Chapter 3

Closer to The Heart

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Flashback

"Magic"

Location / Date / Time Skip

Kusano started stirring in the center of the arboretum, a noise catching her attention. "There you are, you little brat." Yomi growled as she stood over the little girl. "Come on, we don't wanna keep the master waiting." The glare on her face scared Kusano as her arm was grabbed.

Minato burst into a sprint, forcing the others to run after him. "Minato, what's wrong?" Natsu asked, not nearly struggling as much as the other two men.

"I don't know, I just got this really bad feeling that she's in trouble!" He shouted back. "So don't stop!"

Pushing through the plants, they soon found a large tree at the center of the arboretum. Yomi had her scythe above her head, ready to chop Ku to pieces. "Get away from her!" Minato dropped his bag and tackled the Sekirei, grabbing her waist and chest.

"What are you- Let go of me, you damn pervert!" She writhed in his grip, but he refused to let go. "You hard of hearing, or suicidal?!"

"Yo, weakling! Hold her steady!" Hikari called, catching Minato by surprise. Purple lighting shot down and zapped them both.

"Did you… really need… to shock me too?" He asked, falling over.

Yomi turned around and glared at the new arrivals, far less scathed than Minato. "Of course it's you. Hibiki and Hikari, and their pathetic leech of an Ashikabi."

"Hello, I'm here too!" Natsu shouted in annoyance.

"Shut it, you scythe wielding skank!" The more volatile sister snapped back. "Our Seo is a gazillion times better than that smart, well-off, good looking Ashikabi that you have!"

"Hikari, I think you just made her point for her." Hibiki sighed back.

Natsu took advantage of the argument and rushed over to Minato. "You good?"

"Yeah, guess Reinforcement Magic isn't so bad." Minato wheezed as Natsu helped him up.

"Big brother…" The two looked over to see Kusano standing nearby.

"We finally meet." Minato chuckled, only to quickly catch Ku as she fell over. "Ku, are you okay?"

"Minato, we got company." Natsu stepped in front of the two as Yomi walked over, scythe at the ready.

"Oh, please. What are you gonna do?" She chuckled. "In case you forgot, Ashikabi aren't allowed to fight Sekirei. Now, get out of my way before I start taking fingers."

"Not happening." He snapped back. "I don't care what the rules are. I'm not letting you touch my friend!"

"Fine, have it your way! I'll just kill both of you and take the brat!" She swung her scythe and Minato winced, waiting for the blow. "AHH! You monster!" He opened his eyes to find that Natsu had heated the metal into slag, melting the blade down to the hilt. "How could you do this to my precious death scythe?!"

"Fine print's a bitch, ain't it." Natsu chuckled as he deactivated his spell. "Just because I'm not allowed to fight you doesn't mean I can't mess with you."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Yomi shouted, only to get kicked aside by a sudden arrival.

"Musubi!" Minato cheered while Seo creepily nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"You three didn't come home, so I went looking for you." She happily explained.

"Another Sekirei!?" Yomi asked, pushing herself out of the tree. "So which of these is your Ashikabi: the worthless pervert or the bastard pyro?"

"Why does that matter?" Musubi asked, standing up from her crouch.

"Cause I can't wait to see the look on their faces when you lose!" The scythe user swung her weapon. Despite the missing blade, it still created enough force of wind that ripped the bark off the trees. Musubi jumped ahead of the vacuum slash and used the pole for leverage, kicking Yomi in the face.

'This is… a Sekirei battle…' Minato fearfully thought as he held Ku close for safety. Yomi swung again and the blast of wind ripped Musubi's top to shreds, freeing her assets. A small amount of blood left his nose as Seo perved out of the exposed flesh. Yomi laughed at Musubi covering her chest before another slash tore her bottom half off, leaving only her gloves, boots and underwear on.

Standing over a charred Seo, the lightning twins looked at the battle. "So, do we back them up?" Hibiki asked her sister.

"No." Seo answered, popping back up. "That Sekirei chose her Ashikabi. This is their battle now."

"Musubi, be careful!" Minato shouted.

