Chapter 14: Parting the Veil, Part 1
*Matsu*
"What to do, Mr. Ducky?" I asked, lying on my back, spinning the rubber ducky idly in my hands. It was another late night tonight, but this time… well this was less a choice and more a product of indecision.
And maybe a little guilt.
The latter, at least, I ruthlessly quashed. Minato-kun and his sister could have handled Mikogami between the two of them, Tsukiumi and Uzume. With all of them together, Mikogami's advantage of having more Sekirei than almost any other Ashikabi was almost nullified and the Sahashi siblings had much more potent combatants.
It was a calculated risk, but I was very good at math.
…Plus, I might have still had an eye on them through the Mid Bio Informatics Geosynchronous Orbital Dedicated Multifunctional Observation and Direct Energy satellites. I believed with all of my heart in Minato-kun, but keeping anti-warship artillery in the back pocket as insurance was just a good policy.
And Minato-kun was a nice boy. If he knew, well… I was sure he would forgive me.
"Ugh." I squirmed. Ruthlessly. Quashing. The. Guilt. It wasn't like anyone got hurt and the group needed more combat experience. The humans were soft. Yukari, for all her viciousness, was carried by how strong Shiina was in a stand-up fight against opponents who just let him drain them. Minato-kun…
Minato-kun was too kind.
"But I like that about him," I told Mr. Ducky, kicking my feet (careful to avoid the monitors) back and forth. He didn't have the viciousness of Yukari – something that made her fun to play with, but not to have in an Ashikabi – nor did he have the raw attractiveness of Shirou – whose exotic appearance and well-sculpted muscles made him quite the eye-candy. Instead, Minato was thoughtful. Sensitive. Empathetic. Welcoming and loving in a way I hadn't even known was possible.
He didn't know the horrors of Kamikura… of being at war. His hands weren't stained with blood like mine were. Maybe that's why it was so nice when he held me…
"Booo." I sighed, forcing out my breath, imagining it as a red ball of ick leaving my body. Being serious wasn't any fun. Plus, I'd much rather be moles… cuddling. Yes, cuddling, Minato-kun.
Unfortunately, it was time for adulting and the other Sekirei weren't quite mature enough yet. Case in point, my eye in the sky was tracking a lone figure moving over the rooftops towards the Izumo. Not long after, I heard the porch door slide open as Uzume crept her way back into the house. Dozens of electronic eyes tracked her movements as she – thankfully – snuck into the room she shared with Tsukiumi and nowhere else.
"Welcome home, number 10." I put Mr. Ducky aside and sat up.
With less than a thought – without even a twitch of my physical body – my digital mind retreated from the home security feed and refocused towards MBI's servers.
Or rather, I should say that my conscious awareness did. For all that they tried to harden their servers and information flow since my resignation from the first Disciplinary Squad, MBI didn't quite grasp exactly what it meant to be a technopath. I didn't access the wellspring – the world – humanity had birthed just past the surface of reality like some nine-to-fiver in front of a terminal.
I wasn't limited by physicality. I lived in the invisible streams of information pulsing through the air. I didn't need to read or write code – it was my DNA. I thought and my will be done. They couldn't keep me out – their servers were part of me now.
Most of them, anyway.
I pulled information from the ether and my monitors flickered with images. Uzume wasn't as subtle as she thought – or rather, I wasn't as stupid as she might have believed. One screen showed Uzume traveling under the overhang of a building – or more specifically, sheltered by the deck of an apartment. Another showed only moments later a Sekirei garbed in stolen bedsheets leaping from the exact same porch.
"Or should I say, Veiled Sekirei?" I continued the thought.
The images, captured by MBI's own surveillance network, no longer existed anywhere but in my memories. Uzume was one of the Sekirei most adjusted to the human world that I knew – especially considering her generation of Sekirei included Homura who was also mostly human-passing. However, despite all that, she just wasn't capable of hiding her presence so completely in the digital field.
There was someone else – someone like me – in MBI's systems. Someone who was helping Uzume – deftly, almost in real-time – cover her tracks, removing the evidence of Uzume's activities and altering her geolog tags. And worst of all, someone who – through Uzume – might have access to the Izumo. To Minato.
"No." I sat up and readjusted my glasses.
Uzume might be… might have been a friend, but now she was a danger. Musubi was… well, too Musubi to even think that another Sekirei would act underhandedly. Kusano was young, sheltered, and didn't like conflict. Homura was too busy stubbornly lighting himself on fire and pinning over married women to be of any help.
They were too trusting – too naïve – and Tsukiumi… well, Uzume was too charming by far. Tsukiumi was amid a tug of war within herself. Until she was winged to Minato, there was the (unlikely but scarily possible) chance that Uzume could lure the single digit away from Minato and towards her own Ashikabi.
"No, that just won't do at all." Before, watching their dynamic had been voyeuristic fun, but now I needed to nip that in the bud.
But how?
Ugh! This was the annoying part of being the adult in the room… The other Sekirei were friends with the enemy, even if they didn't know it. Sooner or later, be it from her own actions, those of her mysterious backer, or when (not if) MBI eventually tracked her down, Uzume was going to bring a disaster upon the Izumo.
Miya-sama would back me, but that was a last resort. Uzume was too ingrained with the others to count on them and Minato… all of the qualities made me love the boy also meant he wouldn't want to deal with the viper in their midst the way he needed to. He'd want to talk to her. Put himself in danger.
Could I do it myself?
"Ha." Though I was a single digit, the cloth-wielder was a combat-type and I very much wasn't interested in instigating my own one-sided beating and deactivation. Maybe if I got her away from the others and shot her with the full power of MBI's satellites – something that would elicit immediate and dire repercussions from Karasuba and the last Sa–
Well now, there was an idea. The last Sahashi was already looking for the Veiled Sekirei and had animosity with Tsukiumi.
"I am a genius!" I (quietly) crowed, typing up an easy and anonymous message. Just a little clue would put the rogue Sahashi on the right path, push Tsukiumi further toward Minato's camp, and (if my read on the mercenary was accurate), minimize the danger the residents of the Izumo would face if the majority of MBI took to dealing with the situation.
On that note… there were two other unwinged single digits than Tsukiumi. One was currently smoldering in the tub but the other…
Well, if I was sending one message, I might as well send two. For once it might even be nice to see a former comrade.
*Shirou*
"What's the verdict?" I spoke into Junko's ear as she typed so I could be heard over the sound of gunfire.
And light screaming.
"Snickt!" I heard Haihane cry over the sound of her new hydraulic forearm-mounted mounted claws deploying–
–"Contact! Contact!" followed shortly by more gunfire as my newly granted execution squad tried (and failed) to hold off the excitable girl. It was good to see her have fun with her new toys. And also test out her new weapon.
"Our mysterious benefactor might be onto something," Junko responded, pulling up the profile of the Sekirei that I was mysteriously messaged about this morning. "Number 10, Uzume. Known powers include but are not limited to close-range telekinesis – specifically lightweight and porous materials. Adjusted for cloth manipulation."
There was a picture of the Sekirei in question using a scarf, of all things, to blow out a candle by cutting off the burning wick. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows as the candle was on the other side of a metal plate from the Sekirei before it was punched through to delicately snuff the flame.
