When the dresser exploded against the wall, Karasuba was certain to be clear of it. The resulting escapade was one she wouldn't quite forget. Ryu, more than furious, had just chucked it away like it weighed nothing. Debris and clothes spilled across the floor as a boom echoed around them.
She had little time to do anything else other than think of her own safety. She could easily cut through anything in the room, but it was the splatter that concerned her. If the vanity exploded, and a sharp piece of wood came her way, or glass, or some other projectile...
Well, she wasn't going to be happy about it at all. But, she couldn't even try to play this card in her hand. She knew Ryu was pissed, and she pissed him off even more. She told him that Yume would be her prey and not his, regardless of what happened between them.
Ryu had reacted like she expected. He erupted and began to go on a rampage. Punching and kicking. Throwing and thrashing. He left no bed unturned and no wall without a hole or puncture. Every dresser and article of huge furniture had been sent flying into a million pieces.
"You purposely come around pissing me the fuck off."
Karasuba composed herself easily enough. "I am not just going to sit here. You are mistaken, my Ashikabi."
Ryu exhaled loud. He clenched his hands around the next biggest thing in the room. A chest. He picked it up, and with one harsh twist he sent it flying across the room.
"Yume is mine! I've made my decision clear!"
Karasuba evaded the next attack. Seated on the bed, she should have known Ryu would flip it over or throw it next. Yet, she had only prepared for it in less than a second. Rolling, she came back to her feet. The bed was flipping three times over before it splattered against the lamp.
She would have been happy if Ryu made the choice he did-calmly and without fury. But, he was burning with rage. His emotions and thoughts were all over the place. Quite frankly, she just didn't trust that he could stick to such a murderous plan.
If he were calmer, he wouldn't have said that. He wouldn't have said everyone was his enemy except for his Sekirei. He would be going after everyone in that case, and that is what he said. Ryu was not in the right frame of mind, and neither was she for that matter.
Was it even safe to be having a conversation like this?
"You are boiling over with rage, fury, and hatred at the moment. I cannot take any decisions you make seriously. You've demolished half our room and continue to like a wild animal."
"Bullshit! Yume is mine!"
"And I said she is not. Have everyone else, just try to kill Miya and Kazehana...Kill Mutsu. Yume is mine, and that is final."
Ryu kicked something across the room and flung his arm around his torso. He managed to latch onto something, rip it off with a howl and chuck it so hard it burst into pieces against the wall. He picked up another huge dresser with a loud shout, body arching as he supported its weight on his chest, he smashed it onto the floor.
Karasuba wasn't sure if there was a safe place in the room at the moment. It was only a matter of time before Ryu grabbed onto the floor and tried to flip the whole damn room over. Of course, she had pushed him. She always pushed him. And she didn't think she pushed too much.
For every act of destruction he was committing at the moment, she reveled in it. However, she understood just what it was that was holding Ryu back. What was making him so angry. She understood it too well, because she had been disgusted and weary of it as well.
He could not accept he was betrayed.
He could not accept the fact he was betrayed.
Rather...
No, he just couldn't accept it.
She didn't need to make it anymore complicated than it had to be.
She had to get through his thick skull.
"Ryu."
"Karasuba."
She moved towards him, but did so with caution. He had always been wild and untamed, but looking at him now...With his wild spiky hair, narrowed dark eyes, his handsome and sharp features, the veins and muscles trailing and bulging across his entire body...
The rapid rise and fall of his chest.
If this were any other time she would lunge at him without any clothes on. But, this was not one of those times. Ryu was wild, to the point he was borderline a wild animal right now. He was always unpredictable. But, she could not get a read on him at all. Sure, he was exuding rage, fury, and hate, but...
She could not anticipate his next move.
"Can you just..." Karasuba looked around, finding nowhere to sit, she just took a seat on the floor. "Come here."
Ryu was utterly dumbfounded. So confused and baffled. He did as she told him, came to her, and then sat down so he was eye level with her.
