Special thanks to Ikrani for helping with the revisions in this chapter and just general advice. Thanks man, you're a fucking unit.
As always: read, review, and enjoy
Disclaimer: I do not own Sekirei; if I did, the situation with certain characters would've turned out very differently and we'd have more than two seasons of the anime. It belongs solely to Sakurako Gokurakuin.
"speech"
thought
"phone call"
"Norito"
SOUND EFFECT!
"flashback"
They were fighting again. Did they ever stop... would they ever stop? At some point, Tamotsu didn't know when, they had gone from a normal family into one driven by chaos and fear. Uncertainty prevailed in a home where trust should've held place, and each day seemed to be worse than the last.
He'd tried to block it out - oh how he had tried. Everything from thumbing his ears, to ducking his head, to nearly smothering himself with a pillow... anything to block out the voices. The sounds he'd once come to associate with love and understanding had since become heralds of pain and misery.
The screaming... the shouting... and, in the odd case, the sound of something fragile shattering against the wall - his wall, specifically.
For all his efforts and all his attempts at gaining that small measure of peace, in the end it was all for nothing.
"-ASSHOLE!"
"FUCKING BITCH-!"
Their words, weapons in their own right, pulverized any sort of defense he tried to muster.
It never stopped. When would it stop?
Rolling over once more in his bed, he slammed his pillow down over his head and tried his damndest to block it out for the umpteenth time...
Where was Mom? Why did she leave them? Why did she have to leave them to this?
Ever since she'd been gone, his life had fallen apart at the seams. There was no stability on any front anymore; just madness.
The shouting intensified, so much so he could feel the walls themselves shudder with each volley of acid they threw at one another. It was as if they too had grown weary of all the conflict that raged within these thin walls and wanted just as much peace as he himself did.
Not that it would come. The screaming would last until HE decided it was enough, and then HE would make everything all about him just as he always did. Because that's what it all came down to; nothing mattered except HIM, even to his own family.
Thus, Tamotsu had come to hate HIM.
Where once he'd trusted HIM, all that remained was distrust and scorn for the man he had since become.
The man who was, to all other outside powers, his father.
He'd changed too ever since Mom had been gone.
To Tamotsu he was nothing more than a tyrant, one who couldn't stand to let others talk over him until he had finished beating them down both verbally and sometimes physically.
The bruises he had from earlier that day cemented that fact.
He wanted to leave, to run... but even if he did, what would happen to them? The one reason he stayed was the one he hated the most out of anything, the one thing he couldn't consciously turn his back on.
The woman he thought he could call his mom after his had been taken away so suddenly, whom he once felt comforted by, loved even and had done her damndest to accept him despite being another woman's child.
…and she would soon have one of her own too, if the fates allowed it.
That was the one shining beacon of hope he still held onto with a firm grasp, unwilling to part with it even if death came for him. Because as long as he had them, then this life - Hell that it was - would be worth it in the end.
Perhaps his father would see it too... then maybe they could be a proper family again.
More screaming erupted from the two this time, but the floor - the whole house even - seemed to shift, as if itself had been physically disturbed. Heavy steps punctuated the vibrations beneath his body, followed by a loud crash that ripped away sense of sleep he might've tried to get.
'Block it out... block it-!'
"AAHHHHHHHHH...!"
That banshee-like wail tore through him like a hot iron stake, forcing him upright in bed. He waited and waited... until rapid footfalls approached his door, bashing it open.
There he stood, face red with exertion and fury as his father glared down at him with bloodshot eyes that spoke of both madness... and fear.
"Get the hell up NOW! Stay with her... and don't you dare call anybody! I'll be back."
Orders given, he raced off deeper into the house for... something, Tamotsu didn't know.
Stepping out of his room, he had no idea what state he'd find her in...
Bruised, yes. She'd sported many bruises in the past from the fights between her and father, and cuts weren't ruled out either. Tears, check; it was more of a staple by this point to find her eyes bloodshot than not.
But not actual blood, and nothing like what was pooling around her feet at that moment. Her wails continued, tears pouring down her face as she babbled unconsolably, hugging her stomach as if her life depended on it.
No, he realized with mounting horror. Not hers...
Tamotsu stumbled forward, sliding forth until he was right next to her and gripped her shoulders. She wailed even harder, her voice starting to break near the end as she clutched at her stomach that much fiercer.
Bile built in his throat, threatening to expel itself onto the floor to mix with the blood. His hands shook - from fear or anger, he couldn't say.