"Don't worry, Minato." His Sekirei replied, still covering her chest. "I'm not going to lose to this sadistic pervert."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" Yomi shouted in anger. "Just for that, I'll take your head off right now!" She swung her broken blade and Musubi dodged the wind blade quicker than before. "What the-?" Enraged, she swung wildly in all directions as Musubi landed.

'I can see it…' Number 88 looked on and could actually see the flow of air change with each swing. Gracefully dodging the attacks, Musubi jumped over Yomi and ripped her dress off, forcing her to cover up in shame. Landing on the ground, Musubi turned and quickly pressed her finger on the Sekirei mark on Yomi's back.

"By my fists of the contract, my Ashikabi's perils will be shattered." A bright glow emanated from the mark before it suddenly vanished, making Yomi fall over.

"…What the hell just happened?" Natsu asked in confusion.

"She recited an incantation." Hikari said. "There are two ways to win a Sekirei battle: beat your opponent until they can no longer function, or touch the Sekirei mark and recite your personal incantation. Then the mark disappears, and a Sekirei without a mark can't function."

"That was amazing, Musubi!" Minato cheered as he rushed over with Kuu. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Nope. Not a scratch." She giggled happily. "And I protected my modesty… Minato, who is that?"

"Uh, well…" He nervously replied before Natsu ran past the two. "Hey, where are you going, Natsu?"

"I need to check on Akitsu!" The Dragon Slayer snapped back, rushing into the woods. "If that girl got past her, she might be seriously hurt!"

"Minato, is this your second one?" Musubi asked, looking over the sleeping Kuu.

"My… second?" He repeated in confusion.

"That's amazing, Minato!" She cheered, exposing her chest as she slapped his back.

"Mu-Musubi, your chest!" Her Ashikabi pointed out. "But before that, what do we do with Kuu?" A deep growl caught them by surprise, the noise emanating from the child's belly.

"Hungry…" She mumbled, making the two chuckle.

Homura hurled a fireball at Akitsu, who quickly summoned an ice wall to block the hit. "How long do you plan on wasting time?" She asked. "This seems like a waste of energy."

"Until you listen to me!" Kagari shouted back. One of the few Magic Mobiles in the city drove by, cutting off the fight. "Was he… an Ashikabi?"

"Probably the one the scythe girl belonged to." Akitsu summarized. "If he is leaving, then-"

"The Green Girl's safe." Seo declared as he and the twins walked up from behind Akitsu. "She called to her Ashikabi all on her own, too."

"She did?" Homura asked in surprise.

"And Natsu?" Akitsu added.

"Right here…" Natsu panted out, bent over at the waist. "Glad to see your safe, Akitsu." He took one step forward and was surprised when she took two steps backwards.

"I'm glad you're safe…" She said, a tear in each eye. "But… this is goodbye." Akitsu turned and jumped into the air, fleeing from the scene.

"Why'd she run?" Hibiki asked in confusion.

"No clue, but I'm going to find out." Natsu declared rushing forward.

"I'm coming with you." Kagari chimed in. "As the Guardian Sekirei, I have some questions for her myself."

"Fine, but mess with her and I'll hurt you." He snapped back as the masked man started jumping after Akitsu.

Izumo Inn

The door to the inn opened and Miya left the kitchen, intent on welcoming her tenants. "I was starting to worry." The landlady froze as she stared at Musubi wearing Minato's jacket as he carried a small girl on his back.

"W-we're back." Minato chuckled. Miya turned on a dime and ran from the door, confusing the two. Seconds later she came running back, a single-edged sword in her hand. "Wait, Miya! I can explain!" The tip of the blade was in his face, making him spurt out random syllables for his own safety.

Kuu finally woke up and sniffed the air, catching Miya's attention. "...Hungry..."

"Is there anything to eat?" Minato asked, catching Miya off-guard.

"Of course. Right this way." The landlady said before leading them to the table. Kuu sat down and started stuffing her face as Minato explained as best he could. "Oh, she was your relative?"

"Yeah, things got complicated and I have to care for her now." He nervously answered. "The synchronizers ordered it."

"You should have just told me that sooner." Miya chuckled, scaring Minato.

As the night dragged on, Minato and Musubi found themselves in their room as the girl readied for bed. "Musubi…" Minato spoke up. "I really want to thank you for today. You saved my life from that girl."