"It looks like she can strengthen and adjust the properties of the material she's touching beyond reasonable measure too." Junko finished. Beyond reasonable measure, indeed. It looked similar to a combination of Reinforcement and Alteration if uniquely and specifically applied.
"Material such as a cloth veil." It wasn't a smoking gun, but it was a good lead. It was a good power. Versatile. Subtle until it needed to be. Perfect for an assassin. The ability to Reinforce the mundane material at a touch would provide her the same protection my Reinforcement gave to my clothes – namely, making them almost bulletproof while maintaining their light weight and flexibility. "No wonder she's number 10. Could this be a red herring?"
"Thought of that." Junko swapped tabs. "Cloth-based – or shall we say veil-based weapons aren't a smoking gun, but this is where the plot thickens." I saw she was pulling up the geotag data from Operations.
"They granted us access already?" I wondered. I thought we didn't expedite the request.
"I know how to grease the wheels." Junko winked. "Or more specifically, beg Yokubo-san until I get my way. Having a name to go off allowed me to limit the amount of data they needed to pull too, so we lucked out."
"If this is legit." I reminded her. I didn't exactly trust the random message. There was no telling who it was sent by or for what purpose… but I had my suspicions.
" As I was saying, I think it is. Look here." She almost smacked me with her updo as she turned to glare at me. The scent of cooking oil momentarily overpowered her perfume. I backed off under her glare, motioning for her to continue. "As you can see, our records put her close but not quite right near each of the early victims and two of the most recent new ones."
"Including last night?" The escalation. Two Ashikabi and Two Sekirei. All four were killed and brutalized post-mortem. Most likely to hide the evidence of their power.
"Including last night," Junko confirmed. "At first, I thought that someone was feeding us false information. That is until I found this."
A street photo of an empty street and that same street from above.
"I don't get it. There's nothing there."
"Exactly." Junko preened. "But it's precisely where our system places number 10." Unless the Sekirei could turn invisible or Alter her clothing to refract the light around her to make her effectively so…
"Shirou," Junko stressed, cutting off that thought. "There's someone in our system. Someone covering their tracks and those of this Sekirei. I really think this is our target."
"I'm convinced. Good work." Gears aligned, turning their bulk, and shaking off the rust. I felt my circuits thrum with anticipation. "As of this moment, Sekirei number 10 is hereby designated as a member of the group known as the Veiled Sekirei. Where is she now?"
"Ah, so…" I wasn't filled with confidence at Junko's nervous glance.
"Is her current whereabouts also being spoofed?" I asked. It was the logical conclusion and would make hunting her annoying.
"About that…" A few keystrokes pulled up the overhead of a vaguely familiar neighborhood. As the spy satellite focused its view, the roof and backyard became much more visible. The Veiled Sekirei was there, laughing in the backyard, caught in some kind of water fight with a tall blonde woman and a shorter brunette. I ignored the strange pang of familiarity that gripped me at the sight of the unknown blonde.
"I don't–" My words caught in my throat like razors as Yukari sprinted out of the house and into the backyard. Followed shortly (and much more sedately) by Minato.
"Shirou…" Junko looked worried.
"The Ashikabi," I spoke over the audible creaking of my hands clenching into fists. "Where are they?"
"Um…" Junko looked at me uncertainly. "Right. I'll pull up our files. Seems like the target visits the same two locations very frequently. Her current location and… yup. A hospital where her registered Ashikabi is admitted. Chiho Hidaka."
"Forward me the location." I pulled on my coat.
"Roger. I suppose training exercises are over–"
"No." I interrupted.
"No?" Junko looked confused. "Are you taking one of the girls with you then?"
I looked over at where Haihane was wrapping up her turn in the 'hide-and-seek' exercise we put together between my new minions and the girls. She lifted the hem of her shirt to wipe the sweat off her face. Her stomach was mostly bare, though littered with tiny scars, as she hadn't needed to mummify herself with bandages as often lately.
She noticed me looking and lifted her shirt a little higher – not quite giving me a 'show' – and tried a sultry expression. The red tinting her cheeks made it less 'sultry' and more 'cute'.
Well… that and she smudged paint from the training round across her nose without realizing it.
"That won't be necessary." I shook my head, turning away. "Whose turn is it now?"
"Karasuba's," Junko answered. I looked over to where Karasuba was (surprisingly) animatedly duct-taping beanbags to a wooden training sword. "Medical personnel are on standby."
For who went unsaid as her 'opponents', such as they were, were packing their vests full of flash-bangs (and at least two fragmentations, I noticed). And debating the merits of using live ammo – as if it would help them.
"Put Akitsu and Haihane up against her too. They need the practice fighting stronger opponents and the teams need to practice working with Sekirei as much as fighting against them. I'll leave oversight to you."
I ignored the beatific smile that lit Karasuba's face… as well as the betrayed squawks of the girls (mainly Haihane) and curses of the mercenaries.
"What will you be doing?"
"Simple." My smile was as friendly as naked steel.
I wouldn't put Minato and Yukari at risk by antagonizing an opponent in their literal backyard. Thankfully, there was more than one way to deactivate a murderous Sekirei – especially one near so many potential hostages and collateral. I was much more suited than the girls to act without attracting attention – especially if there was (and it seemed very likely there was) a group they were working with.
"Acting with Extreme Prejudice."
*Minato*
Breakfast that morning was a little later than normal.
Well… maybe a lot later. We hadn't gotten back from our unsuccessful hunt for the Veiled Sekirei until late this morning. Miya-san had been thoughtful enough to delay breakfast slightly… but by the time the disparate forms of the other tenants shuffled into the living room, it had long since gone cold.
Kagari was, once again, absent – but that was to be expected. If he was healthy enough to have gone to work, then he wouldn't be waking up for another few hours. Miya-san, as the only other person not involved in the Sekirei Plan, was bustling around the Inn taking care of the daily chores.
I was already at the table having (mostly) finished eating when Yukari dragged herself in, still clad in her pajamas. Her hair was a tangled mess as she blearily stumbled towards the table. I slid a bowl of room temperature miso across the table to her as she sat (well… collapsed, really) onto the table.
"Mrglehmph" She thanked me, just about dunking her face into the bowl. Shiina, in contrast, was surprisingly both wide awake and neatly dressed. I watched as he kept my sister from drowning, poured her both coffee (this was warm) and water, and arranged his own meal nearly all at the same time.
Musubi, my own personal energizer bunny, looked as well-rested and bubbly as always. The only testament to her staying up all night was her sleeping in long enough to miss her morning exercise in the backyard.
Kusano was lightly snoozing in the older Sekirei's lap, allowing Musubi to take her customary seat on my left. Matsu, surprisingly, won the morning 'race' to sit next to me on my right.
Judging from the empty energy drink can next to the half-filled one she was pouring into her coffee and the bags visible behind her glasses, there were even odds she only won because she hadn't slept yet.
"I see you have all finally awakened." Tsukiumi strode in, dragging a for once not-meticulously dressed Uzume in with her. "See Uzume, I was correct: you would miss breakfast if you did not make haste."
Tsukiumi's travel worn boots were missing since she was in the house, giving a view of how long and pale her legs were in the short-cut jean shorts she was wearing. A tasseled brown vest hugged her curves, with diamond-shaped cutouts at her hips and shoulders making the blonde look even more foreign, but it definitely suited her.