He didn't speak and she didn't. They just looked each other in the eye. Ryu turned away for a second, raking a hand through his hair. Karasuba had actually sat on the floor in front of him. She actually lowered herself into a cross legged stance and secured her sword by her side.
"Are you calm?" Karasuba prodded.
Ryu threw his head back, sighing for an eternity.
He didn't answer or even look at her. He hadn't been calm, not lately. If he wasn't struggling with sorrow and sadness he was shaking with rage and fury. Calm, serene, and tranquil-none of those things applied to him. None of them ever would, not anymore. He was well beyond any of that or trying to be...
Diplomatic.
He had every intention to be radical and extreme. He didn't care what people had to say or think about him. The only people that mattered to him were his Sekirei, and that was it. He had no room for anyone else on his list and he didn't want anyone else on the list.
"Yes."
"Could have fooled me."
"Shut up, Karasuba..."
"Crude...You told me to shut up."
Ryu smashed the floor with his fist, nostrils flaring, eyes gleaming violently despite their dark color. He shook, starting from his arm, and it trailed to the rest of his body.
Maybe...It isn't how I thought...
The thought just came to Karasuba. It came inexplicably and without any warning. Usually her approach with Ryu always merited some form of success-it never resulted in her setting him off like a bomb and resulting in widespread destruction.
Karasuba got the feeling this wasn't even the worst of it-Ryu didn't even catch his stride.
You have to kill someone or release that energy.
Her Ashikabi was too enthralled and overcome by the energy coursing through his veins. She could remember her first time experiencing it. She could not control it. She used to pace back and forth. She would seethe. That insatiable energy, that roared to pierce through flesh.
The propensity to kill. The inclination to spill blood. The experience had been enthralling for her and still was. But, nothing could compare to the first time. She had cornered a solider, slicing his bullets to pieces until he ran out. She had shook like an earthquake and cackled like a mad witch before he howled with laughter.
There was nothing quite like it, and seeing his mouth wide open...Seeing that soldier in pain...It was just so delightful that she had to do it again...
And again...
And, it was never enough.
It never will be.
And, it appeared that Yume was right, after all.
And Miya.
She could stop Ryu-he was going down that path.
But, she wasn't going to stop him either.
Yume was right.
Miya was right.
She was a toxic influence on Ryu.
Ryu was a toxic influence on her.
In that case! Let's go down the same path together!
She would help Ryu.
She would send him down the path.
She will yank him down with her.
We'll drown together!
Let's paint the whole world red!
Fight me, Ryu!
Fight!
She shot up. Like an arrow, her ascent was swift and without sway. Her feet didn't even hit the floor for a second. Her hand was already flying across her torso. It swept the space in front of her. Her blade followed, whistling, gliding, not even a second behind.
Her hips shifted forward, and in that moment she veered in for the kill.
Ryu reacted soundly. His hand was in front of the gap. His sword was drawn in a heartbeat, and in two blinks, he lashed out with four attacks. Deflection, deflection, deflection, and a block. He stepped back, spacing out his legs, bringing himself into a crouch, keeping the blade pointed at Karasuba's neck.
It all happened in a second.
Another echo of blades pierced against the walls. Karasuba fought fiercely, snarling. She had to move swiftly three separate times in order to counterattack. Ryu fought with the ferocity of a crazed and wounded animal, pushing and pushing as much as he could.
A screeching grind brought them to a standstill.
Karasuba grinned, moving forward with a hacking overhead strike.
Ryu shifted his stance so he was on her right flank. His blade ascended and struck against Karasuba's. The collision sent her's veering back. He stayed on course, bringing the blade back down.
Karasuba shifted back, avoiding the downward slash. When a dragon's head is attacked it uses its tail, and when its tail is attacked it uses its head.
She moved forward with twice the speed she had before. Her long blade veering in for flesh.
Ryu met her, pushing hard against her until they had to break apart. She lashed out. He lashed out with twice the ferocity, breaking his stance. His blade whipped across the space of a few meters, returning back to its starting position with vile intent.
Karasuba moved her head back, lashed out thrice rapidly, forcing the attack off by a few more inches. She continued her deflection, cracking her blade across Ryu's.
