?
I looked up at the sky as the crowds of Shinto Teito passed by me. I saw a light blue sky with a single, small cloud. I was that cloud, lost in a sea of blue. I rose from where I stood in the street and moved to my usual camping spot. It was a quiet intersection that saw a decent amount of foot traffic. I'd be able to beg for a decent amount of change. I sat there most of the day, shaking my cup.
"Spare change! Any will do!" I said. A few people drop a hundred-yen coin into my cup. I looked in.
"Just enough for either a really good cup of coffee or a small meal from a fast-food restaurant," I thought. I had been begging for almost a year after I failed the college exams. My parents cut me off, and within a month I was on the street, begging for money. I had applied for dozens of jobs, anything I could see myself working and working well, but no one was willing to hire me. So, with the last few yen I had left, I bought a hardy tent, a sleeping bag and a pillow.
"Hey! Get over here!" I heard a woman shout as I looked up to see who it was that shouted. It was a woman in a scantily clad outfit that showed an ample amount of cleavage holding a wooden spear chasing down two other women in S suits, one in a pink one and the other in a purple one. The pursuer threw her spear, almost hitting the on in the pink suit.
"Hey you rotten bitch! You almost hit my little sister!" the woman in the purple suit shouted in rage. She held out her hand in an attempt to counter attack, but her sister stopped her.
"Remember Hikari, we can't hurt humans, if we do we'll have the discipline squad after us!" she said, doing her best to sway her older sister from violence.
"Damnit! Fine! Let's get out of here, Hibiki!" Hikari replied, pulling her sister into an alleyway, their pursuer following suit, and that was the last I would see of those three women ever again… or so I thought.
Five hours later I was setting up my camping tent on the bank of the river, the sun dipping just below the horizon. I sat in the door of the tent, watching the sun slowly descend, the ribbons of light orange and bright red lazily resting across the sky as the light blue of day soon became the navy blue of night. I reached back into the tent to grab my blanket. It was a thick and hardy blanket, it was going to be a cold night tonight. I took a few more minutes to enjoy the view before bed.
Just as I started to close the flap of my tent, I heard a ruckus under the large bridge. I crawled out of my tent and followed the source of the noise.
Suddenly, electricity struck almost one hundred feet away from me. Despite the overwhelming amount of danger that was posed I still moved towards the commotion. It was the two S sisters, Hibiki and Hikari, and the scantily-clad woman. Depasite having a numbers advantage, the single woman was beating back the sisters with impressive ease.
"Why are you after us?!" Hibiki asked as she dodged a spear stab.
"Simple! If you won't join the ranks of Higa's sekirei, then you're considered to be an adversary, and adversaries need to be eliminated!" she shouted going for a takedown on Hikari. The Brunette was sent flying as Hibiki sent a bolt of electricity directly at the assailant, only for the pink-clad woman to be hit by the spear, the wooden tip jabbing into Hibiki's side. She screamed in pain holding her side where the injury was sustained.
Something in me moved when I saw her in pain, I ran forward at the attacker, my fists bawled up as I took a swing. The brunette ducked and stabbed me with the spear.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" I screamed out in pain as she pulled it out of me and I fell to the ground. I heard a clap of thunder and the brunette hit the ground a large burn mark on her chest. My vision began to fade as I started to feel light-headed. The last thing I saw was Hikari and Hibiki rushing over to me. The last thing I felt was two people's lips press against mine. The last thing I heard was "We're the pledged thunderclap, no disaster will hit my ashikabi!"
Hikari
"Is he going to be alright?" I asked Takami Sahashi as she looked over the clipboard in her hands. I had joined my sister and newly found ashikabi on the helicopter ride to the S-Plan exclusive hospital.
"Your ashikabi…" Takami said, turning away from me.
"What is it!?" Hibiki asked with a stammer, afraid of the answer.
"It'll take a few weeks for him to recover, in the meantime spend some time with him as he recovers.."
"Weeks?! There isn't time for that! I've been winged, and the S-Plan is already in motion!"
"No, you two'll have to look after him, whoever he is."
"What do you mean 'who he is'?" Hibiki asked.
