(A/N) We're back from the break! This is an interlude chapter to kick us off; there won't be an illustration on SB or QQ this week. Next up on the update schedule is Luminosité Éternelle. Shoutout to the great people over on Discord and Pa treon who voted that one in. If you want to ask me any questions concerning this chapter, don't be afraid to drop by my server!

Again, big thanks to Noschittsherlock for beta reading this chapter.

X

In a secluded part of town undisturbed by prying eyes, she fought.

Sekirei Number Seventy Three: Namiji. That was the name given to her by MBI. Until she had met her Ashikabi, Kouji, that was about as much thought as she had been willing to give it– which is to say, none at all.

She had been directionless before him. From the very moment that she was born, her path had been paved for her. She was expected to participate in the Sekirei plan and fight. Fight, fight, and fight. She would fight until she had either won or lost. After that, nothing else really mattered.

And then she met Kouji.

The characters that made her name were "wave" and "road". Before being winged, never had she considered that it meant something.

It didn't. Not really at least, and yet their time together allowed her to discover what the name meant to her. "Your name is the key to your heart", Kouji liked to say, and he was of the belief that finding the meaning in her name would help her find direction in her life.

She had.

She was Kouji's Sekirei. She belonged to him as much as he belonged to her. As long as she would be allowed to stay by his side, then she would be a guiding light. Adaptable yet steadfast. The road that would lead her Destined One to wherever it was that he would ever want to go.

Of course, she needed to be strong for such a thing to be possible, and so she was. She didn't love fighting, but it wasn't like she hated it either. The "Sekirei Plan" was no final destination, but it certainly needed to be overcome if she didn't want that road to end here.

That was what she repeated to herself as she gracefully avoided the agitated swipes of her less able opponent.

"Damn you!" cursed a smaller girl with a shrill cry. The enemy Sekirei slammed her disproportionately-large hammer into her halberd, but Namiji was too strong to be phased by such a paltry attempt. The larger woman's weapon didn't even budge.

A pebble could not part the sea. The sea would swallow the pebble whole.

She allowed herself a moment to peak over her shoulder and smiled gently at the blond-haired man at her back. Kouji stood behind her, determined and alert. There wasn't much that he could do here, but his presence alone was all that she really needed.

With a flick of the wrist, the hammer was sent careening to the side. The tiny Sekirei only had time to widen her eyes in surprise before Namiji's foot was planted in her stomach. Spittle flew out of her widened jaw as the girl's body tumbled straight into–

Oh no!

Some ditzy human had wandered into the clearing that was supposed to be fairly secluded. They were blinking owlishly, not really understanding that a hundred-something pound weight was about to crash into them with the force of a speeding car.

"Kouji!" she yelled. Not as a warning, but to spur her Ashikabi into action.

"I got it!" he shouted right back. He ran as fast as he could to tackle the wandering citizen before they could be hit by the staggered body that she had recklessly kicked away.

He made it. The innocent bystander was wrapped in a tight hold as her Ashikabi dragged them to the ground along with him. The smaller Sekirei harmlessly flew over their heads and impacted a brick wall.

…Harmless for them at least.

"Are you okay?" Namiji shouted, lowering her halberd. She ran over to the pair, paying no mind to her downed adversary. Making sure that the two were uninjured was the top priority right now. Figuring out how to fib an explanation to the person that her Ashikabi had saved came second, and everything else came after that.

The blonde slowly pushed himself to his feet and dusted off his pants, offering a hand up to the bystander once he did so. The gesture was happily accepted.

"I'm fine, really!" the wayward stranger assured them. "Thanks for helping me out. What was all that about anyway? Are you filming a movie here or something? I don't see any camera crews."

They looked around with wide, curious eyes. Kouji and Namiji shared uneasy looks.

"Well–"

"No, that was all real," interjected the blonde.

Namiji did a poor job of hiding her shock. She didn't expect him to just come out and say it! What was he thinking?

"Kouji–"

She cut herself off once she saw the serious look on his face. He wasn't taking this lightly.

"It's dangerous around here," he went on to say. "If you can, please get out of the city as soon as possible."

She understood now. This person didn't really seem to be all that "aware" to be honest, so maybe being upfront about these sorts of things would be for the best.

The stranger looked away and furrowed their brow.

"Is that so? I see, I see… that is quite bad. Again, thank you. You've given me a lot to think about."

Both Najimi and her Ashikabi smiled. It was good that–

Huh?

Something was wrong.

She felt weird.

Why was this person staring at her like that? Why was Kouji on the ground, suddenly? Why was–

X

When she awoke, she found herself unable to move much from the neck down.