"You were great too, Minato." She replied. "Facing someone with a weapon to save someone you don't know is very brave!"

"Thanks, but I might have died if Natsu didn't help out." He chuckled.

Musubi reached out and touched his hand, bringing it to her face. "It's okay. I'll always be here to protect you, Minato. And Kuu as well. Maybe I should ask Natsu if he wants to spar again!"

"Ye-yeah…" He nervously replied before finding Musubi had fallen asleep. He couldn't blame her; she'd had a pretty exciting day. Standing up, he walked around the Inn and found Kuu sitting in the garden. "Hey, Kuu. Can I sit next to you?"

The girl nodded and Minato sat on the path next to him. "That tree, that was the first I saw you." He explained, catching her by surprise. "It was so strange: Musubi and I were falling and I thought for sure we were dead, but somehow we survived. It was almost like the tree caught us…"

"I heard… a voice!" Kusano spoke up. "The voice said 'Help me', so I asked this tree and that's what it did."

"I see, I guess we owe our lives to you then." Minato chuckled. "Then just allow me to say thank you very much, Kuu."

He rustled her hair and she stared up at him, a blush on her face. "Big brother…" She spoke up and Minato found she had stood up, grabbing his face. "Would you do me a favor? Will you be my Ashikabi?"

Before he could answer, she pressed his lips against his and the Winging was complete. All the flowers around them suddenly bloomed as Minato was left in shock. A smiling Kuu quickly fell asleep in his arms, forcing him to pick her up and carry her inside.

"Ah, so that's where you two went." Miya chuckled as the two walked past each other. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something. Why didn't Natsu or Akitsu back with you?"

"Damn it, I lost track of Natsu…" Homura mumbled as he slumped against the wall of an alley. The stone was turning white hot as smoke flowed freely off his body. "I could really use that fire resistance right about now… Better call Takami…" He pulled out his Lacrima device, only for the crystal to melt in his hands. "At this rate, I'll be nothing but ashes in the morning… Self-cremation… what way to go."

A drop of water hit his head. Homura thought it was rain, before a torrent completely drenched him, cooling him off.

"Thou art pathetic, Homura." The pyromancer looked up to see long blonde hair and blue eyes staring down at him. The woman was dressed in a black dress, with a white underdress that couldn't help but emphasize her ample cleavage. She also had a lacey black and white choker, and long brown boots with black stockings.

"Tsukiumi…"

"'Tis only by hand that thou shalt die." The Water Sekirei declared, rings of water floating in the air around her. "I'll not permit thee to close thine own eyes."

Homura chuckled with a nervous smile. "I'm sure that was a lovely speech, but I was distracted by your panties."

The water vanished instantly as she held her skirt down in shame. "Shameful cur!" Tsukiumi snapped as Homura stood up, pulling his mask back up.

"I'm sure your Ashikabi wouldn't mind, once you find them." When she scoffed at the notion, Homura continued. "We both know that Sekirei are only truly powerful when they emerge. So, what's stopping you?"

"Hold a glass up to thine own visage!" The blonde snapped back. "What is thy delay in emergence?"

Homura held up his hand as smoke leaked off his body. "I'm defective." He said. "Those of us who belong to fire have always been hated by the gods. To be the strongest, you need an Ashikabi. Once marked, you will-"

"I refuse!" Tsukiumi cut him off, shaking in anger. "Ashikabi are but lowly monkeys, and wizards are even worse. I will never allow such a lowly thing to…" Homura blinked in confusion as a blush overtook her face. "Couple! I mean, violate me like that!"

"…I have no idea what you're talking about." The fire-user confessed as he started walking away. "And honestly, I don't care right now. I have something I need to do, so this is goodbye for now."

"Wait!" The blonde reached out, only for the fire user to jump away.

Dawn had come when Akitsu finally stopped running. Finding herself back in the park she met Natsu in, she sat down on a bench and curled up in shame. 'I failed… I always fail…'

Footsteps didn't even raise her head as someone walked over to her. "Well, aren't you a rare one…" The young man noted. He sounded young, around Natsu or Minato's age. His voice was soft like Minato's, gentle. "Why don't you come with me? You'll be a wonderful addition to my collection…"

She started to raise her head as he reached out and tried to touch her face. His hand was fair-skinned and his sleeve was white, unstained by the sand that the desert winds carried over the walls. She made no attempt to pull away, only for someone else to grab his wrist.