"Rrrgghhh!"
She drove in, growling.
Ryu met her charge, his blade smashed right into her own, and using the propelling force, he drove his weight forward.
Both stumbled back.
Ryu's glare was ferocious. His shoulders quaked as he dug his feet into the floor for purchase. His face and lips contorted, his mouth gaped open in a crazed grin, and his eyes shined with the joy of killing. His grin widened, showing off his teeth.
His wrists trembled, pulling his arms back, until they were taut. He let out a low, deep laugh-almost psychotic.
That's it!
Give yourself to it, Ryu!
Give yourself over to it!
Become a monster!
Become a killer!
Become a cold blooded killer and stack bodies a million times worse than I ever could!
Stop holding back!
Let go of your humanity and become a demon!
A monster!
Karasuba grinned madly, letting loose her own psychotic cackle.
Her blade reveled in her madness.
Ryu was diving deeper and deeper into darkness and she could feel him swelling with it around him. He was priming to kill her. The energy boiling through him finally took a firm hold, and he was moving forward with his propensity to kill. A black aura was spilling out around him, ferocious and cold, it only screamed mayhem.
He wanted to spill her blood.
He wanted to spill blood.
His aura pitched, flaring, waving, burning-it could all be her imagination.
A presentation of his hatred.
She could see it.
She could feel it.
"You will get this all out of your system for the time being and give me an answer. Soundly."
Ryu answered in the only way he could.
This is for your own good, my Ashikabi...Perhaps we were always destined for this.
The weather was cold. The sun was high in the sky. It did little to melt the snow. Minato stared at his phone, eyes hardening with each passing second. He didn't even focus on the cold and snow just outside. It had almost been a week since Yukari visited, and, she was texting and calling him. Minato was pleased. However, that did not stop him from being cautious. It had been too long of a stretch where they were not in contact.
Something happened, but she was handling it. He was almost certain of it. To some extent there could be some danger. When the time came Yukari would speak with him. Minato only hoped that time didn't come too late. Often times, it was the moments of indecision, with a lot of people, that sparked the worst events.
How is school?
Good. How are your Sekirei? Tell Musubi and Tsukiumi I said hi. Tell Najime and Jussa I want them to cosplay as Cammy next time!
Minato shook his head, struggling not to blush.
Only his sister could imagine his Sekirei in such an attire. He had played the video game enough growing up. Cammy's attire was something that would make blood pressure increase and increase some more until the heart itself bursts.
They are training. I will tell them when they are done.
He waited for her response, and it was a simple okay. Yukari also sent a picture of herself giving the victory sign with a grin. Minato was thankful that she still retained those silly parts of her personality. He noticed he was changing, some of his fundamental aspects were actually changing.
Minato smiled when she sent him another text, saying she would give him a call. He wasn't sure if it was for his benefit or for Yukari's, but she would not pass up the chance to call him. There was a slight chance she had caught onto the subtle changes he was going through.
That was equally doubtful. Yukari had been too enthralled with his Sekirei-all of which were training hard at the moment with Miya and Yume. If she did notice the change, she wasn't giving anything away.
I don't have to worry like I did before, for now.
Minato sighed softly as he pocketed his phone. So much had happened to him. To Ryu. To everyone. Yet, so much more was going to happen and had yet to happen. To him, more importantly. Minato felt like he was at the end of a road or at a fork in the road.
It was crushing with indecision. He had spent a lot of time thinking about the Sekirei Plan. He didn't like it. He would prefer to live in peace with Sekirei. He would prefer if Sekirei didn't have to fight. If Ashikabi didn't fight. He would just prefer if they could all live normal lives.
Or, as normal as it could be.
But, he knew that was moot. During that battle where Haruka and Kuno barely escaped, he had suffered wounds from Benitsubasa. He had been bold enough to go after her at one point. He had struck her and she struck him. He had to intervene, if he hadn't, Musubi would have suffered more.
She had been unconscious at that point.