Bringing her chin down to her chest, she determined that the cuffs chaining her to a metal plank-looking thing were definitely a big part of it. More than that, however, her body had no strength whatsoever. She'd usually be able to snap a set of restraints like these with a bit of a struggle, but it truly felt like a lost cause at the moment.

"Oh? You're awake."

Namiji slowly looked to the left. Her jaw trembled. Right now, the horror that she felt deep inside could not be constructed by her unresponsive facial muscles.

"Y-you. Y…" was all that she was able to say. Her tongue felt numb.

The "unassuming bystander" stared at her blankly. One could hardly relate such a dead expression to something that would appear on the face of a living human being.

"I'm sorry," the stranger apologized in a distinctively not-sorry tone of voice. "I would have kept you hypnotized for this next part, but it would kind of defeat the purpose if I did. I drugged you up a lot instead, so you might be feeling a little under the weather right now."

Huh? Hypnosis?

"Where… where am..."

Namiji mentally berated herself. Forming a coherent sentence was beyond her right now.

The stranger looked concerned, oddly enough.

"You're really out of sorts, aren't you?" they asked, perhaps more as a note-to-self than anything else. "It really is a shame that I had to go this far. Your organs and insides are pretty human, but your constitution is incomparable."

It was only then that Namiji felt a pinch on her stomach. She winced.

The stranger's eyes, blank as ever, slowly moved away from her face to somewhere lower on her body.

"You can still feel that, I gather. Shocking."

Feel "that"? Feel what?

Again, Namiji's head lowered.

Her eyes couldn't focus. She blinked a few times, and her eyes finally caught the line of staples that ran from her pelvis to her clavicle.

The stranger watched her hyperventilate. They sighed and began stepping away.

"Oh, bother. I knew that I should have been more careful. I can't even ask you any questions as you are now. That black-haired little girl won't wake up at all no matter what I do, so I was hoping that I'd have an easier time with you. Ah– please calm down. I had to sever most of your ribs to get at a few of your organs, so you'll die if you keep breathing that way."

This person's words nearly made her stop breathing entirely.

"…Anyway."

"Hmmmf!?"

A strangled cry came from somewhere in the room.

The metal contraption to which she was strapped slowly shifted, and she soon found out exactly where that cry had come from.

Kouji was looking back at her.

Tears were streaming down his face, although his panicked expression couldn't be made out beyond that due to the strip of tape covering his mouth. Thick rope tied him to an ordinary-looking plastic chair.

"Let'im go!" demanded Namiji, her words slurring together. She tried to struggle again, but it was no use. The prickly feeling around where she had been cut open came back with a vengeance.

The girl was frustrated and scared in equal measure. Her Destined One was right there, and she couldn't do a thing. She was supposed to be the one to clear his path of all hardships, and yet, now…

She was useless. She was useless!

The evil human who kidnapped them circled the plastic chair and rested a finger against Kouji's temple. His pupils were like tiny, trembling pinpricks as they struggled and failed to keep the offending appendage within their line of sight.

With gnashed teeth, Namiji was about to scream at this person once more. She stopped in her tracks, noticing that she was beginning to regain strength in her limbs.

Were the drugs wearing off?

"…"

If she stalled for time, maybe she would be able to break out of here and save Kouji.

"It's starting to make a bit of sense why Emiya Shirou has been spending so much time here," mused their captor. The finger was tapped against her Ashikabi's skull repeatedly, eliciting a whimper from him each time the digit made contact.

Namiji didn't know who this "Emiya Shirou" person was supposed to be, but she didn't really care right now.

"Don't you dare… hurt him!" moaned the Sekirei.

She was finally able to speak again.

"So you've found your words." The villain's words mirrored her thoughts. "Would you mind answering my questions? I've been thinking long and hard about what you could possibly be, but I'm still drawing a blank. I run across creatures just like you every day, so it's been pretty maddening to think about."

The cuffs creaked as her wrists pushed against them. Almost there.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in turn.

The monster before her looked genuinely confused.

"…Are you daft? I just said that I wanted to know what you are."

She was angry. All of this, just for–?

"You're doing this for fun," the alien concluded, her daze wearing off. "You're sick."

A tut.

"You do a poor job of listening. I have no interest in arguing with you. I had questions, and so I wished to answer them. Nothing more, nothing less."

Namiji snapped.

"When a normal person wants to know something, they just ask a question! Out loud! With words!"

"What you can tell me is far from enough. Your words are just the cherry on top: appreciated, but expendable. Regardless, I've had enough of this now. I'll move on to the final experiment for the day."