"Back off, creep."

Akitsu looked up to see Natsu twisting the other boy's arm to the side, much to his pain. Natsu pushed him away before turning around to her. "There you are. Now, why'd you run away?"

"Because… I failed you." She answered, looking down at her legs. "I let someone get into the arboretum, and that put you at risk… I don't deserve to be your Sekirei anymore…"

"There, you see?" The other boy spoke up. "She doesn't want to be with you anymore. So that means she's free to claim."

"Next time, your arm's coming off." Natsu glared at him, scaring the boy back towards his Magic Mobile. With a sigh, he turned back to Akitsu. "Look at me, Akitsu."

She obeyed, just in time to see Natsu lightly chop her head.

"You really think I would abandon you because of that?" The Sekirei stared in shock as Natsu knelt down to look her in the eye. "So you screwed up; big deal. Do you know how many times I've screwed up? Or my friends outside this place? But we didn't leave each other behind. We helped each other and got stronger, and that's what we're gonna do here."

Tears started welling up in her eyes, scaring Natsu. "Crap, did I say something wrong again?"

"No, no, I'm just…" She wiped some tears from her eyes, but more kept coming. "I'm just so happy I was wrong." Nearly blind from her crying, Akitsu stood up and hugged her Ashikabi. "I'm sorry."

Natsu was a little surprised at how fast her mood had swung, and how her boobs pushed against his face, but he rolled with it. "It's okay…" He said, rubbing her back.

"Well, this is very touching." The two broke up to see the other boy was back, this time surrounded by Sekirei. "But when I have my eyes on something, I don't give up so easily."

"Mikogami, don't we have anything better to do?" The only male Sekirei was the one who spoke, leaning his sword over the orange scarf spilling across his shoulder.

"I want her, Mutsu! I want that Sekirei!" The boy shouted.

"If the master wants her, then that's what he'll get." A blonde in pigtails declared, flicking her whip.

"Can you take them all?" Natsu asked, looking around. Akitsu shook her head. "Then make a wall, I'll get us out of here. Trust me."

She nodded and a wall of ice grew upwards. Natsu ignited his hand and clawed at the wall, creating an explosion of ice and mist.

"I hate running from a fight." He mumbled in annoyance as the two ran away.

"After them!" Mikogami shouted. The girls leapt over the wall while Mutsu just sighed and turned back to the vehicle. "Mutsu!"

Ten minutes later, in the north end of the city, Natsu panted in exhaustion with Akitsu standing next to him. "I think we lost them…"

"Oh, there you guys are!" To their surprise, Akitsu and Natsu were suddenly pulled backwards into white cloth, the same once covering Musubi's chest. "We were so worried about you last night! Where'd you go?"

Pushing away from the breasts, the ice-user glared at the fighter before pulling Natsu away. Natsu pushed on her stomach and freed himself. "Oh no you don't. You're not out of the woods yet, Akitsu." He pointed at Musubi. "Part of screwing up is coming clean about it, so you tell her what happened."

Akitsu's nervous anxiety returned. She faced Musubi and prepared to speak, absent-mindedly reaching for Natsu's hand.

"Nuh-uh." Natsu brushed her fingers aside. "After you're done talking. Take a deep breath, then get going."

Three deep breaths and one recollection later…

"...and we ran away," Akitsu explained, taking Natsu's hand. This time, he allowed it, even squeezing her gently as she wrapped up. "Natsu helped you and my selfishness forced him to go out of his way to help me, too."

"Hey, hey, what did I say about beating yourself up?" Natsu said.

Kuu leaned out from behind Minato and quickly rushed out in front of Natsu. "Th-thank you…" She whispered, bowing her head.

Natsu smiled at the little girl before ruffling her hair. "Don't mention it. That's what friends are for." He replied. "I'm Natsu. And this is Akitsu." His Sekirei offered a hand to the little girl, who quickly ran back behind her Ashikabi. "Guess she's shy…"

The plant-user looked to see Akitsu draw Natsu's hand over her stomach, pressing it to herself. Seeing the small, shy smile form on Akitsu's face, she copied her and grabbed Minato's hand.