"Yeah, yeah." Uzume yawned. "So you were."
Uzume, on the other hand, was wearing a different variation of her normal getup with skinny jeans that ended at mid-calf and a light purple halter-top. Two purple sleeves with gold trim adorned her forearms but weren't connected to the shirt at all.
The two most fashionable Sekirei in the house wasted no time taking their seats at the table, filling up the fourth and final side. Or… should I say, filling up the last unfilled side, since Yukari and Shiina took one side, and the girls and I took another.
The last side was taken by–
"Wait…" Yukari must have finally woken up as her eyes opened for the first time since she sat down. I could see her do the math in her head. Me, Tsukiumi, Matsu, Uzume, Musubi, Kusano, Shiina and herself. The other two members of the Izumo weren't in the room, but she still counted 10 people. "Minato… why are there strangers at the table and who are they?"
Yukari quite rudely pointed to the nervous pair on the last side of the table.
The male of the duo was a bit roughly my age, though slightly shorter when standing with an equally slim build. His brown hair (a lighter shade than I usually saw in the city) was messily styled and had (strangely enough) uncommonly green eyes. He was wearing the same outfit from last night, a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a blue and white jacket thrown over it.
The other person was short and thin – though, maybe petite would have been more accurate. Her small frame and fair skin made her look almost doll-like compared to her companion. Her shin-length blonde hair was about as styled as her companion's (that was to say, maybe it had touched a comb recently), and was wearing a long-sleeved blue blouse with a white, folded collar, a matching pleated skirt, and white knee socks.
"Ah…" The male of the duo startled. He had been staring agog as the room got more and more full. Mainly of beautiful alien women… and my sister who was one of those things (if barely). The way he seemed to have trouble following the free-for-all over the leftovers made me think he was an only child.
Poor, lucky soul.
"I'm Haruka." He continued after clearing his throat. "Haruka Shigi."
"And I'm Kuno," Kuno spoke up quietly. Really, it was barely more than a whisper. It… might not be the kindest description, but the girl was already a bit mousy. As more and more of the taller and… more mature Sekirei filtered in, she curled more and more defensively into Haruka's side.
"Right." Haruka nodded, wrapping an arm loosely around Kuno for support. "This is Kuno. Ah, I guess it's safe to say she's a Sekirei and I'm her Ashikabi."
Yukari sent me a sisterly look that loosely translated to 'and?' though not nearly as nicely. Mostly derogatory, were I to be honest.
"Musubi found them while you were…" chasing shadows in the midnight mist? That was a strangely poetic way of saying 'disturbing the peace by yelling at the top of your lungs in the middle of the street at midnight.' "…chasing after that young Ashikabi."
"Young Ashikabi?" Matsu piped up at my side. That's right, she stopped watching to help Kagari just before we encountered him so she wouldn't be aware.
"The same creep that was perving on Shiina when I found him." Yukari almost growled, distracted from the two newcomers monetarily as she fumed over her spat with the unknown Ashikabi from last night. "When I get my hands on him…"
"Honestly, we might be lucky he left." I chided her. He had a lot of Sekirei with him and he got the draw on us. "Last night could have gone worse if he chose to fight instead."
"Preposterous." Tsukiumi barked a short laugh. "Though he may have had numeric superiority, the quality of those Sekirei paled in comparison to us. Why, with the exception of the one with the sword, I wager that even Musubi could have taken his forces by herself!"
"You think I'm that strong?" Musubi gasped, starry-eyed. She flexed the arm not currently holding Kusano on her lap, showing the definition of her muscles. "Thank you, Tsukiumi! Hehe! I have been training!"
I shook my head slightly when Yukari went to open her mouth. No, sis. Just… let that one go. Especially since, Tsukiumi nodded, accepting that her backhanded compliment was taken at face value. It was better not to rock the boat if there wasn't any animosity meant.
"Male Sekirei with a sword?" Matsu frowned. "Did he say anything? Use any attacks?"
"He raised the concrete to box us in and isolate us." Uzume didn't sound concerned about that fact as she filled her bowl with seconds. "Not sure who he was, but the Ashikabi was Mikogami Hayato."
"Mikogami?" I recognized the slight fade in Matsu's focus that signaled her using her power. "Then that was number 05 with him. Mutsu."
A single digit. And a low one too. The speed at which he moved the earth and concrete from under us… he was strong. Last night could have gone very differently.
"There was another one there?" Haruka looked surprised. "Damn. I'm glad it was you who found us then. We'd have been in real trouble if we ran into that guy instead."
"Right, right." Yukari nodded at him before disregarding him entirely and turning back to me. "So, why are they here?"
"Yukari…" I sighed.
"We're here because we don't want to fight," Haruka answered, glowering (somewhat rightfully) at my sister. "Kuno and I… we don't want any part of the Sekirei Plan. I don't… she isn't the strongest fighter."
"Kuno isn't weak." The Sekirei petulantly muttered, poking him in the side.
"And I don't want to lose her to something stupid. I've seen that Ashikabi and Sekirei are being targeted on the streets. ." He continued unabated. "We've been looking for a place to hide or a way to escape the city, but MBI has turned us away every time. Yesterday we barely escaped the Sekirei they sent."
"So, you're pacifists?" Yukari blinked.
"Weaklings and cowards may be a more fitting description." Came Tsukiumi's haughty judgment.
"That's not…" Haruka half-rose, but Kuno's tight grip on his jacket held him back.
"Kuno is a burden…" She muttered, looking at the floor.
"We just want to find a place to be together." Haruka finished, placing a hand over hers in comfort. I couldn't help but sympathize. If I could, I would have taken Musubi out of the plan and spent time just the two of us together when we first met. That… wasn't an option though, not then – as it would only have made her unhappy – and not now as it would be unfair to Matsu and Ku-chan.
I couldn't stand the thought of losing any of them.
"Oh, give them a break, Tsukiumi." Matsu said teasingly, "It's not their fault they're weak. Sekirei without a good Ashikabi can do nothing but bemoan their fate and an Ashikabi can't exactly stand up with a powerless partner."
"Matsu." I reached over and gave the closest of Matsu's side braids a (gentle, but firm) warning tug. "Be nice."
"Ahn!" Matsu made an involuntary noise as her head pulled back. She quickly bit her lip, dampening but not cutting off the moan that issued forth. She ducked her head, face (and quite a bit of the shoulder visible past her overalls) turning as crimson as her hair.
I (with great difficulty) chose to ignore that reaction. Great. Great difficulty. It didn't help that she spread her legs out to duck further down, placing her rear firmly on the floor instead of resting on her legs – which meant said leg resting fully against mine. At least she was being good and quiet.
Haruka wasn't nearly so successful, staring at Matsu with his jaw hanging slightly open.
"Hmph!" Unfortunately for him, Kuno noticed and began to barrage his shoulder with a series of rabbit punches. I likewise ignored that, and his pleas for her to calm down as he cowered under her ineffectual assault, as she fumed with an angry pout and continued to hit him.
"Ugh. Ignoring Handlebars over there," Yukari drawled, "before she unlocks another fetish… she does have a point. To escape the Sekirei Plan, you'd have to leave the city, right? That means getting past MBI's Dark Army. One Ashikabi won't be strong enough to do that."
Dark Army?