All he knew was that something very dear had just been taken by the most uncaring of means.
Even as she screamed, even as that man returned and even as the hospital told him what had transpired, his mind was trapped in that horrible moment and the screams that seemed to echo within the depths of his soul.
Screams not just of herself... but for the life of the one who would never get to live hers.
"NO-!" The once quiet air was ripped asunder by a gasp from Tamotsu as he shot up from he lay, his heart pounding like a drum. Beads of sweat trickled down from his temples with his eyes darting this way and that in a panic. It took him several moments to calm down, to still his heart enough where it wouldn't leap out of his chest. When he finally did, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Just a dream..."
It had been years since he had that dream… or more specifically, that memory. Black and toxic as it was, he shoved it down until he could barely even perceive it anymore…
Until now that is... He could still hear her screams...
He ran a hand over his face, drawing it back with a disgusted growl to find it slick with sweat. It wasn't the first time this happened, but it had been long since the last.
He was supposed to be stronger now, better than ever. Yet here he was staving off a panic attack at the mere feeling of that night, let alone the images it provoked.
It was childish, silly even.
But that didn't change the fact that he couldn't even say the name of either his bastard father, his step-mother... or the one who had, more than anyone, been a victim in all of it, without wanting to vomit.
Pushing the thought aside for the moment, he finally took stock of his current surroundings.
This was not the apartment him and Mitsuha had been living in, nor was it anywhere he'd ever been.
"…where is this?"
Strangely enough, he was reminded of his grandmother's home back in Hikone. The walls of the room were the same and the rice paper doors followed the same conventional status, down to the tatami mat floors. He couldn't help but wince slightly as he recalled all the years he'd spent lying on those hard floors back at her home, and was quietly grateful for the chance to sleep in a proper bed these days. Granted, there was the ever-present notion of sleeping next to a beauty like-
-MITSUHA!
His eyes darted all over the room again, scouring it for any sign of his Sekirei. If something had happened to her-!
"Zzz…"
Tamotsu paused. When his eyes landed on the familiar mop of blonde hair, he almost went limp with relief. As another snore tore through the nightly air, he smacked a hand over his mouth to contain the chuckle.
Mitsuha merely shifted slightly in her sleep.
…even her snore is cute, he found himself thinking, fighting the urge to reach out and stroke her head.
She was safe at least. That was enough to leave him at ease… That said-
"Where are we?"
"My room."
It took every single ounce of will power not to yelp at that response, whirling around to find a very familiar pair of brown eyes watching him from a secluded area nearby.
You've gotta be kidding.
"…Uzume-san?"
Moonlight pouring in from the window – just how long had he been out anyway? – shifted slightly, illuminating the face of a certain brunette who was watching him… from a small throne of stuffed animals.
…wait, what?
"Ohayo, Tamo-chan," the woman greeted with a small smile. "Sleep well?"
"As well as I could I suppose," he replied offhandedly. "Wait a sec, did you say this was-?"
"-my room? Yeah." Brown eyes glittered with a flicker of amusement.
All at once, he felt his cheeks reddening at the notion that this was the first time he'd ever found himself in a girl's room. "P-pardon the intrusion?"
And her soft laugh only served to deepen that disbelief. "A little late for that, don't ya think?"
"Manners should be observed, even if they're not needed."
"Whatever you say, dork."
Silence fell between the two after that, and Tamotsu wished he had developed better conversational skills for situations like this. Speaking of which-
"How did we end up here?"
Uzume gestured to the blonde still fast asleep at his side. "Your Sekirei helped me bring you back to the Inn. It was a pain getting you up the stairs, but we managed."
Tamotsu stilled. "How do you know she's a Sekirei…?"
Up until then, he'd been willing to accept this was some cosmic coincidence that his one-sided crush had come across the two of them some time after he'd been knocked out. It wasn't that far-fetched; Shinto Teito was a big place, after all.
But the brunette's next words tossed everything he thought he knew about the laws of reality and space into the void.
"Because I'm one." Her gaze met his solemnly, unflinching as she delivered that bombshell of a revelation. "Number ten, actually."
His stomach dropped.
Uzume… Uzume was a Sekirei all this time. Then, did that mean-?
"That day, when I helped you out with those thugs – you didn't need me at all, did you?"
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but took the plunge anyway and sent his worries skyrocketing. "If it came down to it… No."