"Minato! Me, too!" Musubi shouted, taking the other hand.

"Uh, Musubi, don't forget what Miya asked us to do." Her Ashikabi nervously laughed. "She insisted."

"Oh, yeah. We have an errand to run." She nodded, pulling out a small list. "She said we had company coming, so she'll need extra ingredients."

Natsu looked over her shoulder and glanced at the paper. "…Wow, that's a lot of food." He mumbled, noticing that Musubi had a bundle of satchels slung behind her back. "Why don't we come help you guys?"

"Yeah!" Musubi cheered before pulling Minato away, startling him.

Night

"We're home!"

Miya peered out from the hallway and saw the quintet step inside, all but Kusano carrying several large satchels each.

She chuckled, looking at Natsu and Akitsu. "Oh, I see you two are back. Tell me…" The evil mask appeared behind her, scaring the two. "What were you up to last night?"

"We were just talking, that's all." Natsu nervously lied, hoping it would save his life. The mask faded away and the pair breathed a sigh of relief.

Miya chuckled again. "I'm only teasing. What you do outside of the house is your business."

'Her 'teasing' feels like Erza when someone destroys her cake.' Natsu thought. "So, what's with all the food?"

"Oh, it's just for an old friend of my husband." Miya sighed, wearily, and lead them into the dining room.

"Yo!" Minato fell over in shock as Seo sat in the center of the room. "Guess he's surprised to see me. What do you think?"

"Wait, you two know each other?" Natsu asked, looking back and forth.

"We do indeed," Miya said from behind. "Seo was my husband's best friend, so he's like a member of the family. I don't see him all that much because he only ever comes here when he's low on food…" Her mask appeared again, scaring Seo out of his chair. "No matter what kind of trash you are, you were Takehito's best friend."

"That still doesn't explain how you knew I was staying here." Minato spoke up. "I never told you where I lived."

"No, but your lunch sure did." Seo grinned, confusing everyone else. "The one you shared with me, remember? Just one bite and I knew it was Miya's cooking. Speaking of family, how's the Green Girl doing?" He turned to Kuu and found her peeking out behind Akitsu. "Oh, there she is. Come over here and say hi."

She hid behind the kimono in fear, annoying Seo. "Don't be like that, I helped save you, remember? I won't bite." Whimpering started coming from the hiding girl, causing the older man to snap. "Hey, how about a little appreciation?! I risked my neck for your scrawny hide so the least-"

A fist crashed into the top of his head, sending Seo falling backwards. "Leave her alone!" Natsu shouted, pulling him up to show a slight trickle of blood coming down his head. "If she doesn't want to meet you, she doesn't want to meet you, got it?"

"Uh-huh…" A dazed Seo mumbled out, making Miya chuckle a little. She decided to let that bit of violence slide.

"Excuse me!" A familiar voice called out from the front, catching everyone off-guard. Miya, Minato and Natsu walked out into the hall to see Hibiki and Hikari standing in the hall. "Sorry to bother you, but is our idiot mooching off you again?"

Seo popped out from behind, two heavy bags of rice under his arms. "Mooch? Why would you say that?" Instantly, the two girls jumped on him, the food tumbling to the ground as they rattled him around like a juice mixer.

"Uh, thank you, Seo." Minato spoke up, ending the melee. "For helping me with Kuu, I mean."

"Don't mention it, kid," the moocher said, standing up. "Besides, it looks like you two could use the help. My card." He shoved two paper cards in front of them as his Sekirei walked out the door. "I'll cut you a special deal."

"You charge people to help?!" Minato realized as Miya glared at Seo. "How? Isn't money illegal?"

"Hey, Minaka hasn't touched me yet." Seo said with a smirk. "Besides, how does a little slip of paper with the words 'I owe you' count as money?"

'I know it's not too different from guild work…' Natsu thought, looking at Seo as he walked away from the inn. 'But this guy just… oozes sleaze.'

"It's like I told you, he can be a bit of a scoundrel." Miya smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

Musubi and Uzume stared across from each other in the bath, looks of determination on their faces. "Now I know what a crawdad feels like." Musubi said in exhaustion.