"Yukari, this isn't a manga." I sighed. Though… as much as I hated to admit it, she had a point too. "That said, you're right. A single Ashikabi won't be able to get out of the city against so many."
"Minato. We literally have an NPC," Haruka gave an indignant yelp at Yukari's terminology, "giving us a side-quest escort mission against the major power in the city, which does have their own army. An army we might have to fight against in order to complete the quest. This is exactly like a manga."
I…
God, dammit Yukari.
"So, either we power level to all fuck." She continued, looking around to the assembled Sekirei. Around the table were Musubi, Tsukiumi, Uzume, Kuno, Matsu, Ku-chan, and Shiina. Almost half of our fighting force were single digits. "Not sure how we go about that. The other option is we get more party members."
"We should call Shirou." She said at the same time I said, "We should call Seo."
"Seo has the twins." I continued, ignoring her incredulous stare. "I don't think he's fond of MBI either given his actions and the things I've heard from him say. Plus, we've worked with him before; without him, we wouldn't have been able to rescue Ku-chan."
"Minato, Shirou has two single digits plus Haihane and works for MBI!" Yukari slammed her hands on the table. "If anyone can get us out of the city, it would be the person working to keep the Sekirei inside!"
"W-wait, who?" Haruka yelped. "Why are we calling MBI? We're trying to escape them."
Which was a good point. Shirou was…
Haruka and Kuno didn't want to fight anyone. Didn't want to harm anyone. So, there wasn't a risk of him… removing them as a threat. But he did work for MBI as part of the group looking to stop exactly what the two wanted to do.
"Yeah, so I'm out." Uzume raised her hands, backing away from the table. "I'm a lover, not a fighter. I'm sure you two are sweet as hell on one another, but I'm just here to be nosey. I've no interest in going up against MBI. That's too much heat for me."
"I'm sure we'll be able to manage without you," Matsu spoke up, having regained confidence without the table staring at her.. I brushed my fingers against her braid in warning. We were all friends, and fighting amongst ourselves was counterproductive.
"As expected of a mind-type." Or… we could keep infighting. Thank you, Tsukiumi. "I am disappointed in all of you. Leaving at the first sign of trouble? Sneaking out in disgrace? Where's your pride?" Tsukiumi stood, slamming a hand on the table. "Even if you're weak, at least believe in your own strength. Even if you lose," She sneered down at the now cowering Kuno, "at least you can say you tried. Otherwise, how can you be considered a Sekirei."
I opened my mouth to speak but it wasn't my place. I might not want to fight, but I did have strong Sekirei who did. Yukari must have felt the same as she maintained her silence as well.
Unfortunately, Haruka and Kuno didn't have an answer.
"Hn." Tsukiumi snorted derisively, turning on heel and walking out of the room. Uzume called after her, leaving the table as well.
"And there goes two." Yukari scowled at their retreating backs. "What am I saying? Good riddance."
"Yukari!" I started when Matsu grabbed my hand.
"No, she's right." I felt slightly betrayed by the redhead. "If those two aren't committed, then we're better off without them. Seo will help, I'm sure of it."
"And Shirou?" I could see Yukari's eyebrow twitching as she tapped her nails against the table. "He's our brother. He'll definitely help."
"We can talk to him too." I agreed. "He might not be able to help, but it doesn't hurt us to ask. What about that Homura guy? He's helped us before with Ku-chan. Anyone we can call in to give us a better shot?"
"Homura?" There were several overlapping questions from people around the table about that one.
"He might be difficult to get a hold of." Matsu hedged. "He usually only fights if he's protecting unwinged Sekirei which… isn't the case here. I could try to find him, but I can't promise anything. Tsukiumi and the Wonder Twins have the most experience with him. Given that the former isn't willing to help…"
"Right." I sighed. "I'll call Seo. Yukari, you call Shirou. Let's get who we can and start working on a plan."
*Shirou*
My truck was too distinctive, what with the cartoonish image of Heracles emblazoned on the hood, but Shin Tokyo was a marvel of engineering and public transportation was plentiful and affordable. After ditching my uniform at home and bringing a disposable set of casual clothes and a hat in a bag to change into in the subway bathroom, I was confident that I would fool any remote surveillance looking for me.
Hidaka Chiho's location took me to the doors of Hiyamakai Hospital.
Seeing my destination, I was much more confident in my decision not to bring any of the girls. This was a public location and none of them were exactly clandestine. Karasuba and Haihane walked around with naked weapons and Akitsu was… Akitsu stood out almost as much.
Entering the hospital turned out to be the easy part, as it should be. Public locations weren't meant to turn away visitors and it was only the deeper, more secure sections I would need to worry about. A quick trip to the restroom allowed me to change from the first disguise into a pair of scrubs and a lab coat surreptitiously borrowed from Mom. A surgeon's cap wrapped around my head hid my distinctive red-turning-white hair and I was a completely different person stepping back into the hallways.
It wouldn't pass scrutiny if I was caught in the wrong place, but at a glance, it should be more than enough to buy me time to find one patient.
"Excuse me," I flagged down a passing nurse. "I need the chart for Hidaka Chiyo."
"Poor girl." The nurse frowned sadly. "She's been with us for so long, she's almost like family. Hospital wouldn't be the same without her. Sorry, but I'm running a request right now. Try the nurse's station."
"Thank you." I let her go on with her tasks. It wasn't ideal, but unless I wandered around flagging random nurses – something that would be noticed – checking in with administration was both the fastest and one of the riskier options available to me. Still, it was better than checking rooms at random.
It took a minute to find the station, but once I did, I approached it at a swift pace.
"Nurse, I need the chart for Hidaka Chiho," I spoke shortly, but not unkindly, to the male nurse manning the station. Most of blending in – or being in disguise – was looking the part, speaking the part, and moving with confidence. If you looked or sounded like you didn't belong, people would notice.
"Hidaka? Hidaka. Hidaka Chiho" He repeated, finger moving across manilla folders for the right name. "Poor girl." He said, echoing the first nurse I had flagged. "She's been with us for so long, she's almost like family. Hospital wouldn't be the same without her."
"So I've heard." I listened with half an ear to the small talk. Such a sweet girl, ordering her Sekirei to mutilate people. I guess the hospital wouldn't be the same after today.
"You know, I used to see her all the time in the break area, but she hasn't been around lately. Is she okay?" He continued as he kept searching.
"That's why I'm here." I tried to smile. Confidence. "I'm sure she'll have nothing to worry about soon."
"That's why we're here, right? To help people." I succeeded in not wincing as he twisted the knife. Chiho's death was worth Yukari's and Minato's lives. And more than worth ending her killing spree here and now. "Ah, I see. She was recently transferred to a private ward."
A private ward? I took the file from him, and a brief glance told me the room number to find the girl—three floors up and across the hospital. Still, a private ward meant that – so long as it didn't have additional security – it would take longer for her to be discovered and that it was less likely there would be witnesses.
"Thank you," I said as I left. "I'll be sure to say hello to her for you when I see her."
Being in a hospital was uncomfortable. It always was, but not for the usual reasons other people found it to be. I was too used to death to be affected by the tragedies that played out within their walls. More… it was a wistful sort of melancholy.
If I wasn't a sword…
Maybe I would have tried to be a doctor. To help people instead of–
Kill. Over and over. Without beginning or end
I couldn't deny Archer's words.