His gaze dropped, along with every little fact he thought he knew about her. Turns out he didn't know a damned thing, as usual.
Soft hands suddenly cupped his cheeks, lifting them up to find a watery pair of brown eyes there boring into his lavender ones. "But I'm glad you did, Tamo-chan. Because I got to meet you."
She was so close, so damned close it was terrifying. His eyes darted across every single facet of her profile – her eyes, her nose, her hair, and her lips… her glossy lips.
He swallowed, feeling his face burn as her gaze bore into him. And deep down, he felt something shift inside him, tugging him towards her.
What was all of this?
"…get your hands off my Ashikabi, Ten," a voice growled from nearby.
Tamotsu paled rapidly, his eyes flicking over to where a blonde tigress was now glaring at the two of them. He swallowed hard.
"How long have you been awake?" Uzume asked calmly, not at all fazed by the killer glare the other Sekirei was shooting at her.
"Long enough," Mitsuha replied before locking onto him with hard amethyst eyes. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to my Master… without any distractions."
Tamotsu opened his mouth to defend the brunette but paused, letting his Sekirei's words sink in. "Talk?"
Uzume didn't give him any chance to back out either, her hands falling away from his face as she stood up. "I'll go heat up some leftovers then. Just don't break him while I'm out, Thirty-eight."
Mitsuha shot a look at the brunette's retreating form as she stepped through, calling out, "What's it to you, Ten?"
Uzume didn't answer, merely shutting the door behind her softly.
But to Mitsuha, that might as well have been a starter pistol as she pounced on Tamotsu like a panther on fresh kill.
"Um, hi?" Tamotsu tried, blinking a few times at how close Mitsuha's were to his.
"Spill."
Tamotsu stared blankly at her. "...What?"
"I'm your Sekirei, so you're my charge. I protect you. That means knowing why the hell you did… everything that you did before Ten showed up. You've got something on your chest, Tamotsu, and by the end of this conversation, I'm going to take it off, no ifs, ands, or buts."
Tamotsu wasn't sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, he was touched by her concern, but on the other… For his part, opening up to her would be akin to how a fish would feel being opened up by a fillet knife.
"But-"
"No buts!" Mitsuha snapped, sinking her legs into his waist.
"It's not something I can just come out and say, okay?" he protested, eyes darting to the side.
"Sure seemed to come out when you saw Yashima getting abused by that asshole."
"I can't just-"
"Let me put this another way." That hand which pressed his collar now grabbed it, pulling his face close, enough so he could pick out the different hues of her irises. "You can tell me like this, or you can tell me while you're hanging upside-down by the ankles. Do not fucking push me, Tamotsu. I've had a very stressful day."
"I was just trying to help her!"
"Bull and shit. You were already breaking down before that. I saw that shudder; you wouldn't tell me what that was about, then you saw Yashima and her pet asshole. This wasn't about helping her, that's just what it turned into! You got so caught up in your… whatever it was that you ditched me!"
"I didn't ditch you!" Tamotsu shot back, affronted. "I thought you were right behind me!"
"Double bullshit! You weren't thinking about me! No 'Hey, let's go,' or even a 'Hey, I'm about to pummel a bastard, you wanna watch'? You tore after those two like a bat out of hell and left me in the dust, not even giving a second thought for how I'd feel about it!"
Wincing, he grasped the hand which held his shirt and glared back into her eyes. "That's not fair, Mitsuha!"
"YOU WANT FAIR?!"
"Hey what are you-WHOA!?"
KA-THWACK!
True to her word, out came the whip and up went the legs. Tamotsu's legs, to be exact. Mitsuha had her whip around his ankles and jumped up to throw it over a ceiling beam, pulling him up before tying it off on the adjacent beam. Tamotsu was left with his fingers dragging on the tatami flooring, lightheaded from the blood flowing to his brain, and swaying from side to side like meat on a hook.
"There!" she snapped, dusting her hands off as she dropped down. "Now you can't run off like an angry chimpanzee. Which is what you did, by the way: you ran out that door like a wild animal and started wailing on the asshole in question. Really well-practiced, too; I saw how you ducked those punches. Plenty of Sekirei moved like that in training. It's conditioning, and it's not the kind that sticks without some actual fights to cement it. Now, you're going to make sense of all that, or we'll just sit here and let the blood run to your head until you're ready to fucking spill!"