For most of his life Minato never thought of or considered strength. Whether it be from weightlifting, kenjutsu, kendo, martial arts, mentally, etc and so forth. It never even occurred to him once. He never once thought about it. Even his academics were a little above average. He never put forth a full amount of effort.
Blaming people was something he never really did...But, his mother had never, ever supported him. She went out of her way to demean him. Make him feel like utter shit. Minato couldn't remember how many times he had cried in private or just brooded about it.
You will never get anywhere or amount to anything.
Minato smiled ruefully. Words spoken to him, from his own mother. He really had to wonder what he did wrong in a past life, and if there was no explanation, what did he do currently or before as a child to deserve that. For what purpose did she do that? For what purpose did it happen?
He couldn't think of one, other than to hold him back. His mother knew he wasn't the type to get beat down and necessarily come back. He was sensitive and searching as a child. He felt more than he thought. She held him back out of some fear, or maybe she was just...
She is my mom... Minato reminded himself, aware that he was now frowning and scowling. He relaxed.
He had never thought much about it. The thought had come a while ago, but he hadn't latched onto it. Perhaps thinking about it was only going to make him brood at the moment.
"Minato?"
He blinked, turning to face the person interrupting his train of thought. "Oh, Miya-san? Sorry."
She smiled, looking around his room. Clean and neat. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"
He stood up, shaking his head once he was fully standing. "I was just texting my sister. Do you need me to do anything?"
"If it isn't too much to ask?"
Minato smiled easily, relaxing. "Not at all."
Miya smiled in return. "Your Sekirei all worked up quite the sweat. I have to wash their clothes, and I can't get the things I need for tonight's meal. Yume-san is helping me by cooking, but she has her hands full with some of the laundry right now."
It wouldn't be so bad getting out. Even if it was cold. He could wear layers and always stop somewhere to eat something warm. A walk would do him some good. It'd give him time to think and reflect. Being out in the open may allow him to think better. Maybe his thoughts wouldn't be so cluttered and all over the place.
"Did Seo help himself?" Minato had to ask.
"Not too much. Kazehana tried to take a bottle of sake...Seo tried as well."
Minato only shook his head hearing that and focused on the task at hand. "If you give me a list, I could go whenever you hand it to me."
Miya bowed slightly, moving out of the room.
Minato nodded, gently sliding his doors shut.
Some light was shut out of the room. He didn't mind. The darkness and the feeling of it...It was almost comfortable. He was used to it. He spent so much time brooding the darkness was as familiar as the light of day. The nights he spent awake staring up at his ceiling were increasing as much as the days he'd spend brooding.
He set about getting ready. It was very cold out, so he had to wear the necessary layers and protection. He got three pairs of thick gloves, thick socks, and a pair of thick boots. There was a warning about frostbite and and snow in certain parts of Japan and Teito. The subways were still moving, of course-nothing would stop those from going about their routes, not even a monster.
He piled the layers onto his form until he was thrice the size he was usually. He walked easily enough, and managed to go the windowsill where his hat was. He grabbed it with a steady hand and slipped it on.
"Come in." He said, looking towards his door.
Seo slid the door open, looking him over carefully. "I didn't even knock."
"Intuition?" Minato suggested, shrugging.
He always got a strange feeling whenever Seo was around. It went all the way back to when he had been working on the job and the man had been leering over his food like some idiot. At first Minato had felt somewhat bad and let the man have some. It had backfired when one of his rice balls had fallen to the ground. Hikari and Hibiki were quick to apologize.
Now, Minato was experienced with this man. Minato didn't like or care for him. He was a mooch. More importantly, he would be a person that Higa and possibly the Discipline Squad targeted sooner than later, and he would rather not deal with such a hell coming down on his head. Miya's inn would be destroyed in the aftermath of that battle.
Minato didn't want that.
"Mind if I talk to you for a moment?"
Minato shook his head.
"Only for a moment. I have to run an errand for Miya-san."
Seo closed the door and slipped into the room. He looked around briefly, noting there wasn't a place to sit down. He moved across the room, sliding over the windowsill and leaned against it. He pressed into it, allowing his weight to shift downward and take him into a sitting position.
