as her hair, if only a little darker. Her frame is kind of petite, slender and smooth, and her chest is not nearly as big as a Sekirei's, though still attractive.
"It's okay, Kage-kun, we'll still find the Veiled Sekirei."
So she is a Sekirei. I can't place her number, but I had a feeling, given her looks and just happening to be here.
"This wouldn't have happened if you just cut-"
She punches him in the arm. "I am not getting a buzzcut! Now let's focus!"
I couldn't let them have her. I couldn't let Uzume be with anyone else." Kazehana, do you think you can take this guy and his Sekirei, while we press ahead?"
"Of course, hun. Leave them to me."
"Thank you," I say before motioning for my girls to continue moving. We slowly move towards the inn, trying to avoid most of the fighting. We get roughly 30 meters away, before we are blocked by an Ashikabi and his two Sekirei.
The first has platinum blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She wears what looks like a purple and pink school uniform. I recognized her as Number 66, one of the last Sekirei I had adjusted. Only just two weeks ago I was finishing adjustments on this girl, and now she is a rival in my pursuit to get Uzume. She was a brain-type if I remember, so she isn't as combat capable as her harem sister. I make a note to try and talk with her after we secure Uzune, though I doubt she would listen as she was always kind of a stuck-up bitch.
The other Sekirei has short black hair, brown eyes, and a moderately-sized chest, around the same size as Akitsu. Her dress consists of a grey Chinese-style shirt that is rather long and her legs are covered in black nylons. The look was completed by white knee-high boots and black gloves. The weapon of choice was two kodachi. If the big number 19 on her white boots didn't give it away, she was Number 19, Ikki.
"Ok, girls, who wants to fight this one?"
"I will," says Haruhime as she pulls out her tessen. She steps out in front of me, as she says, "I'm Number Twenty-Five, Haruhime. I challenge you to an official Sekirei battle."
"Number Nineteen, Ikki, " says Haruhime's opponent as she draws her weapons.
Ikki starts off by swinging one of her kodachi at Haruhime. She is easily able to parry the blade with her tessen, but Ikki swings the other blade causing Haruhime to jump back a few centimeters to avoid it.
Ikki doesn't relent and charges at Haruhime, who unfolds one tessen and blocks with it as both blades come down on her. She takes the other one and slashes at Ikki, managing to just barely hit her.
Ikki jumps back as blood trickles down her side. "I must say you're pretty quick, Twenty-Five."
"You're not so bad yourself." Haruhime charges at her once again. I could tell from their movements that both Sekirei are quick with their weapons and pretty fairly matched.
I look over to Ikki's Ashikabi, a man with short brown hair and blue eyes. He wears a green button up shirt and blue jeans. "Ikki don't let up! We must win this. I need that Veiled Sekirei. If you fail, you better pray your opponent kills you."
...Wow. Hearing those words shakes me to my core. He threatened his precious Sekirei! I make a mental note to confront him after the battle.
Haruhime is on the defensive, as Ikki continues to rapidly slice at her. "Haru-chan, don't give up! Win this for me, please! For true love!"
Haruhime seems to perk up at my words and parrys Ikki's kodachi, catching her off-guard. She grabs hold of Ikki's left arm and pulls her to the ground, causing her to drop her weapons. As Ikki hits the ground, Haruhime flips onto her opponent and puts a finger to her Sekirei crest. "Tessen of my pledge, slice through the turmoils of my Ashikabi!"
As Haruhime gets off of Ikki, her Ashikabi starts kicking her in the side. "You useless bitch! How could you lose?!"
I couldn't stand by and watch as he kicked her. Even if she was already gone, it was the principal of it. "Hey, she was already deactivated, so leave her alone!" I turn to his remaining Sekirei. "Kozue, don't let this asshole push you around."
"As if he could, and how do you know my name?" she says in a loud tone that makes it sound like she's angry. It figured she would be like this. She was always like this even while I was adjusting her. She never thanked me for my work and always treated me like I was inferior to her.
"You don't remember me, Kozue?"
"Should I?" she replies. Just as expected. It wasn't that she didn't remember me, she didn't care enough to remember me.
"I'm the one who adjusted you, Shirayuki Saya."
"Like I care! You are no longer relevant to me anymore."
Seeing it pointless to talk with Kozue, I turn to her Ashikabi. "If I wasn't in a hurry, I would knock some sense into you, but I can't. Just know that Sekirei are beings driven by love, so if you want your Sekirei to be strong, love is the most important thing you can give them."
With that, I walk past him, ignoring all his angry words, but hoping I planted a seed that would make him change his outlook on what being an Ashikabi means.
It's just then that I hear Kazehana's voice. "Saya!"
I look behind me to see her running up with two others in tow, the American guy and his Sekirei. "Kazehana, I thought you were gonna fight them."
"I was, but I happened to mention something about your reaction to Uzume and Chiho here-" Kazehana points to the honey-blonde girl. "-stopped. She also told Kagedansu to stop attacking me. They agreed to help since they don't wanna stand in the way of true love."
While the prospect of help is a nice one, Kazehana's words catch me off guard. It almost sounded like she said the American-looking guy was a Sekirei. "Umm… Chiho, right? I don't mean to offend you, but you're the Ashikabi?"
The honey-blonde girl nods. "I am, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Saya-san. My Sekirei and I will be more than happy to help, right Kage-kun?"
"Right I'm Number Sixty-Seven, Kage-"
Sixty-Seven's words are cut short as a loud voice sounds behind me. "You know, somehow I just knew you would be here."
I turn to see a familiar face behind me. I had hoped not to run into him so soon, but then again, why would he not be here?
"Hello, West-san!" I say, turning to the western Ashikabi and his four Sekirei.
"Shut your mouth! I'm here to get the Veiled Sekirei! Once I have her I'll get my revenge on you, then win this game!"
"No, West-san, Uzume is mine, and I won't let you have her! I challenge you and you Sekirei to an all-out battle for the right to wing Uzume and for the title of the Western Ashikabi. You ready girls? If so, pick a target!"
"You're on, but don't complain to me when your Sekirei are dead."
"Saya wait! the odds are not in your favor! Let us take one!" Chiho says.
"I appreciate the offer but this battle is mine alone."
"Saya," Kazehana says, "I'm helping you whether you like it or not. You see, I've come to a conclusion!"
"A conclusion on what, Kazehana?"
"I finally understand why I've been so drawn to your building. The piggy back ride I gave you just reinforces what I'm feeling. I think my body is having a reaction to you."
"Does that mean you're gonna become my Sekirei?"
"Sorry, Saya, but I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. It's complicated. Buuut, I thi-"
"Shut up and fight!" Nishi yells.
"We'll resume this conversation after we beat this asshole." Kazehana turns towards Nishi. "Ok, West-san, come and get me!"