Takami rubbed her brow in irritation. "We have nothing on this guy, he's a ghost. We know nothing about him."
"But doesn't MBI have information on everyone?" I asked.
"So we thought. Just get to know your Ashikabi, the fact that he threw himself in the way of danger for your sake probably means he's not that bad," Takami said with a sigh. "Ring me if you need anything."
"Yea… sure," I said.
"So what now?" Hibiki asked, lost for direction.
"We wait," I replied, pulling up a chair next to his bed and taking a seat. Hibiki did the same on the opposite side of the bed. I watched him sleep, likely in a medically induced coma. I saw the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, it gave me some sort of odd calm that I had never experienced. I wanted to hold him in my arms, lock my lips to his as his arms would wrap around me and take me to bed. I began to rub my thighs together in anticipation of the fictional scenario.
"Stop thinking about these things!" I thought, trying to regain my composure.
"Hikari, what if he never wakes up?" Hibiki asked as she nervously twiddled her thumbs.
"He will! I'm sure he will!" I said, looking at his face. "He will."
Streets of Shinto Teito
Mutsu leaped from building to building, he was incensed. He couldn't believe he almost emerged to that rich brat. Even though he was reacting to him, he knew he could find a different ashikabi, a better ashikabi, and that's exactly what he intended to do. The sun began to set as he jumped down to the city streets below. His heart began to warm up, as he started to react to someone. He stepped forward, and the heat began to subside, then he took two steps back and his heart got warmer than before.
"Looks like I've found the trail," Mutsu said as he started to trail his unknown ashikabi through the streets. He wondered who it would be. Would it be a strong, intelligent man? Would it be a sly woman? His question would be answered sooner than he thought as his chest began to burn hotter and hotter.
"Get that bitch!" shouted an angry male voice.
"Come and get some!" a pissed young woman shouted as a scuffle ensued between a young woman and two men. Mutsu watched as the woman rushed the closest man, sending a powerful roundhouse kick to his knee, forcing him to the ground. The second charged her and delivered a solid punch to the gut. She responded in kind. All the while, Mutsu's heart began to burn hotter and hotter.
"Hm, reacting to someone like this could prove… beneficial. It's good to have someone who can fight as an ashikabi," Mutsu muttered to himself as he decided to interject in the fight. He slammed his sheathed blade into the concrete creating a powerful crater, sending the two men flying back several dozen feet. He grabbed the young woman, carrying her under his arm as he leaped up to a nearby rooftop.
"Who the hell are you?!" The young woman shouted as Mutsu let her down to her feet.
"I am Sekirei number Five, Mutsu, What is your name, girl?" He asked.
"Girl?! I'm a woman I'll have you know! And my name? Why should I tell you?" she asked.
"Because I'm reacting to you…" Mutsu said as his breath began to shorten.
"Are you ok?" The college freshman asked as she got closer to him. Mutsu grabbed her by the shoulders and locked his lips onto hers, light brown wings emerging from his back. He pulled back from the kiss, the heat in his chest subsiding as he kneeled in front of her.
"Earth of my pledge, spread to protect the territory of my ashikabi!"
"Wha- What just happened?"
"Tell me your name, and I'll explain everything," Mutsu replied.
"Fine… My name is Yukari Sahashi."
?
My eyes opened in a hospital room. The two women who I saw fighting the brunette were seated on both sides of my bed, their heads laying on my lap. A woman with short gray hair walked into the room, her eyes wide in surprise.
"You're… awake…" She said slowly.
"Was I not supposed to be?" I asked.
"Not for a few more weeks at the earliest, no," she replied. "What's your name?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Shinsetsu Dorifutā, and you?" I asked.
"Takami Sahashi, and these two women are your sekirei, Number Eleven, Hikari and Number Twelve, Hibiki," Takami said, pointing to them.
"Sekirei?" I asked.
Takami sighed before rolling a TV into the room. It suddenly turned on, and the President of MBI appeared on the screen.
"Hello there my mysterious friend! You are now a player in the game of the Gods! You and your destined Sekirei will duke it out in the great game with the ultimate prize being that of your wish coming true!" he exclaimed with excitement. "Now just so we're clear you are to tell no-one about this! Its super-secret and if you do tell anyone there will be major consequences. Understood?"