"Whoa, whoa!" The door behind Mitsuha opened again as Uzume returned. "Tone it down, Thirty-Eight. I could hear you shouting from all the way downstairs. And damaging the landlady's property will get us both in deep shit, just so you know."
"Um, help?" Tamotsu called out, looking to her for assistance.
But instead, Uzume just put a hand on her hip and stared. "From the sound of things, you don't want any."
"Butt out, Ten!" Mitsuha snarled, before turning on Tamotsu again. "And don't think her being here is going to distract me! This is about you, you idiot!"
"Thirty-Eight?"
"WHAT?!"
Uzume had her hands up before, like a pair of windshield wipers, they tilted left towards the open door. "Can I get you for a minute?" Her brown eyes trailed up the whip to where it was knotted. "He's not going anywhere. That's a pretty long way to fall on your head."
Mitsuha's eyes blazed as she looked at her Ashikabi, stabbing him with glares. After one intense moment, she relented and whirled on Uzume. "One minute. Then I'm coming back."
Uzume nodded and gestured for Mitsuha to exit. "Then I'll make it quick."
The two women hurried off and shut the door behind them. Tamotsu winced at the clack; it was louder than last time, Mitsuha being the one to close it. The two stood outside and spoke in hushed whispers for a short while. He could see their shadows through the door, both growing more animated as their machine-gun conversation heated up.
Tamotsu wasn't sure about how Uzume had stepped in like that. While not nearly as confrontational as his Sekirei, she clearly wasn't pleased with how things turned out. He wasn't either but what could he say? He'd buried his past for a reason; he just wished he could find a way to make them understand that.
"You're going to what?!" Mitsuha shrieked.
"Shhhh!"
Mitsuha stared venomously at the other Sekirei, incredulous at the brunette's suggestion. "No."
"Just hear me out, would you?" Uzume insisted, putting her hands together in a pleading gesture. "It's been a long day and tempers are high. Screaming at each other isn't going to solve anything and I think you know that. All I'm saying is that he might respond to me a bit better than you right now."
"Because you know him so well, huh?" Mitsuha sneered, folding her arms across her chest with a scowl.
"That's not what this is about!" Uzume snapped at her, frustration evident across her features.
One blonde eyebrow rose skeptically at that retort. "Then what is it?" Because from where I was sitting, you looked very close to crossing dangerous line with my Master. So you'll have to forgive me if I don't trust you around him."
The mere fact that this side-tailed chick knew her master before Mitsuha even met him itched at her something fierce, more than mere jealousy. This woman was a Sekirei and someone who was just shy of being one of the damned Single Digits, the strongest Sekirei alive. If she wanted too – and she clearly did, arguments be damned – she could wiggle her way into what Mitsuha had been busting her ass to develop with her Ashikabi.
Uzume ran a hand down her face slowly, her gaze going heavenward for a moment before brown eyes locked back onto Mitsuha. "Alright look. I care about him, ok?"
Mitsuha snorted, unimpressed.
"So that's why I want to know too. I'm all for getting him to spill, but your approach isn't cutting it. Tamo-chan-"
Mitsuha growled at that moniker.
-is about as stubborn as you, I think. All I'm asking is you let me try something and if it fails, then we'll do it your way."
Damn her, but she had a point. This was getting nowhere and her hardheaded master clearly wasn't going to budge by her whipping him into submission. "So what's your idea, then?"
Uzume's response was to pick up the forgotten tray of food that had a bowl of rice and some other food stuff on it, raising her eyebrows as if to say: "This."
Mitsuha rolled her eyes.
"You don't have to like it," Uzume nagged. "Just follow my lead."
"Fine. But don't think I'm letting you worm your way into his heart. He's MY Ashikabi, and I'm not big on sharing."
"That might not be up to you," Uzume muttered but Mitsuha still heard it.
I hate her already...
The blonde slid the door back open, stepping in first with Uzume following right behind. Still strung up, Tamotsu could only level a stare at her until he noticed the food Uzume was carrying.
"...What's that for?" he asked, standoffish.
Mitsuha opened her mouth to fire off a retort, but the shake of Uzume's head cut her off. She settled for an indignant huff.
"Getting worked up like that must've also worked up an appetite. It's not much, but you can have what's left over from dinner if you want," Uzume said, offering a friendly smile to the young man.
Tamotsu paused, his gaze darting between the food and the two of them before letting out a grunt. "That's gonna be kinda hard since…" he gestured to his current state, causing his form to sway a little.