"She's coding!" The cry and a frantic mechanical beep tore me from my self-recrimination. "I need help!"
"What can I do?" I dropped the chart, rushing to help. I wasn't a real doctor and there might not be much I could do. But I could do something.
"She's bleeding from deep lacerations." I'd say, the girl's shoulder and neck looked like she went through a thresher. Or got in a fight with Haihane. "Put pressure there. Fuck, hold her down, I can't suture while she's seizing!"
It took me and another two people to hold her down and put pressure on her wounds as the doctor got to work.
"We need to prep her for surgery." The doctor spoke quickly, ushering us along. "Where were you heading?"
Surgery? I wasn't qualified for that! Fuck.
"I was on my way to Chiho–" I started.
"Chiho?" The doctor's head snapped up to look me in the eye. "Poor girl." He said, uncaring as a spurt of blood arched across his face. "She's been with us for so long, she's almost like family." What… no. No no no. Don't you dare say– "Hospital just wouldn't be the same without her."
I was numbly shoved off the cart, another nurse taking my place as they continued wheeling her to the ER. I stood, a cold feeling pooling in my gut, even as my hands itched with the sticky feeling of drying blood.
Hypnotism.
A branch of magecraft I was utter garbage at but was the essential foundation for all greater mysteries. The very first principle of magecraft was simple: convincing yourself that the impossible was possible. It was why it sometimes seemed like Magus had two personalities.
By using a mnemonic, they adopted a mindset that was fundamentally different in understanding how the world worked so that they could perform mysteries.
However, Hypnotism could also be used on others, to get them to believe or act in a way they wouldn't otherwise. Usually, it was set to a visual or audio cue – like reading or hearing a name – that provoked a programmed response.
The chart. Get the chart. I scrambled, picking up the scattered files strewn where I dropped them in my haste.
The folder was emblazoned with her name and room number…
…but the first page inside was blank. And the next. And the next. and the next! They were all fucking blank! I forced myself not to toss the files again. Not to draw attention.
Junko, I had to call – No! Idiot! They had someone in MBI's systems. How good was my luck that they weren't monitoring our communications too?
I am the bone of my sword
My own mnemonic – and the first aria of my greatest mystery – centered my thoughts in the here and now. This didn't change anything. If anything… no, it did change something. I felt the familiarity of the situation – of stalking a Magus through their workshop – begin to assuage my guilt. Now I was merely putting down another Magus who went too far.
I was good at that.
She's practically family. I was in her territory. Fucking stumbled into it. I moved – carefully, but once more with purpose – towards the private ward on the third floor. The more I thought about it, the more elaborate the setup was. Magi usually set their workshops somewhere private – deep in their territory and away from others so they could protect them with bounded fields, conjured beasts, nightmares, curses, or whatever horrors they could think of.
A public building, however, meant food, amenities, and a reasonable amount of protection – after all, who in their right mind would assault a hospital – plausible deniability and a ready excuse for time taken off work or away from family. If I went further down that line of thinking… it also contained easy access to research materials. Clever.
And also dangerous.
Hell, with the privacy afforded and the ability for Sekirei to live and act with such extreme independence, the Magus would be completely safe and anonymous for the duration of the Sekirei Plan. The further into the hospital I went, the more unsettled I became. This was exactly the type of thinking I was familiar with – that I would have expected from a Grail War survivor or the Master of an Assassin to act.
There wasn't a badge scan, checkpoint, or even a guard at the sealed double door to the private ward. No one lingered around the entrance or even walked by…
… and there were no cameras in this part of the building.
The heavy fire doors weren't trapped or alarmed and swung open easily. Inside, the ward was empty. There were no charts on the closed doors lining the halls. No light shone through the windows, artificial or otherwise. The entire ward was empty and ominously silent.
Except for one door.
Hidaka Chiho
Room 303
It read. Exactly where the chart said she would be. Every instinct was screaming that this wastrap. The same kind that some unholy combination of Medea of Colchis (the Caster from my war) and my adoptive father Kiritsugu (the famously nicknamed Magus Killer) would create for someone looking too close for them. A part of me wouldn't be surprised if the moment I opened the door I triggered a directional mine or an IR tripwire calling security.
I placed my hand on the door, filling it with my prana. Structural Grasping revealed no such boobytraps on the door, though I could penetrate no further into the room.
A bounded field? Probably. That confirmed it. Hidaka Chiho was a magus.
"Trace On." I muttered. The hammer cocked in the back of my mind, pulling up the blueprint to a specific weapon, and then fired. My circuits fired, filled with prana, Tracing the blueprint pulled from my reality marble and copying it.
Rule Breaker filled my empty hand.
The Noble Phantasm, obtained from Medea of Colchis, had a thin, jaggedly curving blade that made it too awkward and fragile to be used as a weapon. As a tool for murder, the blade was… well, useless. But Medea had been a Caster, not an Assassin. Her Noble Phantasm wasn't meant to be used to part flesh.
Instead, the relic from the Age of Gods could sever any mysteries that were placed on people and objects. In the Grail War, Caster had used it on me to sever my link as a Master to Saber and take my Servant as her own.
I used it as a glorified lockpick.
Idly… the thought that it could be used similarly against Ashikabi and Sekirei as Medea used it against Servants flitted through my brain. Not that using the blade to usurp the Ashikabi bond was possible – since Sekirei were not Servants – but one of the ways to force a 'deactivation state' in Sekirei was to sever the bond to their Ashikabi.
Was it possible that using Rule Breaker on an Ashikabi worked as an 'instant kill' for their Sekirei? I suppose I was about to find out.
I tapped the door with the point of Rule Breaker and the bounded field behind the door shattered.
Fetid air, the smell of sickness and decay, filled my lungs as the smell of curses poured into the hallway. The lights flickered and burst, plunging the hall into darkness. Found you, I stumbled as Sakura – white-haired and circuits glowing in red script across her body – shoved me to the floor from behind. Giant worms – no, Crest Worms – wriggled out of seeping holes in the walls and dropped from the ceiling. I struggled, the horrid familiars swarming and smothering me as I clawed for escape.
The worms popped in my grasp, spattering me with ichor. No, not ichor. Mud. The congealed curses of Angra Mainyu bursting from their overripe bodies. It burned. I went to scream, but a hand grabbed the back of my head in a grip of iron, shoving me back under and drowning me in hatred and spite and sin.
Isn't it exquisite, Emiya? Kiriei spoke, holding me under. The mud slid down like blood, pooling in my body. I coughed, breaking free only to see my veins turning black with rot and infection visibly surging through them.
You hesitated, Hero. My arms cracked, the flesh necrotizing, oozing. Rebecca's face bulged its way out of the sloughing diseased meat, chewing through the liquifying muscle and tissue. We're dead because of you. Smoke belched from her fanged maw, gunsmoke and viral curses, in a parody of our last shared breath. It's time to join us.
With a gasp, I fell out of the smoke, landing on the cold tiles of the hospital floor. My chest heaving fresh – if sterile – air. My hands trembled on the tile floors. I was alive.
I was alive?
The lights were all on. The hallway was empty save the stench of corrupted mana. The girl on the bed - now visible through the open door – lay still. Barely moving a muscle. Why? How? I.. I must have triggered a trap when I used Rule Breaker. Triggered some sort of mystery that trapped me in those… those illusions.