"I still don't understand why you wanted to see who can withstand the heat longer." Akitsu spoke up from the side, scrubbing her arms.

"Says the one who gave up first." Uzume quipped back before standing up. "But, I guess you win, Musubi."

Eyeing the emergence mark on her back, Musubi spoke up. "Uzume, tell me… who's your Ashikabi?"

"I am curious about that myself." The ice user added.

Uzume smiled as she sat at the edge of the bath. "It's a secret."

"Okay, but, aren't you lonely all by yourself?" The pugilist further questioned. "Not being able to see your Ashikabi all the time… It must be hard for you."

"Believe me, I wish I could." Uzume said. "But right now, that just isn't possible. So until it is, I'm just happy to like under the same sky as them. Not every Sekirei has to do the same as the others."

In the middle of the night, a drowsy Kuu stood up from her bed. Walking down the hall, she entered the bathroom to quickly relieve herself. As she washed her hands, she looked up in the mirror and froze in shock. A shadowy figure with shiny eyes was staring back at her before a smile crossed her face, scaring the child even more.

In a blind panic, Kuu ran down the hall and opened a door before crawling into a bed. "The hell?" Natsu quickly snapped up and threw his blanket off, showing Kuu hugging his leg.

"Natsu, what is this?" Akitsu asked from across the room, her covers falling off her naked body. "Why is Kusano here?"

"No idea." He confessed, trying to pry her off. "What's the matter, Kuu?"

"G-g-g-gh-"

"A ghost?" Uzume repeated at the table in the middle of the next day.

"Oh, so that's why Kuu ended up in your bedroom." Miya said. "And here I thought you brought her in there yourself."

"Miya, that is so creepy." Minato mumbled.

"So after she came in, we thought someone was trying to break in." Natsu continued. "I pretty much smelled the entire house, but nothing out of the ordinary, let alone a ghost. Kuu still wouldn't calm down so we brought her to your room. Sorry about that."

"It's fine." Musubi replied with a smile. "We enjoyed having her with us."

"Sorry, can we go back to you 'smelling the house'?" Uzume requested.

"The ghost was a woman with long hair and glasses. And she laughed." Kusuno fearfully declared.

"Wait, long hair and glasses?" The brunette repeated. "That sounds like-"

"Uzume…"

"Absolutely no one I know or ever heard of… Nope, not at all." She clammed up.

Miya had brought for her passive-deadly glare. "I'm sure Kuu was just having a bad dream." The landlady smiled wider, her ghostly mask floating next to her. "Besides, the idea of a ghost living here in Izumo Inn is just plain crazy."

"Well, if that's the case, I must be going insane." Minato nervously chuckled.

"I suppose it's time for me to leave." Miya said as she stood up from the table. "Natsu, Akitsu, we don't have any deliveries today, but could I ask you to watch the house for me?"

"Sure, no problem." Natsu nodded as Miya left the front. Immediately, Natsu leaned over to Uzume. "Where is she going?" He whispered.

"That's right, you don't know." The brunette realized. "It's the anniversary of her husband's death, so she's off to visit his grave. She spends all day with him, so I guess we're on our own for lunch."

"Don't worry! Just leave the cooking to me!" Musubi declared.

"And I'll help!" Kuu added.

"Is that so?" Uzume grinned before grabbing their hands. "In that case, you two need to stop by my room." She glanced at Akitsu who was sipping some tea. "You too." She linked the ice Sekirei's hand to Musubi's before dragging the three away. "You guys stay down here, okay?"

"Uh, okay…?" Minato mumbled in confusion. Natsu suddenly stood up and rushed into the kitchen, quickly opening the sliding door. "Natsu, don't break the door!"

"I swear I heard something…" The Dragon Slayer replied. "Like footsteps…"

"I didn't." Minato said back. "How come you're so good with your senses?"

"Cause I'm a Dragon Slayer." Natsu chuckled with a smile, proudly sliding a finger under his nostrils. "We all have good noses."

Minato thought for a moment. "Is it… No, I shouldn't."

"Shouldn't what?" Natsu asked, a fist on his hip. "What?"

"Is it possible to learn this power?" Minato asked.