"Uh…" I didn't know how to respond to all of this. Was he talking directly to me?
"Yes, he can hear you," Takami said, as if she could read my mind.
"Yea… I understand…"
"Good! Now where do you live?" Minaka asked.
"Why do you want to know that?" I asked.
"So I can send you extra pairs of your sekireis' outfits!"
"I'm homeless…" I replied.
"Oh," Minaka replied, my response taking the wind out of his sails.
"Shit," replied Takami.
"Hmmm. This could prove more interesting," Minaka replied as he began to rub his chin in contemplation.
"My second in command here, Takami will give you a cell phone, don't lose it. We'll use it to find you should your sekirei need more clothes," Minaka explained.
"Ok," I replied as Takami gave me a phone. I pocketed it as Hibiki and Hikari woke.
"Wha- You're awake!" Hikari shouted in surprise. "You have some nerve! You could've died!" She immediately began to berate me. "Do you have any idea how reckless that was!? Jumping in the middle of a sekirei fight?! Are you out of your mind?! We were worried sick!"
"Hikari, lay off of him!" Hibiki interjected. "He's our ashikabi," she said, turning to me with a smile. "I'm just glad you're alright."
"Yea… me too," Hikari replied. The two of them gave me a kiss on the cheek, then a long, warm hug.
"So where's home?" Hikari asked.
"I'm homeless," I replied. The twins looked at eachother then at me. "But don't you have a family?" Hibiki asked.
"I do… but after I failed the college entrance exam, they cut all ties with me, including any sort of financial assistance, that's how I ended up homeless," I said, shame filling my heart.
"They sound like assholes," Hikari said as she put a consoling hand on my shoulder.
I chuckled a bit. "Thanks," I replied. Despite her harsh words to me only moments ago, Hikari did care for me, which was reassuring.
"Don't worry, we already have some jobs lined up, maybe you can get one too?" Hibiki said, confidence filling her voice.
"Yea!" Hikari said, trying her best to be hopeful.
"I'm by no means opposed to it," I replied. "So Ms. Sahashi, when can I be discharged?" I asked.
"A day or two, we need to make sure your vitals are stable then you're free to go."
"Ok. In the meantime, you two should get to work," I said to the thunder twins, who nodded.
"But before we go, we'll be taking this," the two of them said in unison, kissing me on the lips, two wings of electric pink and purple sprouted from their backs the two of them having a look of ecstasy plastered across their face. The two of them smiled at me before waving me goodbye, I waved back with a smile.
Chiho Hidaka
I walked out of the hospital room as I stretched my arms out with a yawn. It had been three months since my surgery, and it had been a success! They successfully removed the two tumors that had both crippled me and heavily weakened my immune system, leaving me bedridden. After the surgery I had months of physical therapy, and had regained use of my legs.
I was being discharged from the hospital today and I wanted to get a view of the city from the top of the roof. I walked up the stairs and reached the door to the roof. When I opened it I saw a woman sitting on the ledge. My mind went into overdrive as I ran towards her. "Don't do it!" I shouted, trying to convince her not to jump. "Your life is worth living!" I said.
"Huh?" she turned around as I crashed into her. I began to fall, incidentally pushing us both off the roof.
"AAAAAHHHHH!" I shouted. I felt my body become weightless as I fell. Then nothing. I opened my eyes to see the same woman who was sitting on the edge wearing a scantly-clad outfit in a pristine white cloth. The two of us were held aloft by the same white cloth. She moved towards me, and gently held my head before giving me a soft yet passionate kiss on the lips.
"By the veil of my contract, my Ashikabi's nightmares will be dispelled!" she chanted, beautiful wings of flawless white emerged from her back. She captured me in a warm, loving hug. "My name is Uzume, what's your's?" she asked with a smile.
"Chiho, Chiho Hidaka."
AN: Hey! Thanks for reading the first chapter of Richer Together! I had to set up a few things other than our protagonist's plotline. There will be some deviations for who the ashikabi of some sekirei will be. Minato will still be in the story, but won't be such a harem-king type of character.