…Experiment?

Ah.

That's all this was to this person, right? She accused them of deriving some form of sick pleasure from this. That wasn't right.

"Are we nothing more than lab rats to you?"

She was not answered.

"I picked your brains a bit. The two of you are connected in a fairly strange fashion. On a spiritual level, I'd say, and shockingly enough, I mean that literally."

"What are you trying to–"

"I won't get much more out of this one specimen, I don't think. Luckily there'll be more of you, if that black-haired one is anything to go by."

This person was talking to themselves now. Their words were lost on her. Were they referring to the "bond" between Sekirei and Ashikabi?

The cuffs were getting pretty loose. She'd be free of them anytime now. Kouji had the right angle to see what she was up to; thankfully he had the mind to keep his mouth shut and act like nothing was happening.

Their captor pulled away from the man, to their visible relief. The enigmatic individual picked up some sort of journal and scribbled some notes into it.

Once more, their fingertip was pressed against Kouji's skull.

Now!

The cuffs snapped. Namiji's muscles coiled to–

Kouji died.

X

With nothing discernable from their expression other than pure apathy, the magus watched the young man's high-strung body go completely limp once their magecraft turned him into a corpse.

Nothing more than a contemplative hum was given once the strange creature followed suit. The swelling of magical energy at the fingertips of their free hand died down once it was evident that they would not have to deal with the subject that had broken free from their restraints.

"If one dies, so does the other," the magus remarked. They began scribbling in their notebook once more, paying no mind to the two dead bodies. "Incredible. I should really try to find out if this connection goes both ways."

The notebook suddenly snapped shut. A thought had occurred to them.

"Ah. No one was around that black-haired one, come to think of it. Is there a human bonded to them elsewhere? Does this human exist at all? Which is the norm? Which is the exception. Curious. Curious…"

Their vocal ramblings trailed off. Maybe certain experiments involving the subject in question could be revisited.

In any case, it was an interest to be explored another time.

An airy smile was forced over top lifeless eyes and slackened lips.

X

Miya hummed to herself, her tune in rhythm with the sound of her knife chopping through various vegetables.

"I'm back!" a kind voice singsonged.

She stifled a sigh.

"Welcome back. Did your business meeting go well?" asked the purple-haired woman, trying to be polite.

Her newest tenant walked into the dining area with the same grace and calculated movements that she had grown accustomed to seeing.

Miya's caution around this person had very little to do with poor habits or anything of the like. They were an excellent tenant, in fact. Well-mannered, polite, friendly, willing to help when asked despite seeming to be quite busy, so on and so forth.

They weren't a bad person, but…

"Miya– starting on dinner already? Aren't you just the sweetest!"

She was patted on the head like she was a house pet. She could do nothing but freeze up as a squeak escaped her lips. The distance between her and the relative stranger was uncomfortably small.

This person was a little much. Always so touchy-feely. Didn't they know that it was improper to be so forward with a poor widow like her?

A gentle smile was offered.

"Anyway, feel free to call me if you need anything. I'll be upstairs working on some paperwork," her tenant said.

Miya blinked.

"So soon? You've only just walked through the door. Won't you at least wait for Minato and his, ah…" she tried to find the right words, "companions to get back? It shouldn't be too much longer. Kagari-san is probably sleeping, but I can call down Uzume-san and I'll make tea for everyone."

A hand cupped her cheek and Miya's entire face glowed bright red.

"Ah, you're so nice." A satisfied sigh escaped their lips. "Regardless, I'm afraid that I'm stuck dealing with quite pressing matters. I can't delay any longer."

Miya pulled away and frowned pensively. She liked to think that she was a patient woman, but that was too much, even for her!

"If you say so."

With a wave over their shoulder, they made their way back to their rented room.

X

"We're back!" Musubi cheered. Following her through the Izumo Inn's entrance was her Ashikabi and her blonde rival. Little Kuu was riding Minato's shoulders with a gleeful smile spreading her cheeks.

Minato lowered the girl to the ground, ignoring her obvious disapproval. After he removed his shoes and moved to the inn's main living space, he looked around searchingly.

"Where's–"

"Upstairs."

It was Uzume who answered. The woman was slow to toddle down the stairs, yawning and scratching her butt all the while. Thankfully, she seemed to be dressed this time.

"I kind of feel bad for Matsu," the girl added. "She's pretty much back to locking herself in her room twenty-four seven."

"I don't really understand why," Minato grumbled. "It's not like our new housemate has anything to do with the Sekirei plan. Matsu wouldn't be risking anything if she came out to be with everyone every now and then."