Natsu gave him a dead stare. "Not from a human."

"We're done!" Uzume declared from behind, scaring Minato. Both men looked to see Musubi and Akitsui in pink and orange maid outfits respectively whilst Kuu was in a large bird costume with an apron tied around it.

"Does it look good on me, Minato?" Musubi asked.

"I, um, never saw anything like it…" He mumbled back, a blush on his face.

"That won't do." Uzume teased. "As long as you're in that outfit, you two have to always call him 'Master', not their real names."

"No, they don't!"

Musubi nodded before turning back to Minato. "Well, hello, Master." Instantly, Minato was nervously chuckling as Uzume smirked at her success.

"Go on, your turn." She gently pushed Akitsu forward and she stared at Natsu.

"Akitsu…" Natsu mumbled, making his Sekirei blush at his looks.

"U-Uzume wouldn't let me leave without putting this on." She declared. "This wasn't my idea."

"It looks wonderful." He declared, catching both of them by surprise. "Where did that come from?"

"I'm gonna go take a nap now." Uzume yawned out, walking away. "Wake me up when lunch is ready, okay?"

"Wait, why do you even have these… These… Are they costumes?" Minato asked, earning no reply.

Minato fell back with a bloated stomach and looked up at the ceiling. "Natsu, how did you manage to eat that much?" He groaned out.

"You kidding? That's normal for me." Natsu earnestly replied, shocking Minato. "So where are Kuu and Uzume?"

"They fell asleep after the meal." Akitsu answered, picking up the plates. "Are you going to join them, Master?"

"Nah, I'm going for a - master?" The Dragon Slayer did a double take at the title.

"Uzume said we had to call you that while wearing these." The ice user explained. "D-do you not like it?"

"No, just… I wasn't expecting it." He confessed. "So, I'm going for a run. Wanna join, Mina-" A groan of weakness cut him off, answering his question before he could even finish it. "Guess that's a no. See ya in a bit."

Closing the door behind him, Natsu started his sprint away from the Inn. Without the range of monster or animals to fight in the wilds of Fiore, Natsu was forced to rely on more traditional (boring) means of training.

He kicked up a wind as he ran, ignoring the confused and/or dirty looks he got from all the weirdos he passed in this crazy place. Instead, his mind began to wander, then wonder: what was the rest of the guild up to? How was Happy holding up? There'd literally never been a time in the little guy's life that Natsu wasn't there, except those couple days in Edolas when he and Wendy got captured and separated.

Wendy… What was she up to? She seemed like she'd unlocked some amazing new power in the fight against Tartaros. She was probably off with Carla, figuring things out while Natsu was stuck in this crazy city in the middle of nowhere.

He wondered… Was this how Erza felt in the Tower of Heaven? Trapped? Isolated? Erza came out of that as the baddest, strongest lady in Fairy Tail, but she had it a whole lot worse than Natsu did now. Still, he felt like this was like that; this place gave him the creeps, like the walls were only the first thing holding him inside; he just didn't know where the rest of the bars were.

Natsu never thought he'd see the day where he wished Gray was with him. That ice-freak and his weird stripping habit would've been good for a laugh, both at him and all the freaked-out locals he'd created. Still, if Gray had been here, then he couldn't have been with Juvia. Juvia wouldn't have done well in a place like this, and she'd no doubt be wherever Gray was. She was too lovesick not to be.

Speaking of girls, Natsu's next thoughts wandered to Cana. Was she living with Gildarts, her dad? He was kind of suffocating when it came to her, which was weird, because Natsu had practically been a son to him and Gildarts had always been cool. Natsu wished Gildarts or Cana were here; they'd be able to figure a way out of here, without needing to leave Akitsu behind.

No, wait, Lucy or Lisanna. Would they come looking for him? Would they notice if they didn't hear from him after too long? Lisanna had Elfman and Mirajane to keep her attention occupied, and probably to help her find work. In fact, he could see Lisanna making a pretty good swimsuit model, just like Mira. Lucy, too, for that matter, but Natsu didn't see that happening. The blonde had always been the restless sort, which is how Natsu had met her in the first place. Surely, she wouldn't settle into some day job after all the good times and hard times with Fairy Tail, would she? One of them would realize Natsu was in hot water, right?