"I think you've been in timeout long enough, so you can come down," Uzume decided, setting the food down on the floor. "Right, Thirty-eight?"
Mitsuha scowled at her, not budging an inch.
"Mitsuha…" her master called out with a bit of a whine.
Heaving out an explosive sigh, she turned to Uzume and barked, "Hold him up. I'd rather he didn't crack his head open again."
Tamotsu opened his mouth to object, but soon found himself being lifted by the tall Sekirei while Mitsuha unfastened the whip holding him up. His heels came down with a loud thump, but Tamotsu had no time to stand before he was dragged to the window by Uzume, dragging him against her body.
"Um… I thought I was going to eat?" Tamotsu questioned, staring nervously back at Uzume.
"You are. And Mitsuha is going to feed you, isn't that right?"
Mitsuha clenched her whip tightly in her hands, forcing herself not to set about whipping the older Sekirei like a horse. Grumbling to herself, she picked up the tray and brought it over, setting it off to the side.
Tamotsu stared at her with a worried gaze, and he looked ready to bolt at the earliest opportunity.
With one graceful shift of her body, she found herself straddling Tamotsu and effectively pinning him between herself and Uzume.
Not this time, Master!
Wicked glee filled her at the brunette's gobsmacked expression, marveling at both it and the blush that blossomed across Tamotsu's face.
"I-is this really necessary?" Tamotsu stammered out, head whipping back and forth between the two.
"Oh? Are you complaining?" Uzume drawled, hugging him closer to her, her breasts pressing into his back.
His blush darkened. "No, I- MPRGH!?"
"Don't talk with your mouth full Tamo," Mitsuha scolded, glaring reproachfully at Uzume. She merely shrugged, even stuck her tongue out a bit.
This bitch…
Still, she fed Tamotsu more rice and he seemed to realize struggling was futile, thankfully, but the blush remained on display.
"How's your head?" Mitsuha asked after a few minutes of silence, keeping her eyes on his.
Tamotsu seemed to hesitate in answering, which left a pang on her heart. "Somewhat ok, I guess. There's a bit of an ache now but I'm not sure if that's from what happened, or you stringing me up."
She winced. Maybe she'd been a bit aggressive earlier, but she'd been prepared to do worse if he didn't work with her.
I'd rather string her up! Mitsuha thought vengefully with a glare aimed at Uzume. Giving a sigh, she plucked one of the egg rolls from the tray and held it up towards Tamotsu's mouth. But instead of jamming it in, she held it just short of his mouth.
"What's wrong?" Tamotsu asked her.
"I just want to understand Tamo," she began, watching his eyes widen. "No just- listen! I'm not angry-" She paused, shaking her head a bit, "Ok scratch that. I'm pissed, but not at you, really. I'm more pissed that you lied to me all this time about having any fighting experience."
Tamotsu tried to shout at her, and she prepared to fire one right back.
"I wanna know that myself," Uzume broke in, stunning them both. "When we first met, you fought off those two scumbags like you'd done it before. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious."
That's not all you are, the blonde thought snidely.
"That's-!" Tamotsu said, but seemed to think better of it and groaned. His face twisted, as if he was struggling with something internally before he finally relented. "I had too, ok? I didn't have the best childhood… or much of one at all, for that matter."
Mitsuha's eyes widened at that admission. Already that was more than anything she'd gotten out of him since they'd become bonded, and it stung her something fierce to give credit to someone like Uzume for it.
"You don't have to tell us," Uzume told him gently, causing Mitsuha to squawk indignantly. But a sharp look from the brunette sent a cold shiver down her spine as she said, "Right?"
The blonde bit back a snarl, but replied, "Yeah. You don't."
The way Tamotsu's tense form practically deflated with relief bothered her in so many ways, but at least she had gotten something to work with.
Still-
"Is that why you went ape-shit on that jackass earlier?"
Tamotsu stilled, almost becoming statue-like.
"Hey!" Uzume snapped at her, eyes flashing with outrage.
"…yeah."
Mitsuha shot a stunned look at him, as did Uzume. "R-really?"
Tamotsu just shrugged. "I was put in a position where I had to learn how to look after myself and others, or we'd suffer. I don't like to fight, but I will if I must," he paused, meeting Mitsuha's with his own hardened ones, "and I had to with that bastard. I won't apologize for that… but I will for dragging you into it."
Mitsuha pursed her lips, swallowing hard at that admission.