I should be dead. I had been vulnerable. So why hadn't the figure on the bed moved to strike me? No conjured beasts. Hell, there wasn't even any mundane security pouring in to subdue me. I didn't understand… was this another trap?
I just… I shook my head, staggering to my feet. Focus, Shirou. It didn't matter. She didn't wake up to finish me when she had the chance. No conjured horrors summoned to devour me. Not even a hypnotized security guard or nurse showed their face. I'd say it was her mistake but…
… I wasn't that lucky. Not ever. Was it a body double? A Simulacrum of some sort? I approached the body. She? It? Whatever – was breathing. Looked like MBI's picture of the target. The 'scent' of death and decay, like fetid water, wafted not from the floors and walls – as if the room was still further trapped – but off the girl herself.
She was sleeping. Fitfully, it looked like, from the pained expression on her face. There was a chart at the foot of the bed – a real one this time, by the look of it. I looked at the first page, seeing a row of signatures for drugs and times. It was almost time for her next treatment dose.
Was she actually ill? Did it matter? I let the file drop on the bed by Chiho's feet. Keeping an eye on the girl, I set about gathering supplies from the cart next to her bed. Despite being hypnotized and her room isolated, the staff were checking in on her. Killing her with something as noticeable as a sword would be swift, but also quite distinct.
The last thing I (or possibly MBI) wanted was for an investigation to kick off for a (clearly) murdered girl in a hospital bed. A sick girl who died of complications in her treatment, however… I thought as I pulled back the plunger of a syringe filled with her next scheduled drug, well that happened all the time.
Making sure her IV was properly inserted into her arm, I set the syringe into the IV injection port. When I looked back, I was met with honey-brown eyes watching me.
"So… you finally found me." The girl whispered weakly. No… tiredly. There was no surprise. No spike of prana or the sickly smell that permeated the air. She didn't raise a defense or move to attack… she just laid there. It was too late for her. I would be able to shove the plunger down before she got the first word of an aria out and we both knew it.
"I did." Honestly, her refusal to even try was making this easier than I expected. I was used to Sealing Designates struggling to the end against their inevitable death or detainment. To have no reaction…something about that wiggled in the back of my mind like a loose tooth.
"I see." She smiled sadly. "You're here to kill me then?"
"I am." I didn't deny it. The first step on the path to becoming a Magi was to know and accept that you would die. From your experiments, from a rival, or even a Dead Apostle, the source didn't matter. Death was always a probable outcome.
I could see that mental trigger in her mind – the causal acceptance that came with training – reflected in her eyes. It was one of the hallmarks of being a Magus and not just a magic user.
"It's okay, I understand." That… made her the first. "I don't blame you." I involuntarily paused as she said that. She must have taken my confusion as permission to go on as she closed her eyes and continued speaking. "Will it be painful?"
It could be. It should be. Something to give retribution to her victims.
"No," I said instead. As long as she (strangely) kept cooperating, it wouldn't have to be painful at all. I might be her killer, but I didn't have to be a monster.
"I'm glad." She closed her eyes and relaxed, however, I could see her tremble with well-concealed pain. "I think I've had enough pain in my life."
It was quiet as I took a moment to find and confirm her pain medication in the fully stocked crash cart next to her bed. She took no actions other than to watch as I filled a second syringe full of the painkiller and replaced it with the first syringe full of her treatment meds.
"Before I go…" She spoke, right as I pushed a small amount of painkiller into her IV and I paused, giving her time to speak. "This is a selfish request of mine, but would you take care of Uzume-chan for me?" Take care of? Was the girl not aware that her Sekirei would die with her? "She's a nice girl. She doesn't know anything about magecraft and I… I think she's gotten herself in trouble lately."
Surprised, I pulled my thumb away from the plunger. That… was an understatement if I'd ever heard one.
"Please, if it doesn't break any rules…" She continued, her face going a bit slack as the bit of meds I'd pushed into her IV began taking hold. It wasn't enough to kill her, of that I was pretty sure, but it must have been enough to take the edge off her pain enough for her to sleep again. "…please let her know I'm sorry. This wasn't her fault and… that I was happy with her."
It was enough, however, as Hidaka Chiho drifted off with a smile on her face. Content in the knowledge – or assumption, perhaps – that things would be better now. Despite her unconsciousness, the level of ambient mana didn't fluctuate at all.
"Who are you?" I couldn't help but whisper. Not a single thing about the girl made sense. I waited to make sure that her breathing stabilized. Alive… for now. With her safely unconscious, I didn't feel rushed to finish pushing in the lethal dose and… I wanted answers. Looking around the room I saw that there were no mystic codes in the room. No more bounded fields. No jewels or mana receptacle. No tomes or scrolls. Nothing to show she was a magus other than the fetid stench of corruption in the air – both the mundane scent of sickness and the reek of curses.
Along the walls there was a single, deactivated magic circle – pierced by Rule Breaker – but… it wasn't a trap. The runic circle was basic and, despite my weakness in higher mysteries, easy to decipher. It was an inverted purification circle. Normally, for Formalcraft – the name for formulaic rituals – a purification circle was used to isolate a ritual to prevent any ambient or outside mana from affecting the mysteries being performed. An inverted circle, instead of keeping mana out, prevented mana from escaping.
… and there was no trap. Chiho hadn't woken up because there was no link from the circle being broken to notify its creator, nor any defense for entering the room. That… the visions I saw weren't triggered by illusions… but by me.
My fingers trembled for a cigarette. I grabbed her real medical file up off the bed instead. That pang turned to bile as I read a single line on the first page.
No. Impossible. I tore the sheet from the record and tore out of the hospital just as quickly. I didn't even bother to change out of my disguise – merely snatching my bag from the bathroom en route as I stormed towards the exit. I fished a ruby earring and a cigarette from the bag and by the time my feet hit the asphalt outside, one was alit with prana and the other alit with flame.
"Rin. I need–"
"Hello, Rin." Rin interrupted me. "I'm sorry, Rin. I'm an unrepentant asshole who hasn't called you in weeks despite promising to after the last time I asked you for a favor, Rin." Ah… I had promised to call her back after dealing with Takami's injuries. The aftermath of Karasuba winging me and being dragged into the Sekirei Plan fully had kept me distracted. "Would you so magnanimously forgive your idiot servant, Rin?"
I took an extra long drag.
"Hello, Rin," I repeated. "I'm sorry, Rin. I'm an unrepentant asshole who hasn't called you in weeks despite promising to do so, Rin. If I gave you an explanation, would you find it in your heart to forgive a problematic friend such as I?"
"…" I could hear Rin's foot tapping in high fidelity. "I'm listening."
"So, I don't remember how much I told you about what was going on here." Dealing with finding my birth mother, tending to Ilya's grave, everything to do with Karasuba, getting wrapped up in another death game – this time as a moderator – meeting my siblings, and being caught up in a mating ceremony with literal aliens… a lot had happened to me since coming to Japan. I told her all of it. Well… all of it except being magically bound to my not-Servants in some kind of strange mating ritual.
"I'm coming over there," Rin growled. "You clearly need supervision."