Mid stride, water suddenly hit Natsu in the face, knocking him to the ground. Staring up at the sky, the water dripped off his hair before voices finally reached him.

"Cease thy cowardice and face me!"

"It's called a strategic retreat. Look into it, bimbo."

Steam rose off Natsu before he suddenly burst into flames and nipped up, anger in his eyes. "ALRIGHT! YOU'RE DEAD!"

Two women stood out from the drab locals, one a green-haired girl in a purple and white top with an open window for her breasts. Dark purple gloves, stockings, and a garter belt to hold up her bloomers added sort of a symmetry to the look. Long brown boots competed the outfit as she gripped a metal staff on the top of a sand-colored roof.

The second, and the one who'd done his sudden soaking, had long blonde hair, much longer than Lucy's. A long black dress covered a smaller white underdress as water swirled around her extended hand. The same brown boots as the other girl's covered her feet. A black and white choker wrapped around her neck. Her blue eyes glared at him with a kind of hatred he'd only seen a few times in his life.

"Vile monkey." She hissed. "Begone from my sight. Concern thyself not with us."

"You sucker punch me and think I'm just gonna walk away?!" Natsu snapped back as he marched forward. "Not happening, lady! I don't care if you're a Sekirei or whatever! I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"Thou art an Ashikabi?" The blonde asked, a scowl forming on her face. "Were it not for the rules, I'd free thy Sekirei from thy filthy claws. Truly, she is cursed to be with thee."

Now she'd crossed the line. It was one thing for her to insult him; that was nothing. But then she insulted Natsu's friends, and just cashed a check her ass couldn't pay. Even if this place had no money, Natsu was about to collect.

Jumping into the air, fiery whips shot off his wrists, causing the blonde to counter with a series of water spheres. Landing on the ground, Natsu charged forward and started throwing flaming punches, forcing her to dodge repeatedly.

"What are thou doing?!" She shouted, her long hair starting to singe from the missed blows. "Thou wouldst force me to dishonor the rules? Thou shalt pay for-"

"Last time I checked, not my problem!" He snapped back, going low for a leg sweep. The blonde jumped away from the flaming limb, only for Natsu to grab her boot and pull her back in.

"Unhand me!" The hydromancer shouted, kicking Natsu in the chest with her free leg before dosing him point blank with water. The force pushed him back along the ground as he stared in defiance.

"Not bad, but I'm not done yet!" He declared before noticing the blush on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Return mine boot at once, monkey!" Natsu blinked in confusion at her request before looking at his hand. The force of the attack was so great, he actually pulled the boot with him.

"Sorry." He tossed the boot back at her and waited for her to redress her foot. An explosion in the middle of the city caught the trio by surprise, the shockwave knocking Natsu forward. "What the hell was that!?" He pushed himself up as more beams fired down at the center of town. "Does this place have an Etherion?!"

"Not exactly." The green-haired girl said, suddenly next to Natsu. "It's true there's a massive magical cannon high above the city, but it's nowhere near as powerful as the original. But, it fires a lot quicker than the other one."

"I gotta get down there and help people!" Natsu shouted as he jumped over a railing.

"He's got guts, I'll give him back." The bo-woman declared, glancing back at the blonde. "Guess now's my chance."

"There, now let us proceed." The blonde turned around, both boots on her feet, ready to fight… only no one was there to fight her. "Cowards! Both of thee! I will find thee and end thy lives! So sayeth the strongest Sekirei, Number 9-"

"HEY! PIPE DOWN OR I'LL CALL CUSTODY!"

Racing through the panicked streets, Natsu jumped over a vendor before crashing into a familiar face. "Musubi!? What the-"

"No time to explain! But I gotta get back with the groceries!" She snapped back as a blast landed right behind her. "Come on, let's go!"

"R-right!" He nodded, following her as fast as he could, a blast barely missing him.

A bit more action in this chapter, and some from Natsu as well. But this chapter was much more about the bound between Ashikabi and Sekirei since there was a winging in this chapter. We also got a preview of the future Sekirei in this story and so some future conflicts as well. I don't have much left to say, so see ya next time.

Co-written by Ikrani