This felt like the first time she was actually getting to meet the one who had become her Ashikabi. True he was still a major dork and a little pathetic, but here she didn't see any of that. Instead what she saw was a man who had been beaten down by whatever his past had been, and had only come out stronger than ever. There was a lot she wanted to ask but for right now, this was enough.
"You need to remember that you're not fighting alone anymore," Uzume's cool voice filtered through the room, breaking her musings. "We're by your side now, so rely on us more."
"Maybe I can with Mitsuha," Tamotsu confessed, and the blonde nearly squealed at that. "But you still have to find that person you're looking for, right Uzume-san?"
This time, Uzume went stock still.
"…yeah, I do." Uzume suddenly cleared her throat and released Tamotsu from her hold, rising to her feet in one bound. Keeping her face hidden, she hurried over and collected the tray from Mitsuha's side. "Well, I'll go take this stuff downstairs. Miya will have kittens if she finds dirty dishes up in our rooms."
As she passed by, Mitsuha was shocked to see the brunette's eyes glimmering with unshed tears but before she could comment on it, the elder Sekirei was gone.
That left the two of them alone in the room, albeit with a less emotionally charged atmosphere than before.
"Um…" Mitsuha turned to her Ashikabi, as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry I lied to you."
The blonde stared at him, studying him intently even as he stared away in silence. Giving a huff, she reached out to cup his face in her hands, leaning in to capture his lips.
Brilliant golden light blossomed to life, illuminating the room for a few brief moments before it faded. Even so, she kept the connection to him for just a little longer before they broke apart, staring at each other. And with it, the tears she'd been holding in all this time spilled down in warm hot streaks.
"Don't ever scare me like that again, Tamo," she chastised, pressing her face into his shoulder and hugging him tightly to her. She felt him return the embrace soon enough, squeezing her close to him.
"...you have a cute snore by the way."
PAP.
"Ow."
"We're having a moment; don't ruin it," Mitsuha grumbled, her face burning red in the dark.
Within a room illuminated by numerous computer screens, a sharp trill suddenly sounded with a chirp.
BRIIIP!
"-no officer, not there~!" a bespectacled beauty giggled with a slur as she rose up, coming to a sitting position. Giving a great yawn, she took off her glasses and peered blearily at the screens.
Her eyes nearly popped out of their skull when she saw the lettering emboldened upon each of them:
FILE DOWNLOAD COMPLETE.
Slipping her glasses back up her nose, she practically threw herself on her keyboard as if she was about to make sweet love to it. "Ugh, finally! I swear, the things I do for love…" She paused for a moment, considering the remark. "Well, someone's love but you get the idea!"
A flurry of keystrokes later, a large folder opened itself on her screen, showcasing the photo of a young man with unruly black hair and lavender eyes.
"Ehhh? This is who Uzume-tan's got the hots for? Well, I mean apart from the eyes there's nothing that stands out. But it ain't none of my business… Now his past," she chuckled darkly, her glasses gleaming as she grinned, "that's my interest. So Uemoto-kun, make sure you spill all your secrets to Matsu-sama!"
Tapping into her powers, she blinked a few times and dove into the restricted file with earnest.
In a matter of seconds, she knew everything about Uemoto Tamotsu from where he was born, to which school he attended, to even who his parents-
Wait, what…?
She paused, stopping her data collection to come go back to the bit of info she just stumbled across. Her eyes widened as she read the old newspaper article.
"Oh… shit."
Within a dimly lit room, the sound of a phone began to ring which was promptly silenced by the occupant answering it.
"Yes?"
"Chairman, finally! Sir, we had a breach in our mainframes. Security reports indicate that at least one file from the restricted section was accessed."
From where he sat in his cushy office chair, Minaka rolled his eyes.
Well, that was nothing new. They'd been dealing with hackers and such since MBI had catapulted itself to the forefront of the global economic arena. And it was hardly a secret just who was doing all the hacking; the Westerners were quite an uppity bunch, weren't they?
"So, which one was it this time? Russia… or perhaps Sweden? …both? It wouldn't surprise me at this point if it was the latter."
He of course couldn't rule out the Americans, but they'd been quiet on that front for a long time… suspiciously so. Though given how badly they'd been trounced at Kamikura Island all those years ago, it was a given.
Still, so long as they had #2's source code enforcing the mainframe's operating system, it would take the other nations hundreds of years to get hold of what was actually important.
"Actually sir, the attempt came from one of the local channels. In fact, the IP of this attempt is almost a carbon copy of the source code itself."