"No! Don't!" I rushed. The very, very last thing I needed was for Rin to get involved in the Sekirei Plan. The further I could keep her from another death game after what… after what we went through, the better I felt. "I have a decent handle on things here."
"I see through your paltry lies, Emiya." Rin deadpanned, (correctly) calling me out immediately. "Don't forget who it is you're talking to."
"How could I forget the Rin Toshoka, the jewel of the Tohsaka family and my dearest friend." I laid it on a bit thick.
"I'm your only friend, Shirou." Rin sighed. Just like that, I knew she would forgive me. Rin held a grudge like a rabid honey badger with a toothache and a stomach full of cocaine…. But she held her friendships closer. "And before you ask, yes, I did send your gear to you like I promised. If you had called me like you promised, you'd know that it should be arriving by ship tonight. There's a shipment of Association Materials coming into the port that it's part of."
"Thank you, Rin." That might just save me. "Were you able to find anything out about Higa Izumi?" I asked.
"Who?" Rin sounded befuddled.
"The Second Owner?" I answered just as confused. "I understand if you weren't able to find out anything–"
"I don't know anything about the Izumi family." Rin interrupted. She didn't? But Higa… "The Clocktower's records have the last family name in that area as the Hidakas.
"Is that so…" It seems my luck really, really wasn't that good. Instead of finding a rogue Ashikabi, I stepped into the middle of Clocktower politics half the world away from the Association. "Rin, can you tell me everything you know about Hidaka's? And look into the Izumis?"
Listening to Rin. Talking to her, my heart rate finally came down enough to snub my third cigarette. As she spoke, I looked down at the stolen page I had taken from Chiho's medical records to the single line that had set off the alarm bells in my mind.
Primary Caregiver: Dr. Shimizu Iwao
Chiho's doctor was the scourge of Roanapanur. The architect of the City of the Dead, ten of the worst days of my life, and a Sealing Designate turned Dead Apostle that I personally killed. I didn't know how it was all connected. Not yet. But my instincts were screaming at me that Hidaka Chiho wasn't a murderer.
She was a victim.
*Miya*
"The medicine is having less and less effect," Matsu stated. "Your body is becoming less stable. I'm not sure how long we can hold off on its effects. You need an Ashikabi and to be honest, it might be too late at this point."
"I'm… fine." Homura panted. His body was wracked with tremors. More disturbingly, I could see the flesh shifting and altering under his skin at times. Case in point…
"Homura, you are clearly not fine." I didn't roll my eyes, but I wanted to. Instead, I poked the fleshy growths budding from his chest, eliciting a yelp from him. I had to shake my finger, trailing steam as I pulled away. Merely touching Homura's skin just about scalded my finger.
"Miya!" I locked eyes with Matsu over Homura's protest. It wasn't just me then who heard that his voice was higher than normal.
"You have breasts, Homura." I deadpanned.
"Nice ones," Matsu commented before shutting up as Homura and I both glared at her. "Well, they are…" She muttered under her breath.
"Your body is changing, Homura." I continued. Honestly, I was beginning to wonder if I should keep referring to him as 'he' and not 'she' or 'they'. MBI really did a number on the poor bird with their 'adjustments'. "You can't go to work. Your skin is burning so hot that you're practically boiling the bathwater." Having access to a Sekirei capable of conjuring water at will was saving quite a bit on our monthly bill. Those savings, however, were being eaten up rapidly by needing to purchase ice to cool Homura down. "Even when you aren't burning hot, you're wracked with pain. Can you even use your abilities anymore without causing yourself harm?"
Homura was sullenly – stubbornly – silent. I didn't need an answer, however, as I could see the burn marks on his – their? – hands. Homura's power was strong – sometimes stronger than they could handle – but never before had they left burns on themselves.
Not once.
"That doesn't matter." Homura bit out, rising from the tub in a plume of steam. The sizable bust wasn't the only change Homura's body was going through, I saw. He had always been the androgynous type, but now their hips were just slightly fuller and sharp masculine angles slightly softer.
I did turn away so as not to see their still male lower genitalia, though from what I saw that had not diminished any.
"Just because my body is changing… that doesn't change anything else," Homura stated, toweling themselves off. "I was always told that my reaction might be lethal to me. That I might not be able to be winged." Ah. So that was the root of the problem. The source of their stupid obsession with that woman… but also their dedication to the unwinged little birds. "This is just confirmation of those facts."
"Homura," Matsu started, "there are options still available. I know you don't agree with Shirou but–"
"He wants to cage us!" Homura interrupted. "He said… he said we would be better off dead."
I frowned, withholding my thoughts as the two single digits rehashed this tired argument.
"Then what about someone else?" Matsu tried. I could see by the shuttering of Homura's expression that it wouldn't work. "We have three Ashikabi right here that might be able to help stabilize you."
The two younger Sahashi children and their temporary guest – the Ashikabi Haruka Shigi and his singular Sekirei Kuno – taking refuge from the Sekirei Plan. It would be good to smuggle the bird outside of MBI's open-air prison.
"No." Homura wrapped themselves in a robe. "Even if I do wing myself, there's no telling if it will halt or reverse what is happening to my body. Already I… I can feel my powers become more wild and less controllable. If my time left is limited, I'm going to do something worthwhile while I still can."
The bathroom door swung closed in their wake.
"He's still obsessed with that woman…" Matsu shook her head. "He's never going to get Takami to accept him and it's going to kill him. He needs to wing Shirou soon or he won't have the strength to do it."
The elder Sahashi's were a poison like that, I mused. A slow, subtle one that buried itself deep.
"I don't see what Homura sees in that woman," I said instead. "I suppose that's the blindness of love. If Homura won't seek out the eldest, what is the likelihood of entreating him to come here?"
"I don't think Shirou is even aware of the issue." Matsu sighed. "Worse, with how deep in Karasuba's and Minaka's coils he is at the moment, I fear for what would happen to Homura if we did reach out to him."
The prodigal son's propensity for violence against the young birds was problematic. The boy clearly took too closely after his parents. After all, who else would be a natural reaction for Karasuba? Perhaps we were better off that the eldest child stayed with his parents if his view on our race matched theirs.
"I suppose you're right." Poor Homura. The last thing I wanted was to see them suffer. "If Shirou is no good and we can't–" or won't "–bring Takami here, then what about the Takami we have at home?"
"You heard Homura, he won't accept it." Matsu groaned.
"Or they have not fully considered the options available to them." I countered. "Let's talk to the children. Delicately." I added at her frown. "The younger Sahashi's are good. I'm sure that once they know of Homura's circumstances, they will agree with us. It may be the only way to save Homura."
*Tsukiumi*
"Tsu-chan, I think you need to slow down." Uzume implored, following in my wake as I marched through the downtown markets.
"I shall not slow down!" I called back to her. I could still carry more bags and my heart still burned with frustration. "Can you believe the nerve of that man!"
"Yeah, Minato is a real piece of work." I rounded on her and she held up her hands in surrender. "Amp down, Tsu-chan. I'm joking."
"Indeed." I turned away with a huff. Though not my intent with my statement, my friend did have a point. Minato Sahashi was proving to be a most frustrating man. How could he go from so full of fire and determination to so… so passive? Oh! Just thinking about it was causing me to steam. "After only a single fruitless night of searching. After his grand speech about hunting down those covered brigands–" I ignored Uzume's unhelpful correction of 'Veiled Sekirei' "–and bringing those reprobates to justice, now he wants to stop and shelter a couple of-of-of…"
"Lovebirds?" Uzume prompted. "Pacifists?"