He allowed himself time to think for a few seconds.
Minato leaned against the wall himself and crossed his arms over his chest. He would sit himself down like Seo did, but he was wearing too many layers to even consider doing that. The struggle to get back up wouldn't be severe or taxing, but he still didn't want to go through the effort of having to heave himself up and balance again.
"Well, I already told you along with Miya-san and Yume-san."
Minato nodded, drawing his eyebrows inward.
He did not forget that and that was one of the reasons why all of his Sekirei were training hard. He had relayed the warning to his girls with as much composure as he could muster. It was slow going at first, but he resolved himself to be upfront about the danger.
His Sekirei had firmed their resolve. They were training until they had nothing left to give. They were even working on team attacks and group fighting. Even in the snow and cold they were working up a sweat, which wasn't hard when they had to combat both Miya and Yume-even Kazehana had to work up a healthy sweat.
He admired it.
Minato fixed Seo with a sharper gaze, narrowing his eyes in observation. "You tend to beat around the bush and side step a lot."
"Keeps me safe kid, in my line of work."
Minato looked at the floor, frowning more. He missed Ryu, in times like this. Ryu had always been upfront and honest, like an open book. He never tried to pull a facade in front of him.
"Anyways, what do you want to say?"
Seo frowned himself, crossing his arms over his chest. "Be careful when you're out there. The Discipline Squad is out in full effect and they kill day and night. Be cautious of Ryu as well, his recent actions show that he is a threat to everyone in this game."
Minato knew he could only take the statement with composure. To show any emotion would be a giveaway, and lead to confusion. As far as Seo knew Ryu had never been his friend. Ryu had never even liked him. But, Seo didn't know that he considered Ryu a friend, and that Ryu considered him a friend.
For that reason, Minato only nodded.
"Do you think they will come as far as Miya's inn?"
Seo would have normally scoffed, but instead, he only rubbed at his chin. "They will patrol this entire sector. They are not just focused on those in Sekirei Plan, after all. If my information is right-they will be searching homes, middle schools, and high schools. I don't need to say that any college or university is subject to the same."
Minato blinked, but otherwise showed no outward emotion. It was strange, and horrible to think about. If the Discipline Squad went around killing civilians, middle school students, and high school students...That wouldn't paint the best picture at all.
It made no sense for such an order to be executed unless everyone in Teito was shady. Minato could concede that wasn't far off from the truth. Everyone who was good had left Teito a long time ago, or were in the process of getting out given recent traffic jams.
Only people who were in Teito were people like him-in the Sekirei Plan. And, in addition to just people like him, there would be the crime syndicates and gangs. Then there would be those under the influence of Higa and Hayato, first and foremost.
"And, you said Minaka sanctioned them to kill these people who bring disorder?"
Seo grunted. "He said the first priority is killing."
Minato arched a brow at that statement. It sounded a little too accurate, nothing like the vague statements Seo had been making so far.
He would dare say it was refreshing, but with Seo, there was always an underlying motive.
"You have someone giving you answers from the inside."
Seo grimaced a little.
"Must be my mom. Given that reaction."
Seo managed to laugh. "I doubt Takami would speak to me, and for that matter, would approve of me being in the same room as you, but you are not a little brat either."
"If it isn't my mom, who is it?"
Seo looked at the floor, looking conflicted. "Someone who has some pull."
"That is vague, Seo."
"I can't say too much...Never know where or when Minaka is listening. Matsu has us well guarded, but can never be too sure, especially at a time like this."
Minato narrowed his eyes to slits. "It's someone in the Discipline Squad."
Seo moved to leave the room. "Be careful out there, Minato. It may be peaceful now, but it is only a matter of time before that is gone and we are in a pitiless and bloody time."
"You didn't answer my question."
Seo turned back, peeking at Naruto from the corner of his eye. "The Squad is full of killers, I have no allies in there."
Minato looked out the window into the sun, it was all he could do in order to compose himself. He didn't like the word pitiless. He always thought of Kusano. She was the first person to come into his mind and stay there. It was almost haunting.
I guess it's time I stop delaying...