Minaka's eyebrow rose at that admission. "Ho? Really, how interesting. And what did our dear little thief want instead of another Jinki?"
"According to the reports, she breached our firewalls approximately several hours ago and managed to download one of the files in the Ashikabi archive."
Minaka's eyes narrowed to slits, scratching at his chin. Strange. What would Two have wanted with one of the Ashikabi files? Perhaps she was getting desperate in finding one of her own? It might warrant some investigation. "Do we know which one she grabbed?"
"We believe it was the file for one Uemoto Tamotsu-san, Chairman."
"What?!" Minaka exclaimed, turning his full attention to the call.
"Uemoto-san's file was the only thing she seemed interested in, sir. But the time the countermeasures kicked in she was already out of our reach with the file in hand. The file itself wasn't transferred per se; it was just downloaded to a remote server we currently have no access to. We're prepared to…"
But Minaka had long since tuned out the droning of the corporate stooge, his mind racing with all the possibilities this development entailed.
It was no secret he knew where Two was – he was a genius after all just like her albeit to a slightly lesser extent. But he'd been content to leave her be so long as she didn't cause trouble for him, as well as to not piss off a certain demon that lived there. Even this little incident wouldn't have provoked a response in so much as he would've had to get back at her. All that would've come of it was an enhancement of the OS source code Two had so graciously implemented herself when she'd still been with MBI.
However, the fact that she had gone through the trouble to retrieve an Ashikabi file – and not just any file, but that kid's – spoke volumes as to which players could finally be getting involved. If it was true…
Slowly, the makings of a manic grin curled the corners of the man's lips upward.
"…are you still there sir?"
"Yes, yes I'm listening. Have our techs reinstall the mainframe OS and heighten its security measures," the CEO said dismissively.
"W-what?! But we've already done that three times!"
"So do it a fourth… unless, you'd like me to send the fourth you'd really have to worry about. I'm not choosy."
"N-no! We-!"
CLICK.
Retrieving his hand from the disconnect button, Minaka swiveled in his seat and stared up at the massive painting situated on the ceiling. It depicted the extravagance of the of the Sekirei mothership, commissioned years ago shortly after MBI had established itself in the world. So it was that the game began there, so it could commence here. "The board is set, and the players are in position. I wonder… who should be the one to make the first move?"
The answer came to him in seconds, so fast that he almost felt stupid for even considering the notion… almost.
He reached into his pocket, withdrawing a mobile phone and dialed a familiar number, waiting for it to pick up. He didn't have to wait long, as usual.
"…do you have any goddamn idea what time it is?"
The white-haired man grinned widely at her voice, unfazed in the slightest. "Ohayo Takami-kun! I happened to have a splendid idea and I think Minato-kun will be thrilled to hear about it! So please be here on time with him and perhaps Yukari-chan too. This does concern them, you know?"
"The hell are you-?"
"Well, I need to catch some shut eye. The Age of the Gods can't be brought about if I'm low on sleep you know! TTFN!"
"MINAKA-!"
CLICK.
Glossary:
Ohayo (literally "Good morning")
Done. Had to revise this one a couple times to get the right mixture and I admit my original intent was a bit... out there. But with some feedback and much-needed revisions from Ikrani and a few others in the Sekirei Discord server, I feel much better about this iteration.
Bit shorter this time around, but don't worry the next one will be a bit more packed. It could be considered a filler though since I'm going to be running down the line about what the Sekirei are from Tamotsu's point of view, so mostly just bringing everyone up to speed with the main setting of Sekirei itself. But I'll also be introducing the rest of the cast, and even Minato will make an appearance! So look forward to that.
And Tamotsu finally met with Uzume again. It's clear he's still skittish about being around her since he believes she's not interested in him, and Uzume still can't really be honest about her feelings to him. Why that is, you'll just have to see. But for now, rest assured that she'll be involved in the plot a lot more going forward.
In the beginning of the story, I implied that there would be a bit of tension between "Bee" and "Veil" and that will persist here. Mitsuha won't like someone like Uzume sticking around her Ashikabi and thus it'll create a few arguments that will mirror the ones that Minato had with his Sekirei, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. Tamotsu won't end up with anywhere near as many Sekirei... I think.
I also tried to keep Tamotsu's past as vague as I could here, but some things did slip. At least the girls around him now have a better idea of what he's capable of and willing to do.
Well, that's all from me.
Till then,
Take care.