Tsukiumi huffed. "That woman's just a shut-in, Husband. I wouldn't overthink it."

He didn't have the opportunity to defend his bespectacled Sekirei since Uzume had decided to take the conversation elsewhere.

"Anyway, where's Kazehana? She was with you when you left, wasn't she?"

Minato scratched the back of his head and took a moment to think about his answer.

"She had something to do… I think? She suddenly took off, but Kazehana-san said that she'd be here later tonight."

The easygoing girl nodded in understanding before suddenly slapping a fist into her palm. "Ah! That's right: speaking of Matsu, she asked me to send you up to her when you had a moment."

He was a little caught off guard.

"Uh… me? Right now?"

"Sure, I guess."

"I'll go too!" shouted Musubi with a raised hand.

"Me too," added Tsukiumi, not to be one-upped.

"No, no. Just him," Uzume denied them to their surprise.

No one argued with her. Minato nodded slowly.

"Uh, okay. If you say so."

He climbed the stairs and was soon out of sight.

X

Once he was close enough to the section of the wall that he knew would lead to his Sekirei's room, it suddenly opened and from it came a hand that grabbed him by the shirt. A not-very-manly cry escaped his lips as he was dragged through the entrance.

"Ma–!?"

He couldn't finish calling the woman's name. Her palm shot up to cover his mouth. Her other hand rose and a finger was touched to her lip

"Shh! Quiet."

He didn't really know what she was getting all uppity about, but he agreed with a nod either way. If Matsu was being this serious about it, then he'd listen to her. No questions asked.

His Sekirei nodded in satisfaction. She crawled back to her monitor, shuffled to the side, and tapped the space next to her. Suppressing his blush, Minato gave in to her demands and took the seat.

The computer screen was… bright, more than anything. The backlighting hurt his eyes since the woman refused to turn on any lights. At least she had those glasses: hopefully the lenses were meant to filter out blue light in some capacity.

It took Minato a moment to adjust. He blinked a few times.

"What's all this?" he asked. Too many tabs were open at once, and he couldn't really tell which monitor he should have been looking at.

"It's all the leads that I currently have on Emiya Shirou, but I can't scrounge much more than this at the moment. I called you here because I'd like to use my Norito. You know what that is, don't you Mina-tan?"

He nodded slowly.

"I do, but… who's Emiya Shirou?"

She blinked.

"Ah. He didn't say when he stopped by I guess. That's the name of Karasuba's Ashikabi."

His eyes widened and his shoulders stiffened.

"Oh."

So that's why she was being so serious right now.

He did his best to match her expression.

"Tell me what I need to– hmf!"

Matsu, of course, wasted no more time to capture his lips with her own.

Neither noticed the light from the monitor bouncing off a pair of tiny eyes in the corner of the room.

X

The hand guiding the pen froze mid-stroke.

"Ah. A small world indeed."

Having decided to cut their connection to one of the many familiars stationed in the household, the magus moved away from their work and neatly put away the stationery in front of them.

So the assumption that Emiya Shirou had something to do with these strange non-humans wasn't incorrect after all. Lady Barthomeloi would probably like to know that the Magus Killer's new companion was one such entity, but studies to this point had not been sufficient enough to put together a worthwhile report. Obviously, that would have to change.

Unfortunately, the individuals living at this property were untouchable at the moment. The "landlady" was quite possibly the most interesting specimen of all, and allowing such a thing to go to waste due to impatience would be a shame.

It was frustrating. Truly. To have found such a charming and affordable location to set up shop while they conducted their business on top of finding such a fetching sample of the very things that could expedite the task at hand sounded too good to be true, and it pretty much was.

Really. How maddening. It was no wonder that they felt the need to find leads elsewhere. They couldn't even set up a proper temporary workplace in the inn out of fear that the company that they kept was a little more observant than anticipated. The inconvenience of finding an apt laboratory space and commuting whenever they felt that something had to be done did not help matters in the slightest.

This was not a mission befitting of a Lord of the Clock Tower, but it was understandable why Lady Barthomeloi had asked for their assistance above all others.

Oh well. In the meantime, that human boy —Minato was the name— could continue to go about his business with his friends undisturbed.

They hummed in thought.

With that being said, however, the residents here were getting involved with something that the Clock Tower Lord might want to have a hand in, so perhaps it would be best to be present for matters and events of the Izumo Inn?

The blank frown that the magus wore did a poor job of reflecting their good mood.

Maybe playing with them a little wouldn't hurt.