"Cowards!" I roared. "Parasites! Can he not see how they are using him? Taking advantage of his generosity." Minato was too forgiving for his own good. Could he not see how I was trying to look out for him, protect him from his better nature?
"Uh-huh." Uzume nodded. "Are you upset with them for not wanting to fight or at him for giving them his attention and not you?"
"Of course, I want his attention!" I cried, immediately reddening afterward. That was not… "I-I-I mean – I need him not! If he is so inclined to leash himself to their plight it is no matter of mine! Who cares for the flittering attention of an indecisive male?"
I tried to keep a strong façade in the face of Uzume's beautifully sculpted eyebrow-raising.
"Yeah!" A slurred cheer rang out. "You said it sister, men are –hic– thoughtless!" A drunkard wobbled out from a nearby alley, one fist raised in misplaced solidarity and the other still holding a handle of liquor. I curled my nose as the woman slumped against the wall, bringing the large bottle up to her mouth. It was barely midday, hardly the time for such unruly behavior. And becoming intoxicated – in public no less! – was not acceptable.
Though… the support was not as unappreciated as its source.
"Like, look at us. Look at us." She slurred, waving her free hand between herself and Uzumi and I. "We're hot –hic– desirable young women! We've gots lots to offer!"
The inebriated woman wasn't lying about what she had to offer, I thought with an unkind sniff. She was practically falling out of the tiny purple dress that barely came down to the top of her thighs and had more paneling than a storefront window. Long, oddly well-kemp black hair cascaded in inky waves down her shoulders, coming almost as far as her dress. On her feet were a pair of incongruously high-heeled sandals that, despite her clearly being drunk, didn't seem to affect her balance in any way as she staggered out of the alley towards me and –
Oh! I tried to lean away at the fumes of alcohol wafting off of her – how was she still alive, let alone standing – but she slung an arm around my shoulders and latched on with surprising strength as she pulled me into her rather well-endowed bosom.
"Tell big sister Kazehana all about it." The lush – Kazehana, apparently – coaxed as I unsuccessfully tried to pry myself from her perfumed (if spirits were a perfume) ah… exuberances. "I've had guy problems aplenty! I know a thing or two about dealing with problems of the heart."
Indeed, I thought as I finally pulled myself free and gave her a once-over. With how she was practically spilling out of the top of her dress (a state that was not aided by her manhandling me) and how she was spilling out of the bottom… Yes, she assuredly had problems with male attention.
"That is.. nice, ah… you," I spoke, trying to retreat from the surprisingly strong and touchy woman. "But I would not want to burden you with such–"
"Tsu-chan's hung up on a guy." Uzume flippantly betrayed my confidence.
"Uzu-chan!" I gasped in shock.
"Eeeeeee!" My hanger-on gasped in excitement.
"I am not 'hung up' on Minato-kun." I protested. He was nice and, maybe… possibly, admittedly handsome. But there was nothing between us! Why would I need to limit myself by being attracted to a human? I didn't need or want an Ashikabi.
"Ah, young love!" L-l-love? I sputtered, but I could practically see the hearts in her glazed-over eyes as she stopped listening to my protests. "I take it she is hung up on a Minato-kun! What's a Minato-kun?"
"A scrawny boy," Uzume said less than flatteringly, "and totally."
"I said I wasn't!" I growled, finally shoving Kazehana off. Unfortunately, she somehow (amazingly gracefully and sure-footedly for a drunk) twirled away to hang off Uzume instead.
"Right. Right." The harlot chirped, nodding. "Not at all, not at all."
"Totally cool, Tsu-chan." Uzume agreed.
"Hmph!" I sniffed, hating them both. "Indeed."
"That settles it then!" Kazehana pulled Uzume (who, suspiciously, didn't seem to be encumbered at all by the movement) over so she could latch onto me once more. Sandwiched between the two of us, she practically floated as she bore us down the street despite my struggles. "Let this big sister take you both out tonight! You can vent on how much you're not hung up–"
"I said I was not!" I growled, grinding my teeth. "Uzume! Support!"
"You're a beautiful girl, a strong Sekirei, and your tan is coming in nicely." Uzume did not help in the manner I had wished.
… but the tan was finally showing?
"–on this guy and blow off steam!" The lush spoke over us both as she continued to pull us along. Somehow, I seemed to be the only one struggling, however. "My treat, yeah?"
I had to lean down (under Kazehana's endowments) to be able to see Uzume's face from the other side of our new… companion.
"It might be more fun than anger shopping," Uzume attempted a smile, "and less expensive."
"Fine." I conceded with a sigh, prompting Kazehana to shake us both (how strong was this woman?) in joy. "But I shall not drink. I am only coming for company and conversation."
"Hahaha!" The lout cheered and bodily dragged us down the road, scattering the other pedestrians as if we were some three-headed, six-legged beast of legend. "Let's Gooooooo!"
*Tsukiumi*
"Taidama!" Kaze-chan giggled, announcing as we stumbled through the front door of the Izumo Inn. The lights were off in the house, the slight spilling in from the doorway just barely enough to see by. She let her high-heeled sandals – which she had been carrying as she practically (actually?) floated just off the ground – fall to the floor.
"Shhushh." I shushed her, also giggling. "Shhhhh. We need to be – to be quiet." I stumbled, much less gracefully than Kaze-chan in taking off my boots by the door, but the wall was quite gentlemanly in catching me.
"Tsu-chan…" Uzu-chan draped herself across my back, almost taking me the rest of the way to the floor. "I'm tired…"
"Shoes. Uzu-chan. Shoes. Uzu-chan." I repeated, trying to get us both upright but the floor kept tilting and something heavy kept bringing me down.
"Miya-san says no shoes…" Uzu-chan mumbled without lifting her head off my shoulder, pawing the air above her legs as if summoning her feet to her hands.
"I'll help." Kaze-chan crashed us the rest of the way into a giggling pile. "Ah!"
"Shush!" I shushed them both again, giggling as the floor finally found its balance and we were upright once more. "We don't want to wake anyone."
"Right. Sleeping. Sleeping." Uzu-chan was already unbuttoning her shorts, leaning against the wall next to the stairs. "This way… up the wooden hill."
"Those are stairs, Uzu-chan." I giggled. "Not a hill." She turned left at the top of the stairs and I pulled her the other way. "That's the wrong way. Our room is here."
"Are you sure?" Her words were muffled in my shoulder as I half-carried-half-dragged us along. Or Maybe Kaze-chan was carrying us.
"Of course I'm sure." I nodded and did not fall down. "Can't you feel it? This room feels like home."
*Chapter End*
Once more, please give a big thanks to ParadoxicalThought, HibernaLupus, and OctZ for helping me put my thoughts (and the timeline) in order. Originally, this chapter was split into two where the Izumo crew went out again and it was only after that outing and another attack that Shirou discovered Uzume's identity and Chiyo but… it involved both Matsu and Shirou (plus MBI) holding the idiot ball for another half chapter. Wonders of having competent protagonists means we can skip that and get to the good parts.
Next chapter is Blood on the Water or: how I learned to start worrying and found out magic is real.